Taberna De Arcadia opened this pass June (2021) in the Arcadia part of Phoenix Arizona. They offer seasonal menus where the menu seems like a mix of BBQ, Tex Mex, and New American.
The word taberna sounds a lot like tavern but actually is an ancient Rome term for shop.
When you walk in it is a mix of fancy and a little rustic.
Then you either get seated on the patio with traditional picnic benches that have padded seats.
The patio wraps around with traditional tables.
Or you can dine inside at a high top, the bar, or one of the booths.
It looks like all the tables inside except for the round top to the left are high tops. The booths are one step up and are good for most people but might be troublesome for the elderly or those who had recent operations.
The appetizer menu today had things on it like salmon aguchile, cauliflower ceviche, smoked pork taquitos,
smoked brisket jumbo flautas, and
T.H.C Taberna Hot Chicken with biscuits, honey butter, and house hot sauce. (the chicken legs are smoked and then fried)
The cauliflower ceviche is fresh and light……unless you eat too many chips. It’s almost like eating salsa. It’s like cauliflower salsa.
They offered detailed sounding salads with add on options like smoked turkey, smoked chicken, and grilled salmon.
The salad is full of fresh herbs like mint and basil that go well with the citrus. The turkey is gently smoked but could be more moist today.
They offer a variety of street sized tacos. I do note that these tacos are actually street sized and are very small tacos.
I tried the hot smoked salmon taco with sumac aioli, fennel slaw, pink peppercorns.
I also tried the spicy turkey taco that came with broccoli slaw, cranberry hot sauce, and crispy sweet potato chips.
I thought that the hot smoked salmon taco was much more flavorful and more spicy than the spicy turkey taco……….The turkey in the turkey taco seemed good and was seasoned…but somehow all together this taco didn’t turn out spicy..or as flavorful as the hot smoked salmon taco…..?????
I know my husband had a bbq chicken, pulled pork and a mushroom tacos. I didn’t taste them but I remember he said that he enjoyed the chicken one the most.
Besides tacos they also had a meat plate section on the menu. You can get a half pound of meat with tortillas, pickled onions, cucumber, and salsa. The selection of meats were prime brisket, half chicken, pork shoulder, turkey breast, and beef rib.
We were interested in the plate section. They had things like duck enchiladas, smoked grilled pork chop, sweet potato gnocchi with brisket, grilled salmon, and a surf and turf.
The duck confit enchiladas are in a sharp tomatillo green chile sauce that balances well with the creamy white bean puree.
The pimento mac ‘n’ cheese is a bit light with pimento but is so darn cheesy who cares. It’s rich and delicious and OH SO CHEESY!
On our visits we noticed that the majority of people were eating sandwiches. They offer sandwiches like salmon, pulled chicken. pulled pork, and brisket. They also offer desserts and have plenty of sides on the menu.
That was a GOOD Taste of Taberna De Arcadia in Phoenix AZ.
www.TabernaDeArcadia.com
Everything is subject to change.
