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Garufa


tomgates

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7 minutes ago, Xena said:

I too could handle the prices for a special occasion — if my special occasion happened to coincide with one of those days that the extra cost bought me exceptional food and service. If only I could know it would be my lucky day. 

Hint:  Don't go on Saturday night!😉

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It is not a local guy deciding to open a restaurant to take advantage of the boom.  This is a franchise it is a serious business well-executed and extremely successful at the other locations.  Mentioned to me today by a local waiter at another restaurant was the idea that maybe coming to higher end restaurants in full length pants and a nice shirt with ladies in a skirt or dress might be more appropriate than the retiree uniform of shorts, flip flops and t-shirts or ladies in pedal pushers.  Those of you who think national residents do not have the money for these restaurants are so far behind the actuality of changing demographic.  The budget retiree is not their consumer and actually I don't see many of those even at Tango that much anymore - at least not after 7.

 

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I try to get Manix to reduce his portion size. But, he responds that many of his customers count on the dinner being large enough for a second take home meal. Damned if you do damned if you don't.

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I actually enjoy large portions. I despise artsy-fartsy nouveau cuisine miniature pieces of art that won't satisfy an ant.

The vast majority of Tapatio tourists here wear goofy sneakers and shorts, just like everyone else. They come for vacations and weekend getaways, and just like everywhere else in the world, they don't dress up to go out for supper in a tourist town.

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We visited last night as alternative to Chef Pian's new location on Colon. We had intended to go to Chef Pian's having recently read positive comments.  However, on entering, to find only two other diners at 7:00p.m. on a Saturday night is, to us, more than a little unnerving particularly when we've had such disappointment at the prior location.  We really don't go out to restaurants all that much anymore as we hate wasting an evening and being disappointed.  So, just a few steps away we decided to give Garufa a try.

Wow, terrible mistake!  The wine menu, although extensive, isn't much of a fit with what we know of Ajijic and, as we frequent popular higher end Guadalajara restaurants often, we were surprised to see several well known wines on Garufa's menu at prices higher than in GDL.  Definitely much higher than Tango's prices!

While carefully going through the menu we decided to order their large mixed salad to share.  Our waiter, an older man, who we had never seen before, was obviously very experienced,  attentive and spoke very passable English.  Our salad arrived and shortly after, a basket of mixed rolls and an assortment of sauces.  The salad, served in a very large bowl,was closer to soup in consistency and appeared to have been made quite some time in advance.  It consisted of quite a variety of interesting vegetables and cheese cubes but the oil and mustard dressing was so overpowering that, for us,  it was pretty much inedible.  The lettuce was almost translucent from having soaked up so much liquid.  We each put a "ladle" full of the salad on our plates but found that the taste and the texture made it, at least for us, totally inedible and more than little off-putting.

The basket of buns looked good but it turned out that they were either stale or undercooked.

The restaurant was not all that busy and in the 15 minutes following the service of our salad, several of the numerous serving staff passed by, clearly looked at us and our uneaten salad but never attempted to intervene.  Our waiter finely noticed that we had barely touched our salad and the salad bowl itself was still 3/4's full.  He approached and asked if anything was wrong. We showed him the salad and explained that it must have been made quite some time earlier and that as it was virtually floating in an inedible dressing we simply couldn't eat it. (It really did look almost like a thick soup and every item in the salad tasted exactly the same......like a strange oily mustard!)

We had already decided to not risk attempting to order anything further so we asked the waiter for our check.  He told us that he thought the salad had been made earlier in the day in a large container and that to ensure prompt service they would be able to fill a bowl quickly when an order was made.  When we explained that we didn't think that was very good idea he seemed to agree but surprisingly didn't ask if we would like anything else as a substitute.

