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I don't know how I forgot to write a review about Pazo!
Came by not too long ago for a date and I absolutely loved it! It is the best restaurant I've enjoyed in Baltimore thus far! The food was good, not as great as some of the Mediterranean restaurants in DC, but for Baltimore it was amazing!
I felt like I was warped to a more fun, dressy city at Pazo, it doesn't fit with Baltimore's more casual ways. Oh and the ambiance! I loved the old building dim lighting, wrought iron and the HIGH ceilings, it gave of an elegant gothic like feel.
My date and I had one of the chief's tastings, I can't wait to go back!
If you like being surrounded by glitz & dazzle,
Head over to PAZO!
Nightlife in Fells Point is typically dress-down.
Here you'll find the most fashionable folks in town.
This is one of the city's hottest spots to eat, drink, & pose.
It's a crowd of cash burning yuppies, designer dudes, & trendy hoes.
Here you won't find any beer imbibing frat boys with popped collars.
Dinner & drinks for two can easily run a tab of over $200.
The building itself is a beautifully renovated warehouse,
Located in a not so pretty industrial area inhabitable only by a mouse.
The interior is wide, open, and spacious.
The décor itself is gorgeous and ostentatious.
Most of the place is adorned with luxurious wall hangings.
From the high ceiling, you'll see decorative iron chandeliers dangling.
The fancy staircases with ornate railings are made of steel.
I felt it rattle as I walked up to the balcony in my 2 inch heels.
This is a fun place for people watching,
And a great spot for wine sipping & tapas noshing.
They have a full menu of traditional Spanish influenced dishes.
Almost every entree we sampled was delicious.
Before dinner, they served us sunflower seeded flatbread crackers.
They were a bit sweet for me, but a nice treat since I am big snacker.
We shared 8 small dishes, 2 desserts, and a bottle of Rioja wine.
Ahhhhhhhh...Our dining experience was so divine!
SEAFOOD
1. Pan grilled tuna (4.5 stars for the crispy coating) with avocado salsa (5 stars for south of the border spiciness)
2. Grilled rock octopus (3 stars for the bland taste & slightly charred flavor) with crushed potatoes and pimentón (4 stars for the unique smoky flavor)
3. Shrimp with garlic, salmoriglio sauce, and red chili salt (4.5 stars for spiciness and exotic seasonings)
MEAT
4. Butter braised Kobe beef brisket (4 stars for the overly tender texture) with potato puree (5 stars for the buttery flavor & creamy smooth texture)
5. Pork confit cannelloni (4 stars for the juicy meat flavor but unstable cannelloni) with mushroom cream (4.5 stars for unique buttery flavor) and roasted walnuts (5 stars simply because I love nuts)
6. Lamb chops with red wine pomegranate molasses (4 stars for the tangy and acidic sweet taste)
FIELD GROWN TREASURES
7. Wood roasted mushrooms with lemon and rosemary (5 stars for the buttery texture and simple herbilicious flavor)
8. Mixed olives with herbs and pepperoncini (4.5 stars for variety & complex spicy flavor)
DESSERT:
1. Trio of Vanilla ice cream (5 stars for the strong vanilla bean flavor), Passion Fruit sorbet (4 stars for the tart & tangy taste), and Watermelon granita (5 stars for the strong watermelon flavor as well as the icy syrupy sweetness).
2. Chocolate trio of a Cupcake (4 stars for decent taste but nothing spectacular), Expresso ice cream (5 stars for the sweet & bitter flavor), and a Chocolate bar (4 stars for the unnecessary sugar rush).
After dinner, we decided to go to the Thames St. waterside for drinks.
We asked our server "Is this area safe to walk around at night?"
He responded "If you head north of Aliceanna but don't go past Ann...
You'll be alright."
Just when he was about to give us directions,
The couple seated next us laughed at our conversation.
To them it sounded so silly and outrageous
To hear their city being described as "dangerous."
A-OK's a great way to put it. Pazo has a pretty sweet happy hour, with a pre-dictated selections of their fantastic cocktails and tapas for $5 each. The drinks are adventurous too, with sweet, herbal, and savory options (including one with bacon...). I found dinner here, albeit during restaurant week, to be less wonderful, mostly because the tapas style left the two of us with way more food than we could eat (and I promise, we're eaters) all at one time--I believe they put six-seven dishes plus bread in front of us all at once, and their portions were bigger than typical tapas. This was all pre-dinner course too. The food I've eaten there has always been quite good, but once I look over at the prices, I wonder if it's justifying its existence (like a mozzarella pizza, for example, or teeny two-bite piece of filet).
