Wineswinging at Dosalas Latin Kitchen Restaurant in Vancouver, Washington, has many “first” adjectives next to it.
We celebrated Independence Day at the restaurant for the first time instead of a picnic or barbeque get-together. According to OpenTable, it was a trend of 2021 Independence Day, and many restaurants were booked out over the weekend. We guess after a year-long quarantine and playing back-yard warriors, many of us wanted to eat in the company of total strangers and have someone else wash the dishes after dinner. We guess we all missed each other and the vibe and energy of restaurants and bars.
Dosalas Latin Kitchen opened just before Memorial Day, and it was our first visit. It’s the first Latin-themed restaurant at Vancouver Waterfront – a new neighborhood project transforming the part industrial port on the shore of Columbia River.
Finally, it was our first time seeing so many people in one place mingling together without masks covering faces since March of 2020. It’s great to see people’s smiles again.
Dosalas Latin Kitchen Restaurant
The Place
2020 and 2021 was the most challenging time for restaurant owners worldwide. According to some estimates, between 40-60% of restaurants will never re-open, and we lost some gems in the metro encompassing Vancouver, Washington, and Portland, Oregon.
Dosalas restaurant, previously located in downtown Vancouver closed too, but for a different reason. They re-located into a new location at the Waterfront. Developers did a fantastic job turning the former industrial port into a place that attracts people from both sides of the Columbia River that separated Washington state from Oregon.
Dosalas Latin Kitchen is located on the second floor of the building, right above another new restaurant – Wild Fin. Dosalas is a spacious restaurant with tall ceilings, a glass wall, and a large patio facing Columbia River. You’d get one of the best views in town if you get a seat by the window or on the deck.
Right below is a beautifully designed promenade. To the right, you can see I-5 Bridge that can take you to Portland. To the left is a railroad bridge. You can also see airplanes and fighter jets (if you are lucky) taking off from the nearby Portland airport.
The modern luxurious interior is dominated by white color and black and golden accents. We felt that some parts of the design were a bit “kitchy,” but we think it adds a certain charm to the place.
The Menu
The menu is a good balance between appetizers, main courses, and handheld food. Some dishes are traditional to Latin America, and others are a modern take on them. There are several good Keto, gluten-free, vegan, and vegetarian dishes.
Tuna Tostadas, for example, is a cross between Hawaiian spicy poke salad and a tortilla. The sweetness of toasted corn tortillas balances the spice, and crunchiness adds texture.
Hamachi Crudo is a sashimi with a twist. Instead of soy sauce, wasabi, ginger, and lemon, it’s accompanied by lightly salted mango-basil sorbet. The sorbet didn’t overpower but instead highlighted the delicate flavors of the fish.
The short ribs with a gluten-free bun was another exciting dish. It’s a chef’s take on classic – ribs and mashed potatoes – that looked like a mini-cake with potato flour bun as a base. Although the bun was a bit tough to cut into (common for gluten-free baked products), the flavors were great.
The Fish Tacos were nothing out of the ordinary. While the taco and Steelhead were cooked well, both were lacking flavors. The fish needed salt, and the pickled veggies and onion stacked aside on the plate weren’t enough to “marry” Steelhead and Tacos. We felt that the dish needed a sauce to unify it and add moisture to dry ingredients on a plate.
Overall, we were happy with the menu choices, quality, and flavors of the food.
Wine List and Wine by the Glass
The Wine List has over eighty bottles to choose from and includes most major grape varietals and various blends. Two-thirds of the wines are reds, and they also have dessert wines, Champagne, and other bubbles. The list consists of luxury and upper-tier entry wines and is appropriately dominated by Washington and Oregon with some bargains among them. California is the third most significant wine region. The world is represented by Argentian, Spanish, Italian, French, and Chilean wines.
By the glass, wine offerings are diverse enough to satisfy most. Among typical “suspects” like Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, there are some off-beaten path options like Albariño from Spain and Syrah from Chile.
We would recommend picking Washington or Oregon wines for the best balance between price and quality.
