Pasha

Evidently I hadn’t finished this review from several years ago. I guess it’s closed now, but here’s what I wrote back then:
We came in way earlier than the usual crowd and with two small kids. They were very accommodating and quite friendly.
The food was a bit trendy (which may, or may not be a good thing for you) and it was good.
I was expecting a bit of a hassle going into a trendy spot with two small kids in tow, but was pleasantly surprised by both the menu and the staff.

I’m obviously way behind with my reviewing, however this was one of the worst restaurants I have ever experienced while living in Chicago.
I am glad to hear that it is CLOSED!

A friend recently decided on this spot to host his own birthday party. He booked a spot in the VIP area with bottle service in advance. As long as all of the members of our group RSVP’ed via text to the promoter, we could get in the door for free before 10:30pm and for reduced admission after 11pm.
I got to the place shortly after 10pm and waited in line for the doors to open. At 10:20pm they started letting people in the doors. The security guard seemed indifferent as I flashed him the text and he ushered me on in.
The layout of the place is all a single open room with a DJ booth as you first walk in, followed by a smallerish-​sized dance floor and two separate VIP areas that you can sit in only if you purchase bottle service. There’s a single wraparound L-​shape bar without any stools if you wish to drink.
I stopped by the bar, where they had the drink specials posted on the wall. $ 4 for domestic bottles, $ 5 for imported beers. $ 8 gets you a blue mofo, which I ordered. Unlike the overwhelming majority of places I’ve been to, they served this thing in a small rocks glass, not a margarita or Collins glass like it should be. It is supposed to be a strong drink, but given the small glass and weak pours of the bartender, it didn’t give me but the most mild of buzzes.
It took almost an hour for the rest of our party to arrive, so I asked the promoter if I could be seated in the VIP area. I showed him the text with the RSVP response from (presumably?) him. He stated that you can’t sit down or enjoy the bottle service until after everyone is here. I thought that was a little odd, what’s the point of RSVP’ing then?
Next I spoke with the D.J. to see if he was taking any requests. He said «sure» and I gave him about three or four songs which he stated would be played throughout the night. Turns out he didn’t play them at all, instead opting mostly for B96 fare mixed in with some hip-​hop that I hadn’t heard before.
Between 10:30pm and 12am there were very few people on the dance floor. Around midnight things started to heat up. With the exception of the white bartenders and manager, the crowd was exclusively black. As the only white guy on the entire dance floor, I was sort of commodity. The crowd was very welcoming and I even had a couple guys try to get me to dance with their girlfriends! Interesting to say the least. The girls seemed to be having a blast and after about an hour I snuck away and went to our VIP area.
The bottle service was quick and when we ran out of OJ or cranberry juice, the host refilled them promptly. We had a mini sectional with small cocktail table out front roped off for us. Because it is all one open room, you can’t say it that it was private, but the music wasn’t so loud that you couldn’t hear each other either.
After a while I went back out on the dance floor and stayed there till closing at 2am. Perhaps it doesn’t happen too often, but a lot of the men were coming up to me and giving me high fives. I guess they don’t see a lot of white boys on the dance floor here on a Friday night? I would also say that there were more women than men in the place, which probably helped.
The crowd was really cool overall with the exception of one annoying little guy would didn’t handle his alcohol very well. He tried to pick a fight with one of our friends outside as we were leaving, but there was strength in numbers and he finally backed off. Interestingly enough, I had a feeling earlier in the night that he might be a problem, as he was one of the few people that were let in wearing sneakers and a baseball cap. The bouncer should have never let him in.
Other than that little setback, the crowd was really the most notable thing about Pasha. Most were cool, but the bouncer was not doing his job as well as he could be.
First off, any place that is trying to be a respectable nightclub needs to have some simple dress standards. Get rid of the wannbe thugs wearing gym shoes and baseball caps. They just drag your place down.
Secondly, to the management, please fix the lock on the men’s bathroom. When you want to take care of your business, it should be done without people barging in on you. Enough said.
Last but not least, get your bartenders to serve drinks in the proper glass with stronger pours, get the DJ to actually take requests and make sure your dress code is tuned up. Overall I enjoyed the dancing and people watching much more than the club, so with a little improvement, this place could be a lot better. Management, please take notes and start polishing the rough edges.