In summary: hit this place up for happy hour, especially for two or with a small, chatty group--the ambiance is beautiful, and very cozy-up-able in the lounge with comfy long couch seating.
This is, by-far, the best evening out my wife and I have had in Baltimore. We shared five small plates and a pizza and everything thing was excellent. The Kobe beef brisket and grilled tuna were perfect. The calamari was a little strong, but still a 3.5 out of 5. The sangria was delicious, and the desserts were moan-inducing. The wait staff was polite and accommodating--attentive without being pushy. The atmosphere was warm and open. All-in-all I have nothing to complain about.
Great decor, although the chairs at the upstairs tables are very uncomfortable--they're plasticy and everyone in my group was sliding off them.
Food was good to very good. We had the pre-set tapas dinner for 10. The eggplant dip was just average (a little slimy, but that's eggplant for you) and the dough for the empanadas was a little thick; however, the beef brisket and the lamb chop were delicious. If you're a wine drinker, get the malbec (not the malbec blend).
Service was good; could have been slightly more attentive, but fine. Valet parking is free if you get the ticket validated, but $25 if you don't, so don't forget to do that.
I again found myself at Pazo while with a group of 8 new and not-so new business associates. We got the Table for 10 because we didn't want to be concerned with details like, 'what should we order' and because we thought the Table for 6 would not be enough food (duh!). I really enjoyed this place last time I was here a couple of years ago and nothing has changed. Still a wonderfully done interior space and the items served for our 'Table of 10' were wonderfully delicious. Of course there was wine, the white being a Txokolina from Txomin Extaniz (tasted like a mineral-ly stale sparkling, I liked it) and the 2006 Rosenblum Heritage Clones Petite Sirah. Now talk about a tasty wine, every person in our group loved it! Delicious buttery bouquet, silky smooth finish, go find some of this wine NOW.
Two trips to Baltimore and visited Pazo each time. Dare I say, if in Baltimore again, I'll be back...
Recently I stayed in the Fell's Point area of Baltimore while in town for a conference. I was… Read more »
I don't think Pazo is pretentious - I walked in w/jeans, converse sneakers and a tank top - yes, I was a little under dressed compared to other clientele but I'm so used to the NY attitude that if you're wearing jeans, you're pretty much good to go anywhere (except for maybe Le Bernardin.) (But they did have a sign saying something about a dress code, which I didn't bother to read...??)
This is my second time here. The food here is solid. It's not the best tapas I've had but the room itself is very pretty - open, airy...service was also fine...
The one dish that is a MUST try is the scallops with chickpea hummus and samiriglio sauce - absolutely brilliant! We ordered a second, it was that delicious - all the flavors went so well together, the olive oil, garlic, the hummus and the scallops were seared perfectly - caramelized and seasoned just right, crispy on the outside, tender on the inside.
The other tapas is good - I mean, manchego cheese w/a slice of bread, olives, etc - you'd have to really try to mess those up. The peasant style bread is delicious, I would definitely order that as well. The sunflower seed bread / crackers they give you when you sit down are also very good - salty, sweet, crispy...
The desserts - by far the strawberry rhubarb tart (seasonal) was the best (and I don't even like rhubarb!) I would say I would choose it over the ice cream sandwich (literally a sweet roll w/a scoop of ice cream in the middle) which was good but a little too bready, even for me. The chocolate platter didn't impress me, I wouldn't order it again...
The sangria is alright. Cava for $9 glass is pretty good in my book...
If you're in Baltimore & want to go to a place with solid tapas, this is a very good option.
Pazo makes me miss Baltimore. There, I said it.
The crowd gets a bit insufferable on the weekends. There's a solution to that: don't go on the weekends. I've spent many a lovely weeknight evening at the bar, enjoying a few glasses of wine, an order of sunflower seed flatbreads, and the best steak tartare I could ever hope to have. The other menu items delight as well, but the sunflower seed flatbreads and steak tartare are as good as good gets.
certainly the ambiance is nice & great for a date
I'd recommend from
Land: Kobe Beef Brisket
Sea: Tonno Crudo, Crispy Calamari
Field: Croquettas
for happy hour -
the Tapas sized Pizza Cristina was great
will have to go back again to try more
Pazo is my favorite place to eat in Baltimore. Every time I go, I get to try something I've never had before. The wine is always interesting, and the menu has tons of great choices.
