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Categories: Jazz & Blues, Lounges, American (New) [Edit]
Neighborhoods: Claremont, Oakland HillsWe will be open and offering "Turkey with all the Fixings" for $35.00 and Prime rib with Mashed Potatoes and Sautéed Spinach
Mon-Thu. 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Mon-Thu. 5:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 5:30 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Sun. 5:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
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The Paragon first off has one of the best views in the Bay Area, it really feels like you are away from it all at The Claremont. We played hooky and sat on the deck enjoying the sun and view for lunch.
The Blue Point Oysters we started with were better than expected very, very fresh. Then we had the Tuna appetizer thingy that was also great. Today I had the Spinach salad with chicken and my companion had the Cobb....both were really, really good very fresh with thoughtful ingredients. Weve also had the ribs and a burger here both of those are top shelf as well.
As mentioned here before the Mojito at Paragon is one of the best we've had. The staff is attentive and professional. The prices are cheaper than you should expect for a resort of this caliber.
I wanted to like this place. I really did.
Awestruck by the elegance and chicness of the decor, I was so tempted to run into the lounge, toss my shoes away, and flop down onto one of the plush cushioned couches. Would have been fun if it weren't such a classy spot. With polished hardwood floors and an exquisite array of lights leading way to our private room in the back, I was already silently planning my 2nd visit back to Paragon for a round of cocktails with friends.
However, that 2nd visit went flying out our panoramic window (which, btw, had an awesome view into the East Bay), when I was shocked at how slllllooow the service was. Drinks took over 20 minutes to come out, and they didn't even come at the same time. With a full bar right next to our table, I couldn't understand why our mixed drinks came 10 minutes before my brother's bottle of beer. The food took another hour after that and all we ordered were sandwiches. Really?? An hour to make a sandwich?? Perhaps it was just my hunger pangs speaking, but that's a bit absurd. I vividly remember my stomach grumbling so loud, it echoed to the next table over.
The calamari appetizer was rather delish, especially the spicy aioli that came alongside. Barely holding me over until my entree arrived, I was stunned at how puny my Cubano came out to be. Though rich in flavor with the cumin roasted pork loin, I was not impressed to receive such a small meal after such a prolonged wait. Lydia W.'s lobster roll was much more appetizing and appealing.
I did leave satisfied with how good the drinks were. The blackcurrant limeade was the first non-alcoholic drink I've actually liked in a long time (I'm a sucker for blackcurrant, especially those little dime-size Chinese gummy candies coated with sugar that comes in a long tube). I also snuck in a sip of my aunt's ginger julip. Both creative and refreshing enough to bump Paragon up from a 2-star review to 3-stars.
I might come back for a cocktail night after all and just hang out in the lavish lounge listening to piano tunes throughout the evening, but I'll remember to pass on the food.
Moms are great. My roommate's mom took us here for lunch recently, and we were all fairly impressed. The burnt umber and beige decor was a little retro-odd, but the view of the city was great. Food quality was very high and the portions were large; we agreed the value was spot-on. Service was solid.
Note that the Paragon no longer serves brunch; that meal got shifted to the Meritage, the other restaurant at the Claremont.
TRIVIA: In 1936, the Claremont Hotel was believed to be within 1 mile of the University of California and therefore legally prohibited from having a bar. When a UC student demonstrated conclusively that the hotel was, in fact, mere FEET beyond the 1 mile radius, she was rewarded with free drinks for life!
AFAIK, Paragon is the best bay-view bar and restaurant in the East Bay. The views are incredible. And of course it's convenient if you're doing anything else at the still-awesome Claremont Hotel.
Menu favorites:
- Ahi tuna tartare (sometimes does not appear on the menu)
- Artisan cheese plate
- BBQ short rib sliders
- Pomegranate margarita
- Chillantro
Tips:
- Bring a warm coat so you can sit outside. The heat lamps don't quite cut it.
- Park in the hotel lot. They validate.
For my first visit I went with a friend and had the pulled pork sandwich. It was good. Being very hungry helped too, of course. Service was unmemorable, so nothing negative to say about it.
