Paladar Latin Kitchen & Rum Bar

I come here often for lunch and I’ve been a few times for happy hours. I’ve honestly NEVER had anything bad here. The $ 10 lunch specials are great! (I usually do the duck tacos). The drinks and creative and tasty. The portions are huge, even the appetizers. I usually have to get a to-​go box. The customer service is excellent (but I always sit at the bar). I can’t wait to try their brunch.

Finally a restaurant that has Cuban dishes!
It was excellent, especially if you go during Happy Hour. Variety of drinks, rums, wine etc. They even have Caiperinias (brazilian drink). The tostones, Ceviche and queso fundido were delicious and the waitress was extremely nice.
The only reason I am giving them three start is because of bad service from the kitchen staff and waiter. I ordered a Cubano sandwich to go and I specifically asked them NOT TO INCLUDE PICKLES and when the sandwich came it had lots of them. So I sent it back. When the waiter brought the «supposed new sandwich» I was in a hurry to leave so I just put it in the to go box and left. When I got home I realized that the sandwich was the same exact one but they took out the pickles BUT the taste was still there. Not good customer service to pretend that you made a new sandwich WHEN I originally asked NO PICKLES. Other than this the place is great. I am happy there is one in Tysons.

It’s great having a place like Paladar in the neighborhood. Their food is always consistently good, both at this location and their sister location in Downtown Crown, and the bar serves up some really good sangria.
Right now, Paladar is celebrating Carnaval with a $ 5 Street Food Menu (see picture) — lots of yummy options, including their smoked chicken arepas, which were really, really good. The chicken, as advertised, had a really nice smoky flavor to it, served in grilled corn cakes that had just the right amount of crunch and making a tasty pocket for the chicken, a tomato-​chipotle blend, and a chimichurri sauce. Three arepas come in an order, and you can easily make dinner out of this generously sized dish.
One of my favorites at Paladar are the Rio-​style chicken tacos, with caramelized onions, a nice amount of heat, and peanuts, giving the tacos a nice crunch. For nights when I’m trying to be a bit more healthy, the grilled mojo chicken is my go-​to, featuring two grilled chicken breasts with pico de gallo and a roasted tomato salsa.
There’s lots to choose from on the menu, so Paladar is definitely a good place to go hang out with friends, have a cocktail or two, and have some really good Latin cuisine.
BTW, there’s free parking in the lot across Woodglen after 6 pm!

First there are so many doors to the inside but only the front door is unlocked, if you come late at night it may be easy to mistake one of the other doors as the front (as we did).
The food here was not that good, the service was ok. There was salsa going on on the dance floor making the environment fun! We got there for the late night happy hour.
We got the salsa trio, none of the salsas were amazing, the traditional was just tomato and onion chunks, the fire roasted tomato was ok tasted a lot like tomato paste though and the green one was the best, but still not as good as most salsa. They didn’t just bring out tortilla chips it was an assortment of plantain chips, yucca chips and tortilla, which was kind of interesting.
The fish tacos were flavorless, I ended up adding a little of the green salsa just to make it taste like something. The beef tacos that my friend got were much better I had a bite they had a lot more flavor and texture.
I probably would not come back here unfortunately.

Ahhh Paladar, such a great restaurant! It’s beautiful. Great for a first date or guys night out. Food, amazing. I’m pretty predictable, so if it’s not brunch I’ll get the Paladar Burger. Food is delivered in a timely fashion, and the waiters/​waitresses are very friendly yet professional. During brunch hours, it gets pretty interesting with there being bottomless mimosas.
I love this restaurant. I’ve been several times, and never has it been heavily populated. I hope this restaurant stays in business for many years to come. Go to Paladar!

Everything I have had here is absolutely delicious! My husband and I liked it so much, we are here 2 days in a row. Their menu is also vegan friendly. The mojitos are to die for, but be careful with those fun flights! They will sneak up on you. Lol

Met some friends here since we heard the happy hour specials are great! We ordered margaritas, and I opted for the pomegranate one first, but was disappointed to find that the margaritas weren’t super strong and that the pomegranate one was overly sweet. My friend’s traditional flavored margarita was decent, but it was just mediocre.
The food was okay too, it was definitely good quality for the price, but wasn’t any super memorable. The bar area gets super packed and crowded very quickly, and the bartenders get busy, which makes it harder to order more food or rounds.
Overall the experience was okay, wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t great either.

