Paschal’s

Visited for lunch with a large group of people. As a group we were served a bunch of appetizers (sweet potato fries, fire cracker shrimp, Caribbean fish tacos, Cajun fried catfish fingers, southern fried green tomatoes, crab cake bites, and onion rings). Actually felt like an elite event :) The apps were so good I decided to try an entrée. Ordered the fried chicken, collard greens and mac & cheese. The food was magnificent! Knew nothing of the history of the place prior to visiting, but while waiting to be seated I enjoy reading the historical information that was posted on the walls. Thoroughly enjoyable experience!

We were super stoked about trying this place. Never again! The fried chicken was spoiled. And my sister’s green beans were burnt. Shame on you Paschals

This place is a historical marker for the Civil Rights Movement, due to numerous heavyweights like MLK frequenting to discuss the movement over food and drink. Not the original location. Just as rich though. I came here for a business meeting a few months ago after meaning to drop by so many times and failing to do so. Very lovely structure and place to hold events. Based on the clientele and the area and reputation you can tell it is still a huge part of the cultural fabric of Atlanta. Everyone here I spoke to was like my homegirl who just happened to be working that day. Nice, clean and upscale looking without the high price tag. And all the employees can tell you a story or two about the founder and the rich history of the establishment.
Oh and most importantly the food is soooooo good! I had some peach cobbler with a scoop of ice cream and it was like sin. I hate I didn’t get more pictures. Looking forward to coming back here!
Parking is great! Good to come somewhere smack dab in the middle of downtown and not have to pay extra to park or constantly be on watch over your car in order to dine.

Attended a bridal shower here. The restaurant is very contemporary and nicely decorated. The food is good. I had the macaroni and cheese (which was excellent), the roasted chicken, and green beans. The staff was friendly… especially the bartenders. Parking is limited in the front of the restaurant but there is additional parking in the back. I’ll definitely come back to visit and to order from their regular menu.

I really wanted my experience at Paschal’s to be great. I went with a large group for Sunday Brunch, and I wanted the food and service to be amazing. I was severely let down. While the food LOOKS good, it’s just average in taste and presentation. We got a «special» group rate, but it was FAR too expensive for the qualify of food. I had the fried chicken (decent), collard greens (severely lacking seasoning), macaroni & cheese (oily with no flavor), and yams (best thing on the plate). The service also left much to be desired. There were 20+ ppl in my party, with only ONE server. I’d been told by other people that the food wasn’t good, but I had to see for myself. They were right. The ONLY reason they received 2 stars is because the restaurant was VERY clean, and the staff was very polite. Even the parking isn’t organized well. I attempted to valet, but was instructed to «self park across the street». It was also raining so I had to walk in the rain. Needless to say, I won’t be adding this place to my Brunch or Dinner rotation.

Ok i will say that the food is pretty impressive. I have been here many times for lunch but the best experience is the Sunday brunch buffet. The brunch layout is a pure «Grandmother’s» Southern Sunday Dinner. The staff is usually friendly and helpful. The only down side is parking. It is very limited but they have a somewhat sketchy valet on sundays for brunch. It is definitely worth the tip to experience the food.

