Pampas Argentine Grill

OMG! This place is SO amazing… You have to try their empanadas! They’re moist and chewy with a fluffy slight crispy edge. I don’t think you can go wrong with any of their flavors.
Hubby and I stopped in during restaurant week, and he ordered a chicken empanada and I got a corn one. The corn one was off the menu, but our kind server, Ariana made an exception.
Let’s talk about their chimichurri sauce! Wow, I couldn’t believe how good it was. I poured it on everything, and it goes so well with the empanadas!
Hubby got the skirt steak. It was too tough, but the fries and were delicious. I had the chicken, and it was moist and flavorful. I opted for the side of potatoes, which were good. They’re not mashed, but diced.
Service and food were above par! Can’t wait to come back!

! Seriously check this strip mall spot out. Went with a group of 9 for restaurant week because none of us had ever tried Argentinian food and the menu sounded amazing.
When we arrived we were quickly sat and brought bread and a garlic oil sauce that is delicious.
Considering how busy they were the waitress quickly came and took our drink orders, those took no time.
On to the food. I ordered the calamari which was perfectly crispy & salted just right.
My friends got a variety of empanadas and the hot melted cheese which they all loved.
I got the lamb which was by far the best lamb I’ve ever tried I never had seasoning like that before.
My friends all got steaks since that is the house specialty.
I was so pleased I decided to open a Unilocal to share my experience.
Give this spot a chance incredibly delicious and unique.

Came here for restaurant week. Walked in and it smelled good however Boyfriend and I were not impressed. Tables are so close to each other that you can pick up the conversation of the person sitting next to you. Didn’t like the fact that the couple next to me was «making fun» of me taking a picture of my food. MYOB.
Waitress came by to take our drink order. She came back 15 minutes later asking if we were ready to order drinks. I told her we already did, in which she apologized and «forgot» to put the order in. After 30 minutes we finally got our drinks and she finally put in our order for food.
I ordered the calmari as my appetizer. the white sauce it came with was very salty. My boyfriend ordered the beef empanada which lacked flavor. I felt like it needed hot sauce. It was just so bland.
30 minutes later. after ordering, our first appetizer, another woman came up to us and gave us bread. Shouldn’t bread come before the appetizer?
I came here because I was craving lamb. I ordered a medium rare lamb and it was brought back to me well done. In fairness, the herbs they used to flavor the lamb was really good. It was just to bad that it was well done. My boyfriend ordered the steak with the roquefort cream. His steak was perfectly cooked to medium rare however, i did not like the flavor of the cream. I felt that it was over powering and the only «flavor» base to the steak.
It was pretty slow in our area but it took 30 minutes of waiting after our appetizer to get our meal (1 hour total since we got in). We were hitting an hour and 45 minutes … just sitting there. .No waitress came by to check if we needed our waters refilled or wanted to order anymore drinks. I finally flagged a bus boy to find our waitress and told her we wanted our desserts to go. She asked «are you guys full». i replied «no we’ve been sitting here for almost 2 hours!». at that point I really didn’t care for dessert.
2 hour dinner and the place was NOT busy. NO THANKS.
Overall:
Positives: Great pinot grigio wine. Restaurant smelled good.
Negatives: tables are too close to each other, waitress was not on point with her service, waited awhile for our food, appetizer sauce was toooooo salty, lamb was over cooked, roquefort cream was over powering, empanada lacked flavor = FOOD WAS NOT THAT GOOD and needed a refill on water…
More negatives than positives. So I will rate this place a 1.

Show was okay. It was fun. Food & service were fantastic. Wish we lived close to here… it would be a regular stop. You should definitely give it a try for something thing different.

My husband and I got a Groupon for their Tango Dinner Show and must say the show was great! Despite a small dance floor the dancers put on stunning performances and it is very romantic. The food was good but the service we had was really slow. The couple next to us who had a better waitress than our waiter got their food so much faster, that they had dessert while we were still waiting to get our entrees. In fact my husband had to ask the waiter about it and it still took awhile to get. We ended up getting most of our entrees and dessert to go. However, since we came for the show and it was excellent, we only took away 1 star for the super slow service.

