Tamarine
Palo Alto, CA
546 University Avenue
Tamarine is an upscale restaurant located on University Avenue, that places a modern twist on Vietnamese cuisine with influence from French and other Southeast Asian cuisines. Although it has been around since 2002, the restaurant is still quite popular to this day, and can be seen as a favorite spot amongst many Palo Alto residents.
Immediately upon entering, the restaurant’s unique table layout and lighting fixtures caught my eye…
Ambience: Tamarine is very well-maintained, and the clean and modern interior definitely make it a great spot for a special occasion or date night. The dimly lit atmosphere surely sets the mood and makes Tamarine a pleasant place to dine. Even the bathroom was fancy, and I would 10/10 come back just for the cloth tissues provided by the sink.
Food: I would overall give the food a 7/10. I wasn’t blown away by all of the dishes, and unfortunately, I found the menu to be slightly overpriced in comparison to the small portion sizes. I ordered the following dishes:
Banh Mi Roti: The roti was buttery, flaky and warm, and the Penang curry dipping sauce complimented it beautifully. The dish also came out within five minutes of ordering, and I definitely think it was a good start to the meal. The curry dipping sauce, however, was on the spicier side, and while it totally worked for me, I believe it may be too strong for those susceptible to spice. 8/10.
Wok-Fired Garlic Noodles: I was not a fan of this dish. Although I understand the concept of “wok-fired”, I found the noodles to taste more burnt than smoky. There was an unfortunate bitter aftertaste with this dish. Additionally, the garlic flavor was lacking, leaving this dish to be mediocre at best. Maybe they taste better on other days, but the server assured me that the burnt taste was done on purpose. 3/10.
Shaking Beef: The filet mignon, which I asked to be cooked medium-rare, was super tender and well seasoned, and the combination of cooked and raw veggies paired nicely. This dish, however, was definitely on the pricier side and for $33, I expected a larger portion of food. This dish, in combination with the Empress Rice was divine. 8/10.
Empress Rice: Amazing. While the concept of Empress Rice is quite simple, Tamarine executes it to a tee. The combination of savory flavors and textures from the sticky rice and the crispy egg made this dish my favorite of the bunch. Although the rice was flavorful, the sauce wasn’t too salty, and the broken down egg yolk made the rice taste luxurious and rich. Could definitely eat this everyday. 10/10.
Service: We went into Tamarine around 5:15 on a Saturday night with no reservation, and were unable to get a regular table. The hostess directed us to a bar table, but regardless, the service was pretty good. The bartender was attentive and responsive to our needs, but the entree dishes took a little longer than I expected, especially since we went in so early.
Overall thoughts: Some of the dishes definitely fell flat, but I still see myself coming back in the future. I would definitely recommend other interested diners to make a reservation ahead of time, and to check out the cocktail menu — something I unfortunately opted out of for the evening.
