With garage doors for windows, Cuatro looks more than a little like a made-over auto-repair shop. Step inside this Caribbean-inspired hotspot and you'll find plenty of food and music to get your engine running.
Guests come as diverse as some of the colors in the Latin-themed paintings hung on the Pacific blue walls. The restaurant typically caters to the after-work crowd, but plenty of young couples come in as well, especially on the weekends. Cuatro's also popular with local celebrities. On one Sunday evening, I found DJ Lego surfing the lounge area while Emmy award-winner Cheryl Burton dined with a friend beside a saltwater aquarium. While coming here in a T-shirt and jeans still gets you service, dressing presentably keeps you from standing out.
Begin the evening with the empanada de cangrejo (crab and goat cheese stuffed dumplings with avocado/pico de gallo salsa, $11). Cleanse your palate with the Forbidden Fruit Sangria ($10) infused with tropical fruits of all kinds. For dinner, try the salmon entamalado ($22), not as vanilla as you may think. Saffron quinoa ragout and mojo de ajo on a banana leaf sheet complement the filet nicely. Server Shaun Conway has another recommendation: moqueca do mar (a medley of seafood in a tomato-coconut milk broth, $25).
Come Saturdays for house music spun by a live DJ. For a more relaxed feel, let a three-piece Brazilian jazz band accompany your Sunday brunch from 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.. Sundays offer $5 sangrias all day.
Average cost: $21-$30
Centerstage Reviewer: David-Anthony Gonzalez
