Paladar Latin Kitchen & Rum Bar just launched its third location in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The new addition is at Downtown Crown in Gaithersburg, MD, and features Executive Chef. Gregory Webb. I was present at the opening event benefiting the wonderful charitable organization, Manna Food Center. We also covered the Tysons Corner launch.

I tried several different mojitos, with the Peach Basil Mojito being my favorite and the Mango Cilantro my second favorite. They actually incorrectly made my Strawberry Mojito (minimal alcohol and a lot of fizz but this was the night before their actual opening and it was very busy), but when the Bar Manager remade it for me, it was good too.

With house-made chips (made from various vegetables) we were served 3 different guacamoles (traditional, spicy, and mango/garlic), all of which were great. I was surprised at well the mango/garlic version worked, since I was skeptical at first.

My favorite entrees were the Rum Glazed Cuban Pork (served with coconut mango rice, black beans  and fresh pico de gallo) , Grilled Skirt Steak Churrasco (served with chimichurri, sofrito rice and pinto beans), Mojo Marinated Atlantic Salmon (served with well-executed sauteed zucchini and truly great yucca spaetzle), and Coconut Curry Vegetables (a vegetarian dish I tried one or two bites of).

The Coconut & Caramel Flan and the Sweet Potato Donuts were delicious and expertly executed! I could see myself ordering both of them often. The Mexican Chocolate Cake looked great, but they ran out of it before we were served dessert. The Paladar Churros were a crunchy style of churro (and I prefer more of the classic texture).

The restaurant has a great corner location. The outside bar area was designed well. There are also bar tables, and on the other side of the building, a patio seating area with a great view of a nature preserve.

This is definitely a restaurant checking out! There are also Tysons Corner, Annapolis, and Rockville locations.

-JAY

Disclosure: From time to time, we are given free items, meals, or entry to events.