Chicken came out cold, purple rice was cold as well and felt like a rock. Other than the bad chicken dish, the other dishes we ordered were alright.
Izzie L.
Tamarine is a upscale Vietnamese restaurant in Palo Alto. The last time I came here, I thought all of the dishes were amazing. After this time, I think it's a bit overpriced for the quality of food, but the service is definitely on-par. FOOD [3.5/5] =========== + Empress Rice (3/5) For the price of $15, I thought this dish was too expensive. It's great sticky rice but the seasoning is weak and the egg was overcooked. + Ha Long Bay Soup (3/5) I ordered this because the reviews said this was a really good soup but unfortunately I didn't really enjoy it at all. It was way too sour for my liking and we couldn't end up finishing the dish because it was just that sour. + Banh Mi Roti (3/5) The roti was great! The dipping sauce was okay. It wasn't as flavorful as I thought it would be. + Shaking Beef (4/5) Really tender beef. Was a little disappointed because even though the meat was cooked well, I thought this was a really simple dish for the price. SERVICE [5/5] =========== No complaints about service! They were very attentive, changed out our plates after every course with perfect timing, and very friendly.
Michelle Y
Good atmosphere with decent service. Overall it's tasty despite a bit overpriced. Recommend taro root roll, yellow chicken curry, crab & glass noodle and clay pot cod, all are really delicious.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Shrimp & Pork Spring Rolls, Fish
Revanth R.
Ambiance - Great - Dimmed lighting and good restaurant decor gives a great ambiance - The restaurant is segmented into smaller rooms so it is fairly quiet despite being pretty busy at weekend dinner time. Table service - Average - Our waiter was fairly attentive and came at the right times to take our orders. Made a mistake with our order but corrected it promptly when notified. Staff cleared our plates and made sure our glasses were full throughout the meal. Overall, standard service you would expect in a fine dining restaurant. Food quality/flavor - Average - Banh Mi Roti appetizer had a dipping sauce that was a too watery. Flavor is typical to what you get in most Thai restaurants as well. - Garlic noodles were a bit bland and mild. Might be intentional given the Vietnamese flavors, but it needed some basic some salt and pepper to make it edible. - Lemongrass Sea Bass was great. Soft and buttery texture, and the cold glass noodle salad side is a nice contrast. - Shaking beef is chopped up filet mignon chunks with a peppered flavor with arugula salad on the side. Nothing special about this dish except that they used an expensive cut of meat. - Lamb chops (three lollipops) with sweet potato fries is an odd combo. The lamb was cooked well with good char but flavor again is a bit lacking. Disappointing given this is their most expensive dish. Cost/Value - Poor Given there was nothing memorable about the food, cost of the meal is overpriced. Cocktails/drinks are expensive as well ($20+ for old fashioned bourbon drink with bitters). Visit again? No. It's a good restaurant to try one time, but not memorable enough to want to eat the same dishes again or be curious about the other menu items. You'll find better Palo Alto restaurants in the $75-$100pp range.
Div Manickam
Good food with the company..Got to try a few options from papaya salad to green curry and mango panna cotta for dessert..
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Green Papaya Salad, Coconut Rice
Yellow Bluebonnet
The service is very good and so is the atmosphere! Great for meeting people. The food is good as well - highly recommend the clay pot cod and the lamb chops!! Appetizers (specifically the roti, calamari, and spring rolls) are an absolute must here.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Coconut Rice, Shaking Beef, Tuna Tartare, Hoisin Lamb Chops, Banh MI Roti, Sauteed Brussels Sprouts - V GF
Vedant Daga
I think the restaurant was just alright, did not quite like the food (the mains). The starters were pretty good, we got the Banh Xeo Tacos and the Banh Mi Roti, very flavorful and the dip added to the experience. The tofu yellow curry paired with the Empress Rice was also not bad, credit where credit is due. However the biggest disappointment was the Ninh Binh Claypot Rice, It didn't seem to have much spices and there were too many vegetables. To wrap up the meal, we got banana beignets (also not bad). But the star of the show was definitely the Sticky Date Pudding. 100% recommend that for dessert, no doubt about it. Makes you feel really warm and fuzzy lol. Service was as expected, and the ambience was also pretty good, although I would have appreciated more ventilation.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Molten Chocolate Lava Cake, Banh MI Roti
Sasha O.
