Taste

Happy hour was perfect! We had the Arancini di Riso and it was excellent. Fernando was our bartender and server and he took great care of us.

Came here for dinner with the fam before a show at the Dobama Theatre and had a great experience.
Food was pretty good and no real complaints. My dad and I had their soup of the day, french onion soup. It was delicious, so delicious that I couldn’t stop talking about it. For entrees, I ordered the duck and got to taste the veal francaise and the chicken. My duck was cooked perfectly – so tender and succulent. The veal francaise and chicken were equally good, but I preferred my duck.
Service was good, but a little slow at times. Our server had a large section though and we could tell he was busy, so we understood.

I came here for Happy Hour before seeing a movie at Cedar Lee. There are a lot of food options to choose from during happy hour. I got a glass of red wine for $ 5 and 2 small plates for under $ 6 each. The shrimp was full of flavor and cooked perfectly. The food presentation matches the clean lines of the restaurant.

Used to be one my favorite places. Today my friend and I showed up at 4:55 and they just watched us outside as we froze. They said they didn’t care and wouldn’t open the door until the chef came in. Really??? You can’t let your customers in and relax at the bar for a couple minutes. Needless to say we will never be back nor will any of our other friends.

Found our new favorite restaurant. Very nice venue all around. Entered for our 6 o’clock reservation. The room was empty. Ok. Our first very cold snow evening. That explains it. The hostess said, «Oh, no. You must have a reservation. The room will fill up!» And so it did! By 6:50 the tables were filled. The waiter was kind and informative. We started with the calamari. It was not fried, but sautéed and presented in a broth. Was light and good. The Veal Francaise was lightly breaded with a Chardonnay-​lemon butter sauce. Full of flavor! The roasted duck breast with Demi glacé was tender and the wild rice was delicious. The Fettuccine ai Frutti di Mare was a best meal as my husband raved about it! The gentlemen who appeared to be the owner chatted with us. We left very happy. Free parking is south of the building. Metered parking is behind the building. Parking in the library’s lot is allowed.

We arried at 7 and left at 8:45. The atmosphere is nice. I had a great pinot noir and the sesame ahi tuna was great. The beet salad is great and the hazelnut ice cream and chocolate mousse is awesome. The drawbacks were that my wifes lamb chop was a little burnt, but they fixed it. The service was slow, and not in a good way. When we placed our drink order it took 5 to 10 minutes to get our drink. I sent back my 2^nd glass of wine because it arrived so late in my meal.
I gave them 4 stars because I hope that their service will improve to the level of their food.

Worst high-​end restaurant experience in a long time. Had to ask for the customary bread, waiter didn’t understand the drink or food menu well at all, the seafood was NOT fresh tasting whatsoever (stay away from all seafood here) and my husbands steak came out cold. Not acceptable for a restaurant that averages $ 50/​person. Will NOT try again.

Always wanted to visit and I was not disappointed. Great Beet and Goat Cheese Salad. Perfectly cooked hanger steak. A great destination on Lee Road. I will return

OMG!!! This place is just amazing! I had my high school friends there with them in June and it was just spectacular! We selected a day several months in advance with no defined plans, just the date. It just so happened that the same day was their Wine and Burger tasting… eeeek!
Our party of a mere 25 was moved to the front patio on a sunny day, but rainy night. Who cared! We had a wonderful time as the rain droplets dripped, but who cared. Larry and Raj (the owners) surprised us with special pricing the entire night! Sandy. Robin, Matt and Marc held our party down and we had a BLAST!!!
Their food is incredible, drinks are amazing and service is just spectacular! Oooooooo, did I say incredible, amazing and spectacular? Oh, sorry, redundant. Go see for yourself and don’t miss Happy Hour… one of the 216 favorites!
Oh, by the way… the purest, smoothest, tastiest, «bestest» crème brûlée in the 216, 330 or 440! I’m jus sayin!!!

