Comments on: Pago restaurant review

By: jose comida

jose comida — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:33:19 +0000

My wife and I had dinner at Pago last week and were underwhelmed by the spotty service, absurd wine pricing and variable quality of food.The beet app. was over cooked to the point of flavorless, pale beets and uneven prep.The waygu beef was o.k. saved from mediocre by stellar FRESH! chantrelles.My wife had a halibut entree that was o.k.(again,nothing special).Didn’t have dessert but the offerings looked better than entrees.We were surprised to see 3-4 empty tables throughout our meal,considering the hype surrounding the restaurant.I truly was looking forward to something in sustainable and local fine dining but our evening at Pago still leaves me looking for the fine dining side of the equation.Hard to spend that kind of $$ and be disappointed.

By: Muncher

Muncher — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 20:13:49 +0000

Okay, have to admit my companion just agreed with the previous poster, the corkage fee is too high for Salt Lake City. He thinks a better range is $10-15. Just another opinion. Pago, lower your corkage?

By: Muncher

Muncher — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 20:10:41 +0000

We returned to Pago the other night and I am happy to report that the red wine glass problem is fixed (nice glasses in fact) and salt was available after a single request! Thanks for the small fixes Pago! Just a couple follow-up comments from previous contributors: corkage fees are typical anymore, please do not be insulted, and are often much higher in restaurants around the country. I have seen fees as high as $40/bottle. If you are using a restaurant’s glasses and the staff is serving you wine, you should pay a corkage. Nice restaurants often make a fair profit from alcohol, so if one brings their own wine, the restaurant cannot profit unless a corkage is charged. When a restaurant uses high quality ingredients, less profit is made off the sell of a meal than one may think. I also agree with Chef, the portions at Pago are adequate, sometimes generous. This is not a $10.99 all you can eat kind of place. Expect to pay $100 for one appetizer, 2 aperitifs, 2 entrees, and one bottle corkage. But if you are on a tight budget, this might be a special occasion only dinner spot. Wonderful new restaurant!

By: Chef Drew Ellsworth

Chef Drew Ellsworth — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:42:29 +0000

PAGO – Classique!
In the 70’s and 80’s my sister, Lottie Ann Ellsworth, and I owned a small French Restaurant in Holladay. I had been trained in France in classical French cuisine and remained emphatic about following classical traditions. Now, as a chef and a culinary artist, I’ve learned to take a classical idea and twist it to conform to the moment. The knowledge and background of the classics is a base to return to time and time again and yet each time the outcome is new.
Last night, my sister and I, after much anticipation, went to Pago in the “9th and 9th” district of downtown Salt Lake. The Restaurant is small and cozy with lots of exposed brick—I felt like I was in Boston or San Francisco in one of those great little historical areas which has been meticulously maintained to remain old and timeless–actually, a fresh idea in Utah!
Pago, named after a Spanish Wine, is the brain child of Scott Evans. Scott has paid his dues in the restaurant business. He has worked in and managed places like Squatters, the Depot, Stein Erickson, Grand America and the highly touted, Globe. Scott is sweet, handsome, calm, and a devoted family man with a twinkle in his eye. He seems extremely well suited to his business and very capable of making his own dreams come true. His one, great strength is in bringing together a team of classically trained artists and then letting them create. He seems to almost totally stay out of the kitchen, which, probably, accounts for the “calm” thing.
Mr. Evans is also a superb wine guy! I loved his wine list which has twenty carefully chosen wines by the glass—10 whites and 10 reds. Pago is the only restaurant in Salt Lake to use a freshness-controlled wine system. This cuts down on the waste of a very expensive product and allows people to get a really good wine by the glass—my sister and I were very impressed. Pago also offers an extensive and hand-picked list of wines by the bottle, which, to me, may be the best in town. (I brought a 1er Cru Santenay White Burgundy from my collection—beautiful mid palate sweetness with a toasted oak finish. From the restaurant Lottie got a glass of Conde Lagado Albarino, citrusy and perky, and I had a glass of the Road 31 Pinot Noir which had a hint of soft spices and complimented my entrée.)
I must say, as I always do, that I was a guest of Pago and they knew we were coming so there was no element of surprise here. My purpose in writing these articles for Q is to just convey the feelings and enjoyment I have in discovering the culinary scene in Salt Lake. Don’t judge me for being too positive—there are plenty of writers out there who are only interested in the screw-ups and the negative stuff.
We were waited on by Jeff Foehr, a consummately professional waiter who has served me before in other nice places. Jeff is tall, dimpled and emits theramons bursting with testosterone. Like his surroundings, totally masculine and Spartan—no fluff here! My sister and I were both, kind of, well, a-flutter.
Our food was just as my theme indicates—classic with a twist—and very good I might add.
We ordered off the menu this time just so we could really see what was going on. I, on purpose, chose the Lamb Brandade—which is a sort of lamb/potato hash with a poached egg on top. Our waiter made a face at this choice so I knew right away he wasn’t too pleased but the dish just seemed so interesting to me I had to go there. This hash patty was a little overcooked, I thought, and a little too seasoned. The egg was not the prettiest poached egg I’ve seen but I did get some great ideas from it—I’m going to work on this recipe myself!
Lottie ordered the pan-seared scallops, which had been a favorite in our restaurant. The chefs had spooned a very fresh-tasting tomato ragout on top which we both loved—the scallops were, huge, perfectly cooked and plump. One small criticism here—the sauce, I thought, could have been a bit more liquid—the flavor, however, was Devine.
We were then treated by two of what I believe are house specialties. Home-made honeyed beets and the Salad of the Marketplace. My sister and I grew up in North Ogden where each year our Mom made jars and jars of pickled beets so, for a brief moment we were transported to our past—the beets were a mixture of red and gold. They were earthy, sweet and still slightly al dente. Many of these starter items were served on sushi-style ceramic dishes which were beautiful and appropriate. The salad had a mixture of rocket greens and arugula in a delicious, Muscat, vinaigrette—it was garnished with garden cherry tomatoes and thinly sliced yellow squashes, then sprinkled with a house-made, crunchy granola—we were happy.
I had heard from several people that the portions at Pago were quite small, but in our case we found all the portions very adequate and in fact our entrée servings were generous. My sister had the quail and I had the pork chop. There were two quail perfectly roasted and still succulent; the flavor reminded us of wild pheasant. They were served in a pool of a beautiful brown sauce which my sister ate so fast I didn’t get a chance to experience it myself, and then garnished with some preserved huckleberries—I have a snapshot to show you. My pork chop was on a mound of delicious, creamy mashed potatoes made in a French puree style and, can I say the word “gravy”—I loved the rustic and comfort-food idea behind this dish. It was topped with beautifully hand-cut apples, lightly cooked in cinnamon. In 1997, my sister and I spent a week in Brussels and ever since we have been devotees of Belgian cuisine—both of our entrees reminded us of this remarkable culinary tradition.
Jeff brought us a dessert sampler which we both vowed only to take a bite of—but we devoured the whole thing—a house-made, lemon cello Tira Misu, Vanilla pot de crème with the huckleberries on top and some chocolate mousse made with Amano Chocolate from Utah Valley. Once again drawing from the classics—my only comment here is that the mousse, to me, was more of a crème de chocolat, it lacked the stiff texture I expect in a true mousse.
The chefs at Pago form a very compatible marriage of experience. Adam Finley and Mike Richey—I salute you! I give Pago an overall rating of 93+.
Chef Drew H Ellsworth, M.A., C.E.C.

