Amante Tacos and Spirits — Restaurant in Greenville

Amante is definitely one of my new, favorite spots on Dickinson Avenue (sorry Jack Brown's - I promise I'll still come through). Amante is the perfect restaurant and bar to go for a fun girls night out, a date with your significant other (don't waste this place on a random Tinder/Hinge date you swiped right on), family, or even by yourself! Buckle up, as I'm going to break down the "fab four" things I consider when going out to eat.

Ambiance - while I usually opt away from outdoor seating, this place is aesthetically pleasing to the eye. The beautiful lighting, the furniture, the plants, the color scheme, and even the neon "AMANTE" sign at the bar really transports you to a place that doesn't feel like "lil 'ol Greenville"

Drinks - I have tried just about every drink on the menu and some of the special weekly cocktails (other than the Carolina Colada). My two favorites have been the Amante Marg (never would have thought to add Jameson Orange to a Marg, but it works) and the El Diablo (I order this one every time I go). The presentation of the drinks is great - I love the "bubble" glasses (IYKYK). Sometimes my drink comes in a water/plastic cup, but I'd rather have a drink in my hand as soon as I sit down versus wait for them to wash a glass before making my drinks (especially during a "rush") - the important thing is that the contents are always delicious. My only comment for drinks is I wish they had the "large," giant cube cubes for old fashions as pellet ice tends to melt too quickly for that type of drink.

Food - Again, I've tried just about everything on the menu. Everything has been DELICIOUS each time I have gone. For starters - the street fries are my favorite and a MUST-HAVE when you go. Everyone will like these, even the pickiest of eaters (I know, I date one). The pickled onion and corn really are the smallest delicious details that tie the dish together. For tacos, my favorites are "The Shepherd," "Ducking Auto-Correct," and "Bounty Hunter." The Shepherd has a good heat to it, and I can tell that pork belly was cooked low, slow, and with love. "Ducking Auto-Correct" has a delicious pineapple salsa and crunchy purple cabbage that meshes well with the duck confit - if you never had duck before, this is the perfect chance to try. Finally, the "Bounty Hunter" is SO FRESH. It's unbelievable how FRESH this tuna is considering where we are located geographically. It is hard to find such fresh, high-quality grade tuna when not being close to the water. For dessert - the fried ice cream is absolutely delicious and the s'mores kit is just fun. You'll wanna open your instagram and fulfill your best influencer life when ordering the s'mores kit.

Price - Whenever I consider price I usually consider a few things: quality, freshness, culinary craftsmanship, and taste. These prices, while slightly higher than "most" taco places in Greenville, are definitely worth the quality and freshness of ingredients (tuna, fresh pineapple, crunchy cabbage, everything used to cook that delicious pork belly, etc.) that are used. It is also worth the time, effort, and ART put into these recipes to make everything on the menu delicious. The only place I can get tacos that are relatively close in taste to these are in "big" cities like Richmond, Raleigh, Charlotte, etc. which all cost the same and slightly more. I've seen and heard many people complain about the price for this place (one taco costs X dollars) - and frankly, all I see/hear are people that believe they are "well-traveled and well-experienced" by going on vacation to an all-inclusive Sandals Resort or a Carnival Cruise to the Key West.

With all that being said, I can't wait to see how Amante grows since they have opened and how the food and drink menu will evolve over time as it is open. If you took the time to read my "fab four" in detail - thanks and I hope you drop by to try it yourself. If you see me there, I might buy you a...

I'd been looking forward to eating at Amante's for quite some time and found it to be wonderful. The cute little Taco place is on the corner of Dickinson right downtown. With no parking lot right next to it, people have to walk up and we were greeted instantly by the host who rushed to clear a table next to the firepit.

The waitress popped by shortly after and took our order. She was friendly and attentive but seemed to forget about us after the kitchen delivered our food. To be honest, it had started sprinkling and she may have been adverse to getting wet.

I ordered the Hen House Quesadilla, (she asked me if I wanted cheese on that... hilarious). My companions each ordered tacos of various varieties. The Quesadilla was perfect and the portions was generous. Would definitely order again! My friends said the tacos were good but stopped short of remarkable.

I think the thing I was most surprised by was the Salsas. We ordered the salsa with avocado (I don't remember the proper name and can't locate it online) and they were out of it. So we switched to the Salsa Verde which was definitely average. The salsa that was served with the Quesadilla was also average. (Straight up mild Pace picante out of a jar flavor) In fact both tasted like jarred salsa and lacked serious personality.

For a Taco place, I would have thought that their salsas would be the star of the menu.

Despite the salsa, which is minor, I definitely enjoyed it and will be...

My friends and i LOVED Amante when it first opened. The service was good, the atmosphere was incredible, the food was amazing and the drinks were alright usually better than decent. A group of my friends and i went to Amante this week. Our service was poor but she was sweet, very new so it wasn’t her fault. Our food on the other hand was absolutely terrible. I hadn’t been since they got the new bowls on the menu but for 16+ dollars the portions were ridiculously small, and the rice was so hard it could’ve broken a tooth. It wasn’t cooked at all. Dreadful honestly. A girl at the table also ordered street corn and got a bowl of corn covered in brown stuff, no cheese, no jalapeños, nothing like what the street corn said on the menu. She’s not a complainer so someone else at the table sent it back for her and they never even brought her the right street corn. The manager also never came to talk to our table after hearing how horrible our food was and seeing what they brought out. This place really did use to be good, but it’s going further and further down hill which is so upsetting as this is the prettiest outside place in Greenville to eat. Our margaritas were amazing though! I hope management can be changed, and they learn that service and quality food is necessary...