So. I want to give this place 5 stars. I want to support businesses in our community. However, my hard-​earned and sometimes easy-​earned dollars must be respected. The experience was memorable, but not in a pleasant way.
We went for my father’s bornday, party of 7. First things first. My mother, knowing that my dad loves this place, called to place a reservation a month prior for 6. An entire month. Now, it’s 10 days before the reservation and my little sister wants to bring her new boytoy. No issue until my mother calls to update the reservation. Only to learn that there was not one. Say what, now??? So she calls me upset and flustered, because she’s surprising my dad for his bornday.
I call the restaurant, spoke to a manager. He was accommodating enough. We talked about business basics and customer retention. I would have appreciated him offering to fix the issue, but I had to suggest that he accept the blame in the reservation snafu. Apparently, the management team decided to close the restaurant for the remainder of Easter evening, so their staff could spend time with their families. That’s fair and kind, but ummmmmmmm what about the people who made reservations??? No one called my mother to inform her of this change and the person who set the reservation was a manager! I digress.
Fast forward to the day of. We arrive at 2 pm. Waited about 10 minutes to be seated. The hostess was not rude, but not kind either. Whatevs. However, our server was thee worst. Her name starts with an E and she has dreads. Completely rude. Now, this type of behavior is never really accepted. However, she wasn’t even serving us food, it was BRUNCH for crying out loud! Keeping our drinks filled, requests handled, and pleasantness was too taxing for her. Then when I addressed it, she tried to be nice to everyone at the table except me. I had to laugh at her feeble attempt to disrespect me passively aggressively.
The service at this place sucks ass. That’s basically it. It needs a major overhaul and possibly a partnership with a staffing agency whose vetting process finds people who actually enjoy the service industry.
Now, the reason we came, THE FOOD. Everything was really good, except that dry ass peach cobbler. Other than that, I was able to try a bit of everything. It would have been nice if the food had been served a little more covered. Since we were upstairs, the food sat out on a table and every one who served themselves was breathing on it subconsciously. Also, unsupervised kids were playing in several desserts. I bypassed those all together.
The ending: We come to the conclusion of our meal and the server comes back to ask if we’re all to be on one ticket. We tell her how to split the transactions. She comes back with each party’s ticket. Then she hands everyone else theirs and drops mine on the table next to my plate. I’d had enough and went to address it with management downstairs.
I spoke with Kim, the general manager. She was very kind and apologetic. She also compensated the cost of my meal. However, even with her kindness, the other «stuff» that happened should not be a recurring theme throughout the other reviews. This place needs to have a meeting about the core of their business. Yes, It’s a restaurant. No, you cannot and will not please EVERYONE. However, when people pay for a service, that’s exactly what they expect to receive. I am an avid spender. I like to have great experiences. I do NOT like to spend my money and waste my time on frivolity and disrespect. Treat me right and I will give great reviews and come to spend again. If not, then you have paragraph upon paragraph of everything that was WRONG.

Loved the atmosphere, food was great, server was horrible. I forgot her name but she had gold-​blonde hair, she was nice but seemed too incompetent to be a server.
Would definitely go back, but probably only for to go or to eat at the bar.

The service was horrible. I went here today expecting good service and instead I got the opposite. Let me start by saying the hostess that was seating me and my fiancé had a very bad attitude and she needs to be fired, very unprofessional. She kept informing me we close at 4pm mind you it’s only 2:40pm. I asked to be seated somewhere else and she snapped, informing me again they close at 4pm. Then the manager comes over and asks, «is there a problem?» I then informed him I wanted to be seated somewhere else as well. He appeared to be polite, but in honesty he should have immediately seated us, but instead he let his hostess who clearly has an attitude inform us to have a seat and they’ll get us a table. Ten minutes go by and by this time at least 10 other people have been seated, and by this time I’m pissed! I wait about ten more minutes just to see if she would come over well she looked at us as if we weren’t standing there so I decided you know what, I will not give them the satisfaction of my hard earned money! So I left and I will not be back!
Paschals you need to train your staff better and let them know that customer service is the number one rule to maintain a successful business!

Great local place with history to try. I was here again yesterday for lunch. I made a quick reservation on Open Table and was able to get in. We got there when it was slow which was great. The food is always good here. The service is okay. Just a little more attention to the customers from the wait staff would fix the service level. Pricing is a tad high, but overall huge portions.

Better than anticipated! I was a little hesitant given some of the photos and reviews, but I booked a party of 20 and we had a great experience. We had a private room at the back and our server was great, though I think two would have yielded prompter service overall.
I like to eat, and thus ordered the gumbo (which was pleasantly spicy and flavorful, though perhaps lacking in the treasures one finds in gumbo), an the catfish étouffée with yams and cornbread dressing as sides. The portions wee larger than expected and it was all well spiced and prepared, with the yams being the star.
I also stole from my neighbors and had some of the shrimp po boy (meh), fried catfish (tasty), black-​eyed peas (also tasty), collard greens (pretty good), grits (thick and creamy), Mac and cheese (prefer mine a little more crusty but others enjoyed), and fried chicken (good but probably not «famous»). Also had some bread pudding (I prefer mine to be a bit «wetter», but this was still good! And peach cobbler, which could use a bit more peach).
Overall it was better than expected, and I was quite pleased with my order (though not as much with others’). A good experience in a historic Atlanta restaurant (even if a little removed from that history).