Came here yesterday for brunch, we had the unlimited refills mimosa, bacon and sage guacamole with house made plantain, potato and taro chips, duck confit hash and steak and eggs. The mimosa was great, i tried both the strawberry and pomegranate, the pomegranate was the best one. The bacon and sage guacamole wasn’t as great as i thought it would be but its doable. Id much rather prefer a fresher taste in my guacamole than bacon. The house made chips however was perfect, my favorite was the taro. The duck confit hash was delicious i would definitely order it again. The steak and eggs came with a sweet potato and plantain hash which was a great combo. All in all i would deffinitely come back.

We came for happy hour and the specials were great! I had decent tacos and a great margarita. It was really annoying trying to find a seat in the bar area and on the patio as we came for happy hour and it’s basically first Come first serve and they don’t seat you. It’s almost as if it was a free for all. We ended at the cramped bar with a nice bartender but wish we had a chance to sit outside. These people came after us but beat us to the table outside which was annoying. I’ve at the sangria at the Gaithersburg location and I think it is better than la Tasca.

Great place, great cuisine.
Lunch special portion is decent size.
I used to go to Paladar in the summer for good glass of pomegranate ginger mojito.
Love this place.

I have been travelling all over the country eating at a variety of places. I have written them all down so eventually I can Unilocal my reviews. That being said, my daughter and I ate here today on a whim as we were in the area and had very limited time, so we popped into the first place we saw. I am not waiting to Unilocal about this place. It was just TOO GOOD.
WOW. WOW. This IS the BEST food I’ve had in a LONG time, in the DC Metro or anywhere in the US. I thought I’d found my favorite Latin food on a recent trip to Vegas. That place doesn’t even touch this one.
I was so impressed by the food that I forgot to order rum. The coffee was so superb I bought a pound of it.
First, our appetizer, Guacamole came with chips made in house. NOT YOUR AVERAGE MEXICAN BOWL OF CHIPS. No, theses we fresh, Yucca, Taro, Plantain and a few corn chips thrown in for good measure. I am not a food critic so I don’t have the fancy words or metaphors to describe the perfection of these chips. JUST PERFECT. Guac made to order also PERFECT. There is no other word, just PERFECT.
My daughter go the fish tacos. I wouldn’t order fish tacos if I hadn’t eaten in a year. She convinced me to try a bite. After I tasted them I wished I’d ordered them as well. The salad that came with her Tacos was a fresh spinach salad topped with mango (?), a spattering of beans, piles of fresh avacado, onions. Again PERFECT.
I never order a salad as an Entrée but there Chef Specialty Duck & Fig salad caught my eye. The salad was. you guessed it PERFECT. Kale topped with duck, perfectly cooked onions, figs, and goat cheese covered in the perfect amount of balsamic reduction. WOW.
I love Yucca so decided to get and order of that. PERFECT. I can’t stand getting Yucca at the Peruvian restaurants because its always so horribly dry you can’t choke it down. Therefore I make my own. Well I don’t know how these people did it, but the Yucca the brought me was literally the best I’ve ever had, the BEST, PERFECT.
We had my grandson with us and I ordered a side of beans for him, he wasn’t not as impressed. He’s not really eating yet, we just wanted something to keep him busy.
Finally, we had to get something to go for my daughter’s hubby and we decided to grab a slice of cheesecake to take with us.
Now the best shocker. THE PRICE. This was the best value for food that I’ve ever received. I would have gladly paid much more as the food was REAL. Not that SYSCO crap. It was fresh good healthy food. Like your mother would feed you. I felt very pampered.
Our server, Michael and the Manager Steve were very attentive to us throughout our dining experience.
I tell you as I was leaving I was telling people at the door to get the Duck Salad and buy some coffee to take home.
They CATER TOO! Next time I need an event catered it will be by Paladar Latin Kitchen, no question.
I’ve always said, «If you can’t do something right DON’T DO IT». Especially when it comes to restaurants. Nothing bothers me more than to put out good money for crap food from a box. PALADAR DOES IT RIGHT AND DOES IT WELL. I greatly appreciate getting value for my dollar, getting good healthy, clean meals for my money. Its good for me but also for the environment.
As you can see, I am now a patron for life. Love this place.
I just wish I would have gotten more of the To Go menu’s. I am passing them out to my neighbors. They also buy from local & close farms and they have a parking lot. I went to the one on Woodglen in Rockville next to Whole Foods.

