Food overall is good, I recommend steak tartare, chayote salad. Lamb barbacoa can use more seasonings since it is somewhat flavorless. Vibe is great, service is not so great. They made a mistake of overboooking, I wanted indoor dining, but ended up being placed outside. I was then seated at the bar. Very pricey for what I got. Our cocktail tasted great.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 3
Jeffrey Yeung
20% service charge?!
Daniella Ceus
Dining in DC, is paying for ambiance. Pascual was a wonderful ambiance in learning the finer elements of Mexican cuisine.
NO SALSA IN CHIPS
Guacamole was tasty but it wasn't until I built the perfect bite with the braised lamb neck did I appreciate the understatement of its balance. My friend very much enjoyed her Octopus, she got crispy she'll to accompany her dish.
The bunuelo was a nice finish, but there was the option of flan w/chocolate. The flan was good but had bitters from dark chocolate that gave the taste of espresso.
I would not dine here again personally, but it makes for a really nice backdrop of a lovely dinner.
Vegetarian options: Seafood allergy, a lot of possible cross contamination, limits your choices. However the choices are still very delicious.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Salad, Buñuelo, Guacamole and Friends
Faith Hayden
Thoroughly enjoyed our first visit to Pascual’s. Friends had been there and raved about it. It is now home to my favorite cocktail in the city, the La Perla—a savory, olive oil martini. Outstanding.
In fact, the cocktail program was the star of the night. Can’t go wrong with any of them; they were strong, but well balanced.
Food was also good, but small portions and expensive for what it was. The guacamole with accompaniments was my favorite of the night. That is a must order. We also enjoyed the figs and the mushrooms, but again both were small. The eggplant dish was $18 and 2 bites.
It sounds ridiculous, but it may be worth going to a happy hour before dinner here so you can enjoy a sampling of the excellent dishes and not leave hungry or break the bank.
The auto service charge is annoying. The server was fine, but not incredible.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Guacamole and Friends
Fernanda Lanzagorta
Lovely place and cozy terrace. The food was a hit or miss in some cases, great taco pastor, hamachi, and the salsas. Other options weren’t as good. We appreciate the effort of innovative Mexican plates with a twist.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tacos Al Pastor
Jason Griffith
Well it’s been an hour and a half and we’ve barely received any food. This starter we got was good, not great. This restaurant seems genuinely overwhelmed. Here’s another weird one…multiple cocktails sold out at 7:45.
So far…not looking good.
Update. After complaining we received another dish. A crisp tortilla with cheese and figs. Tasty, not amazing and completely bewildering how long it took to prepare.
Waitress thanks us for our patience and tells us this is a terrible night for them. Sheesh. I feel bad for her.
Next dish. 1:45 in. Octopus. Tasty. Not amazing.
I’ll wrap this up as we are now coming up on 2 hours. We’d normally order more food. It it’s just too damn slow.
Terrible service (though clearly not the servers fault) , decent food. Too much great food in this town to return. If you guys are overwhelmed, reduce the number of clients until you get it under control.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 1
Brad
This was our first time at Pascual, and we went with friends who had been before. We decided to sample almost everything on the menu, sharing each dish around the table, and not a single plate disappointed. Every dish was packed with flavor, perfectly portioned, and beautifully presented. The staff couldn’t have been kinder or more welcoming, adding to the wonderful experience. The drinks, though, were the real standout. Our group tried at least 5 different cocktails, and each one was a 10/10. Our favorite drink was the Verde y Verde, which has a green chile flavor. We’ll absolutely be back for the food, but the complexity and craftsmanship of every drink alone are worth a visit. The team at Pascual truly outdid themselves!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chantrelle Tlayuda, Lamb Taco, Salad, Guacamole and Friends, Tacos Al Pastor
Francine Sorock
New to me; already a favorite. Frighteningly adventurous menu. Genius presentations. Remarkable sauces. So popular and deservedly so.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Joe Perretta
Food is amazing. Service is a joke. 22% auto grat for some kid in a t shirt to never come back for a second drink. Get bent.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 5
Service: 1
Ben Sanderson
Wow incredible authentic Mexican city flavors. As a Texan I will happily brag about this fare to my Houston friends.
