Paradise Indian Restaurant
Shop 34, 190-200 Jells Road
Wheelers Hill, VIC 3150
Phone (03) 9561 6661

I have been to this Indian restaurant quite a few times, mostly for the South Indian buffet lunch menu on the Sunday. People I know really love the food, but not so much me.

The service
The wait staff are really pushed on the Sunday. The restaurant gets very busy, and often there are only 2 employed serves, in addition to the owners doing a bit of work themselves. Often the front counter is unmanned for people wanting to pay their bills, or who wander into the restaurant. They really need to employ more people to have a better level of service. Often you need to attack them, and keep reminding them of things you want. When you sit down, water or drinks never come unless you ask.

Be prepared to be up front with the wait staff. I often notice the wait staff change quite regularly, almost every time I have gone there (>10). It says something about the restaurant.

The food
I have only gone on a Sunday, so read this segment with caution. The Sunday (South Indian) menu has “limited” options from a buffet perspective, but you can ask for more options. They are “specially” made to order, so don’t be fooled by the “limited” options. You need to ask them though, otherwise you can easily be fooled. Some of the things you can ask is: uthappam, rava dosa, plain dosa, masala dosa and many more items.

The deserts when I have gone there haven’t been great but this is your first Indian restaurant, I can see you will easily be impressed.

The ambience
The place is quite dark, even on a bright Sunday afternoon. The lighting needs some work, but the ornaments on the walls are quite attractive, especially the hanging sarees. The roof - or what roof! The pipes are visible, and this leaves quite an ugly feeling. Unlike La Spaghettata (which I recently reviewed), there is more space though. Watch out for tables located in the back corners, - its really hard to get the wait staff attention so avoid them.

Inside tips
* Avoid back corner tables
* Don’t be afraid to ask for more during buffet hours
* Sometimes they have great live music, but there is no way of finding out unless you ring them.

Rating - 5.5 (I don’t give halves generally, but this restaurant doesn’t deserve a 6/10)
Service times, and ambience let it down. The food, and value are good by themselves but unfortunately restaurants need more. I see some people agree with my views on Eatability.