Very Asian fusion. Very nice food, a little sweet, amazing staff. Nice ambiance. The dumpling soup and sampler plate were dope
Andrea K.
Fantastic food and great service, but maybe not worth the price. It's definitely an elevated dining experience and the dishes are all beautiful. The best dish we had was the blue crab nori tacos, and of course the cubed filet mignon was delicious. Desserts were mid, there are a lot of other places on University that have better and cheaper desserts
Katie Kim
The restaurant had a fancy atmosphere with nice decorations. The service was excellent, and the staff was friendly and attentive. We tried the spring roll and beef soup, both of which were delicious - the spring roll was fresh, and the beef soup was flavorful. The portion sizes were just right, and the prices were fair for the quality of food. Overall, I'd definitely recommend Tamarine Restaurant to friends. It was a great dining experience!
Exquisite! Such a lovely spot for a birthday dinner. Highly recommend the green jackfruit rendang, brussels sprouts, empress rise, banh mi roti, and chili lime aubergine. The garlic noodles and ninh binh clay pot rice were also delicious, but not as memorable or distinctive. Definitely a pricy meal, but worth it for a special occasion--the experience and service were top notch!
Lee K.
Excellent selection of delightful Asian fusion dishes, very well presented and served.
Patricia G.
Great Tamarine Prawns - Gf ex dinner! Would definitely recommend CTamarine Prawns. Bbbubbin
Akshita Srivastava
Nice Vietnamese food and courteous staff. Food arrived quickly ☺️
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Tyler Santomaso
The imperial pho is amazing, light, balanced, perfect portion... The beef while still mostly rare melts in your mouth. There's a few other standout menu items including the Shaken beef and tuna tartare. Still haven't tried a lot of the things on the menu, though, because the pho is too good to skipDietary restrictions: Most dietary restrictions seem to be accommodated with specific dishes and requests
Chicken came out cold, purple rice was cold as well and felt like a rock. Other than the bad chicken dish, the other dishes we ordered were alright.
Tamarine is a upscale Vietnamese restaurant in Palo Alto. The last time I came here, I thought all of the dishes were amazing. After this time, I think it's a bit overpriced for the quality of food, but the service is definitely on-par. FOOD [3.5/5] =========== + Empress Rice (3/5) For the price of $15, I thought this dish was too expensive. It's great sticky rice but the seasoning is weak and the egg was overcooked. + Ha Long Bay Soup (3/5) I ordered this because the reviews said this was a really good soup but unfortunately I didn't really enjoy it at all. It was way too sour for my liking and we couldn't end up finishing the dish because it was just that sour. + Banh Mi Roti (3/5) The roti was great! The dipping sauce was okay. It wasn't as flavorful as I thought it would be. + Shaking Beef (4/5) Really tender beef. Was a little disappointed because even though the meat was cooked well, I thought this was a really simple dish for the price. SERVICE [5/5] =========== No complaints about service! They were very attentive, changed out our plates after every course with perfect timing, and very friendly.
