Camelia W.
Yelp
EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED!
Subpar dinner, unpleasant experience.
This restaurant came highly recommended.
We were expecting it to be a highlight of our short getaway trip in Taos so we came ready to enjoy it!
We found it to be a mix of very bad with some good, all attached to a too bill and frustration.
DRINKS:
We started with a signature Manhattan and a Margarita.
They asked me if i wanted the classic Margarita, "sweet and sour".
As i had the classic many times, in different cities/states, i said yes.
Well, the drink was so extremely sour, as if the main ingredient was lime juice. Impossible to drink.
I asked for some simple syrup, but they offered instead that i would upgrade for the Margarita with Grand Magnier added .
I did and that was good, but I think anything offered on the menu should be enjoyable, or not offered at all, if not up to par.
As APPETIZERS we had:
1. BEEF TARTAR - not bad. There are so many versions of this dish so we stay open minded when we order this dish.
This beef tartar was not bad.
The Aioli didn't have a taste of Dijon, and we could not trace any smoked olives - which was ok as we don't expect olives with this dish.
We have never tartar not served with crostini or grilled slices of bread - a needed, perfect medium to carry the beef tartar.
This one was accompanied by chips, which, while they were nice, crusty, light and not greasy, they really didn't work with the tartar, besides being extremely salty.
2. GRILLED OCTOPUS
I LOVE grilled octopus!
Grilled on the outside, tender meat inside .
Well, this one was INEDIBLE!
BURNT outside (see pics) - bitter and hard.
I have never experienced it so, in the many places in US or other countries where i had it.
The fact that, when i reported it inedible, showing the black, burnt pieces of meat, I was told that grilled octopus should be charred, took away any confidence i had in this establishment.
I opted for another beef tartar as substution.
MAINS:
1. FILLET MIGNON, served with potatoes, grilled asparagus and crispy leek
To my (pleasant) surprise, it was done to perfection.
As we expected the whole meal to be.
Medium-rare and tender, nice red wine reduction, asparagus tender, but with a bite to it.
2. PAPARDELLE BOLOGNESE:
Flavorful dish, ample portion.
The carrots in the sauce were undercooked, very al dente - which they should not be - but that didn't stop us from enjoying the dish.
WINE:
We both had Argentinian Malbec with our main dishes, which was very nice.
BREAD AND BUTTER
Home made bread and butter, served with the main dish:
Fresh bread and butter is always a nice touch!
That's always served first, as couvert, sometimes with a cost associated, sometimes not, but served only if desired, so that waste is avoided.
In this case, bread is served with the main dish.
The reason for that escapes us as main dishes always contain a starch of some sort.
Nevertheless, a nice touch.
Unfortunately, the love affair of the restaurant with salt continued as the butter was too heavily salted.
We were able to scrape some off the surface of the butter and enjoyed a bit of that offering.
(Note: I like things on the saltier side)
DESSERT:
We decided to share an APPLE PIE, served with HOMEMADE ICECREAM.
Terrible!
First, being served with icecream, one would expect the pie to be hot, ar at least warm.
This one was cold.
The taste was not something resembling apple and the appearance and texture was so dence, more like a brownie.
Very, very strange!
The ice cream was not soft and creamy, but (looking and tasting) more crumbly, with tiny crystals of ice.
This dish, as executed, should not be presented in any restaurant at all, more so in one considered upscale.
Overall, we were extremely disappointed.
In the few days of a vacation, having a bad dinner, with a high cost, is not something that anybody would look to include in their experiences.
Making a stronger point on the unexpected, unacceptable quality of the dishes, and spoiling our evening even further, was not something we felt comfortable doing.
On top of it, we were presented with the moral conundrum of expressing our opinion on the meal through the tip, at the expense of the serving personnel, which would not have been fair either.
So we chose not to shortcut the lady serving us, though her standing by the black-burnt octopus threw me off.
With tip, we spent close to $300 for an awful dinner and awful evening!
Never again!!
If back in Taos, we would gladly go again to Love Apple, Aji and Antonio's - which were all great!
Great food and great service, nice ambiance in the first two, special touch from owner on the food at Antonio's.
Rating 5 stars all these 3 restaurants.