My wife and I went to Pazo again this weekend for our anniversary. She wasn't feeling well, so I ended up eating most of the food myself. The croquettas are my favorite dish, they're like cheezy fried potato balls. I also had the hangar steak, which was perfectly seasoned.
I definitely don't think it's a pretentious place. It's relatively casual for a restaurant this good (I wore jeans and a button down shirt and didn't feel under dressed). I've been to restaurants in DC and NYC where I've felt totally out of place because of the pretentiousness. Pazo feels comfortable, but it's always an adventure. Definitely worth checking out if you're in the area.
Pazo is a pretty unique spot in Fells Point, and there are really few like it in Baltimore. It manages to pull off an impressive mix in the ambiance department of being edgy and industrial, without being cold. Aesthetically, it is a pretty cool spot.
The food is a bit expensive for what you get, and that is being considerate of it being a tapas place. I have been here ~ 10 times or so and have never left filling particularly full. Yeah guy in the peanut gallery I KNOW its a tapas place, but 5 small plates should get it done more than it does here in the quantity department.
Wine list is excellent, particularly if you like Spanish reds, which I do. No draft lines here, all beer is by the bottle. Morreti is a decent choice by the bottle.
My most recent trip was this past weekend for my companies' holiday party. We were given a private room upstairs with a sliding partition. The space was nice, it offered privacy, but still allowed us to feel the vibe of the place downstairs. I thought the electronica they pumped in was a little too loud, but no one else seemed to notice. Our server was very nice, and every bit as pretty as she was absent minded. On two occasions I ordered a beer, only for her to return a few minutes later and ask if I wanted anything to drink. Umm, besides the beer I ordered? In fairness large parties are tough to serve, and I thought on the whole she did a pretty good job. The only other issue was my double espresso came out cold. Not like "not hot enough", actually plain old COLD. When I informed our server, she fixed it right away and brought me one that was piping hot.
My advice on Pazo is use it for what it is- a cool spot to grab a drink at the bar, or have a few small plates before going somewhere else. In my case it was always a pretty dependable "2nd date" place when I lived in Federal Hill. But don't get caught up in the hype some to have for the place... "it's the best restaurant in Baltimore"! No, it isn't. But it is not without its charm, and serves a purpose.
I LOVE PAZO !!! :)
me and my girlfriends went here for my birthday celebration. we got a ton of tapas (3 each, party of nine) and we cleaned the plates. the food was amazing.
our waitress was a sweetheart and gave us a few things on the house because it was our first time.
my favs: the chicken, goat cheese dip, croquettes, shrimp and garlic, and the sunflower seed squares before dinner!! we left stuffed.
the cotton candy martini is worth the $15 for presentation alone. don't want to ruin the surprise, you'll see for yourself. also tried the chai martini and the pear with rosemary (i think?) all wonderful.
perfect decor, great music. can't say enough great things about pazo!!!
I have multiple personality disorder at Pazo. Specifically, just two personalities that are in constant conflict with one another. Think the Niki/Jessica egos on Heroes (when the show wasn't weird and kinda sucky). One personality thinks Pazo stands for "Pretentious Assholes, Zealously Overdressed" who are trying (1) to be someone they're not and (2) to look cool and sexy to others. It ruins the experience for him and makes him want to leave ASAP. The second personality wants to have a good time, but needs to put everything else on ignore so that he can enjoy the food (mainly the raw and cheese menus), a martini and his friends. Maybe I should take lithium before I go again...
Yes, the place tries very hard to be hip and trendy and so do the people who patronize it. My most recent experience at Pazo crossed me and my friends with a very drunk and extremely ignorant man and woman, the former of whom worked for "the governor" and had to compare himself to us based on our boss. He literally asked, "Who is your boss?" rather than, "What kind of work do you do?" Upon finding out that we are all scientists with masters or doctoral degrees, one of whom works for a world famous scientist, he became quite rude and began insulting us as "lame and arrogant." Wow. Threatened much? We were just answering questions and trying to make conversation. We started ignoring him. He soon left us alone, probably because we wouldn't entertain such ignorance and he could no longer compensate for his most likely small penis. These are the types at Pazo. It's sad.
