Talara Review

Overall Review

Talara is quite the happening spot in Harbor East.  It seems to always be humming with excitement and activity.  From the open and exposed kitchen in the back of restaurant, Spanish and Japanese fusion dishes are birthed.  These delectable treats range from light and refreshing to heavy and rich.  No matter your mood, Talara is able to make your belly happy.  Seviche is their calling card.  Seviche or Cerviche (depending on where you are in the world) is a style of “cooking” raw fish without using heat.  Rather, you marinate the fish in lemon or lime juice.  Talara has 5 different Seviche styles.  They also serve small plates in traditional Spanish style.  They also serve sushi, flat breads and main dishes.  The atmosphere at Talara is busy, lively, very eclectic, with folks of all races and ages.  This is a great spot for a night out with friends or out on a date.  The bright red and orange walls with exciting bold pictures add a fun and vibrant energy to the restaurant.  The parking is difficult.  You will need to valet park at the hotel next door and get your ticket validated or park in one of the nearby garages.  Please don’t let the parking issue keep you from visiting this amazing restaurant.  Overall we give Talara ♪♪♪ and half note. 

615 South President Street  

Baltimore, MD 21202
(410) 528-9883

Ahi Tuna with Asian Tartare Seviche

This dish was light and fresh.  The chef created an amazing mixture of savory, peppery and sweet with just the right amount of tartness.  The scallions were a perfect addition to brighten the dish.  The tuna was served on sushi rice rounds and topped with a crispy lotus root.  

Grilled Calamari with the Advocado and Cucumber Seviche

Of the three Seviche preparation this was our least favorite.  It was very salty and spicy with a very intense flavor, almost to the point of being overpowering.  Perhaps this prep style would be better with a stronger and more robust flavored fish like the Scottish salmon.  

Scottish Salmon with Ginger Tataki Serviche

This Scottish salmon is wonderfully fatty and rich.  It held its own against the spicy ginger tataki sauce.  This dish was flavorful and robust.  The aioli added the perfect amount of spiciness.   

Pulled Pork Tostadas

Light, delicate chips were topped with pulled pork and a rich heavy cheese that melted in such a way that it held the entire tostada together.  When we added the secret sauce given to us by a passing waiter, this dish went from great to out of this world!  The chef blended the flavors magically.  

Bistec with Grilled Shrimp

These were like little piping hot, crisp grilled shrimp sandwiches.   They were super savory.  The shrimp were grilled to perfection and the perfectly caramelized onions were a wonderful compliment to the sweetness of the shrimp.  The mushrooms added earthiness to this dish.  Once again cheese was used to hold everything together quite nicely. 

Crabcake Chile Relleno

The chef stuffed poblano peppers with crabmeat and cheese.  He then placed a healthy amount of rice and black beans in the center of the plate.  These beans and rice were sauce-less yet extremely tasty and yummy.  The lightly fried crabmeat stuffed peppers were savory and delicious.  

Ropa Vieja

This was akin to a deconstructed beef stew.  Shredded beef cooked in a chunky, tomato sauce was served over rice and beans.  The chef took the creative license to add fried plantains to the dish.  This sounds crazy, but it was truly a genius move.  The sweetness of the plantains complimented as well as toned down the tartness of the dish.  It was very rich but very amazing.  Gratefully, he did not make the mistake of adding too many plantains, a mistake which a less skilled chef would make, instead he only included a few. 

Trio of Ice Creams with Sopapillas

The chef served a blood orange sorbet, a dark chocolate gelato and a banana praline ice cream with sopapillas which is fried dough rolled in cinnamon and sugar.  The blood orange sorbet was very tart and refreshing.  The praline banana ice cream was rich and creamy with a wonderful banana flavor.  The dark chocolate gelato had a great flavor but unfortunately had a grainy texture which we do not like.  The sopapillas were light,  fluffy, fried pillows of dough.  They are a traditional Spanish dessert.  As much as we like Spanish food, we agree that their desserts tend to leave a lot to be desired. 

Angela’s Review

Talara is such a great dining experience. Everyone should experience it. We have to admit that this is not the first time we have dined here. This is actually one of our favorite restaurants.  And we have decided not to wait a minute longer to introduce our readers to it. Talara is a Spanish, Seviche restaurant. The atmosphere is hip, happening and so chic. It is always packed to the gills with patrons of all different shapes and sizes, races and nationalities.  The service is phenomenal despite the always packed house. Not only are the servers assigned to your table attentive and accommodating, but everyone else from the hostess to the other servers are completely accessible. They smile and speak and just generally make you feel wanted and welcome. We love this.  Who wouldn’t love this?! And the food! Wow the food. I love the way they have varied Seviche preparations to apply to a good selection of seafood from which one can choose, giving the diner the ability to mix and match their favorite seafood with their favorite accompaniments, i.e. Scottish salmon with the Ginger Tataki preparation and Ahi tuna with Asian tartare preparation, um, um good.  And that is just the beginning. I especially love the complexity of the food. The chef juggles tart (which I usually do not like), with sweet, with savory, with all the flavors in between. I also love the way he does all things well, so to speak. In many cases, one finds that a restaurant that has phenomenal tapas does not do as well, entrée wise, and vice-versa. Not so, here. Talara’s food is inspired and delicious from soup to nuts.  I give Talara ♪♪♪♪.

Melissa’s Review

As sure as I sit here, there are few things better in this world then a delicious meal.  After the terrible dinner we had last week, Angela and I needed a redeeming meal.  Thank God we found one at Talara.  We walked into a bustling atmosphere full of energy and deliciousness.   Every table was packed when we arrived and remained packed the entire evening.  As usual, we ordered an insane amount of food.  The waitress remarked that she was impressed with our ability to consume so much food.  The food at Talara is a cross between Seviche, Spanish and Japanese.  Yes, I know it’s a crazy combo but I promise you will not be disappointed.  The chef created some of the most flavorful dishes I have ever had.  Angela and I kept commenting about the chef’s mastery of perfectly blending opposing flavors like spicy and sweet.  He also pushed the envelope with flavors.  He took salty and spicy right up to the edge; a tad more would have been too much, but he left it at just the right spot in each dish.    I greatly enjoyed my meal.  I kept wiggling in my chair with delight.  The service at Talara was amazing.  The wait staff is super attentive and helpful.  Even if your server is busy in the back, other waiters are there to help.  If you are not a drinker, they are able to make many of their drinks non alcoholic for you.  I had a delicious alcohol free mango mojito.  I LOVE Talara.  Overall I give Talara ♪♪♪ and a half note.