Tangierino Lounge — Restaurant in Boston

I was looking for a restaurant to take my wife to for a special occasion and decided to go to Tangierino. This was our first time there and defiantly will be the last time we come to this place. The food and décor are good, however the service is beyond horrible and just ruined the entire dining experience. First we arrived to the place and there was no one at the front desk to greet and seat you. We were standing there for a while then got fed up and decided to walk inside. There was only one waiter sitting on a table and wrapping napkins with utensils. We told him we had a reservation and then he seated us. Two more couples arrived while we were sitting and had to go through the same experience where no one was there to seat them at the front desk. The waiter then took the orders while trying to memorize it without writing on a note, we thought he knew what he was doing. We waited for more than 30 minutes for the appetizer (lamb sausage) which never came on time. We reminded him about the appetizer and why isn’t it out yet after waiting for more than 30 minutes. He ended up bringing the appetizer with the main dishes which was very unprofessional. We also ordered a side of truffle fries which never came. We told the waiter about the missing side order and he said he’ll check with the kitchen, it seems that he never put the order in the first place. After 45 minutes of waiting and reminding him about the missing side TWICE, the main dish was getting cold while we waited for the side and we told him to cancel it. He also didn’t bother to refill our glasses of water until we were done with the food and were asking for the bill, both glasses were sitting empty on our table for the majority of the dinging time (food is sweet in nature and you need lots of water to wash it down). Not once did the waiter apologize for the delayed appetizer that got served with the main dish, nor did he seem to care about the issue with the missing side order which we kept reminding him of. He was the only waiter working in the restaurant while serving only 4 tables, I wonder how worse the service will be if the restaurant was a bit more crowded. The restaurant also has a hookah smoking lounge below it (they call it the cave). The restaurant is supposed to be isolated from the hookah smoking lounge, however you can smell the cigarette smoke reeking into the dinging area (not sure from the AC air ducts or where). So if you’re sensitive to cigarette smoke or can’t tolerate smokers, then this is not the place to dine in (we personally can’t tolerate secondhand smoking). After going home I noticed that my shirt indeed smelled like cigarette smoke. Overall the dinging experience was unpleasant due to the terrible service which just ruined our night and special occasion. I would defiantly not recommend this place nor would I ever dine here again. Don’t let the nice décor deceive you, the unprofessional service you will go through here will outweigh anything good that might come out of dining here, if you’re looking for a place to have a special occasion with a loved one, look...

I went there for the 1st time this past Wednesday evening with a good friend and business associate. We wanted to meet somewhere where we could sit in a lounge and simply enjoy a good cigar and some conversation.

When we first arrived upstairs (I thought this was the place to go) there was a little initial confusion. There was no staff available to greet us or explain the layout at first. It was a Wednesday and they might not have been properly staffed for a slower night respectfully. A customer at the bar actually walked us to through to the adjoining restaurant next door and then passed the inside cigar shop, over to the proper door leading downstairs to the hookah and cigar bar.

Once we got there we found a great atmosphere and décor. Very clean. The staff was friendly. We both were impressed that their Cigar Shop actually had a great selection of premium cigars right there inside. We had brought our own Cubans to smoke! The food also was really fantastic (my friend happens to be from Morocco). This was the reason I had selected this place to visit (I wanted to be able to eat something as we sat there for awhile). We ordered a bunch of appetizers to pick on as we sat (Mezze Platter, Shrimp Tagine, Lamb Kofta, Calamari, etc.) and I can we agreed everything we had was absolutely delicious. I had some Baklava I didn't care for, was a bit tough when you tried to cut through it with a fork. BUT, everything else, perfect. Both my friend and I also got, to go, a dinner order of Lamb Tajine for our wives. My wife is from Beirut, and she raved about the dish, saying it was amazing (and she is tough to please when it comes to outside cuisine).

The server we had, though very pleasant and friendly, in my opinion could have been more attentive. We had empty drinks, and plates on the table that I think could have been cleared, not a big deal and I'm probably someone that cares or pays more attention to this. She could have easily sold us more food, and/or another drink or two without us having to ask. If it had been a busy night, I'd be more forgiving, but we were just about the only people downstairs at the time.

But listen, don't let this be a deterrent, I wasn't angry at all, my friend didn't even notice lol! We had a great time and we both would 100% go back there. Tangierino's has a lot to offer. This is a great place to hang out with a friend, enjoy a cigar, have some fantastic food, a drink, watch the game, and RELAX. I'd upgrade to 5 stars if I find those few areas for improvement are present on my next visit. These were just a few areas that could easily make the overall experience a bit better for a guest.

I plan to bring my wife there very soon and maybe the rest of the family (upstairs to the restaurant) for some exceptional...

Tangierino is good in a can't-take-it-very-seriously, why-is-this-so-expensive sort of way. The two of arrived around 8 PM on a Friday, sans reservations, but were luckily able to nag one of the last spots in the upstairs dining room. We were seated on a comfy couch surrounded by overhangin curtains and pillows. With the drapery, rugs, and tinted lamps, the atmosphere is romantic and comfortable but a little awkward since we're almost sitting side by side and looking out into the middle of the room instead of across the table and looking at each other.

A few minutes later, the lights are dimmed, the music is cranked up, and a bell-ringing belly dancer starts to wiggle around the room. This is more uncomfortable than it is entertaining, as the lighting and noise make it nearly impossible to continue our conversation. We're forced to watch this scantily-clad hip-shaker go around the room. Do we make eye contact? Do we pretend to ignore her? Luckily after 5 or 10 minutes the show is over, and we can peruse the menu.

My dining partner spent some time in Morocco and wanted to try some traditional tagines. He told the waiter what he was looking for since the menu items didn't look familiar, and the waiter let him know of a chicken and lamb dish that sounded similar. The Tagine Djaj was spinach-filled chicken with lemony sauce and green olives with a side of couscous which came in a separate bowl. The Couscous Royal consisted of a sweet lamb shank served with a filo-wrapped merguez (a kind of spiced sausage) and vegetable couscous.

Both meats were moist and tender and the entrees came with a generous mound of couscous, so we took a good amount home. My dining partner claimed that he enjoyed the flavors, and the dishes overall seemed authentic but was disappointed that the tangines were not served with the lids on. There was no "ta-da!" moment when they appeared, as there is in Morocco. I'm also sure that the prices aren't this high in Morocco, as each one was nearly $30. Considering that most of the meal comprised of filling couscous, I honestly don't know why the food costs this much. Maybe the money also goes toward the awkward belly...