Tango Baires Cafe

This place has closed. But, here’s a review from a while back–
Came here for a quick tasty lunch when we were wanting something different.
Tasty, good, food. A smidgen pricey… the service was nice and we had some nice conversations with the owner during our meal.

This is a memo about Tango Baires Café going out of business.
I went there earlier today and confirmed that the restaurant is no more. A ‘smoke shop’ is now in that retail storefront and it appears that the new shop has been there awhile.
Really unfortunate, since there are only 3 other Argentine food places in all of San Bernardino/​Riverside counties.

Yes, very sad, it appears that Tango Baires has closed.
We really loved this little gem, it was one of those great local privately owned places that brought a great glimpse into another region.
I hate that the Mc Restaurants, all the chain restaurants prevail and the real gems like Tango Baires struggle to survive.
I only wished I had gone more frequently!

So SAD to hear TODAY is the LAST DAY OF BUSINESS for Tango Baires! I’ve adored this little place for years… I haven’t actually visited it in about a yr (ashamed to say) but today I did and found out the news from the owner. :(
My usual order was «Sandwich Mixto» and «Alfahores» cookies.
Everything is so delicoius and authentic! I ordered my last order about an hr ago an ill have to savor them for awhile… since it’ll be the last time.
HURRY IN if you want a last taste of delicious Argentine food before they close at 9pm tonight.
Love and Blessings to the sweet owners and chefs :)

Don’t expect to come here for just a lunch special. You will get mesmerized by their empanadas and their pastry. I’ve ordered a chicken sandwich and I had to try their empanadas. I can eat about 30 of those before I get full. It was that good. Give it a whirl.
The sandwich that I’ve ordered had way too much stuff in it from egg, chicken, different meats, sauce, etc. The flavors did not all go together. It’s like eating 10 different things at once.
Pastry was okay. I honestly liked the biscuit more than anything else though. That’s right. A plain biscuit. You be the judge.

I have to say that as Argentinean, I make better empanadas. The pizza was ok and the facturas too. I’ve tried better.
After I ordered I realized that they have a B ontheir wall. Owners were there and they did not even say hi.

Horrible chimmichurri (not authentic at all), yet overall great food!
For real chimmichurri, find an Argentine friend and ask their mom to make you some or hit up the LatiMex market in Ontario and get the jar of Oscar’s chimmichurri that they have in the meat department.
«Lomito cordobes a caballo» — a sandwhich with steak, ham, egg, cheese, and a special sauce. Order it if you like those ingredients.
Cheers!

Here is the condensed version
YUMMY SPINACH EMPANADAS
FUCKING SPECTACULAR PASTA and I hate pasta
YUMMY UNNAMED DULCE DE LECHE CREPE THINGS
AMBIANCE
Sure, it’s not the fanciest looking place. It’s tiny, sandwiched next to a Baskin Robbins with a perpetual game of futbol on the tv and the kitchen in sight from your table. When you look at the website and the menu, you might get the idea that this place is cheap in quality. That’s fine. If that’s something that’s a huge bummer for you then skip on over to Claremont where the ambience is super hip and the prices are bullshit, I will be at tango baires eating every last spinach empanada they can dish out from their tiny kitchen.
Will be returning. Maybe every week, I don’t know yet.

I ended up here because this was the only Peruvian place near me that was open until 9:30.
So glad that I ended up here as the food was quite good. Definitely get a few empanadas (although because I eat like a bird, one was plenty… but for a normal person two should do it as they are on the smaller side of average, and now I hate myself for being a fat American). Anyhoo, I tried and rather enjoyed the spinach variety. Although because it was spinach it did seem to gravitate towards being stuck in my teeth, so girls and boys ex-​nay spinach on a date.
This is one of those little places in which the service is more than half of the experience. Our server (a cute young gal) was super attentive and informative– eagerly offering suggestions tailored to our tastes.