Tequilas and Mezcal
Obviously, what’s a Latin kitchen without Tequila?! Dosalas is boasting a Tequila and Mezcal List that is almost as long as their Wine List. It has eight different categories and has sixty-eight bottles!
So if you’re a Tequila swinger, you know where to go. The list starts with over a dozen Bianco, Silver, and Reposado Tequilas at $10-12 a shot. But for those in a high-roller mood, Clase Azul for $350 or Tesla Tequila for $300 might do the trick.
Cocktails
Dosala’s cocktail menu has two dozen drinks in six different categories. The list starts with five signature Margaritas, including Classic in four flavors and some exclusives like Guava Lavender, Coco Chanel, and The High Roller (again!) for $77. The High Roller is spirit-forward Margarita made with Maestro Dobel Cristalino Tequila, Grand Marnier, and fresh orange and lime.
The Classic Margarita tasted like it was made from scratch and had what we expect from well-made Margarita – good balance of ingredients, although we felt it was a bit light on Tequila. Still, we loved the depth of flavors.
There’s too much love going on in the following category called “Not Tequila.” It includes cocktails named “Pablo’s Mistress,” “Passion Royale,” and “Sex on Fire.” Most are driven by tropical flavors.
Another exciting category was “Punch Bowl” – essentially a supersized cocktail made for two. All of them are sweet and, gauging by the names “Diamonds are Forever” or “Woo Girl,” perfect for the “girls night out.”
We tasted a few cocktails from the “New Classic” category. “Vintage Fashion” was an impressive interpretation of Old-Fashioned. The presentation was a spectacle of its own. The cocktail is brought to the table in a glass box filled with smoke, and the guest opens a small door to reach for the glass in a smoke cloud. Pretty cool and totally Instagrammable.
“Palomish” is a recently invented cocktail that quickly gained popularity thanks to its sweet and sour profile complemented by Tequila smokiness and apricot flavors of Aperol.
The last cocktail was Daquiri inspired “Habana Vieja,” based on Rum and Gin. The cocktail was a bit too sweet to our taste at first. The bartender fixed it by adding lime juice and a bit more Gin. More acidity from lime and astringency from Gin helped to balance the flavors.
Overall, it’s an exciting cocktail menu, and we appreciated the creativity of designing each drink and developing a multilayered flavor profile.
We thought that the cocktail menu can be even better if balanced by a few “manly” drinks because, as is, it’s kind of dominated by fruity “girlish” drinks, leaving little choice to guys other than “Vintage Fashion” or ordering something off the cocktail menu.
Dosalas: Food Pairing
Typically, we play Wine and Food games when we go to restaurants, but we decided to do something different this time. We challenged ourselves to find the best Cocktail and Food combination.
Generally, Latin-inspired cuisine known for its spiciness, and sweeter drinks help to balance the heat.
The first good combination was “Vintage Fashion” and Short Ribs. The smokiness complimented the smoky flavors of the dish; the light sweetness helped to balance the heat.
Still, our favorite and almost ideal pairing of the night was Classic Margarita and Hamachi Crudo. Tequila, salt, and Hamachi have a natural affinity to each other. Lime and orange liquor in Margarita complimented the savory Mango sorbet. Together all these components helped each other to intensify the flavors.
If you decide to pair Dosalas food with wine, keep in mind that if it’s a spicy dish, pick bubbles or fruitier wines and with less tannin if it’s red.
Even better if the wine has some sweetness.
After Dinner Thoughts
What makes a restaurant great? It boils down to two things flavors and a memorable dining experience.
Dosalas has both going for them. Starting with stunning location and beautiful views, luxurious interior, and excellent service. It continues in the kitchen, where the chef and his team created two of our favorites of the night: Tuna Tostadas and Hamachi Crudo. Finally, the bar team makes sure you stay happy by exciting your taste buds with impressive cocktails and an extensive list of wines and Tequilas.
Keep following us for more professional and non-sponsored reviews of restaurants, wine lists, cocktails, and more. (Yes, we paid for our drinks and food while dining at Dosalas Latin Kitchen).