I enjoyed my lunch here today. Got the shrimp and grits. My friend got the fried chicken w Mac and cheese and candied yams. All was very delicious. Great service. Cool place to try. Mainly for all the amazing historical art on the wall. That… AND the fine gentleman sitting next to me. Now THAT was a treat.

Paschals, Paschals, Paschals… Where do I start. I love this place. Portion sizes are filling. Meal is Delivered to you hot and ready! The bread served while waiting for dinner was greatttttt!
I had the chicken and Mac and cheese — no complaints. This is my fave soul food place in Atlanta, hands down!

I like this place, I really do. I love supporting Black business anyways so we decided to come here for Valentine’s day brunch. It was a 45 minute wait but I think we waited about 20 minutes. It was $ 24.95 for a buffet, $ 10 for a mimosa carafe.
The buffet included fried and baked chicken, grilled Tilapia, fried coconut shrimp, eggs, bacon, chicken sausage, grits, green beans, vegetable medley, macaroni and cheese, a waffle and omelet station, and more. There is also a dessert bar which included Pecan Pie, chocolate cake, peach cobbler, fresh fruit, etc
The mimosas were delicious. First batch was stronger than the second.
My ticket ended up being $ 40 something with tip, it was worth it, our server was super nice even though she was busy.

This by far has to be the best damn restaurant in the city of Atlanta. I’m impressed with the great customer service and professionalism that this restaurant displays. My first time in Atlanta and it defiantly won’t be my last just because of this restaurant. This place also has a rich history that you can experience just sitting in the restaurant. I recommend if your in town to go check it out.

The service is awful. The staff talks down to you like you are stupid. You would think that being a Historic location they would treat their patrons with respect and courtesy. I have been treated better at a Zaxby’s restaurant. I definitely will not be returning.
The service is SO SLOW.

STOP: EAT SOMEWHERE ELSE :
There are few times in life where a restaurant is so poorly managed and the experience is so bad, that it damages the founders reputation. This restaurant provided me and my party with the worst such experience. I cannot recommend this restaurant under the current management. It may provide you with a most memorable experience if you decide to proceed.
Our experience as was texted out as the evening progressed gave us an easy to follow timestamp.
8:30 PM arrived and we’re informed our reservation for 13 people was lost.
9:18 PM were seated
9:59 PM received bread for the table
10:05 PM sent Martini back — too much Vermouth and just below room temp. Had to ask where the first drink was as all other guest drinks had been served before the bread arrived
10:43 PM 4 of 13 guests are served their dinners
10:48 PM another 4 guests are brought to the table
10:55 PM another 1 meal is brought to the table
10:57 PM 9 of 13 guests have their dinners and are eating
11:01 PM meals for remaining guests and me arrive
11:11 PM i requested waitress to have the manager come over.
I had approached a manager earlier while another table was complaining about their poor service. That manager stated that she would come to our table when she finished with the other guest.
After requesting the waitress to send a manager over, the restaurant manager came over. She was not concerned about our experience as she started making excuses. I requested that the meals be comped. She refused since most of the guests had eaten the mediocre food. I returned my meal which was Shrimp and Grits. The grits had visibly sat in the kitchen as they had crusted over, as was the same experience of the other guests. Note: the crust was visible when delivered to the table.
Later a junior manager came to the table to apologize for not coming over when requested prior to the food arrival and for the poor service.
To add insult to the poorly managed restaurant:
11:28 PM the restaurant erupted in loud cheers and ruckus. There was a football game on the television in the bar area. The only people watching were employees. There were no guests watching the game. There were no managers watching the employees.
11:41 PM The valet came to the table and returned car keys to the owners as they were going home
There were opportunities for the management to come to the table and inform our group that there were challenges throughout the evening. There was the opportunity for the management to train the employees to inform the table of the difficult situation they may have been having.
The owners have an opportunity to examine the current managerial practices to see if the service is in line with the reputable name. Such a memorable disappointment and story to be repeated to people coming to Atlanta.