Why it's so sad is that the space is architecturally beautiful (a converted warehouse), with a large bar, a lounge full of comfy couches, chairs and booths, and two floors of seating for dining. The menu is diverse. Martini options change regularly. They even have savory martinis, which I'm hestant to try, like the BLT-ini. Vodka, bacon infusion, tomato water and pepper. Scary, though part of me just wants to taste it, though I'm unwilling to pay if I'll hate it. The wine list is large and fairly reasonable in price. The food is diverse for vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike, influenced by cuisine of Spain, Italy, and Sicily. My favorite is the Tonno Crudo. The service is often excellent as well.
I do like going to Pazo occassionally, but I definitely need long respites between visits. I have to mentally prepare myself to deal with the clientele and then I need to go through douchebag detox after leaving.
My boyfriend thought it was great overall...but me being a yelper, I have some thoughts.
If your kind of ambience is the "cool people" type, then be my guest. There is a mix of people the kind that you don't see in DC & VA, the ones who look like royal highness-over-the-top meets high-maintenance who sit with their back straight up, moving their limbs in elegance, & with an air of arrogance. There are a few who are not like that, haha!!! But if they were sitting next to you, ask for another table, or choose to your liking...you want your dining experience to be good.
The setting is cool...former warehouse...with high ceilings, chandliers, windows, and a second floor to boot with a balcony. It's memorable! Candles lit on all tables, dark brown tables, chairs, red carpets. Open kitchen, airy throughout. Big, big place with a sitting area of couches, big lamps, a fireplace, nice bar. Cool music, none you would know, but relaxing. You don't have to be dressy to go, but the people there are. I wore jeans and a top. My boy also wore jeans & a cool top.
Drink menu an array of drinks. We both ordered mojios. He had mint & I had lychee. Delicious!!
We loved the sunflowr crackers mmm a little caramel taste to them. We ordered tapas...fish, beef, asparagus (was salty), basmati rice, & chicken on bread. Everything was good!!! Pricing is over-the-top.
The service was exceptional. We had a waiter named Jared that evening. He did an excellent job of checking on us, our food, and made suggestions when appropriate. He said to ask for him when we are in the area. We wouldn't mind and we highly rec'd him when you go there.
No dessert, we were full!!!
Pazo, what are you doing in Baltimore? The space and the crowd are more chic than I was used to seeing. The renovated warehouse seems like it belongs in the Meatpacking district in NYC, but is a wonderful addition to the area between the Inner Harbor and Fell's Point. Great for a date, a girl's night, or a birthday dinner group. I last went with my family, and it was a bit loud for my parents' taste (on a Saturday night).
good tapas and wine. happy hour is a good bargain. complementary (tip-only) valet which is rally nice. lively atmosphere... which is why this place is especially good for first dates where you are unsure about conversation. its kinda dark and loud so will cancel out any awkward silences. all-in-all, I am a local and do not go there for dinners myself except when hosting guests. good place to try but not worthy of being a regular.
The atmosphere at Pazo is the big draw. The decor is both spacious and gorgeous, and I've never been to another place like it in Baltimore. I've made about three visits and have never had anything but a wonderful food and service. Pazo has ruined me for most tapas restaurants. The absolute best thing about Pazo is the desserts and cheese plates. I wish I could make a meal just out of the cheese. http://Best.cheese.plate. ever! The staff is knowledgeable and will recommend you the perfect cheese, and they have never steered us wrong.
All those nice things said, it is a bit overpriced and there is a bit of a frou-frouy yuppie vibe which isn't that appealing, although that could be me, as I don't make a habit of dining out at places that have valet parking.
Interesting for Baltimore... A well appointed dining room and visually striking as well. The crowd was a little loud, but it was easy to tune it all out once the food arrived.
The duck was excellent!
The steak tartare with it's odd horseradish "ice-cream" was not so great; the two textures didn't work well and the ice-cream's temperature made the dish awkward as well...
Eh. That's my reaction to this place from our one and only visit in 2008. The service wasn't so great (our waitress rarely came to our table and acted like serving us was a hassle) and at dinner time, the restaurant was pretty dimly lit. I ordered a tomato, mozzarella, and basil starter and I think we also had the whole fish. I can't remember our other items. Food wasn't that remarkable. Mezze is much better.