The second time wasn't as pleasant food-wise. The butternut squash soup was WAAAAY too salty as was the lobster sandwich. The ravioli wasn't bad but rather plain in terms of taste. I felt bad because I told family that the food is good and that we should go there. They definitely won't go back.
I seriously love this place. I love coming here Friday nights and hearing the live jazz music before you enter the place. Not to mention the view is gorgeous from the balcony!
The bartenders are all so chill, and even though the drinks are expensive (but it's expensive everywhere in the bay) you definitely get your money's worth of alcohol. You will never complain about a drink being too watery here... actually might complain that it's too strong.
The atmosphere is really cool and relaxing with dark lighting. Paragon definitely has an upscale feel to it without the snobbishness. They boast about their vodkas and infused vodkas, so try that out.
Maybe my experience was good because of the bartender because I got drunk and I only paid for a few drinks. A few shots were on the house, compliments to the chill bartender.
I went the other night with a gift certificate, and had a really amazing prime rib!! Did not expect it from a hotel dining room, but served with garlic spinach and blue cheese grits and a glass of Pinot Noir- MAN that hit the spot, and came home for leftovers too! Thanks to the weather we had a stellar view of the city at night, and the service was great. Great experience at Paragon!
Great price for what it was - it's the Monday night special, check it out!!
PS- they validate for the parking.
The view from the bar is gorgeous. The drinks tasted good, but I don't recall them being very strong.
This is a fun place to hang out & relax. Definitely worth checking out if you've never been.
Eaten here many, many times because the family gets a little discount via the pool/tennis club.
Let's get the major weaknesses up front and out of the way:
THE FOOD is incredibly uneven and frequently uninspired. There's just no getting around the fact that this is a hotel kitchen, not a restaurant kitchen. Temperature fluctuations (at service) abound, and the meat is typically overcooked (and/or over-brined to make up for it). Stick with extreme basics: the short ribs, the mac & cheese, the chicken. You get the idea. Things a hotel can make.
THE DRINKS are generally weak, at least with table service. It's sometimes better if you're actually at the (small) bar. The WINE LIST is lame, lame, lame. It's what I like to call the Safeway Top 20. Nothing creative, nothing different, and in my view an insipid list like this doesn't justify the markup.
So why go there at all?
Well...it's true: the view and atmosphere is fantastic. There's an outside! The prices aren't terribly out of line with the quality. And the crowd at night is genuinely diverse, lively, and exciting. There's a great noise level--very alive, but even with live music it's not deafening. And kids are reasonably welcome.
Came here at night so couldn't enjoy the view. Sat at the bar so didn't have a full course meal. The interior is quite lovely. The drinks are ample. The service is good. Only had the calamari and the ahi tuna, both of which were excellent. Would come back to try the dinners.
Went for dinner. Started off with the fried calamari and beet salad. Very nice. But no tentacles with the fried calamari. Had the meatloaf special. Huge quantity. Nice brown sauce, went well with the fresh peas and carrots. Also tasted the mushroon ravioli. Very nice as well. S'mores as a dessert was great. Homemade marshmellow squares on top of a hunk of soft chocolate drenched in chocolate syrup with graham cracker-type nuggets. Yummy!
West facing windows provide a great view unless the sunset is shining right in your eyes. Nicely decorated, but a bit plain. Service was ok, despite the fact that the restaurant Jordan's down the hall closed for remodeling. As a consequence, it seemed pretty crowded.
Wasn't quite able to figure out the parking cost. I valet parked and gave them the parking ticket I got when I first got into the lot. The restaurant validated it for me. All I know is that I got charged $6 total for valet parking (not including a gratuity).
I came here for lunch when the wait for Rick and Ann's surpassed our time constraints, and found Paragon in general to be vapid and pretty, just like the people I generally avoid in life.
But there's a certain element of down-to-earthness of the place: the view from the deck overlooking the juiciest parts of Oakland, the ladies in BBBesque* hats celebrating birthdays, the paunchy older men in socks and sandals and their children with the coloring book menus. And aside from the $6 beers**, lunch here is more reasonable than you might think for a hip-looking bar in a resort.
