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Palmito - CLOSED
Rating Details »
Category: Latin American [Edit]
Neighborhood: Lakeview3605 N Ashland Avenue
(between Addison St & Waveland Ave)
Chicago, IL 60613
(773) 248-3087
- Nearest Transit:
-
Paulina (Brown)
- Hours:
Tue-Sat. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
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"I absolutely love this place! I went here for my 25th birthday dinner with a group of friends and had an AMAZING dinner. Started out…" read more »
10 reviews for Palmito
This place was excellent! We tried so many different things and they were all wonderfully prepared. I will start with the appetizers:
-tilapia ceviche: it was flavorful and fresh. The only thing I would like more if it had more ingredients. It was basically tilapia, tomato and cilantro, I think.
-fried cheese: SO good! I am a sucker for any kind of cheese, though
-the chorizo empanada: nice smoky flavor. I am not huge on chorizo but this one wasn't too overpowering.
Now for the entrees. I got the pork chop rubbed in cumin with a pineapple glaze over a bed of mashed potatoes. It was a HUGE pork chop that was really thick and juicy. The pineapple was a tad sweet for my taste, but combined with the pork chop and potatoes, it worked well. I also tried the grilled salmon, which was SO good. It was grilled to perfection and served over a bed of couscous. And finally, I did get a taste of the chicken with mango sauce. This was my least favorite, maybe b/c I am not a big fan of chicken breast dishes. The flavor was a bit light for my taste but it was still good.
Now to the desserts! I am not a big sweets fan, but I was impressed. We tried this chocolate drenched cake, which was extraordinary! It may have had some coconut or some liquor in it. Not sure, but all I know is it was my favorite. And it was funny b/c we kept on commenting how much it looked like meatloaf! We also had the rice pudding, which was good but not really my cup of tea. And then this banana dish with ice cream and caramel. Yum!
I definitely overindulged myself. But it was worth it. The place is tiny so make sure to get reservations. It is also BYOB so make sure to get some wine or beer. I would definitely recommend checking this place out!
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This place has been open barely two months and they are packed all the time! It's very small, about 8-9 tables but definitely worth the wait. It's also BYOB and there isn't much room to wait for a table, but they will take your phone number and you can visit a couple of the bars on Ashland instead of hanging around inside. The food is outstanding, I've been to Costa Rica and if you're looking for some great authentic Costa Rican food, this is the place. Try the guacamole, it's the best I have ever had anywhere.
UPDATE - So long Palmito.. It was nice having you for the short time you were there!
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Yet another review where I feel the need to give at least twenty stars. Mario is the friendliest host I've ever met, we keep bringing friends out to Palmito. Everything I've ever had here is phenomenal. AND the gas station across the street sells Imperial! Even if you make a reservation, if it's Friday/Saturday night you WILL wait for a table. But bring some booze and friends and it's quite painless. Also, every time we've waited for more than half an hour they've brought us a free appetizer while we wait. Palmito is the best!
EDIT: His name is Marlon, not Mario. I'm dumb.
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I never had Costa Rican food before coming here. It was an excellent experience and so delicious (and it is BYOB- yeah!!).
We started with the Patacones, fried plantains and black bean dip. Then I had the Gallos de Carne, three different style shredded beefs. Both were fabulous.
The place is small, so get there early or be prepared to wait. Also, the staff was super friendly and helpful. I would definitely go back.
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I passed Palmito while taking a different route home and immediately googled the restaurant name. After looking at the menu, I was intrigued bc I have never had Costa Rican food and immediately asked friends if they wanted to go. We decided to go on a Wednesday bc they have a special where for $5 on top of your entree price, you can have an appetizer and dessert item of your liking. The menu isn't humongous but I think one would be able to find something to their liking. Unfortunately, I wasn't wowed by my appetizer of shrimp in a garlic butter sauce nor my arroz con pollo entree choice. The shrimp were fairly basic and something I could have easily replicated at home with no effort. And sadly, my arroz con pollo almost looked like a chicken fried rice with larger pieces of chicken. It also seemed to be lacking any distinguishing flavor. However, dessert made up for my lack of enthusiasm with everything else. I've never been a big fan of tres leches but Palmito's version of tres leches is chocolate with incredible frosting. Their caramelized bananas was also great, but how could you ruin caramelized bananas.
The interior is very vibrant but not over the top loud. Warm and rich colors. They have 2 and 4-top tables throughout. While there, there were only 2 other parties of 2, I do wish they spread us throughout the restaurant vs. sitting next to one another as you could easily hear each tables conversation. Kudos to our server for reminding us that they were BYOB and telling us where the nearest liquor store was in case we wanted to run out and get something. Definitely an interesting addition to the neighborhood but it wouldn't be my first choice in dining destinations.
