Restaurant Review: Pacifico

It is that time of year again in New Haven; my favorite time of year when restuarants offer three course fixe prix menus for super cheap.  It's Restaurant Week of course.  It started on Sunday and well since Mr. J is gone all week again the only day we could try something new was Sunday.  Not wanting to be out late before a big week of travel we opted for the lunch menu.  Get this we got three course for only $16.38, cleverly this is the year New Haven was found. 

After much searching, debating, and a few fist punches we picked Pacifico.

I always think this week is a steal for trying out new restaurants.  Pacifico was definitely new to us but Mr. J always ruins the cheap part by getting a fancy dancy girly drink.  They had a pretty big list of speciality Margaritas and Martinis to pick from.  Mr. J enjoys a good drink at a fancy restaurant so how could I say no.  He ended up with a Brazilian Cosmo.  I am not going to comment on the choice.  I stole a couple sips but I really don't like mixed drinks.  Mr. J thought it was a good but a little too sweet after all that is sugar on the rim. 

I felt super chic sitting in this restaurant.  It was bright and colorful and definitely reminded us of our time in Costa Rica.  I loved the blue swirls on teh ceiling, and the cool wine display. You cannot really tell from the photo but the wine tops were bright blue, yellow and orange. 

They started you off with some bread and a sweet tomato spread.  I thought this was pretty good.  Later though we had some might fine chips and we debated if a basket of chips might have been a better treat.

One rule we try to stick by when going to a new restaurant is to try and order different dishes that way we can sample the menu more thoroughly.  For the appetizer course Mr. J got a shrimp ceviche.

I got beef empanadas.  This was a hard decision for Mr. J because he really likes both dishes.  I am not a huge fan of ceviche because normally I think it is too citrius -y.  As you can see from the photo though this was more tomoto based and had huge chunks of avocado.  Mr. J definitely won this round of best dish.

For the entree Mr. J and I both order the same thing.  It was by far the best option for the main course.  There was a tilapia dish which was a possibility but I knew I wanted the steak. 

Mr. J wanted both but in the end he knew that sharing to me was a few bits and not 1/2 the dish so he got the steak for himself.  This was a great choice because it was DELICIOUS!  I would not have wanted to spare a bite.

Finally, we got dessert.  Sadly there were no options for this course but only Sorbet of the day.  I like sorbet but was a bit disappointed when they said Sunday's flavor was lemon.  I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it.  It was not to sour or two sweet.  It was a perfect ending and would be an excellant dessert for a hot summer day.

For more information on New Haven Restaurant week visit this website.  It runs through Friday, April 8th. 

Pacifico New Haven
220 College Street

New Haven, CT 06511
Phone: (203) 772-4002
Fax: (203) 772-3239