But then, I won't come back here for the food. Cafe-style except for the inflated menu descriptions, it was poorly executed and conceived without much creativity. I'll give this place a go for cocktails sometime, after a sunset hike in Tilden or before dinner somewhere else. I would say it makes a good stop for a beer while you're waiting for Rick and Ann's, but the service is too slow.
2.5 stars.
*=Beach Blanket Babylon
**I know this is not a lot of money, but I find marking up Laguinats IPA at any rate to be purely gratuitous.
I must be in a really bad mood to give this place a two. I go all the time, I love the atmosphere, I love the decor, and I love the view. The food is pretty good. However the service SUCKS!!!!!!
I tip really well, but I almost always have to go to the bar to order, as no waitress/waiter ever comes over. even after you order, they sometimes just don't bring it to you. Last night I had to ask 4-5 times for a check, and then no one would take it. Finally, I got up and went to the bar and paid.
I would love this place to be my regular place, but the service is just insulting. I will go back, as it is a great date place, but I really wish management was listening and cared.
Great view, good atmosphere and pretty reasonable prices. Really low key. Claremont members get a… Read more »
You can't ask for a better view!
Chilled here prior to the wedding reception happening in the hall down the way (cocktail hour didn't start until 5pm and there was a huge gap between the ceramony & reception)... Had a nice table out on the balcony and sipped on a yummy drink, Lychee Cooler (a must try when you're there. It's pretty much a mojito w/ lychee infused vodka).
Can't tell you much about the food because I didn't order any, but I can say it LOOKED yummy by what people had around me. We used to have a Paragon in San Jose @ Hotel Montgomery (now Mosaic Lounge), but this doesn't even compare... WAY BETTER!
Took my mother and father here for their first visit to the East Bay and they were both impressed with both the prices and atmosphere. Got a $26 Cab bottle and it was as good as a $60 bottle. The Calamari app was pretty good though light on the fried green tomatoes promised on the menu. The four entrees we got were the Halibut (fantastic), Squash and corn raviolis with fresh mozz and balsamic (also fantastic), the special pork chops with carmelized onions (a little dry and overcooked, but the sauce helped) and the chicken pot pie (a soupy mess which was a total disappointment since I was now out ordered by everyone else at the table!). I'll definitely be going back for the burger and bloody mary on a Sunday afternoon.....
This place is wonderful on a clear day. We hung out there for hours last week, took care of some business meetings, then relaxed and drank and nibbled our way through a spectacular sunset. I found the service to be spot on...our server knew when we were engaged in a serious conversation and when we were ready to be tended to. We ordered bits and bites througout the afternoon and enjoyed every moment. I liked the oysters, and although I've had better, these were pretty tasty. Although everything tastes better when the entire SF Bay is at your feet like a shimmering goddess.
We were Berkeley grads, had lived our entire college life under the looming (magnificent) shadow of the Claremont Hotel, wishing for some excuse to enter the gates and walk through its doors. I thought: Coffee. How could I go wrong with that? It was a first date of sorts, and my wife (she was still in grad school back then and we were just good friends) and I met there, got coffee and some breakfast pastries. The view was beautiful (even if a bit obscured by fantastic Bay Area fog), the service was sparse (which was what we wanted), and I remember a part of me cringed at the astronomic price for coffee and pastries. But I wasn't complaining. I was happy as a bird.
When I had to rush to work and her to school, we took off our separate ways, but not before she passed through the parking attendant's booth, paying for both of our parking (we were driving two separate cars). That tab, I found to my horror, came out to 20-something dollars.
I must have really impressed her though because she married me a year later. That's why Paragon will always have a sentimental place in my heart.
Here's an addendum to my review. Per one of the Paragon managers, it no longer charges a cover to visit the place on Friday nights due to the economy. What great news! I'll definitely go there to enjoy the ambiance, yummy food, drinks, and music, to boot.