I've been to Pazo's three times now, and every time it just gets better and better! Each time I come here, my sister orders for me and just gets a whole bunch of different tapas. Everything is always soo good, but the Costa pizza (tomato confit, buffalo mozzarella, reggiano & basil), Malloreddus alla Norma (house made pasta with eggplant tomato, garlic & pecorino) and the Ceviche stand out in my mind. Oh and not to mention the complimentary sunflower seed crackers! So delish. I also just celebrated my 21st birthday here last week after having to leave Indigma for their poor service (long story short, they would not serve me alcohol even though I was legally 21!). It was restaurant week so we ordered off of their special menu. The slice of birthday cake that they brought out for me was also really very good, but it was THE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES that reallly got me. I'm more of a pie girl, never really liked cakes or cupcakes, but the texture was just perfect and the icing (more of a mousse) was so light and creamy. Might just have to go there for dessert one more time before I leave Baltimore!
There have been several drunks in my life that I have lived to regret. I know them each by name. I'm not talking about other people, I'm talking about me. There were exactly 3 until I got to Pazo and now there are 4.
The reason is threefold. The first is that I didn't have any breakfast or lunch that day. The second was that I was in stellar company and feeling extraordinarily loquacious and friendly. The third was my bartender's invention - the Prairie Fire Martini.
I am sad to inform you that I cannot recall the name of my bartender, because he did an excellent job of serving up the fire. The tapas on tap was superb, and although Baltos(?) may find Pazo a bit pretentious and expensive, it being right around the corner from Camden Yards and all. As an out of towner, I was rather impressed by the very idea of dinner on big fluffy couches. And I'm from LA not expecting to be impressed by anything in Baltimore whatsoever - aside from certain individuals at Johns Hopkins and my very own relatives.
It certainly had a yuppie feel to it, but not so much a self-important yuppie feel. Then again so long as they weren't talking about movies, all conversation to these LA ears was welcome.
I was a bit surprised that the joint closed down at 10pm because I needed another hour to de-libate, and I wasn't about to go about it the bulemic way. But I was forced into the street much to my compatriot's chagrin. I managed to get back to where I once belonged without incident, though it took the better part of 90 minutes and a stop at Burger King, but the Pazo experience was still fondly remembered through the purple haze.
If this restaurant succeeds, it is largely due to the lovely architecture and interior design, and not in the least to the erratic and at times bordering on unpleasant dishes which trickle forth from the kitchen one by one. I can only conclude that the satisfied diners who have posted reviews were those who were either intoxicated by the unsually pretty room, or those who were drinking heavily, which, by the way, seems to be the activity of choice here.
Let me start by saying I very much like Pazo. But it's not going to be everyone's cup of tea, and it does have some downsides to it.
Trendy or warehousy? Crammed or bustling? It all depends on your personality. We like going early, before it gets packed up.
The food is variable, but falls on the 'good' end of the spectrum. The benefit of tapas is even if you get something that's 'meh', the next bit is probably good, and you're only out five bucks or so. For example, we had some so-so calamari once, but it was followed by some grilled sardines that totally made up for it -- they were so fresh they practically splashed.
Extensive wine list; all pretty good. The wait staff has ranged from 'can we adopt you?' awesome to average.
It's certainly unique in the Baltimore restaurant pantheon, and worth going to.
The ambiance of this place is what I feel like makes this place great. That and their sesame, flax seed, healthy-tasting crackers. Waiters are friendly and constantly gave you attention - this could be a good and bad thing. The tables were a bit small when you ordered a lot of tapas at once. Their dishes were pretty good - their beef tartar is worth trying. On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the most imaginable tasty meal ever, I give this place a 6.
Overall, great looking restaurant, good food, good waiters. Just a little pricey.
A Pazo haiku:
Pazo has good food
The tapas? Pretty tasty
The servers are nice
What more do you want?
Probably the most visually stunning restaurant in Baltimore. An old factory converted into a restaurant. It's breath taking. The great part of Pazo is not the food ( which is good, but not spectacular for fine dining) it's the experience of being with friends. You never feel hurried or rushed. The service is wonderful. The food over all is a bit salty for my taste. I know salt brings out flavors, but it seems to be the flavor here. It's a bit pricey for a mediocre dinner, but it's a great place for drinks and small plates after hours.
