Cheeseburger in Paradise

The front desk was trashed when we walked in… It was dead and we had to wait forever for a server… And the food was awful. I used to love this place so it was disappointing.

Not an enjoyable experience for non-​smokers. An outdoor ashcan is right outside the entrance so you must walk through second hand smoke to enter the building. We chose to sit on the patio and were seated in the smoking portion without our knowledge and without having been asked our preference. We moved to the non-​smoking part of the patio, only to realize an ashcan was just a few feet away. There is simply no place on the patio to enjoy a meal without smoke. We have had good wait staff and food at this location in the past, but were very disappointed in both this visit. There is no reason for us to return.

3 stars because the food is very good. The waiter was excellent too. Minus 2 stars for the host and the manager. The host carded me to sit in the bar area (I get it. Their liquor license is at stake. I look young. Ok). However he was pretty rude about it and while looking at my ID (I’m 24) reminded me I had to be 21 to sit in the bar. After embarrassing me and acting surprised I wasn’t lying about my age the host sat us in the bar. Excited about the atmosphere I got over being embarrassed. Then a few minutes later a couple brought a baby into the bar. The manager came over and told them you have to be 21 to be in the bar area because smoking is allowed but if they’re ok with the baby being there then he’s okay with it. I wasn’t ok with it because I sit in the bar to avoid loud kids but I guess he didn’t care. The baby was pretty loud most of my meal. Annoyed that I was carded and they initially attempted to deny me access to the bar area based on my youthful appearance when they allowed a BABY to sit in the bar, I decided I was irritated enough to ask for the manager. The host had me wait a few minutes and told me the manager was too busy to talk to me. I told him it would only take a couple minutes and I really wanted to talk to him. Still, he told me the manager was too busy to talk to me. Whether or not he actual bothered to talk to the manager I don’t know. I hope he didn’t because having a manager who is too busy to talk with customers is pointless. I doubt cheeseburger in paradise will remain my usual spot after this.

After a long wait time, the food finally arrived, but one of our sandwiches was served cold and had to be sent back. It took another significant wait for it to return, where it arrived on a very hot plate, but again was cold in the center. The manager was informed by the wait staff, but never took the the time to actually come to our table. He or she, gave some sort of excuse through our waitress. I asked to have the meal, which was not consumed, to be taken off the tab. We stilled paid for our other sandwich and left. Will never return.

The food was great! The manager was very nice! You get a lot of food for the price. Always a great place to eat! Will be back. The fried pickles was a great appetizer. Street style tacos were great as well as the cheap drinks!

Terrible service. Very slow. If you are in a hurry this is not the place to go. I had to ask the host, to get the waiter so we could place our order. That was after trying to wave him over once and actually calling out to him once. On to the food. Fries got cold quickly, they were not super hot when they came out. The rest of the food was actually ok. Nothing special, but the burger and wings were well cooked and seasoned. The salmon was properly prepared and the fried fish was crispy and fresh. I wont return. There are plenty of places nearby so go with a different option.

Believe it or not — hands down the best wings around! I like the dragon sauce and the wings are always flavorful and meaty ! Of course they have daily drink specials and the burgers are killer as well. A great place for a family night out with kids !

Took 30 minutes to get an appetizer and we kept waiting for a refill on our drinks, it was not that busy there and people seated after us got their appetizers before we did, terrible service, we went to complain and they really did not care. We will never be back.

Dirty, dirty, dirty!!! This place is so gross and filthy. The menu was so sticky and disgusting it had dried food stuck to it. There was food and goo running down on the wall next to my seat and view under the table was just disturbing. This place needs to be shut down.
Drinks, lame. I had their famous piña colada and it was just syrup and coconut, there was no alcohol in it. Passed on the food and got the heck out of there.
I felt like I needed a shower after we left.

I’m not a huge Jimmy Buffet fan, but I do like good burgers. We stopped in here with some friends recently for our first time and had a pretty good experience. The atmosphere was a little too chaotic for me. I get the theme, but there was just… a lot going on, I guess. They were moderately busy, but not packed, and somehow it just felt way louder and more crowded than it really was. That isn’t a positive thing for me, but maybe some people prefer a more active environment. Our service, however, I don’t think was only subjectively bad. I’m not sure if our waiter was just trying to juggle a few too many tables or what, but the service definitely left something to be desired. Really, the biggest thing this place has going for it is some good food. The wife and I both enjoyed our burgers and I especially liked their sweet potato fries. We also got some fried pickles and they were very good — different than what I’ve had at most places, but still very good.
If we’re hanging out with these friends again and they want to come here I’d certainly be down. But otherwise, I don’t really see us making a point to visit again. The food was good but the chaotic atmosphere and poor service are enough to discourage me from visiting anytime soon.

