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Tacu Tacu/Rice RepublicFrom New York Magazine:
"For perhaps the first time in recorded historyor at least, in WilliamsburgPeruvian and Vietnamese cuisines share one lofty space done up in semi-tropical decor and serviced by two separate kitchens. So the next time one of you wants roast chicken and seviche and the other has a hankering for cold summer rolls, you won't have to toss a coin."
Comments
The food at this restaurant is really good, especially the grilled chicken with a cheese sauce.i have to agree the service does suck but the food is so worth it.
Posted by: Isabel J. | August 31, 2006 02:43 PM
They have amazing fried calamari...the entrees we ordered were good too and the portions were generous and the guy that took care of us was very attentive and polite...
so dunno about anyone else but we'll keep going back!
Posted by: karla | August 25, 2006 12:36 AM
I was there for my b'day and it was the worst experience ever. The service was slow and the bartenders acted as if you weren't there. Forget it if you request for a song on kareoke night, it will literally take 3hours.
Posted by: Ivette | July 29, 2006 03:40 PM
I've never been so humilated in my life. It was my birthday today and I wanted to go to a place where my friends and I would have a good time. Tacu has section in the second floor where they have a karokee my friends and I waited for three hours to play our songs. When we aproached the dj they just promised us the next. I'm not just someone who wants to be an activist in anyway, or someone who brags about every single nonsense statement people through our there but to be treated infairly is wrong and I was truly hurt. I just want to treated equally.
The reason for my say is b/c we were the only spanish women there. Thank you for your time and no matter what race you are you do have a say just like I do. Thank you.
PS I'm not mexican I'm an American born and raised in Williamsburg.
Posted by: Ivette | July 29, 2006 09:56 AM
OOOOOoooops! The above was meant for TACO CHULO!!! SORRRY!!! Moderator, please remove I will re-post. Thanks!
Posted by: JpMaxMan | May 22, 2006 03:19 PM
So - here's the deal people. If you like the food or not, fact is this is NOT tex-mex. I know big surprise most places aren't. However, this place the owner claims to be from Austin and bringing authentic tex-mex to the 'burg. Nope. Sorry. I can't even believe you claim to be close. At least you have Queso on the menu, but the queso is lumpy and disgusting. Try going back to any respectable tex-mes restaurant in Texas and do a comparison. Here are some other hints: Salsa - go look up a recipe on the Internet, it is NOT a bowl of chopped tomoatos. Oh, were you going for Pico de Gallo? Well, that's not a bowl of chopped tomotos either! A little spice would be nice, the food is bland as Irish food. The Guac was disgusting. Here's a clue, chopped onions, cilantro, a bit of garlic, chopped jalapeno's, lime juice and a bit of salt. You don't just put avocodo's in a blender. Whoever your chef is needs to be fired. There may be people who like this place, but one thing is for sure do not expect good tex-mex.
Posted by: JpMaxMan | May 22, 2006 03:14 PM
My partner and I went to Tacu Tacu with our upscale Westchester friends who are very picky. I used to live in the neighborhood, and now live nearby -- so we are NOT tourists! We loved it!! The food was GREAT - (we ordered both Asian and Peruvian foods, steak, seafood, noodles, pork)- the drinks were fun. The service was slow -- but I agree that this seems to be common in the area restaurants. We will defintily return!!!
Posted by: Bklynfem | March 12, 2006 02:00 PM
Have a nice day
Posted by: penis enlargement | March 1, 2006 08:26 PM
service upstairs was terrible but afterwards we went to lulu lounge karaoke. we had a great time
the waitresses were great.
one particular guy that works there sang most of the time. didnt mind cause his voice was like an angel. gave him my number, but he never called.
planning on going back real soon.
Posted by: marilyn | February 14, 2006 04:34 PM
best food around...i don't care wut anyopne says. the service is slow but what do you expect for great food
Posted by: perfect | February 10, 2006 11:17 PM
I went to eat there the other night and I got the chicken cutlet with a cheese sauce,but instead of rice I got the potatoes.LOVED IT!! my waitress was Esther, she was very sweet and efficient.I think the place has a nice atmosphere and bonus karaoke on the weekends! Definitely going back, you should check it out.
Posted by: enjoyed it | December 28, 2005 04:23 AM
a funny story actually, food is pretty bad, decor is tacky. but everyone already knows that. we got a waiter that barely speaks english, who we found out is named alan from another server. a very slow night, and he's standing in the back chatting rather than come take our order, we were the lone table sitting on the darker part of the restuarent, when we finally got the busboy's attention he came and took our drinks and appertizers order. he went to the back and chat some more, when he finally realizes he forgot to bring our drinks, the beer was already warm and the ice in my cocktail already melted. we order our entree and finish our dinner, never saw the him again, we finally manage to get our check from the busboy. paid and the manager came to confront us for not tipping properly... i urge everyone never to go to this restuarent and but if u are desperate of shitty food atleast ask not to be serve by alan.
Posted by: stay home | December 19, 2005 01:06 AM
Everytime I have gone to Tacu Tacu (which is often) I have had good experiences. The only problem I had was my food being lukewarm in one instance. Other than that, the food is delicious and very well seasoned. If you like bland food then dont go to Tacu Tacu because the flavors in their Peruvian dishes are explosively tasty! I will compromise mediocre service for excellent food. The prices are also surprisingly affordable.
Posted by: Melissa | December 14, 2005 07:47 PM
junk junk -- junk junk junk. although, the incredibly poor decor can make for interesting conversation.
