Tag: Paradiso

San Leandro Bites: Paradiso

This upscale bistro is a favorite with San Leandrans, but does it meet my standards?

Paradiso has been occupying a corner location on Bancroft Avenue for as long as I’ve lived in San Leandro, over 24-years now. It’s only one of three upscale restaurants in our little town and it is immensely popular, at least with the gray-haired crowd. It’s hard to have lunch or dinner there and not run into a friend or acquaintance. During a recent lunch visit the place was popping. I noticed that more tables had been crowded together than in the past and our weekday at 12:30 PM reservation landed us on a small table near the front door – not ideal. Business clearly is booming.

I’ve never been a huge fan of Paradiso myself, I’ve found the food solidly tasty but overpriced. San Leandro commercial rents are absurdly high and that makes most of our restaurants more expensive than similar ones in adjacent cities. Still, when a neighbor in a local forum claimed that Paradiso had the best burgers in town, I thought it was worth checking it out again. Looking back at my Paradiso reviews, it seemed that I was of the same opinion circa 2012, but that’s a long time ago.

Paradiso’s lunch menu offers a selection of starters, salads, wood-fired pizzas, pastas, and entrees. Prices are high, with most dishes starting in the $20’s and reaching into the $50’s. Bread is included, but you have to ask for it. Drinks also seem overpriced, a simple Coke is $6.50 – a price I haven’t seen even at Michelin starred restaurants. I drank water – served in a carafe and promptly replaced as needed.

Lunch started with focaccia and olive bread served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar (don’t forget to request it). This might have been my favorite part of the meal. The focaccia was fresh and tasty, spongy and soft. The country bread was also flavorful and I liked the occasional pieces of olive. I was less thrilled about the olive oil and balsamic vinegar combination. They were both good quality, but there was too much of the latter for my taste. The flavor was very intense and it actually burned in my throat. I’d had preferred the olive oil on its own. It might be worth seeing if you can just order that. Mike, however, loved the combo. Different strokes for different folks and all that.

Mike started with the New England clam chowder ($16). The presentation, with the clams in the open shells, was very nice but Mike didn’t like having to actually dislodge the clams from their shells. He did like the soup, which had a subtle flavor and a creamy composition. As much as he enjoyed it, he wouldn’t order it again simply because he doesn’t like dealing with shells.

I had, as expected, the half pound Paradiso burger ($22), which is served with parsley parmesan fries. As much as I have lost my taste for French fries in the last few years, these ones made the best part of the dish. They were thin, with the perfect consistency (neither too crispy nor soft) and the parsley parmesan combination was perfect. They were a tad in the dry side – this has become my main issue with potatoes, I think – and while they were served with ketchup, I don’t like ketchup with fries. I wish they had also included an aioli, which is what I’d expect of a restaurant of this caliber. Still, the fries were very good and I, surprisingly, ate them all.

The same cannot be said of the burger. The burger came with American cheese, lettuce , shredded lettuce and some sauce and was served in a potato bun – so it was a high end classic burger. The patty had a nice, if subtle, wood-smoke flavor that I really liked. This was the same thing I’d liked over a decade ago. Unfortunately, the burger was very dry. I had ordered it medium-rare, but it was served medium, there were barely any hints of pink inside. I can’t imagine the dryness was only the result of being overcooked, however. Though it was supposed to be a wagyu beef, I’m going to guess it was low on fat content. That might make it somewhat healthier, but much less pleasant. I would be hesitant of ordering it again, even if I ordered it rare, hoping to get a medium-rare burger instead.

Mike had the prime rib sandwich ($21) which comes with pepperonata, provolone and horseradish aioli in focaccia bread. It’s also served with parsley Parmesan fries. I have always been sort of annoyed that Paradiso uses the same side dishes in multiple entrees, and I’m sad to see this continues to this day. A restaurant this expensive should be able to pair the sides to the mains, rather than simply use the same for all.

Mike was happier with his sandwich than I was with mine. He thought the meat was flavorful, tender and not too fatty. He liked the sauce and found there was a good bread-to-meat ratio – the spongy, light focaccia complemented the meat. However, he probably wouldn’t order it again because he didn’t find the sandwich that compelling. Pleasant but not super exciting.

