Saturday, March 27, 2010

Tuli Bistro: Great food, but with too much zeal

Tuli, Tuli, Tuli...I find myself at Tuli Bistro in Midtown Sacramento more often than I would like just because it's convenient and it's easy to find parking.

The good news is I've never had a bad meal at Tuli's and recommend their Maple Duck if they happen to have it on the menu. It's incredible-- especially when paired with a red wine like the Barbera.  I took a picture of it, but believe, it looks much better in real life.

The mussels are also good and so are any of their risottos. Like I said, I've never been disappointed with their food. They also have a great chocolate port which is totally worth the $12.

But what bugs me every time I go is how they rush you.

I swear, if you go at 7 p.m., they will be trying to hand over the bill before 7:50 p.m. to try to get the second seating in. However, if you show up later you still can't win and savor your meal. I know, because I've tried and have showed up at 8:10 and 8:30 just to test it out....and guess what...in both case they rushed me out before 9 p.m. --even though no one was waiting and they are open until 11 (they do stop serving food at 10 pm.)

It's rush, rush, rush with zero time to actually relax and enjoy your meal or finish that last few sips of wine. I'm sorry, but if I wanted fast food, I would have gone to a fast-food restaurant and paid $5 instead of $60 per person.

No really...it's as if they contradict their good food with their zeal to get you in and out.

So here's the deal. Amazing food, but they lose a star for ruining the experience by taking away the time to actually enjoy it.

Tuli Bistro is located at 2031 S Street in Sacramento.