I think one day I will review places that I had horrible experiences at, but this isn't one of them.
First of all, the atmosphere in this restaurant is excellent. It is a converted old warehouse like many places you see in Baltimore. Unlike a lot of places that still have an industrial feel to them, Pazo really has a cozy feeling to it. When you come in there is an area for groups that has couches situated around tables. This is an awesome, comfy place to share tapas with friends. If you are taking a date out, I would suggest trying to sit upstairs as the downstairs tables lack privacy. The kitchen is open and you can see a little of what's going on back there.
As far as the food goes, my favorites were the ceviche and the lamb meatballs. I would also suggest trying some of their fresh bread. The best pizza i have had there is the Margarita pizza with the buffalo mozzarella cheese. They also have an extensive wine list with wine to potentially match up with every dish they serve.
If you have never tried tapas, give pazo a try. You won't be disappointed.
I had the opportunity to come here as the representative Gen-Yer (yay/oh no) of a group of baby boomers. When we sat in the lounge area to wait for our table, the sequined, bleach blonde gals double-fisting cocktails (ha) next to us looked horrified as women NOT under 30 (myself not included in this set) would dare ruin the integrity of their hipness and sit near them, or even be in the restaurant so I initially thought the night might not pan out so well. However, I was overall surprised with the rest of the night.
Asparagus was good - not so oily, and not over ripened (this bugs me with asparagus) Lamb shoulder was something I had never had before, and I was particularly satisfied with this dish. They did CHARGE US FOR BREAD, which inherently bothers me, but I've been to placed where they dump a little square on your table for 5 or 6 bucks, which was not the case here. And it was awesome. So nothing lost for that. Their selection seemed fine and dandy, but ultimately the cocktail I got was pucker-your-mouth sweet; the kind that gives you a headache before you can finish it. . I ordered this because there was no beer. No beer. Boo! Service also seemed to dip off at the end, which I've noticed is nearly universal for small-plates gigs. I realize some people might disagree with me here, but in terms of their small plates pricing, I've seen much, much, much worse, and I thought our bill was fairly reasonable, relatively speaking.
I'd give it three and a half, but damn you Yelp, you won't let me. But since I would definitely come back here to at the very least try another round of food, I will give you the benefit of the doubt with 4.
We had a great time at Pazo! This would be a 4.5 star review if that were an option. Love the venue. It's a spectacular space, inviting and warm while remaining very hip and trendy.
We opted for the tasting menu for two then supplemented a little with some "had to have items" like Jamon Iberico, seared scallops over white bean puree and pork empanadas. We LOVED the sesame sweet crackers at the start of the meal and seriously had to limit ourselves to one round.
I don't know what the spanish are sending us, but this Jamon Iberico simply didn't have the edge that it had when I ate it in Spain. The scallops on the other hand were to die for! The white bean puree was studded with sherry plumped raisins adding the perfect complement to the impossibly sweet scallops.
Other standouts of the night: The ceviche was as fresh and tasty as any I've ever eaten, the Amish boneless chicken legs were a revelation of flavor and tenderness, the shrimp with chili flakes, tomato and garlic were delicious and the crema catalan for dessert was exactly like we had in spain and very nice way to end our meal.
Service was very knowledgeable and attentive. I love all the Foreman restaurants (Charleston being my favorite) so this just gets added to the list. Proof, once again, that some of the best dining in the Washington DC metro area is in Baltimore.
3.75 stars to be exact...
Good mojitos, empanadas with cilantro sauce, and shallot bruschetta. And a grand space. And foot traffic outside. The place turns into a nightclub around 10 30, so if you are looking for a quieter dinner you should come earlier. Nine of us ordered the tasting menu for 10 -- the amount of food sort of made my stomach churn, figuratively and literally. Lots of leftovers. After a few rounds of tapas, the paella came, then the braised lamb, then the normal meal-ender of pizza. Our eyes kept getting bigger and groans louder. Anyway, there were some hard pieces in the paella -- otherwise good use of rosemary; pizza was lukewarm by the time any of us touched it. Really attentive service. A little bit too dim of lighting. $75/person (I am including a glass of wine and gratuity).
