Denyce M.
Yelp
Another great selection for Restaurant Week 2025. Let me get this off my chest before I dive into the food and service. This space use to be the Bongo Room. I was not a fan of the front room and this has not changed. There is a lovely bar area and in the main window is a table that seats 10 people, then two four top tables in the space. The problem with this set up is the addition of two four top tables in this small space.
I will not speak for the folks at the other table, but our table was not ideal. Tala should really consider not having a table next to the bar. The table itself was a nice size to accommodate our dishes, which is important for me. The placement of the table is what knocked this review down to four stars. As you can see from one of the photos, we were in direct line with the front door opening and closing. While there was a small heater next to our table, the door closing and opening created a wind tunnel directed at us.
As there is no space for people to wait after checking in at the hostess stand (which is literally a small desk at the door as you walk in), we had people standing near and around our table. At one point I had to gently push a woman away from the wine stand as she was about to tip it over as she was moving back to speak to someone in her party.
Thanks goodness the food and the service was on point because the seating arrangement sort of put a damper on our experience, although The Doctor went to the back and stated next time we will request to sit back there.
Now on to the food. I started with the mussels in a lovely chipotle cream sauce. That sauce was crazy good and great for dunking the bread into. I have never had steamed mussels in a cream sauce and I would do that again. The sauce had a lovely flavor profile that was weirdly flavorable, but did not overpower the taste of the mussels. My BFF #1 got the Homemade labneh and shishito peppers and left no crumbs behind. That plate was clean. The Doctor got the Roasted cauliflower with fresno peppers and a salsa macha; again no crumbs were left behind.
For dinner, I got the Allen Brothers Prime steak with potatoes. If you are not familiar with Allen Brothers meat, you are in for a treat. This was prepared well and at the temperature I requested. The dish itself was simple, but well executed. The potatoes were nicely seasoned and the sauce that came with it was a nice complement. My BFF got the filet mignon with green beans and said that it was cooked to the correct temperature that he ordered. I tried some of the green beans and they were very good, fresh and had a nice crisp to them. The Doctor got the Ahi Tuna. There was a mix up as his plate came out with Tuna but nothing else. It was sent back and the issue was rectified. The Doctor said that the tuna was well prepared and tasty, and that the rice it came with was very good.
Dessert was pretty standard as far as that goes. Other than the mix up with the tuna, the service was great. At one point I went to the ladies room and ran into one of the servers, who complimented me on my outfit for the night and proceeded to show me to the ladies room. We chatted for a bit and by the time I got back to the table, we had glasses of tequila, the good kind, sent to us. That was a lovely touch.
This could have been a better experience for us, and we were all in agreement, that Tala needs to reconsider having no dining tables beyond the large one in the window, in that main room. People coming in need to be able to stand somewhere to wait to be seated, just not in the face of people dining. I could see having small bistro tables in that room to allow people to sit and have a drink while waiting to be seated. There could be a larger hostess stand where our table was, to allow people to come inside and check in. Just some suggestions to consider