Paradise Cafe

We are from FL and driving to a swamp tour and wanted to get some breakfast. The only bad party is no signage… we drove past it twice. We went in and ordered at the counter. By the time I got silverware and took my jacket off the food was there. Nothing fancy, just good food. If I lived in the area I would definitely be back.

Great breakfast, fantastic grits also good affordable lunches. Lunch special today Cuban sandwich. Really cute café surrounded with gift ideas for purchase. It is just like being in paradise.

I love Paradise Café. I was a loyal customer of theirs for many years before I convinced them to cater our monthly board meetings. Since then, we haven’t had a complaint about our sad board lunches.
Instead, now we get tons of compliments about the fresh salad LOADED with tasty ingredients. Everyone wants to know where this place is with these delicious homemade dressings and desserts. I tell them that they’re right next to Barnes and Noble, but warn them about their small and cramped parking lot and early closing hours. (They close promptly at 3 pm every day.)
But they more than make up for those potential frustrations with their awesome customer service. They make a point of knowing all their customer’s names. And they always have deals they send out to their customers via email or by just visiting the store. During Easter this year, they had an Easter basket full of plastic eggs stuffed with coupons inside. I ended up walking away with a couple of free things in April!
I love their chicken salad stuffed into half an avocado. Never had it served like that anywhere else, and it’s definitely a meal by itself.
And you can’t go wrong with any of their desserts. Seriously. Brownies are made with dark chocolate which makes them extra rich and not so sweet. Their lemon squares are made from fresh Meyer lemons and just melt in your mouth.
I also end up getting breakfast from here about once a month. They have lots of healthy alternatives, but I end up getting their Paradise Breakfast (2 slices of bacon, 2 slices of toast-​white or wheat, 2 eggs and side of grits.) Their grits are so creamy and buttery– just the way I like them. It takes them less than 5 mins. to make this perfect breakfast with eggs exactly the way you like them. I end up finishing their meal with a large Iced Mocha. (Tried making my own at home but it never ends up tasting so chocolaty.)
Best of all, they have these dips you can always sample right by the register. They usually have a sweet and savory one with pretzels to dip with. I’ve tried them all and have bought the packets to make for any parties I attend. Quick, easy and a guaranteed hit. My dips are usually the first to go.
Now on to their gifts. Perfect place for that hard-​to-​please shopper! They have a pretty nice collection of jewelry and lots of cute knick-​knacks. If you’re looking for anything with a fleur-​de-​lis on it, look no further. They have stuff I didn’t even realize they had fleur-​de-​lised!
And they have tons of stuff with all the local high schools and universities’ logos on it. I ended up coming here for the past three years to shop for graduation presents. Everyone I’ve given a present to has been so pleased with the thoughtful and personalized gifts. And it’s all thanks to Paradise Café!

I like the store for what it is. The store has an odd layout if you are shopping not eating here. In my opinion, they should have less dining tables and more space to display the items they are selling. Its hard to see everything as its all piled next to eachother is corners and stuffed on shelves (several of which point outside). The prices are a bit high but they do have unique New Orleans gifts that I havent seen at any other store.
I got a quick half sandwich half soup. I subbed the special pasta salad for the soup with no hassle. The BLT was a little sad. It lacked a bit on the ingredients. The pasta salad was decent, although I wouldnt order it again. Nothing special. Again, prices are a bit steep for what you are getting.

This is a review for the Gift part of Paradise. It is part of the same building as the Barnes & Noble, and seems like a good alternative when B&N’s café gets too crowded.
They had a lot of nice NOLA/​Louisiana gifts: the small yard flags, kitchen & home décor items, baby things, etc. I bought a white waffle kitchen towel with an embroidered St. Charles streetcar for her birthday. They also had the Canal Street one. I will think of them again when I want some different items that I don’t necessarily see in NOLA proper.