Pampano

10/19/09

Go nuts for the coconut paella

by Mmbnycmaple at Citysearch

Hidden jewel in midtown. Love this place. I get the same thing every time...the Paella Mariscada. I love to bring groups and out-of-towners here especially during the summer when the out-door seating area is open. No fajitas or quesadillas here! Above par Mexican.

• Pros: Food, atmosphere, quick service

07/10/09

amazing food...but that's it

by anvasqu at Citysearch

Guac was OK, $14 and small. Entrees were approx $30, amazingly good but small. Service was so-so. Drinks were $12-14. Ambiance is not cozy nor charming. Definitely overrated.

06/08/09

Terrible dining experience

by dtwes7 at Citysearch

Had a 9 PM reservation Friday, 6/5. We liked the upstairs dining space but that's about the only positive we could take from the meal. Generally, we are relatively easy to please; however, Pampano was thoroughly disappointing. We ordered a house margarita and glass of sangria to start, to go along with guacamole/chips appetizer. We proceed to order our entrees - my girlfriend ordered the filet mignon, I ordered the miso black cod. No more than 6, 7 minutes later are our entrees already brought out. At this point, we had barely started eating the guac/chips appetizer. Now I'm annoyed and feeling rushed. The entrees were tiny, nowhere near what you'd expect when paying $34 for a filet mignon entree and $30 for a fish entree. In all seriousness, the piece of cod I received was ridiculously small and was only served over 3 pieces of grilled asparagus, no carb whatsoever on the plate. Both still hungry, we go back to snacking on our guacamole and chips. At this point, it's literally 9:20 and we are done with our main course. 20 minutes! We ask to take the remainder of the guac/chips home. The waiter comes over to ask us if we want dessert, all but throwing the menu at us. Clearly, the waitstaff was looking to go home shortly thereafter. We decide to order the corn cake/coconut ice cream/hibiscus sauce dessert simply to delay going home (we live around the corner) - again, our dessert is brought out 2 minutes after we order! We finish the dessert, they clear the plate, and drop the check off at the table about 30 seconds later. Now I'm furious. It's 9:35 and we're discussing the bill - $155 (with tip) for chips/guac, 2 house margaritas, 1 glass of sangria, two tiny entrees and a shared dessert. To top it all off, our waiter never even brought us back our guac/chips to take home (we had already left quite upset by the time we realized). Would never go back. Haven't been this disappointed by a dining experience in quite some time.