When the $400.00MN bill arrived for our two small Perrier's, a single glass of wine and the salad,  I simply told the waiter that we had no intention of paying for the salad (which was just shy of $200.00MN) and handed him the leather wallet containing the bill and a $200.00MN note.  He returned to the cashier's window and an assembly of staff quickly convened.  After quite a discussion and lots of stares from those (the 5 or 6 wait staff and one who looked like possibly a manager) assembled the waiter, looking quite embarrassed, returned.  He handed me the bill which had been completely reversed, showing a $0.00balance.  However, the $200.00MN we had given the waiter was not returned.   That was fine and wasn't, in the least expected.

The waiter apologized.  I handed him $100.00MN and we left.  This is a new restaurant.  The appearance suggests that the owners are not new to the industry.  Our experience last evening suggests that they will have to do far better that what we experienced last night or the Ajijic location will not prosper and once again, another restaurant attempt will fail due to a single "industry wide mistake"..........The lack of attention to details!  One of which is so very important:  The reason(s) why pre-existing local competition is successful?  

In six months we "might" give them another look!   But, we already have a very bad feeling!

 

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Thanks for the thorough review.  I'll wait a few months and try the place after reading some more positive reviews from folks who have been brave enough to try it.

One mystery to me is why you're ranked as a "newbie" when you've been a member since 2012 and have made 283 posts?  Maybe the mods can explain how this works.   Seems odd.🤔

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It's based on the number of posts, not time on the board.

I've had more than several folks from Mexico City comment they find GDL restaurants and chains overpriced and mediocre.  I have to say our limited experience with restaurants there seems to confirm this.  As this is a chain as well, the pattern seems to be repeated.  In general I have found chain restaurants rarely deliver either quality or value for money.

Thanks for the reviews.  Saves us wasting our time and money there.

 

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On the other hand...a good friend who has the wherewithal to enjoy fine dining, and has enjoyed the better Guadalajara restaurants for years, told us yesterday that she and a friend went there for dinner last weekend and she enjoyed the best steak she's had anywhere in town.  She thinks they'll be successful, even though the prices are up there.

So....that's a positive review.  Haven't been there myself since I'm both thrifty and not much of a steak eater.

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Nice to see an upscale restaurant Lakeside. I think it is a sign of the evolution of the community that they are not marketing to expat retirees. Lake side is rapidly becoming a bedroom community to Guadalajara. It is faster to drive in from the lake than drive across the city. With better air quality, climate and schools we will be seeing more restaurants and coffee shops as well as housing marketed to upscale Tapatios. The new condo tower in SJC and the mixed use development next to Walmart are examples of this. Times are changing folks. The good news is we have restaurants for every budget and taste. It will be interesting if Tango (who have a big tapatio clientele on the weekend) suffers as word spreads of this more upscale option. Time will tell if they are ahead of the curve and there is enough of a market yet.

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1 hour ago, gringal said:

On the other hand...a good friend who has the wherewithal to enjoy fine dining, and has enjoyed the better Guadalajara restaurants for years, told us yesterday that she and a friend went there for dinner last weekend and she enjoyed the best steak she's had anywhere in town.  She thinks they'll be successful, even though the prices are up there.

So....that's a positive review.  Haven't been there myself since I'm both thrifty and not much of a steak eater.

I'm thrifty, too, as anyone can tell from my posts. But I will pay for a really good steak. Last time I was at Tango the price for the big ribeye had jumped to $289 from $189. That was probably a year ago. (I bought a boneless ribeye steak at Tony's at a price of $522/kilo this past Saturday.) I think the Tango steak is 16 oz, which is a pound. I'm sure they use a wholesaler, but that makes a 16 oz. steak about $260 p. Which means a restaurant price for that quality is going to be probably double.

The "imported" ribeye on the Garufa menu is $547p for 600 gr. or 21 oz. So that kind of price might be in the range.

Anyone been to Tango lately for the big ribeye (or even the smaller one)?

Still doesn't explain Garufa's insane prices for salads and stuff...

