Malbec Argentinean Cuisine — Restaurant in Pasadena

I've been here twice and left unimpressed both times. The first time I went, everyone loved their food except me so I assumed I just ordered the wrong thing. I had the Napolitana which was Breaded tenderloin steak with tomato sauce, prosciutto cotto, mozzarella cheese, mashed potato, and sauteed vegetables. It was really dry and bland. The meat was pounded so thin, it seemed like there wasn't any meat at all!

I went there for a second time this past Tuesday because I wanted to give it another try and my friend was craving steak. He didn't even order steak though lol.

What We Ordered Special for the day, Mollejas: Grilled veal sweetbreads, with mushrooms, potatoes and onions Special for the day, Seared Ahi Tuna with Mango Salsa, roasted potatoes, and a side salad Entraña al Chimichurri: Skirt steak with chimichurri sauce, and grilled vegetables

The Mollejas was the best thing to me for the night! It was cooked perfectly and had good flavor. I really liked the little crispy potato pieces. My friend enjoyed his Seared Ahi Tuna, especially the roasted potatoes that came with it!

My sister's boyfriend ordered the Entraña al Chimichurri last time I came and enjoyed it so I decided to do the same. I ordered it medium rare but, received it medium well. The steak was bland and I had to ask for extra chimichurri sauce on the side to give it more flavor. They don't give you much sauce to begin with, which is fine if the steak was cooked the way I liked at least or had more flavor. The roasted veggies on the side were also just okay. I was not wowed by anything about my dish.

Service was a little off as well. When we arrived, no one was there to greet us for a good 2-3 minutes. We just stood there like idiots. Our waitress rarely came by to check on us so it took me awhile to flag her down just to get chimichurri sauce. The manager or owner was nice though and asked if we were enjoying our food right after we received it. Overall experience, for the price you pay, there are far better options in Pasadena. I will...

I loved this place, the food was great and the atmosphere was excellent. I visited during the lunch hour on a Saturday and it wasn't crowded so it was perfect. The wait times are lower so you'll be there and start eating within your first 30 minutes depending on what you order, I had the Fried Calamari, which included shrimp and octopus and it was delicious I would order 2 plates of this with some rice and call it a day but there's plenty more.

I tried out their beef empanadas the order comes in 2 so your options are ham & cheese, spinach and I think chicken, these are very hot so beware when bitting them, they're nice and crispy very flaky and the filling wasn't too salty, I've had some empanadas were the meat would be a bit salty. As far as drinks are concerned Beer and wine are the only options available and water obviously.

The menu is plentiful with options from vegan to steaks, salads, seafood. I've been to many Argentinean restaurants and what never fails and my go to is the Entraña. Beef skirt steak cooked your way and sooooo delicious, it's the number one item at every restaurant and what they're known for. They serve it with 3 different sauces which is new to me because all I've ever known is the chimichurri sauce, but here they give you a spicy one which is in the middle and a buttery garlic one that looks like cheese. They all taste great and give the steak a nice extra flavor, as for the steak itself, like I said before never fails always delicious.

The service here was great again it was during lunch with a less crowded scene but overall it was great always coming around to refill water when needed. Ohh do not forget make sure you order bread they won't give you any unless you ask for it and yes they give you chimichurri to go with it which is their version of butter on bread so try it it's like a vinaigrette similar to Italian dressing. Parking will be an issue on a busy day this place doesn't have a parking, be careful where you park some places are reserved for...

I've been going to Malbec's for some years now, and it's always a special treat. My GF and I would go to the Toluca Lake location and then once in a while to Pasadena. We had not gone since COVID hit and on Oct 1 of this year we decided to go to the Pasadena location. We met some friends there. It was an amazing time!

The only issue we had was I reserved a table and they could not initially find the reservation. We sat at our table and everything was nice and clean. The waiter was very attentive and went over the menu. My GF and I ordered red cab wine, and our friends ordered the Sangria. The wine was excellent and our friends said the Sangria was very tasty! We also had some bread with chimichurri sauce prior to having our entrees. Even that was great. We also ordered duo de empanadas (beef and ham/cheese empanadas) mmmm. We did not get full prior to getting our main dishes.

I ordered the costillas de corderro (rack of lamb) with a Madeira wine and porcini sauce. I had mashed potatoes with spinach as sides. Ohh... it was heaven. Yum! The meat was juicy and soft. The sauce was perfect. My sides were delicious.

My GF had the fetuccines con salmon (salmon fettuccine). She said it was also delicious. I tried some and agreed. One of our friends had the lenguado al lemon y alcaparras (pacific sole with lemon capers). I did not try his but he stated it was delicious. I took a picture.. lol.

The waiter kept checking on us and was outstanding. When we finished eating we decided not to have dessert and finished. Although from my past experience, I know that the panqueques de dulce de leche are yummy and my favorite. I'll have to get those next time. I later asked for some more empanadas to go and was paying while talking to the manager. He actually remembered me from visiting the Toluca Lake restaurant. He was now at the Pasadena location.

This was a great experience at Malbecs...