09/30/09

Not Gay Friendly

by justice333

My gay friend was repeatedly approached by the bouncers at Tao nightclub and finally they escorted him out. The bouncer asked if he gay and told him that was why he was being kicked out but that his opinion did not reflect Taos opinion. I will never go there again and I suggest other people do not spend there money at a hate club!

08/03/09

Don't wait in line

by JohnnyOnTheeSpot

I can get you right in the club. NO bs. No cover no waiting in line much cheaper than everyone else.

702-490-1022 Darin thanks.

• Pros: No cover or waiting

07/12/09

It's a nightclub, not a restaurant.

by Wingchild

I visited Tao in the Venetian believing it was a decent asian restaurant. I was quickly disabused of this notion.

Seating: I went on a weeknight with no reservation around 7pm. The place was empty - two tables seated out of perhaps fifty total on the ground floor - but the hostess made me sit and wait. This is to give you a chance to relax in their lounge area and get you to start drinking. Unfortunately for Tao their drink menu is particularly uninspired; half a dozen variations on flavored martinis at $14 each. A poor joke for the alcohol conniseur.

Waitstaff: The waiter I received was fairly obnoxious, not because he was rude, but because he wouldn't shut up and let me enjoy my meal. I don't really need a best friend who's always in my face telling me about what an awesome place I'm eating in. If the restaurant has style, good food, and is pleasing to be in, it will show through without being pimped every few minutes. For drink suggestions my waiter was quick to hard-sell Voss. If you've not had it, it's bottled water much like any other but with a prettier bottle and a higher price tag. A place that hard-sells water is more interested in its appearance to outsiders than in serving delicious food.

Meal: I went with blackened steak with udon noodles and was served a respectable noodle bowl. The meat was good quality but not otherwise noteworthy. Someone confused udon noodles with lo mein for my dish, a fact I giggled about for the next half hour to follow. Also ordered the scallop tempura; good, but would have been better if it weren't limited to two small pieces. Also ordered kobe beef sashimi. Somehow they've made kobe taste like roast beef. Seriously - go to your favorite deli, have them slice you off a piece of roast beef, and try them side by side. See if you can tell the difference.

I couldn't do dessert here; spending more money on average food with a pushy waiter isn't my idea of fun.

The interior was very pretty; the sumi calligraphy on the ceiling was quite fetching. Loved the buddha. While the place has style, it lacks ambiance, as you can hear other waiters pushing Voss on other tables full of tourists; you can see tables with unappealing $14 drinks all around; you can watch the cognitive dissonance set in as diners try to convince themselves they're having a great time.

They aren't. It's all style, no substance at Tao.

• Pros: Nice atmosphere, loved the sumi calligraphy
• Cons: Average food, pushy wait staff, too much scene