Good atmosphere with decent service. Overall it's tasty despite a bit overpriced. Recommend taro root roll, yellow chicken curry, crab & glass noodle and clay pot cod, all are really delicious.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Shrimp & Pork Spring Rolls, Fish
Ambiance - Great - Dimmed lighting and good restaurant decor gives a great ambiance - The restaurant is segmented into smaller rooms so it is fairly quiet despite being pretty busy at weekend dinner time. Table service - Average - Our waiter was fairly attentive and came at the right times to take our orders. Made a mistake with our order but corrected it promptly when notified. Staff cleared our plates and made sure our glasses were full throughout the meal. Overall, standard service you would expect in a fine dining restaurant. Food quality/flavor - Average - Banh Mi Roti appetizer had a dipping sauce that was a too watery. Flavor is typical to what you get in most Thai restaurants as well. - Garlic noodles were a bit bland and mild. Might be intentional given the Vietnamese flavors, but it needed some basic some salt and pepper to make it edible. - Lemongrass Sea Bass was great. Soft and buttery texture, and the cold glass noodle salad side is a nice contrast. - Shaking beef is chopped up filet mignon chunks with a peppered flavor with arugula salad on the side. Nothing special about this dish except that they used an expensive cut of meat. - Lamb chops (three lollipops) with sweet potato fries is an odd combo. The lamb was cooked well with good char but flavor again is a bit lacking. Disappointing given this is their most expensive dish. Cost/Value - Poor Given there was nothing memorable about the food, cost of the meal is overpriced. Cocktails/drinks are expensive as well ($20+ for old fashioned bourbon drink with bitters). Visit again? No. It's a good restaurant to try one time, but not memorable enough to want to eat the same dishes again or be curious about the other menu items. You'll find better Palo Alto restaurants in the $75-$100pp range.
Good food with the company..Got to try a few options from papaya salad to green curry and mango panna cotta for dessert..
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Green Papaya Salad, Coconut Rice
The service is very good and so is the atmosphere! Great for meeting people. The food is good as well - highly recommend the clay pot cod and the lamb chops!! Appetizers (specifically the roti, calamari, and spring rolls) are an absolute must here.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Coconut Rice, Shaking Beef, Tuna Tartare, Hoisin Lamb Chops, Banh MI Roti, Sauteed Brussels Sprouts - V GF
I think the restaurant was just alright, did not quite like the food (the mains). The starters were pretty good, we got the Banh Xeo Tacos and the Banh Mi Roti, very flavorful and the dip added to the experience. The tofu yellow curry paired with the Empress Rice was also not bad, credit where credit is due. However the biggest disappointment was the Ninh Binh Claypot Rice, It didn't seem to have much spices and there were too many vegetables. To wrap up the meal, we got banana beignets (also not bad). But the star of the show was definitely the Sticky Date Pudding. 100% recommend that for dessert, no doubt about it. Makes you feel really warm and fuzzy lol. Service was as expected, and the ambience was also pretty good, although I would have appreciated more ventilation.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Molten Chocolate Lava Cake, Banh MI Roti
Very Asian fusion. Very nice food, a little sweet, amazing staff. Nice ambiance. The dumpling soup and sampler plate were dope
Fantastic food and great service, but maybe not worth the price. It's definitely an elevated dining experience and the dishes are all beautiful. The best dish we had was the blue crab nori tacos, and of course the cubed filet mignon was delicious. Desserts were mid, there are a lot of other places on University that have better and cheaper desserts
The restaurant had a fancy atmosphere with nice decorations. The service was excellent, and the staff was friendly and attentive. We tried the spring roll and beef soup, both of which were delicious - the spring roll was fresh, and the beef soup was flavorful. The portion sizes were just right, and the prices were fair for the quality of food. Overall, I'd definitely recommend Tamarine Restaurant to friends. It was a great dining experience!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Exquisite! Such a lovely spot for a birthday dinner. Highly recommend the green jackfruit rendang, brussels sprouts, empress rise, banh mi roti, and chili lime aubergine. The garlic noodles and ninh binh clay pot rice were also delicious, but not as memorable or distinctive. Definitely a pricy meal, but worth it for a special occasion--the experience and service were top notch!
Excellent selection of delightful Asian fusion dishes, very well presented and served.
Great Tamarine Prawns - Gf ex dinner! Would definitely recommend CTamarine Prawns. Bbbubbin
Nice Vietnamese food and courteous staff. Food arrived quickly ☺️
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
The imperial pho is amazing, light, balanced, perfect portion... The beef while still mostly rare melts in your mouth. There's a few other standout menu items including the Shaken beef and tuna tartare. Still haven't tried a lot of the things on the menu, though, because the pho is too good to skipDietary restrictions: Most dietary restrictions seem to be accommodated with specific dishes and requests
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Shaking Beef, Tuna