Tantxo Steak Bar — Restaurant in Toronto

Really wanted to like it here after seeing the hype on tiktok but besides the food being okay I wouldn’t recommend it.

The good: Food was well seasoned! The guy taking our order was really nice.

The bad: Countertops weren’t clean when we sat down and it hadn’t seemed like anyone ate there recently. Throughout our meal we observed the people preparing our food not using gloves or washing their hands (we sat in front of the hand wash sink) but risking cross contamination by using their phones and some were sticking their hands in their mouth. Though there was one hat (assuming it was the man’s as he wore it later in the service), it was not used by the two people preparing our food and they were not wearing hairnets either. Every other restaurant in the building has their workers trained to be always wearing hats. We actually found a hair in our food (it was on the far side of my dates plate, so it couldn’t have been mine as it never got near me) but at that point we were so done with it we just took the L and ate from my plate. There’s so much connective tissue that could’ve been trimmed off the beef before cooking, I just chewed through and swallowed it like a pill while my date chewed it down to a bubble gum texture and had to spit it out as she couldn’t swallow it or break it down further. The bad reviews that are all replied to by the owner are all replied to using AI, it feels a bit disingenuous to not craft your own reply to complaints. Near the end of our meal, they started cleaning (which is fine it was late) but definitely didn’t dilute their cleaning product enough as the smell was so strong it turned us off.

Definitely has the chance to be the best spot in the building but right now just seems like an overhyped...

Absolutely the worst experience I’ve ever had. I walked in at 10:00 AM, needing to eat within 15 minutes because of a medication I take. There was a pathetic little sign saying “back in 5 min.” So I waited. And waited.

They only came back at 10:40. Forty minutes later. A girl and a guy just strolled in like they were coming back from a picnic — no apology, no explanation, zero professionalism. Just blank faces like they couldn’t care less.

I ordered steak frites, and they handed it to me already in a takeout box — as if to say “here, take this and get out.” I never asked for takeout. I came to eat there, not get kicked out with a box like some inconvenience.

And the steak? RAW. Not rare — actually raw. Completely inedible. They didn’t ask how I wanted it cooked, and I couldn’t even chew it. The flavor was okay but it was just bloody and cold inside. A complete failure of a meal.

Worst part? Their attitude. The entire time, they acted like customers were a burden. Faces like they were forced to be there, like we were annoying them just by existing. No respect, no service, no clue.

$34 straight down the drain. Never again. Avoid this place...

Heard some good things about this place so decided to give it a try, but unfortunately I was not able to try the food. The two workers were sitting and eating on the side of stall when I passed by and went to the front to order, where one of them came around behind the counter to say that they were not in service at the moment. Thought it was odd as all the other stalls seemed to be up and running and it was 6pm on a Sunday evening. Decided to walk around and ordered a burger at Harry’s (which was delicious and had the nicest worker at the front). Once I got my food I walked around looking for a seat and ended up finding one right in front of Tantxo. Where to my surprise, one of the workers was taking the order of a white male which was just about 5 minutes after I was denied service. Since I was sitting right in front of the stall and observing, it was disappointing to see the fake smiles while taking other people’s orders and sulking while making the food. Whether they were both on break at the time or regardless of whatever reason they did not attend to me, this was not a good...