My night at Pasha was ALL wrong! Went on a Friday evening for a comedy/​poetry set run through an outside promoter. First problem of the night… my friend and I were seated for a good 30 – 40 minutes with NO acknowledgement of our presence! So, you guys don’t want my money? When we FINALLY get a server, we asked about the martini special advertised for that night and she tells us that it was last week’s special. Honestly, that sounds like a personal problem! I thought the golden rule of advertising was that even if the business makes a mistake, they still have to honor what they advertised; guess not here! Ordered sangria instead and it was decent… didn’t really taste much like wine though. The crouquettas that I ordered were mediocre… I was over them relatively fast, but at $ 12 a plate, I was going to finish them!
The highlight of the night was my attempt to pay the bill. First off, I stood at the bar for about 20 minutes and asked SEVERAL different people if they could find my server so that she could give me the bill. We then asked for the $ 23 bill to be split; she split it completely wrong ($ 5 to my friend and $ 10 to me) and when I tried to tell her, she cut me off. I wasn’t going to wait another 20 minutes, so I tipped high (to about make up for the difference) and left. When I looked at my credit card online a couple days later, I realized that not only was I charged for the $ 10 (plus tip), but also for $ 13 that was unaccounted for and that I did NOT sign for! Can you say unhappy camper?!? Needless to say, I will NOT be returning. Slow service, mediocre food, false advertisement, no attention to detail in dealing with money… I’m good! It may have all just been a fluke, but I would rather not chance it happening to me again… especially when I wasn’t even impressed by Pasha in the first place!

Very entertaining venue. although you do need to make reservation to be seated on a Friday/​Saturday night. Live music, great DJ (on Saturday at least) they play various of music. never tried their food, only been there after 10 pm for good times!

I went to pasha that past saturday.
The staff was nice. they had no problem making custom drinks and were friendly.
The Bandoleros performed and so did a DJ
it was a fun time.

I went there with a group of people to celebrate friend’s birthday.
The food was horrible… Sangria tasted more like sprite with some extra sugar. Service was really slow even though it wasn’t busy.
I won’t be going back.

Terrible! Terrible! Terrible!
Small, dirty, poor service and extremely rude owners.
I had reserved a table for drinks and to watch the live band that evening. After sitting at the table for about 45 minutes, one of the owners came up to us and told us that we had to give up our table to another couple. He stood by us while we had to grab our coats and leave the table at that very moment. The club seams to cater more to the owner’s friends than a new customer. I would never recommend this place to anyone. Yuck!

I just to be in the west loop area and saw the tapas sign, so I thought I would give it a try, & I really enjoyed the food. My server whom I think his name was David was very attentive & was very pleasant. If you’re ever in area and want some good Tapas; this is the place. Mmmm!!!

My friends and I went out to celebrate a birthday party.
The food was average at best. Menu options were off to say the least — not typical tapas. Desserts were awful — the chocolate molten cake was still frozen and you could taste freezer burn. There was no alcohol in the sangrai — all you can taste was Sprite.
Service was slow — which was odd since there were no other tables except us. There was one person at the bar drinking and that was it.

It’s nothing like an evening dining outside. That’s exactly what I did with my friends the other day here at Pasha. The breeze was right and the sangria’s were just flowing nonstop.
Pasha is a lovely tapas restuarant located in the West Loop. It turns into a night club on weekends playing lating tunes. The outdoor patio is great when you want to just people watch and grub on good food.
I had the Pollo Al Curry (chicken with curry), Pincho De Pollo (Chicken Skewer), Parrilada de Verduras (grilled veggies). Everything was made fresh to order. Now I know they do not make guacamole but I was severely craving it. It turns out that the waitress talked to the chef and he suprised us with a fresh guacamole that he «threw together» for us.
The waitstaff was truly awesome. They really understood the importance of a person having a great experience in the restuarant. They were attentive and kept bringing us food on the house from the chef. I am not sure what we did to deserve this but hey I will take it any day.
Overall, I had a great experience and definitely will be taking my family and friends back for a small bite to eat! YUMMY!
I had
I didn’t venture into the establishment so I do not know how the layout is…

