Malagueta (Reported Closed)

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Melissa Gage

Joined 7 years ago

Citysearch Editorial Review. Don't expect to find servers toting skewers of meat just because this eatery is Brazilian. While you will find a handful of Brazilian-style steaks on the menu, the selection goes well beyond beef. A charming date-night destination, the space is accented by exposed brick walls, a glowing back-lit bar and striking crystal chandeliers hanging above the prime window tables. Sidewalk seating offers the opportunity to dine alfresco, while a Latin American jazz trio livens things up on Fridays and Saturdays. On the menu, starters include empanadas, Brazilian-style cheese bread and shrimp ceviche while paninis and wood-fired pizzas offer Italian alternatives. The thin-crust pies come topped with everything from roasted potatoes and plantains to shrimp and calamari. Carnivorous appetites will appreciate skirt steaks and rib eyes served with salsa campanha and chimichurri sauce. Beyond the beef, house specials include blackened salmon, pasta with spicy malagueta (chili pepper) sauce and a few chicken selections. On weekends, feijoada finds its way onto the menu. Brazil's national dish is a stew-like mixture of black beans and pork. Not surprisingly, the drink of choice is the caipirinha, or you can opt for sangria, a mojito or the house margarita.

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sophiamiller

Joined 4 years ago

best chimichurri sauce & flat bread. we were served by a charming server name Isabella . her suggestions were great. i tried the bife buanos aires with rice,plantains and chimichurri sauce. it was verry satisfying and delicious. my friend tried the thin crust shrimp and calamari tequila pizza and loved it. i tried a piece and the pizza was done to perfection. our server suggested we try the caipirinha wich is a brazilian cocktail made with cachaca . the coctail was verry refreshing and complimented our food perfectly.

good food ,friendly staff , nice music.we will definitely go back to malagueta restaurant.

Doesn't Recommend

dunny88

Joined 5 years ago

TERRIBLE SERVICE AND FOOD. I agree with the person about the staff being pushy and trying to up-sell you on everything. No surprise in that you had an idiot waiter charging you a cake cutting fee. He is probably related to the owner.

We ordered a pizza that came out with none of the ingredients it had on the menu. More so, it was like eating raw dough it was so under cooked. We tried explaining this to the waiter but he just argued that is how the pizza was supposed to be. I actually thought i would help the owner realize the importance of customer service and feedback so I called the next day ,and of course, no one ever called back. The only thing this place has going for it is that it is a nice atmosphere which the service, or lack of it, destroys.

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lulujogirl

Joined 4 years ago

Delicious. Good food!!!! Yummy steak and great cocktails. Customer service is nice and I love the chimchurri sauce and skirt steak. U will not be disappointed.

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jwhung

Joined 6 years ago

Bold Brazilian Fare. Great place all in all. Our server was friendly and fun. He made great recommendations of various dishes and new what he was talking about. The sangria there was really tasty! Not too sweet and not to tart. It would have been nice to have some fruit in there and maybe less ice, but it was still one of the better sangria I've ever had. Another drink that my friend ordered was the Brazilan Hottie. Malibue rum pineapple juice and other things...also very tasty and freshing with the mint leaves. I highly recommend the avocado & palmito samosa...yummy...and I say this when I typically don't like avocados at all! The Bife Buenos Aires which is a skirt steak, was really good, perfectly done and tender, especially with the spicy chimichurri sauce! I had to order more sauce cause it was so good. My hubby had the southern style steak and it was done to his liking. Although i didn't try it, my friends' dishes of Carne na brasa and moqueca looked and smelled delicious and flavourful. Lastly, the tiramsu was chocolately and moist. perfect way to end the meal. The decor is nice and the place itself made me feel comfortable, warm and welcomed. I would definitely go back!

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thenewbombs

Joined 11 years ago

Nice find!. We were walking by and decided to give this restaurant a try. The ambience is great - lively and fun. The service was very attentive and helpful. The food is really good - both the Brazilian and Mediterranean options were great. The wine and beer selections were thorough. Overall, a nice experience.

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linetazarian

Joined 6 years ago

Best food in all of Pasadena. Okay so Im not going to lie I never noticed this place until one day I randomly walked in. I usually go to Cheesecake Factory and try to avoid trying new restaurants. But this place is FANTASTIC!!!! The service is great, the ambience is great and they have outside seating!!!! Most importantly I never ever go to Cheescake Factory anymore because Malagueta has the best food ever....It is brazilian with a medditereanean flare. Everything is so tasty. Try the beef buenos aires with plantains and the gaucho steak sandwich you wont regret it , even the cheese pizza is delicious. I cant say enough good things about the food its the best and it doesnt hurt that the bartender is HOTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!

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Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

Editorial Review. Old Town Pasadena restaurant mixes Brazilian and Mediterranean fair with grilled meat and fish entrees, sandwiches and salads.

Doesn't Recommend

ssmith288

Joined 6 years ago

DEFINETELY NO!. We went to celebrate my friend's bday. Service was very pushy, trying to make us order more and more. Food wasn't bad nor good. Nothing out of the ordinary. Had a very bad experience when we asked the server to bring out the cake that we brought. Asked server for the plastic knife that came with it but he said that he didn't see anything, so we asked him for a knife and he said that he has big knives and that he can't bring it out to us, so we asked him for a steak knife but he didn't want to give us one and insisted so much that he could cut the cake for us, and that he has a lot of experience cutting cake! hmmmm..... First we thought, such a great service until we got the bill and notice a $7 extra for cutting the cake! No wonder he insisted so much and was so eager to take the cake to cut it.

We don't mind paying the extra fee, but we do mind and don't appreciate how they did it. They should have just told us that there will be a fee especially when we insisted that we wanted to cut the cake ourselves. I guess that explains why the plastic knife was missing from the cake. So shady!

By the way, the restaurant is no longer called Chiara, now it's called Maraqueta and it's kinda a mix of Brazilian, Mexican, Cuban and something else combined.

It's definetely a NO! There are a lot of other good restaurants in Old Town.

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jrt12

Joined 9 years ago

Definitely recommend. Great little place in Old Town Pasadena that I've been to a handful of times. Interesting food, different than normal fare, definitely worth trying. Good service, good location with alot to do nearby (shopping, movies, clubs/bars). If youre looking for something different, the next time youre in Old Pasadena, check it out.