I have been here twice. Service is okay, I would expect it to be better since it’s a historical place. The food is okay. I wasn’t as impressed as I thought I’d be with all the hype. But they do give extremely large portions, but lacking flavor in my opinion. I ordered half a chicken. It was good, but not great. I took most of it home to add some more spices. It was cool to read all the history on the wall. I don’t plan to go back there. If you’re craving soul food, check out Big Daddy’s Dish.

I came here for the first time ever last night! I’ve been in Atlanta 3 years and had yet to try this AUC staple. It’s Black owned and I loved all of the civil rights era canvases on the wall. The design of the restaurant is lovely. It’s modern mixed with a little vintage after church style restaurant.
Everyone raved about the fried chicken. It’s outlined in red on the menu. I opted for fried catfish (around $ 19) with two sides. It’s supposedly cajun style and they also offer a remoulade instead of tartar sauce if you like. I selected potato salad and macaroni and cheese as my sides. Carb/​Starch overload, I know.
The brought out an assortment of bread, one of which was a sweet mini cornbread muffin. It was to die for! I took two of them home!
My catfish was amazing! Fried just right, tender, mostly fillet and not breading. I was confused when she brought me tartar and tried to exchange it for remoulade. She explained that the tartar and remoulade were the same thing. Hmmmmmm… hmmmmm…that’s weird but whatever. The potato salad was blended well, no huge chunks of anything and it was chilled. Loved it. The macaroni disappointed me. IDK what kind of cheese they used on it but it would not melt. The cheese had taken on a life of it’s own! I did enjoy what was underneath the cheese though.
The servers were a let down, one with the sauce mix up and two, they didn’t write down seat numbers. So when they brought food out they kind of just stood there like, «who ordered this?». I would think if there is a big party (20 of us), you would write down seat numbers instead of playing a guessing game.
I’ll come back here for sure with friends but I know what to expect now as far as the service. It was also pretty dead but people started trickling in to sit at the bar. They do have televisions for sports fans. I liked it overall. I’m a fan!

The old oil they used today was definitely reflecting in the fried food. I Sent it back and it still tasted like old burnt shrimp.
I went during lunch and the staff mostly stayed in the back. Very hard to even ask for items or refill when you cant find your waiter.

Nice atmosphere. Food was unremarkable. I ordered the gumbo and crab bites. The crab bites were ok. The gumbo came to the table lukewarm. It was watery and the meat (sausage, shrimp and chicken, I think) was all over cooked.

Stopped by at 2pm on Saturday. No wait to be seated. About 30% of tables taken. 15 minutes for waiter to greet us and take our drink and appetizer order. Drinks arrive 10 minutes later. 15 minutes later we flag down another waiter to take our food order and ask about appetizer order. As soon as the waiter took our order the manager told the waiter to clean up a water spill. Waiter spent 15 minutes cleaning up water and did not turn in our food order. We ask the waiter when he is done about our order. He said he would check on our appetizer order and turn in our food order. Another 15 minutes pass and still no refills or appetizer. So 1 hour and 10 minutes and no appetizer or refill in drinks so we leave. Manager saw us get up and leave and just kept talking to some customers/​friends and did not say anything to us. Never again.

Our family decided to do Thanksgiving here. The soul food buffet was the bomb. The yams and sweet potato pie satisfied every sweet tooth. After we ate we wanted to take pictures but everyone belly was too full and it showed.lol. Will definitely come back on a regular day if the food remains the same.
Would have gave them 5 stars if the dishes were a little bit more cleaner. Definitely top 10 for soul food in Atlanta.
Ms. Kim was definitely a great host.

