Mikaella M.
Yelp
Can't believe I haven't tried this gem of a place when it's only 5 mins away from where I lived! First of all, I highly recommend making a reservation since the location is on the small side with a little patio in the back. We came an hour after opening and we got seated at the patio because the inside was all booked up. It got busy real quick.
Alright, let's get to the good stuff! Before anything else, we were served with a complimentary cup of a potato soup amuse-bouche that was rich and savory in flavor. That was a pleasant surprise! For an appetizer, we also got the Pan to share and the ciabatta was crispy and buttery on the outside and soft inside. For my entrée, I got the Camarones and wow! The shrimp was sweet and cooked to perfection and the blue corn polenta purée complimented the chile butter. I don't know about others but in my culture, we like to suck on the juices off the head of the shrimp and that's just what I did! Also, I didn't want to waste the sauce on my plate, so I used the leftover ciabatta to mop up the rest of all that goodness! I'm not leaving anything off that $24 plate, haha! My friend ordered the Carne Asada and I had nothing bad to say about it. It was cooked in the temperature he wanted and the yuca fries with chimichurri completed the whole dish pretty well. Another friend ordered the Pescado and from what I could see, the salmon was soft and not dry. For desserts, I had to try Budín de pan and that really just completed the night for me. The bread pudding with the plantains and horchata ice cream sang in my mouth and it wasn't overwhelmingly sweet as I was expecting! I wish the bread pudding was warm all the way because the center was still a little cold but otherwise, it's a dessert I'd still want to eat again. We also ordered their Tres Leches and it was my first time seeing a chocolate variant. I've tried the usual original ones and I found those too cloyingly rich but this one was wonderful! The sweetness of the cake was offset by the tartness of the raspberry salsa. The servings were also pretty big and could be shared!
I gave service 5 stars right off the bat. Our server was just so friendly and she immediately accommodated us with a high chair for my friend's baby. She kept checking back on us and I loved that! The only thing off putting to me was that we barely even finished a plate and someone was already approaching our table to take our plates away. We felt kinda hurried every time a server did that, but I wouldn't say it took away from the overall dining experience. While overzealousness and efficiency were appreciated, this was a little uncomfortable. Even so, I definitely still want to come back! There're still items on the menu that I'm excited to try!