We stopped in to try this place for a family dinner. They appear to be going for a more upscale take on seafood--Mexican influence but definitely beyond that as well.
We got started with bolillos, which were excellent. Nice crusty rolls served with a cheese butter, they were one of the highlights of the meal.We then had an appetizer. Went for the pescadillas--corn tortillas filled with a fish stuffing and deep fat fried. Most of the flavor came from the cabbage and lime juice added, but the texture was appealing. Very innovative, they just need to "punch it up".
For our mains we had the mediterranean sea bass, fettucine alfredo and grilled salmon. The sea bass came with a salad, a tomato sauce and a vegetable cake. There was a lot of salad, almost like it should have come in its own bowl. The vegetable cake was a square of a vegetable, cheese and egg mix baked in a pan. Not too bad but not much flavor. The tomato sauce was very tasty and a nice complement to the fish, which was done well and had good seasoning. Overall pretty good.
The fettucine alfredo was a different take on the dish and had its ups and downs. The sauce had a strong overtone of what we think was cilantro, giving it a very different flavor. Maybe would be better with more parmesan--we took some home and can correct that. Unfortunately the seafood in it was overdone. The scallops were pretty sad, having been cooked to the texture of chicken. The shrimp were a bit over, but they had a nice char and were pretty tasty.
The salmon was ok but kind of boring. The filet was cooked to order--I like it medium--but was still almost dry. It came with a dill sauce and some parmesan crisps for texture, which was OK, but it really showed no signs of the grill. No skin and it looked kind of microwaved, so the salmon could have been frozen. The mashed potatoes were just that--no seasoning. Also some plain broccoli. Would not get that again.
We got the lemon carlota for dessert, and they brought us a tres leches cake as well (a "duplicate" from someone?). The tres leches was fine, very sweet so we only ate a few bites but classic. The lemon carlota is like a key lime pie in a glass--crust on top and bottom and the filling in between. This was excellent, definitely worth getting. Not too sweet, not too lemony, really hit the spot.
Service was excellent, the server was very good about recommending dishes. Very timely with no unnecessary delay. The plating was very appealing, all the dishes looked beautiful except for the boring salmon which could not be helped that way. The decor is a makeover of Slim Chickens, and you can still see a bit of that but it's nice. They do have a bar, we did not try it out. Even with no alcohol you won't get out under $35 per person so it's not an ordinary evening out. I would say they are making progress but still have some learning to do.
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