Pacifico
269 Pacific Street
(between Boerum Pl & Smith St)
Brooklyn, NY 11201 (718) 935-9090
- Nearest Transit:
Bergen St (F, G)
Hoyt-Schermerhorn Sts (A, C, G)
Hoyt St (2, 3)
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: No
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: No
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Alcohol: Full Bar
29 Reviews for Pacifico
So fucking good! I rarely drop the f-bomb in a review but if there's anywhere to do it, it's in a write up of Pacifico. Definitely my favorite place to eat in Brooklyn--best burritos (what happened to the 'big ass burrito' on the menu? are we getting too fancy for that now?), best margaritas (you can accidentally drunkify yourself wicked easy during dinner) awesome ambience, especially on a hot summer night, and some damn, damn, DAMN delicious key lime dessert. Sometimes over the course of a day I'll think of Pacifico and sigh dreamily. Yum yum yum.
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I went here on a rainy weekend afternoon for brunch with a few people. Service was fine. Food was tasty with huge portions!
We shared an order of calamari for the table, which was good. I ordered the hash with eggs and I chose the option to have it with shredded yardbird (a mixture of chicken and turkey). It wasn't bad, but it wasn't my favorite. I guess it had too much pico de gallo for my taste. I tried the quesadilla with pork... and I have to say, it was one of the tastiest quesadillas I have had in a while!
Even though I hardly go to this part of town, I would go back again just for the quesadilla (I also hear their drinks are good too).
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Pacifico is OK in my book. I think the patio area makes up for a lot, especially in the summer months. The drinks (margaritas) are top notch. I think they use real fruit juice in all of them. The food is so-so. I almost always get the nachos plate, which is fine for me, and just sit back and enjoy the atmosphere.
The food here was pretty good mexican food for Brooklyn. I had a carnitas burrito which was really big and had the perfect mix of rice, beans, meat and cheese.
I really like the atmostphere and someday, when the gods smile on me and I leave NY and have a backyard again, I want to have a yard like their patio.
I do plan on going back and trying to margaritas soon.
BTW- the menu says cash only, but they now accept MC/Visa.
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Where is everyone in Boerum Hill on a Saturday night? Here, it seems. That's a good reason not to be here. They were getting so slammed that the staff couldn't really keep up, and it showed. It was easily forty five minutes from the time we ordered to when our food arrived, and our drinks were long gone by then with no chance to get them refilled. A trip to the unisex bathroom (one toilet for this entire place?!!!) showed it getting close to dive bar level before 9PM - fine for a dive bar, not so good for a restaurant. The staff's agitation was palpable, and they were on the verge of becoming confrontational. Again, fine for a dive bar, but not so good for a restaurant.
So what's attracting so many people to this joint? My guess is the strong drinks (they do make a good margarita) and the outdoor seating, which effectively evokes a Spring Break in Cancun vibe. It ain't the food from what I could tell, except for maybe the guacamole, which was delicious. Everything else we got was mediocre. The carnitas chile relleno thing I had was so-so. My wife's stuffed trout was better, but didn't sit too well with her. One friend's dinner didn't show up with the rest of the orders, so they just gave her some random plate to keep her busy, delivering her actual order as our plates were being cleared. Her boyfriend was horrified to find a long strand of hair in his tamale! He asked us what we thought he should do. I pointed out that there was little chance of getting the waitress' attention, and given how long it took for our food to show up, little point in sending it back. He reluctantly decided he could deal with it - the waitress had already given us a bit of an attitude and we weren't hungry for more.
Maybe this place is better if you just get drunk and have a few tacos on some night when it isn't slammed. If I were a twentysomething I'd come back and give that a shot. But now I'm older and have more empathy for the staff; watching this place on the brink of chaos did nothing but STRESS ME OUT. I did not enjoy myself at all, and will not be back.
Pacifico, summer has just begun: You need to get your act together on the weekends. Lots of folks seem to love you! Don't let them down like this. You were almost out of control tonight. Again, that would have been fine for a dive bar, but not fine for a restaurant.
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I have been here twice with a party of two...seems to be the easiest way to be seated without a wait. Both times have been on a weekday night in early spring, which means a wait for the patio. I have enjoyed both trips; the house margs are strong and tasty, and even when the service is strained and busy, its friendly and upbeat. Thats what counts in my book!
The pulled pork sandwich with pineapple slaw and yucca fries was tasty...My husband LOVED the pulled beef with olives in the quesadilla form.I will definitely come back for more!