This is our fourth visit in the past 6 months. Every time we go here, we wonder why it doesn’t get 5 stars. Full disclosure — we eat out a lot, but seldom order entrees since we like the variety that several appetizers give us. If that’s the way you like to nosh, then you have to come here — especially during happy hour. We had 4 glasses of wine (very good pinot grigio, kick ass petite syrah) at $ 5 each. Appetizers are half price during happy hour. We splurged and shared the arugula salad — beautifully presented, nuts, fruits, cheese and just the right amount of dressing. Then we had the soup of the day (fabulous chowder) the flatbread of the day (arugula, pepperoni, beef) and the stuffed peppers. All under $ 50. Great food, great service, welcoming environment… what more could you want on a Saturday night after a day of yardwork?

Arrogant Cleveland Heights cuisine hits a new low with a ridiculously high price for very little food or creativity.

Wow!!! I had previously visited Taste for Happy Hour and vowed to return for dinner. I did just that, this past Saturday and I am SO glad that I did. I dined with a girlfriend. I ordered from the Prix Fixe menu $ 55 for 2 glasses of wine, appetizer, entrée and dessert. I ordered Riesling, as my wine option and it was very good! I ordered the mussels, which were excellent, tender and smothered in sauteed onions & tomatoes, in a luscious lemon butter, garlicky broth. For my entrée, I ordered one of the specials of the day, crab stuffed salmon fillet, with yellow rice and seasonal vegetable drizzled in lemon butter. OMG, the portion was more than generous and oh so tasty! For dessert, I ordered the white chocolate vanilla crème brûlée and I enjoyed every bit of it. My girlfriend ordered a la carte. The chicken & chorizo pizza and chocolate mousse, topped with hazelnut ice cream, which she raved about. Our server was awesone! I will absolutely return to Taste, sooner rather than later!

They never fail to surprise me with a delightful culinary surprise every time I visit. They have amazing salads and seafood; clever and creative bartenders.

This place has amazing food, great happy hour specials and amazing service. We’ve been there a few times and everything has been consistent. My fiancé and I are both in the restaurant business and have had a really hard time finding restaurants in Cleveland with good service. The first time we went there our server (who was wonderful) forgot to put in our food in so it took a little longer than expected. She came and told us she forgot to put it in and brought us a complimentary Pom truffle Frits appetizer which were the most delicious French fries I have ever had. We didn’t even notice our food was taking a while because we were having such a great time, but it was very sweet of her to bring us those. This place goes above our expectations. It is definitely a GEM in the Cleveland heights area. It’s fine dining on Lee road with a nice great atmosphere. Highly recommend this place! And the crème brûlée is incredible! :)

Went here for restaurant week. There is a parking lot on the side so you don’t have to pay a meter which is nice. The service is not so nice… I walked in the front door and the bartender just stared at me then continued to play with some wine bottles in a mini fridge. A waitress looked at me and walked right on past to to say hi to the bartender then walked away. Um hello, greet your patrons! I had made a reservation but had to search through the crowd and find my table on my own. Even after being seated the service seemed to take a while even though the place was not even ¹⁄₃ full.
The food…
*Bread and olive oil with balsamic vinegar: nothing special.
*Panko-​Crusted Lump Crab with Chardonnay Cream, Roasted Corn: This came out luke warm and we tasted more fried panko crust than crab meat.
*Roasted Chicken Breast with Asiago-​Pine Nut Crust, Chardonnay Cream Sauce, Ham-​Corn-​Bacon Risotto: I thought the chicken was cooked perfectly with a crispy crust and juicy meat. Loved the sauce with it as well. The risotto was a bit hard and the green beans that were served were almost raw.
*Crab-​Stuffed Salmon with Lemon Cream Sauce, Pesto Risotto, Grilled Asparagus: The asparagus was the best part of this dish. The rest was boring and a better version could be made at home.
*White Chocolate and Vanilla Crème Brûlée: Break through the sugar crust that tasted like propane to find flakes of vanilla settled at the bottom of cold custard. I ate it, but I’ve definitely had better from the frozen food’s section at Target.
Overall? Meh.

