Paschal's Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Atlanta

To those who are considering having an event/party or group gathering here, don't. But if you do, here are some things I feel you should know.

First, for context take a few secs and read the reviews from those that have already had a group event here. Being fully transparent, I did not do that. This was my first time ever at this restaurant and we wanted to go for the history and legacy for which the restaurant is known. So I didn't think I would need to vet the reviews, but hey, that's my mistake and my lesson learned.

Second, the sales manager (our was named Tori) was helpful in providing info but was very difficult to reach and slow to respond to correspondence. So for those who like closure, and expect reasonable swift follow up, then, this is not the manager you want. Nice person, but her follow through time, left us all frustrated.

Third, and here is where things get dicey. Our large group event was to start at 5pm. When I got there 15 mins early, the set up was not complete. Tables, not set, staff not prepared, menus not made and the TV they provided was not working properly. As guest arrived (on time) we had to have them wait in the hallway for at least 15 mins until someone finished setting the tables, prepare the room for sitting. This of course delayed us close to an hour.

Finally and perhaps most disappointing is that our server who was assigned to our party (a party of 18) was also serving at least 2 different table on the other side of the restaurant so the service was, extremely limited. We got drink refills only once and that was toward the end, orders were missing, wrong, and delayed. Food brought out late, some cold others warm and we saw our server maybe at most 4 times the entire 2.5 hours. Nothing against the server, she did what she could in nearly impossible situation. Nevertheless, the subpar service we received did put a damper of the event. And honestly, had they allowed us to self serve, we would have had a more positive experience.

So my advice for those who for whatever reason would still want to dine to have a group event here, let me offer a few tips:

Review the contract and express to management that you must have a dedicated server(s). If management can't provide this, then I would walk away. You will be paying far too much money only to have subpar service from an overworked server. Not only that, there is a mandatory 22% gratuity, regardless to the type of service you receive.

When you are negotiating the contract, make sure you include or discuss the consequences or compensation that management would be willing to do/provide if any, should things not be done as promised. I say this because in the contract we had, there was several "would-be" fees and added costs should we have extra people or be late. I feel that same degree of accountability should be applied to management. So if like me, if you arrive to your event and find nothing ready, and tables not set, resulting in a 15 min delay, you can expect appropriate compensation.

Finally, pack your patience and if you have high expectations of prompt professional customer service you may want to leave that in car with valet. Which to me is unfortunate because I feel the lack or low expectation of quality service, tarnishes the honorable legacy that makes this restaurant famous.

I reach out to Toni (sales manager) to share my feedback before officially posting this review, but she has yet to respond now 7 days later. Maybe one day we will have...

TLDR; Chicken a little salty (but seasoned and moist), sides were basic. This was my first time going, I was not a local, spent about $95 with a tip for 16 PC chicken, 4 sides, and 8 cornbread. There were 2 packs of plasticware included for 8 people, I'm glad the hotel had us covered.

Management/Owners; Make a small area for the to go orders. Make someone dedicated to processing them and making sure everything is included. Or have a doorbell camera system, maybe? The sides could be a bit more homemade tasting and packed tighter. ------‐-------------------------------------------- Called in for more information, I had a family of 8 to feed (including 3 hungry teens), so I wanted to see if a cater pack was available.

The woman on the phone was extremely polite and informed me that I couldn't do a catering sized order without 2-3 day notice. She assured me the serving sizes were big and that two family packs should be enough food.

Arrived with my wife and mother in law. There's no parking for picking up an order (valet only) and handicapped.

Police and signs had spots blocked off even for short-term parking.

Pulled off on the side in front of the building and a police officer walked up to my window, when I rolled the window down, she asked, "Can I help you?". Mam, you came to my car, you saw my wife and mother in law just get out to get food to go, and asked that question?

Ok, I replied nicely that my wife was grabbing food, she told me I couldn't be there (I wasn't impeding any traffic).

So I circled the building several times, and people drive very rudely in the area, FYI.

My wife experienced rude customer service inside, a sign on a window that said to have some decorum, basically don't knock loud on the window. Light taps on the window weren't enough for the staff to hear. (I can see this being long waits between people checking the window).

The person who handed the food to her asked her to check the food first (after it was already tied in a tight knot).

The amount of food was adequate, but the sides are a bit on the smaller side (standard fast food chicken place sizes, could be packed tighter at least).

The chicken had a little too much salt for my liking, and my sister in law, other family members didn't mention it. It was moist, the skin was great, and they were nicely sized.

Mac and cheese, decent, not your mama's. Mashed potatoes were your basic style, also not homemade tasting.

The yams were amazing, I'd love to see a sweet potato pie from them if they don't already.

Can't say that I'd return, it seemed like the best place to support a small business, but they also need to support their patrons better. The food isn't that good for mediocre...

I went to Paschals for the very first time after leaving the Women Evolve Conference 2025. I was highly impressed that they had on-site valet parking and it was only $5.00! The parking attendants were the highlight of my visit on this Saturday afternoon. They were courteous, polite, very professional and accommodating. Needless to say were told our wait was 20 minutes but it turned into 40 minutes but that was understandable plus my conversation with my sister in Christ was so good time wasn't an issue; plus the food smelled so good I just knew it would be worth the wait. Once finally seated, immediately noticeable which the host should habe noticed as well was a dirty table. They sat us a party of 2 at a visible dirty table; water rings from the glasses were still wet on the table plus crumbs sprinkled across the table from the previous occupants. The server finally appeared with an over it look on her face. No cheerfulness, no excitement, no engagement or interaction just a somber look like she didn't want to be there. She took our drink orders, forgot my lemons not once but twice and disappeared without checking on us for 20 or more minutes. She returns (2nd time I asked for the lemons) takes our orders and disappears again. Our food took about an hour to finally arrive but we cannot eat with our fingers, there wasn't any utensils on tje table. We had to ask another server for utensils, plus napkins and also the lemons. Our server returned stated for transparency she's working two sections and asked if we needed anything else. Her demeanor still giving, worn, tired and over it! Finally 3rd time asking I get the lemons, the eating utensils and while our food was good it was cold! Cold to the point the gravy on my mashed potatoes had began to coagulate and my mac & cheese the same. I would like to extend grace and think maybe because they were busy and short staffed this contributed to the unpleasant experience. Good thing the 18% gratuity was added to the check and I only ordered a vegetable plate...which has it's pros and cons. However the atmosphere as far as the decor with historical African American figures was amazing; along with the parking attendants were the only good things that came out of my first time experience at Paschal’s. I'm hoping this was just an isolated incident because based on the other reviews I've read this is really a popular spot to go for amazing food. Maybe I'll try it one more time on a less busy day and see...