Cafe Pacific — Restaurant in Highland Park

I'm totally going to borrow/steal a sentiment another reviewer shared a couple of months ago for this same place: from the moment we arrived until the moment we walked out, we were treated like VIPs. This isn't really an exaggeration: the hospitality here is enough to make a guy like me, who clearly needs a lot of attention, feel as if I have been coming here for years and not, you know, since March.

Located in a somewhat nondescript corner of a bustling shopping area, Cafe Pacific looks fairly unassuming from the outside underneath its emerald awning. One step inside, however, and it is clear there is effortless style, grace and attention to detail.

The hostess is charismatic and makes each guest feel welcomed as they cross the black and white tiled floor. Her poise extends to the servers who kind of remind me of the most well-choreographed game of chess ever. They move with such precision between the tables, the aisles, the path to the bathroom and even into the alcove behind the hostess desk.

Our server, Fernando, has the perfect balance between sly humor and sophisticated polish. This was only our second time here, but he ensured our wonderful first impression carried over into this latest visit.

And I know I'm five paragraphs into this review, but I also have to give a shout out to the manager on duty this last Friday night. Here's a guy who makes his way to each table, pauses to converse with the guests and is not shy about running food, clearing tables or performing other duties. I would imagine part of the effectiveness of Cafe Pacific is due to this kind of leadership that knows no qualms when it comes to getting the job done.

And that job involves a dining experience that photographs well for Facebook, but is even better when you're experiencing it in real-time. Immaculately prepared martinis commingle with some of the finest seafood appetizers you can find. Flavorful risottos accentuate other side offerings, and for those of you who do not believe in regrets, might I recommend the lamb? Probably the best lamb I've had outside of Iceland, even if I ran the risk of going into a food coma at the table. You'll need to save room for dessert, too: that pecan ball is a sight to see (and even better to taste), but the key lime tart is the low key best dessert on the menu, I'd say.

You know what else I would say? On the list of the 10 best restaurants in Dallas, Cafe Pacific absolutely...

I could easily give it 2 stars were it not for namely the great staff...but a generally pleasant experience and evening. This review is primarily centered around the food. For the money, they should seriously re-think some of the dishes they are preparing and serving. First though, the wine. Kudos for not gouging the customers on their wine list. It is quite reasonably priced. We started off with Oysters Rockefeller, calamari, and crab cake as appetizers. No complaints about the last two, but the oysters were terribly overcooked and/or re-heated. They tasted OK, but were not prepared well. Our main courses consisted of all fish including snapper, salmon, and trout. The fish, as expected, is very fresh, but preparation was again lacking since a few of our dishes were overcooked and/or under-seasoned. Our sides consisted of creamed spinach and Parmesan risotto. Both left much to be desired. The spinach was very gloppy, and the cream sauce used reminded me your standard green bean casserole...hardly edible. The risotto tasted hastily prepared and lacked the creaminess one would expect from a correctly prepared dish. For some reason, it also had corn in it, which was unexpected and out of place. It completely lacked any Parmesan accents and was very under-seasoned, like many other of our dishes. Finally, our deserts. We had the pecan ball, apple crisp, and creme brulee. Pecan ball was out of this world good. Apple crisp was under-cooked, not seasoned well, and generally devoid of any life. The creme brulee was flavorful and interesting with a hint of lavender. The crunchy top could have used a bit more crispness. In summary, if you are an old person whose doctor has instructed you to limit salt intake and have been going to this place since it opened nearly 40 years ago, it might be great for you. Considering it is on D Magazine's top restaurant list, we expected so much more from the food. This is a restaurant in a historic part of Dallas with very appealing old school charm and character. Sadly, the food generally did not meet expectations compared with the other...

I wanted so bad for this experience to be great, but sadly, we were disappointed the whole way through. We made reservations for a standard table indoors, but were seated on the patio anyway. It was fine - the weather was nice and the trees were lit. We started the night by being walked to our table by the hostess, and as we were half way there, the manager yelled out the door for the hostess to come back and also walk another gentleman to his table with us at the same time. It was unprofessional and clearly bothered the hostess. We were awkwardly left standing on the sidewalk while she had to go back to retrieve more menus and the man left behind. We were seated right next to the heaters. They were off, but they were still leaking propane that we could smell throughout our dinner.

After 15 minutes, we were greeted by a server asking us if we were table 91, as if we knew the table numbers. He ended up taking our wine order even though it felt like the other way around because I had to describe the wine to him when he didn’t have any knowledge of the wine menu.The wine comes out with two glasses that were still soaking wet from being washed ready for a $90 bottle of wine to be poured into them. We ended up ordering the the escargot, crab cake, crusted sea bass, and lobster risotto. The crab cake was saved by a decent aioli and the risotto was actually pretty good. The escargot was definitely missing garlic and the sea bass lacked flavor - it’s likely the chef didn’t salt the fish before frying it in bland bread crumbs.

You can definitely tell that this place survives on its name and nothing else. If I could give some advice to the chef, I would get rid of the 90s menu, and stop hiding behind truffles to...