The location is somewhat strange and not easy to spot. I would have NEVER noticed this place without Unilocal.We actually drove right passed it the first time.
The restaurant is small, but the inside is nicely decorated. The prices on the menu may seem a little bit pricey for the kind of place you’re sitting in (hole in a wall-​ish, deli counter, one cashier and one cook café), but the food is indeed very good. Don’t get me wrong, there is no fancy presentation, and no creative ingredients so if you’re looking for a place to impress or satisfy your foodie cravings, this may not be the right place. But if you just want some freshly made yumminess, then this is definitely it.
Here are the items we ordered:
1. empanadas: we tried beef, chicken, spinach, and corn. they were all very good. the dough is soft, and thin so you get plenty of the stuffing inside. they tasted fresh and not frozen. i like that there are so many varieties and we really wanted to order more after tasting them but we decided to save room for the rest of the dishes.
2. jamon crudo y palmitos: this is prosciutto with hearts of palm. i’ve never had/​heard this dish before so i didn’t know what to expect. it turns out to be just slices of prosciutto and hearts of palm next to it. i didn’t know if i’m suppose to eat the two together in one bit or what but personally i didn’t like the dish. the prosciutto was cut a little too thick for my liking and it tasted very fat and gamey. i actually couldn’t eat it. i love hearts of palm so at least i ate that part. the salsa that it came with tasted and looked like thousand island dressing. maybe this is something that is more of an acquired taste?
3. caprice salad: tomato and mozzarella. nothing fancy about this dish. both the tomato slices and the cheese were HUGE pieces. and there’s no dressing on them. we really like the mozzarella. they had great texture and the portion was very generous.
4. entrana: this was a dish recommended by the server. and it was our favorite dish of the night. i’m not usually a fan of skirt steaks but this was cooked so well. the meat was tender, just the right amount of flavor. and we all agree that we’ll be going back to eat this again.
5. chicken grilled napolitano: grilled chicken with ham and cheese on top. this one was OK. the chicken was flavorful but a little bit on the dry side. it was out-​shined by the steak.
6. cannellonis: cheese stuffed crêpe like pasta with tomato sauce. it kinda has a lasagna feel to it. i thought it was good, but the others thought it was nothing special. you can get it with spinach or choice of meats.
Others: you get two sides with the entrees and we LOVED the mashed potatoes. The steamed vegetables were great too if you want to be healthy and skip on the fries, which we saw plenty of people eating. You also get generous portions of the house bread with the chimichurri sauce and it was VERY hard to not over indulge on them.
Finally, we loved our server. Great service and very sweet girl.

one of my favorite placccces delicious EMPANADAS!!! :D I crave for this place all the freaking time…
when i go i buy like a dozen empanadas so i can take it home and savor more!!!
Their steak sandwhichs are really good too and their green sauce is amazing!!!

Fried chicken with ham and cheese on top? Yes, please. Thank you, very much!
Outside dining is cramped but it is nice that they have taken the time to set it up.
The waitress was attentive.

For those of you looking for legit parillada that (1) isn’t $ 60+ (I’m looking at you, Pasadena restaurants), and (2) not located all the way in Van Nuys (Mercado Buenos Aires), then you’re in luck.
I came here for the first time for my mom’s belated birthday lunch. We’re Peruvian and we love our Peruvian food, but my mom loves to get Argentinian food (particularly an order of parillada) on her special occasions. Of course I oblige!
The ambiance: 4.5÷5
A lunch on a Saturday afternoon with a game of soccer on the TV? Awesome. You can tell that the people who come here are regulars and well taken care of. The family sitting next to us were all Argentinian and they were talking women’s futbol with the employees. There was a whole lot of loud talking and laughter and they definitely made everyone else in the restaurant have a good time with all the jokes and anecdotes they shared. The place is a small hole in the wall that maybe sits 20 indoors (and 8 outdoors or so), but it’s cute and quaint and has its charm.
The food: 4.5÷5
We ordered café con crema across the table. We all agreed that we’ve had better. Maybe a regular coffee would have been just as nice. Whatever.
We also ordered the parillada (a plancha grill with skirt steak, grilled pork, pork sausage, blood sausage (the best!!!), chicken breast, peppers, onions, and tomatoes) and a side of fries with chimichurri. The food was bomb. Every component of the parillada was on point – the chicken breast was juicy and flavorful (which was of biggest concern), and the sausages had nice bite while being soft on the insides. Magical stuff, for reals. The fries were drenched in chimichurri and were just a great side (as always) to the parillada.
Lastly, we had a box of their pionono (Argentine pastry that is similar to flaky pastry filled with dulce de leche and topped with powdered sugar). My mom just had a blast eating it. I’m not all too into sweet things, and the dulce de leche is very blunt with its over-​the-​top sweetness. However, that meal was about my mom and if she approves, then I approve.
The service: ⁵⁄₅
Our server was a kind girl who was really really attentive and warm towards me and my family. She even asked us if we wanted a little bit of extra meat on the parillada because we had a party of 3 (the parillada is typically portioned out to 2). We agreed and expected to pay maybe $ 10-​$ 15 for the extra portion, but it was on the house! Seriously, she was the best. She made our experience and my mom’s birthday all that much greater.
The value: ⁵⁄₅
Our parillada was $ 39.95 and between me and two other people, we barely killed off half the order, and took the rest home. It’s seriously a lot of meat and will fill a whole table up no problem. The entire bill with all of our drinks, food, tax, and tip came out to $ 60ish. What a great price for a nice lunch out with the family.
TL;DR — This place is amazing. Order the parillada. The workers are wonderful. This place is cheap, too!

