“Food for the starving artist” is how Cafe Tu Tu Tango describes its fare, and it backs up its claim not only with small portions but with decor that recalls a movie set for Camille. Only Hollywood and patrons of Cocowalk could get in step with an artist’s garret that stretches over several thousand square feet and now, eight years after opening, over several other locations as well, including Atlanta and Orlando.
Cafe Tu Tu Tango may be the only surviving (and certainly most successful) example of a type of restaurant heavily hyped a decade ago: the Tapas Bar. Tapas are Spanish appetizers, and the idea behind a restaurant specializing in them was twofold: Let customers eat as much as they like and don’t make them feel bad for only wanting a small portion, and, more to the point for many food lovers, let people have a variety of dishes.
The concept of small plates of appetizers consumed in enough quantity to make a meal should be a no-brainer, but nearly everyone who has tried it is doing something else now. Except Brad Weiser, who took a page from his father’s book of business. (Dad was the guiding light behind the Grand Bay Hotel in its heyday.)
It’s not that Weiser made the food secondary, but he realized the tapas of conversation had to be more than food. He threw in fantasy and decor, expanded the list of appetizers way beyond the fried chorizo and baby eels so beloved of the authentic places, added a bar and, most of all, set up shop in Cocowalk. Never mind the Grove’s hyperactivity, Tango makes the adventure worth the effort of dodging the hormone-crazed denizens who strut its streets. If you can stand the noise on the terrace, it’s a great place for a drink and a few dozen plates of surprisingly good food shared with friends.
You might start with a very-veggie spinach dip ($5.25) or a plate of humus with rosemary flat bread ($4.75), then move on to a pair of crisp-fried crab and lobster cakes ($7.95) that just popped up on the menu a couple of weeks ago. They’re very spicy and a little mushy in the center, but the flavor’s fine.
Other new additions to the menu include supremely tender calamari ($5.50) with a very light breading and, in another tilt away from the restaurant’s original Spanish leanings, a good but hard to share bowl of soba noodles in soy broth with a handful of wild mushrooms ($4.25).
The duck salad with mixed greens ($6.25) is good, and the seared tuna sashimi ($7.95), though found on all sorts of menus these days, is also a refreshing selection. Tango’s pizzas are thin-crusted and crispy, and diners may create their own if they’re not won over by toppings like shrimp and chorizo ($7.95), sun-dried tomato with shallots ($5.95) or a rather bland fresh vegetable selection with tomato but no cheese ($5.25).
One of the best dishes on the menu is the Barcelona stir-fry ($7.95), a richly flavored combination of seafood, sausage and mushrooms. Thai-style spring rolls ($5.75) and a small Caesar salad ($5.75) are also good. Shrimp with pepper and honey sauce over rice ($7.95) begins to approach a legit entree in its serving size and scope, but it’s the rarity on the menu.
It’s a marvel how the kitchen keeps up with the demand for so many dishes and so many customers, but there is an almost hypnotic rhythm the kitchen and service staff attain that keeps the food coming (and the tab mounting). Service is surprisingly quick, though I’ve consistently found that the servers like everything and are reluctant to make recommendations.
Tango is, most of all, a place for relationships, because the very concept of the place commands two or more stomachs: order fewer than four or five plates and you just won’t get the full impact of how much fun variety can be. It is also the ultimate mall restaurant: Upscale in quality and decor far removed from any sense of its surroundings, it is still a speedy place for modern times. It is the ultimate quick bite, but do yourself a favor and go with several friends so you can try almost everything. It’s worth it.
M.L. Warren is a pseudonym to protect our dining critic’s anonymity. Please phone in advance to confirm information on hours, prices, menu items and facilities.