Food was great! I’m not fond of buffets but I was impressed. The chef making the omelets and waffles was the bomb. I tipped him well, didn’t even think he heard my order but he did & it was delicious.
The wait staff was blah and so was the hostess. We arrived early to beat the after church rush.
My daughter loved the dessert bar! This area did not stay stocked up. I thought the food was good, refilled often, but the price $ 25 per person was a bit steep. The bar drinks were weak and tool about 20 minutes to receive. I don’t know if we will ever be back for the brunch again.
I like the free valet parking, they were quick and pleasant even opened the back door up for mini me. That was nice as well as the 90s music being played softly in the restaurant.

They prepared a vegetarian dish for my while I was on my «Atlanta Food Walks» food tour in Atlanta. It was incredible. The candied yams and the cornbread dressing were delish! The atmosphere is great and the staff are extremely friendly. I only wish I was able to try the mac n’ cheese during the tour! I also loved that some of the décor showed images of the original Pascal’s as well. Great place, great food! Would totally go back whenever I visit Atlanta again :)

This place didn’t really impress me. The service was very friendly and the atmosphere is cool, but the food doesn’t measure up. I had read reviews of the food being salty, but I like salt, so I thought it would be ok. Even I had to stop eating my meal because I couldn’t handle all the salt. And as I said, I love salt. Others seemed to like the fried chicken, but the mac and cheese that was supposed to be so wonderful was just ok. I recommend finding a better option in Atlanta.

The food is good. Lots to try and enjoy. Prides are very reasonable.
But I think they either need more staff or better trained staff for busy/​high traffic nights. Made a reservation on open table. We checked in and were told, give us 5 minutes. 18 minutes later, we were still standing there. There were a few parties over that size of 6 – 8 but it was just 3 of us and there were empty tables. We finally were seated after having been there for about ²⁵⁄₃₀ minutes. Ordered drinks but were told that with the bar being so busy we probably would not get the drinks for a while. We moved on to order appetizers and our entrees. The appetizers came out relatively quickly considering but we didn’t receive any place settings — napkins, eating utensils for another 15 minutes or so. After asking twice. We enjoyed the food. It was worth going back for. The collard greens, candles tams, catfish, Mac and cheese, fried chicken, etc. all good!
Overall, the staff was nice but it may take a long to get seated, order and get your food.

This was my second time visiting Paschals. The first visit was 5 years ago. I was in town for a wedding. We stopped by on recommendation. The food and service was awesome! This time the exact opposite. The service was really lax. Stood up front for a while waiting on a hostess to appear, and they were far from busy. That I can forgive. Now our waitress while very friendly, just seemed to disappear. She was less than attentive. The ambience is really nice, laid back. They TVs at the bar, but they are positioned so you can pretty much see them throughout the main dining area. I love the décor (lots of photos from the civil rights movement). I can see how this spot could be awesome for a birthday party or reception. It’s very big and spacious. Now the food — -it’s just ok nothing that would knock your socks off. My SO had the ribs they were chewy, I had the fried catfish and it was… hard to explain… it was very thick… breaded strange and def not fresh.
With all the places to visit in Atlanta when I come to down, it’s doubtful that I’ll be back. I gave it 3 as opposed to 2 stars because my first visit was awesome. Maybe this visit was an off night.

An Atlanta must! If for at least once in your life experience authentic soul food in an upscale ambience. Great bar, great seating, great food, great service. Very nice historical photographs adorn the exposed brick loft high walls.

