Travieso — Restaurant in Waukesha

Made a reservation for Saturday night. The hostess was absolutely wonderful and the stand out star of the night. Our waitress was sweet but only checked the table once to see if the food was good after not delivering it herself. The espresso martini tasted like I was eating ground up coffee beans, I couldn’t even finish it. It ended up separating before the entrees came out and made it look like oil and water. The other drinks on the menu looked amazing so next time I would stick to the margaritas or mules. I ordered two appetizers- the octopus and the street corn. The octopus was warm and the corn was cold, I think the dishes would’ve been better if that was flipped. The octopus was a little chewy and was drowned out amongst the spices. It almost tasted muddy which ruined the dish for me. It was over powered by over seasoning which made the dish lose any sort of coherent flavor. The corn was average but beautifully presented. For entrees I ordered the skirt steak and the scallops. The steak was served standard medium rare yet it was more medium well done. I found the steak to be incredibly chewy and tough but the potatoes and green beans were okay. The scallops were served over braised pork belly accompanied by pickled onions, carrots and what tasted like kimchi. It felt like Mexico met Asian fusion and not in a good way. The scallops themselves were well cooked just over seasoned and slightly too salty. The entire entree felt like it was too much- the pork kimchi and vegetables on their own would’ve been amazing but adding the scallops and aioli turned it into a mess of flavors that contradicted themselves. The brussel sprouts served with the dish were charred to a point of what I would call burnt. I was unable to chew or swallow them. I didn’t try any dessert however the table next to me was enjoying a Brazilian cheesecake. Overall the ambiance and service was good but the food didn’t hit its mark for me. I think I’ll give Travieso another chance later this year before I make my final judgement but for now everything about it falls just about...

Let me start off with that we really wanted to love this restaurant because we live near by & usually LOVE Latin food...but my husband & I discussed it afterwards and the quality just doesn't justify the price at all. He ordered the Million Dollar Prime Rib (12oz) & I ordered the Chicken Street Corn Risotto (after the waitress said it sold well & was VERY good). We also started with 4 Beef Birria Masa Azul Chochoyotes because they were labeled as some sort of award winner. For $3 a pop, the beef birria dumplings were sad & not even hot - I'd say barely warm. The first one was rock hard & I felt like I was chewing a thick, burnt tortilla. Thankfully the other 3 were soft (seemed like the first 1 got fried twice maybe?!), but still lacked flavor & to me just reminded me of frozen pizza rolls. They were also TINY for $3 each. Like 2 inches long each? $12 for 4 bites basically lol. To be fair, the coleslaw & pickled onions they paired with it were really good. When it came to the entrees it was a similar deal - the food came out pretty quickly but again, not hot? I'm not sure how that's possible. My husband's prime rib was good & the au jus was intriguing, but the only side that came with the $40 prime rib was a small spiralled, COLD, fried potato. I don't think either of us have ever had a steak of that price not come with a side of veggies along with a hefty hot potato or something (think Palmer's Steakhouse in Hartland). My Chicken Street Corn Risotto looked pretty, but was pretty darn tasteless aside from the two sauces whipped over it. I was very disappointed because usually any risotto dish is to die for (in my experience lol). Risotto generally maintains heat well so I was surprised when both it & the chicken breast were barely warm. The chicken itself didn't have flavor & wasn't much of a portion. I don't eat THAT much ya'll, and I was still begging for bites from my husband's...

Arrived for the dinner menu only to be informed only brunch menu was available. Service was more than extremely slow. Staff was friendly but came across unprepared for the reserved guests. Staff spent a lot of time wandering in and out of the kitchen doors as if to possibly look busy or desperate for meals to be ready. The restaurant was not busy as we were the only guests. When meals were finally served, at least a hours wait after orders taken, we felt left overs from day’s prior most likely kept in forgotten containers were served. All proteins were difficult to chew and dry. Chicken, ground beef, shredded roast beef, and cold poached eggs served along with dry rounds of whatever the proteins were supposed to be served on. Parmesan wafers were definitely old & unable to bite into. Salads consisted of 3 whole romaine leaves with a lackluster dressing and very hard toasted bread chips. Nacho chips were extremely soggy/mush-like with a scant amount of dry protein topping and dry cheese. All meals lacked flavor and were of poor left over quality. I will say, the restaurant was bright, tables were set with a fresh clean presentation and the restaurant served a good cup of coffee. All in all, disappointing meals were served for what was to celebrate a special occasion with family. I cannot recommend...