While I don't consider myself a super-über hipster, "one with the scene" kind of person, a drink or… Read more »
I'm almost ashamed to admit how many times I've darkened this door in the last 6 months (hmm - perhaps tied to my recent funemployment?). Let's just say enough times to qualify me to write a review that barely factors in the aMaZING views of downtown SF and the thankfully distant fog rolling over, under & through the Golden Gate Bridge.
Somewhat surprisingly - the appetizers tend to be quite tasty - great sloppy joe pork sliders (with chipotle, thank you), crispy carnitas tacos, veal meatballs.... They all work.
There's just no excuse for a waiter who snidely chastises his guests for the excessive number of drinks they have ordered - all the while flashing his blindingly while dental implants - on his all too infrequent visits.
One star for the food, one for the views.
This is a stunning location to have a cocktail on a nice day. If you have friends or family in town definitely take them here and sit on the patio. Paragon has an amazing view of the bay and the city.
The specialty cocktails are great especially on a warm day, very refreshing. And the calamari rocks!
If you stay for a while the bill can definitely get high 'cause the Claremont ain't cheap. But I think it's worth every penny.
I had my graduation lunch here with my family, party of 8, and had pretty high expectations. Unfortunately it was a cloudy day and our stellar table next to the huge glass window did not provide much of a view. Obviously this is not the restaurant's fault but it was a bummer.
The main issue is how slow our service was. We ordered drinks on two separate occasions while waiting for the rest of the party, and it must have taken 20-30 minutes for the drinks to arrive. Our food also took forever, and everyone was famished. Luckily my drink was pretty delish (Feng Shui - with ketel one citroen, fresh ginger, cucumber and lime... I'm a sucker for any drink with ginger or cucumber!) and was able to hold me over until my food came. But I felt bad for everyone else who were definitely hungry.
We ordered the fried calamari appetizer which was kind of amazing. I mostly loved the aioli dipping sauce.
After what seemed like centuries came our food. I ordered the lobster roll and it was good. Not the best thing I've ever had in my life, but good. The portions are generous, which is appreciated. I also enjoyed the salad that came along the side. My cousin ordered the Cuban which looked pretty dinky but she couldn't finish it.. haha. I had a taste of the fish and it was delish.
Anyway this is a nice place to go for a celebratory lunch or something, but be prepared for a verrrry slow and leisurely meal. I suppose we all ought to relax during meals but you can't really suppress your hunger sometimes!
Huh. I'm really suprised by all the good reviews of this place. I was staying at the hotel last week and had two very mediocre experiences there.
The outside deck area is definitely the highlight. I sat out there and had a glass of wine and the truffle fries and the setting definitely made up for the fact that it was really hard to get the attention of the server. The fries were good and came w/ a good mustardy dipping sauce in addition to ketchup. So this experience probably would have gotten three stars for good snack but lousy service.
But then I went back for dinner. I ordered the veal meatballs as an appetizer. They sounded so good that I couldn't resist. But they were tough. Tough meatballs - made of veal? How do you even do that? Then I had the hangar steak which was fine, but just fine. It came with sweet potato fries which were ok, but somewhat soggy.
I final disappointment was when I asked our server to recommend a glass of wine to go with my entree. She said "OK" and walked away. Weird. Then she came back with a glass of wine and set it down. She was going to leave but I caught her and asked, "um, what is this?" She told me what she had selected for me and the wine was fine - but what a crazy way to recommend a glass of wine.
So yes, the deck is nice, but not a great dining experience by any means.
ONE: Is the number of hours we waited for our food to arrive. Granted, it was Mother's Day, but when you're trying to suppress the rising hunger (and anger) in your stomach as you're watching other tables (who have ordered AFTER you) receive their food first, you don't care what day it is. It's been ONE HOUR AND 10 MINUTES. WHERE ARE OUR APPETIZERS? Give me your shucking knife already so I can shuck my own oysters.
TWO: The number of mothers who were in our party who very patiently waited for their food to arrive, and who also asked me why I picked this place for Mother's Day. SIGH. Sorry! I am so ashamed.
