From classic bites like beef sliders, experimental Asian dishes like stir fry, and the restaurant’s fan favorite array of tacos, Departure boasts a unique blend of cultures.
The menu is concise yet imaginative, comprised of tapas—small dishes. Some patrons may find this slightly limiting, but we found the small dish system was an excellent way to promote family-style eating.
We ordered around eight dishes that best piqued our interests and shared them among our party. While certain dishes were a hit, others fell flat.
We started out our evening with Asian stir-fry and a duo of beef sliders.
The honey Hoisin stir fry, which was $14, had an excellent tangy flavor, it was slightly insubstantial. It did have pieces of chicken but was overwhelmed by a sea of red peppers. The peppers and snow peas smothered the chicken, and overpowered what was so good about the dish with their mild and watery flavor. We were left unfulfilled and wanting more.
The beef sliders were $12 and a good option for your picky friend, but they weren’t anything too shocking. The bun was soft and the meat was decently tender.
By far the highlight of the night was the variety of tacos, a clear fan favorite, according to wait staff. We landed on the chili lime shrimp tacos along with a flight on their specialty spring menu that included carnitas, chicken elote, and bulgogi tacos. Each of these plates were $14.
The shrimp tacos were slightly spicy and delicately sour, and the actual shrimp was tender and not fishy.
The meat in the carnitas tacos was marinated to perfection, the warm and earthy flavor of the meat complemented by sour pickled onions. The chicken elote tacos were topped perfectly with sweet corn chutney which balanced out the flavors. However, the bulgogi tacos failed in this aspect as the meat was overpoweringly salty and the toppings did little to combat this.
The selection of salads provided a refreshing new taste. The cucumber salad was executed with a spontaneous freshness, but the caprese was disappointing to say the least.
The caprese was $12 and disappointing in terms of quality. The cheese was falling apart and leaked distasteful water onto the rest of the dish. The tomatoes were flavorless and the basil wilted on the plate. This salad missed the mark in terms of freshness and managed to feel dull and dank.
The perfect end to our evening was the creamy chocolate cake. Not only was it beautiful, but it was richly cocoa-flavored and not too sweet. It was safe to say the four of us were scrambling to steal the last bite.
While the quality of the food varied, Departure is certainly a nice spot to eat with large groups, or try new styles of food. The tapas style was refreshing and different, and some dishes were absolute bangers.
