Restaurant Paradis

A GreatRestaurant located in the heart of Rosemary Beach, Florida.

Restaurant Paradis is a GreatRestaurant that delivers outstanding food served by friendly professionals. The atmosphere is comfortable and tasteful with a subtle elegance. It is that rare kind of a place where you can relax and enjoy a wonderful meal without pretense.

The owners are from Louisiana and that influence, with what I can only imagine is a true love for fine food, is subtly present throughout the menu. I believe that their Louisiana heritage also contributes to the warmth and friendliness of the place. Their welcoming nature is found more often in Louisiana than just about anywhere else I travel.

Make no mistake; this is not a Cajun or Creole transplant. Restaurant Paradis and their very talented chef follow in the finest traditions of great Louisiana restaurants in their ample offering of fresh seafood dishes and their creative and flavorful use of herbs and spices.

It is located on the main drag in Rosemary Beach, a planned community on the beach between Destin and Panama City Beach and just a few miles from Seaside.

On our first visit, my wife and I arrived early in order to have time for a drink at the bar. The warm and friendly staff was attentive without being pushy. They were happy to let us visit at the bar until we were ready to go to our table.

We had great dinner that started with Wild Mushroom Bisque, their soup of the day, it was a home run. I then had their Grilled Romaine Caesar Salad that was not only very creative but excellent. We then finished dinner by ordering a couple of appetizers.

I know that every restaurant in the world does crab cakes. Most are average at best and some are terrible. That is absolutely not the case at Restaurant Paradis. Their excellent crab cakes are seared and served over creamed Silver Queen corn with a chipotle oil drizzle. They are fabulous, superb, they are to be had again.

To top everything off, they had one of my favorite wines, the Meeker Handprint Merlot, (see my mention of it in a previous posting) on their wine list at a very reasonable price. We ordered a bottle and it was delicious. They have a very nice selection of wines at very reasonable prices.

On our second visit, the next night, we tried more of their menu and came away completely happy and content. Among the excellent dishes we enjoyed were their scallop appetizer and their Bayou La Batre Shrimp.

These fresh shrimp were stuffed with crabmeat, wrapped with either pancetta or prosciutto, grilled and served with an incredible sauce. They were simply wonderful.

I don't know when I will be back in Rosemary Beach but the next time I am anywhere close, I will be making a reservation at Restaurant Paradis.

It is a Great Restaurant and I enthusiastically encourage you to give it a try because I am confident that you will love it as much as I do.