I was brought here by surprise for my birthday and we sat outside on a Saturday evening. Service was average in speed but friendly. I don’t know what I was expecting, but the ambiance was a lot better than I thought. There were mosquitoes biting as we sat outside, but we asked for mosquito spray and they surprisingly had some. The prices were rather high, but all the food was good. They also have a nice selection of non-alcoholic cocktails. My favorite was the margarita. While expensive, I do want to come back once more and sit inside. The whole fish we ordered came presented beautifully and was easy to make tacos with. Both desserts were tasty and the blue fin and lobster appetizers were tasty too.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Katie Ellis
My husband and I are both excellent cooks and like trying to cook new things, which has the unfortunate consequence that far too often we find ourselves disappointed when we go out for a night out and feel that we could have done better at home. Not so at Pascual. The atmosphere is lovely (especially the patio), the service excellent, and oh my god the food. We started with guacamole with the excellent set of salsas and fresh tostadas, shared a chanterelle tlayuda and poblano stuffed with crab, lamb barbacoa tacos (FYI one order is more than enough for two people), and finished off with a buñelo for dessert, paired with a few delicious cocktails and micheladas. It’s not cheap - for 2 people, we paid $265 including the 20% service charge that is automatically applied - and was well worth it for a special night. Best food experience I have had in DC in a while.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Lamb Taco
Riedel70
Reading the reviews makes me feel like I went to a different restaurant. Got the steak tartare, braised lamb, guac and salsas, lobster pastry, Mexican rice and beans. All of which was good, but nothing special? Some were actively bad. Server was nice and helpful on ordering, but a few items were ordered but not brought out. I don’t get the hype and for the price you can do so much better
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 3
Anne Rand
Pretty neighborhood restaurant. Food is good in some cases and v good in fewer dishes. We had the chayote salad, which was very good and very expensive $19 for probably a cup or cup and 1/2. The guacamole was good but it is guacamole. The smoked chicken was just ok. Nothing transformational. No optional embellishments like a sauce to elevate it from boring. No veggies!! That was $48. And my husband had the fish, which was fine and tiny portion. We each had 2 drinks. The frozen margaritas were good but extremely small...like 6 oz. I even joked with the server that it looked like a kids margarita. She didn't get the joke. The tip was autofilled added in...but my meal cam 15 minutes before my husbands so that wasn't cool. Total $300 dinner for 2.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 2
Michael Kalinin
Great date night spot. On the fancy side but good food and good vibes.
Parking: Zone 6 parking so 2 hr in most spots between 7:30 am and 8:30 pm. Worked fine for dinner.
Food overall is good, I recommend steak tartare, chayote salad. Lamb barbacoa can use more seasonings since it is somewhat flavorless. Vibe is great, service is not so great. They made a mistake of overboooking, I wanted indoor dining, but ended up being placed outside. I was then seated at the bar. Very pricey for what I got. Our cocktail tasted great.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 3
20% service charge?!
Dining in DC, is paying for ambiance. Pascual was a wonderful ambiance in learning the finer elements of Mexican cuisine.
NO SALSA IN CHIPS
Guacamole was tasty but it wasn't until I built the perfect bite with the braised lamb neck did I appreciate the understatement of its balance. My friend very much enjoyed her Octopus, she got crispy she'll to accompany her dish.
The bunuelo was a nice finish, but there was the option of flan w/chocolate. The flan was good but had bitters from dark chocolate that gave the taste of espresso.
I would not dine here again personally, but it makes for a really nice backdrop of a lovely dinner.
Vegetarian options: Seafood allergy, a lot of possible cross contamination, limits your choices. However the choices are still very delicious.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Salad, Buñuelo, Guacamole and Friends
Thoroughly enjoyed our first visit to Pascual’s. Friends had been there and raved about it. It is now home to my favorite cocktail in the city, the La Perla—a savory, olive oil martini. Outstanding.
In fact, the cocktail program was the star of the night. Can’t go wrong with any of them; they were strong, but well balanced.
Food was also good, but small portions and expensive for what it was. The guacamole with accompaniments was my favorite of the night. That is a must order. We also enjoyed the figs and the mushrooms, but again both were small. The eggplant dish was $18 and 2 bites.
It sounds ridiculous, but it may be worth going to a happy hour before dinner here so you can enjoy a sampling of the excellent dishes and not leave hungry or break the bank.
The auto service charge is annoying. The server was fine, but not incredible.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Guacamole and Friends
Lovely place and cozy terrace. The food was a hit or miss in some cases, great taco pastor, hamachi, and the salsas. Other options weren’t as good. We appreciate the effort of innovative Mexican plates with a twist.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tacos Al Pastor
Well it’s been an hour and a half and we’ve barely received any food. This starter we got was good, not great. This restaurant seems genuinely overwhelmed. Here’s another weird one…multiple cocktails sold out at 7:45.
