My wife and I, on walks along East Broadway during the fall, were chomping at the bit in anticipation of The Paramount opening in our neck of the woods. So it was a great treat to see the doors finally opened and ready for us to enter and enjoy a good dinner.
Stepping in the front door we immediately liked the decor. It's warm, cozy, and unpretentious, with exposed brick all along one side, which we love. The kitchen is open, the lighting pleasant, the tables and fixtures are simple and modern. The space itself is oddly shaped, kind of like a funnel, with the widest area being up front and gradually tapering towards the back of the restaurant. Visually it's quite interesting but acoustically it poses some serious issues, which I'll get to in a minute.
Even though the joint was packed it took no time at all for us to get a table for two, less than five minutes. Larger parties may find they have to wait longer, and since there are no reservations taken it can be kind of a crap shoot for any sized party.
We were seated towards the front of the restaurant, which proved to be problematic. We immediately realized that we were essentially sitting at the wide end of a very large megaphone with all the sound from patrons amplified to a perfect point right about where we were sitting. It didn't help that we had two parties of six very ebullient and effusive 20-something women sitting right next to us, all of whom seemed lacking in modulation control, but that was icing on the cake, as it were. The Paramount, despite not being a sports bar or festooned with six large screen TV's as most Southie restaurants seem to be these days, is an incredibly loud place to eat.
As for the food, well, it's good. Not great, but good. This may change as the restaurant finds its legs so that can't be judged too harshly.
We started with the fresh-made guacamole and chips, which were very good. The guac was light and pleasant, almost overpowered by the lime but not, so it worked. The chips were warm, evenly colored, lightly salted, delicious. For entrees my wife had the Chicken Marsala and I the Paramount Burger (medium rare).
These came out in short order (not too fast, just right) and we both found our dishes were slightly overcooked. The burger was certainly closer to medium and her chicken, while not tough, was a tad dry. The spices in the marsala were pleasant with a little bite, but not hot by any means, and the mashed potatoes were very good. The bacon used on my burger was delicious, an apple-smoked thick cut that added a lot of character. The fries and onion rings were perfectly cooked and not greasy at all. Oh, and the pickle! While only two slices it fulfilled a long-time fantasy of mine to find a pickle in Boston equal to what I used to eat in NYC. Thank you, Paramount, for helping me realize that dream.
So in all an OK experience.
Far too loud and would imagine that might spoil the experience for some people. I'm a heavy metal fan and MY ears were ringing upon leaving, more so than from the Dir En Grey show I saw at The Paradise last week. The food is decent and the prices, for dinner, were absolutely reasonable. Reading some of the other reviews, particularly for breakfast and lunch, I have to wonder if the management are padding the relatively low cost of their dinners with higher prices for other meals. The staff were superb. Very attentive but low-key. Excited to be working there, from what we could tell, and their enthusiasm made the place a lot warmer.
We'll definitely go back, though next time we'll probably wait for a table at the back. read more