Unfortunately, I’ve watched this place slowly but steadily go down hill for years. It’s a sort of run down version of its old self. I go to this location maybe once or twice a year to see a friends band play. So that gives me the opportunity to see its decline in 12 month intervals.
I am not a Jimmy Buffet fan by any means, but managed to really enjoy the place when I started going about 8 or so years ago. The staff, cold beers, and food won me over. It’s also been a great place to watch live bands. But since this business was sold off to what I believe is now its third owner, it has gone down hill.
Staff was fine, but doesn’t have the vibrancy they used to and it shows. Uniforms have been downgraded to that of a cheap hotel employee. The décor and furnishings are the same, except older, beat up and worn out. The menu is a cheap version of what it had been. The food we got was not great. A lousy quesadilla with wilted and brown lettuce and old store bought salsa. The supposedly famous pickle chips were just not very famous looking or tasting. I wish I hadn’t ordered either item. The beer list is outdated with your everyday macro breweries and the couple of craft beers that were run of the mill.
If I end up going back to see the guys play again, I will simply eat and drink at Scottys Brewhouse next door prior to coming here. Sad to see this place burning out.

A little disappointed at the meal tonight. We come here a lot, love the atmosphere, love bike night. The service was slow and the restaurant was not busy whatsoever. Food came out cold to lukewarm. Had to send the broccoli back and he Birthday girl didn’t eat the salmon, it was too cold. I think the food was cooked and sitting too long. We ordered and it took nearly 40 minutes to get it. Overall a little disappointed tonight. We will be back but will be a little skeptical of things.

Great atmosphere and service! I don’t know how often they have live music but the band playing the night we stopped in was very good. As for the food, it was good; I wont say it was the best burger I ever had but it wasn’t bad; just not as great as I had hoped it would have been. All and all we had a good time and will be back!

Been sitting here for 20 minutes and have not been waited on. Finally went to the bar to get drinks for me and my date. Still no waiter. Leaving after our drink. Not recommended!

I wish I liked the food because the atmosphere and décor are really fun. However, it is just a run of the mill restaurant for me. There is nothing spectacular about anything on the menu and it is way overpriced for the quality of the food. For me, everything takes like it came out of a freezer. The dessert nachos were kind of cool, but that’s it.

Cheeseburger in Paradise used to be my favorite casual dining restaurant when I lived on the south side of town. It’s been a while since I’ve been back after moving, and I have to admit, I was disappointed.
The first disappointment: the Son of a Sailor salad is no more. They’ve replaced it with the Sailor salad which in no way resembles it’s predecessor. The old salad was AMAZING! When I asked the waitress about it, I could tell she gets the question all the time, and she said they «get lots of complaints.» They can’t even make it anymore because they don’t stock a couple of key ingredients in the restaurant, asparagus and Wonton noodles.
Ok, no salad, I’ll deal. Next, I headed over to the entrée menu only to discover my favorite, the Jerk Chicken Wrap, had also been replaced. At least in this case, the replacement resembled the former, but was a little more plain and was served with a simple ranch dressing rather than the awesome sauce that was served with the previous dish.
It was a Monday night, so it was $ 1.99 margarita night. Nothing to complain about there and it definitely saved the meal!
The service was what you’d expect from a casual dining restaurant. Friendly and prompt, although the food was a little slow in getting to the table.
I’m sorry to say it’s no longer my favorite casual dining restaurant, but if they bring back that salad, Cheeseburger in Paradise will leap back to the top of my list and I promise to find my way back to the south side more often!

The place itself is great however our waitress, Taylor, was less than satisfactory! Ordered water for us and apple juice for the boy she delivered the waters. Finally brought the juice but after the appetizer. She didn’t bring plates so I had to go to the bar and ask for plates. the sweet bartender was happy to help me with that. Had to ask for a togo box twice… Now for the hostess, didn’t even catch her name but she never smiled or even speak for that matter to us, grabbed menus then started to walk away we just assumed we were supposed to follow her. The food itself was ok. Best part was the sliders & wings on appetizer plate.

