Por Fin

11/01/09

mixed feeling.....

by AnnaMB at Citysearch

I was there this afternoon and my first impression was "WOW" this place is spectacular!!! the location is great, there is plenty of parking on the street as well as the garage directly next door. The ambiance is wonderful, relaxed and comfortable, the lighting sets the mood for a perfect meal..... your expectations of this place is so high from the first impression that it almost saddens me to say that what came next does not do this place justice....

I've dine out quite a lot, and having a Chef at home makes me a bit spoiled gastronomically speaking....For me a restaurant is a good as the bread they serve. Por Fin's ("homemade freshly baked") bread was hard, chewy and on the bland side, the only plus to this was the pimiento dipping sauce.

I ordered that patatas bravas and the bunuelos Bacalao and Piquillos appetizers....porbably the highlight of the meal...up until this point the services was good until I decided to order a drink.....It took the bar tender like 25 minutes to get me a soda, (I was one of 3 sitting by the bar area)

going back to the appetizers: The piquillos were perfectly roasted with just the right amount of sherry vinegar and oil... the patatas bravas were nicely browned and the sauces that it came with made them addicting!!! My 4 year old daughter could not stop eating them so I had to order seconds....the bunuelo Bacalao was average in every sense nothing spectacular but not bad either.....the servers were young inexperienced kids trying hard to do their best, but as I said, they lack experience so I did not hold that against them.....I also ordered a ceasar salad with I must say was the worst I have ever had....I can buy ceasar dressing at the supermaket that has more flavour than Por Fins....The lettuce was soggy probably because it was not spin dried and way overdressed.....then came the main course.....by now I was debating on whether I should order or stick to appetizers....but I decided to give them one last chance to make it all better....Well, they didn't make it better...my food came 35 minutes later and although the place looked neat and appetizing, the taste was again a bit dissapointing. My 4 year old order Salmon and Couscous and I got the chicken Caprese....The fish was cooked nicely, slightly seared and still moist, it was seasoned perfectly and the cous cous was ice cold (as in refrigerator cold) and a bit on the sweet side. My daughter loved the fish and the sauce it came with but left the couscous untouched (given that she loves cous cous since her daddy makes it for her at home). My chicken caprese came with a GIANT baked potato that resemble Mount Vesuvious erupting with wilted spinach and melted cheese.....The chicken was cooked perfectly as well....I was so full by then I decided to take it to go and feed it to the hubby.....(he's thought it was decent, nothing to rave about) I skipped dessert.

Overall, it was just ok some things were good others not so great....Great appetizers, needs service improvement, Main courses could be better......I guess we'll give it another try....but, I'm hoping for crusty bread next time.........

• Pros: beautiful restaurant
• Cons: needs to live up to the hipe

02/23/09

Poor, Por Fin

by junglejj at Citysearch

It is very uncommon that I am moved to take the time to comment on a dining experience. It either has to be very good or very bad. Our recent experience at Por Fin recently unfortunately falls into the latter category.

Our first visit was wonderful. Imaginative, special tastes served by a staff needing more training. We knew ahead of time to expect that. Sometimes when the food is that good one can overlook flaws in the service. On our second we could overlook neither.

The appetizers ranged from my stale, nearly warm soup to the spectacular Carlos Salad. Although most in our party agreed the evening was off to a good start. Then came the wait... over an hour before the waiter informed us there was a problem with the Paella. Around a half-hour after that the food arrived. The Paella looked and tasted awful, my guest too polite to complain. My Sea Bass had no taste. My wife's Sea Bass was cold, not fully cooked. The scallop entree sauce tasted "funny". We were offered one complimentary dessert to make up for the wait... and even that was poorly prepared. I suggest you visit Bugatti next door to see how an apple tart should be served. A good bottle of wine, a poorly prepared lychee martini (we've had better at Sushi-Siam) ) and the bill was over $450. We don't mind paying a good price for good food. However, it is inexcusable to be charging what they do for the poor attempt at fine food they served.

Coral Gables has a long and notorious history of stylish restaurants that made a big splash only to fail when the emphasis shifts from serving good food with good service simply to being a place to be seen. We sincerely hope Por Fin not destined to join that historic group. But you won't be seeing us at Por Fin again to find out.

• Pros: Atmosphere
• Cons: Food, service

02/11/09

good food

by minchweller at Citysearch

testtesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttesttest

• Pros: test
• Cons: test