People thought this was:
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Don't be discouraged when you first enter Palmito. Although the restaurant is quite small (really, no more than 9 or 10 tables and very little room to walk to your table), the delicious meals more than make up for it! I would recommend ceviche as a starter. For the main course, the fish choices are excellent! The tilapia and mashed plantains are light yet satisfying. The red snapper entree is coupled with a papaya salsa and rice and beans (very yummy) You also can't go wrong with the steak chimichurri. And what better way is there to end the meal then to order the warmed bananas in a caramel sauce atop vanilla ice cream. YUM! Also to note, the restaurant is BYOB (only a $2 corkage fee). If you're in the mood for a bit of a latin cuisine, Palmito is the place for some great Costa Rican food!
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Great Costa Rican restaurant, and it's BYOB! For a newer restaurant, they seem to have all of the kinks worked out and are running smoothly. The menu is varied and interesting - should be something for about everyone . Most of the appetizers aren't 'meat-a-tarian' friendly, but the variety and quality of the entrees will have you soon forgetting about the appetizers anyway. This restaurant is kind of small, but they seemed to handle our group well and there was still plenty of room or other parties. Did I mention that it's BYOB?
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I miss my rice and beans from my Costa Rica days so I checked out Palmito longing for a taste of my favorite country in the world. And it was good. And most importantly, they had the key ingredient to any Costa Rican mean...secret "Tico" sauce, i.e., Lizano. I don't know what's in it other than crack. Because it's addictive and yummy and you need it all the time. I put it on their super fresh tilapia and hearts of plam bruschetta. The bruschetta was so good I went home and tried to make it myself the next day. It's BYO which is always a plus. But it's tiny. And we were one of two tables there when we went and I felt guilty speaking above a whisper. And after several bottles of our own spirits, we can't be held respsonsible for maintaining inside voices.
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For starters, the place is T-I-N-Y, so depending on personal tastes, that can be good or bad...I think there was ONE waiter. Not cool. I felt so bad for him! He was running around the place, sweating, and trying to service all, fairly unsuccessfully. Its byob, which is nice because you can really drink yourself into oblivion without spending too much cash, but not when they neglect to bring to glasses for what felt like forever (was about 30 minutes and until we asked, yet our bottles of wine were chillin in the ice buckets they brought to us...?? I think they thought we just wanted to look at the wine).
We ordered fried plantains with a bean dip, and it was bland. I had to add salt. There was really no taste except for the tomatoes used as garnish on the bean dip. I don't like to eat fried food unless I'm getting my taste worth or satisfying a craving!!! The plantains did neither.
My friend and I shared the tilapia, which was tasty- yay! It was rubbed with spices, but not too much- however there was a small hint of fishiness/ salt water. The smashed plantains were delicious, and I also enjoyed the marinated red peppers served as garnish. I will give them a hand for presentation. Everything looked very tasty.
They get a star for the music! Great latin jazz. I heard Stan Getz and that always puts me in a happy mood. I would go here again just to sample something else, and make sure my three stars shouldn't be revised. It seems like a cute date place, but you can listen in to the next tables convo very easily, as I suspect the people behind us were doing. My friends and I had several bottles of wine and were talking about subjects best discussed very discretely. Oh well. Hopefully we were entertaining. :)
After having been to Irazu, which used to be the only Costa Rican restaurant in Chicago I had to see what this new competition was all about. The interior is a lot warmer and cleaner, but the menu wasn't really big in terms of selection. Something about the place made me feel like the cuisine wasn't as authentic as Irazu. The place is BYOB, and there is a $3 corking fee. I came for the $5 extra for a dessert and appetizer when ordering an entree deal. You have to mention this to the waiter or else you'll probably be charged full price. I started out with the Chorizo Empanada which was pretty good. I ordered the Tilapia with veggies and mashed plantains. I wasn't very impressed with this because it just looked like something I could have cooked myself. My dessert was the fried bananas with ice cream and whip cream. It was good, but not extraordinary or anything like that. I also tried the Chocolate Tres Leches cake, and that was really good. It wasn't an overly sweet chocolate, so it was very tasty. It seems like a nice place to take a date or something, but I'd find it tough to accomodate an extremely large group. There was another party of 2 at a table nearby celebrating a birthday, and the waiter did come out with a dessert on the house and the chef came out and talked to them as well. It was an okay spot. I'd probably go out to Irazu before coming back again though.
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