I’ve tried more of their menu and had a I’m a fan. The service is good and their yucca fries are the best I’ve had in the entire DMV area. Their drinks are pretty delicious too, a great place for happy hour on the Pike!

Wow what a gem! I stopped by for happy hour and there’s definitely a good selection of apps and cocktails! My favorite has to be the mango cilantro mojito — and for only $ 5! What a steal! There’s a good selection of apps from chips and salsa to fish tacos and empanadas — all at reasonable prices and super authentic. Happy hour is only at the bar but there are lots of tables alongside the bar area that is first come first serve.
The service was great given how busy happy hour was. Our bartender was really attentive, always asking if we wanted another drink or apps when we scarf downed the first order! Everyone is super friendly there as well.
The ambience is really inviting. A bit darker so it gives it a cozier feel — really dig that. It is pretty loud as i was seated at the bar area — but hey it was happy hour!
If it was closer to my apartment, I’d be a regular here!

Enje & Ean… thank you for making my return visit a much better & pleasant one.
Decided on a early evening snack & Sangria, & opted to try this location. As I didn’t have much luck of a good experience with the Crown location.
I saw a server walking to her vehicle, so I asked her to confirm the parking rules, to be on the safe side. & as friendly & helpful she was, I requested her to be my server. Enjie asked where I wanted to sit, I said the patio & she said pick a table.
Her table service, ingredients knowledge & overall style was 5 star. She offered suggestions based on my preferences & I was good to go.
Since I was noshing on the Guacamole dish & requested no corn chips, Enjie brought me out some Yucca & Veggie chips… proactivity at its best. & they were a great pairing in addition to the Plantain chips.
There’s was a nice cool breeze, a diverse crowd with music playing, definitely made the Sangria consumption more enjoyable.
BTW, Enjie is also a Bartender, so when I mentioned the 1^st Sangria was a tad bit too Kool-​Aid-​ish, she used her skills, brought me another one & then had one more.
Ean the Co-​Founder was very gracious in receiving the high mark of compliments for Enjie, & really made my visit extremely enjoyable & worthwhile.
& I’ll be back if not sooner, for NFL game day & unlimited Mimosas!

I’m not a fan of Rockville, but since I have to frequent the area, I’ve tried finding spots to make my trips more enjoyable. Paladar is a decent choice for happy hour or a quick lunch on a nice day since they have an outdoor patio. Service could use work though — rarely saw our server and took awhile to get our check.
During a work lunch, I tried the blackened fish tacos, which were quite tasty. They give you a ton of rice and beans on the side — could’ve gone without these those. The tacos are really filling and tasty on their own. The tacos are topped with pickled onion & pineapple slaw, cabbage, and a cilantro adobo aioli.
Cue another evening for happy hour, their mojitos are on point and my friends seems to like their margaritas. Their chips and guac are good, but not much different from most places. I wasn’t very hungry so I got their mojo pulled pork tostones. It’s crispy, smashed plantains topped with mojo braised pulled pork, apple & radish salsa and fresh verde sauce. These were unique and really, really good. Worth coming back for again!

Much better this time around.
Service was really good. Although they did forget ab us after we were first seated and eventually sent someone over. Think the disconnect was on the hostess part. Food was great. This time we stayed away from the mixed drinks and stuck to non alcoholic. Lovvved the Pomegranate Grapefruit Soda. Also tried the chocolate cake and it good. Wish it came with some of that delicious cinnamon ice cream. Yumm.