I would like to give this place a good 4 stars at least, but damn, the bathroom freakin exploded with sewage coming out of every angle possible every time I went in there!!!
Besides that, the Bandoleros play there every Friday and Saturday and drinks are pretty damn good. If you can avoid the bathroom, it should be all good. ;)

Walking down Randolph, searching for something new for lunch, I found Pasha, a newcomer to Restaurant Row and to the West Loop lunch crowd. Since they are so new, it was easy to get a table and the service was fast and on top of things (David is an EXCELLENT server!)
I ordered a trio of sliders and the most amazing sweet potato fries I’ve ever had! These things have to be homemade as good as they were! My lunch mate ordered the comfort chicken with mash potatoes and asparagus. The chicken was juicy and cooked perfectly, the sides were seasoned just right: hint of salt, taste of yum! Pasha is the perfect spot for lunch or dinner. I’ll definitely be back. The West Loop definitely needed a great American-​style restaurant and Pasha has successfully answered that need.

I’m totally confused by this restaurant. Visited it this week in the evening (around 8:30) and my partner and I were the only people in the restaurant. We wanted to just walk back out, but felt bad and decided to just sit down (we were starving). I expected the food to be tapas, but the menu was just a few odd appetizers, an entire page of «slider» style sandwiches and a page of «comfort food» sides and meals. Nothing spanish about it.
We ended up getting calamari (fried) — which was nothing special. Then we both had a trio of the slider sandwiches. I was embarrassed eating there. I honestly felt like I was on an episode of Kitchen Nightmares. My partner and I both commented on how we just dropped $ 50 on what amounted to reheated frozen dinners.
Compared to all the other amazing restaurants in the area (which I’m kicking myself for not going to) — Pasha is a huge disappointment. I honestly don’t know why anyone would want to eat there. There was no paella, no spanish tapas — it was crappy overpriced american bar food.

So word has it that Pasha has gone from a restaurant with dancing– to a dancing destination that serves food. They have also limited their hours to only Wednesday through Saturday.
Hmm. .. . too bad. The food was actually the star at this place. I“m going to have to go back this weekend and see what’s what.

I kept wondering why I hadn’t hear much surrounding a new restaurant on Randolph’s Restaurant Row… Pasha has a great location right at Halsted and a nice ambiance (nothing special with white tablecloths and dark walls, but nice enough). After a night at Pasha I realize why I haven’t heard much about it — it doesn’t deserve any of the hype that is associated with a great new restaurant!
I came here to celebrate New Year’s Eve with some friends and am pondering where my $ 100 went. Yes, we got a table which was great. The sangria was pretty strong too and tasty (both red and white options were available). The food? Ho hum. I’ve had much better tapas at any number of other establishments in the city and their tomato and goat cheese, rice balls with chorizo and chicken, mussels and calamari were all lackluster. What really ticked me off though was the entertainment. I forked over a good amount of money for a live band! Instead I was treated to «Light FM» type music for the majority of the evening until the band decided to come on and play at 11:30 PM! They played for all of a HALF HOUR and then it was onto the DJ. I know my musician friends would love to have a gig where they only have to play a half hour on NYE.
In summary I don’t think I’ll come back to Pasha. There was nothing remarkable that stood out for me here. My New Year’s experience was fun because of the friends I was with but the entertainment and food left too much to be desired for any amount of money… especially for the amount I had spent!

How much is a paella entrée that serves 2 at this restaurant? If you guessed $ 20, you are low. If you guessed $ 30, you’re close. It costs $ 44 for a sizzling plate of rice, 4 shrimps and a sprinkle of calamri that barely served 2. That’s more expensive than a fine cut of steak, a boat full of sushi or a whole lobster at a fine-​dining establishment.
Of course, my party and I did not know the price since it was a special and not on the menu. We were informed later by way of an $ 88 charge on the bill (we had 2 orders, our thinking was how much can a plate of paella be?). I think as a business, you should tell customers in advance that they’re about to pay half a c-​note for a plate of rice and seafood. If you went to a bakery and ordered the muffin of the day and the owner knew it cost $ 20, it should be made know by way of sign or verbally. Why? Because it’s way beyond reasonable expectation.
Other than that, the tapas here were actually good. Don’t expect Café Iberco, where you can select from over 40 tapa dishes. Here, there are about 10 dishes, literally, to choose from. But all tasted pretty good.
Our server was very helpful and nice.
As far as ambiance, our party of 6 made up the total population in this place. However, it was the day before nye.
Bottom line: Go to Café Iberico.