On a recent visit to Paradiso, Mike also had the crispy Brussels sprouts ($18) appetizer and the slow braised short ribs ($41). He liked both of them and would order them again.

For dessert, we had the banana foster bread pudding ($14). It was a good dessert, nothing to write home about, but satisfying. The bread pudding had large pieces of bananas, a boozy sauce and wasn’t too sweet. The ice cream was good quality and went well with the dessert, though a larger scoop would have been better. Still, no complaints from either Mike nor I. That said, I wouldn’t rush to order it again.

Mike had a lemonade ($8) with lunch and it was very good, though a bit too sweet – I think because the lemons were particularly sour. Still, I felt it was overpriced.

Service was fine, our waiter was pleasant but he never came back to check on our meal – so no opportunity to tell him my burger was over done – and he only brought Mike one refill of lemonade. He did not offer a second serving of bread, but the carafe of water was refilled before I needed it to.

The restaurant looks very much like it has for the last two decades, with a large open kitchen in the center. It now has a couple of other dining rooms. It’s a nice place, good for a lunch date and very safe. Just very, very expensive for what it is. Still, I’m sure I’ll go back before the decade is over.

Paradiso
685 Bancroft Ave
San Leandro, CA
(510) 430-9310
S - Th 11:30AM – 9:00PM
F - Sa 11:30AM – 10:00PM

Paradiso restaurant – San Leandro – Updated reviews

January 2012 Update

Do yourself a favor.  If you have $10 (plus tax & tip) to spare, head over to Paradiso and have a burger.  Paradiso’s burger is simple: a half a pound of chuck in a homemade bun with no accoutrements.  When I first ordered it I was skeptical, no cheese? no bacon? no fancy sauces?  And then I took a bite.  And another.  And soon I could swear it was, by far, the best burger I had ever tasted.  The secret to the flavor of Paradiso’s burgers is not one you can easily replicate at home: they are cooked in their wood burning oven and are imparted with the smoky flavor of the burning oak.

Their sliders (3 for $11) are equally as good, though these are made from Kobe beef and served with good, though unnecessary, caramelized onions.  When I ate them, I had to stop the waiter and ask if there were any condiments on the bun, I really couldn’t believe a piece of meat inside a bun could be so flavorful and moist.  But alas, they were plain.

The rest of the food during a couple of recent lunches at Paradiso was also solid and good, though not particularly exciting.  They continue using the same sides for all dishes, which I don’t like. In any cases, if I go back to Paradiso it’ll be for the burger.

2007 Review

Last night it was girl’s night out with my friends Penelope, Desiree, Victoria and Paz. We went to Paradiso for appetizers, drinks and dessert.

As usual, I got the filet mignonettes ($12), slices of beef pan seared and served on crostini with a marsala mushroom sauce. As usual, it was very good. Desiree and Paz shared the Calamari Fritti ($10) and the smoked salmon pizza with goat cheese ($15). I forgot to ask them how they liked it, but I will report about it as soon as I hear from them.

We all shared a bottle of the Salentein Malbec, from Mendoza ($32). I don’t remember what year it was. It was absolutely delicious – it had a good body, not too light, not too heavy, soft tannins and a hint of oak and fruit. I see they sell it at BevMo, and I’ll have to trek over there some time to buy a few bottles.

For dessert (all $6) I had their famous sundae. I wasn’t as impressed with it as everyone else seems to me. The ice cream was just OK, the chocolate sauce very good but scant. It wasn’t a particularly big sundae either. The rest of the team shared a couple of apple crisps and they all seemed to be very happy with it. They thought it was just right.

The only negative part of the evening is that they close fairly early, they threw us out by 10 PM (this was a Wednesday night). Still, we had a very good time and I’d recommend it for a mom’s night out.

Paradiso
685 Bancroft Ave
San Leandro, CA
(510) 430-9212
http://www.paradisosanleandro.com/

Original Review of Paradiso

Marga’s San Leandro Restaurant Reviews

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