by Adalberto Harradon on Tao has a gigantic Buddha in the back of the dining room and it reminded me of the Buddhist koan, "If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him." Don't let this place fool you, Tao is one big illusion. The inside of this place looks like some amazing Buddhist monastery, but really it's just a giant tourist trap designed to drain Westerners out of their money. The pictures of young monks on the walls made me sad, a bit angry, and brought me to my senses. I've traveled to the poorest parts of the Buddhist world and I found this place very un-Buddha. I wonder if Tao restaurant gives anything back to the community. The $18 people pay for a drink at this place could feed a whole Monastery in rural Tibet for a week. It's shameful. Had I been at Tao alone, I would have walked out without ordering, but the people with me ordered some appetizers. While the food was okay, I've eaten better Asian fusion at The Green Elephant in Portland, Maine. I could recreate most of the dishes at Tao with ease, why on earth would I pay $100 for it.
by Leslie K. on If you come on the tuesday or wednesday, there is only a 25 dollar minimum! I took my out-of-towner friends here and we all had a really good time. Dinner, dancing, singing, and dranking. But be prepared to dish out some money...haha. We were mistaken and thought that we had to order the menage a trois (3 course meal), so that plus some drinks was almost $100/person. However, I would suggest ordering a la carte (if you want to try the food, it's nothing special) or just getting drinks (which are kind of expensive). Perhaps you can stop by a happy hour before too. It's definitely a you have to come here at least once in your lifetime place.
by Franklyn Leary on Last week my friend Arman called me and asked if I wanted to go have a drink with him. He's always good company, so I said yes and he invited me here. Even though this wasn't one of our normal haunts, I was looking forward to seeing it since it was somewhat notorious after Sheree Whitfield held her "Independence Party" here during an episode of The Real Housewives of Atlanta. I parked on 11th Street and then walked down to the velvet rope to get inside. There wasn't a line (or anyone on the patio for that matter), but apparently they also use the rope to stop patrons for an ID check even on slow nights. Whatever... Inside is nice, although much darker than it appeared on television. The decorations are very heavy and the place is soaked in red and black. Pretty cool, although I would have preferred it to be a little brighter. Drinks are expensive for the area ($9 for Kettle One), but I suppose not completely unreasonable. I was at the bar next to the DJ booth for most of the night and even though there weren't many people smoking it seemed like I was in a cloud. The ventilation is awful! The staff was nice and it seemed like a fun place. Hopefully next time I go it's more crowded so there will be an excuse for the excessive cigarette smoke.
