Palette 22

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Palette 22 offers a unique tapas experience in The Village at Shirlington. Palette 22 embraces art and creativity, incredible flavors from around the world, and showcases it all in a cool space.  Wrapped in the original Art Deco building from 1943, the interior of Palette 22 has been designed to look like an industrial artist’s studio. Everywhere you look, there’s something interesting to see.  We were invited in to check out the menu of globally-inspired dishes and experience the "food, art, fun".

The dining room was packed with families and groups of diners.  An artist was in the corner with his paintings.  We were greeted by our server and explained that artists rotate in each night, and at any time we could get up and walk around the gallery to purchase or simply look at any of the art pieces. 

She suggested their housemade Red Sangria made with fresh juices, gin, Spanish brandy, apples, oranges, and citrus.  It was on the dry side, not sweet, and paired well with the food I ate.

For a snack we started with the Deviled Eggs with applewood smoked bacon and a bit of sriracha for an underlying heat.  The filling tasted good, however the egg white itself was dried out giving an odd chewy texture.

Keith ate the Huli Huli Ribs - St. Louis ribs covered in a sweet pineapple barbeque sauce and served with a crunchy slaw.  The meat was a bit skimpy on the bone, but the flavor was decent.

The Grilled Octopus was a nice large portion of the thick tender tentacle served with purple potato hash and aji amarillo.  The peppers were spicy, which Keith really liked.

As a side, we also shared the Patatas Fritas - fried potato chunks served on top of a tomato sauce and topped with garlic aioli.  The potatoes were crispy and perfectly seasoned.

We also tried the Creole Shrimp & Rice - jumbo shrimp in a tomato-creole sauce.  The shrimp were plump and cooked lightly.  I could taste the peppers and onions in the traditional creole sauce.

Lastly, for dessert we ate the Churros served with salted dulce de leche and a Mexican chocolate sauce.  I found the sauces to be too watery, but they provided a kiss of sweetness to round out the spicy meal.

Palette 22 is a good place to groups, since you can choose a wide variety of dishes to share ensuring something for everyone's liking. Try the "Passport" Tasting Menu where the chef selects signature menu items for you to taste, including dessert, for $29.22 per person.  Bottomless Brunch is available on the weekends for $25 per person.  "Wine Down" each Wednesday with half-priced bottles of international and domestic wine varietals. 

Total Rating: 3.73
Food: 3.5, Price: 4, Service: 4, Ambience: 4, Accessibility: 4