I’ve driven by this place several times and finally made the effort to try it out and all I can say is this will be a regular dining place. Gotta have the appetizer platter and the lamb… LUV IT!

Service was top notch, great recommendations, great steak, empanadas are amazing and the Argentinian Pinot noir was worth every penny

We came for a birthday celebration. The food was delicious. The meat is cooked to perfection and full of flavor. I only wish our table was centered better to get a better view of the dancing show but we were a large party. I will definitely be back!

My wife and I were on vacation in San Diego and my aunt wanted us to join them on a Tango show night.
It was $ 72 plus after the show they bring you out a check for an additional check for $ 15 for the tip. Kind of lame. It will be an easy $ 100 for a party of two.
I ordered a Ballast Point Sculpin, best beer ever. Super awesome. For your $ 60 you get an empanada, which was amazing, an entrée, I got the filet steak, and a desert, which I gave to my aunt and uncle. It tried a bite of the chocolate cake and it was REALLY good!
My wife doesn’t eat meat, so she got the skirt steak for me to finish off the next day, which was really good. She did try the chicken pastry and really liked it though.
For my dish, I thought it was a little fatty, which is the direct opposite of what I was expecting.
The dancers were pretty fun and the service was fantastic, but after 2 beers and the price for the show, it was way overpriced. The dancers took time to take pictures with everyone, and if you want to dance, they will dance with you.
I was happy to experience it one time in my life though.

I’ve been coming here for steaks for years. I like the decorations and staff, but the steaks are the best. The filet is nicely seasoned and always cooked perfectly. Enjoy the provolenta appetizer and just about anything with chimichurri. Not a huge fan of the empanadas. Get a pitcher of sangria during happy hour for a great drink.

Despite the limited parking lot and location in a dinky plaza, I really like this place.
They accommodated our large group of 14+ cheerfully without a reservation or notice before our arrival. The service was very upbeat and thoughtful.
The décor was fun and kitschy, with gaucho memorabilia throughout the restaurant.
The complimentary bread and chimichurri sauce was tasty and made a nice appetizer. I ordered the Bistro Tango salad with flank steak. The salad comes with dried figs, blue cheese crumbles, beets and a nice vinaigrette dressing. The steak was good and well seasoned and the salad was very gourmet and fresh.
Everyone in my group gave this place a thumbs up and cleaned their plates, so that’s a good sign.
They have an extensive menu and a lunch menu with reasonable prices and a varied selection. We are already planning another trip back to this place!

I remember coming here with some friends a long time ago (about 5 years?) and ordered my steak well done! Our server told me that, that is NOT how you eat steak and brought it back to me with too much blood… I sent it back, of course, and was disappointed that my meat was not prepared the way I wanted, but they way I’m SUPPOSED to eat it (according to our server)… I also wanted to see the tango dancers perform, but we came on the wrong night.
This year, I came back with my bf during restaurant week. We made reservations on their website, but did not get a confirmation. A few days later, I called to make sure we were set for that Friday and was told that they only email us if they weren’t able to accommodate us… I forgot what time we had reservations for, so I called them again a few hours before we needed to be there and was told that they didn’t even have our name down for dinner! Luckily, they were able to pencil us in even though they were booked for the night.
My boyfriend actually wanted to try items from their regular menu instead, but they were not offering anything that wasn’t on the RW menu during restaurant week. We were both disappointed, but decided to dine here anyway. Since you need to order your appetizer, entrée, and dessert all at once, I got the carne empanada, filet mignon recoleta, and panqueques con dulce de leche. My boyfriend got the camaron empanada, milanesa a la napolitana, and the brownie con helado.
We got complimentary fresh bread with chimichurri sauce while we waited for our apps. The sauce was pretty good– it had just the right amount of vinegar. Our empanadas came out super fast! They were both okay though. Next, came my steak and his milanesa. My steak was tiny and his entrée was huge! He laughed at how small my steak was, but at least they made it how I like it– which is now medium-​well. The fries it came with were really good– lots of garlic and very crispy and thin. I tried the milanesa, which was better than I thought it would be.
The tango dancers came out around 8pm and performed a few numbers periodically while we were having dessert. I was surprised that I knew a couple of them! I wish we had better seats because that was the main reason we were dining here. Overall, the food and atmosphere was okay.