THREE: Words: GET OUR FOOD! The food, when it finally came, was barely warm, and bland. My husband, who ordered the meatball sandwich, said that Subway's meatball hoagie had more taste to it. I had a bite of his sandwich, and had to agree. How sad.
We should have spoken to the manager afterwards. Not only is their kitchen Hell's Kitchen slow (I only WISH Gordon Ramsey was back there telling their donkey asses to move), but they couldn't even come out with any food that redeemed the one hour and ten minutes we waited and waited...and waited.
FOUR-get this place. I'm trying to purge this mistake from my memory already.
I love hanging out at the Paragon. The views are spectacular from the deck - night or day. Service can be a little challenging. Great appetizers & unusual drinks - they infuse vodka with seasonal fruit, etc. Love the decor & ambiance. Good mix of people, live music on occasion. It's fun to have dinner at the Townhouse Bar & Grill in Emeryville, then come here afterwards. You may even see an occasional celebrity-sighting (Sean Penn).
Whenever I am back in the Bay Area, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE spending time at Paragon!!! I can literally sit there for hours.
DANNY (the best bartender there) makes the best Ruby Red Cosmo Ever!
The views from the patio are EXCELLENT.
FOUR STARS TO DANNY and the RUBY RED COSMOS!!!
I was not happy with the service here.
We arrived on Sunday evening for a bon voyage and birthday party that was being held in the Paragon. After I picked up a sparkling mineral water for the Designated Driver, and a glass of "house chardonnay" for myself for $11, we sat on a nearby banquette. The room wasn't even half full, but the waiter and waitress that floated by about every 30 minutes did not seem to be interested in us. After I looked over the dinner menu and the bar snack menu, I didn't feel like hunting down either one of them.
5 stars for getting drinks here or chilling out! Paragon is one of those incredibly elegant places that makes a 21-year-old like me feel like an out-of-place slob. The crowd is older and quite well dressed for the large part. The wait staff, though, is really nice and the lounge is so beautiful and comfy. It's way better than going to a bar where you can't talk because it's too loud.
On a Friday night, Paragon got pretty packed so I was glad that we came early. There was a live jazz band too.
I tried a sip of my friend's Lychee drink, and sadly I could taste the alcohol...but he couldn't. Then again, this is a guy who took 23 shots on his 21st birthday...without puking! His drink ($10) was beautifully presented, with a real lychee!
I got a Tazo green tea ($3) which was good. I like tea more than alcohol, thankyouverymuch. They also have appetizers and desserts. I heard the desserts are really good so I'll have to try it sometime.
When it's warmer out I want to go out on the deck. Location is up in the hills, offering a stunning view of the city, sparkling lights and all.
And like my friend said, you can tell the quality of the hotel by the bathroom. I was IMPRESSED by their bathroom. Wow. When I entered, there were three mirrors and a woman at each one, doing her make-up. This created a problem when I exited my stall (full doors, to the ground) to wash my hands, but one woman nicely allowed me to use her sink. The paper towels, now, were amazing. I was tempted to take one to keep. They were super soft and quilted...nothing like I've ever used before!
This is a keeper!
Lunch at the Paragon is quite an experience if you sit on the patio. Not only do you get to enjoy the gorgeous weather but also get the panoramic view of San Francisco. Combine this with a solid lunch and it's almost too good to be true.
I got the blackend chicken sandwich with grilled peppers and pesto mayo. Unbelievably tasty. The garlic fries can use some work but they are decent still, just need a more intense garlic flavor.
The inside is really nice too, very trendy and looks like a great place for drinks.
Last Sunday we had a really great late afternoon experience here. The bar tender working was amazing. He let us have a taste of some new vodkas that they brought in and he made us this shot that was the best shot that I have ever had in my life. It was called the pineapple upside down cake and it tasted exactly like it too. It was so good. I would just sit there and take those amazing little shots all night. My husband and I cant stop talking about it.
We have come here many times before but this was by far our best experience. The food that is served here is pretty good. If you eat here make sure for dessert you get the "chip-which". If you like cookie ice cream sandwiches this one will make you forget everyone you have ever eaten before.
