Paramount Grill

I didn’t like how one of the waiters skipped me just to seat two people behind me. The restaurant was not busy because of the first thirty minutes after opening. The waiter greeted them politely, but not to me. Is it because I was dining solo? Anyway, I was very disappointed for the first impression. Thankfully matt-​the other waiter– made up for it with his service. I did enjoy their spicy curried stir fried tofu dish. It is a wonderful dish for people that are vegetarian.

I went here with my parents on their first visit to Gainesville for a little fine dining (I’ve been cooking my own meals for months and wanted a treat, especially since I wasn’t paying!). The food was delicious, and although the menu is short, it just makes it that much better (I had the salmon dish and had enough to take home for lunch the next day). Love that a lot of the food is locally sourced. We were also given delicious rolls, and ordered Crème brûlée to finish off the night. Nice wine list. And overall, not bad prices at all for fine dining. Coming from the northeast, everything seems inexpensive down here… if you complain about cost put it into perspective!
The only reason it doesn’t have 5 stars is because when the food came out there was a very long gap among us at the table. Mine came first, my dads came about a minute later, and my moms came around 5 minutes later. She told us to start eating and not wait for hers… but shouldn’t all the food come out at the same time? Also, while telling us about their brunch, the waiter made a quip about the eggs being real «not like that mystery stuff from like, IHOP». Little did he know my Mom worked at IHOP to pay her way through graduate school and my uncle has made a living as an owner of several IHOP franchises, and provided many other jobs for our family! Next time, just talk about your great food and don’t put down others!

Today was our first experience here, and brunch was less than average. The muffins were dry, regardless of having fruit cooked into them. We had the crab cake benedict and the short rib burrito, both of which were recommended by our server, Matt. At best, the benedict was average. The crab cake was underwhelming and had shell in it, the egg was over cooked, and the hollandaise was void of flavor. The burrito was, well, a burrito. There were no remarkable flavor profiles and, as burritos go, it was average and certainly not worth returning for. The coffee was not very good, either; it tasted weak and watered down. After his initial greeting, Matt’s demeanor was gruff and abrupt, and when we told him of the disappointing quality of the food, he made no remark asides from stating, seemingly sarcastically, that he’d let the chef know. Perhaps other meals are better here, but Gainesville has much, much better options for brunch.

Fine food and nice atmosphere. Had angus steak, which was cutely decorated with a flower-​shaped pastry.

Décor, service, cleanliness, atmosphere, and wine selection were very good. Food presentation – although not my particular taste – was completely fitting for Southern-​influenced fine dining. In general, the food was cooked appropriately: the veggies were crisp, my significant other’s medium-​cooked filet had a warm, pink center, and nothing was smothered in oil or butter (although either of those might have saved the dry pork tenderloin). If eating were an spectator sport, I would easily give Paramount Grill 4 or 5 stars.
As a hungry participant in this meal, my gripe was with respect to flavor. I acknowledge that this resto markets itself as fine dining a la americana, but for the price point (~$ 90 for two glasses of wine and 2 entrees before tip), I expect to at least be satisfied with the flavor profile.
Both my girlfriend and I were very surprised and disappointed by how bland the meal was, especially after reading the ornamented – granted obligatory – descriptions of each dish. Seasoning is obviously a problem when pork tenderloin is described as «roasted coffee and ancho pepper rubbed» with little to no hint of either spice, and not even truffle oil can rescue an uninspired steak. The ‘saving grace’ was a Yukon Gold mash buried beneath an albeit artfully Jenga-​stacked, pastry-​puff-​mushroom-​steak combo, whose potato gusto would still sadly be pummeled by his scrappy, Russet brother at any local sports bar.
Unfortunately, this meal was a perfect example of why upscale, traditional American cooking is often considered an exercise in elite monotony: garish yet lifeless cuisine at a high price. Unless the spice cabinet graduates from nursing-​home cafeteria to, at very least, chain-​restaurant status, I will not risk exploring the rest of the menu.

Best «fine dining» i found in G’ville so far. Good wine selection (had my favorite Amaronne). Perfect for a great dinner with quite atmosphere (if you are in that mood)

Absolutely wonderful! We had the panne rustica which is bread with roasted garlic, chèvre, roasted red peppers, kalamata olives, and sun dried tomatoes with olive oil. Then my husband had the steak and I had the pork tenderloin. We loved it all! Nice ambience and very friendly service. Nice music too!

It started out sketchy but the food and service more than made up for it. In fact I would say I was the rude on I go out of town and I have had more phone calls and «situations» than if I were at home so I was on the phone during my lovely meal! I started out with an OREGON Pinot Gris of course then I had a lovely mushroom potato bisque with truffle oil. It was ok not the best! But good just heavy on a hot day. I followed up with the roast duck and mushroom ravioli AWESOME! Thank you very much. Not to mention my server finally warmed up all in all a delightful experience I will post pics if I am able! I have one pic of my delish meal.

This was a pleasant surprise. This isn’t a cheap restaurant or a place to knock back a couple beers; but a place to savor each bite of food and appreciate cuisine as a sign of higher life forms.
A complex menu that may be a little over the top, but the ingredients work together and compliment nicely. Again it is a pricey establishment where you will get what you pay for (at least for a small city like Gainesville). My duck mushroom ravioli was cooked perfectly, and worth every dollar of its $ 25 price tag.
Atmosphere is nice, and wait staff seemed up to par. They brought me clean cutlery, and never let me glass run dry (contrary to some earlier reviews).
Well worth another visit, but seems like the place one needs a reason to celebrate to visit.

Simply exceptional in every respect. A great restaurant.

