Tastebuds

Had dinner at tastebuds with a group of friends — have to say the food is marginal at best, menu is overpriced compared to the value and quality of what is available elsewhere and the owner is very strange — didn’t park in front of the restaurant but rather a few doors down — we planned to have a few drinks across the street at the Raven and then return — the owner ran up to our car and told us to move even through there were only two cars in the parking lot and the restaurant was empty. Had similar weird interaction with him at their former location during the summer when we asked him to turn a fan on because the AC was not working /​he argued with us for several minutes that it was not needed before begrudgingly turning it on. Bye bye tastebuds …

This is a great little BYOB restaurant somewhat outside of the main part of New Hope. Just about a fifteen minute walk or three minute drive from Triumph. Luckily there is ample parking if you’re feeling lazy.
We had a 6pm reservation and were seated promptly. Service was quick and friendly. They chilled our Sauvignon Blanc for us when we sat down and refilled our glasses promptly each time they were empty. They made sure to come back and clear the table quickly, and inquired how we were enjoying our food after they served us.
The menu is concise, fitting on one side of a standard 8.5“x11″ paper; about four starters, four salads, and eight or nine entrees. After tasting the food, I think this was a wise choice as it allows the chefs to really master each dish.
We started with the Sweet Pea Soup and Lamb Meatballs. The soup was light and fresh, tastefully garnished with fresh dill for some herbal tang and camembert for funky creaminess. The meatballs were also excellent, perfectly browned on the outside and moist on the inside. The Moroccan spices were balanced excellently by fresh tomato sauce, mint, and touch of feta.
We followed this with the beet salad, which featured burrata cheese, pistachios, and a citrus vinaigrette. I really liked the pairing of the beets and the pistachios, I’ll certainly be using that in my kitchen! The beets themselves were only not as flavorful as they could have been, but as far as low points go it wasn’t much of one.
My partner had the French cut chicken breast with lemon pulp jus, which was juicy and flavorful. It was served with sauteed spinach and yogurt mashed potatoes which went really well with it.
I had the coriander crusted scallops, which again were perfectly cooked and tastefully seasoned. It was served with a warm chickpea salad with a fresh soffritto-​like dressing which was light and flavorful.
We peered at the dessert menu, which looked tasty, but we agreed we were full enough from the reasonable portions of food served here and declined.
Overall, this is a nice restaurant with reasonable portions and great food. Ambiance was cozy and homey with modern exposed Edison bulb fixtures and soothing grey walls. A bit loud but not too much for a small space.
We’ll be back for sure!

while the owner John slogs his butt off in a competitive area with high-​quality restaurants across the river and has invested big bucks in his relocation, the front of the house gives up all his efforts. The radish toast was phenomenal while the crawfish cakes were dry and tasteless. whats wrong in having crab cakes? Most of the entrees were fair at best. There was no ice bucket offered and not a smile to be had be the server throughout our three hour meal. While a single server was trying to attend to the entire restaurant, the timing for food was unacceptable. The final straw, while it was past their closing time of 9pm, was that they were out of ice! I have not seen a restaurant run out of ice from a machine in my lifetime! The saving grace was great company and some closure was had with some delicious deserts. Shockingly, they have the balls to not accept credit cards and include gratuity in their checks! Go to hamilton grill and have a better experience.

It’s been awhile since I’ve updated my earlier review of Tastebuds in New Hope. As they will be relocating shortly, I thought it was time to do so.
For me, tastebuds hits that perfect sweet spot of great food, excellent service, and a very relaxing & hip ambiance. It doesn’t hurt that for the quality of the food here, prices are reasonable as well.
This is an ideal spot for an intimate dinner with your special someone, or with a small group of friends.
It is NOT the place for a raucous night out with your drinking buddies.
Tastebuds is byob, and your server will deftly refill your glass once you surrender your bottle to the house.
The menu changes seasonally, and John (the owner) manages to make all his soups, salads, and entrees delicious and savory, without making anything too heavy. Although they don’t have a gluten free menu per se, Tastebuds style of cooking is such that very few dishes contain gluten, and the servers are expertly trained on ingredients. You’ll have no trouble.
My sautéed shrimp with artichokes was excellent and the chef cooked & trimmed the jumbo shrimp perfectly.
The coffee & desserts are potent and homemade too.
Looking for a romantic, non-​touristy restaurant in New Hope with excellent food & service? Look no further.

