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View Full Version : Review: Tango Bistro



A790
03-25-2010, 07:24 PM
Tango Bistro
6920 MacLeod Trail South - (403) 252-4365
http://www.tangobistro.com

Ambiance: 3.5/5
Service: 3/5
Food: 3/5
Value: 2.5/5
Overall: 3.5/5

Summary: A failed attempt to find a suitable dining spot at Bolero on a busy Friday night yielded us entry to one of Calgary's newest, and still "in development", bistros. The food and ambiance are decent, but will likely improve in time. Great for groups, not so great for dinner.

Introduction:

A friend and I decided it was time to get our meat on, and as such, cruised to Bolero at approximately 7:30 pm on a Friday night. Sans reservation, we didn't receive a seat. Instead, the bar manager took us through a back entrance to Tango bistro, a restaurant just shy of four months old, and attached to the Open Sesame/Smugglers/Bolero complex.

Our initial opinions were high, as the bar manager had given us a coupon valued at $10 for a free appetizer. What we later learned is the menu is composed entirely of appetizers.

With open minds and growling stomachs, she and I eagerly awaited our tapas.

Service:

A young gal, who's name I can't remember, served us. She did a great job explaining what Tango Bistro was all about, and how each item is meant to be shared as opposed to being eaten as a full meal. Tango Bistro, she exclaimed, is a place for Tapas. It is a place for sharing. It is not a place that will serve you a big ol' steak, so if that's what you're looking for I recommend you move along.

For the vast majority of our meal the service was fine. Our server served our drinks promptly, removed plates when appropriate, and generally did her job very well. There was certainly nothing to complain about until the end of the meal when, having realized that I forgot to give her the coupon to append to the bill, she told me she couldn't do anything since the payment had already been processed.

Now, I have plenty of direct experience in the industry and know that, while it is a pain in the butt, that exact situation can be relatively easily rectified. After telling the server of this, she maintained that she was unable to honor the coupon as a result of my payment having already been processed. This is a sign of laziness, and rather than continue to waste my breath on it, I dropped it and moved on. It's only $10 and not worth the aggravation, but it struck me as rather unprofessional that she wouldn't take the five minutes to append the bill.

It's also worth mentioning that this coupon was sitting in plain sight the entire duration of the evening. It's not as if we hid it from her.

Ambiance:

When we first entered Tango Bistro (around 7:30 pm) it was very bright. The lighting, coupled with the Ikea-esque styling, made for a "fun/family" environment as opposed to a nice, quaint date spot. I wasn't too sure if the quaint atmosphere was what Tango was going for until the sun went down and the lighting dimmed. It will be a challenge for Tango Bistro to properly control the lighting given their location and the building that they're in. However, once they do, I believe the atmosphere will improve immensely.

I believe that atmosphere should lend itself to the experience, and unfortunately, Tango Bistro just seems tacky in some areas. However, once the light dims, the bright orange decor and beer-bottle laden walls become less obvious and the bistro becomes, dare I say, romantic. The tables are given ample space, and the intrusion of moonlight from the west side of the restaurant can do a great job in setting the mood. It's just too bad it takes so long for the right atmosphere to "kick in".

Food:

There are no meals served here, so forget your intentions of coming in for dinner. Tango Bistro has taken the idea of tapas and really ran with... it to the point where you will find yourself ordering 2 or 3 items to satisfy your hunger. Or, if you're fresh from the gym (as I was), 7 items until I was satisfied. Now, admittedly, it is a great treat to explore a bunch of smaller items, but if you're hungry it can be frustrating to pay $7.50 for four meatballs. Seriously.

I suppose the value is derived from combating your companions for the last morsel of food, as they provide heavy-duty cutlery that is well weighted and could probably do some damage if impacting something at a decent velocity. I'd advise against pissing off your date, as they will be very well armed.

We ordered the following items:

+ Wild Boar Bacon Wrapped Beef Tenderloin Skewers with Blue Cheese and Rosemary ($9) - Tasted great, but the small portion size was quite underwhelming.

+ Meatballs stuffed with Goat Cheese, Tamarind Curry sauce, and Mango Cilantro relish ($7.50) - Great flavour. I'm not typically a fan of goat cheese, but it really mated well with the rest of the dish.

+ Bacon warapped Chorizo stuffed Medjool Dates in a smoked Paprika Tomato sauce ($8.50) - My companion didn't care for them, and quite honestly, nor did I. However, I was so hungry that I ate them eagerly.

+ Korean Bulgogi style Beef Shortribs with Kimchee ($8) - These were scrumptious, with great flavor and an excellent sauce to match. A bit tangy- a must have if you choose to visit Tango!

+ Barely seared B.C. Albacore Tuna, Asian vegetable slaw, Szechuan Aioli ($9.50) - It's pretty hard to screw up seared Tuna. Good flavour, as the aioli was particular tastey.

+ Wonton crusted Prawns with Tagarashi mayo ($10) - My companion didn't care for them, but I thought they were delicious. The wonton really set the prawns off. For those brief moments (they give you five prawns) I was in seafood heaven.

+ Turducken skewers with sweet mandarin-Chili sauce ($9) - Good flavour throughout, with the chili sauce proving to be a great accompaniment.

