MELAO by Mario Pagan

Restaurant is a treasure. Great menu and Joel was a masterful host. We had a great time and will be back!

We had an amazing dinner at Melao two nights in a row. Our server Abraham did an excellent job by making us feel very welcome and explaining the menu. Joel the Maitre De was also excellent. This restaurant serves the best food in Dorado (including the Ritz Carlton Dorado) by a wide mile. The food is Tapas style and is delicious. I would highly recommend the Sushi Tartar, Beef Carpaccio and particularly the Duck Sliders - which will blow you away. The service was excellent and the restaurant did a great job working with you if you wanted to customize the portion sizes or accompaniments. Overall excellent.

We had an 8:30pm reservation on a Saturday night and when we arrived we were told our table was finishing dessert and would be another 10 mins. We waited on the porch and the bartender came to take a drinks order, followed by the GM who apologized for the delay and helped us to order a few appetizers which were on the house. I think he knew we were going to be waiting more than 10 minutes, even though strangely the restaurant was not full. Once we were seated the food was excellent but sadly the service wasn’t of the same calibre. The staff were so obsessed with a couple at the next table (food critic?) that we continually had to wait while people who arrived after us were served their food. The coup de grace was after the waiter explained that if we wanted the special chocolate dessert we should order it with the rest of our food to avoid a 25 minute wait which we duly did. Surprisingly after clearing our entrees we had to wait 30 minutes for dessert which arrived looking like it had been thrown onto the plate after I asked what in earth was going on. The aforementioned couple next to us were also persuaded to order the chocolate dessert after they finished their entrees and miraculously it appeared a few minutes later. Call me a cynic but I’m pretty sure they got ours and we were left to wait. Let’s hope the guy writes them a good review to offset ours. They even comped his bill so it’s likely that’ll be the case but if you’re just an ordinary bloke like me trying to have a nice meal with your daughter there are plenty of other places on the island that are far better than Melao in our experience.

Food and service was great!

it was a perfect night good ambiance, good food good friends great service food awesome

Spectacular meal and even better service! The staff was very attentive to our needs. Gave detailed descriptions of each dish to help us decide what to chose. Every course was delicious!!! If you are staying in Dorado, we highly recommend this restaurant.

Wonderful! Service, food and drinks are fantastic. Brought foodie parents who were delighted by the appetizers and mains. If

Excellent except for a family of 4 children all under age 6 running around and screaming. This fine dining establishment should have a policy for an age limit. This is not the place where a 2 year old can get chicken tenders, a hot dog or mac and cheese.
It ruined our evening. Management was advised yet nothing was done.
We are not coming back under these circumstances.

This meal was absolutely fantastic. I got the ribeye and it was cooked to perfection and worth the price tag. Also service was impeccable.

service is great, but too long of wait times for food.

Excellent experience. Great food, superb cocktails.

Comida exquisita, servicio inmejorable. Recomendado

Great place to eat. Food is phenomenal. The staff go out of their way to accommodate your needs. Suggestions are always spot on. It is a point of pride for the people who work here to make the guests feel welcome.

This place is by far one of our favorites on the Island. The food the staff the atmosphere are all top notch! All the wait staff goes above and beyond to make your experience spectacular. The food is always consistently fabulous every single time. Joel the manager is probably the best restaurant manager I have ever seen. He helps the staff in any way he can he makes sure he greats every single guest that walks through the door and makes a point to stop at every table to check on guests. He is the key that makes this place so amazing!

MELAO is the best way to experience the local flavors presented by Mario Pagán if you are in the Dorado area. Great cocktails & wine list within a nice & cozy ambiance.

Birthday. Sr Cristal, Francisco and all their staff went out of their way to make it memorable

Excellent dinner experience

Will work a little on the size of the portions Nevertheless the quality of the food was great.

Well trained ultra friendly hostesses and waitresses and Restaurant manager always pending of any necessity we might have. Great place if you want to hang out with friends or want to impress somebody with their high end fine dining.

Great food, esp the apps

Great New Year’s Brunch!

Still getting the kinks out in the kitchen, food took a very long time to arrive. Our table service was good and apologetic about the wait. When the food arrived, it was very good.

Mario always provides excellent dishes of local and international favorites with a super twist. One of the best alternatives in town...!!!

Super!! Todo muy bueno :atención, calidad de la comida 🥘 Los cócteles 🍸 en fin todo bueno !!

MELAO is one of our favorites! The food is excellent and the service is always amazing.

Try Pegaito de Paella. Best dish I have had in a while

Excellent!

Interesante mezcla se sabores,buena presentaciòn,ingredientes frescos del país.
Menù variado sin ser extenso.
Servicio educado y amable sin ser cargosos.

Second time there, excellent experience. Food was delicious and both the server (Sorry! Cant remember her name!) and Manager were accommodating and knowledgeable. Great suggestions of food by the server and excellent suggestion of wine by the manager, Joel.

Very good. My only concern is that the food was a little bit salty for me, high blood presure.

Exelent food and service.
Good meal presentation, but they have to work on the wine list and the noice.

Waiters are confused most of the time. Very poor acoustics/noisy. Very slow to be served the main courses every time. Waiters too intrusive like @ Chili’s. Food is good for the most part. Chocolate dessert is tasteless. Needs better chocolate. Dining room temperature can be too cold.

Execellent dinner restaurant. Exotic tapas and courses. Very well trained personel for a friendly service at table.

We had a great evening and the food was excellent. I do not remember the hostesses name but she was lovely, Joel the manager was very accommodating and gracious as always, Luis our server was excellent and support staff was great as well. My only wishes are that we had more room for more food and that you dim the lights a little bit more.

Awesome ambience with incredible tasting food. Loved the place.

Poor offer of Pinot Noir wines, considering this experience was sold as, “PINOT NOIR” night!
For $165/person, you received delicious soup (!) and two other dishes - mediocre at best - finished with a domestic, airplane-quality desert; this was l paired with cheap Belle Gloss “Rose” type Pinot, Kim Crawford Pinot Noir (uh...?!), an Oregon “88” score, and a Burgundy Pinot, which was hardly classified as full-bodied headliner (that’s the pinnacle?!)

For $330/couple, there are so many other restaurants in the vicinity that will respectfully - and humbly - honor your taste buds, and food/wine knowledge.

Outstanding service and food. The sea bass is spectacular.

Excellent as always. Staff was delightful, informative and attentive. Always a pleasure.

This is our first time at Melao and will return. Great ambient, food and service.

The food was delicious!! The girl who served us was very friendly and service was excellent.