Tapas 7232: Dining, or Dying Trying, in the Twilight Zone

Tapas 7232: Dining, or Dying Trying, in the Twilight Zone

Tapas 7232 on Madison is celebrating one year in business. It’s been recently remodeled by the folks at nearby Yearbook. I should have taken it as a red flag when, after checking online, I’d discovered this one-year-old place has no website. Odd.



As we walked by the big windows in front, the place looked comfortable and handsome inside, so we stopped in to check it out. It was very crowded, and the band hadn’t even set up yet. Music is a big part of the allure of the place.

While we were standing at the bar, a man with a shaved head said he’d get us a table if we liked. That’s what we wanted.

ME: This your place?
MAN WITH SHAVED HEAD: Yeah (eyes downcast)

Thus, with aversion and indifference, we were welcomed to what was to become one of the most bizarre dining experiences we’ve had in a long time.

Cue: Rod Serling, walking into frame, intoning: "You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You've just crossed over into...

Throughout the almost 2 hours we spent at this place, we did not see anyone who worked there – host, server, cooks – break into any facial expression that could be interpreted as a smile. I’m not suggesting staff has to be grinning like idiots while they do their jobs, but there seems no joy in this place.

There was also, apparently, no drink list (the bartender pointed to a row of bottles at the top of the bar credenza and said, “That’s what we have.”). We both got a Red Stripe and sat down. We thought we’d start with empanadas, and we ordered three (beef, chicken and shrimp); they arrived relatively briskly, and they were fine: crisp just-fried exterior, reasonably flavorful fillings, nice sauce on the side. Fine.



One bright spot in this otherwise dark evening was running into LTH poster Johnnies, who stopped in and apparently was able to procure dinner here. I also ran into Mycological Consultant Patricia Kammeyer (who I ran into the first time I met Cathy2, over 10 years ago, at a meeting of the Illinois Mycological Society); Kammeyer said she'd been to Tapas 7232 several times, but when I asked if she liked it, she did a semi-eye-roll which I was not able to decipher...but it didn't look good for our evening here.

Then our waitress came back and things got really weird. We ordered some entrees and two more beers. And then…nothing.

15 minutes pass.

30 minutes pass.

45 minutes pass. No entrees, no beer, no eye contact or other interaction with the server. It almost seems to defy the laws of human physiology/interaction that so many staff people could pass through a room filled with people and avoid eye contact with any of them.

Time passes ever more slowly.

And the band played on.



We notice others around us seemingly pleading with the server, trying to help her understand some problem to which we were not privy. There are apparently problems with orders, billing, lots of stuff. People left; those that stay cast nervous glances at the kitchen, as though wondering what, if anything, was happening in there.

People are walking out without eating. As the server (and, yes, there was just one server there that busy night) seems rarely to return to tables, it’s incumbent upon diners -- when they realize all hope for dinner is lost -- to walk to the counter, just like they do at Louis’ down the street, and pay the cashier. There’s nothing wrong with that approach, but this place does not otherwise seem to be going after the more casual, come-and-go diner vibe.

About this point, tables are emptying and no one is coming in to replace the vanished diners.

I got a call from my daughter and went outside. After several minutes the server came over to my Carolyn and asked, "Did you order something more?" She told the server that we were waiting for two more beers and two more dishes. After a few more minutes of anxiously watching the order confusion in the kitchen, Carolyn went up to the counter and said that if the food wasn't being prepared she wanted to pay for what we had consumed. Neither the bartender nor the server knew what we'd had so she told him, paid, and he said sorry for the mix up...while studiously avoiding eye contact. What is with the people who work here?

Outside, we ran into another couple who had just left for the same reason. They sat there for upwards of an hour, having no further contact with the server after the order was placed. No food was forthcoming, so they left to eat somewhere else. These two people, a man and a woman, seemed in their mid-twenties, and they were also concerned that “the music was too loud.” I also found the music deafening, but I figured that was because I’m pretty much going deaf anyway. The band leader asked at one point if the music was too loud, several people said Yes, and then the band kept on going, without adjusting volume levels even a little. In a room this small and hard-surfaced, the case could be made that amplification of any sort is really not required, and with the dials set to 11, conversation in this quadrant of the Twilight Zone seemed as unlikely as having a normal restaurant experience (you know, the kind where when you order food, it comes, you eat, you pay and you go home more or less satisfied).

