Amante Tacos and Spirits is a trendy outdoor only establishment in Uptown Greenville. The unique focus on outdoor only seating and high end tacos make for a refreshing experience during pleasant days. Great servers and a creative menu make Amante a great date night
On the Corner Dickinson and Delicious
Amante Tacos and Spirits is located at the corner of Dickinson Street and Reade Circle in Uptown Greenville. This is just down the street from Greenville Science Museum on and Pitt Street Brewery. Parking in the area is currently a non-issue. Plenty of parking is throughout the side streets of Dickinson area as needed. Check out the Greenville Parking map if needed. There is also a parking area just for the restaurant directly next to the establishment. It will be easy to stop the very unique all outdoor seating and metal containers that make up the area.
Creative Kitchen and Seating
Amante Tacos and Spirits is targeted as a high end taco establishment Since taco/burritos are some of Kaitlyn’s favorite foods, we have been to a few of these. As of writing, they have a very limited set of hours of 6pm to 10pm. Their website claims to have plans to expand these hours but does not give any indication of when. We arrived just before 6 and found that there was a small crowd waiting for them to open.
With the all outdoor seating, we were expecting to walk up to the kitchen window to order food and drinks. Instead we were greeted as we entered the vicinity of the restaurant and discovered it was a full service restaurant. The hostesses were very polite and made sure we had a covered seats since rain was expected. This is one issue with all open-air seating. If it rains, the seating is cut to a third. Only the bar and some seats under the large shelter are rain protected.
Getting Started
Nonetheless, the waitstaff were fast to make rounds, take drinks and get orders rolling. The menus are all digital with the typical QR code at the tables. They have a fair list of unique tacos and other tasty treats. Most of the tacos have fun names likes “Barbie-Coa” and “Ducking Auto-correct”. As a Dad and practitioner of the “pun arts” I appreciated this and got a few chuckles.
One odd thing for Kaitlyn and I was the “chip bar” section. It appears that you pay for the different salsas you get and the chips come with it. Something about paying for the salsa’s at a southwest restaurant felt wrong. Maybe we have spent too much time in suburbia’s classic Southwest restaurants where the chips and salsa are usually complimentary. For the price point of $6-7 for a single salsa flavor and chips with no promise of refills, we passed.
Instead we went with the Fundido. Costing about as much, we preferred the fancy queso dip with chips. It tasted great and came out quickly after we ordered it.
The Tacos Part
Kaitlyn had the “Oaxaca this way” and “Thigh High” Tacos. She loved the Oaxaca taco and said she would have gotten another. The Thigh high missed the mark for her (and me). We both tried it and mostly tasted buffalo wing sauce. I had the Barbie Coa and the bounty hunter. The Barbie Coa was amazing and I ate it a little too fast for how good it was. Bounty hunter was a home run for me and I will definitely get it again.
The Spirits Part
Drink wise, we tried the El Diablo and the Carolina Colada. I did not get much flavor from the el diablo. Even with the chili candy straw, it was a very mild drink with subtle flavor if any. On the other hand, Kaitlyn nearly ordered a second Carolina Colada. She is a fan of Pina Coladas in general but this one did something else.
The Amante Experience
The servers were very responsive and made sure we were well taken care of. They clearly had been trained well and had a good kitchen staff to back up the great service. Even through we did not love 100% of the items we ordered, I appreciate that they are trying new things and taking a chance. I do not think the menu needs to get larger but I do believe it will be even better when they add in specials into the mix. Maybe consider seasonal rotations of the menu. This will keep the trendy vibe alive and well.
The price was a little more than I would have expected but you are paying for the experience in addition to quantity food. Had the weather been a bit nicer, I am sure we would have stayed a while and enjoyed the beautiful grounds more.
One last thought. Is it just me or does the logo have a striking resemblance to Sofia Vergara? No?… Just me? Okay. Had to ask.
Overall
Amante is currently a solid date night location and will hopefully become an equally good lunch spot. The unique all outdoor seating creates new perspective on restaurant norms and creates a fun atmosphere. Find an evening with good weather and make plans to come get Tacos.
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