10/19/09

Go nuts for the coconut paella

by Mmbnycmaple

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

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

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.

03/18/09

Food Exquisite, Service Bad

by JDay

9P meal, 10P kitchen closing. Waitstaff did everything to hurry us out before ordering: no welcome, no suggestions, no clearing of plates, multiple requests for beverage refills ignored, no dessert or coffee offering.

Great meal, completely offset by the worst service I've seen in a while.

Rowdy overserved party of 7 in the back just added to the 'charm'.

• Pros: Ceviches were excellent
• Cons: Waitstaff just wanted to leave

12/12/08

es no bueno

by lewdawg928

i can think of 10 other mexican restaurants I prefer. There is a very nice upstairs dining area/terrace though. The food just stinks.

11/10/08

A little overrated.

by AchitaMut

I took my boss here for lunch and my boss quite enjoyed it. I thought the food was decent but nothing extraordinary compared to what i've read/heard. I don't think I can find a reason to return-- not delicious enough to frequent and not special enough for special occasions.

07/21/08

Pretty place, but the help there ruins the whole place!

by AmityM

Went with 4 girlfriends last week for a 6:45pm reservation. We had requested outdoor dining specifically. We were NOT told it was "first come first serve" until we got there. They told us it would be a 45 min. wait so we told them it was not a problem and had a drink at the bar. After PATIENTLY and POLITELY waiting until 8:30pm we were still not seated!!!!!!! The hostess was supremely unaccommodating. The manager did absolutely nothing to compensate for the fact that we were misled first on the phone and secondly about the length of the wait. You would think they would have at least offered a complimentary drink or something along those lines! Instead they were rude and indifferent. With so many other restaurants in the area you'd think they would value their customers. Needless to say we left and went to Dos Caminos.

01/14/08

Unlike any other Mexican I've tasted

by jotho

I made reservations at Pampano after reading cuozzo's review of mexican restaurants in the post. The food really is unlike any Mexican I've had before - the flavors are familiar but presented in a beautiful and unexpected style. I would highly recommend Pampano to anyone looking for an upscale mexican experience.

• Pros: Ive never had mexican seafood before - it was great

01/13/08

Best of???

by sivader

I am beginning to wonder who gets paid to write all these excellent reviews. Certainly, someone should have paid ME for the meal and experience I had at Pompano last night! We walked in and were seated in what felt like a hallway. Evidently, you have to request the more rustic and appealing upstairs section and were relegated to the stark and drab downstairs section. The waiter was fine; however the food timing was off and it seemed as if they were trying to rush us -- appetizers came before drinks, dinner before we were finshed apps. For appetizers, I had the shrimp empanadas. The sauce was too sweet and there weren't enough shrimp to balance the overpowering sauce. The crust was overfried, limp and oily. My boyfriend had the guacamole, which was the one highlight of the meal; however, you can get good guac at your local tacquiera, so why go to a fine dining establishment for it? Next, the meal was disappointing. I had the mariscada. I can say that the fish was fresh, juicy and tender; however, the preparation completely underwhelmed the quality of the fish. Again, the dish was incredibly oily and the sauce too sweet. My boyfriend enjoyed his lambchops, but said that they were "nothing special". I expected a special meal at Pompano, based on the "BEST" designation on this website. Evidently, I am just a lemming...

• Pros: Not much
• Cons: Everything else

12/02/07

Aviod at all Costs

by c2811

I was celebrating my birthday with a group of friends in Pampano this past Friday, and I was really disappointed. The atmosphere is nice the food looks pretty, but the food tastes horrible. I ordered the pechuga mole (in English that is chicken breast seasoned with chocolate sauce) and it was literally unseasoned chicken breast because the chocolate sauce was brushed on it after it was taken out of the oven. My party was rushed out. The waiter ordered me a flan con chocolate although I didn't ask for it, which was nice until he dropped off the check once I finished eating it. I only had the chance to order one drink. The kitchen closes at 10:30 pm. How does this restaurant make money if a person only stays long enough to order one drink? Save your money from another modern Mexican restaurant in town. There are many other modern Mexican restaurants in New York City that are much better.