Tahiti Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge — Restaurant in Dedham

I’ve been living in the area for over 5 years and I often see the parking lot is super packed, so I was excited to give it a try. I was also impressed that they stay open to 1am even on weekdays - so this heightened my thrill and expectations.

Well I was finally able to try them tonight - I am now extremely confused by the seemingly full parking lot. To start, So many things were “interesting”. From the odd menu layout/organization, to the limited egg rolls/spring rolls collection(you can only get pork egg rolls or spring rolls with shrimp) to the random mix of “Asian cuisines” to say that I underwhelmed is an understatement.

For perspective, I greatly enjoy Asian cuisine, and am extremely open to trying new dishes - this menu left much to be desired. We ordered the spicy general gau, chicken fried rice, side of bok choy, chicken tenders, and chicken and broccoli cooked spicy. Of the five dishes two were sent back immediately. First the bok choy was only stems and full of cornstarch. Not a single green leaf was insight - they literally only severed the white stems. When we asked about the leafy part of the vegetable the waiter tried to convince us that most people prefer the stems and not the leaves. We shared that we loved the leaves and we’re expecting and equal mix and we’re surprised to only receive stems. After failing to convince us that this was normal he begrudgingly agreed to remove the dish.

Next, the chicken tenders are best described as air-puffed-greasy-batter with undercooked chicken on the inside. My dinner-mate took one bite and instantly had to spit it out after realizing the chicken was raw. We showed the waiter and he acknowledged this and removed the dish.

Then there was the chicken fried rice. While we didn’t return it - it was certainly the worst chicken fried rice I have ever had. The chicken was dry, and the rice appeared to be old, and overall the dish was very greasy and flavorless. There wasn’t a single vegetable or egg included. Simply rice, bean sprout, and chicken. We decided we would try to take it back home and “doctor it up”.

Don’t worry I didn’t forget the spicy general gaus chicken. I will also share that I didn’t realize you could ruin batter fried chicken dipped in sauce. Well first, as others have mentioned the chicken had a very odd, unappealing color, and it was certainly not fresh. Considering our food was delivered quite quickly, we had several pieces of soggy chicken. We were also told that general gau would be spicy - it definitely was not. I think they forgot the “spice” in “spicy” as it was certainly void of both flavor and spice.

The only dish that we were happy with was the chicken and broccoli, That we requested spicy. The broccoli actually appeared fresh, not soggy, and still retained its bright color. Debatable on the freshness of the chicken but it was by far the most edible item on the table.

I will refrain from commenting on the dirty containers of soy sauce on the tables, and the extremely gross-looking bottle of Sriracha being shuttled between dinner tables and dirty hands by our Waiter.

Finally, the decor. I was not impressed. While some like that old 70s/80s-feel, it just felt extremely outdated and not in a cute nostalgic way. If the food were better, I may have appreciated the interior. However bland old food and bad ambiance surely equals a blah time.

As others have mentioned, don’t waste your time here. I’m convinced the packed parking lot is simply a result of guests/families who have fond memories of better times. There are so many superior Asian restaurants - if you’re looking for good quality food, Tahiti is...

I used to live about a 5 minute walk away from this place, so I've had many meals from them.

Their biggest problem is consistency in quality of their dishes, and across different days/shifts.

Generally, I found some of their typical American Chinese fare including egg rolls, crab rangoon, pork chow mein, chicken fingers, BBQ boneless ribs, to be a little below average, but edible; pork fried rice a bit above average but consistency is not always there. If your rice is good, you got lucky.

I have had bad experiences with their Polynesian dishes. I wouldn't recommend the Tahitian Wedding, which has a weird TV dinner taste, nor the Wor Bor, which doesn't have flavors that work well together.

The Szechuan dishes are spicier, and perhaps more bearable, but I'm not a big fan of any of the seafood dishes at Tahiti, they just don't taste fresh. Over many years, I had tried most of the menu items here in a futile attempt to find something I genuinely enjoy that is made consistently well across different days and shifts. At a certain point, I gave up.

They have a divey lounge (with furniture/decor from the 1960s) that picks up in the late evenings. One of the bartenders is really friendly, the other one not as much, and comes across as a prick who hates his job and his customers. After 11:30pm, a lot of the service and restaurant industry folks from around Dedham and Legacy Place come in, so it gets very busy. A bunch of people are usually there to blow their rent money on Keno, which makes the atmosphere depressing.

Overall, not recommended unless you live very close by and are too lazy to get into your car for better food, drinks, ambiance,...

One of the absolute worst dining experiences I’ve ever had. Service was no stars. We were a group of 10 and the waitress could not have been any less attentive. She would come over to the table and go to take a drink order or food order, then would say, “hold on” and would walk to another table to take their order before returning. It wasn’t even busy so it was very bizarre. She acted as though she didn’t want to be bothered. Half the time we could see her in the dining area talking with other employees while we were waiting for service. The food finally arrived (because it took forever to get her to simply take the order) and everyone at the table who had chicken wings with their order discovered they were still red and raw inside. When we had to send it back, because it’s clearly a safety issue, she appeared annoyed. Our drinks set empty half the time because we were only able to order cocktails when we flagged her down. Overall, the food that was cooked properly wasn’t that great and the service was a disgrace. I understand everyone has bad days, but this was absurd. It’s too bad too. We’re a fun group that tips generously. Could have been a great night for her tip wise if she’d only bothered...