Do not go here. Terrible experience with the staff and the food was even worse.

Couldn’t have asked for a better restaurant to dine at for New Year’s Eve. Atmosphere was intimate, staff was friendly, and food was incredible. The appetizers were some of the best we’ve ever had and the sauces and flavor for everything were different and amazing. Can’t wait to go back!

Had dinner with 7 other people recently. This is an honest opinion of the meal, atmosphere and service.
4 people raved at the quality of their meals
3 had semi nice things to say
1 was inedible and it took 2 tries to get a simple dish right (porkchops)
5 thought the portions were too small
Atmosphere, not much
Service attitudinal– if the word doesn’t exist, it now does
After having a bottle of wine opened and coffee served, we were asked to hurry up and leave so they could close on a Saturday night at 10:20 just minutes after paying our bill with tip included
We were puzzled by the bums rush and inquired why.
The owners answer was its a byob, they were not making any more money and he wanted to close as was his prerogative
Nuff said!!!

Finally got a chance to have dinner here with good friends, and none of us was disappointed. Tastebuds is BYOB and cash only. we arrived with two red and one white. From the Autumn menu we started with all 4 appetizers which we all shared. Then we moved on to the main course. I ordered the wild shrimp and my wife and friends ordered the beef tenderloin, duck and cod. We were told to save room for dessert which we did, and ordered the apple cobbler, chocolate moose, Carmel coffee, lime tart. Everything was delicious and we can see why everyone raves about Tastebuds. It was reasonably priced. We will go back again.

There are few times in my dining experience when I have encountered such a rude staff and host. Acted like they were doing us a favor and the food was just OK. Placed a party of 5 at a table that could barely fit 4. Whole experience was a disaster. Destroyed the evening. How they survive in New Hope with so many great restaurants? Thank you Tastebuds, you make future selections for dining easier!

Taste bud is a gem of a restaurant on a side street in New Hope. All dishes we ordered rate A+ and service was also beyond words.
It’s a BYOB small restaurant .
Finding street parking is the only issue

A+! This is a quite extraordinary place. I got the Beef on the spring menu and it was amazing! The building itself is very neat looking! Overall a great place to bring your friends and family!

Likes: reservations are accepted, staff is friendly, service was fast and food was good; it’s a byob; it’s small and cozy like you’re eating dinner at a friends house; bathroom is clean.
Dislikes: called several times to make a reservation and no one ever called me back; they only accept cash payments — this is a little ridiculous considering how expensive the food is; overall, the food is delicious but overpriced…$ 150 for 2 people including 2 small appetizers, 2 entrees, and 1 dessert… no drinks. That’s a little crazy.

I had a most delicious and wonderful dinner here. Started with a wonderful fresh butter lettuce salad, and then had the most amazing and FRESH halibut served over fennel with a light sprinkling of chili flakes giving it the perfect kick. I loved the ambiance, and our waiter could not have been nicer. I would highly recommend this place to anyone in the area. Just remember Cash only and BYOB.

Confused dining experience that straddles fine dining and casual fare but doesn’t seem capable of doing either well. Execution of food misses the mark and the menu is disjointed. Most of the flavor profiles are basic and overpowering… salty, sweet, salty.
Salad was super salty with a raspberry vinaigrette. Trout toast just salt, awkward to eat and toast tasted stale. My dining companions didn’t fare much better.
Far too expensive to fall this short.
Advice to management– hire a stronger chef and abandon the menu in favor of better tasting small plates as opposed to entrees.

We ate here recently on a day trip to New Hope with some friends, and boy are we glad we did! The place is super cute, inside an old home, and our server was fantastic. He was very friendly and fun, and helpful. Everything we had from appetizers to entrees to dessert was just terrific, and the ambiance only added to our experience. If we’re back in the area, we’ll definitely revisit this quaint and charming, delicious restaurant.