First time in this little West Loop location was yesterday at the CMYE event. The place is small, but they have it set up where they can get a decent crowd of people in the tables, and at the bar.
I love the «stage» they have set up for the musicians. It’s not a traditional stage, and it is hard to explain, you would have to see it to know what I am talking about.
On to the food and drinks. The Sangria was great. It was on special for $ 1, and had both the white and red. I think red was the better one.
The appetizers that I got to try were also beyond awesome. Homemade Roasted Red Pepper Chorizo? More please. The crazy, Chorizo and Chicken Deep fried ball of flavorexplosionness? Great!
The atmosphere is pretty laid back. But I have the feeling that when the live music starts going, that place is hoping.
I would go back for some appetizers and sangria anytime — however, the other drinks — not so much. $ 10 for a vodka tonic? «You’re killin’ me Smalls.»

I’d had my heart set on Veerasway for my Saturday night destination, but my lack of ability to plan ahead and make reservations bit me in the behind… an hour and a half wait for dinner? I mentally made the «whatever» sign and walked out, Charlie Brown style.
Fortunately, Pasha was nearby and recently opened, and we were able to sneak in without a reservation.
The ambiance is lovely, all open-​spaced and exposed bricks accentuated by modern art on the walls and lovely people. Great for people-​watching. Sparkly bras peeking outside shirts, leggy model-​types and big baubles were all present and accounted-​for the evening we dined.
The gist of this place is Spanish food sans tapas. There are a few small plates, but it would appear that large plates rein supreme in here. We started with some fried calamari which was prepared to be perfectly crispy (no grease up in here) on a spicy tomato sauce. Very good.
I went with the mushroom and goat cheese canelloni which was really lovely. I’m apt to go with a seafood or meat choice when I dine out, however, this entrée sparked my curiousity. Well, that and I got my date to order the cod, so it all worked out. Essentially, my meal was spanish crepes stuffed with wild, meaty mushrooms and goat cheese. I enjoyed it thoroughly and proceeded to clean my plate. Also sampled with delight at the table were the veggie casserole and the hanger steak.
Our seemingly bottomless pitcher of sangria was the perfect accompaniment to our delightful dinners. The red sangria was fruity, winey, and lovely, all without being too sweet or too winey. (Word on the street is they are offering up these pitchers half-​price during the week.)
Service was decent, despite the whole «we’ll see what we can do without a reservation» attitude I got when I walked in the door and saw the entire place full of empty tables. (In her defense, the place did fill up with several very large tables while we were there, so I retract my comment about that.) The hostess was very lovely and friendly, and kindly led us to a table, despite our lack of reservation. The server seemed a little green, but he was nice enough, and got the job done.
Good location, good vibes, good food. Andale, pronto, si?!

Went here on a Friday night for dinner with a good friend. On Fridays, tapas are 2 for 1 if you also purchase an entrée, so that’s exactly what we did. We split 2 tapas and 1 entrée. And of course a pitcher of sangria!
The food and drink was excellent. The tapas were really tasty (calamari was amazing and chorizo/​chicken croquettes took a bit of getting used to but was also really good). For our entrée we got Canalons de Hongos (wild mushroom and goat cheese cannelloni) which was delicious. Portion sizes were all generous — we were unable to finish all of our food! Sangria was served in a deceptively large pitcher (it looked much smaller) and we were nice and happy by the time we were done.
My only gripe was with the seating arrangement. The restaurant was pretty empty when we got there and they had all of the patrons smushed together at one end of the restaurant. Why crowd everyone in so much when there’s so much open space? (and the tables were really close together so it did feel crowded)