Pangaea Bistro & Bar — Restaurant in Greensboro

We came here last week (Aug. 23rd) after hearing the buzz around town about this new restaurant… I’m going to skip the preamble and give my review…

The concept and ambiance was above par. Only complaint I have about is that it was quite “loud” with chatter. We could barely hear our server.

Small plate- We shared two appetizers. I had the scallops. One tiny bay scallop on half of a scallop shell with French’s fried onions and something that was supposed to be “creamed spinach” and grated Parmesan cheese. Scallop was overcooked with a chewy texture and it was barely warm. I expected it to have some flavor but it was rather bland. My friend had the eggplant Parmesan. The eggplant was thinly sliced, but tasted good. You would expect that the mozzarella cheese on top would be melted but it wasn’t. Two medium cut slices of mozzarella on top of two thinly sliced eggplant, and tomato ragu. Again, this dish was also barely warm and lacked flavor.

By this time we knew we wouldn’t be having an entree, but being that I had waited all day to try this place- I was hungry. I opted for the crab and lobster grilled cheese thinking this would be impossible to mess up. Boy, I couldn’t have been more wrong!! I was served what looked like the equivalent of a open faced chipped beef sandwich!! A slice of what I assume was sourdough bread, not even toasted or grilled, with a mushy mixture of what was supposed to be crab and lobster (it was fishy smelling and AGAIN barely warm) with another slice of bread on top (not toasted or grilled), and two slices of melted cheese on top. This was a very strange dish because everything on the plate was barely warm but yet the cheese was melted. The taste was bland, and I’m not sure but that mushy mess on that bread was not crab and lobster- I don’t know what it was but it was fishy smelling.

I had the Pineapple cocktail and even that wasn’t good- I only drank half of it. And they serve canned soft drinks, fresh (tap) water, or you can buy a bottle of Fugi water.

Another thing that I found strange was that the back of the house had an open kitchen, where you could see the “chefs” preparing and cooking the food. There was no steam coming from the open window or smells of delicious food being cooked in that kitchen. After getting home, I was stuck in the restroom for about thirty minutes- seriously.

If I could give no stars, I would. I was hoping this dining experience would be good; we desperately need more nice restaurants in downtown Greensboro but this isn’t it. At the rate this restaurant is going, I would be surprised if its still open by the end of the year if they don’t step their game up a few notches. Overall, nothing I expected and we were HIGHLY...

Nestled in the heart of downtown Greensboro, we stumbled upon Pangaea Bistro & Bar for the first time last weekend. We knew we wanted to experience something different and were delighted at the gem we found. Aptly named, Pangaea did not disappoint with its fusion cuisine. Blending bold flavors from Africa, the Caribbean, South America, and Asia (just some of the flavors we enjoyed), this bistro was a treat for our Friday-night-adventurous palates. The dim lighting, warm, rustic brick, high ceiling, and beautiful wood floors created an intimate yet urban-meets-cosmopolitan atmosphere. The noise level was not too loud or quiet, as everyone appeared to genuinely enjoy their evening. We began at the bar with Alex, the bartender. While my husband parked the car, I ordered two Old Fashions. I had never tried one, so I asked Alex to “make one I will like.” And did he ever! The Alex Smoked Cinnamon Old Fashion—or maybe just the Alex Special Old Fashion—got me hooked the first time! The smokey special was aromatic and smooth, with just enough smoke flavor to enhance the warm, spicy notes of cinnamon and sweetness. As for Alex, a bonus to being a creative and knowledgeable bartender was his very laid-back, engaging, personable style; he seemed to enjoy his craft thoroughly! We decided to sit at a table at the end of the bar and continue our evening with Alex as our Server and Bartender. And since it was our first time at Pangaea, we thought it would be fun to let him continue to guide our food-tasting experience… Our Starter was a yummy Scallop Rockefeller (cream spinach and crispy garlic). It was almost not enough, but as it turned out, it was perfect when we followed it with three small plates and one entrée. We were there to do a taste testing of the delectable kind, and Alex did not disappoint! Our small plates: the Filipino Pork with Filipino adobo sauce and puffed rice; the Dodo—a sizeable, sweet plantain with chili flake, pickled red onions, hot sauce, and lime; and the Thai Cucumber and Snow Crab appetizer with a small cucumber salad of carrots, scallions, peanuts, Thai Chili, tomato, and corn. For our shared entrée, we chose the Green Coconut Curry Pork Tenderloin, Pepita, cilantro, and a scoop of coconut rice. We were pleasantly surprised at the ample portion of mouth-watering pork medallions, cooked to perfection. We even took home leftovers. My only regret—we didn’t think to leave room for dessert (Molten Lava Cake next time!). We couldn’t have been happier with the bistro’s atmosphere, our drinks, the scrumptious food, the warm, friendly service, and the overall experience.

We'll be...

We really enjoyed our meal tonight at Pangaea. Our server, Priscilla, was fantastic!!! She was friendly, helpful, and timely. She made us feel very welcome and valued as customers. The servers worked as a team to get our food out in a timely manner which is something that I appreciate seeing when I go to a restaurant. All of the servers we encountered were extremely friendly.

I think there were a couple of small missteps (missed opportunities)with the food, but nothing that would prevent us from going back. For example, my husband ordered the bao, and apparently, they ran out of cilantro so they substituted parsley instead. My husband had to pick it off because parsley really doesn’t go with the other flavors in the bao filling. After he took the parsley out, he said the baos were really delicious! He said he’d definitely order them again.

We ordered the Temblique Foam for dessert which was soooo yummy. It was light and a perfect sweet after a rather filling meal. It was served in just a plain bowl which was okay, but I think they missed an opportunity to really make it spectacular. If it was served in a fancier glass where the little candies showed through, I think it would have wowed us more. The way it was served looked like milk in a white bowl. Maybe this is the way it’s supposed to be served?? I don’t know. Either way, it was delicious!!

I ordered the seafood paella which I really enjoyed and would definitely order again. The rice was crunchy and there was plenty of seafood. It was seasoned well. It was scrummy!!

One of the most spectacular things we ordered were the fried yuca balls which were filled with melted cheese!!! 😋 We will definitely order these again the next time we go.

We also ordered the truffle fries and they were tasty too! They really had a truffle taste!!

We ordered 4 different cocktails (2 for each of us) all of which were delicious! Their cocktail presentation was impressive!!!

We got there at 6pm and the restaurant was relatively quiet. By the time we left, a little after 7 o’clock, it was pretty lively and loud-ish.

All of that said, we will...