Tablao Wine Bar & Restaurant — Restaurant in Norwalk

The outside is nice, and the inside is very authentic. Beautiful inside. Lights are dimmed and high up so they're not in your face. They have alot more tapas then they do entrees, which is fine with me I just didnt expect it. The waiter is extremely nice, but it seemed he didnt maybe understand what I was asking him at one point during the night. But I cleared it up, so everything is fine. Got a baileys on rocks and fiance got sangria red. Both very good drinks. Complimentary bread with oil is nice.

So my fiance got the hanger steak, and the duck breast. I got the eggplant napoleon. Starting with the steak, it's way too chewy. I dont think its tasty at all. I like filet mignon, but I've never been anywhere where I've liked steak. the flavor content of this steak is just not good. The duck is more tender than the steak and a bit more tastier. Definitely worth a try. But I personally dont think I'd get it again.

As for my fiance he says the steak doesnt beat his steak. XD he thinks it's missing some flavor which I agree with. He has mixed emotions on the steak. As for the duck, he thinks the reduced sauce is good, he likes it. I agree. The sweet potato tastes a little weird. It tastes whipped and very creamy. He likes the duck better, and thinks it's pretty good.

As for my eggplant, delicious. I think personally I can do without the pesto on the bottom but the eggplant I nuce and crispy and goes beautifully with the mozz and tomato. The salads dressing is vinaigrette but like, a mayonnaise consistency. It is very delicious.

Okay so now to dessert. We got the tiramisu. The presentation was a little weird with one single orange and the green and red glaze but the cake itself was very good. If you dont particularly like coffee this might not be for you because this Is the strongest coffee I've ever had in a tiramisu. I personally make tiramisu with hazelnut coffee so that the coffee isnt too strong and everyone can have it. The marscapone is delicious. Overall 4/5.

Just making a quick edit. The glaze was very good with...

This was an easy 3 star for me, not great but not terrible. Right in the middle. We went here for a quick bite in the middle of the day, the restaurant wasn’t crowded.. there were two tables outside and we were the only table inside.

For starters, the servers wore masks, and there was hand sanitizer available at the front door which was nice. The tables were nice and spread apart. We were provided with (presumably new) paper menus.

Service was excellent. The waitstaff was very quick, always available if you needed anything, but didn’t hover.

Restaurant is also very clean.

Food was only ok. We only had a few items. We started with their codfish croquettes.. which were smaller than what I was used to but you get six pieces. These were very tasty, well seasoned, and perfectly textured. I also liked the garlic aioli sauce it was served with.

However we then got the fried calamari.. it was a little under salted.. which wasn’t a deal breaker. It did however taste overwhelmingly of old oil that has been reused too many times. It was unpalatable and we sent it back. Texture was however fine. We were on the fence about ordering a replacement dish and we decided to see if we liked the third dish before we ordered more.

Our third dish was the crab cake, and we were not fans. It tastes... just ok, flavor wise. One thing I enjoy about crab cakes is a crispy exterior and a moist flaky interior. I also want to be able to see larger chunks of crab in the cake. For starters, the crab cake was drenched in their red bell pepper coulis.. which tasted ok, didn’t really add anything to the dish.. but it SOAKED the crab cake and it was super soggy (see pics). The inside was also a fine purée, who knows if it was real crab.

So overall, nothing was poisonous and if I was starving to death I would come back for sure.. but my final impression: lower quality of ingredients, not well prepared.

The sangria is great, but how hard is it to...

On our way up to Boston, my boyfriend and I stopped at Tablao Wine Bar for dinner. If you're unable to find street parking, you can valet your car at SONO Pearl for $4/hour. Thursday is Paella & Sangria Night for $80/couple. Our server Vinny and other staff members were friendly and hospitable. I liked how the staff cleared the table in between courses.

After placing our drink order, we took turns using the bathroom. The bathrooms were downstairs so be prepared to do some exercise. My boyfriend enjoyed his Moscow Mule, which consisted of vodka, lime juice, and ginger beer. If you love ginger, I'd recommend the Moscow Mule. I enjoyed the Tablao Bulleit, which consisted of bulleit bourbon, lemon, mango puree, luxardo maraschino, and peychaud's bitters. I'll admit it was a strong one and I'm glad I wasn't driving.

While waiting on our food, we nibbled on Rye Bread  with a saffron infused olive oil. We shared four tapas - Pear Salad, Eggplant Napoleon, Grilled Calamari, and Pulpo A La Gallega. Everything was delicious. They came out two at a time. We had a 3 hour drive to get to Boston and we didn't enjoy the 30 minute in between tapas.

The Pear Salad consisted of arugula, endive, and pistachio tossed in a pear butter vinaigrette topped with pear and a dollup of goat cheese. It was tasty and the goat cheese was smooth, rich, and creamy.

The Eggplant Napoleon consisted of layers of fried eggplant, mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, and pesto finished with a balsamic glaze.

The Grilled Calamari consisted of grilled calamari pieces topped with diced shallot, red bell peppers, and tomato in a red wine vinaigrette.

The Pulpo A La Gallega consisted of steamed octopus sautéed with potatoes and pimento. It had a...