Tango's Empanadas & Grill - Meridian — Restaurant in Meridian

Having recently moved to Meridian, I had heard of this place nearby and was told a famous TV chef had visited it and gave it a great review.

So I was eager to give them a try, and we stopped by the location around 2:30pm on a Saturday.

The establishment was quite crowded at the time, which I took as a good sign that they were so popular.

They are supposedly known for their Empanadas, and their menu had a vast variety of them to choose from.

They are all around the same price, approximately $3.50, give or take depending on the ingredients.

I ordered one even though the person behind the counter suggested 2 per person after I inquired how big they were. I wanted to try them first before going all in. And since they are so close to me, I figured if it was any good I'd be back regularly.

I was given a remote control after paying for my food, and proceeded to sit down on a bench directly in front of the front counter where several workers and someone who appeared to be an owner stood chatting and conversing with patrons and employees alike.

Someone came and ordered, another person came and picked up a phone order, and many times I saw employees walking from the back with platters of empanadas into the dining room, where there must have been 20-30 people seated.

I waited, and I waited, and I waited. Eventually, my brother who had come with me, said he was going to wait outside in his truck as a lot of time had passed and I still didn't have my 1 empanada.

After over 20 minutes of waiting and being stared at by the employees, no one bothered to check on my order, ask me about it, or anything. So fed up with waiting, I finally stood up and asked the person behind the counter if it is normal that 1 empanada takes over 20 minutes, and he went into the back and immediately came out with a small bag and said "Oh, here it is. Sorry for the wait".

If I had not gotten up and inquired, I wonder how much longer my order would have sat in the back getting cold.

Once I finally made it home with my single empanada, that was supposed to be filled with ground beef, onions, potatoes and sauce, I bit into it and realized that it was mostly dough.

It was literally 80% dough, half of it was empty and full of air. I think I was able to take 5 bites of actual meat, the rest was just deep fried dough. I didn't taste any onions, and I didn't taste any potatoes. It was really a let down and kind of depressing.

After a 20+ minute wait, poor customer service, and something that felt like it should have cost $1.99, I have decided that this first visit will also be my last.

Seems like this is a hit or miss type of establishment, I wish you luck...

DON'T SUPPORT AWFUL PEOPLE!

I have been a longtime customer… but I’m tired of being treated poorly for absolutely no reason. Tango’s lost ANOTHER loyal customer today.

In my quest to figure out if it was just me the owner/employees don’t like, I started reading the 1-star reviews, and I’m shocked at how awful Luis and Monica (owners) treat their customers and how snarky the front counter girls are to other people as well. I can’t believe the way Tyson H. was treated when he made it a point to stop by Tango’s while in town. And the GALL of the owners’ response to Megan D.’s review, titled “Lunch.” These experiences are very in line with the judgmental aura I have constantly felt there, and how I watch them treat other customers in the restaurant as well. Despite the thousands of dollars I have spent there as a repeat customer over the years— and the fact that I am happy, I tip, I compliment— I have been treated so poorly by the front counter girls every single time. They are unwelcoming, rude, snicker when I walk by, and speak poorly about me in Spanish, ignorantly thinking I don’t understand what they are saying, but I speak Spanish as well.

Yes, the empanadas lately have been lacking in substance, mostly just dough and air. Yes, the music is too loud. Yes, even after you place your $30-50 order, you will still be charged for the same small cup of water that is free at every other local restaurant. Yes, you will be charged for sauces/salsas. The “one per empanada” half-filled half ounce sauce cup does not cut it.

Save yourself a unsatisfactory experience, and try a local restaurant where you are welcomed, accommodated, appreciated, and better represents the kind and accepting community that we are… like Corona Village right...

This is NOT a family friendly restaurant. We saw this on Food Network and traveled to Boise from out of town for another reason and made a point to stop and try it out while we were here. We got in and sat down at our tables. While we were reviewing the menu, the kids were waiting patiently and quitely and the owner came and asked us to keep them under control and be respectful of other guests. It startled us a bit as our kids were doing very well. We said ok. Before we had time to decide what we wanted, he came and said the same thing. At that point we chose to leave the restaurant. While we were trying to leave, with kids who were now upset trying to figure out why we needed to leave and couldn't eat, he kept trying to 'help us understand,' even after I asked him several times to just let us be so we could leave. As soon as we came into the restaurant he came and sat at a table in the back corner and watched us. It seemed that he was looking for a reason to ask us to leave. Seems maybe the visit from Food Network made them a bit too big for...