Tavos Signature Cuisine

Food and service were awesome! Every single order was absolutely delicious, sauces were phenomenal. Guac was very fresh. Gold Margarita was delicious! High recommend and we will be back!

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Food was all fresh made and delicious! Staff were very friendly and accommodating to our dietary restrictions. Highly recommend this small unassuming restaurant.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Best Mexican food in Milwaukee. Small place with only half a dozen tables but well worth it

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Prefacing this review with the fact that I had been waiting to have supper here for quite some time based on positive reviews by family and friends, so perhaps I had built it up too much in my mind. We arrived and were seated right away. The dining area is quite small, which we knew before going as a result of having frequented Quiote (restaurant in this space prior to Tavos). Our cocktail order was taken promptly, but the drink I received was a disappointment. I ordered a jalapeno coriander margarita, and it had so many peppers muddled into it I could barely take more than a sip or two and my mouth was on fire. Definitely could not taste what I was told to be mezcal even though the menu listed tequila of a completely different variety. The host/bartender/waiter promptly remade my drink, and it was fine, but not what I expected for the described drink and price. The complimentary molletitos were just ok - nothing special or out of the ordinary. We all shared the guacamole Azteca and similar to my first cocktail - so many peppers! Enough peppers that it was difficult to taste the avocado, etc. and I am not a person who is turned off by spicy food if that says anything. Plantain chips were great, however. After the appetizer, we ordered our entrees and at least two of our party members' choices were not available upon ordering. When our food was served, three of the four of us had room temperature plates. Additionally, one of us who had ordered the multiple meat option was served a meal made with a completely different option and when it was called to the waiter's attention, his response was "if you look at your final bill, I did not charge you any more for what you were served than the multiple meat would have cost." Are you kidding me?! At approx. $30 a plate, I do not think it is unreasonable to expect that you receive what you order OR you are given a heads up that the kitchen is out of a certain item and provided an opportunity to select an alternative meal if you wish. The house fish tacos were good, and the presentation was excellent, but the dish was under seasoned in my opinion and the waiter forgot one of the two sides that were supposed to accompany my entree. Chile relleno was decent but appeared and tasted to be filled with different ingredients than were listed on the menu. Beyond those disappointments, which I could have lived with despite the menu pricing, I would like to express my disappointment in the fact that two households in our party arranged for sitters in order to have supper and adult time in this somewhat intimate establishment and there was a child (presumably of either the owner, chef or waiter) sitting at one of the five tables in the dining area on an iPad WITHOUT HEADPHONES ON. While I understand we all come across child care snags now and again and you do what you need to do as a parent to make a living and not let your employer or customers down, please do the right thing and get your kid a pair of headphones. I am not bothered by having children present when I’m out without my own kids, but not having to listen to a game or cartoons during our time there would have changed the experience for us for the better. I'm glad your restaurant is doing well and so many of your customers love the food and the atmosphere, but unfortunately, we did not come out of it with the same thought and likely will not go back again in the future.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 3

Service: 3

We got the mollejitos, enchiladas rojas, and the flan. As a vegetarian, I highly recommend this restaurant - not only did the food taste authentic, but they are very willing to make substitutions. There's a vegetarian section on the menu that lists what they can replace the meats with which I really love. Best flan I've ever had - not too sweet, the flavors really popped. Can't wait to come back for more since there's so many other dishes I want to try on the menu.
It's a pretty small restaurant with about 5 tables, so you definitely need to call ahead to make a reservation (you can't make a reservation online).

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Wow. This is now my fav restaurant in Milwaukee! Truly remarkable!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

A bit too pricey for my liking and depending on what you ordered the portions were pretty small. For example, we ordered a "pitcher" of mango margaritas for 4, which they serve in a tequila bottle (super cute), but once the ice melted in our single serve glasses, the new, second pitcher of margaritas ($50 a pop) barely served 2½ of us. They were delicious and frothy, don't get me wrong, but that's way too expensive for a margarita imo. And I ordered sopes and gorditas, both a la carte. They were delicious but tiny - each we're barely the size of my palm.

Food quality and flavors were on point and almost everything we ordered was delicious (the corn elote was only so-so).

The establishment is super tiny, only 5 tables, so the atmosphere is quaint, but constricted. However, since we were the only table at the time the service was excellent lol.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 4

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Guacamole and Chips, Molletitos House Style Bruschetta

The food was good, and sauces had good flavors and spice. The presentation was also good, which is very nice because sometimes that is lost. Service was good. it is a very small location. Some outdoor seating is available, but not a lot. It is not exactly a bad thing, though... makes for an intimate experience. I would recommend giving it a shot.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

This is by far the best Mexican cuisine I've had. It is not a traditional Mexican restaurant. It is uniquely and elegantly delicious in a cozy space with friendly service.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Great small business. When I say small, I mean SMALL. Don't go here expecting a big Mexican restaurant like the mall. This is a very small place, with BIG flavor. It's worth it.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

I can't describe how delicious the food was, I had Guacamole Azteca and Mole Verde Chicken both were great

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

From Phoenix and New Mexico out visiting.. wow! This is absolutely the best food ever! Everything, and I do mean everything is so full of flavor. Yum! Amazing

The food was good, but horribly overpriced

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 4

Service: 4

Recommended dishes: Rice and Beans, Guacamole and Chips

Got the enchiladas with my friend, I got chicken and he got steak. I don’t know about his meal but everything about mine was bland. The chicken had zero seasoning or spices and even the sauce it came with was pretty flavorless. We got chips and guac and the guac was incredible I’ll say that. Not enough chips tho. But everything was so expensive. The most frustrating part was we weren’t able to split the check without a $5 charge on every card we wanted to split the bill with. TLDR; too expensive for the quality of the food and the portions, won’t be going back

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 1

Service: 3

I came here last night and it’s a very cute and small place. They have a large selection of tequila but our waiter knew very little about them which was disappointing. The Cali guac was the best thing we had. The tacos, sopas, and gorditas are okay but definitely need way more seasoning! The fish enchiladas were super disappointing as it was just fish inside of a tortilla smothered in a bland sauce. Very lazy meal. The fajitas are not at all fajitas. They are not served sizzling hot and come more like a Hibachi style meal. Had to send it back for temperature and then still didn’t eat it bc it frankly just wasn’t good. I’ve never seen large mushrooms, carrots, and zucchini go in a tortilla shell and the steak was way over cooked. I’m all for putting a spin on food but at least make it make sense. The waiter’s communication died after that so I paid the bill, including the fajitas, and probably won’t be back.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 1