Tauro Cocina — Restaurant in Milwaukee

This review is a long time coming. This is our second visit to Tauro Cocina while visiting Milwaukee from Southern California, and let me say they do not disappoint!

First and foremost, the concept is genius. Who doesn't love the heart-warming flavors of our delicious Mexican cuisine, which is beautifully paired with the love of Italian family flavors? It's truly a match made in heaven. The Valdepeña family-owned restaurant has something truly special at Tauro Cocina that everyone must experience.

Let me tell you about the food, drinks, and dessert, which on both visits were superb.

We had the seasonal Sunny Dia cocktail, which was so refreshing and stunning. The presentation is beautiful, and it was garnished with a sweet fresh slice of watermelon. The Toro Mambo was amazing. I've never had such a great drink made with mescal. The pomegranate juice, ancho syrup, and fresh lime juice were so great on a hot summer day. We also had the seasonal Elote Old Fashion, which is a total treat and has an extremely unexpected flavor with a smoky elote finish. The Piña con Mescal, Red Sangria, El Anticuado, and Espresso Martin are all drinks that should not be missed. Each drink was expertly prepared with great attention to detail. Tauro Cocina is a great spot for memorable drinks.

Our food was visually stunning and equally delicious. We ordered adventurously on our visits and tried many impeccably fusioned dishes like the Birria Risotto, Pulpo Grileado, Caldo Mar, Fettuccini al Mescal, and Asada Pizza. All of the dishes were an explosion of flavors. The pizza was crispy and served from a wood oven that makes the entire restaurant smell heavenly.

I must say, you won't find traditional Mexican or Italian food at Tauro Cocina. What you will find is traditional Mexican and Italian ingredients prepared in a delicious way. The food gets a chef's KISS! Flavors like I've never tasted before, and I want more!

Save room for dessert. We were told the chef makes seasonal desserts in addition to a few staples. The seasonal Pistachio Tiramisu was perfection, a great end to our meal.

Our next trip to Wisconsin will certainly include another reservation at Tauro Cocina. For those of you who live in the area, I'm jealous. It's rare to find a place that has great ambiance, fantastic food, and great service. Tauro Cocina, we look forward to our next trip to Wisconsin and the opportunity to try more great finds from your menu.

We know the restaurant is a small family-owned business and we will continue to support you every time we are in Wisconsin!...

We had our rehearsal dinner at Tauro Cocina and had an unforgettable time! We were blown away by the food and service. We had around 30 guests for dinner and then hosted nearly 100 guests for welcome drinks after dinner. We can't recommend Tauro Cocina enough!

Starting with the space itself, we were sat in the back room near the pizza oven. The room was beautifully decorated and had its own bar for our guests. Each table setting was nicely done with a custom menu for our event. We did no decorating ourselves and the space was perfect without additional decorations. Our only downside was it was pretty hot, but at the end of June in a room near a pizza oven - it makes sense.

Next to the food and drink - everything we ate was delicious and the drinks were amazing. We did a family style dinner for our 30 guests and started with the bruschetta. There were several types of bruschetta including meat and non-meat options which we appreciated.

For our main courses we had the cilantro risotto with shrimp and the pollo al guajillo. The shrimp was perfectly spicy and the cilantro risotto was a nice contrast. The chicken was delicious, perfectly tender and the sauce was amazing. We also had the poblano linguine and spaghetti marinara - both were delicious and we could tell they were homemade and not your standard pasta. All of the portions were generous and there was always enough leftover at each course - no one went home hungry. We opted to add desserts and were not disappointed. Again, we could tell everything was homemade, authentic, and delicious.

We also had one gluten-free guest and was given a special gluten-free portion at every single course - including the bruschetta and dessert. That was much appreciated!

The drinks were well-crafted - most of our guests had selections off of their extensive cocktail menu. We were able to also have a custom drink menu so our guests could choose a limited selection - all menus were printed off specially for our event.

Finally, the service was incredible. The bartending and waitstaff were top notch. Everyone was extremely friendly and attentive to our needs. They seemed very organized and we felt like true VIPs that day. The team at Tauro Cocina communicated exceptionally well with us leading up to and on the day of our event.

We would absolutely recommend Tauro Cocina for any...

What a great find. Mexican and Italian fusion? Get outta here!

The atmosphere is very cozy. Modern, but with a warm color pallet. I really liked the use of high back booths (on one side of the table with chairs on the other) to block the lower section of street facing windows and make it a more private space overall.

Garret was our server and he was just delightful. Sweet, friendly, and knowledgeable. Answered all of our questions and made suggestions and clarifications regarding sweet and spicy items. He kept himself scarce while we enjoyed our dinners, but always nearby so a simple low wave brought him right over to the table. Would thoroughly enjoy having him again.

Now the food. Oh my god, it's so good. One person ordered the Linguine Al Poblano and said it was too spicy for her. But she also said she has a very low tolerance for spice. She was able to get a side of cream to lightly dip her fork in before wrapping some pasta, and she said it cut the spice perfectly without detracting from the overall flavor. The other person ordered a dish off their Valentine's menu, which I cannot remember the name of and it's not on the regular menu, but was beet fettuccini with salmon. She said it was very good. It is a sweet dish versus spicy. She didn't eat much of it there because she didn't get lunch at work until 2:00 so she was still kind of full. She is going to enjoy her lunch today! I ordered the Fettuccini al Mezcal with Grilled Chicken. Oh my! It was SO delicious. So much flavor with just a little kick. I didn't have much to eat during the day because I new I would having house made pasta (did I mention they make fresh pasta?) and wanted to completely enjoy it. I ate the whole thing. It was a perfect amount of food to fill me up without making me feel full. The fettuccini is wonderful with sometimes seemingly endless lengths. I was comfortably satisfied so I took a piece of Churro Cheesecake home for a little later. So yummy. It's cheesecake, but with the churro flavors used in the crust and then also on the top.

A must...