Tardes Caleñas

2 Reviews on “Tardes Caleñas”

• Erika Golem

  On my quest to eat all of the things, I heard about Tardes Caleas, the most legit place for Colombian food according to MTL Blogs Montreal Restaurants That Serve You The Most Authentic Foods. The restaurant is located in Saint-Hubert, which is a little bit of an off-island trek if you live in Montreal, but really not that far away. We arrived on a Friday evening and the place was jam-packed!! The restaurant isnt very big and the decor is very cute. It totally looks like an adorable Colombian cabanya; with exposed rafters, full of pictures, art, memorabilia, and hanging plants. I was sold on the believable ambiance for sure. Every single chair in the room was occupied and it took quite a long time to be seated. Eventually a table did open up… But it sat empty and uncleaned for an extremely long time while we continued to wait. The two servers who were working seemed to have way more than they could handle on the go. After about 45 minutes we were finally seated. Personally, I have no problem waiting for good food, as long as I dont have anywhere else to be.Once we were finally settled in, our server was very friendly and helpful (despite her workload), happily answering any questions that we had about the menu.They offer a bunch of fun and different imported juices and sodas which I always love trying, so I went for some Hit Lulo juice ($2.00). I enjoy this delicious fruit and dont often find it around, so I was happy to have this juice. It tasted amazing! Kind of like a cross between passion fruit and guava, but really a whole tropical-tasting thing all its own.Right away, we knew that we wanted to get the Planteos (Cheese sticks coated in a seasoned green plantain bread crumb. Served with a house sauce – $7.50). These arrived at our table before we had barely finished ordering them! They were alright, but didnt seem to be cooked enough. The cheese inside was hardly melted and was more just like a stick of cheese. I really didnt get much green plantain flavour out of the batter either. I liked the zesty dipping sauce, but these really were just mediocre cheese sticks, and not an elevated Colombian version like I had been hoping for.We had wanted to order the Pandebono (cheese bread) but were told that they didnt have it anymore. Our server recommended that we try the Empanadas (Corn turnovers stuffed with meat (or chicken) and potatoes – $2.25 each) instead. The rest of our food now took quite a long time to arrive. Isnt chicken meat as well? Apparently meat meant beef. So we ordered one beef and one chicken empanada. These were cooked well and I liked the golden crispy outer shell. These also tasted great with the spicy salsa that could be found on our table. Inside, the filling was mostly potato. The meat that was present tasted good though and was shredded and seasoned nicely. But again, nothing super mind-blowing.They have a bunch of arepas on the menu, which are flat, round, corn patties that are usually made into sandwiches. So we decided to get the Mini-Arepas Trio (Three corn patties stuffed with shredded meat, cheese and beans – $6.50) since they seemed like one of the main things that they do here. The description of these on the menu wasnt exactly clear. What we actually received was one filled with shredded beef, one filled with guacamole, and one filled with beans. These were each very small, but tasty. I liked the subtle flavour of the corn patties and each of the fillings were nice too. These might have been more enjoyable in the full-size versions, which they also have on the menu.They had two special weekend soups on the menu; the Sancocho and the Ajiaco. Both sounded really good and since I had eaten so many appetizers, I felt that having a soup as my main dish should be enough. I couldnt decide between the two… Until the server informed me that they were all out of the Sancocho anyway. Alright, so I got a small bowl of the Ajiaco Soup ($4.00). This was by far the best thing that I ate all night. In Colombia, this popular soup is typically made with chicken, potatoes, and herbs. It tasted incredibly good! It almost made up for everything else being so sub-par. The flavours were intricate, hearty, and well-executed. The shredded chicken was delicious and the tender potatoes made it a bit more like a stew. I enjoyed this very much and was happy to end my meal on a high note.I really had expected a lot more from Tardes Caleas. While the prices are nice and low, the food and the service was a bit of a mess. Maybe I should have ordered one of their larger entree plates? If everything had been as good as the soup, it would have been a wonderful experience. I was a bit disappointed. erikaeatseverything.com

  January 19, 2017, 3:28 am

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• Camilo Villanueva

  Excellent colombian restaurant! I came from Toronto to visit and stopped by Tardes Caleas for dinner and I left amazed by the quality of their food. I had the Mondongo soup and it was delicious. My wife had Sobrebarriga and it was superb. Totally recommended. You won’t be dissapointed!

  March 28, 2016, 6:56 am

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