Cindy S.
Yelp
Our group of friends had dinner at Paseo for New Year's Eve, and it was a mix of really good food and multiple mis-steps. Our reservation was for 9pm, but we didn't get seated until about 9:40pm.
In Paseo's recent social media posts, there had been mention of a surf and turf special. Once we were seated we didn't see anything on the menu about a special, and our server never mentioned anything about a special. I had gotten a glimpse of a piece of paper taped to the check-in podium but didn't realize I needed to look at that to know there was a special. When I asked our server about a special, she did tell us what it was, but she failed to mention that the special was meant for two people until I asked a clarifying question. It would seem pretty important to know that a special is intended for two people rather than just one person.
I was also very disappointed to discover that the so-called "surf and turf special" was really just two of the regular items on the regular menu (a steak dish and a shrimp dish) ordered together. Well, that made sense that it was for two people because it was simply ordering two entrees.
When one person in our group inquired about the sauce on the shrimp dish, to see if it contained cilantro, the server went to check, and when she came back, she said that the kitchen crew indicated that sometimes, the sauce is made with cilantro, and sometimes, it's made with basil. She said that she could have the sauce put on the side. It turned out that the sauce was made from basil, but it seemed disconcerting that no one in the kitchen knew what a specific sauce was made with.
Three of us ordered the chicken enchilada, one of us ordered the short rib, and one of us ordered the shrimp dish. When they brought our food, they brought the enchiladas and the shrimp, as well as the brussel sprouts side dishes we'd ordered, and we were told that the short rib would be arriving shortly. We thought it was weird that everyone's food wasn't brought at once but figured it would just be another couple minutes. It was a good 10 to 15 minutes before the short rib was brought out, with that friend sitting there the whole time with no food. When the server brought the short rib out, she was very apologetic about the delay.
Because we had been seated so late, it was nearing midnight when we'd ordered our dessert. We were waiting for our celebratory champagne toast, but none seemed forthcoming. When I asked our server, she said she hadn't heard anything about it and went to check, and she came back to say that there was no champagne toast being provided. I explained to her that the two social media posts leading up to New Year's Eve both mentioned a celebratory champagne. Granted, it did not say that it was complimentary, but the accompanying pictures to the posts seemed to imply so, given that the pictures showed batches of filled champagne glasses ready to be distributed. Pictures of the social media posts are attached. Even if the champagne was not intended to be complimentary, we were never even offered a chance to order anything for a midnight toast.
Given the earlier problem with the short rib dish being brought so late to our table, and then the issue with the advertised champagne toast, I was dismayed that it wasn't a manager who came over to explain. Our server did a really good job, with issues that were not her fault, and given that we'd already had a few issues with our experience, it seemed inappropriate that she was left to apologize for the multiple issues rather than having a manager-level person address them.
I have had several very positive visits to Paseo, both for dinner and for brunch, and the food on this evening was just as good as on my prior visits. However, it was very disappointing to encounter so many mis-steps during the course of dinner. Our tradition is to have New Year's Eve dinner in Downtown Disney, but there was nothing about this evening that made it feel special, especially with an advertised celebratory champagne toast that apparently only the social media managers mentioned but was not intended by any of the staff in the restaurant. I'm hoping that the issues can be rectified so that a dinner we were very much looking forward to doesn't again turn into a disappointing experience.