Paradise Cafe

Very very very good food and very nice restaurant to have a meal and enjoy. Lee the owner is a gentleman and the service is awesome. The Phở soup is delicious and the peanuts sauce with the spring rolls is my favorite. We are going to comeback for more delicious food.

This is by far some of the best Chinese food I have ever had! Yes, it is Americanized-​Chinese but even then, it’s still great! The Egg Flower Soup is really good, and the Triple Delight meal is my favorite item on the menu. A review for this restaurant is not complete without mentioning the Egg Rolls, they are the best Egg Rolls that I have ever had anywhere; many people make the argument that their Egg Rolls are more like Spring Rolls, but I disagree. If you are ever near Paris, KY it would not be a waste of your time to stop in and try Paradise Café; I have been enjoying their food since it opened and it’s one of the best restaurants that Paris, KY has.

I went against the grain and didn’t order the Phở. I ordered the Singapore Noodles and egg roll. Delicious. The waitress was so nice and sweet. Highly recommended.

Bön Bo. Must get Bön Bo. Perfect sauce, perfect egg roll, fresh basil. I’ll never be able to order anything else here. My husband’s Phở pleased him with its rich broth and tasty ingredients.
When we walked in, we thought we were making a mistake because there was only one other couple dining. So glad we stayed. Our waitress didn’t know much about Vietnamese food, but whoever was in the kitchen made up for that. She suggested adding an egg roll to our order. I was suspicious when they arrived so quickly. No need to worry; they were fresh, hot and crispy. Beautiful presentation and sauces were delicious.
You might subtract ¼ of a star for eclectic furnishings but I think it all works. This is seriously good food, folks.

Order the Phở! It’s just delicious. And ask Lee for fish sauce — he’s got it, it just doesn’t come out automatically. Don’t be put off by the smell, try it — you’ll like it. Really. Go easy at first, it’s very salty. 1 tablespoon in a big bowl of broth to start. BTW — Slurping of phở is not only acceptable in Vietnamese culture it’s expected! How can you not love a beef noodle dish you’re supposed to slurp. Oh and the price is right-​I think it was like $ 7 or $ 8 for a huge bowl.

Unique décor you can’t find at any other restaurant ! With high quality service and outstanding cuisine, you can’t go wrong!

FANTASTIC PHO!
Great décor, staff is very friendly and inviting. I had the chicken kebobs, and a bowl of Phở. They have chili paste and fish sauce (for those in the know). Nothing on the menu over $ 9, so it’s very affordable.

Best Phở in Eastern Kentucky!
Whether you’re visiting Paris or if you’re from Lexington looking for excellent Vietnamese food, stop in at Paradise. The phở we had (for brunch, no less) was so light but so flavorful — the meat was a perfect tenderness and the soup didn’t have a hint of being too oily.
We didn’t try any Chinese dishes, so I can’t write about any of them, but if you’re a phan of phở, or if you’ve never had it and want to see what it’s all about, try Lee’s Phở (it’s named after his late wife, A.J., in case you see the sign on the side of the building and wonder).
Will return for mo’ phở soon :)

This place could really be a great little gem in Paris, with a few minor tweaks.
Here’s what wasn’t great: one overwhelmed server, forgotten egg-​rolls, considerable wait time for orders to be prepared.
The food itself was pretty great. I had the phở and shrimp spring rolls. Both were pretty tasty. The phở was rich and beautifully flavored, with plenty of lime, hoisin and chili sauce on the side. The fresh shrimp rolls, while arguably pretty simple to make in the first place, were also good.
My parents ordered the schezwan shrimp and singapore noodles. The schezwan sauce was a little heavy for my taste and the singapore noodles were decent, if a bit underwhelming (I’ve tried this dish several times at various restaurants, perhaps it’s just not for me).
Bottom line, it’s pretty good ethnic food for a small town in Kentucky. If you have a more adventurous palate, you might think this place plays it a bit too safe.

My husband and I decided to try out Paradise café when checking out downtown Paris. It’s very cute inside with romantic music. But, the food is by far not the best Chinese food I’ve ever had.
We had the Lovers sampler appetizer. There was a chicken strip, mozzarella strip, crab rangoon and egg roll. Everything tasted microwaved. I got the sweet and sour chicken. The fried rice was bland and there was barely any sweet and sour sauce. I wasn’t terribly impressed.
I might go there again if friends invited me, but I wouldn’t go out of my way for the food.

We spent a couple days in Lexington and decided to do a Unilocal search for Vietnamese cuisine. We stumbled on Paradise Café in Paris, KY in the search results (Phở BC in Lexington was the other returned result, which we had earlier in our stay) Paradise Café wasn’t too far out of our way as we headed back North towards Cincinnati, so we gave it a go.
Situated on the corner on Main street is an assuming building — billed as the World’s Tallest Three Story Building — lies Paradise Café. The outside won’t prepare you for the stunning interior. The walls are a bright red, ornate details everywhere. This place reminds me of what I could imagine a grand American Chinese restaurant of the 50’s & 60“s looking like. We came for the Vietnamese cuisine, but couldn’t find any Vietnamese food on the menu, maybe it is a special menu that they only offer from time to time — I’d ask your server.
We decided to try a fried fish dish and a vegetarian dish in brown sauce. We also ordered some egg rolls but were pleasantly surprised to learn each meal came with an egg roll. The egg rolls came out promptly and our meals followed after we had finished them. The entrees were carted out and the fish was plated up table side on a sizzling plate. Food was presented nicely but it is definitely Americanized. The vegetarian dish was a medley of vegetables in a brown sauce, served with rice. The fish dish was a similar medley, with a sweeter brown sauce with pineapple and two fried fish fillets. The fish was ok, but not quite what we expected. We had imagined fresh fillets, lightly battered and fried but instead these were more like a frozen fish fillet, breaded and fried like you would find on a fish sandwich. Again, it seems quite Americanized. Overall I’d give the food a solid 3, especially given the Paradise Café’s location in the small sleepy town of Paris — the good service and impressive interior round things up for a 4 and make it worth a stop if you are in the vicinity. Just be aware this isn’t the kind of Chinese place that serves Dim Sum on the weekends, but the kind of small town Chinese our parents probably grew up with.

Very good phở. It was fresh and not oily as I have had the misfortune of having at other restaurants. The only drawback, however, was that there was only beef phở available. I would have enjoyed a mixture of beef and meatball or tripe but it was not on the menu. The owner came by our table and we had a long talk about many different topics, including the history of the restaurant and his involvement in the culinary business.

What a treasure — special menu featured Vietnamese dishes — a dinning treat with great personal service … at a GREAT PRICE!!! Sure to become a favorite of ours.