The Golden Dish has published a first look review of Tiqa.
Expansive space, beautiful design, and a bit of exotica coming from its pan-Mediterranean-inspired kitchen add up to Tiqa being one of the most unique establishments to grace the city in recent memory.
Mrs. D and I just returned from lunch at Tiqa, I made Valentine’s reservations there and wanted to test drive it first. How could J. Golden be wrong? We sat at the bar, had beer and 3 apps. We left sadly disappointed. We started with the falafel but the garbanzo balls were nicely crisp on the outside but soggy in the middle, like deep fried hummus. Second up was an “ancient grain” salad. Underdressed and all the ingredients, including grain, served straight from the fridge. Could have used some room temperature and lemon. Finally had flatbread with sausage and grilled veg. The bread had a soggy and leaden texture with only the crust really crisp. Everything was under seasoned and dull. The restaurant is visually gorgeous and staff is delightful. Cancelled my Valentine’s reservations and am going to Grace. There. In case you think I am a negative Nelly, ate at the bar at 555 a few nights ago and their duck confit leg with lentils and lemon vinaigrette was ethereal.
Wouldn’t necessarily call you a negative Nelly but I would point out that the place is about 3 days old and it is grossly unfair to negatively critique the food at this point. Yes, 555 is excellent but I can assure you, and I can also assure you that the owners would agree, they were nowhere as good after the doors were open for three days than they are today after many years. Tiqa may end up good or bad but after the first week or month or even several months? No one knows.
Why is it unfair to negatively critique food after 3 days? It’s unfair to report on mediocre food because it may or may not improve in the coming months? It is what Tiqa prepared and served me. It is what I ate and paid for. For anyone interested, these were my honest impressions, no less valid than the glowing reviews they have received the last few days.
The reason it’s unfair is the reason why serious reviewers (more on Golden in a sec) wait at least 3 months, very often longer before a review. Think about it. The staff probably doesn’t even know each others names yet. They’re not sure if their broilers or grills run to the hot or cooler side. They may even agree with you on the 3 apps you tried and they might be off the menu in a month. I had a very good app and an excellent dessert the other night but I would be very hesitant about calling the place a rousing success. Like you, I would feel comfortable talking about the space itself which is right up there but, yes, I believe that after 3 days, it would be unfair to compare the food or maybe the knowledge level of the wines or dish ingredients of a Tiqa server to that of, say, a 555 server. Back to Golden. He tries many dishes over several visits and, although I think it ridiculous that he “reviews” a restaurant so early, he does make a point that it’s a “first look” . As almost all his first looks tend to highlight positives on the menu my guess is that he’s refraining from going negative on newly opened restaurants to cut them some slack. Once again, not saying the food you ate wasn’t as you described it or that you should keep that Valentine’s reservation, just questioning the fairness of a negative public review so early, that’s all.