Service was excellent. Gaudi helped me make great choices for my first time there. The restaurant week menu was not limited and had legitimate options/​portions. Mussels appetizer was amazing. Veal fancaise was so delicious. My cheesecake was just the right size and was good, let’s be honest, all cheese cake is at least good. Drinks were make correctly and well. Definitely would go again!

I have never been so disrespected by a business owner. The owner himself, Raj Singh came over and verbally used racist remarks against the group I was with. To be honest as a business owner myself, dining with other entrepreneurs and executive level management, we were verbally assaulted, dinnegrated, and set aside. As a staunch supporter of Cleveland Heights and a multiple home owner in the area and a true supporter of the Lee Rd. And a friend (for over 3 decades) I cannot recommend his establishments as I’m very dissapointed. My commendations will be made at the next city council meeting about both of his businesses. His business practices are unacceptable for what Lee Rd. and Cleveland Heights has to offer.

Great time sitting at bar for a meal — impromptu night out with my husband and happy we ended up at Taste. The bartender, Billy, was attentive without being hovering and had wine recommendations that were valid without being clear up sells. We had beet salad as appetizer, then my husband had paella and I had shrimp scampi (with house made linguini, so good) for dinner. Sorbet for dessert. My only objection to food was chef using subpar tomatoes (almost white in color and tough) in scampi. My thought is leave tomatoes out or use canned tomatoes if those tomatoes are only option (which makes sense in winter).
We had a great night and we’ll be back — hopefully sitting @ bar again.

I had heard of Taste before and, after reading the article in the Plain Dealer about their happy hour specials, I decided it was time to try it out!
First, as other reviewers have mentioned, there is ample parking in the back. You have to park there, then walk through a little alley-​type deal to the front of the restaurant. It’s fairly convenient, though, especially considering the lot you normally have to park in to go anywhere on Lee.
We were some of the first people in the restaurant when it opened at 5 on a Wednesday. As such, the waiter was very accommodating. He had 2 trainees working with him and, as awkward as that might be, they were very transparent about what was going on.
We decided to get drinks and split some appetizers to try as much as we could from Taste.
For our drinks, I had the pinot grigio and my boyfriend had a unique Christmas ale. Both were very good, and the waiter was very thorough in explaining all of our options, which we appreciated.
Then we ordered our appetizers. We had the roasted beet salad, mussels, the cheese plate, calamari, and the lump crab cake.
First, we were brought some bread with vinegar and oil. It was good; the bread was soft and the sauce was a nice complement. The presentation was quite good, too.
Next, we were brought all of our appetizers at once (quite a feat!) The roasted beet salad was good; there were alternating red and golden beets on each side of the plate which was lovely, and the dressing was drizzled across the salad, with just the right amount of goat cheese. Loved it. The mussels were good; in a buttery broth, with huge insides. The cheese plate was pretty good; apples, 3 different kinds of cheeses, various nuts, and crostini. The calamari was probably my least favorite, but it was still good; the broth was very buttery, which was quite good. There were alternating small loops and tentacles. The lump crab cake might have been my favorite. It was clearly real crab on the inside, without too much breading (as one might experience with other crab cakes). The sauce with it was a little spicy, but went well with the crab and the corn underneath.
After our appetizers, we had the chocolate mousse with hazelnut ice cream. I preferred the mousse to the ice cream, but it was very good (though the portion is very small; if I had to do it again, I probably wouldn’t split this one).
The prices were fairly reasonable, and I actually liked that gratuity was added on. We will be returning to Taste. I’m excited to try some entrees next time; everything on their menu looked absolutely delicious!

This place is pretty good! The staff has been very friendly and fairly speedy the two times I have been here.
Seasonal specials are usually a good choice.