Paradise Cafe

This is a hidden little place in the shopping center at the corner of Shady Grove and Poplar. I had no idea it was there until a friend told me about it and I had eaten at Salsa, right beside it.
I had the chicken salad with walnuts and raisins and it was great. I had it in a wrap vs the sandwich, which ended up being a lot smaller than if I had a sandwich. I guess this place is known for its healthy options, which is nice to see!
I really liked the fact that they had fresh mint, in addition to lemons, for your water and drinks. Nice touch!

I had one of the best gazpachos I’ve ever had! It was my first time here but it won’t be my last! I also had the shrimp salad sandwich on a small croissant! I’m ticky about shrimp salad and I liked this one! It’s a fascinating place w/​all sorts of folks streaming in and out! The soups and other specials are on a board by the door! It is self serve but the counter service is as good as it gets! The only drawback is lack of space in/​out for tables but somehow it works okay! I can’t wait to try other things; the chicken salad on fresh fruit salad look great! A friend adores the grilled cheese! A prefect place for a good lunch! I’ve since had the fresh fruit and Dijon chicken salad and I get it all the time! BTW, it is a great place in the nice weather months as you can eat at tables outside!

Great food — my pimento cheese sandwich was amazing. And the patio seating was lovely. But… no one was very friendly. I’m not a regular, so I had questions — which were answered by a very irritated seeming cashier. And we went later (close to 1 p.m.) to hopefully avoid the rush, but things were very chaotic inside the restaurant.
I may go back, but I’m not really inclined to frequent a place where I’m not treated very well.

The best chicken salad in town! Tiny place so get there before the lunch rush if you’re hoping to get a table inside.

I love to go to Paradise Café and chill outside. The Chef salad is awesome and service is great. My sister and I had a great time catching up.

Great little place with some awesome outdoor seating, good variety of sandwiches, good soups, and healthy shakes made with yogurt. Good food selection for kids and it’s in a nice area so people do a good job of cleaning up after themselves in the outdoor area. I’ve only been there once so far but would definitely go back.
The only downside is the lack of a fountain soda machine. I know a soda machine kind of goes against their vibe but it would be nice if they had one.

I like to order The Lunchbox here– half a sandwich, a bowl of fruit and a cup of fat-​free frozen yogurt. Perfect sized portions, and really great food.
I stay away from chicken salad here because theirs is made with raisins, and I hate raisins with a passion, otherwise I would go for this sandwich every time. Instead, I usually opt for a turkey or BLT sandwich or a garden burger. The fruit side always makes me feel a little health-​conscious, if only for a little while until my afternoon snack time approaches. Finish the meal off with a little strawberry yogurt, and I’m a happy girl.
They also serve salads, pastas, and PB&Js for the kiddos.

Sometimes, I get all excited about having lunch at a place that seems like a relatively unknown spot, only to find out that it’s far from unknown and I’m just apparently the last person to find out about it.
I got to the Paradise Café in East Memphis around 12:45, expecting the lunch crowds to have finished their meals and returned to work. The small one-​and-​a-​half story café was still packed, but it didn’t take long after I placed my order at the counter to find an open table.
Paradise Café specializes in light traditional sandwiches, salads and specialty sandwiches. They’re also one of the only places in Memphis where you can get two different kinds of chicken salad (the cajun chicken salad has fruit and nuts, the dijon chicken salad is more traditional). I ordered the Dijon chicken salad sandwich and a drink, and my total came out to about $ 7 — not bad for a quality lunch.
The chicken salad was traditional, but the dijon mustard it was made with gave it a little bit of a kick. The sandwich was served with lettuce and tomato on lightly toasted sourdough bread (they’ve got several different kinds of bread to choose from). The portion size was just right for lunch.

I’ve been here several times and I never really knew what to order until I finally listened to a friend whose standby is the black bean burger. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten a veggie burger in my life, so it wasn’t something I was drawn to. But I’ve been branching out lately with tofu and other meat substitutes, so I thought, why not? And wow. It is GOOD. SO good. It’s got a real tex-​mex flavor to it that I wasn’t expecting. I got mine with all the stuff it normally comes with (sprouts, spinach, carrots, cucumbers – minus the tomatoes) and it was excellent.
Also, their fruit cup is very substantial. It is probably a cup and a half of fruit, and it includes bananas, strawberries, honeydew, cantaloupe, grapes, oranges I think… that might be it.
I’ve also had their chicken and rice soup before when it was a soup of the day. It was great. I’ve never been totally thrilled about anything else I’ve ordered there, but I’ll admit that everything else I’ve ordered there has been pretty boring, like plain turkey on wheat or something. They have several chicken salad options, including a curry chicken salad, that all look great.
Drawbacks: no fountain drinks, and it can get pretty cramped in there.

With a nice assortment of sandwiches, salads, and shakes, Paradise Café is a great spot for a healthy lunch (and only lunch – hours are 10:30 — 3:00 Mon-​Sat). I stop in for the tasty «Iron Man”** shake – banana, wheat germ, honey & protein w/​skim milk and vanilla frozen yogurt – at least once a week.
(**also called the «Iron Woman,» too… but I’m a dude so «Iron Man» it is…)