My family and I have been visiting this location for Cheeseburger and Paradise for many years as we are true south-​siders at heart. While the food is certainly not the best in the city, I have always found the staff to be amicable and the atmosphere fun and inviting.
I have explored their menu quite a bit over the years and I do believe I have found my favorite item. I noticed a new special being advertised as the Chipotle taco bowl… a tasty mix of salad, beans, tortilla strips, chicken, cheese, and your choice of sauce. I went with a sweet chipotle sauce and was not disappointed! Paired with a dreamsicle margarita and the lovely temperatures of a cool, September night on their patio, it was a very enjoyable meal for an affordable price.

This review is based solely on my personal experience (food and customer service), not the experience of the entire group I dined with…
My husband and I arrived here on a Friday night at about 7:30. We had called ahead for a table for 8, but only ended up needing 6 of the seats. Our table was located in a back corner of the restaurant, which suited us well given the noise level and how busy the restaurant was. I should mention that we had no problem being seated; given that the restaurant was packed.
Décor is very beachy and definitely reminded me of being in Florida. I only heard 1 Jimmy Buffet song while we were there (1.5 hours), so if you’re hoping to hear nothing but JB, you’ll be disappointed.
We ordered cocktails: a strawberry daiquiri and the shark drink that was on special because CiP was celebrating ‘shark week.’ My husband asked our waitress for a cocktail recommendation and she suggested the ‘Shark Attack!’ despite not having tried it herself. Both drinks were very tasty and the daiquiri was one of the better daiquiri’s I’ve ever had. However, the drink itself was primarily the sugary drink mix, not much rum. I essentially paid for a daiquiri slurpee. Hubs had two of the Shark Attacks-​the plastic shark in the glass was a fun touch!
Our table ordered Triple Dips appetizers: chips and dip. Dips included were the guacamole, queso and salsa. Our waitress was nice enough to bring us a second basket of chips since we had 5 people. No, we didn’t pay for them. I thought that all of the dips were better than average, but I liked CiP’s salsa the best. The appetizer suited 4 people, but if you’re sharing with more people that that, order a second appetizer.
I wasn’t quite done with my appetizer before our food arrived. Awesome!
For my main course I ordered a (veggie) Bisto burger and ate every.last.bite. I thought it was really good with the accompaniment of regular fries.
Hubs ordered a Bacon Cheddar burger (medium-​well) and wasn’t as impressed with his meal. The sweet potato fries were tasty, but he took home practically the entire burger… and my husband rarely eats leftovers so this sandwich was eventually thrown away.
I appreciated that the waitress had no problem separating our table into 4 checks. We were able to pay quickly and leave.
⁵⁄₅ for having the veggie burger option! Thank you!
⁵⁄₅ because the burgers are BIG!
³⁄₅ because the waitress was very busy handling our table and a few other large groups. We had to ask twice for water. Our waitress wasn’t the kind of waitress that was going to go above and beyond to help you. This person was also carrying around her cell phone, a cell phone that went off while she was taking our order. Personally, I don’t believe employees should be able to carry around personal items like that while they’re working; a phone becomes a distraction, thus causing your customer to leave a lesser tip. We sill left her an 18% tip because all of our orders were correct.
⁴⁄₅ because mixes drinks took awhile to receive. Half of our bill was spent on alcohol, so about $ 25.
¹⁄₅ for very sticky menus. Ew. I can’t imagine how many germs were floating around on these things. Likely the stickiest menus I’ve ever touched.
In total we spent $ 70 after or tip for 2 people. This is exactly why we only go out to eat a couple of items per year. Yikes! Maybe we were paying for the beach ambiance?
We don’t live in the area, so hubs and I at least got to experience CiP once. However, CiP is your basic American fare. You might save more by going to Applebee’s or Chili’s.

Quickly dropping on my list of goto places. The last 2 times we’ve been here someone in our party has come down sick within 24 hours. Not just an I don’t feel good sick… but a nasty, I ate uncooked food or improperly prepared food sick.
Our service this last time was absolutely horrible. Its a Friday night so we did call ahead seating. Told us they could seat us in about 40 minutes. We showed us about 25 minutes later and let them know we were here. We ended up waiting another hour before we finally got seated. We checked in a couple times to see what was up, but got nothing but attitude in being told call ahead seating doesn’t guarantee anything. Understandable. But don’t keep me waiting another hour. When they finally buzzed us the damn table wasn’t even ready. And they shoved us in a booth when we needed a table with 2 high chairs. We made it work as we’d already wasted enough time.
Service was good until the end when he disappeared.
I’ll be taking a breakvfrom this place. Someone please take the dukedom from me!