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I spent $60 bucks here for some of the sorriest Mexican food ever. Gray, leatherlike steak fajitas served with absolutely nothing but two sorry little flour tortillas. No cheese. No rice. Nothing. Every single thing is a la carte here. The only *star* of the evening was the guacamole - and it was really very salty. The chips were pretty too, I guess. They are red yellow and blue. The chicken fajitas were an embarrassment: no more than 6 or 7 little shriveled slivers of chicken in a stew cloyingly redolent of pineapples. Yuck.
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Pacifico has a killer pork chop and I'm not really a huge fan of pork. Also, the atmosphere here is warm and inviting. In the summer, it's great for drinks in their outdoor garden/patio.
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I attended a birthday party with a large group (15ish) so my experience is likely to be different than most. We had a reservation and our table was set up very strange (picture a U shape, with people on all edges... essentially, it was like 3 separate groups). We started moving the tables and were greeted by our waitress being really snappy and informing us that this was the only set up that works. We ignored her and set up the tables so it actually worked (one large table). I was worried our waitress was going to be rude the whole evening, however, she ended up being really nice and helpful.
Note: waitress said chips and salsa are on the house for large groups. So that's a plus, I guess... (still surprised by the implication that they are not always on the house).
The sangrias were strong and the guac was delicious. The chicken fajitas, however, were surprisingly boring and needed to come with the great plate of "junk" (you know, the plate that normally comes with fajitas comprising of sour cream, cheese, etc.). But sigh: no delicious junk plate.
All in all, the experience was nothing to rave about. However, a big plus for the waitress being nice to a large group where the tip was already included.
Accepts no credit cards (what! you say Mike, WHAT?). Yes my friends, but don't worry, they offer you an ATM where they charge you a fee to withdraw so that you can pay your bill. I can't wait until restaurants charge you to sit down or to use their utensils.
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Decent Mexican food in the hood. Not the best, but far from bad. The service can be slow at times, even when there isn't a large crowd. But it's a great place to go with friends. Share a pitcher of margaritas and a plate of nachos.
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Pacifico has really good drinks and is a great place to meet up with a bunch of friends or hang out after work during the summer in the garden/patio. The decor is amazing. There is nothing like a real wood-burning fireplace on a chilly evening. Their is enough variety in the menu so that carnivores, fish-lovers and vegetarians can enjoy a meal together. I live the fish tacos and corn -- the margaritas are are excellent.
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I've tried a good number of items on the menu... the yardbird tacos, the vera cruz crabcakes, the chicken tostadas, and the jalepeno cornbread. All of it, all of it is good. My fave item though, is seasonal, and I have not seen it since the summer-- I am keeping fingers crossed that it appears again soon.. and it is an addicting combination of salmon, tortillas, and deliciousness.
I love coming here in the winter because a lot of times it's a bit empty-- a lot of Pacifico's draw is its great patio. To me, there's nothing better tho than sitting in front of a fire with a Dos Equis getting a warm buzz and scarfing down guac and chips.
A margarita in the summertime on the patio is good too. :)
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Look, this is the place to go on that first day of spring when its finally warm enough to sit outside and throw back a margarita. The food is fine-- guac is good (used to be great, but seems to have fallen off this summer), and much of the rest of the menu is mostly okay. The margaritas are also good, particularly the flavored maragaritas, and I have to take issue with the people calling them "expensive for brooklyn"--perhaps they have not spent enough time in the neighborhood, cause the prices are totally standard for a quality drink here. One warning, the service can be spotty-- attitude abounds on some nights.
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Came into this place because I was craving for some mexican food. The decor is too cool! The sangria is the best I've ever tasted in a while. (given the price point) If you're looking for upper east ambiance forget it. (thank god for that) The service is at a leisurely pace which is very welcoming. This was my 1st time here and it certainly wont be my last.
SEX!!!
And now that I have your attention, might I suggest Pacifico for dinner. You will want to start with some nachos and margaritas. Trust me on this. I would not steer you wrong.
Now that the tequila has taken effect, sit back and take in the ambience of this sweet little restaurant while you consider your dinner order. Perhaps you'd care for tacos de carnitas? Excellent choice, sir. And for the lady? Ah, carnitas for her as well. Very good.
Now, please to enjoy yourselves as we prepare your lovely meal, you lovely people.
HINT: Order the carnitas
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LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS PLACE!!!!!!!!!
hands down my favorite Mexican place ever.
best menu, food, wait staff, prices, atmosphere, guac, outdoor/indoor dining, everything you could ever want and more. no complaints about anything.
ok, 2 years later i still Iove this place. our waiter this time was a bit of an idiot and was busier drinking at the bar chatting up a hottie rather than dealing with our table. We still got some damn good food and some free drinks out of It though! I still love this place, maybe not the best Mexican ever, but top 10 for sure!
