PAZO Happy Hour Reviewed (2/21/13)

Pazo...oh, Pazo. You are so sophisticated and rustic at the same time. Not only do skeevy middle-aged men love picking up girls there, but we love you too! After you valet your car at Pazo (and yes, you should do this, as you will learn later in the post) you walk in and a lovely manager offers to stow your coat. You walk in facing a large marble bar and a lounge with several areas of couches surrounding large coffee tables. The couches are plush and inviting...you could definitely imagine spending a whole night on them. We wouldn't mind a little quality time snuggling with our men on one of these couches, glass of bubbly, plate of snacks....mmmm. Anyway, you can sit at tables on the main dining floor or on the second level terrace looking down on the lounge. In our opinion though, why would you do that when you can pretend you're in a living room with full service?

Of course, we also have to share a little Thursday happy hour blunder...
A couple of the Happy Hour Crew groupies decided to park in Federal Hill rather than taking advantage of the complimentary valet at Pazo. Mistake. BIG (like getting your car stolen) MISTAKE. The gentlemen in question decided that they must leave Pazo (with one of us in tow no less) to do karaoke in Federal Hill. Let me just say that the writer of this particular post was not aware of this situation and would never have condoned such a plan. Moving on, they take a car to Federal Hill for this karaoke bullshit at Nevin's (don't go there, not sanctioned by the Happy Hour Crew). A couple of hours later, a few too many songs sang, the car is gone.

The moral of the story: DON'T LEAVE THE HAPPY HOUR CREW SPOT FOR KARAOKE. AND ALWAYS STAY AT PLACES WHERE THEY HAVE FREE VALET.

Happy Hour Specials:

PAZO CINCO
Monday - Friday, 5-7pm
Hit Pazo on weekdays for PAZO CINCO where select cocktails and tapas are $5 each! Gather a group from the office or socialize with friends with the Velada Menu. This special menu is ideal for groups in the bar and lounge complete with cava and a selection of tapas to be shared.

RATINGS:

Music: Not really audible in the bar, but can hear good classical and soft rock in the bathrooms. No televisions. This is a classy place. Thursday, Friday and Saturday there is a DJ and dancing on the Main floor.

Seating: Full long bar on the first floor with about 20 stools and four sections of beautiful and comfortable couches to relax upon with a group or for an intimate evening. Table seating is available on the first floor Monday through Wednesday and on Sundays. Thursday through Saturday the first floor tables are removed to create a more lounge and dance type of feel. The second floor is comprised of a terrace level that wraps around the whole space looking down at the lounge. Table seating for dinner is preferable up there.

Price: The prices are truly reasonable during happy hour, otherwise known as Pazo Cinco. See the specials above. On the regular menu small plates (Tapas) start at $6 and go up from there.

Food: Pazo's food is wonderful. Sure the Cinco plates are a touch small and you will wonder where the rest of your food is....but it's happy hour and it's $5 so get over it. If you want to eat reasonably, go for a pizza. We favor the Iberico.

Parking: Complimentary valet for up to 3 hours. Street parking is available but not really consistently on weekend nights.

Overall: 9 out of 10 because the menu is pricey outside of happy hour and the happy hour food specials are tiny. Otherwise, we love you Pazo. Sit down with a glass of bubbles, order an Iberico pizza and gab about how close you are to the weekend. Some nights tend to be better than others and you can have a full bar of hot, young professional or a full bar of just professionals. Just make sure you invite your friends ladies, this is not the place to meet a random man.