Paragon

Went there for Restaurant Week when I was in the area on a whim. The food was very good, however, my waitress was lifeless and borderline rude. It was kind of busy but there's no reason for that. The restaurant week deal they had was good but others at my table were not as happy with their food as I was. Overall, I would come back but I wasn't thoroughly impressed.

I am reviewing Paragon, the restaurant. Apparently, Paragon is part of a dual institution, Paragon/Viva, Viva being the 'club'. Anyway, I stopped into Paragon for lunch this past week with a few friends. We were seated by the window. We wouldn't dare sit outside. The heat was just unbearable.

In any case, let's start with what I liked...I liked the restaurant week prices and the menu, as a concept, wasn't bad. However, I thought that was just too many items. I think they could help themselves by focusing on one type of cuisine instead of trying to be everything to everyone.

As for the food itself, the actual product, I must say I was not a fan. I enjoyed my caesar salad, though I thought the lettuce could be sliced a bit more fork-friendly. It was the entree and dessert that really disappointed. I played it safe, ordering the BBQ burger. The BBQ sauce tasted store-bought and the burger had very little flavour. I pretty much had to drown the burger with ketchup and mustard to even eat the burger. The fries were good, though. Then, for dessert, I chose the creme brulee, a favourite of mine. What I was greeted to looked like a creme brulee but I could tell just by looking at it that they had burnt the sugar (actually burnt it and not just "burn it to a crispy layer" like they're supposed to). I tasted the creme brulee and the filling was delicious, light, and creamy but the burnt, black sugar ruined it. And the sad thing is, it did taste like burnt sugar.

As for the service, I got the least cheerful, pleasant, and engaging waitress. She was basically a delivery system for my food and drink, rather than someone providing excellent customer service. In summary, I would NOT recommend Paragon. I would rather have left and gotten a cheap slice of delicious pizza at Nice Slice than stay and spend my money at Paragon.

I have been here three times and was quite satisfied on each occasion. They offered a good variety of menu items, from appetizers to salads to burgers to entrees/pasta. The drinks were well made and the prices were right. If you're looking for a good restaurant near Thayer Street or in the Providence area in general, this is a sure bet.

I highly recommend the lobster mac and cheese.