Geoff N.
Yelp
As you enter into Paon's capacious patio and stylish, elegant interior, you are greeted by a number of restaurant awards testifying to the quality of food and service that awaits you, the customer.
And perusing the menu, there is a lot to brag about. It is largely French, although there are some nods to California throughout the appetizer, entree and desert menus. The wine offerings are excellent, verging on the exhaustive, and the bar according to my son makes estimable cocktails.
Moreover, the food is ambitious. Their take on French onion soup is unique, delicate and surprisingly creamy (rather than the traditional clear beef stock). The lamb salad is one of the best appetizers I have ever eaten. Indeed almost all of their starters are very good, although there are several I still have to try (I haven't quite worked up the financial nerve to get the caviar).
The mains also offer an impressive array of seafood, fowl and game. Pheasant, duck, and venison all grace the menu. All are immaculately presented and all are of suitable portions to satisfy most customers.
All this said, why only three stars?
First, one gets the distinct sense that the chefs have made these dishes for a bit too long. The entrees in particular lack much in the way of wow factors; they are instead competently prepared, using good ingredients. But there does not seem to be much thought given to whether these dishes will truly please the customer's palette. Sadly, the flavors do not amaze, as they should when most main dishes are in the $40-$60 range. They are satisfactory, an adjective that should not be used for a restaurant with its pretensions. To paraphrase F. Scott Fitzgerald, these are all meals we've eaten too many times before.
A second problem is service. The waitstaff is professional and attentive, occasionally to the point of being sycophantic (perhaps an indication of their clientele?). The issue comes in the manner of service. They have been instructed or perhaps encouraged to take orders without writing them down. I understand why this is done and if you have a small party with uncomplicated orders, this is perhaps fine. But sometimes one has large parties with complex orders, and that can prove problematic. This was the case in our last two visits: the first resulted in some small mistakes, the second somewhat disastrous ones (partially ruining a 60th birthday party). A simple bit of advice: stop this. Now.
In sum, while I have been generally pleased with many of the dishes offered here, there is a distinct sense that the management and staff are resting on past laurels and are going through immaculate, but tired motions. It is perhaps no surprise that those awards one sees at the entrance date to many years in the past.
So, although I would really like to, I cannot sing a paean to Paon.