Wow.
How the heck could I have lived so many years without a mind blowing steak?
I drove by this spot for years and never went in, all this changed last night.
Decided to try this place since it is Restaurant Week, hubby and I were feeling adventurous and their menu was priced right.
We arrive to an intoxicating smell of garlic, and beef. The décor is nice and warm.
I order the shrimp Empanada and can say it was definitely rich and flavorful, my hubby ordered the calamari and he and I both agree it was the best calamari we’d ever had ever.
Ok now to the main entrees I got a filet mignon with a cheese crust and he got the other steak wow.
The filet mignon melted in my mouth it was rich and creamy and an explosion of flavor in my mouth. Can’t stop thinking about it. To end the meal I ordered a crêpe with dolce de leche that was the best dessert I have ever had, and I don’t even like sweets. My hubby ordered the cheesecake which was good but nothing like the crêpe.
Do yourself a favor and check this place out, you will never be the same, we aren’t!

There are not too many Argentinean steakhouses in San Diego. I have been to Puerto La Boca in Little Italy, and Pampas in Kearny Mesa. I wish I liked Pampas a little bit more cos our server was super friendly. But the food matters more so 3-​star.
For appetizers we had the calamari and beef empanadas. Calamari was okay but the filling of the empanadas was delicious, so I definitely recommend it. By the way it was based, about the size of your palm (I just know).
Entrée I had the filet mignon, it supposed to me 6oz. Even before cooked, I am sure it was way less than that. That tiny teeny piece of meat came with a side of garlic french fries as well as some greens. As for the meat, they topped it with some white cheese/​sauce which is interesting as I had 20 steak meals in Argentina and non of them had any cheese/​sauce on the top. Guess it was uncommon. But still, it was not bad. Garlic fries was okay, could be more crunchy. Greens are greens, I think my cow would like it.
For dessert we had the Panqueques con Dulce de Leche. It’s like a pancake with sweet stuffing and toppings, caramel and whipped cream I think. I like how it was charred but overall it was a little too sweet for my taste.
Parking was easy as there wasn’t much in the area or that strip mall.

The most amazing food, drinks and service! Top quilts meats and ingredients, excellent prices (especially during happy hour!), great ambiance, authentic argentine food! Service is amazing too everyone is very friendly and helpful! Hands down the best place for Argentine food in San Diego! I would go multiple times a week if I lived closer! I can’t even give a food recommendation because I tried so many things on the menu and they were all mind blowing amazing! Also, if you like soccer, they are usually playing the international games in the bar!

What a delightful way to spend an evening. The delicious food, warm and welcoming service, and the hot and spicy dancers all combine into a memorable experience.
We were greeted warmly and seated promptly when we arrived for our Saturday night reservations. Our knowledgeable server steered us into a very nice malbec to share and brought us some warm bread and a dish of deliciously earthy chimichurri sauce to enjoy as we browsed the menu.
We started off sharing a round of empanadas — of which they have a pretty wide selection. We chose the «Pollo», «Choclo», «Roquefort», and «Caprese». (These only make up about half the empanada choices — we need to come back to try the other half!) These were all very different from each other and each very enjoyable in its own way. My favorite was the «Roquefort» just because I’m a big olé’ cheese junkie and loved the bold blue flavor. A close tie for second goes to the sweet cream corn in the «Choclo» and the perfectly balanced earthy spices in the chicken which really made the «Pollo» stand out, despite its simple-​sounding description. In fact, I’d almost venture to say that the simple yet balanced depth of spices is an underlying theme in the food here. Although I’d have to eat here a few more times to be confident in such a statement, it did hold true throughout our meal.
Next came the main course: MEAT! We split a «Parrilada Buenos Aires» mixed grill platter and were in carnivore heaven. This included meat, meat, and meat: short ribs, skirt steak, flank steak, chicken, chorizo, and morcilla… along with two sides. I was only able to try a bite or two of each due to stomach capacity, but they were all delicious. These made for plenty of great leftovers as well. Others in our party got the «Bife de Lomo» Grass-​fed filet with roquefort sauce and the «Entraña» Grilled Skirt Steak with Chimichurri sauce, and enjoyed their entrees equally as much.
…and of course I cannot complete this review without mentioning the live tango dinner show. Sexy dancers, beautiful dancing, the right amount of theatrical with a touch of comedy thrown in, and some description of the culture and tradition and how it ties into the dances. I really appreciated that last part as it made it feel like a cultural experience which enhanced the delicious cuisine we were eating, rather than distracting from the meal.
Overall it was a very enjoyable experience which I am happy to recommend. I hope to be back again soon myself.

