Tantalum. Long Beach

6272 E. Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach, CA 90803

562-431-1414

Hours of Operation:

Monday through Friday 2:30pm - 10:00pm

Saturday 10:00am - 11:00pm (last call at the bar is 12:30am)

Sunday 10:00am - 9:00pm

Resevations strongly recommended on weekends. A member of opentable.com

Take Out. Large party events. Entertainment both Live and DJ.

THE ROOM:

Tantalum is a place you want to go to see and be seen on the water. The long and inviting entrance hall is beautifully decorated  in dark woods and lush greenery reflecting, as they say, Indonesian Island characteristics. You feel like you are stepping into something exotic and you are. Tantalum boasts a really great bar with fabulous water and channel views. The bar also provides a comfortable lounge like atmopshere with their relaxed seating arrangements of sofas and chairs. The bar and lounge are hopping on the weekends and there is often not enough seating to accomodate the crowds.  The reataurant itself is multileveled to capture the views and there are many different rooms. They also have entertainment that on different visits has ranged from intrusive to enjoyable. I suggest you go on a slower night so you get a better choice of seating at the bar and in the restaurant. Some of the seating in the corners of angular rooms is quite unpleasant. I will tell you that I think Tantalum is more about the "scene" than it is about the food. It is a great scene.

THE FOOD;

Tantalum describes their food as an eclectic mix of Contemporary California and Pan Pacific inspired cuisine. That it tries to do.They offer "small plates", soups and salads, entrees and desserts. The variety of small plates offered are an excellent choice if you want to split a few appetizers in the bar. The tuna tartar tower with avocado, greens, grain mustard served with black sesame crackers is a quite decent, not spectatular, choice. The Yakiniku calamari was surprisingly delicious with a "melt in your mouth" taste sensation.  I really enjoyed it. The Tantalum C-zur salad was just okay. (I know you are sick of me eating Caeser salad wherever I go!)The lettuce wasn't as crisp and as cold as I would like but the crispy panko brie was a twist from the traditional.  We had the Tantalum Kobe burger and the Wasabi crusted filet mignon. We asked for the burger medium rare and got medium but I must add the meat was quite good. The filet mignon was cooked appropraitly at medium rare but it wasn't the best filet I ever had or the worst. I like wasabi a lot and it did add a nice kick to the meat. The food is good. It is not spectacular. You will be happy enough here though because the environment is so rich and romantic it makes the meal that much more enjoyable and relaxing as long as it is not a busy weekend where they are in a rush to turn covers.

THE SERVICE:

My first visit left me quite unhappy with the service. The first greeting after the walk down their lovely hall was anything but friendly. I felt I was intruding on the hostesses' time and she seemed displeased with my mere presence. That same first visit we initially sat at the bar almost alone and oddly enough I had to practically beg the bartender for a drink. On several subsequent visits I have experienced much better service so I have to assume that this was an isolated incident.

Ratings:

Food: **                                               Cost: $$  ** Bar is expensive.