Went for a birthday dinner late ⁸⁄₂₀ and there were maybe 20 of us. Service was extremely slow, but given the size of the party I didn’t trip. I was literally the last of 20 to get my entrée after people started getting their food 10min prior. I ordered the Cajun Seafood Platter grilled and received fried seafood. I sent it back and the grilled counterpart came out in less than 5 minutes. Why tf did it take so long initially if it was a 5 min fix? That baffled me, but whatevs. The food as actually very good, but I just couldn’t get past the poor service. I don’t entirely fault the waitress, because she was the only one working our entire party but management needs to do better. Quickly.
We decided, well my friend decided and I reluctantly obliged, to go back the following week (⁸⁄₂₇) to give them another shot. Same issue, terribly slow food service for no apparent reason. This time our server was more attentive but the food was still very slow to arrive and there were only 3 of us. They serve complimentary corn bread and rolls before your meal but we had to ask for that after I realized ours never came. This time around, I got fried chicken (their specialty) broccoli and mac & cheese. Again the food was good, just very slow to arrive which makes me hangry. You know, hungry and angry. I just hope whatever issue they are having is resolved.
FOOD — A
SERVICE — D

My appetizer was fried green tomatoes & I ordered the chicken sandwich for my entrée & it was delicious! Very large portion & the chicken was cooked to perfection! I was little disappointed that pork chops are no longer on the menu. Everyone was very friendly & our server Jocelyn did an excellent job!

Okay. Went here last night for a birthday party and it was … Let’s say it was an experience!
The service is BAD ! We had a reservation for six o clock and didn’t get seated until 7. The crazy part about it is that there where PLENTY of seats open. When we finally got seated it took the waiter 20 mins to get our drinks out (mostly water btw). We ALL ordered are food when we ordered our water and got the food about 35 – 40 mins later !
I don’t even blame the waiter he look really inexperienced, and overwhelmed (we were a party of 15) ! The restaurant should paired him with some one to help him … Instead of having people wipe down empty tables .
Any ways … When we finally got the food we noticed there wasn’t any bread out. So we asked about bread, and the waiter said «it’s only served upon request» … Ummmmm where they do that at ?!
So we waited almost 40 mins with no water, food or BREAD !
Okay so. I ordered the wings (appetizer) and the were okay. My friend order the shrimp and grits (which I sampled) and it was mediocre too. Someone else had the fried chicken … And She said it was average.
All and all I WILL NOT go back ! Service is important, and this place needs work !

This place has such great vibes, and is full of so much history. The brick walls, photographs of civil rights legends, and chic décor add a really nice touch to the experience. My classmates and I came here right after our exam for some southern comfort food, and left highly satisfied.
This place has ample seating, so it’s great for groups. With lots of sandwiches and salads, the menu doesn’t seem as southern as I thought. The true southern dishes can put a dent in your wallet ($ 19 for shrimp and grits?!). The vegetarian options were reasonably priced considering the large portion size. I ordered 3 vegetarian sides, and left feeling so satisfied. Really legit Mac n cheese. Not all sides are completely vegetarian so you have to confirm with the waiter first.
This place can get extremely packed, so be sure to plan ahead. We got lucky that time because we came during off hours.

I’ve always wanted to eat at Paschal’s, an icon of the civil rights movement. It’s where leaders would gather to discuss strategy and issues and it became the «unofficial headquarters» of the movement. With a visit planned to the new National Civil Rights Museum, it seemed like a good time to experience Paschal’s.
The space is gorgeous, open and airy in earth tones with dark wood. Overblown photographs of people and places important to the civil rights movement line the walls. It’s a pleasing atmosphere.
The menu is brief with only nine entrees supplemented by a handful of sandwiches, and not what I anticipated. I was expecting something more soul food inspired and while there are touches, like fried chicken, candied yams and collard greens, it fell short of my expectations.
My Charleston Shrimp and Grits was a generous portion and an interesting dish. Shrimp, slathered in a barbeque sauce, circled the bowl and pieces of Andouille sausage dotted the grits. It was all topped by a sunny side up fried egg. I especially liked the seasoning of the shrimp and ended up taking leftovers home.
But that good food is also expensive. Fried Chicken was $ 17 and my Shrimp and Grits was $ 19. And one of my restaurant pet peeves is in full bloom at Paschal’s, the price creep for beverages. $ 3.25 for iced tea or soda is pretty outrageous and ordering soft drinks jacked up the bill. Ours totaled $ 46 for lunch and that’s before a tip.
Eating at Paschal’s was an interesting experience and one I’m glad I satisfied, but I didn’t find any reason to return.