**FISH TACOS rule
**CORNBREAD is the best I have had (besides my own) and I am a corn bread offianatto/snob.
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Let me set some people straight---Pacifico is not a bad restaurant. You would think the joint was 7A or Zen Palate or one of the other grossly overrated "go to" spots in Manhattan the way people bring out the claws for this cozy, markedly average neighborhood Mexican bar. The food is consistent and lightening fast out of the kitchen (a shared space with the neighboring Trout, which serves above-average bar food and cheap drinks. See my review for more). But it's not earth-shattering, haute-Mexican and there are some big misfires (stay away from the bland fajitas, overpriced guacamole and the wine, which a server once admitted was "not very good").
I usually order cheese enchiladas, which are always molten and served without the nasty rice and beans that are impossible to avoid finishing. I've also tried the Baja fish tacos (unremarkable, bland, not recommended by the same overtly-honest server), chili Relleno (off the chain!) and, on my first trip, a quesadilla stuffed with chicken and some sort of fatty, meaty sauce. To this day it is still one of the most rich (and absurdly unhealthy) Mexican dishes I had ever had. The cooks were a bit heavy handed with the, well, fat.
Margaritas are $10, which is a bit steep. Go with the white sangria---even during the winter months it just seems right in the heated backyard garden.
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OK my first review and Pacifico was the reason I felt compelled to finally sign up for an account here.
It sucked.
Ventured there on Sunday night to meet some a friend (and a whole bunch of his friends) who had obviously been there quite a while. They were spruiking the joys of the $30 margarita jug but we ventured inside to the bar to see what we could find.
After watching the barman get in a tizz with two customers who asked if they could order food ("No. I can only get you guac. You can't order food if you're sitting outside on the chairs. Huff. Puff."), said barman finally noticed us (there was no-one else at the bar). We ordered two micheladas. Simple. Paid the $7 each and took them back to our seating outside.
Took a sip. Nearly fell off my chair. SUPER spicy. No ice. Now, a michelada obviously isn't a michelada with no helado, so I go back inside and in my friendly way ask if the barman if he put any ice in the micheladas.
"No, I don't do that."
"Er... then it's not a michelada," I say.
"Want some ice?"
"Yes please," I respond.
"I'm not a proponent of ice with beer. It defeats the purpose," he says with attitude.
Granted, we didn't eat here but if the barman can't make a simple michelada (in a Mexican joint!) without attitude, then you can have it. I for one will not be going back.
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really awesome food, and decent margaritas the house pitchers are great for a group of friends (careful now) best if your go in the summer and fall, for outdoor setting. I miss the massive porkchop!
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Hit or miss with this place. I've had mostly good experiences, but the wait alone, especially on hot summer days, gets ridiculous. Come on the early side for whatever meal you're having, or be patient sitting out in the two benches by the entrance. Having a flask helps kill time, fyi.
Pacifico's food is closer to CA-style Mexican, or at least differs enough from the taqueria food in NY, and I say that now living in southern CA. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the fare is a little lighter and more fish/veggies factor into the menu than I've typically had in New York, which isn't a bad thing. You can't go wrong with anything involving salmon- there's a main course featuring this I can't remember the name of but is really great-- and the burritos are huge too.
The layout of this place still trips me out- it's connected to two other restaurants, which makes it a maze, but at least you've got more bathroom options!
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For the last two years I have walked past this place and thought next time it is warm and I am in Brooklyn I have to go eat here, It has a beautifully inviting open eating area in the front of the little restaurant. Than I get busy, winter comes and I think, too late. The other night my friend invites me out to dinner and suggests this place. But it's winter, I was very skeptical....I WAS WRONG! This cozy little restaurant is equip with a huge fireplace, a delightful wait staff and great drinks the perfect things to warm you up on a cold winter day. The food was really good. Clean fresh tasty Mexican, my favorite. Very reasonable prices, especially considering how large the portions are. I am going again this weekend...See you there!
Summery out of 5
Food: 5
Decor: 4
Service: 5
$ Dirt Cheap to $$$$$ Ridiculously Pricey
Price: $$$
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Next door to Trout bar (we went to as our Saturday night warm up) and owned by the same people, this place is a pleasant if unspectacular Mexican bar/restaurant. Plenty of outdoor space made this a great option for a warm early summer evening, but there's loads of room inside as well. We ate some classic Mexican type stuff - my fajitas were very tasty, though were distinctly lacking in sides (no guacamole, beans, sour cream, etc). Difficult to rate properly on this brief fling, but probably worth another shot.
