PARA Charlotte — Restaurant in Charlotte

First let me start by saying that I researched this place thoroughly before coming here last night (7/26). Many of the reviews stated that the food didn't have flavor, and unfortunately they were very right.

My friend offered to take me out for my birthday which was in the middle of the week on 7/24, and checked out restaurants participating in Restaurant Week since it also happened to be going on. I found out about PARA from South End's Instagram, highlighting the participants. The social media page showed a good vibe, the menu looked great, and I was happy to see that it was Black-owned. I was afraid of the parking situation cause the last time I came to South End I got towed, but the parking lot nearby wasn't full yet so it wasn't tooo bad.

We were greeted by the host who confirmed that we were celebrating my birthday (I said yes). I hoped PARA would be doing their regular menu AND the Restaurant Week menu since their full one looked amazing (some restaurants do this), but they were doing the Restaurant Week menu only. There were other things I would've loved to try.

The server was great but the poor thing was SLAMMED, cause after they served our appetizer, they were gone for a long time. I ordered the Crab Rangoon Buns (and I love buns), but the glaze on it made it too sweet and I didn't love the filling. It wasn't really like Crab Rangoon you order from Chinese takeout. There were also only 3, but my friend ordered the Spinach Dip and had a FULL plate. So I sent the buns back and got the Spinach Dip instead, which came with sizable pieces of bread. The dip was good, but not great--not enough flavor; the bread was perfectly toasted, still soft, and well-oiled.

Once the server FINALLY came back, we got our entrees immediately--the Short Rib. The plate wasn't hot, which is my pet peeve. And with one bite of the garlic mash, I immediately said "this needs some salt." But there were no seasonings on the table. There was literally ONE short rib in the middle of all the mash covered in a lot of gravy, and the gravy was full of wine-flavor but not much else. I said earlier that I was glad we got the dip, cause I had a feeling the entree would be small.

Then I got my tiramisu, which was WONDERFUL. I love tiramisu and never have it. And when I was almost done, I realized the staff didn't acknowledge my birthday in any way. So why ask?? Both at the hosting booth and on the reservation page??

Sadly, I probably won't come back, but I'll support them from afar. The music was great! But they were shooting social media content in the restaurant which was...

My friends and I dined here recently — early on during Queen's Feast — and it was very sadly a terrible experience all around. Unfortunately it was our first experience here, and it will absolutely be our last.

First and most importantly: The food wasn't good. I had the greens with peaches, and they were straight-up canned peaches ... during the summer, when fresh peaches are abundant. The pork belly entree didn't have much flavor and was pretty meh. And the dessert was called "chocolate cheesecake" but was essentially some sort of mouse that tasted nothing like cheesecake and barely like chocolate. And it came with "oranges," which were — you guessed — canned mandarins.

There were also tons of issues with their menu. On the Queen's Feast (restaurant week) site, there were a number of items listed on their menu they didn't have. I understand that happens, but when we asked our server, she kept saying PARA was advertising it correctly. Where do they advertise? Apparently Instagram. Who knew? But even when we checked their Instagram, the menu and pricing they had listed was inaccurate! There was a steak listed as an option and it had a $ next to it. But the actual upcharge was $42! Why would they not make that clear for people who were choosing to come here for Queen's Feast? It felt deceptive, honestly. I commented on a post about updating the info, and they deleted the post and didn't reach out to me at all. My friend also shared concerns in a comment that was deleted.

When it was time to pay, there was a "fee" added to the check. It turned out to be 20% gratuity, which is fine, but again this wasn't disclosed on their menu or on the small screen they give you to pay. It all felt very confusing.

The final straw, however: We found out that Tuesdays are 50% off drinks when we got our checks. That's an awesome deal, so why didn't the server mention anything?! When we asked about it, she said they don't tell patrons about their specials. Apparently we should know because we must follow their Instagram. ??? Make it make sense!

The place itself looked cool and the staff were nice enough, but the experience was truly awful. I can't in good conscience recommend...

Let me tell you something, the food was so good to the point I forgot to take a picture! I love everything bout this place starting from the vibe at night, once you step foot on the property taking the stairs it's like you came into a new atmosphere. The host was friendly and got our party of 4 sat immediately due to our reservation (which is highly recommended due to how packed this place can get). Our waitress, which name I can't remember to save my life but she was gorgeous and reminded me of the actress, Marsai Martin from black-Ish. She was amazing to the say the least! She took good care of us and her sense of humor was the cherry on top! We got an spinach dip appetizer and it was just right to the point I almost asked for more bread. I got the salmon with mash potatoes and brussel sprouts, which originally I was going to substitute the brussel sprouts but our waitress said I would regret it. She didn't lie, the brussel sprouts was so good, and there some type of sweet chili sauce on them that made them melt in your mouth. The entire entrée was chef kiss! Speaking of chefs, we wanted to meet the chef because we just KNEW a brotha was back there running the show with how good everything was. His name was Chef Birum (I may have misspelled that) but he came out greeted us, we bragged on the food and he even gave us a conversation with a history lesson. That made our night and not to mention the DJ! Her name was Dj Des Dollars, I had to go and personally give her props with the electric music she was playing. Everything was such a vibe! I will warn you, you going to have to go in the bottom of your purse if you ordering drinks and food but it's worth it. Definitely the highlight of our Friday night on the town and can't wait to come back.

Honorary mention: shout out to the buss lady that was cleaning up, she could barely understand English but she was top notch make sure yall take good...