We went to tastebuds based on a recommendation which is I think how one has to find out about this hidden gem. You may have walked by it a hundred times and never known it was a restaurant. It looks like a quaint home turned restaurant.
Be sure to call ahead and make a reservation as they only have about 10 or so tables. Each table though is like it’s own romantic little spot in a quaint, rustic environment. The man who took our reservation made sure to tell us that they are a BYO restaurant and Cash only.
We enjoyed a few selections from their Autumn menu. We started with the butternut squash dumplings in a maple broth. For our main meal we had the duck with mashed sweet potatoes and green beans and the seated cod which came with broccoli. Both were phenomenal. We continued to taste each other’s meals and try to decide who ordered the best one. For dessert we had the coffee crème caramel which was a delicious and light way to end the meal.
I will definitely return to tastebuds. I can’t wait to see what the other seasons menus look like.

Tastebuds is an absolute gem. Tucked away in what appears to be a converted home a few blocks off the main drag in New Hope, Tastebuds offers a seasonally rotating menu featuring complex New American cuisine, with several creative twists on French, Caribbean and Latin flavors.
When a place is all-​cash, it usually means it’s because they CAN be, and Tastebuds definitely proves that rule of thumb correct.
The place is tiny — about 20 tables total split between two rooms — and has an intimate feel that is perfect for a date or special occasion.
Food is complex and amazing. It isn’t a lengthy menu but it’s varied and rotates with the season. We shared squash blossom dumplings in a maple broth to start. Perfect mix of sweet and savory and they master the difficult art of keeping the inside tender without making the outside mushy.
She got the beef filet with potatoes and French beans. Rated in the top handful ever. The chili and espresso rub was a fabulous Latin salute. I had the pork chop with Brussel sprouts. Pork chop was expertly prepared with a papaya mustard I wanted to lick off the plate. Pity we didn’t leave room for dessert — they all looked great.
Service was outstanding — our server had the whole place (probably due to the holiday weekend) but didn’t miss a beat, and this is not a place you want to rush through.
We will definitely be back.
BYOB with no corkage fee. Cash only. Definitely make a reservation.

Not sure what others are seeing here, but the best thing about tastebuds is the faux attitude not the food.
Yes the interior is funky, but there’s a solid chance you’ll be seated in the weird room next to the bathroom and kitchen.
The menu looks fairly good. I had the mixed greens and herbs with sea salt salad. By far the highlight of the meal. All the greens were fresh.
My entrée was the chicken with jus. This was comically a frozen patty of chicken over cooked and breaded with a completely tasteless batter. I could not imagine a more banal entrée.
The dessert menu had a food stain on it which was our sign to depart.
Cash only which only adds to the pretentious disaster.

The food was decent but the service cheapened the experience.
There are not that many seats in the place, but the two servers somehow seemed to be missing all night. Water is never refilled… no actually they did refill the water twice all night, but we were there for almost two hours. Which emphasizes the main problem. The service was extremely slow by (what appears to be) no fault of the chef. We got our appetizers almost 30 minutes after we ordered them, and when we got them they were cold… as if they were sitting somewhere in the kitchen for 10 minutes before someone could «find the time» to drop them off.
The entrees, while also decent, would have been much better if they were hot… and on warm plates… and served with a refill of water. It was odd how quickly the server walked away after dropping them off. There was no «can I get you anything else?» or even «enjoy!» Come on guys, you could be much better than this! Sub par experience.
This could be a great food town if it wasn’t for misses like this.

Cute and quaint…
I unfortunately was only able to eat couple bites of two of the salads we ordered bc I had lost my appetite (out of shock and excitement) after getting engaged right before our dinner reservations!!! But the two salads (can’t remember their names… one had arugula and one had mangoes…) were VERY good and very fresh. I really really wish I was able to eat the chicken I ordered. My fiancé ended up eating it the next day for lunch. It was a bit warm with just fans, but wasn’t too bad. I would definitely consider coming back :)
Cash or check only.