I’m breaking my rules a bit here. I usually don’t review chain restaurants, but I’ll do a quick mini-review of Cheeseburger in Paradise.
NOTE: This restaurant is now closed.
Laura and I had both finished reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince this afternoon, and [SPOILER] needed something light and happy to cheer us up. Since it was only 5:30, we figured we could beat the dinner crowds still stuck on the novelty of the place. Parking was still available, which was a good sign. The last time we tried this, the place was packed. We were seated immediately.
The menu has the signature cheeseburger, but also has a variety of island and tropical-based dishes. To start we ordered Island Ale, similar to a pale ale, and exclusive to the chain. Laura declared it a bit lacking in flavor. For entre’s, she ordered the Thai satay, and I got the Caribbean grilled sandwich.
I expected this place to be long on atmosphere and short on food quality. The opposite was true. Both of our dishes were delicious with enough spice to make things interesting, but not overpowering. As for the atmosphere, the island motif was definitely there, but in Laura’s mind, it didn’t go far enough. The seating area seemed nothing more than a low-end cafeteria-styled fish camp. Maybe that’s the look Buffett was after. Speaking of Buffett, we didn’t hear a single note of his music. There was a rather talented guitarist who started up about half-way through our meal with some acoustic blues.
As the crowds increased, the service decreased. Things were getting frenetic, and it was harder to get our server’s attention in a timely manner. This place may be much nicer once the novelty wears off.