PAO Detroit

"PAO Detroit: where the ambiance is as extra as the bill. The atmosphere is stunning, but it can quickly morph into a deafening nightclub of the bottle-girls-and-sparklers variety if you're there too late, resulting in an awkward staring contest for unsuspecting diners. The top-hits-radio-esque music was loud enough to drown out any attempt at conversation, even for those seated on the first floor (aka us) (top floor diners might need to send PAO their hearing loss medical bills). I might have found the music more entertaining if I could've snagged another drink. While it's undeniably Instagram-worthy, and there were some good bites, the service left us tapping our fingers, our table sandwiched uncomfortably between another party's and a busy walkway. The food, unfortunately, fell short of the hype and the price tag. In all fairness, we visited close to NYE '23, and the place was packed – a possible explanation for my experience. Ultimately, PAO ended up being a one-and-done experience for us, and I'm surprisingly okay with that."

"I will start by saying this place has a lot of potential. Inside has beautiful decor and love the low lighting and the lamp they bring to the table. Not sure how I felt about after a certain time it’s almost a club feel with r&b and rap playing but I vibed with it up until a big party behind me got bottles brought to the table with the sign and sparklers thought that was a bit much and overboard it’s still a restaurant at the end of the day. However the server I didn’t catch her name she didn’t tell me and I forgot to grab the receipt. She’s white brown or black hair but she gives terrible and I mean terrible service. I have worked in the service industry for years serving tables in fine dining restaurants and just casual dining and wouldn’t expect this service at a coney. The server sat us at a table with menus however did not bring water for awhile or the light for the table so we’re stuck using our phone flashlight to read the menu. She comes back with glasses. no water just the glasses 8-10 min later then water another 5-8 min later almost 20 min no water no exaggeration. She then asks if we’ve ever dined here we say no and then says “well let me break down the menu.” She then says “the drinks are on the left and food is on the right” aww gee thanks only took me 20 min to figure that out thanks for the “breakdown of the menu” we ordered 3 drinks. The “Mandalay Bay” which was pretty good the “Dusk till dawn” decent and “the katana”(pictured below) best cocktail I’ve had in awhile I will say. However it took another 20 min to get the drinks. I also will say it was not to busy in there for this type of wait time. There was one large party of maybe 14 and 3 other tables but not overwhelmingly busy. Finally we place our order. Truffle fries were good a little to much truffle to the point where it’s like eating a powdered donut your hands table cloth etc are covered in white powder. The chive aioli is amazing. We got the octopus also very good the aioli for that is amazing as well and the dish looks elegant. Plated like a 5 star restaurant would. We then got the entrees the Mongolian beef and Szechuan salmon. Entrees took forever to come out salmon was mid. The salmon has like no sides just salmon on a plate with aiolis. Whatever glaze on it is not enough given and the orange aioli or whatever comes with it is garbage. The Mongolian beef sauce is amazing sweet but not to sweet with a little spice. The beef was over cooked. Black around the edges and tough because of it. I asked would she prefer the Mongolian beef or sweet and sour chicken she looked at the menu to see the price and said “beef” since it was more expensive and gratuity is already included which I don’t mind the gratuity being included I’ve worked in the restaurant industry it’s hard out here but cmon give me at least decent service to back up the 20%. I expected her to walk me thru each dish as to why it was better etc as I would or any “fine dining” establishment would. Dessert was a s’more brownie. It was amazing. Reservation was at 9 and we didn’t leave until almost midnight. Thank god I didn’t have anything planned because it was such a long service. Overall I would come back just tighten up on a few things and please coach that server. This was on Tuesday 2/6 I don’t want her in trouble because it could just be a bad night but please coach her it was absolutely terrible service worst I’ve ever had in my life especially when it’s so small upstairs so you can see her literally doing nothing. If she was truly busy I’d get it but it almost felt personal as to why the service was so bad."

"I wasn’t too fond of the club vibe while I had dinner. Lighting was very dim but the little lamps provided at the table were helpful. The Drinks were great! Food, mostly appetizers were very tasty. My entree was dry though our friend had the lamb and OMG it was deelish!! If I come back I’m definitely ordering that! Staff is very friendly and helpful, meal delivery was fast."

"I went on Friday evening with one of my friends. I wasn't aware how fancy this place was and felt under dressed. We were lead to a table upstairs and it was pretty quiet up there. We both oredered cocktails and they were amazing. The food was excellent as well as the service. The owner/manager kept on checking on us to see if we were doing ok. They do add 20% tip to your tab. Crab Langoon and the scallops were my favorite."

"The atmosphere was like a VIP, retro nightclub fitted with a disco ball and dj stand. We were there as soon as it opened, and the heat was a bit strong but began cooling off as the dinner went on. I ordered the Tiger Lily for my drink and was very satisfied, it was nice, fruity, and light. We decided to get a couple items and share with the table as it was the recommendation from the waiter. We ordered the brown butter Brussels, creamy Rock shrimp, szechaun salmon, miso Chilean seabass, The dd tacos, the 48 hour lamb lollipops, wagyu beef eggrolls and the Katsu chicken.Things to pass on, The katsu, I felt like it was a glorified fried chicken with little flavor. Another, would be the eggrolls, they were expensive cheeseburgers. Things to not pass on, the lamb lollipops, they were delectable with the right amount of char and served with dollops of sauce. I would also recommend ordering the Brussels, the confit garlic was an amazing addition. The remaining items were good but nothing that stood out as much as the lamb and Brussels. For dessert, we ordered the pan-asian buttercake and the toasted ginger s’mores. The butter cake was terrible, it was incredibly dry and had very little berry compote to make the cake salvageable. On the other hand, the s'mores was delightful. The chocolate mousse was very rich but was countered by the toasted marshmallow. Overall, this was a nice place to dine when near the fox but not sure if l would pick this over other places around."