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Hmmm... it's definitely NOT about the food here. Have been here twice - once for brunch and once for dinner and was not impressed (service for brunch in particular was mediocre - they seemed ill prepared for the small crowd of people that were there). I guess it is more about the atmosphere as they have a great front yard with outdoor seating. The margaritas are pretty good (although the brown color of my pomegranate one indicated it was made with pomegranate molasses as opposed pomegranate juice). Also had the beef tacos which was filled with stringy , unappetizing pieces of beef that were a little hard to chew..... all in all, seems like it would be a good place to while away a summertime happy hour.
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i don't really have anything new to add to what previous reviewers have said, except that my white peach margaritas were dee-lish :-) they're worth 4 stars on their own, as a matter of fact, but at $7 a pop, they're a little pricey for brooklyn (it's $6 if you get a regular margarita -- still expensive for a brooklyn joint, i think). combine the high drink prices with what was definitely mediocre food (i ordered the pulled pork sandwich. it was decent, and i ate it, but it definitely wasn't anything special) and this place gets only 3 stars from me.
also, i felt like our waiter was giving us attitude because we were being kinda ditzy... we were never rude to him, we were just acting a bit stupid (taking a while to figure out what we wanted to order, laughing really loudly, etc.), but he had very few tables to attend to so i really don't know why he cared. he seemed to warm up to us by the end, but that might've just been a ploy for us to order more drinks, as he did in fact say, "you guys want more drinks? how 'bout some shots?" and when i laughed and said, "shots??" he responded, "it's wednesday!" yeah, and we've all got work tomorrow, buddy.
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I give this place the fourth star as it is perfectly serviceable & reasonably tasty Mexican food, and it has lots of outdoor seating. Food wise, they do some dishes better than others, for example, their enchiladas are drier and generally inferior to those at Alma, whereas they have Baja fish tacos paired with grilled corn dressed with spicy mayo that's excellent (and where else can you find fish tacos, one of the top five food ever, in NYC?). They have really tasty guacamole and a decent burrito. But this is one of those Mexican places that tries to gussy up a few of its dishes, and the advice is to keep it simple. Go with a few tacos and some chips & guac to accent your margarita, sangria or Negro Modelo. The service, while pleasant, can be a trifle slow, as they have a good amount of indoor space in addition to the outdoor area and it's all covered by just a couple of waiters. I noticed on a recent visit that all the way in the back of the place they have a pretty cool looking tiled bar and a lovely bartender who makes some mean beverages.
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The BF and I fell into the trap. The first-warm-weekend-weather-sit-outside-and-eat-tra p. We headed to Pacifico for dinner on Sunday night and the place was crowded. It took us no time to get a table which was a good thing. But when we sat, we sat for minutes upon minutes with no service or water. When our waitress finally came up, she talked to the table next to us and told the guy sitting at that table that they were out of "yardbird" so "no" he couldn't order some chicken tacos. We should've taken the hint and left then, but we didn't. They were out of "yardbird", "guacamole", and a few of the entrees. I ended up getting some black bean soup - heavy on the sour cream so the BF couldn't really eat it. I followed it with the pulled pork sandwich that had so much mayonnaise laden coleslaw on it that I had to think happy thoughts while trying not to upchuck (Sara + Mayo = Barfy). When all was said and done, we didn't want to complain or talk to anyone, we just wanted to pay and get the F out of there and never ever speak of the experience again. Until now, I had to wait 2 days just to retell the story.
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This mexican restaurant shares a common owner with the pizza shop facing Smith and on your walk to the bathroom your hunger palate changes from a tasty burrito to a slice of pizza. Weird
A fun place to hang out on warm summer days. The outside front 'yard' is full of wood tables and the casual atmosphere calls to the a hip single crowd. The food is passable, the pomegranate margheritas make the salty chips with queso dip super yummy.
But sans the drinks and the outdoor atmosphere the food doesn't impress. More of a fun restaurant to hang out, drink and snack on nachos than a dinner place.
I agree with Kris - the food here is not exactly stellar, but the ample outdoor seating and party atmosphere make it a great place to go with groups. The margarita pitchers make getting toasted pretty inexpensive and the juicy ribs are a great starter. I like the pork carnitas filling for either the tacos, quesadillas and enchiladas.
Huge patio, guacamole is a 8 of 10, a few more authentic mexican dishes than most places in NYC.
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