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" Still doesn't explain Garufa's insane prices for salads and stuff... " (ComputerGuy)

They will charge them "because they can" unless they don't get enough patrons willing to pay them and they'll go out of business or lower them.  I think they'll get the prices primarily from visitors from Guadalajara, along with a smattering of locals who can afford them.

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4 of us dined there on Monday. Really nice experience for all of us. Cowboy rib-eye for me and the prime rib-eye shared by 2 in our party. Mine cooked properly and the prime was too rare so sent back for more time on the grill, then perfect. Creamed spinach and fries rounded out the meal. My wife had the small salad and was perfect. Grilled onions and peppers accompanied the steaks. Nice chimmichuri and salsa came with the assorted rolls. Bottle of LA Cetto Cabernet for $260, a bit more than double retail price. Some higher end items too. They made a good gin martini. 

Some t-shirt and shorts clad gringos with a dog on leash detracted somewhat from the elegant surroundings. They went to the garden area out back. 

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36 minutes ago, tomgates said:

4 of us dined there on Monday. Really nice experience for all of us. Cowboy rib-eye for me and the prime rib-eye shared by 2 in our party. Mine cooked properly and the prime was too rare so sent back for more time on the grill, then perfect. Creamed spinach and fries rounded out the meal. My wife had the small salad and was perfect. Grilled onions and peppers accompanied the steaks. Nice chimmichuri and salsa came with the assorted rolls. Bottle of LA Cetto Cabernet for $260, a bit more than double retail price. Some higher end items too. They made a good gin martini. 

Some t-shirt and shorts clad gringos with a dog on leash detracted somewhat from the elegant surroundings. They went to the garden area out back. 

I love dogs but do not enjoy them in Restaurants. In my opinion it speaks to being inconsiderate of others. Casual cafe dining maybe.... Take you doggy for a walk and stop for a coffee and a salad   ok .... but in a restaurant like this that is obviously not just a casual drop in someone made a conscious decision that imposing their pet on people they do not know is ok...... As to t-shirt and shorts you just have to resign yourself that most gringos don't dress and Tapatios many times look at us askance and perhaps with pity  LOL

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I have had a Kobe steak one time in my life, when I was in Japan.  A real kobe steak here would cost at least $12,000 pesos.  The kobe meat we get here from the states is kobe style meat because it comes from the wagyu cattle a strain of cows in Japan.  In Japan the farmer will feed the beef beer and massage it for many hours each day.  Because of this he will only feed out one or two head at a time.  This vast labor involvement makes the meat very expensive.  There are only a few thousand of these cattle being fed so its meat hardly ever leaves Japan.  The kobe name was not trade marked in the US so people can get by with saying they are selling kobe beef.  A lot of the wagyu cows in the US have been crossed with the black angus breed so you are not even getting a pure wagyu steak.

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18 hours ago, Xena said:

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Ssssssh. No matter what you talk about never, ever mention the dreaded DIR (Dogs In Restaurants) or you doom the thread. It may already be too late.

Xena Did I just step in a pile of pet poop? I know people lakeside LOVE their dogs and most are well behaved. But seriously even if you view them as your fur babies, I do not want to go to a nice restaurant with a baby at the next table (2 legged OR 4 legged).

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So, much like the fish we get served that could be just about anything these days, regardless of what they tell you (and Canada and the U.S. are just as bad in this regard), when you order Kobe beef you have to ask? And then take it on faith? Guess who just stopped even thinking about ordering it anywhere. I wonder what Japanese do at their restaurants? Do they have to take it on faith?

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Faith, of any kind, is nothing more than acceptance without evidence. It is no more than simple trust.  Can you trust your waiter, restauranteur, elected official, mechanic, priest, etc.  It is all a gamble, otherwise.

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2 hours ago, RVGRINGO said:

Faith, of any kind, is nothing more than acceptance without evidence. It is no more than simple trust.  Can you trust your waiter, restauranteur, elected official, mechanic, priest, etc.  It is all a gamble, otherwise.

Ni modo. Hope I never have to worry that much.

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