So far…not looking good.
Update. After complaining we received another dish. A crisp tortilla with cheese and figs. Tasty, not amazing and completely bewildering how long it took to prepare.
Waitress thanks us for our patience and tells us this is a terrible night for them. Sheesh. I feel bad for her.
Next dish. 1:45 in. Octopus. Tasty. Not amazing.
I’ll wrap this up as we are now coming up on 2 hours. We’d normally order more food. It it’s just too damn slow.
Terrible service (though clearly not the servers fault) , decent food. Too much great food in this town to return. If you guys are overwhelmed, reduce the number of clients until you get it under control.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 1
This was our first time at Pascual, and we went with friends who had been before. We decided to sample almost everything on the menu, sharing each dish around the table, and not a single plate disappointed. Every dish was packed with flavor, perfectly portioned, and beautifully presented. The staff couldn’t have been kinder or more welcoming, adding to the wonderful experience. The drinks, though, were the real standout. Our group tried at least 5 different cocktails, and each one was a 10/10. Our favorite drink was the Verde y Verde, which has a green chile flavor. We’ll absolutely be back for the food, but the complexity and craftsmanship of every drink alone are worth a visit. The team at Pascual truly outdid themselves!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chantrelle Tlayuda, Lamb Taco, Salad, Guacamole and Friends, Tacos Al Pastor
New to me; already a favorite. Frighteningly adventurous menu. Genius presentations. Remarkable sauces. So popular and deservedly so.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Food is amazing. Service is a joke. 22% auto grat for some kid in a t shirt to never come back for a second drink. Get bent.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 5
Service: 1
Wow incredible authentic Mexican city flavors. As a Texan I will happily brag about this fare to my Houston friends.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
I was brought here by surprise for my birthday and we sat outside on a Saturday evening. Service was average in speed but friendly. I don’t know what I was expecting, but the ambiance was a lot better than I thought. There were mosquitoes biting as we sat outside, but we asked for mosquito spray and they surprisingly had some. The prices were rather high, but all the food was good. They also have a nice selection of non-alcoholic cocktails. My favorite was the margarita. While expensive, I do want to come back once more and sit inside. The whole fish we ordered came presented beautifully and was easy to make tacos with. Both desserts were tasty and the blue fin and lobster appetizers were tasty too.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
My husband and I are both excellent cooks and like trying to cook new things, which has the unfortunate consequence that far too often we find ourselves disappointed when we go out for a night out and feel that we could have done better at home. Not so at Pascual. The atmosphere is lovely (especially the patio), the service excellent, and oh my god the food. We started with guacamole with the excellent set of salsas and fresh tostadas, shared a chanterelle tlayuda and poblano stuffed with crab, lamb barbacoa tacos (FYI one order is more than enough for two people), and finished off with a buñelo for dessert, paired with a few delicious cocktails and micheladas. It’s not cheap - for 2 people, we paid $265 including the 20% service charge that is automatically applied - and was well worth it for a special night. Best food experience I have had in DC in a while.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Lamb Taco
Reading the reviews makes me feel like I went to a different restaurant. Got the steak tartare, braised lamb, guac and salsas, lobster pastry, Mexican rice and beans. All of which was good, but nothing special? Some were actively bad. Server was nice and helpful on ordering, but a few items were ordered but not brought out. I don’t get the hype and for the price you can do so much better
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 3
Pretty neighborhood restaurant. Food is good in some cases and v good in fewer dishes. We had the chayote salad, which was very good and very expensive $19 for probably a cup or cup and 1/2. The guacamole was good but it is guacamole. The smoked chicken was just ok. Nothing transformational. No optional embellishments like a sauce to elevate it from boring. No veggies!! That was $48.
And my husband had the fish, which was fine and tiny portion. We each had 2 drinks. The frozen margaritas were good but extremely small...like 6 oz. I even joked with the server that it looked like a kids margarita. She didn't get the joke. The tip was autofilled added in...but my meal cam 15 minutes before my husbands so that wasn't cool. Total $300 dinner for 2.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 2
Great date night spot. On the fancy side but good food and good vibes.
Parking: Zone 6 parking so 2 hr in most spots between 7:30 am and 8:30 pm. Worked fine for dinner.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Lamb Taco
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