Paraíso Taqueria & Mezcaleria, 11th and Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, in the space originally occupied by Emilie's

[Pat]

My husband and I celebrated our anniversary here last night and had a wonderful meal with great service. I'd previously only been here for happy hours and snacks, and it seemed like a good spot to go for a low-key but nice meal. It exceeded my expectations. Highly recommend.

For the second time in a few days, our plans to dine outside were derailed by rain. (We have two birthdays and an anniversary within a 2 week+ span in August, and except for 2020, we usually go out for meals on these days. Last year: 3 outside meals, zero rain. This year: 0-for-2.)

We had two appetizers: the trio of salsas with tortilla chips and the queso fundito with poblanos, which comes with corn tortillas. Both of these I'd had before and they seem to be consistently well-prepared. We got extra chips (gratis) because we ran out of dipping implements.

For the rest of the meal, I had the $18 Tuna Tostada (Ahi tuna marinated in soy serrano, guacamole, sesame, salsa macha). It's a small plate, but with the other food, I needed my husband to help me finish this. The raw tuna seemed to be very good quality and was perfectly chopped into small cubes.

He had the entree of $28 Sweet potato enchiladas (Stuffed with sweet potato topped with mole, queso cotija, crema, red onions, cashews, cilantro). The bite of it I had was excellent, with warm spicing, cinnamon being the most forward note.

On the Resy reservation form, I had clicked the anniversary option in the notes. Both the host and our server wished us a happy anniversary, and we got a gratis piece of cake with berries and raspberry coulis and a happy anniversary topper. This was very nice and appreciated. I included the information because of the prompt on the form and was impressed by the response. The last Resy reservation for a different restaurant, I clicked "birthday," and it was ignored. (Not to bash the other restaurant; it's more a comment on how carefully Paraiso paid attention.)

[Bart]

3 hours ago, Pat said:

On the Resy reservation form, I had clicked the anniversary option in the notes. Both the host and our server wished us a happy anniversary, and we got a gratis piece of cake with berries and raspberry coulis and a happy anniversary topper. This was very nice and appreciated. I included the information because of the prompt on the form and was impressed by the response. The last Resy reservation for a different restaurant, I clicked "birthday," and it was ignored. (Not to bash the other restaurant; it's more a comment on how carefully Paraiso paid attention.)

Co-sign on this, big time!!

I'm never looking for a freebie either, but I do get annoyed when you answer their questions (Birthday?, Anniversary? etc) and they never mention it during the meal.  Like, why bother?!?!

[dracisk]

Thanks to @Pat's positive review I'll be visiting Paraiso Friday night for a birthday meal with friends. I'd originally chosen Iron Gate, which I've never been to and I still want to go, but they didn't have any tables on their patio available. I'm fine with eating inside in general, but it looks like we're finally getting a break from this horrid hot and humid weather on Friday, so I really wanted to eat outside. We were able to reserve a patio table at Paraiso (the ability to reserve outdoor seating is one of the few (maybe the only) silver linings of the pandemic as far as I'm concerned). I hadn't heard of it before reading Pat's review and am really looking forward to it! I've been watching Better Call Saul and it makes me want Mexican food (though the Mexican food in Better Call Saul looks very little like the food on Paraiso's menu). 😆

[Pat]

I hope all goes well. Happy birthday!

[dracisk]

As it turns out we were able to slide into the Iron Gate patio for tomorrow but Paraiso is on my list for the future!

[lotus125]

Has anyone been to Paraiso recently?  I recently glanced at the menu, which seems much more interesting and ambitious than when they first opened. Is there a new chef?  

[Pat]

My birthday dinner at Paraiso yesterday fired on all cylinders. The meal was good. The service was good. The environment was pleasant. Given current pricing generally, it was not insanely expensive, especially for a special meal. It came in just below $150 before tax and tip.

We started with margaritas and the tortilla chips and trio of salsas, which is a go-to most times I'm there. My husband had a carnitas roll, which is an interesting fusion item and substantial. I liked the piece I had. There were a few rolls on the specials menu. I believe the others were all fish. I enjoyed my house salad and he loved his avocado salad ["Half avocado stuffed with roasted corn and gratinated cheese, crispy carnitas, cherry tomato, red pickled daikon, red onion, feta cheese"] and chicken tortilla soup. I got the enchiladas verdes entree and could not quite finish it. Often, he will finish the rest of my leftover meal, but he was pretty full with what he'd already had.

They brought out a decent-sized piece of tres leches cake in honor of the occasion. It was excellent, very light, and perfect since we didn't have much room left. I noticed that on the receipt, they note the charge for the cake and then credit it back as "celebration."

I like this place. They hit all the right notes.