Palomar — Restaurant in Portland

-- EDIT -- Thanks for the kind response! My review probably came out a little harsher than intended, but I love to hear that you're trying something new with the lechon! This makes me excited to come back and try the results.

I wanted to try this place when it was still on Division. Great cocktails, if somewhat inattentive bar service. The food dishes were beautifully presented (seared tuna tostada is a winner). But as Cuban food it falls short on the basics. Lechon asado lacks enough mojo or marinade, and presented without any crispy skin or crunch. It's approximately a pile of very boring central fatty carnitas sans garlic or citrus, not a lechon asado. This indicates a problem with technique or not spending the time to make the most of what can be done with quality pork and ingredients.

White rice is included with almost every dish but is oddly never accompanied by black beans. The rice is incorrect for Cuban style: You don't use 2 cups of water per cup of rice. You should pre-fry the rice dry with olive oil and garlic, use 1-1/2 water to 1 rice, and salt it toward the end. The rice tasted like the bland rice at Chipotle. Had to order black beans separately, which were okay but also wrong. No bay leaf, not enough cumin.

Overall it was a reasonable facsimile of Cuban food with some nicer touches, but Cuban food is supposed to be made for delicious eating and not just looking at.

We enjoyed the cocktails and nice atmosphere, and 5 stars on the original dishes. But on the basics it tastes like someone trying to make Cuban food who doesn't know how. Chef needs to get in there and taste it. Go to some Cuban food trucks if needed and take the kitchen staff. This place...

We visited to Palomar way back when it first opened - having Cuban roots, we were excited to explore a new Cuban restaurant. Our first visit was mediocre, probably due to a new staff and fresh menu but we still enjoyed ourselves. That being said, I did notice a foundation of what could be and was excited at how Palomar might evolve and further define itself. Flash forward 5 years and we, almost accidentally, decided to try Palomar again. It was fantastic. It was and continues to be a cocktail forward bar, tapping into deep and delicious Caribbean flavors to create great drinks. But, my gauge is always the food and I’m happy to report that what we had was great. We ordered the fries for the kids, oysters, tostones (plantains), “Cuban fried rice,” and chuleta (pork chop). The star of the show were our two mains - who knew that a Cuban adjacent fried rice would be ridiculously good? In addition to the food the service was great - when our outspoken 8 year old asked for a table upstairs the host graciously found us a spot. And, the environment is obviously a selling point with a nice blend of classic mid century vibes (tables wrapped in diner metal sides, black and white tiles, old framed pictures, etc.) combined with a modern aesthetic. We will definitely be back, and this time before five years...

So first of all, the food was amazing. We got: crab fritters, the vaca frita, the pork chops (can't remember the name), the brussel sprouts to share, and the tres leches. We also drank the cleopatra, an el presidente, and another drink with a cherry that I can't remember. The meat was really tender, and it was the perfect size for this kind of outing. My only gripe is they give you five fritters even if two people are at the table and it's torture to have to split one. The drinks were yummy as well.

The vibe is chill, nothing too fancy. I thought it would be a little more formal from what I saw online, but it was laid back.

The service was the sticky spot for me. The waiter was very nice, but kind of inattentive/awkward. There were long stretches between each part of the meal. It was just kind of a weird experience and it felt like they kept trying to upsell us (which was cool since it was my birthday splurge, but also a little annoying). When they dropped the check they let us know that there is a mandatory 20% gratuity on every bill. Just a word to the wise.

I would definitely come back to try something else, but this wouldn't be a regular spot since it's a little spendy depending on...