Palm Palm Review – Coastal Vibes and International Tapas

Coastal Vibes and International Tapas at Palm Palm

When you step in to Palm Palm, the decor sets the stage for the experience: plume light fixtures hang in the lounge area, velvet pink chairs dot the dining room, an expansive wall sports a repeating image of palm trees, and seashell shaped chairs surround the bar. It's light, vibrant, and fun – you feel transported to the coast.

The food menu here focuses on small plates; it's definitely the kind of place to come with a group and order a ton of things to share. Many of the dishes do lean coastal, from fried calamari and oysters to seafood skewers and shrimp ceviche. However, there are other global flavors that appear, like kimchi fried rice and truffle spaghettios. Although the focus is on small plates, there are entree-sized dishes as well, with a focus on steaks and seafood.

Because of the mix of flavors, and the huge number of dishes on the menu, at first it was a little confusing to wrap our heads around the menu. Some further organization of the small plates into categories like vegetables, seafood, etc. might therefore be helpful.

We decided to mainly order small plates and share an entree. We started with the tuna sushi tots which had a somewhat vague menu description, but our server was able to explain it to us. The dish is basically fried rice balls topped with raw tuna, cucumber, spicy mayo, scallion, sesame seeds, and avocado.

The rice balls had an addictive crunchy-chewy texture, and the flavors in the toppings all came together well. We would have liked even more tuna, though.

Another intriguing small plate was the grilled cheese and tomato soup dumplings. Served on Asian soup spoons, the dumplings were filled with soft, creamy cheese; sat on a dollop of tomato sauce; and were drizzled with a basil sauce. It was a unique bite although it had familiar, comforting flavors.

We also tried the carrots and the deviled crab fritters. The roasted carrots were caramelized and perfectly tender, and they rested on a generous amount of whipped feta and were topped with a bright, tangy lemon vinaigrette.

Although it wasn't clear from the menu description, the crab fritters were like corn hushpuppies with crab mixed in, and a dill yogurt sauce for dipping. The fritters were fried to crisp perfection and had a good sweet corn flavor, but we would have loved more crab.

We shared a large plate, the whole branzino, which was a good idea since the small plates were of ample proportions. The branzino had a delicious deep smokiness from being flame grilled, and it was seasoned with an adobo rub. Accompaniments included a creamy refried bean puree and a salsa verde.

The fish was cooked perfectly and was delightfully meaty but flaky, and the flavors worked well together to create a southwest vibe.

Drinks here focus on colorful and tropical-leaning flavors. We tried the Golden Smokeshow with bourbon, Cointreau, charred pineapple, brown sugar, vanilla, lime, and adobo. It was good although there wasn't really a hero flavor and it wasn't as pineapple-intense as we thought it would have been.

We also tried the No Bad Bananas, a nice booze-forward drink with rye, cognac, falernum, and banana. But our favorite drink was the Fire and Fresa with mezcal, tequila, strawberry, roasted red pepper, lime, and fire bitters. Although it was a tad bit sweet for our tastes, the strawberry flavor really came through and was complemented by the pepper and bitters.

The dessert menu here is the kind where you literally want to order one of everything. Unfortunately we were quite full so we settled on sharing one dessert, the citrus and sesame. This was basically an entremet style dome-shaped cake full of different components: mascarpone yuzu mousse, sesame cremeux, yuzu jelly, yuzu-soaked cake, and mascarpone and sesame whipped ganache. A crunchy sesame streusel provided a nice textural contrast to the creamy, soft layered cake. The yuzu flavors punched us in the face in the best way possible – if you're a yuzu fan, don't sleep on this dish!

Overall we thought the service was exceptionally smooth, especially considering we visited on opening day. The dishes were coursed out for us and were paced nicely. We thought some aspects of the menu were confusing, like how some of the descriptions of the dishes didn't match up to the flavors we were tasting. Further organization of the small plates into categories would have helped us comprehend the menu better, too.

Those are relatively minor points though, as we enjoyed the flavors in the dishes and the overall experience. We're glad to see a restaurant back in this space, and we expect the small plates nature of the menu and the feel-good atmosphere will make this a popular neighborhood spot.

Palm Palm is located at 5996 Centre Avenue in Shadyside at the border with East Liberty.