TA-Que Food Truck — Restaurant in West Hartford

This is a combined review with The Millright's Restaurant in Simsbury. 4 stars for service and presentation. In terms of the menu advertised as smoke house BBQ, I'd give it three stars since three of the five courses had no meat. We were expecting actual barbecue like you find in TN or TX or even in a few good spots here in CT which I've reviewed. We also did not realize we were being served from a food truck and not from the restaurant itself.

However, that being noted, presentations of each course were all satisfying and rolled out at a timely pace considering almost every seat was sold out. The flavors of each dish were all nice even if not what is commonly considered barbecue. The menu should have emphasized all food items were smoked regardless of whether they were protein or vegetable. Another restaurant that does a monthly wine course dinner in Litchfield I've reviewed sends out the details of the menu before people decide to purchase. This is something TA-QUE should consider doing in the future.

The cocktail/beer/wine pairing we purchased as an add-on option was worth the price and enjoyed. It took awhile to get the first drink as they waited for all the patrons to arrive, so some people used their phone scanner to order a drink from the restaurant bar that was brought out to them. A cocktail with tequila came with the first course, the next had Modelo beer with lime fresh from a tap, and the other three had wine - a Malbec with the tri tip, a riesling with the pork and a chardonnay with dessert.

Unfortunately for my partner, he could not eat the first two courses because he can't eat seeds. The smoked parsnip soup came first in a bowl with a few chopped pieces of raw tuna inside covered with sesame seeds. The chef and staff then brought the soup down to everyone in thermoses and poured it over the tuna. I liked it a lot and ate both of our bowls since they weren't too large. Very tasty.

The honeynut squash was tender but packed with a variety of seeds - pumpkin, sunflower and more. I couldn't eat two of those so we asked for a box to take one home. The third course, which touted cabbage grilled for hours and smoked pork marmalade served on top of it, was hard as a rock. Perhaps they should grill it for even more hours. The pork marmalade didn't do much for me so I gave most of my dish to my partner who was quite hungry after missing the first two servings. He liked it.

The fourth and final course made by TA-QUE was Wagyu tri-tip with corn salsa verde. My partner can't eat corn either, so he scraped his off of his steak for me and I gave him a slice of mine since he was still hungry. Going through my photos later though it looks like the large trays brought to customers had some plates with a few slices of tri tip and some with a couple. Different portion sizes for men and women? I asked my partner about this later and he said he did notice he had more than me. I would have kept my other slice. It was smokey in flavor and well done in terms of doneness. The corn was crispy and flavorful.

In terms of seating, diners at the picnic tables at the foot of the stairs get their food and drinks faster, but if you want the view of the waterfall and bridge which cost a little more it's worth the wait. Overall, it was a nice time, but expensive for the amount of food and not a success for us because of diet restrictions and not the barbecue we...

The only thing good about this place is the location. The truck itself is in a parking lot but the tables are on a patio that overlook Hop Brook. Beautiful. The service was also good.

The food is mediocre and the prices are outrageous, we're talking upwards of $7 for a single ok street taco. The other portions were minuscule. The chicken reminded me of the stuff you get out of a can.

We spent $70 and...

So happy to see Ta-Que doing Tuesdays at Millwright’s Tavern—we had to go ASAP! We only made it once last year, and I’ve been craving that amazing street corn salad ever since. This visit was just as great! We had cocktails, vampiro tacos, pork belly, the corn salad (of course), and ended with banana pudding. Our server was super friendly, prompt, and attentive without hovering. Can’t...