3 Oct 2011

Paradise Italian Grill - Dave's Review

I had the crockpot pizza, as I think several at our table did.  They put the sauce, toppings, and cheese into a bowl and cook it with the crust over the top.  When serving it they flip it over and spread everything out.  It was certainly worth trying, I would say it was good but not exceptional.  The prices were reasonable and a good value for what we got.

 

They originally were going to put the 8 of us along 2 square tables, which would have been extremely cramped.  They responded well to our request of another table, which worked quite well.  My biggest knock was the service.  The waitress was friendly but very slow.  Fifteen minutes after requesting another drink I finally flagged her down to ask again, which I could understand if she was busy but she was just standing talking to other employees at the time.  They seemed like they had plenty of wait staff for the number of tables, so it may be more indicative of our individual server than the typical experience.

 

Location was in West Des Moines, not the most convenient but not in the boonies either.  Beer selection was limited but well rounded.  We didn’t go into the bar area, it did have some TV’s so you could watch a game there but I wouldn’t consider it an ideal gameday stop.  If I were planning on going somewhere just for a drink it wouldn’t be a bad place, but there are others in the area that I would choose over them.

 

If I were in the neighborhood again I would absolutely go again.  I’m giving it a 6.2 out of 10.  That seems like a lower score than it probably should have but was in line to be good but slightly less preferred than the previously reviewed Gino’s North.