Walking back to our car, I spotted yet another couple who had been sitting next to us for maybe 20 minutes. They were now in O’Sullivan’s at the corner having dinner and drinks, apparently having given up on getting anything to eat or drink at Tapas 7232.

I thought our experience was maybe a fluke, but running into a friend of mine the next morning at Oak Park Farmers’ Market, he said he had exactly the same experience 6 weeks ago. "We wanted to have dinner," he said, "but finally we just paid for drinks and left."

This restaurant (although I’m not sure that term is here correctly applied) gets a lot of traffic because they have music, and the band the night we were there – The Buddy Love Review – did very capable covers of golden oldies. Walking by the band, I asked the lead singer, “So, do you perform “That Old Black Magic?” She looked confused, so I added “You know, that was the signature tune of Buddy Love, Jerry Lewis’s character in the “The Nutty Professor.”

She didn’t get it.

And I didn’t get Tapas 7232.

7232 Madison St Forest Park
708.689.8077

I am disheartened hearing about your experience and want to assure you that neither I nor Mrs. Johnnies are shills for this restaurant. We were at the table next to you and had a delightful conversation with you and your wife as we were finishing up with our dinner. Our positive feedback truly represented our experience--and bottle of wine.

My sense is that your experience reflected a serious case of too many people coming into a restaurant that has set their waitstaff, kitchen and maybe their food purchasing to meet what I imagine has not been a huge flow of patrons. I think that is understandable after perhaps too many waiters sitting around doing nothing and throwing out too much food.

We are sorry your experience was not better. Ours was good-- due in part to the fact that we had no expectations and were hoping for the best. The single waitress was nice and able to handle the two other tables that were finishing as we came into the restaurant. Our food was tasty--not knocking our socks off--but good tapas. We were happy to see the restaurant fill up to capacity as we got ready to head out. Little did we know that things were going to go bad after that.

The loud music situation is something I just do not understand. If you are at most 30 feet away from listeners do you really need such great amplification? Most instruments being played in such a small venue could live with their own naturally generated sound and maybe a little help with voice and maybe guitar. No much more is needed, but what do I know. I enjoy live music, but would encourage any restaurant to decide what they want to be---a music venue that serves food or a restaurant that plays music. If the later, tell your paid musicians to take it down a few notches.

There's a tapas restaurant in Forest Park?

johnnies wrote:I am disheartened hearing about your experience and want to assure you that neither I nor Mrs. Johnnies are shills for this restaurant.

Thought never crossed my mind.

johnnies wrote:My sense is that your experience reflected a serious case of too many people coming into a restaurant that has set their waitstaff, kitchen and maybe their food purchasing to meet what I imagine has not been a huge flow of patrons. I think that is understandable after perhaps too many waiters sitting around doing nothing and throwing out too much food.

Friday night was billed as a Grand Re-Opening, though I'm not sure how many patrons there were actually aware of that, as it was not well-publicized. I'd have thought they'd staff up for the occasion...like maybe add one other server. Apparently, though, based on what my buddy at the farmers' market said, this lack of service was not unusual.

I had gone there a few weeks back. My experience with the service was similar and we were one of two tables occupied the night we went. I did not enjoy the food either. Sauces were either flavorless or did not compliment the dish. One dish had garlic that was undercooked. I would not go back.

I will state before this review that I have been to Tapas 7232 multiple times, and have come to know the owners. My initial reasons for going was to see some musicians friends of mine perform. The owners Mark and Amy are actually really nice people. IMHO, the food and bar are secondary to the music that is there on most evenings. The open mic jazz night draws well known musicians from all over to play. The other music that is there on many nights is fantastic, and while I suppose it might get loud in there at times as it is a small space, it is a nice intimate place to see some fabulous performers.