By: Foodie

Foodie — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 02:25:21 +0000

Ate at Pago tonight. The food was excellent. I had the gazpacho and then the gnocchi, which was tender and delicious. My friend had a capresse salad with hand spun mozzarella abd the steak. Fabulous! My other friend had the beet salad and halibut. The sauce was excellent! My only complaint is that the waitress cleared my friend’s plate before we were all done eating! Come on! This is SOOO rude. It also hurt that she charged us corkage. I have an allergy to nuts and the entire staff was attentive and followed up by asking specific questions about a sauce on something I had ordered. I will most definitely return. I’d give it a very strong 4 stars!!!!

By: Muncher

Muncher — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 22:43:21 +0000

We love Pago! We have been three times and, yee-hah, are finding a reservation is now necessary! Don’t expect to always find your favorite meal from last visit. This is a huge part of Pago’s charm, the menu is constantly changing!! This was one of my biggest gripes of most Salt Lake restaurants. We do like to eat out and, beyond comfort food, enjoy seeing new options on the menu. This is, of course, tougher for the restaurant, but keeps the menu dynamic and exciting. I second Stu, not sure where Gary has eaten recently, but coming from a self-confessed foodie, I think the quality of the food at Pago ranks very high for the Salt Lake food scene. My only critic is wine choices on the wine list are a little lacking to deserve the title of a wine bar, but Pago is new and space is limited so I’m sure they are working on it. We always bring our own wine. I also remember the stemware being less than ideal (I think I got a white glass for the robust red we brought last time) and please, please, please, Pago, include salt on the table!!! I am not trying to insult the chef, but I do like to season dishes to taste and have had a hard time acquiring salt at Pago in the past (we finally got some from the kitchen after asking three times). Nit-picking aside, Pago is a great new, chic, exciting, and vibrant restaurant addition to the Salt Lake food scene! A+ Pago, thanks for moving in!

By: Gastronomic Salt Lake City | Restaurant happenings 07/28/09

Gastronomic Salt Lake City | Restaurant happenings 07/28/09 — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 23:21:43 +0000

[...] 878 S 900, Salt Lake City, Utah 84102-3608 (801) 532-0777 GSLC: Pago review Website: [...]

By: Stacy

Stacy — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:46:55 +0000

I like the inside of this restaurant. Food is good, although it took a long time to get our food. Service seemed spotty, but small portions and large prices isn’t what I’m looking for. May go back for a special occasion

By: Stu

Stu — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:13:03 +0000

A fairly sweeping comment Gary, in more ways than one! Perhaps you could let us know what you tried there, and what you thought about it specifically?

By: gary

gary — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:11:31 +0000

Take it for what it is. Not real different than the rest of the food in Utah. Yet the location is fun.