Maya C.
Yelp
Note to self, avoid special events going on at the beach....
Running behind (not my fault) parking was really bad due to an event that I never figured out what it was. Parking around Oaxaca Club was full or either $20. Not wanting my dinner reservation to be cancelled I paid the $20 at the Wells Fargo and walked over. We saw that they were doing some other construction on one part of the split building. Not sure what's going to go there as I thought Oaxaca was done. We entered the front door, gave our names and they let us know that we got there just in time. They took us back to a table near the open kitchen but still tucked away in the corner. While I don't like being in corners when eating, this actually helped some as it was LOUD in there. It was pretty full and the sound bounced off of everything. We also had a lady sitting at the next table over with this weird Fran Drescher, nasally laugh that didn't help the situation.
Nevertheless we had a great dinner. Our server was so busy that we though she forgot about us to put in our entrees but she apologized and didn't hold it against her. She was very knowledgeable about the food that we ordered. We started off with:
Roasted Oysters (chorizo butter, lemon, cotija, chimichurri) - very good!
Coctel de Camarones (shrimp, marisquera sauce, cilantro oil, onion, avocado) - the shrimp we were told came from Mayport and because they are Oaxacan-style, the sauce is not a tomato sauce as my man thought it would be. The owner stopped by our table and explained the difference to us which everything is not seasoned to death, it's lighter so that the natural flavors are at the forefront. He rather have a tomato sauce but I liked it.
Pulpo a la Parilla (grilled octopus, sikil p'ak, pickled onion, black garlic & olive emulsion, cilantro oil) - also very good. He said he'd like it to have a heavier char to it but again, it's supposed to be light. The char it did have added enough flavor to it that you can still taste the sea. I also appreciate that it's an entire sliced tentacle and not just cut up baby octopus tentacle pieces.
For our entrees:
Pescado a la Parilla (grilled whole fish, mojo verde, guajillo adobo, ensalada verde) - my dish. I saw a photo of this online and I had to get it. The green and the red sauce on opposite fillets made it so mouth-watering. The fish was light and so delicious I even ate the eyeballs which I think is a first for me. And while they try to remove most of the bones from it you will still encounter some as I did. Not a problem for me.
Pork Shank Chamorro (braised pork shank, salsa, onion) - his dish. He said he liked it but he doesn't think he'd get it again. Only thing he said was that the portion was smaller than what he can get somewhere. Greedy.
I had one drink, the Ponchito Punch (Oaxaca Club Mezcal, Dark Rum , Pineapple, Lime Blanc Vermouth, Passionfruit, Bitters) and I really liked it. The alcohol is very subtle and it never creeped up on me during the night. Maybe because I only had one, who knows. This is probably my go-to drink.
He had several: Congaree & Penn Cider, the Ruby Beach Scallywag, and the Piper Hidesieck Champagne. I think he liked the Champagne the most.
I really liked the decor although I was expecting more of a Mexican vibe, this was more super modern Mexican vibes. A stylish restaurant with a huge bar area that you can also order drinks from outside at a window and perhaps my favorite piece of decor, the hanging basket lights.
Definitely will be returning for that pescado. Yum!