As we have just moved to Gainesville, my fiancé and I find ourselves using Unilocal a lot to find restaurants that remind us of our previous town (Naples, Fl). We picked Paramount last Saturday because it had a similar menu selection to one of our favorite restaurants in Naples and we are so happy we did.
The first thing to know is you’re going for a food experience. This isn’t a serve it up fast and get the hell out type of place. My fiancé and I shared a bottle of Tess, had the smoked Gouda Fondue for an appetizer, steak with lobster mash potatoes and asparagus in a portobello and sherry reduction, and a chocolate raspberry cheesecake. We were there for close to two hours. Everything was incredible! Each dish took its sweet time to come out for a good reason. There is a fine line between perfectly melted gouda and a wax ball. Our waitstaff was very attentive. Our dinner was awesome. The steak wasn’t very seasoned but that let the reduction speak for itself. Bottom line, I was full halfway through dinner and I kept eating… then ordered dessert. I’m surprised I didn’t need to be rolled out. The chocolate raspberry cheesecake didn’t look like anything special but the look of it didn’t give it justice. The cake was chocolaty and creamy with raspberry sauce/​mash mixed through.
Each and every bite taken was an explosion of flavors at this restaurant; including the white bean/​cream cheese/​caper spread given with the bread in lieu of butter.

We had a beautiful table at the window, and the food was excellent. We had the special Salmon that was prepared excellent I had the tuna. The different options in your taste palette were all served and spiced awesome. Only feedback would be, that waiters should pay attention in how they place the plates. The chef had the great idea to have two (and very tasteful) chive sprouts on the plate, with that there was a way to place the plates. (So they look pretty in the eys of the customer) besides that, it was a excellent dinner.

Our experience was just ok. We were there for brunch. Service was slow. My French toast was tasteless and not hot. We have heard good things but we were disappointed and will not go back.

Went for a quick bite. Soup was okay. Beet salad was bland… Frozen cucumbers, needed salt and really disappointing. Wouldn’t go back

This place is great for brunch! Awesome eggs benedicts, pancakes, French toast… loved everything I had there. Good Bloody Mary and mimosas also.

First impressions were good. We were there for lunch and it was not very crowded — 2 tables (not sure why because it is excellent for lunch). Initial greeting was very nice and we were seated by the window. The area in downtown is being worked on but it is still pleasant and although there is only street parking during lunch, we had no problems. Apparently, valet parking is available for dinner.
Restaurant was clean, well laid out and full table cloths and cloth napkins. Very nice appearance.
Menu selections were varied and enticing. My wife had the beet salad and loved it. My choice was a Bison Panini and it was quite good.
Service was excellent with the waiter being very attentive. Not sure what it would have been like if the place was full.
Total bill was $ 20 prior to tip and included 2 iced teas.
Gainesville itself did not have much to offer but if we go there again, we will be sure to stop by Paramount Grill.

Paramount Grill is my favorite place to take people that are visiting Gainesville. They have a smaller menu that always has something new to try and has a good variety of options. Every meal is delicious and the service is always great. My friend and I share the bread appetizer with goat cheese — it is incredible. I recommend any meal with the marsala wine sauce — it is so good, my eyes automatically close so I can fully absorb how good it tastes. I also highly recommend them for lunch.
The only negative is the price (but as far as I’m concerned, you are paying for good quality and the freshest of ingredients). It is worth it.

A Jewel in Downtown Gainesville,
New to Gainesville and had dinner at the Paramount Grill. DELICIOUS and interesting. Had the special red snapper. It’s pricey for a college town, but it is as good as any restaurant on the east coast. Will definitely return.

Business dinner here with a large-​ish group, which is never the best time to really evaluate a resaturant, since it’s hard to pay full attention to all the details and the service is not what is normally is. From what I remember, however, the ambiance was nice, the service was quite slow, the food was beautiful (a lot of stacking), they made fondu good (which I thought was sort of impossible, actually), and there was a good wine list. My dinner, mahi on top of bean enchiladas, was a little strange. The enchilada tortillas were super hard (on purpose, I guess) and I’m not sure why the mahi needed to be perched on said hard enchiladas… But the overall experience here was very nice. The people with me seemed to really enjoy their choices of steak and tuna.

Returning to live in Gainesville after living an «adult life» is an eye-​opening experience to say the least. The entire block has changed; Strand closed after 30 years, ¼ of the block demolished, hipster apparel store closed down, empty space next to it, and I will stop there. The walk from my parking space to the door of Paramount, through this depressing mess, made realize that we need to take it a little easier on local Gainesville business. That is, if we want the businesses to survive.
The staff looks vaguely familiar, like all locals, we have crossed paths in our teenage years. Keep in mind they close mid-​day between 2:00 — 5:00pm. I prefer to arrive as soon as they open for dinner, where you can score a window table and emulate mannequins or the perfect dining couple to the passers by.
All of the dishes here are made with care, there was nothing here that was epic or ultra creative. Aside from one item; the bread service consisting of cornmeal muffins filled with dill and feta and served with a side of white bean spread. Something I have not experienced yet, but it is rare that I venture into the realm of American food, so I may be years behind. Nothing is overly salty. In fact, the salt in the shaker is not even salty. And, there was this overall feeling like the dishes here are healthy, even if they are not exactly.
ACR’s are going to pay top dollar to have average meals at Archer Road chain restaurants. At the same time, they could be paying even less to dine at a classy local eatery like Paramount. (Example: bill for two at Bonefish +evil stomach bubbling $ 86, bill at Paramount for the same two people $ 52.) Maybe it is just for a special occasion or for a weekend dinner with a date, either way, be adventurous, you may thank yourself later.