Most places you're welcomed by a smiling hostess or at least a "Please wait to be seated sign". At Tango, you have to navigate a large empty hallway, go down a dark grungy set of stairs, past a set of empty booths, and make your way to the bar lurking around like a creeper until the bartender sees you. This in itself would have made us turnaround except I had already purchased a Groupon thinking I could save a few bucks. Perhaps the food would make up for its quirky "charm". The fact that they served Uruguayan food piqued my interest enough to drag J along, and a certain newspaper review seemed hopeful. We're certainly learning that not all experiences are created equal.
Graphics aside, the food choices are a mix of Uruguyan specialties from grilled meats and offals to Italian pastas. Why was chicken milanesa and gnocchi on the menu? A little internet research clued us in on Uruguay's European roots and influence. Well we're more adventurous than that and opted for the more exotic options: a beef tongue appetizer and grilled meat parrillada for two with sweetbread, short ribs, tripe, blood sausage, pork sausage, and pork. While we submitted our order to the kitchen on the ipad, but that feature doesn't even work and the waiter/bartender ended up taking our order anyway and took away the ipads with the other options to request service and check. What's the point of having technology if you can't even use it properly?!
Perhaps there was some hope in the entree. While waiting for our main course, we couldn't help but to think that we were in an episode of Restaurant Impossible. The table numbers were handwritten and hastily pasted on the wall with peeling wallpaper; the condiments sitting on the side were old and crusty; the tv in the background was cracked; tape held together a section of the lamp above our head; and outdated wall art decorated a dark and dim dining area. The place is overdue for some renovations.
Our mixed grill meats came out on what looked like a broil pan with a side of very oily chimichurri sauce. The accompanying side salads were not the Ensalada Rusa potato salad as listed on the menu but rather a sad mix of bagged salad with unripened slices of tomatoes. Granted it was the only fresh element to the meal, it was a welcomed element. We were expecting a similar experience to Brazilian churrascaria bbq--flavorful marinated, tender, and melt in your mouth meats. It was anything but. The pork was bone dry and while the short ribs were at least cooked to a medium rare, none of the grilled meats had much flavor or seasoning. Flavors were one note at best. We didn't see any tripe or sweetbreads on our grill, something J was really looking forward to trying for the first time. When we inquired, we were told the kitchen had run out thus explaining the surplus of shortribs. It was very irritating not knowing that the substitution was made without informing us; offals was something we were specifically drawn to and it was very disappointing not to get any. The blood sausage and pork sausage were probably the only meats worth mentioning. They had an ok char and while both unique, spices weren't very prominent. A touch of chimichurri added a bit of brightness but not enough.
Overall our experience at Tango was both disappointing and confusing. We left without getting a true taste of Uruguay. The menu had such promise but execution just wasn't there. Authentic flavors don't need to be so complicated. Perhaps they're still working out the kinks but there's room for a lot of improvement.
***Tango Restaurant has since closed its door since this review...
I was so confused trying to find where the restaurant was here, and I passed the bartender probably two times and he said nothing until I asked where tango was. There were no decorations or indications that this was anything but a hotel bar. The food was very mediocre, I was really disappointed by the place too.
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