Pago

Reviews 4

A

A Private User

At 4:30, we called and made reservations for 5:30. Upon arrival there was a lot of confusion as to whether or not we actually had those reservations. This is a small restaurant with only 47 seats, so there wasn’t much room for us to stand during the 10 minutes spent waiting for clarification and seating. And it took 4 people to figure it out (which is probably 80% of the staff). Eventually they figured out their mistake and sat us at a table for 5 (clearly not set aside for us and right next to the door and bar) and we got our menus. The food looked lovely, albeit pretentious, and we finally settled on both getting the potato fennel soup and splitting the chicken and the halibut. We already felt like the black sheep of the restaurant, but we were willing to keep trying. The soup was lovely and probably the reason I don’t try to make potato soup, because mine always tastes like really thin mashed potatoes. That’s not necessarily bad, but not lovely and velvety like this. So, the soup gets props. Then dinner came. I started in on the halibut and my second bite was cold. COLD? Yes, cold. The middle was raw, well, actually, most of it was raw. After 5 minutes of looking like I needed help (and mind you, were sitting right next to the servers’ station, the bar, and the door), I finally got the bus boy’s attention and I asked if he could get our server for us, which he seemed to start doing, but apparently failed. I watched a three minute conversation between them and a few others with some laughing and jockeying, and our server continued doing what he was doing and the bus boy left. Finally, after another 5 minutes, I got the server’s attention, asked if the halibut was supposed to be cooked “rare” and he took it back for repair. A few minutes later, it was returned, still not fully cooked, but I was sort of over it by that point and pretty full from sharing my husband’s chicken. Upon return, I found that the halibut couldn’t stand up to the flavors combined with it, and I’m not sure if it was the lack of thorough cooking (good halibut likes to be mostly cooked) or if it was because the chef just reheated my piece of halibut (which no fish ever likes – twice baked potatoes are one thing, but twice baked fish?) or if the flavors just weren’t meant to be. I ate what I could because the potatoes and sauce were quite delightful in their own right alone, and our plates were taken away. It’s hard not to feel like we’d been shoved in a corner, but I think we had been. I had to ask what the soup and risottos of the day were after our server walked away from our table and he still seemed confused as to what they were, but I later overheard multiple other tables receive the whole rundown of ALL the specials, including what sounded like a lovely dover sole entree. For our pains, we were given a complimentary dessert, which we ate and enjoyed upon returning home, but bananas are in no way and no how a local (or even feigned and attempted to hide them by looking like such – at least apples are in season here) food. I guess my frustration is this: Why must local and sustainable eating in Salt Lake City be expensive and pretentious? The masses will never catch on that way, and I think thats the only way it can really work, or maybe we ought to leave it to the high-minded, uber-cool to save the planet, our farms, and our communities.

LO

lori james

This place is the cutest restaurant with a feel like youre eating at someones house. The service was impeccable as well as the flavors of the food that we had. Let me start from the beginning. I was sick, and working... my fiance decided to surprise me with dinner plans. We get there after finally finding street parking in the 9th and 9th area. (This is a downside that I can overlook since I absolutely love this neighborhood with awful parking during peak hours.) When we went inside I noticed that there are probably no more than 10 tables in the entire place. A wall of booths with 2 seat tables on the other side and maybe a couple of tables that were bigger accommodating of a slightly larger party. Our waiter was very insightful about the menu and gave us recommendations when asked. He steered us in the right direction with suggesting the parsnip soup as an appetizer. It was a perfect blend of root vegetable with a hint of honey sweetness. We followed with the pesto risotto. All of which was confirmed to be 100% vegetarian. We finished it off with their rendition of black forest cake which had an amazing cherry mouse. I enjoyed the attentiveness of the staff during our dining experience. We never felt like we were being hovered around or forgotten about. They took our plates with promptness and even brought us new silverware with every course. The suggestions, as previously mentioned, were spot on and we enjoyed our treat of a dinner. Ive already stated to him we need to come back for brunch one of these days. See pictures of our food items. Its hard not to drool. =)

FR

Frank Mansuetto

I feel like, based on the other reviews at least, that I may have to come back here and give this place another go. I made reservations to come here with my parents for brunch before they headed out of town. They asked what kind of food it would be and I explained that I had never been here before, but being that it looks pretty trendy and hip, that Im positive most of the items will say either "farm fresh" or "farm to table" on the, and youll have an option of at least 3 beat dishes to choose from. Boy did I nail that one. I wasnt SUPER impressed by the grilled beet appetizer. I did however enjoy my Marys Buttermilk Fried Chicken. It was succulent and the fried batter was just perfect. I didnt even feel that the fried egg on top was necessary honestly. I pushed it off to the side, but I guess thats what makes it a breakfast menu. My mothers tune melt was also pretty good. My wife and my father got the Eggs Benedict and the Huevos Rancheros were both fine. Nothing was bad, but considering nobody at the table had any drinks, and we all shared one appetizer, and the bill for four came to 89 bucks, I was a little turned off. Just seems like a lot for a brunch consisting of no alcohol. In any case, you can check the prices and see if theyre right for you, but for me personally, the brunch at least wasnt worth the price tag. That being stated, I probably need to try their lunch and dinner items to get them a more fair shot. In any case, I left a lot more hip than when I entered and my beard was way more styled. So it all worked out in the end.

KE

Kearl Hat

I had the lamb gnocchi and it was delicious. My wife had what amounted to chicken schnitzel & it turned out to be perfect comfort food. Follow the waitstaff recommendations on wine - the 1st glass of white I had tasted like it had been aged in an aluminum barrel, the second glass was recommended by our waiter & turned out oaky & perfect. The open kitchen, exposed brick, & small space give the restaurant a hole-in-the-wall, intimate atmosphere. The price tag is a bit hefty - be prepared to shell out $50 per person for drinks, appetizers & the entree, but this makes it the perfect place for celebratory occasions. Finally - what brought us to Pago to begin with is that they are following the 500 mile food model. All food prepared comes from within 500 miles of the restaurant, and meats come from organic farms & has been humanly raised, etc... But this doesnt mean the food tastes like environment-medicine - what they are cooking here is quite yummy.