Delicious!
From beginning to end, the food at Tango Baires Café was a treat to the senses. Always a sucker to try out new foods and drinks I ordered the Amargo Serrano, Entrana and Mate Cocido. My dinner started off with the Amargo Serrano which is a non-​alcoholic shotglass-​full drink of herbs, like chamomile and thyme, with 2 small cubes of ice. The drink was slightly sweet, very refreshing and a perfect way to start my dinner.
Next comes the bread that comes with butter and chimichurri. Yummy! The bread was warm, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside and combined really well with the butter, parsley, garlic, oil and spices of the chimichurri sauce. I wish I thought of adding chimichurri to my steak! That would have probably tasted really good. Oh well… next time.
The highlight of the meal was, of course, the Entrana — a char-​grilled, tender Angus beef skirt steak that was made medium-​rare — that I ordered with rice and veggies. I wasn’t asked and I forgot to specify that I wanted my steak medium but that’s ok. The steak had an awesome, juicy, smokey, grilled flavor that made my mouth water. Some parts were so rare that it was bright red and that grossed me out a bit. The steak was cooked with the skin still attached. Eat the skin while it’s still warm otherwise it goes from crispy to jerky-​like to tough in the course of your meal.
The meal was finished off with a mate cocido tea. Not my favorite tea but not bad. It’s a hot, bitter, green tea. I will definitely come back to Tango Baires Café when I’m in the area!

Just when I think a «select «cut steak is just another ho-​hum steak, enter Tango Baires’ Entrana, a char grilled marinated skirt steak. I don’t know what it is they do, but there is something special about this otherwise mundane piece of meat. Order it medium rare, then let the juices run all over your plate. It does its magic, if you let it soak into the most amazing non-​greasy, plump fries that come with it. This is a 4.5 star chunk of cow and potato. Steak dinner — around $ 16.
Not knowing that I would be seduced by that steak, I ordered the Suprema, a pounded and thinly breaded chicken breast, tender and actually quite good, which I spritzed with fresh lemon juice, just like I prefer my Milanese. I asked for potato salad as my side, and ended up loving this Argentinian version with mayo, peas, carrots, and a hint of capers. Even though it needed some salt to really make it downright superb, that was an easy fix. Chicken dinner –around $ 10.
Even the shredded lettuce and slice of tomato was good, sprinkled with oregano. I dribbled some chimichurri oil for extra measure and it sure tasted refreshingly good. Quite yummy. And don’t forget the bread.
Now, I ‘m telling you, you can’t leave without at least a dozen empanadas. The chicken and the beef are what we love. With chimichurri, the beef makes a statement. And these are the fried version, but still very light and flaky. Tuesdays you can get their empanada’s at a discount. I believe $ 1.79 each, but don’t quote me on that.
Add one glass of Malbec — $ 6, and we were set back a total of $ 57 with tax. It may sound like a lot, but you can eat the same meal for $ 25 less, if you go to
first. The only caveat — you have to order a minimum of $ 50 of food. Easy and plenty of food for another meal.
This is a great little spot, with bistro charm, complete with authentic music and maybe a soccer match on the one TV. Great service, a cute date place.

We came by here on the last day of the Groupon they offered. We had pretty decent empanadas, and I had a pesto pasta dish that tasted better as leftovers. My husband’s dish, which was some kind of ham thing (that’s where I stop paying attention, since I don’t eat ham/​pork if I can help it), was something he didn’t finish — unusual for him in a restaurant.
I loved that it was a cute, tiny restaurant that felt more urban than its Upland location would imply. I loved the kindness of the servers, who were, I believe, the family that owns the place. And I loved trying a country’s cuisine I’d never had before. When in Upland, go if you want something new!