Since people are coming here looking for food reviews, and not music, I will comment on that aspect. I will confirm what a bunch of people on here have stated and that is that service at most times is spotty at best. At times you may find an attentive waitperson, but many times it will take forever (if at all). If you do happen to be there on an evening when the waitperson is trying, the kitchen is maddeningly inconsistient, your order may come out in a reasonable amount of time, or it may take forever (or some gentle reminding). It doesnt really matter how full or empty the place is, the inconsistiencies exist no matter the size of the crowd.

If you expecting a full bar, or the capability to mix any type of drink you may order, you are in the wrong spot. There are no beers on tap, just whatever the few selections they may have in bottles or cans. Same goes for wines. In terms of harder liquor, they have a few gins, vodkas, etc. but dont go expecting much.

I actually find a lot of the food there enjoyable. While none of it is something that you "just have to have", most of it is thoughtfully prepared and tasty. The empanadas are very good, as are the bacon wrapped dates, fried plaintains, ropas viejas, shrimp and chicken kabobs. Again, nothing earth shattering, but all reasonably priced and tasty. I can honestly say I have never had anything here that is bad. Average yes, bad no.

If someone were to ask me for a recommendation I dont think I would ever say you have to go over to Tapas 7232 over many other options that exist in the area. Heck, if I am looking for a place strictly to go eat and/or drink, Tapas 7232 does not even register anywhere on my list. If however you are looking to hear some music in a place that happens to serve food and alcohol, this is the place. I honestly think that most people here on the evenings that it is crowded are there to see whatever particular performers are there, and as such are a little less concerned about the service/selection/etc. Walk-ins however at times may be disappointed/frustrated/angry/etc.

David Hammond wrote:Tapas 7232: Dining, or Dying Trying, in the Twilight Zone
I got a call from my daughter and went outside. After several minutes the server came over to my Carolyn and asked, "Did you order something more?" She told the server that we were waiting for two more beers and two more dishes. After a few more minutes of anxiously watching the order confusion in the kitchen, Carolyn went up to the counter and said that if the food wasn't being prepared she wanted to pay for what we had consumed. Neither the bartender nor the server knew what we'd had so she told him, paid, and he said sorry for the mix up...while studiously avoiding eye contact. What is with the people who work here

I was going to ask you (based on what you originally wrote) whether Carolyn said anything to the server about not getting your order, but now I see that you have altered it to provide more info. When I was first reading it there were replies posted, so shouldn't there have been an "edited by" notice on your post? Is that feature not working? Or am I cracking up?

If this place isn't interested in serving food maybe they ought to change their name. Perhaps Music Only 7232 or No Tapas For You 7232.

imsscott wrote:

David Hammond wrote:Tapas 7232: Dining, or Dying Trying, in the Twilight Zone
I got a call from my daughter and went outside. After several minutes the server came over to my Carolyn and asked, "Did you order something more?" She told the server that we were waiting for two more beers and two more dishes. After a few more minutes of anxiously watching the order confusion in the kitchen, Carolyn went up to the counter and said that if the food wasn't being prepared she wanted to pay for what we had consumed. Neither the bartender nor the server knew what we'd had so she told him, paid, and he said sorry for the mix up...while studiously avoiding eye contact. What is with the people who work here

I was going to ask you (based on what you originally wrote) whether Carolyn said anything to the server about not getting your order, but now I see that you have altered it to provide more info. When I was first reading it there were replies posted, so shouldn't there have been an "edited by" notice on your post? Is that feature not working? Or am I cracking up?

If this place isn't interested in serving food maybe they ought to change their name. Perhaps Music Only 7232 or No Tapas For You 7232.

Yes, Carolyn read the post and corrected my recollection of what she told me when she came out of the restaurant.

On the sign in front appear the words "Music on Madison" and picture of a bass viola (I think that's what it is), and the instrument itself is sitting in the window, so they are sending a strong message that music is important here...but it does proclaim itself a tapas place, so receiving food is a reasonable expectation.

I wonder if, due to some ordinance, they are required to serve food if they're going to serve liquor and be a venue for music, but really all they want to do is be a venue for music.