Beautiful open space. I think Pazo would be great for a private event, like a company party or wedding reception. We enjoyed the music and overall atmosphere of the restaurant. The service was a bit mechanical and cold. Waiters whipped around us while we ate, picking up plates and dropping off new ones. The table for 4 seemed a little cramped considering how many plates we ordered. There was a point where we had to balance the plates on top of one another. Maybe it was their way to get us to eat faster and talk less. The food was good. My favorites were the seared scallops and the mushroom soup.
also, our server told us no bread came with the tasting menu, so we ordered a seperate order of bread. total lie. we wound up with 4 plates of bread!
Ambience was great. Food was just okay. I've had better tapas. It seems like this place is a very happening place, so I suppose it's a matter of personal taste, but I prefer tapas with a more latin flavor.
Note: cheese that is described as "earthy" means it'll taste a bit like weeds.
The food here is FANTASTIC. Some standouts on the menu are the bruschetta (not your typical bruschetta), ceviche, sharp cheese trio, and the pizza with tomato confit. The decor is very cool, very dimly lit (a little challenging to read the menu), and a DJ spins some great electronic beats. The downside is...it gets very LOUD in there. Having a low key conversation is impossible. Service was an appropriate pace--not too slow and not too rushed. The complimentary valet parking is a nice touch. Yes, the beautiful people hang out here.
I really enjoyed my trip to Pazo, although its not somewhere I would go on a regular basis. The atmosphere...high ceilings...lounge areas...is fantastic. However, the tables we sat at were so crammed. I'm not a large person and it was even difficult for me to get in and out of my seat without knocking over the table next to us because we were so close toegther! Since they have such a spacious lounge area near the bar, you'd think they could give a little more space to the regular diners! My other complaint is that the music was so loud that I could barely hear our waiter when he was descrbing menu items. I noticed that other diners around me were having the same problem.
The food was great and it was fun to try a bunch of different things. Be warned that you might not be as filled as you would be if you went to Little Italy or Fogo De Chao! My boyfriend is a meat and potatoes man and he was still left a bit hungry after our dinner. The prices are reasonable, I think, in comparison to similar restaurants. I was excited that there is a $17 bottle of Pazo wine on the menu, which I really liked. More wine for me!
This is definitely a good place for groups and sharing!
I was at first a little skeptical of shelling out the cash on tapas after being somewhat disappointed by Jaleo in Bethesda; however, Pazo quickly settled all of my initial misgivings. The atmosphere was smart, dressy, modern with a touch of Mediterranean yet unpretentious. The waitstaff did a commendable job in politely answering all of my newb questions (Does that come with cheese? What is romescu sauce?) and their recommendations were genuine-- the Jamon Iberica was incredible! I also enjoyed immensely the empanadas. Wine was a little expensive at 11$ a glass, so I technically should take a star off but I won't, because frankly, this is the best food I've had in awhile.
That said, it wasn't an incredibly busy night for Pazo despite it being a Saturday due to an intense thunderstorm that kept most people (not the brave or slightly crazy, like myself) at home. I've heard that it can be difficult to get a table at Pazo's and the service is lacking, but I can't attest to that since my experience was nothing less than great.
Do dress nicely, however, or else you'll feel rather silly among all the trendy good-looking folk.
Our favorite place in Baltimore (among many that we enjoy). The atmosphere is terrific; gorgeous space and stylishly though comfortably decorated.
I'm surprised to hear that some haven't enjoyed their meals. We've never been disappointed. The menu changes frequently, which gives us a great opportunity to try different things, and the portion size, although arguably modest, work well when sampling the many assorted yummies.
My husband could live on nothing but the fougasse and ARS Poetica (a rich red wine). The cremini mushrooms in lemon and rosemary are delicious and the fried calamari is tender and not at all heavy. I tend to shy away from sweet drinks, but the Euro is irresistible.
The service has always been terrific, whether we've sat in the lounge or at a table.
On weekends in particular, the dress code is--thankfully--pretty hip. We consider it a treat to get a bit dolled up to go out, and the crowd at Pazo seems to feel the same way. This sometimes slips in the summer, when Zagat-clutching tourists come from the harbor in their cargo shorts, flip-flops and t-shirts (shudder), but generally speaking, a well-heeled crowd.
