Tequila Butcher — Restaurant in Chanhassen

A few co-workers and I decided to give the new restaurant in town a try to see what the hype is all about. I can say the hype is about the expensive remodel. Six of us were dining, one patron was my daughter, who has grown up in the industry and dine's with us always. The person who seated us didn't bother to seat us with a children's menu, the server asked us after we were seated if we wanted one. We were seated in the bar area at a table that can comfortably seat four. Looking around you can see that they are trying to maximize the space by cramming in as many people as possible into booths and tables. The table behind us had a hard time getting up to use the restroom and at one point actually ended up with my jacket being pulled into their space by someone trying to maneuver back into her seat. When our server, Carmen, approached the table you could tell she was annoyed with us being there. We were told that unless we wanted anything else than water she wouldn't bring water as it would take up too much space on the table. Four of us ordered the $5 margarita, 3 hot and 1 not and when we all asked for water she actually gave us a "uuuuhhhhgg" and walked away. Our drinks were delivered by someone other than our server and we asked how to tell which one wasn't hot. The runner stated that "the server didn't note that any were ordered hot". The runner returned with the "tincture" and added it to our margaritas. She could have let it be cause it offered nothing to an already bland cocktail. When the server returned to take our order she asked if we had questions. One of us asked how big the half size nachos was and the server actually said (and made hand motions of the various sizes) "oh you know about like this, it depends on which chef is working". So they can serve any size portion they think is appropriate for the time of day and the dish but you pay the same price. The food.... it was nothing special. We shared the Texas Twinkies and we could agree that the brisket was an after thought. A waste of product. The only thing it offered to the dish was a crispy crunch mixed with the cream cheese. The glaze on the bacon wrapped jalapeno was overly sweet for this dish. The spice from the jalapeno was lost. I'd rather have a traditional jalapeno popper or little smokie wrapped in bacon. No reason to try to combine the two unless you have the perfect crop of chiles to deliver the heat. The cheese on the nachos was a smoked cheese which tasted OK but the dish as a whole was overly salty. One of us ordered smoked chicken on her nachos and we all agreed with her and other reviewers that it was very dry. Houlihan's nachos are way better! Two of us ordered the smoked meat platter, the brisket was dry and the pork was just OK. The platter is served with 4 oz of meat, 3 tortillas, about a 1/4 cup of chopped white onions, chopped cilantro, salsa verde (from a can?) and store bought dill pickles??? We were expecting something more traditional like pickled carrots or jalapenos. My daughter ordered a grilled cheese with fruit. When it was brought out to us the plate was shoved in my face and was stated "this is for the kid". Aside from the rude comment, I was appalled when I noticed that the "fruit" side she ordered was fruit cocktail out of a can! For $7 with no dessert offered I would expect that we could get some fresh fruit. I do realize that this concept is not entirely family friendly but Chanhassen is built on families so they better expect that they will have littles dining from time to time. My daughter actually started a "review" at the table and only took one bite of her grilled cheese and barely ate her canned fruit cocktail. She said she would not return. This area has been screaming for something fresh, homemade, unique, authentic. Tequila Butcher has none of that. Don't waste your money on this experience. Look across the street. You can find a more unique experience & menu at Cafe Thyme. They offer fresh berries and hand cut fruit with their kids meals. Even source...

Experience at Tequila Butcher @ Caribbean, not Chanhassen. Thought we would try it last night. Be warned, the parking is a smallish lot that is the same lot for the marina, be prepared to drive around waiting with 3 or 4 other vultures trying to see what car someone is going to. This is an outdoor restaurant, with just deck seating, attached to a one story cinderblock building, with a server window that the 18-20 year old wait staff scurry to and fro. Bathrooms are similar to a shell station on route 80 in Nebraska, outside entrance via a very pedestrian door with a handmade sign taped to the door stating women and men. Again, shared with marina patrons. We secured a parking spot at 8:35, waited to use the outside bathroom which was busy with a group of kids carrying various inflatable sharks and water toys fresh off the boat and done for the day. We walked up onto the deck, greeted by an empty host stand or fish cleaning station, but, we'll go with host stand because it did have a frame around it. We breezed up on the deck and saw 3 or 4 open tables, score! Not so fast trigger. We asked a server if we could just seat ourselves, she stopped and looked confusedly towards the fish cleaning station and after a quick glance for help from anyone followed by another long stare at the fish cleaning station she proclaimed, the kitchen is closing in 15 minutes we aren't seating anyone. I looked over to the fish cleaning station and not seeing any fresh walleye ready to filet told her, we weren't after fresh fish, just something small and we can get it in right now. I'm sorry she said. We explained that we drove 30 minutes and would get our order in right away, you say your open until 10:00, it's 8:45. I'm sorry about that. End of conversation from her end as she took her place around the server window. We slowly walked away, checked the smoker parked in front for any last remnants of rib meat stuck to the grates then drove away, very hungry. Lessons learned: 1) Bike, walk or swim if able because parking will always be a problem until they add a parking ramp. 2) Use the facilities at home to avoid truck stop bathrooms, if you swim over, feel free to you know... 3) Get there no later than say 8:20 - 8:30 or you'll be going through the Mcdonalds in Excelsior. 4) #4 is where I would review food, well, you know how that went. Conclusion: I really wish them luck, early problems to get over for sure, maybe drive to their Chanhassen location if you really want to support this restaurant.

I'm giving Tequila Butcher at the Caribbean 1 out of 5 because that is about right. So 20% out of 100%. That means they have the potential to improve 80%!! The upside is...

What an enjoyable experience. My wife and I are in Chanhassen for our anniversary, and we were having a hard time deciding where to go for dinner our first night in town. We chose Tequila Butcher at random. God, we couldn't have picked a better place for dinner. I had the "wet tacos" on Mary B's recommendation. Wow, what a great choice. Smoked brisket tacos served with a consume for dipping. The brisket was some of the best brisket I've had in years, and the consume was amazing. The Spanish rice, while a bit sticky, had a great flavor, along with a nice bit of spiciness without being overpowering. The Yuca fries were something I had never heard of before, but opted to try them rather than the beans that came as a standard side dish. They were Yucca cactus leaves cut into triangles approximately 2 1/2 inches long and deep fried. Great recommendation yet again from Mary B. I also had a 3 piece order of the "Texas Twinkies" stuffed jalapeño peppers wrapped in bacon and smoked, then finished with the demi glaze. The smoked cream cheese was a very pleasant surprise, nicely seasoned without being overbearing. My wife had the "fish and chips" 2 large walleye filets beer battered and deep-fried along with twice fried potatoes. She raved about the fish but wasn't crazy about the French fries. She thought they tasted a tad over cooked, bordering on being burnt. I tried a few and thought that maybe the fryer oil might have been due for a change. And the drinks, OH my God, if I hadn't been driving, I could have sat there all night drinking the margaritas on ice, the house tequila definitely wasn't Jose Cuervo, or any other third tier tequila, it was at least a Cabo Wabo quality tequila. Not top tier, but also not a cheap third-rate tequila. My wife had something called an "anything goes" that was made with vodka and had a raspberry garnish. She said it was a bit sour, but still a very tasty drink. Overall, we were more than happy that we decided to try Tequila Butcher and wouldn't hesitate to come back here again. I want to give a special shout out to our waitress Mary B, you did an amazing job of recommending several different items from the menu that you clearly were more than familiar with. And your pleasantness was something rarely experienced lately. I'm an OTR trucker and eat out quite often, and the waitresses I deal with could ALL learn a few things from you. Thank you for adding to a great...