Posted by: noway | November 12, 2005 10:52 PM
belongs in chinatown!!! stay away!! i came to tacu becuase it was a very long wait at sea... but now, i think i should have waited the 1 hour instead of the crap for food. personnel are great, can't complain about the service... but the food was terrible, tacky, tacky, tacky, tacky cheap presentation to TRY to make up for the bad food. by "williamsburg standard" the service was pretty good. the pad thai taste like chinese lo mein, the naughty noodles is just "sad", the peruvian chicken is HOLY salty!! that's all i have to say...
Posted by: algin | November 8, 2005 09:01 AM
shitty, shitty service...it really couldn't get any shittier. The first time I went there the food was amazing, our server was terrible but the busboy did a really good job. The second time we went, the food was mediocre - I ordered the same soup both times and the second time is wasn't half as good. If your server is named Esther, run the other way - she sucked. we would have been better off with a cocker spaniel as a waitress.
the mural on the wall is also really unappetizing - think big papaya vaginas, a giant tomato being raped, and a lot of weird little men riding a banana. and i guess mice. bad news bears.
Posted by: jo | November 2, 2005 05:09 PM
Just went there on the recommendation of a friend(10/23/05). Worste meal to date in NYC. FRom bad drinks to poorly prepared food. I have been to many restaurants in NY. From Le Bernadine to Grays Papayas, this is the worst. Ordered two drinks, a maragarita and a Banana Daquiri, both were made from cheap fake ingredients. I shared the stuffed avacado with seafood and peruvian mayo. It tasted like old store bought seafood salad, the lettuce was wilted iceberg. We had the naughty noodles and seafood wrap for our main. Again the seafood was old a chewy. The seasoning was just bizzare tasted like someone dumped too much nutmeg in. The beef/rice noodle/peanut suace dish was even dissapointing. Too sweet and over tenderized beef. Over all just a bad meal. Go to Sea Just down the block for fresh ingredients, great survice, great atmosphere!!!!!! DO NOT WASTE MONEY at TACU TACU
Posted by: dunn | October 24, 2005 07:49 PM
LuLu is my second home, i'm there every thursday singing my song. the owner's are great as well as the staff,and i must say the food is tasty...by the way Nelson runs the floor well.
Posted by: willie | October 20, 2005 08:42 PM
I've been to Tacu Tacu a couple times. The appetizers have always been tasty--tamales, empanadas etc. Unfortunately, I've never had a good main course there. Tough steak, deep fried, greasy scallops...If I do go back, I'll stick with appetizers and cocktails.
Posted by: Stephanie | October 17, 2005 08:09 PM
I've been to Tacu Tacu a couple times. The appetizers have always been tasty--tamales, empanadas etc. Unfortunately, I've never had a good main course there. Tough steak, deep fried, greasy scallops...If I do go back, I'll stick with appetizers and cocktails.
Posted by: Stephanie | October 17, 2005 08:08 PM
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Posted by: vorrakan | October 14, 2005 08:05 AM
3rd times there... i went to tacu tacu twice before and actually had a decent experience, service was not great, but probably the best compare to others in the neighborhood. on my 3rd times to the restuarant we spotted a mouse, and i'm not here to ruined the resuarant reputation. we decided to stay anyway, but got the manager's attention. he was nice enough to offer us a free round of drinks, but denies the fact that there's mice running around. which got us really upset, cuz he was kinda rude in making my boyfriend sound like a liar, but we decided to finish our dinner and jsut leave, until we saw a second one.... after that, we werent able to finish our dinner and we left, and will never go back.
Posted by: mira | August 27, 2005 02:36 AM
We actually went to Tacu Tacu becasue the other Thai restarant was super crowded and noisy and I have to admit that this was the best Peruvian and Asian food that I ever had !!!!!We ordered five apetizers and three main courses(4 people) and we could barely walk after trying to eat everything because it was sooo delicious.The stuffed avacado is a blast so is the Bangkok Pad Thai all the seafood was a very fresh. Its true the service its not at its best but the quality of the food just makes you forget about it.I find the decoration very nice reminds me of Mexico a bit :)
Posted by: Doroty | August 18, 2005 06:29 PM
I ordered the sizzling salmon which was really good , my sister ordered the red snapper which she found to be a little too hardcore fresh from the sea fish tasting. Our waitress was relatively nice; we had to personally ask for water refills but she refilled with a smile. The music was good, and I liked the decorations alot.
Posted by: anna | July 24, 2005 07:41 PM
I go downstairs to the lu-lu lounge all the time.Never had a problem with the service.They care and make sure me and my friends are happy.I been to the resturant and had the cube steak .It comes on a hot plate .It made my hair smell alittle like fried food later but the food was amazing.
Posted by: go there all the time | July 14, 2005 07:34 PM
I go downstairs to the lu-lu lounge all the time.Never had a problem with the service.They care and make sure me and my friends are happy.I been to the resturant and had the cube steak .It comes on a hot plate .It made my hair smell alittle like fried food later but the food was amazing.
Posted by: go there all the time | July 14, 2005 07:34 PM
probably the worst food experience i've had in the 'hood.
Posted by: ms_messaround | June 18, 2005 09:23 PM
I'll never go back to Tacu Tacu due to the worst service ever. The waitresses are slow and could care less about whether you're there or not. I've eaten there on three different occasions and the service was the same everytime. The restaurant wasn't even busy. I'm not very fussy when it comes to service but this was the absolute worst experience(s) I've ever had. This is too bad because I really liked the food, but I'll NEVER go back.
Posted by: Troy | May 11, 2005 02:42 PM
That snobbishness is pretty unnecessary. I love Tacu Tacu. There are like 50 things on the menu, everything I've had there is really good, and you can get a solid meal for $12. Call me tacky, but I *like* the giant fish tank and waterfall and the red velvet booths. How about posting something a little more descriptive instead of a snide comment?
Posted by: Sue | April 21, 2005 10:24 PM