We were a little disappointed by the late night music on our last visit. The DJ was spinning some great Euro-lounge type stuff and we were eager to dance, but once the tables were cleared away, he shifted to hip hop and reggae that kept pretty much everyone off the floor. Not typical, though, so maybe he was just trying something new.
Only my second time here. Just had a few drinks and bites of various tapas dishes on a late Tuesday night.
Note: Shots are not served here, because it's that kind of place. I asked for GM or Patron shots, and technically they can't serve shots, but the waiter brought us Grand Marnier served in cordials. Well, we took them as damn shots anyway. *HACK* Okay, not so smooth going down that way, but this is for a birthday! So after a few more fancy martinis and cocktails we headed to Ryleighs to get our drink on.
Great space and very trendy. We went for RW but ended up just ordering off the tapas menu. The place is busy, really busy. There were people eating in the hallway where the restrooms were...behind the bar area. The staff seemed uninterested. They weren't very engaged and the service was rushed at times and absent at times.
The food was decent but a bit pricey. My husband and I are veg and there were some options...but not many. We ordered a bunch of tapas, a salad and pizza and the Cremini mushrooms never came. :o(
Overall, It was an above average experience but not sure if I would drive to Baltimore to eat there again. I think Zaytinya is much better.
Came here before the theater. When we sat down, the server told us that they had recently added entrees. I think that this was because some previous diners left hungry (see below)...
We ordered a bunch of tapas, salads, a pizza, and some entrees. To be honest, everything was pretty small. The tapas were smaller than I had expected, and the entrees might be called tapas elsewhere. The pizza was of decent size.
We got the dishes one-by-one - it was kind of a game to figure out what was coming next. I liked the quail, the calamari, and the eggplant dip. To be honest, everything was very good - you almost couldn't go wrong.
I left ever so slightly hungry (I don't think that we ordered quite enough food). I would recommend a few tapas per person at a minimum, and maybe an entree. The prices aren't cheap, but this isn't a place to skimp on the meal. My only advice is to not come here when you're ravenous (maybe after a big lunch).
The decor is great, and the service was nice as well. If only they had given us a refill of those fantastic flatbreads.
Well, I went to Pazo on Saturday night, not only because it's one of my favorite restaurants, but it was the only place I could get a reservation @ 5PM, enough time for a nice leisurely dinner before our 7:50PM movie at the Landmark Theatre (FYI go see Juno, it's a good little movie). If you have dined @ Pazo, you know that "leisurely" is not in their vocabulary, I always feel rushed when I am there, and my date agreed, so we were prepared for this and ordered a few dishes from the Tapas menu and did not take advantage of the Restaurant Week selections.
The place was packed by 5:15PM, not an empty seat in the house, which my date complained that the tables were "too close" and we felt as if we were sitting on top of the diners next to us. We would have much preferred sitting at one of the sofas in the bar area, I'll have to try that next time.
The wait staff here is always attentive and this night was no exception. Our waitress was friendly, quick and all-around top notch.
We started with a bottle of Aglianico, ARS Poetica Basilicata, Italy 2004...we love this wine! It's so rich and yet such a good value.
We ordered the following Tapas:
Ceviche - the freshest seafood and not overpowered with red onion, like so many other restaurants' versions.
Sardines - this was a special that night, one which we had on a previous visit and loved, grilled to perfection with a crispy skin and tender meat, although I was a little self conscious eating a sardine while seated so closely to other patrons.
Manchego & Manzana - I'm a cheese person, so I had to try this dish; beautiful manchego, scrumptious strips of apple with a citrus zing, topped with walnuts, quite delicious.
Wood Grilled Cremini Mushrooms - these were terrific, probably due to the fact that the mushrooms are grilled in their wood oven, awesome smoky flavor, juicy, with a hint of rosemary.
Shrimp with Garlic - this was very good, although the shrimp were on the small side, it was still a good value.
We planned on ordering bread, which is probably the best bread in town, and maybe another dish, but were just too full. The waitress was kind enough to offer us free desert, which I believe was the Cajeta Mousse Cake, I could only take a bite...there were layers of creamy mousse and light cake topped with almonds, it was quite good.
We still had some time to kill before our movie, so we sat at the bar and had another glass of wine.
Timonium, MD
Category: Restaurants
Baltimore, MD
Category: Lounges
Baltimore, MD
Category: Italian
Baltimore, MD
Category: American (New)
Baltimore, MD
Category: Restaurants
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