When I think of TAO, I think of cheesy, Euro-trashy, and clubb-y. I've never really been inclined to check it out as I assumed it was one of those overly priced tourist traps for those who come to NYC looking for the Sex and the City/nightclub experience and while I wasn't too far off the mark, the food actually did surprise me more than I thought. I ended up here for a client lunch and I was surprised by how crowded it was for lunch on a random week day, but then again, there isn't really much in this part of Midtown, so I guess it's as good of an option as any. I didn't realize they were open during the daytime because its got such a night time vibe but they actually have a fairly decent lunch special that I can see why people come here during the day.
The overall vibe is exactly how I imagined it to be. It's pitch dark in here (no windows - so it feels a bit like Vegas) and it's got it's signature giant Buddha in the middle of the restaurant. The menu is Pan Asian with a smattering of sushi - it's kind of like a glorified and slightly nicer PF Chang's. While most of the entrees were pretty pricey on its own, the lunch special is $25 for an appetizer, entree and dessert - which is a great deal, plus they had a nice variety of options under each section. I opted for the Spicy Thai seafood dumpling soup, sesame seared tuna salad and the mango sorbet.
The spicy thai seafood dumpling comes with 4 fairly large sized dumplings in a spicy lemongrass soup. The broth had some serious heat to it and the lemongrass gave it a sour tangy flavor as well. I can't say I could decipher exactly what kind of seafood was in the dumplings but it was a nice start to the meal and very well portioned. The tuna salad came on a bed of nice micro-greens, bean sprouts and tangerine slices and slices of raw tuna. While the tuna slices were nicely seared, they were on the thin and small side. For some reason I thought it was going to be like a thick tuna steak but instead it was more like 5 tiny pieces of thinly pounded fish. But I actually enjoyed the salad as it was nicely dressed with a citrus vinaigrette and it was, again, a fairly large portion that I felt like I was eating healthy lunch but still getting full. The meal ended with a refreshing mango sorbet in coconut milk with fruit. It was a nice way to end a meal on a hot and humid Monday afternoon.
The one slightly annoying service item was that when the bill came, instead of charging us for the lunch special, they charged us for each individual item. Luckily, Scott caught the error and had them change it but if he hadn't they would have overcharged us by quite a few dollars. While I don't think it was an intention move on TAO's part, double checking the bill shouldn't be something that customers have to worry about. When we walked out of TAO, I felt like I was stumbling out of a nightclub in Vegas. The sun was hurting my eyes and I felt like I probably should have had a few vodka tonics at lunch to really soak it all in. It was a very bizarre mix of tourist and business people there in the middle of the day but then again, I guess that's what Midtown is like on a typical day anyways. If I had my way, I'd still prefer to go somewhere like Hatsuhana when I'm in Midtown but the lunch special here isn't a terrible way to spend your lunch hour - just don't forget your sparkly top and heels. Total bill: ~$98 for 3 people with tax and tip
Photo Credit: Yelp
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