Excellent service and drinks to back it up.
Went here for dinner, glad we made reservations for the Saturday night. The service was on spot, and the wine recommendation was perfect to my liking.
Because I wasn't terribly hungry, I ordered a appetizer for my meal - the St. Louis Style Ribs- delish... they fell off the bone - those are my kind of ribs. Also had the mac and cheese - I didn't finish either... the portions were definitely worth the money.
My bf had the Grilled Hanger Steak - I DEFINITELY recommend it. Cooked to perfection.
This place definitely delivers on everything it tries to sell.... Dinner, Music, Bar... I just need to check out their lunch... maybe I'll report back after that.
Very snazzy place that really makes you feel like you are away from the hustle and bustle of the… Read more »
We walked into Paragon to a very modern upscale lounge atmosphere. People were sitting, standing, and just having a good time. Then I saw the patio section, and I amazed my the view of East Bay and San Francisco. I immediately asked our hostess to reserve a section of the patio for my meeting group. The patio has warmers which was welcoming from the chill :)
The food selection isn't too bad, but fish entree choices are limited to one choice. We started with calamari, sliders, and a cheese plate, which were very good. Most of my team ended up ordering the seared halibut, along with the grilled pork chops. Both dishes were well prepared, and presented in deep plates. The wine pairing was acceptable, but could do with a few more Pinot's.
All in all, it was a pretty good meal, service could be bit more punctual, but the view was just spectacular.
A couple of my girlfriends and I get together for a long and drawn out (aka bitch session) lunch once a quarter. We market it to our husbands as a "scouting" lunch meaning that if the place is any good, we will take the husbands there at a later date.
I picked Paragon for our most recent ladies "scouting" lunch because I thought it would be fun to sit outside on the patio and enjoy the wonderful view while we bitch about our husbands. (If you're reading this honey, I never bitch about you - I just listen. Love you!) Well, the rain literally put a wet rag over our plan so we were forced to sit inside. Had the weather been nice and we were able to sit outside as planned, MAYBE this could be a 4 star review. On second thought, no, probably not.
The food was superbly mediocre. Blue point oysters were shucked dry with no liquor in the shell and I questioned their freshness. The mignonette had barely any shallots which rendered it flat. The fried calamari was nicely done but the tuna tartare was a complete miss. The reuben was as reuben should be but the cajun chicken sandwich was a disappointment. Fries accompanying the sandwiches were served room temperature and were on the soggy side.
Service that day also left much to be desired. Our server seemed sad or pissed off or maybe just in need of a good lay, who knows - he did not smile once or check on us. He took our order, delivered our food and that was that. We had to flag down a bus boy to get our water glasses refilled.
With its famous ambiance and view out of commission, our meal did not justify the bill. In the end, we all agreed that other than the company, there was nothing about the meal worth writing home about. I may be back here again for drinks but it certainly did not make the group's collective "must introduce to husband" list.
This place is pretty darn good. We went here Sunday night.
The ambiance was warm and and inviting but not too corney. It has a modern edge to it. It is actually right off the main entrence and lobby of the Claremont resort and hotel. The restaraunt has large bay windows that look down onto the surrounding Berkeley area.
The service: 5 stars. Our waiter was well composed and knowledgeable. He brought us our orders in a timely fashion and seemed to be present when ever we needed something,
Our food was also 5 stars. We started off with some specialty/signature cocktails. Well some of us. I had a Vodka Soda. Apparently they have over 80 types of Vodka We had a delicious calamari appetizer. For dinner I had the fresh fish that was a butter fish with a rock shrimp hash. It was out standing. My wife had the halibut and said that it was out standing. We did not do dessert, so we'll have to go back for that.
D managed to surprise M with a scenic window table and a beautiful bouquet of orchids on the table. The service was exceptional.
We decided to only dine on appetizers but just 3 plates satisfied our appetites. We had the fried calamari, tuna, and sweet potato fries. Our waitress warned us about the portion of the calamari and she was right on. The calamari was quite filling. The sweet potatoes fries were good but a little sweet. The tuna was ok, there was either too much lime or avocado we couldn't figure it out, however the taro chips that came with the dish were so yum. D loved the bread that came out early on in the meal too.
