Cynthia's Ristorante — Restaurant in Paducah

I was in Paducah over the weekend (11/6/21) for a "vow renewal" ceremony for friends of mine. It was a small event...13 people total. First off...Cynthia's Ristorante is housed in a beautiful historic building downtown. The woodwork, the copper ceiling, the deco light fixtures...all of that paired with amazing, and unique art...just a WONDERFUL setting all around. I was able to be let in early to get the tables set up and decorated prior to the event. Everyone on staff at Cynthia's were just perfect hosts! Brett especially made me feel so welcome and was very helpful. Such a nice guy! The upstairs room was lovely! And perfect backdrop for my table decor. The intimate ceremony was great, and just after...the food and drinks were offered. I have had MANY mule drinks in my day, but the Moscow Mule I had at Cynthia's ranks as one of the best I have ever had! The hors d'oeuvres served prior to the meal were SO amazing! And tasted as good as they looked! We had many options to choose from a dedicated wedding menu, and I chose the Soup del Jour as my first course. The roasted butternut squash soup was PERFECT! There was a little swirl of a red pepper puree on top, and it all worked so well. For the main course, I decided to stay with the "autumn" theme and ordered the Angel Hair Pasta. Homemade noodles, with a delicious sauce...and included roasted chicken, butternut squash, sweet red peppers, roasted garlic and prosciutto. Again, it was SUPERB! A glass of white whine with dinner, and a follow up cocktail...Whiskey Sour this time...another PERFECT drink form their bar! When I travel to Paducah for work in the future, I will DEFINITELY make reservations at Cynthia's. Whether with a few from work, or by myself. I absolutely LOVED this place! Thank you Brett, and the entire staff for making my friends' special day the VERY BEST it could be!!!! It was a great experience from...

We arrived with our reservations and was seated promptly. It took a little time for us to receive our salads, like we literally were able to drink a bottle of wine before we received the salads. The oysters were okay, not bad, not good....edible. The salads were good and the vinaigrette was delicious but again, short of spectacular. The wait staff is apparently overworked because although our waiter was personable, service was lacking. Now, for our meals there were 6 of us with 5 different entrees ordered. The highest anyone rated their food was a 7 out of 10. They were all hit and miss with some items being good and some being okay on the plate. Please do not come if you are very hungry and wanting a big meal as their meals are lacking in size but not price. At the end of the night we ordered one of each dessert. The desserts were good although the sugar on the creme brulee was burnt. The waiter offered to get another and I declined as my family had already ate half. It is hard for me to say anything negative about a local place being a local gal but having traveled the world and eating some amazing food, especially in Italy, I would be doing an injustice to give a good rating. If you want good ambiance and decent food this would be a good place to go. For the cost of our meals and the amount of food we ordered I expected better service so my tip reflected this. I would not go here again personally except to get a dessert and a...

We came from out of town and had enough time for one romantic evening out by ourselves. To be in such a small town as Paducah, Cynthia's blew us away. The town has such a down-to-earth feel that the up-scale, big-city style of this restaurant was refreshing. Everything from the art and atmosphere to the food and wine selection was fabulous and every bit as romantic as we were hoping. However, the place was not without its Kentucky charm. The serving staff was friendly and helpful. We actually met owner and namesake Cynthia and she was delightful and pleasant. When we found out that her husband is the head chef, we were pleasantly surprised, having already complimented his work to our server. To top it all off, at the table adjacent to us was a Kentucky state senator and the honorable mayor of Paducah. So obviously, this place has made an impact on the community.

We were so enthused by out experience that before we left, we made sure to purchase a pair of exquisite Cynthia's coffee mugs.

This place is very highly recommended for quite, personal dining. It is NOT a family restaurant. Do not expect to be pleased if you bring your children to this establishment. Neither you nor they will be satisfied, nor will the other diners.

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