Pampas is a beast restaurant! They have one of the best steaks in town. I came here with my wife for a dinner night out and it turned out to be one of the best dates we have ever had.
Since we went there kinda late so we skipped appetizers and ordered Brochetas de Vacío for me and Lomo la Pimienta for my wife. Both meat were delicious and juicy even tho we like them well done! My Argentine fries were tossed with garlic and some parsley and tasted just amazing. My wife said she liked her creamy potatoes that came on the side too. Side brussel sprouts completed the great dish.
Since I am a dessert lover, I ordered the famous Panqueques for myself and shared it with my wife. Dulce de leche blew my mind! I wish I knew how to make it. A must have at Pampas!
The owner Marco and their employee Augusto were really kind to us and entertaining conversation. We left Pampas really happy and satisfied.

My husband and I were looking for a new spot for great food with happy hour. I also had the desire to have some good empanadas, chimichurri and a good piece of steak Argentinean style. We also ordered a Picada Maradona which is a pesto sauce with cheese and freshly made bread. Delicious!
The drinks were well served, not too heavy and not too blah.
The atmosphere is also cozy, not your «I’ll take you for a romantic date here» but more like «let’s discover, have fun and see good tango»
Loved it!

My review is based on Happy Hour. We came on Friday evening around 5 pm. I believe Happy Hour is 5 – 7. We ordered the following:
Wings — Came out Luke warm. I felt like it was under cooked. I got grossed out after one bite and didn’t finish eating it.
Bread — Nice and warm. The sauces they provide with it were great.
Calamari — Cooked to perfection. Order this!
Beef and Cheese Empanada — These were just okay to me. Nothing special.
Fries — crispy, delicious and came out piping hot. Topped w/​herbs and garlic. These were pretty good.
I tried the sangria and it was okay to me. Overall, food was mediocre. I would need to come back and try their regular menu. I went here for lunch years ago but don’t recall if it was good or not.
Service was good but the woman’s bathroom was over flooded. Gross.

My boyfriend and I was looking for a place to have dinner during restaurant week. He stumbled upon this place and made reservations since he wanted to give Argentina food a taste.
When we arrived, we were seated right away. First we ordered the carne asade empanada and choripan bites for our appetizers. I enjoyed the choripan bites more than the empanada. The choripan bite was very flavorful and unique as opposed to the empanada which was very beefy and meaty so if you like that stuff, go for it!
Our second courses consisted of the Entrana and the Salmon a la Albahaca. I tried both dish but I enjoyed the Salmon dish more than the former (maybe because I’m not a huge fan of steak, but the boyfriend said it was bomb!). The entrée came with a salad and vegetable rice. Both were very tasty and compliments the salmon very well. I can’t get over how flavorful the vegetable rice was!
For desserts, we decided to go with the raspberry cheesecake and the chocolate toffee pretzel cake! The desserts did not amaze us as much as the appetizers and entrée did. Perhaps because we love sweets and had better desserts that the one here could not compare: P.
The ambience is dark and dimmy, very nice place for a dinner date, the restaurant quickly got busy when 6:30 came around. The service and staff was great, our food came out quite quick!
Overall, we had a good experience and can now say that we tried Argentine food! Pampas!