I wanted to like Sausalido, I really did. I had talked to the chef at Gooski's one night last spring and when the groupons came out i was excited to get one. My girlfriend and I went on a weeknight, which was also one of the last days that we were eligible to use the groupon. Per standard groupon procedure, the place was packed. We spoke to the Chef while he was out front smoking and he said, "it was a crazy night" and they had been "slammed" because of the groupon.
We had a reservation and were seated about 20 minutes after our reservation time which I didn't think was too bad. Sausalido is BYOB and they seemed surprised that we did not bring wine. We were served a white bean dip to snack on and it was incredible. I would have been much happier with our dinner if it would have been only that.
I ordered the shrimp and gazpacho shooters appetizer and was pleased at how quickly we received it and its taste. The bowls it was served in were strange because it was too much to shoot but difficult to get a spoon into. No matter though, they were fantastic.
I ordered the London Broil ($26) and my girlfriend got the pork chop ($23). We were served small dinner salads with beets and it was so bad I don't even want to think about it. My girlfriend's pork chop was good, but didn't blow her away. My london broil was.....strange. I really don't have another word for it. It just seemed like a bad piece of meat.
For dessert we ordered the red velvet cheesecake and it was practically frozen and had tastes of mint. I tried to enjoy it but I was pushing more and more of it onto my girlfriend. The dinner was promising at the start, but went downhill fast.
I'm sorry for the simple review, but dinner at Sausalido did not provide lasting memories and we were clearly disappointed as we left. Based on other reviews I can only assume that I went on a bad night, but it was bad enough that I will not go back. I have too many other places in Pittsburgh to try.