I did not have rum, but I did have lunch and a couple of pisco sours during my visit. I mention the rum because as a rum bar — I should have tried the rum!
My friend and I rolled in here around 11:20am. He technically only gets a 30 minute lunch, but we took a solid hour and a half to enjoy a couple of rounds and we split lunch down the middle sharing plates. Hell, he’s been one of my buddies since first week of freshman year of college 11 years ago; it was 5 o’clock somewhere! Like he said — no one at his office was going to notice his absence.
We both ordered off the lunch menu. He ordered the honey veggie quesadillas. I ordered the pork tenderloin. For an app we ordered guac.
The guac is standard guac, but they do things a little differently as far as the chips go. They offer cooked plantains! I loved this. They were tasty, and honestly probably a lot healthier of an options than tortilla chips.
Kevin was our server. He was a bit aloof at times, but otherwise he was a nice guy who took care of us. He got a bit busy with a couple of other tables which were bigger parties hence us having to flag him down a couple of times… ‘hey! over here!‘
I would love to come back to this place at night. I bet it gets pretty saucy. It just seems like that kind of place. My only hangup is the fact this is in Rockville sort of in a business type area. This is a large restaurant bar that would make more sense in DuPont Circle or Adams Morgan than the current location it is. Just my thought though.

Call ahead first! This place (and the Gaithersburg location near Rio) both get pretty busy, especially on weekends. Expect a decent wait if you don’t call ahead and are planning on going for weekend dinner with a group of friends… my friends and I can speak from experience, haha.
Anyway! Their daily happy hour special (4 — 7 pm) is a pretty great deal, with items ranging from $ 4 to $ 8, and $ 5 mojitos, yessss. They’ve got regular, mango cilantro, strawberry, and a few other flavors. I tried the strawberry one and liked it enough, maybe a little bit too minty for my taste but the sweet, strawberry flavor was well done, and I loved the little piece of sugercane.
My bf and I split three items — the blackened fish tacos, the tilapia + avocado ceviche, and the chorizo + cheese papusa. All the food came out in like ~10 mins, and our server was very nice and polite and kept coming back to make sure we were enjoying our meal.
I really liked the fish tacos — one of the best I’ve had on the East Coast. You get two tacos, and they are filled with a good portion of fish, some lime cilantro-​y sauce, pickled/​sweetened radish slices, lettuce, etc. The tilapia + avocado ceviche was okay; I felt like there was too much lime juice and not enough seasoning for the tilapia, and too many onions, grape tomatoes, etc on the side. I also enjoyed the papusa — great savory flavors and very hearty/​filling despite the deceivingly small portion. If you’re a bean & cheese lover, you should definitely try it! My friends had and approved of the braised beef soft tacos and the queso fundido as well.
Hopefully I’ll be back to try out some other non-​happy hour items soon! Nom~

Came here for St Patty’s Day and to try their happy hour. Sat at the bar and was served by Kristell (Krees-​tel). She immediately suggested we try the roasted pork tostones (and they weren’t stingy on the meat either, was almost over flowing) So we did and they were amazing. We also ordered the beef tacos and two mojitos– pomegranate ginger and mango cilantro, the former being better and a strawberry margarita (which was my favorite drink, it’s not frozen, but they make their own strawberry mix– delicious). We also ordered the queso fundido. Now i thought that was going to be like Mexican cheese, no it was literally meted stringy cheese with bits and pieces of chorizo and spicy red peppers (was ok, but not what I was expecting). I do plan on returning for brunch since it was highly recommended by one of the regulars.
Kristell was awesome and super friendly she engaged in conversation with us and offered great suggestions on food. When you’re at the bar ask for her! She’ll give you the royal treatment. :-)

Very pleased with this place! The service… the food… the ambiance! All of it!
My first time here. We came here for our Annual Girls’ Secret Santa Gift Exchange. The décor is so rustic and dark, I love it! I love wood and leather in a room. This location is bigger than the Downtown Crown location, so it easily accommodated our large group of 15. We got more than we could ever imagine! Since our party was so big, we had 2 servers. They were both so very accommodating and friendly. No request too silly. I decided I wasn’t drinking that night, but asked for a wine glass for my water to be fancy. They brought it to me and even some lemon.
I ordered the Chimichurri Chicken Sandwich with a side of plantains. The plantains were substituted for fries at no extra charge. Which was nice. The flavor of the chimichurri sauce made it absolutely amazing! When I find something good, it’s hard to get me to stray from it. So, I will say, I plan to order this again… and again. :)