To help counter my unhappy lunch review, I figured I should post a positive one. Short summary: Mallorca (Spanish/Continental/seafood, on Carson just across from the Birmingham Bridge) serves amazingly generous portions and lunch prices are very reasonable ($8-12, mostly). Very few vegetarian options. On my 3 or 4 visits, service has been excellent. We've occasionally gotten complimentary appetizers or liqueur at the end of the meal. Portions are huge and side dishes are served family style. Side dishes include veggies (mixed, pretty much unseasoned, but tasty), saffron rice and homemade potato chips (tasty, if a bit out of place). And all entrees come with a house salad with a very tangy dressing and hearts of palm. Maybe not the flavor combination I would pick, but the greens were varied and fresh. And fresh bread. Entrees I/we have tried: camarones del sol (shrimp in a light wine sauce), vegetable paella, meat paella, camarones enchalados (shrimp in a tomato sauce), swordfish (I forget the prep), and cajun blackened tuna. Of those, the camarones del sol and the paella are the top recommendations. The menu isn't very descriptive, but the servers have always been knowledgable and helpful. Ask about daily specials and fresh fish that aren't on the menu: some days they seemed to have 15, some days none. Be warned that specials can cost noticable more than other items on the menu: if you care, ask. As above, vegetarian options are extremely limited (vege paella and maybe a pasta special). That said, a vegetarian who didn't need protein could nosh quite happily on the salad and sides. Heck, anybody could nosh quite happily on the salad and sides. Desserts: I've tried the flan and the pineapple sorbet (served in half of a frozen pineapple). The only surpises were prices: the sorbet was $6 or $7, and the flan was mispriced one afternoon by a dinner waiter who had just come on shift (normally ~$3 at lunch). Again, if it's not on the menu and you care about price, ask. The flan was excellent and served withh a dollop of caramel sauce. (Green Forrest has better flan, though.) The kitchen has been slow, which may have been a factor of the time: I've often gone in around 2. When I've gone in closer to normal lunch hours, they've had more specials and tended to provide more free apperitifs and appitizers. It is team service, and generally service is excellent. The one time I ordered swordfish, I wasn't impressed with the flavor or freshness of the fish, and they immediately offered to make something else. Perhaps overly generous, but it left me feeling very pleased. All in all, an excellent experience. -- Sam
Pittsburgh, PA