Chez Paul Gourmet Restaurant — Restaurant in Daytona Beach

Being new to the area, we came in with high hopes and left quite disappointed. We were so shocked on our drive home we said nothing about the meal. It was like we were saying in our head "what just happened?" Chez Paul did not live up to its reviews. I tried to give it 2 stars but on this night it only deserves ONE STAR. I like the old school atmosphere and character of the joint. Staff was friendly and playful which is the only reason it got my review of one star. My wife and I were visiting Chez Paul for the first time to celebrate Valentines and Chez Paul had a Pre-fixe menu which we enjoy, but the price point of $65 not including wine or dessert could be more than ala carte off the menu on a normal day (find it a bit strange): Filet 26+ Soup 7+ Salad +7 + Anise 6 and then something for the small rock lobster and it still does not add up. The Lamb and Sea Bass that are normally on menu are in the $35 range so normally the cost would be in the $55 range for comparable meal.

We made our reservation not based on price but an experience. Now when we were let down, I then find it necessary to dissect all aspects of the experience and price is one of them. Meal was definitely overpriced from their own menu but that was not the worst part of the meal. The worst part was the food. Soup was a cup of leek soup and nothing “special”. The salad was a spring mix you can get at the grocery store with goat cheese, cranberries and a vinaigrette dressing. Definitely no pop in the salad and nothing different than what I have at home daily. The main course was Filet and Rock Lobster with carrots (bland), asparagus (bland) and orzo (bland). The lobster was under cooked and bland (drawn butter only). Now the Filet was good (mushrooms and port wine a good mix), cooked the way I wanted it V-Rare, but nothing special. Unfortunately, the food gets 1 star

As a matter of housekeeping, they never brought us a wine list; they just recommended a wine without a list. I would feel sorry for someone who wanted to know the price of the recommendation as they would never know until the bill arrives. To many this would be intimidating and not feel comfortable asking prices. Secondly, the dessert was handled the same way. They offered no menu to review the dessert options, just let you know what they had for the evening. This I find very strange on a night where they are only offering a Pre-Fixe menu. From our years of experience in the pre-fixe world, desserts and even wine parings are included. We have never encountered a restaurant offering a Pre-Fixe and then ala carte with no menu to share. Not every patron has the ability to order prices unknown. I share this because I know followers would like to be informed in advance and I am sharing my experience for all to learn. Last and very important is the fact that no one ever asked “how was your food”. The attention to detail is lacking and concerning as a gourmet restaurant's primary product is their “food”. No concern for the food, no concern for the patron. I can answer the question regarding food in two words: COLD AND BLAND.

If you say gourmet, then you must deliver a gourmet dining experience that is SPECIAL. My taste buds need to pop with each bit of each course or you are wasting my time. Chez Paul did not live up to the billing and did not register on the Special scale nor any scale. Sorry, but I would not recommend...

We booked one month in advance for my 34 birthday. When we arrived a few minutes early we were sent to the bar….for 30 min. A second party came in and was seated instantaneously which was very frustrating. I was given one very small glass of champagne for the trouble. That was a nice gesture. The service after we finally got our table was fairly steady but nothing exceptional. One thing you’ll notice is in its attempts to be fine dining you are offered extremely small everything. The first thing we we had was bread and oil which was fine but not memorable. The bread was hot but the oil and herbs tasted stale was very conservative. We were offered more bread but that offer came too late. The next thing which was my FAVORITE OF THE ENTIRE MEAL was a delicious peach mango palate cleanser which was phenomenal. Just the right amount of sweet and served in a nice unique way. Very good. Our food came out pretty quickly. As you can see my girl got scallops which I tried and was very tasty with a nice rich white sauce but the portions were laughable for $28. I got steak au poivre. It WAS THE WORST I HAVE EVER HAD. It was absolutely drenched in an overwhelming bitter and metal peppercorn. It was however cooked to the correct medium rare but it didn’t really matter because it was almost inedible. The potatoes were emaciated and Rick hard. The carrots had a bizarre fizzy taste to them. Chef Paul was nice enough and checked in on us. One of this time he bragged hot he cooks his carrots in club soda. It was a strange reveal. The major other problem I suspect is because of the extremely small quarters and frequent check ins, unless your willing to have a very uncomfortable face to face with the staff or chef Paul your limited to basically one choice: choke it down and lie, which I suspect is what’s happening for him to still be serving this terrible, one dimensional, visually stomach turning steak. The staff at the end did come over and attempted to do a casual end of meal review but the pressure on them is very apparent. The atmosphere is warm and comforting. Upon a more thorough observation I can see that the tables, chairs silverware and rugs haven’t been updated once since the place must have opened. Chef Paul was polite and has the charm and warmth you would hope though having a Bluetooth head set on is off putting and you never know if you’re getting his full attention. He looks very tired and like his personal pride and quality has taken a major hit and seen better decades. I would sadly...

My wife picked Chef Paul Gourmet Restaurant for dinner and made reservations for 8:15 PM (they close at 10:00 PM).

At first, I was miffed because it took a few minutes to be seated, and no menus were provided up front; yet, we were asked what we would like for drinks. This was all a bit out of the ordinary for me.

Looking around, there were four other tables of guests. One had completed their meal and were prepping to leave, two others were awaiting their entrees, and the other watching Chef Paul prepare Caesar salads right at their table.

As I watched Chef Paul prepare Caesar salads for a table of five—mother and her four teenage children. I came to realize this was a special restaurant. The family was interacting with Chef Paul with much delight and happily watched as he made the salad with fresh ingredients at their table.

Chef Paul came over and described each of the appetizer choices by heart. We chose a Tuscan shrimp appetizer that was absolutely delectable. 😋

We chose to have Caesar salads made and it was one of, if not, the best Caesar salads I’ve had.

I chose the Coquilles St. Jacque (scallops) entree. It was adorned with baby potatoes and carrots and an “out-of-this-world” white sauce. The presentation was awesome and there was plenty to savor and satisfy my palate.

Dessert was a mouth-watering Tiramisu. It was soft, moist, and delicious…a great ending to a wonderful dinner and experience.

Staff were very attentive, ensured we had all we needed throughout our meal.

We can’t wait to return and try something else. This place is worth every penny. Do NOT be in a rush and enjoy the company of those you came with, the staff, and Chez...