Le Papagayo — Restaurant in Encinitas

I set up a celebration dinner here on 08/11 and after seeing the menu and pictures posted online, I was so excited to book a reservation. Reserved a table for two for an inside table (this was specified) three days in advance and was ready to go!

Got a text message on the way to the restaurant that my table was ready, and I thought this was a great little touch and made me feel like my reservation meant something. It was all downhill from there.

Once I got to the hostess stand, she grabbed the two menus and led us to our table, outside, curbside... I'm not really one to make a fuss on these situations so I just rolled with it, but it was strike one in my head.

We then proceeded to wait 30 minutes until we were acknowledged by ANYBODY. There were tables around us getting served, but we sat there getting passed up with empty glasses of water that were never filled waiting for anyone to acknowledge us.

After the 30 minute wait, we finally got our waitress, who I will not name here, that seemed less than enthusiastic to serve our table and made me less than enthused to be here. She took out drink order and disappeared.

10 minutes laters, these 2 absolutely beautiful drinks were dropped off without a word, and our waitress disappeared again to our confusion.

After another ten minutes she did come back to take our food order and that was the last time our waitress came to our table voluntarily without us having to wave or hunt her down. At times we had to ask the ladies at the hostess stand for assistance regarding issues at our table which should never be the case.

The food, however, was presented beautifully. Whoever is doing the plating and drink set up, I want to give you a big shout out! Keep up the beautiful work!

The taste did not live up to the presentation. We order the calamari, the paella, and the lobster roll with the Mac and cheese. The calamari had some flavor but the Lobster Roll and Mac and Cheese were sadly lacking in that category. The paella was beyond salty for both of our palettes and ended up getting returned. The bread was fresh though and the pesto accompaniment was a great addition.

Overall, I was looking forward to this dinner, but was wholeheartedly disappointed. The celebration dinner was ruined by an disheartening seating assignment, food that was decent at best and mediocre to non existent service.

Although the presentation of the food and drinks was remarkable, I could not and would not recommend. However, quite a few people seated elsewhere in the establishment seemed to be having a great time, so to...

“Go Big or Go Home” should be the theme of this establishment. The size of the restaurant, their extensive menu, and the portions are definitely not an issue. They clearly have a different idea of what a “Tapas” size portion is then I do but I like their rendition better. Lots of indoor and outdoor seating, TVs, and live music most days in the evening. Happy Hour on Tuesdays is all day which is nice but it can get crowded. We started out with the Honey Spicy Shrimp and the Shanghai Baby Back ribs. The shrimp was tempura style with a honey chili sauce on it. Very good but not over the top. The ribs were delicious. Fall off the bone with a sweet but savory soy based sauce on them. Would recommend a repeat on that one. Our main course was the Skillet Filet Stroganoff and the Fresh Halibut with blue Crab. Again both portions were large, the filet chunks were a little dry but the stroganoff sauce was good. The fish was cooked nicely but was under seasoned. For desert, we had the Buttercake with sweet cream ice cream and the Vegan Sorbet Trio. The butter-cake was out of this world - slightly crispy on the outside and moist and tender on the inside. To die for. The sorbet was excellent as well with three very large scoops of Cabernet blackberry, mango, and coconut sorbet. NOTE: The service was good but almost too good if that sounds odd. We ordered our appetizers and and were half-way finished them when our entrees arrived. (Literally had one drink). I thought it was just us but noticed both tables next to me were having the same problem so either the kitchen or servers weren’t staging very well. Unless something changes, for future visits, I’d order appetizers and then when I finished, order the next course. I shouldn’t have to do that but we did feel rushed only because they courses came out on top of each other. Really would give this a 3.5 but a couple little tweaks and this could be...

Across…the board…WIN! This place is amazing!

While I feel like I’m pretty good at eating, I know that I’m absolutely terrible at cooking. For me a successful adventure in the kitchen is preparing microwave popcorn. I’m being serious. Guests have visited and asked me where various kitchen instruments should be replaced at the end of the evening and I’ve typically had two questions. “Wait, I own that? What does it do?” 🤷‍♂️

Given that background, I can only assume that our orders of “Braised Short Rib” and “Seared Blackened Ahi” are diverse enough to require separate and serious skills in the kitchen. How they managed to make them both tremendous is beyond me.

Also outstanding was the “Lobster Bisque.” Excellent flavors coupled with a generous serving portion and several quite sizable chunks of lobster. Although the “Prager Bros. Artisan Bread Basket” is not complimentary, it paired in an outstanding manner with the bisque and includes refills.

Live music is a daily observance here and we’ve included a pic of this month’s performers.

Approximately 50% of their seating is outdoors, but if you choose to sit indoors you should be aware that the acoustics can be a challenge and the sound can really reverberate and make conversations a challenge.

Be aware that parking can be hard to obtain.

Our only regret is that we didn’t leave room for dessert, as we were eyeballing several attractive options.

Apparently they also serve breakfast, so clearly a return visit is in order!

Review Synopsis: Our meals were of such high quality that one of our Review Team Members involuntarily and audibly uttered “Wow!” after completing her last bite.

And that’s…Henry’s...