Tanta de Miraflores — Restaurant in Lima Metropolitan Area

I was really disappointed with service and overall vibe in Lima. Having just arrived from Cusco, the culture in Lima proved to be shockingly different. As a Black American traveler who’s visited multiple countries, I have never experienced blatant racism/discrimination outside of the US. I entered this restaurant and wasn’t even acknowledged by any employee after multiple attempts to gain someone’s attention. Another pain point: albeit the restaurant is in no control of their guests, it was awkward to be gawked at by others—some looking in a way of piqued interest and others with disdain. Did not expect that at all. Did not make for a good dining experience.

Anyway. I do speak some Spanish, enough to get assistance but literally no one would greet me or stop when I said excuse me. Thankfully, I traveled with a Mexican American who is fluent in Spanish and she was able to get us on the waitlist. We were told the wait was 30 mins but were seated much quicker. Once seated, our server didn’t appear for about 15 mins. When he did arrive, he let us know they weren’t serving about 7 main entrees (los platas) from the menu and then left. 10 mins later, we placed our order. Our meals arrived about 45 mins later. Our server did not check on us ONCE during that entire 45 min wait. Another gentleman delivered our meals. After we finished, we had to grab another server from a different area to pay our check. Our original server NEVER came back. Did not let us know he was leaving for the day/taking lunch and that someone else would be taking over, just left.

I will say the restaurant is aesthetically pleasing—very chic/modern, our food was delicious and the prices were very reasonable. All of that goes out the window when customer service is...

So much for a brand as a reference for a meal. I have eaten at other Tanta restaurants in the past but this one and now, it is a disappointing experience. Let’s start with the service. We were walked to our table and forgotten. There were more servers than customers and they were talking and some on their phones. They seemed to be having fun but the customers weren’t. Their menu had many pages but some were missing pages. I saw others talking about dishes that I could not find, we started to compare the menus and noticed the differences in pages. Once we tried to find meals that would fit our preferences, we were not able or allowed to ask for changes since their system would not accept modifications. Their meals are set by a computerized system and modifications could not be made since they would not be able to bill for these. AI is taking over the kitchen. Cooks are not allowed to create meals or make accommodations for customers who have intolerance to certain foods. Vegetarians, celiacs, and other people who have special needs, stay away. Your requests may be rejected by the “system” Our waiter was clear that if it could not be billed, it could not be cooked. My wife ordered a Causa rellena and it had so much of a creamy texture that it made it feel disgusting. I wanted a Tallarín saltado with just the vegetables, could not be done. The chicken is part of the “system” and can not be removed or replaced. If a good restaurant can not make reasonable adjustments, it certainly isn’t fit for people who love food. Your taste buds should be programmed to their “system”. Would not be surprised if you have to stick out your tongue and plug it into Their computers as you walk into...

Tanta was the first restaurant that I have ever tried when I came to Peru back in 2014 and to this day I still go here mainly for one item….. the Super Aguadito! If you like soups like I do, then you might have to try this one for sure. Trust me, I have tried many other aguaditos in Peru and not one can beat Tanta’s aguadito. For my taste buds it’s the one that does it with the consistency, the amount of ingredients (solids), the spices, flavor, and with a splash of their house rocoto carretillero hot sauce you will see stars…. Literally 5 stars. This particular tanta on balboa I really like since I know a lot of the waiters that have worked on the previous one on 28 de Julio. The service it’s always top notch, and they know when they see me I’m getting the Aguadito. I believe I have had more than 100 Tanta aguaditos during these past 8 yrs and maybe I can count on one hand the times I wasn’t too thrilled with the dish. One time it was like risotto more than a soup, a few times it was a little too salty and maybe once it’s was taken out way too soon from the pot and the flavors were too bland. But these factors never deter me from coming back. So if you are wanting a flavorful, full bodied soup then this is it. They have other amazing dishes as well. You may ask… when did you get to try the other dishes if you always get the Aguadito? Only when the table it a 2+… that’s when I get to try the...