We were a far from the live jazz though so that could be a good or bad thing. We were in a nice corner away from the bar however it would have been nice to be closer to the jazz.
Good food and ambiance. I had the roast chicken with mac and cheese and spinach. Loved the chicken, it was nice and juicy. The mac and cheese was not bad, I figured I'd try it since the waitress said it was pretty popular.
Also enjoyed the live jazz which was playing in the front room.
Parking is also validated!
Wish they had more choices on their menu but wouldn't mind returning in the future.
Our company holds their annual holiday party at the Claremont, and this year we were treated with an open bar from 10am to 4:30pm. In my previous review I mentioned that I'm not a drinker (and that is true - it is rare for me to have any type of alcoholic beverage) however an open bar I could not refuse.
I highly recommend the Pomagranite Cosmo, Berry Drop, Mojito, and Grapefruit Cosmo (yes, I had them all).
I did pay for my actions and was sick (as well as slightly dehydrated) for the next few days, but these were some of the best drinks I've had to date.
having a cocktail on the balcony, with the sun shining, and sweeping views of the san francisco bay -- you forget that you have work on monday!
surprisingly sophisticated cocktails - the lychee cooler and pomegranate martini were my faves. also love that the bartender is heavy-handed for a change!
service is still something to be desired, but when you feel the warm buzz of a delicious drink, you can wait.
now i gots to try the Paragon in SF to see if it measures up.
This place is like the twilight zone. Seriously.
Came here with Seong and her friend to meet up with some other folks. Since Seong stated that when she came here 10 years ago, drinks were $10, I figured with time and cost difference, drinks were going to be like $25. hah... But no.. Cocktails are still $9/$10. I went for some kind of sunrise something something. It had pineapple infused vodka and pineapple juice and some other stuff. It was REALLY good. If I didn't have a long drive back home, I would have had a few more.
The place itself is just WEIRD. Like I told Seong. I felt like I should be called Mrs. Wellington III and be dressed in a moderate polo shirt with cardigan and white chinos. But the crowd that was there was nothing like my made up Mrs. Wellington III. I would go into more detail, but I'd probably come across as a prejudice, racist asshole, so I'll refrain.
The drinks were good. Our nice European waiter was cool. And the view is beautiful!
My first experience with Paragon was through tragedy-a bridal faire at the Claremont. If I hadn't won a diamond necklace pretending to be a sappily-engaged woman, the Paragon would have been the only highlight of the day.
To the great annoyance of the girls I went with-who all really wanted to be there, all I kept saying the whole time we were at Paragon was "How did I not know about this place??". I love love love this place. The food and drinks are great, the service is great, the view is the BEST. One of my favorite things in the world to do is picnic or hike (or both) up on Grizzly Peak. This is as close as you can get to that in heels (and we all know I love an excuse to wear some hot shoes).
Overall, I would have to say you are a fool to not go once in a while-preferably during a break from a spa day at the hotel's decent spa.
Sidenote:
I wish there was a 4 1/2 star option-simply because to give this place 5 stars is overstating it slightly and 4 stars feels stingy for how much I enjoy it. Whatever can a girl do??
I guess I can always go stare out the insane windows with a drink, a handsome man and feel better about it all..... yay me =)
Paragon has a great view, and some pretty awesome bartenders mixing delicious concoctions. The food is not amazing, so I usually go with a friend and enjoy a cocktail or two, taking in the great vibe and fun, diverse crowd.
Neighborhood: Uptown
Category: Bars
Neighborhood: North Oakland
Category: Jazz & Blues
Neighborhood: Claremont
Category: Tea Rooms
Neighborhood: Uptown
Category: Jazz & Blues
Neighborhood: Downtown Berkeley
Category: Jazz & Blues
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The indefatigable search for the perfectly…
Places I've had good dates with good people.…
A very fine drink that may or may not be good…
My local dry cleaner, watering hole, deli, cafe,…
