I’ve been following Parea on Instagram for some time now. I’m not quite sure how I discovered them, or how their beautiful pictures ended up showcasing on my feed; but ever since, its been somewhere I’ve wanted to try out. Much to my delight, a friend and I actually had reason to visit Alderley Edge a couple of weekends ago, and obviously travelling all that way, we were going to make the most of the day and stop off for something to eat too. Parea was our number one choice, and we excitedly booked in.
The reviews on Trip Advisor to be honest, are a really mixed bag – of which I completely understand now. I hadn’t actually looked at them prior to booking in, instead being completely wowed by their beautifully curated Instagram feed… We entered the venue, where you walk straight into the bar. The first thing I noticed was one of the staff members eating food at one of the tables, that clearly wasn’t from the restaurant. Not a massive issue, it just made me wonder why he wouldn’t want to eat from the place he was sitting in. He also appeared to be working at the same time, which was a little odd, coming over to serve our table once he had finished eating.
We were asked where we wanted to sit by a lady behind the bar, outside or in; it was quite chilly that day, so we opted to be inside, however this was all slightly bizarre, as we were basically eating in the middle of the bar area. They do have an upstairs, but on the day this was closed off for a baby shower – so perhaps the evening dining seating experience is slightly better, but where we were seated, we kind of just felt in the way… The decor downstairs was also quite dated, and the whole place just looked like it needed a lick of paint, compared to what was shown on Instagram. This was one of the first things we noticed, and it did take us by surprise.
Once seated, I asked for a drinks menu, to be told at the moment they don’t have one… um, okay then. I eventually settled on a frozen martini style cocktail, after noticing one being served behind the bar. Now, to be fair, this was actually one of the nicest cocktails I’ve ever had, and the presentation of it was stunning; it’s just that the getting there was slightly odd. We went on to order our food, which luckily they did have a menu for – however by this point we had now been served by three separate people, each of which were going back and forth behind the bar eating and texting on phones etc. Not the most personal experience. I do have to say that all the staff were lovely, but the whole thing just felt very convoluted and all over the place.
Now I feel like so far, all I’ve done is grumble about the place – but actually, all the above being said, the food was really good. We went for a sushi sharing platter, a portion of salt and pepper chips (some of the nicest I’ve had), and some chilli squid. We ate the lot, and what we didn’t eat we had boxed up, and it was completely gone by the end of the day. Really, really decent food – and it did outweigh some of the negatives we had with surroundings and service.
Would I return? Actually, yes, I would. I’d give it another go, mainly because the sushi was pretty incredible, and I’d like to think that some of the issues we had were due to an event being on upstairs perhaps. I do still think it’s worth a visit if you’re in the area, just don’t be completely taken in by all you see on Instagram.
Parea; 34 London Rd, Alderley Edge, SK9 7DZ
