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The Arcadia News features restaurant reviews each month.
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Deseo
6902 E. Greenway Parkway (Westin Hotel)
480.624.1000

There are very few restaurants which re-think their menu when Maricopa County is placed gently into a casserole dish and set to bake at 110° until November. It seems like common sense that people’s appetites would change, but what do I know? Well, I know enough about myself, and in the summer I like ice cold Sauvignon Blanc, cold salads, cold sea food, cold soups, cold sushi, cold Mexican beer with cold limes and nearly anything transformed into a sorbet.

So I have bit my tongue until the arrival of summer to tell you about Deseo, the ceviche bar inside the Westin Hotel on Greenway. If you’re keeping a list of places to eat in the summer that offer light, crisp flavors, now would be the time to break out your crayon.
Deseo is my first experience with ceviche beyond the standard recipes. It’s a wonder, with the success of sushi, why ceviche restaurants haven’t already run wild. Maybe it’s because chefs haven’t worked at adapting the flavors beyond lime and cilantro. Chef Mark Dow has done a great job of doing it and the menu at Deseo offers a large spectrum of flavors within and outside of the ceviche theme.

Being newcomers and really not sure what we liked, we decided that each of our party of four would order the Trio of Ceviches ($18), a tasting of three ceviches of our choice which would have spanned the menu but moments before the order was in, I panicked and ordered my very own Sliced Scallop in Spicy Lemon Saffron Sauce with Crispy Lemon Rings, Cilantro and Coriander Oil ($12). The first great thing about this dish is that I had never tasted anything of the sort before in my life. The second great thing is that it was a spectacular combination of flavors which I now have made note of and will re-engineer as a salad dressing in my spare time.

My top three favorites of the eight we sampled were the Tai ($13) which incorporated Tuna and Calamari, tossed with Infused Coconut Water, Thai Basil and Lime. Adding the sweet and hot elements to the tuna made a great combo of flavors. The Salmon ($11), which is my all-time favorite Sashimi, was done with a light accompaniment of blood orange, watermelon and fresh mint. These were light flavors and the focus of the dish was correctly placed on the delicious fresh salmon.

Then the bomb was dropped when we all realized the money dish was disappearing before our eyes and a violent exchange of forks eliminated any evidence of the Lobster and Shrimp with Lime, Celery, Jalapenos, Yellow Tomatoes and Celery Sorbet (yes) Topping ($14). Had I known anything about this dish in advance my colleagues would have had little chance getting their fair share. I know you’re supposed to show tact when enjoying fine dining but my advice would be to get a hold of this dish early on, raise it to your face and start inhaling. If you keep one knife-wielding hand free, you should be able to keep the rest of the group at bay.

I am usually not much of a dessert fan, but I do like to try a bite of whatever has been ordered. My associates and I all agreed that the Churro was over the top, and beat any previous run-ins with the cinnamon pastry we had ever had.