Redemption!
I had lunch here on Saturday with my Mom and sister. I ordered the grilled chicken cardobes sandwich and some empanadas. I have to say that the empanadas were the highlight of my meal this time. The chicken was perfect, the chimichrri sauce was awesome and the flavor of the beef and ham and cheese was great, too. The sandwich was OK, but by the time it arrived (which did take FOREVER, btw) I was already full from the empanadas.
They have this really cute kid working there. He can’t be older then 20. Boy, is he a cutie patootie with an Argentinian accent and he gives great customer service as well. :)
This place is now definitely now a «go-​to» spot for me.

We wanted to find some Cuban food around here, and for some reason after searching on Unilocal and reading a few reviews, we thought Tango Baires was one. We arrived, seated ourselves, and were surprised to realize it was actually Argentinian. No worries, because we’d both wanted to try that at some point.
Looking around, everyone had empanadas in addition to their pizzas or entrees. We knew we had to try them here, so we ordered 1 beef and 1 chicken, which both arrived piping hot and were excellent. The free bread was also great, very soft/​airy in the middle with a thin crispy crust. The chimichurri is what makes it so delicious. It’s got a tiny kick to it, and the oil goes so well with the buttered bread.
I ordered the Milanesa Napolitana, which is a breaded and fried thin steak covered in tomato sauce, ham, and cheese. I actually love cheese, but this was one of the rare instances I’ve felt like they used too much cheese, which completely drowned out the other flavors/​textures. The sauce tasted like marinara, so the dish as a whole basically tasted like an Italian parmigiana at Olive Garden. Sorry to say, I was less than impressed, and wish I’d just ordered the regular Milanesa, which is the breaded steak without the additional toppings.
My gf ordered the Bife de Chorizo which, in case you’re wondering, has no chorizo. It’s basically just a small NY steak. She ordered the ½, but they brought her the full order and charged us for the full as well. That was a waste of $ 6 extra since she couldn’t finish it. Being a big fan of beef, she was actually pretty unhappy with the overcooked, steak, and commented that we could easily cook a better steak ourselves with meat from any grocery store.

I will start this review by admitting that I have an insanely and unreasonable high expectation/​standard. This is my first Argentine meal after my trip to Buenos Aires, so I definitely have some preconceived notions on how things should or should not be.
I’ve been meaning to try Tango Baires for a while now… I was prompted by two things tonight: hunger, and provoleta on the menu. Provoleta was definitely going to be ordered, and the special on the board tonight was Milanesa. Done and done.
So, I’m fully expecting a nice hunk of cheese, all grilled up melty and sizzling and crackling, with olive oil and herbs drizzled over it. Unfortunately, what came out was just a slab of provolone that was melted in a small cast-​iron skillet, with some tomato chunks (at least the olive oil and herbs were there). And with provolone, it’s not liquid… it’s more of a blob. Don’t get me wrong, melty cheese is tasty 99% of the time, but this wasn’t the grilled provolone I was hoping for. 3 stars for this appetizer
The beef Milanese was delicious… thin, crisp, not greasy… done very well. I’ll have to try it with fried eggs next time.
One other gripe… while the chimichurri was delicious, I think it’s lame that they charge for an additional serving (according to the menu). It can’t cost that much to make, and I’m expecting them to be in condiment jars on the table. It’s like a BBQ restaurant charging for extra BBQ sauce, a Vietnamese place charging for nuoc mam, or a Chinese place charging for soy sauce.
Besides that… while the restaurant isn’t fancy by any means, it is also pretty far from being a hole in the wall. Service was prompt and friendly. They also tolerate smokers at the table right outside the door (within the 20 foot minimum).
So I’m not ready to give this play 5 stars… I may even be rounding up a bit to give the 4 stars. But I’ll give it another chance… definitely going to go for the bife the chorizo next time.

Ate here with with my friends on the way back from a wedding convention.
PROS: The food was quite interesting and fresh. The empanadas were fresh and hot. We shared the meat platter and it was quite filling. Meat platter served the 4 of us since we ordered other side dishes as well. The waiter was awesome. He was funny and even shared his life story, making the experience all the better. They have a coupon on
so we were able to use that.
CONS: We were quite confused about the pricing of the empanadas and I thought one of the waitress didn’t explain it quite well. Other than that, no big deal.