This restaurant is probably my favorite place to dine in
Atlanta- Buckhead is filled with a variety of ritzy and
wonderful places to eat, but I find myself visiting Tu Tu Tango more often than anyplace else in the area. The restaurant is located at 220 Pharr Road. Traveling from downtown Atlanta to Buckhead by way of
Peachtree Road, Pharr Road eventually shows up on your right. One block down to the left is Tu Tu Tango- an easy place to spot with bright
yellow awnings surrounding the restaurant. There are also Tu Tu Tango restaurants in
Miami, Florida (the original which opened in 1991);
Orlando, Florida;
Orange, California and they have a new location in
Toronto, Canada.
My father first introduced me to Tu Tu Tango on my birthday about six years ago, and from then on I had to bring friends and visitors there whenever we were downtown.Tu Tu has a strong bohemian feel in its ambience; the place is meant to be set in a Spanish artist’s loft. Loads of paintings adorn the walls inside the restaurant, and on most nights you’ll find an artist working on a new painting near the front of the café. They also have a jewelry seller inside, and a few times a week a fortune teller sits in one section of the restaurant. Although the place is considered trendy and tends to be packed during peak dining hours, the food is certainly worth the wait. The cost of food is here is not cheap, but it is not overly expensive.
Drinkwise, the place offers there own style of “fun” drinks, which include the Matisse Margarita, Leonardo Lemonade, Picasso Punch, Botticelli Bloody, Wango Tango and the Michelangelo Mudslide. My personal favorite is the Matisse Margarita.
Tu Tu Tango is a tapas eatery- a table orders several items and everyone shares the different foods brought out. Here, the foods arrive on an artist’s palette. A few of my favorite appetizers are the hummus and flat bread with tomato tapenade, and the baked artichoke and crabmeat dip. Soupwise, they offer black bean soup, white bean chili and zucchini gazpacho. Other popular dishes include smoked ham and crab croquetas, alligator bites, cajun chicken eggrolls and the sundried tomato pizza. My favorite is probably the hurricane shrimp, which is shrimp marinated in a cayenne pepper honey sauce, grilled and served over white rice. The desserts offered here include: chocolate cake, guava cheesecake, almond flan, and stacks of cookies and cream. I usually fail in my resistance to temptation and order the delicious cheesecake.
Do check it out, if you get the chance.