We also ordered dessert, which featured three different type of cakes in 2oz. shot glasses. They were quite standard, and to be honest, I can't recall what the flavours were. As you can imagine, they were nothing to write home about.

Conclusion:

Is Tango Bistro worth your hard earned dollars? Yes and no. Do not, under any circumstances, come here if you are famished. Come here when you're with someone, it's 9 pm, and you're looking to taste some different flavours and try some new combinations. In that sense, Tango Bistro will offer you a good experience and send you on your way having tried something new.

As with any new restaurant, Tango Bistro will suffer for some time from the growing pains associated with simply being new. It takes time to really establish the flow of the restaurant, and once Tango Bistro finds its niche, it has the potential to be a great date spot. Like Blink, which is now one of my gems on Stephen Avenue, Tango needs time to grow and mature.

Would I visit there again? Absolutely, but I'd be sure to staple that bloody coupon to my servers forehead the moment I sat down.

core_upt
04-09-2010, 10:56 AM
I checked this place out yesterday, looking for a smaller bite to eat before a movie at Chinook (which was closed :whipped: ).

The inside is super nice - very modern and comfy and clean.
Our server was sub-par - nice rack but a total space cadet who couldn't handle more than one task at a time, and was MIA literally and figuratively.

Food was OK.
We had the Seared Tuna, which was ok, but as A790 mentioned, portion is small.
The Chicken lettuce wraps were tasty, but the first time they brought the lettuce out, it was dirty. Not just a little spec, but still mud caked on it. Gross. :barf:
The portabello gnocchi was very good and a decent size
The flatbread with 3 dipping sauces was good too - bread was soft and fresh, served with a hummus, chevre and olive tapenade - all tasty. Decent portion too.
We also had the wonton prawns - and they are good. Prawns are large and taste good and the sauce they are served with is nice.

Was a little put off by the wines - good sized wine list, all by the bottle, with specific selections available by the glass but you have to ask the server. Beers and highballs are very reasonably priced at ~$5 or thereabouts, so I was a little surprised to see the wine on our bill was $12 a glass (6oz pour).

Our bill for two people was $72 with 5 dishes and 2 glasses of wine. We left satisfied, not stuffed, but I also went in knowing this wasn't a full meal.

Did I leave disappointed - no. Would I go back on my own will - probably not. Would I protest if someone else wanted to check it out and I was with them - no. I guess that makes it OK. Not memorable, not great.

Ambiance: 4/5
Service: 2.5/5
Food: 2.5/5
Value: 2.5/5
Overall: 3/5

Dycker
04-22-2010, 09:05 AM
Originally posted by A790

Summary: A failed attempt to find a suitable dining spot at Bolero on a busy Friday night yielded us entry to one of Calgary's newest, and still "in development", bistros. The food and ambiance are decent, but will likely improve in time. Great for groups, not so great for dinner.

Conclusion:

Is Tango Bistro worth your hard earned dollars? Yes and no. Do not, under any circumstances, come here if you are famished. Come here when you're with someone, it's 9 pm, and you're looking to taste some different flavours and try some new combinations. In that sense, Tango Bistro will offer you a good experience and send you on your way having tried something new.

As with any new restaurant, Tango Bistro will suffer for some time from the growing pains associated with simply being new. It takes time to really establish the flow of the restaurant, and once Tango Bistro finds its niche, it has the potential to be a great date spot. Like Blink, which is now one of my gems on Stephen Avenue, Tango needs time to grow and mature.

Would I visit there again? Absolutely, but I'd be sure to staple that bloody coupon to my servers forehead the moment I sat down. [/B]


Stopped for a light meal @ Tango with the folks last night. A790's description is spot on.

Ambiance: 5/5 (but I enjoy places where I can converse at a reasonable level)
Service: 3.5/5 (nothing to complain about)
Food: 4.5/5 (Gnocchi :thumbsup: )
Value: 3.5/5 (all appetizer sizes @ appetizer prices)
Overall: 4/5


Bolero, Open Sesame, and Smuggler's are all for the hungry types, Tango for the conversation type meals or larger groups.

haunt
05-10-2010, 10:18 AM
Went there on Saturday for my girlfriends birthday. We were a big group, about 15 people. Our server was unprofessional at times, but she did the job. I tried just about everything on the menu. Despite the small portions, I can't say there was anything that really left me wanting more.

Ambiance: 3.5/5
Service: 2.5/5
Food: 3.5/5
Value: 2.5/5
Overall: 3/5

A790
10-06-2011, 09:57 AM
Update!

Went back to Tango Bistro on Monday Oct 3 and had a very different experience. The service was spot on all evening, with our server (Julia) displaying warmth and enthusiasm- traits that really made Tango shine.

My date suggested the bistro, and I was wary due to my previous experiences, but I am pleased to report that the food was much more refined. Portions were the same, which was to be expected, but the flavors were excellent.

Of note were the seared scallops and beef tenderloin- both were delicious, flavorful, and excellently prepared. However, neither hold a flame to the chocolate fondue (served with fresh fruit, shortbread, and a small selection of cheeses).

We arrived at 7pm, and after two glasses of wine (each), and five appetizers plus one "mini-meal" our bill came to $165, with a $35 tip. We felt completely comfortable sitting and enjoying each others company (first date) and were treated warmly even up to our 11 pm departure.

Revised rating for this visit: 4.25/5.