Janos

My wife and I found ourselves with some free time on a weeknight and decided to try out Jano’s. I am glad we did the food was unique prepared perfectly and the service was top notch. We were seated next to a window and had a beautiful view of an Arizona sunset. The quiet atmosphere of a mid week meal is something I would recommend should you ever find yourself with some free time on a week night, Jano’s is an excellent choice for just that,

Had dinner at Janos last night for Valentine’s Day. The food was excellent! The avocado mousse was fantastic. The duck and quail were very good too. The citrus sponge cake was the perfect ending to the meal.
I was surprised at the service though. It was attentive but my husband was brought the wrong second course and our waiter could not remember what we were having for dessert. There were only two desserts. My ice tea glass sat empty for over one course and it took quite awhile to get another one once they finally took the empty one away. It could have been because they were so busy but I expect more from Janos.

For its category Janos is just alright. Its the best fine dining option I’ve been to in Tucson but it will not blow you away by any means. Duet of salmon featured a riette that was pretty much cat food and a sort of lox with kalamata olive gelato that created an unpleasant ice cold sensation on top of the ambient salmon. The dish just did not work. Surf and turf was nice. It featured foie gras on a lobster tail on a tenderloin. Nice presentation. These dishes were the hits and misses and everything else including chicken and salmon was pretty average. The wine list was very heavy on the expensive side (greater than $ 100).

Horrible food, went there for new year’s eve dinner and it was disgusting
I have being in London, Rome, Milano, Paris, Austria, Vancouver Mexico city, Maine in some of the best restaurants such as «The Ivy», «La Rosetta», «Blue Water Café», «Le Grand Vefour» etc…
Well all of them have being fabulous restaurant I can’t believe Janos has good reviews the food was disgusting we pay over $ 500 for pure trash, filet mignon was hard and old when it should melt in you mouth, the desert was pure nutella chocolate, omg just cheap low quality food the only fancy gourmet thing about the Janos restsurant is the prince. This is the place to go if you want to fool yourself and pretend you are eating at haute cuisine restaurant.
I feel sorry for the people who don’t know any better.

The service was impeccable. The food was amazing. Definitely dressed up for this experience (tie with no jacket) with my date, but saw others at the restaurant in just jeans and a polo.

Took my friend out for her birthday dinner, and had an extraordinary meal. Janos earns every star. My friend and I called ahead to arrange a vegan meal. Chef Devon Sanner outdid himself. From the mango amuse-​bouche to a delightful marzipan birthday banner, each dish was prepared with creativity and care. Our delightful waitress was attentive without being obtrusive and she made sure every detail was attended to with cheerful competency. A double treat — Chef Janos Wilder came out to greet us and wish my friend a happy birthday. Janos is the place to go when you really want to treat yourself and have a guaranteed terrific experience.

Really was not impressed. While the service was good (hence the extra star), the food was nothing spectacular especially to warrant such a high price. I ordered the grilled filet of beef to be medium and it came out pretty much raw. The waiter did acknowledge that the meat might be a little under-​cooked but the piece that I saw on top looked ok. It was only until I ate that piece and started examining further that I realized the meat was a bit too rare for my taste. By that time though, I was already full from pre dinner drinks and appetizers and trying the other sides that accompanied it so I didn’t make a big deal out of it. I guess what I don’t understand is why they would even send it out if they knew it was under-​cooked. Partially my fault though cause I should have just sent it back. Everything else that accompanied the filet was ok, nothing special though. Also tried my hubby’s fish tacos and they were bland and boring. Additionally, my friend let me sample her chili relleno with mole sauce and it was the foulest thing I have ever eaten. I don’t know what spices they put in the sauce but it just tasted really weird. The chili was filled with squash which after tasting this, I confirmed that squash does not belong in a chili relleno. Stick with standard cheese and meat! Not a good place at all and I would not go back.

This restaurant is very good and the go to place in Tucson for upscale dining. I tried this place with the help of a groupon for my 1 year anniversary.
To start I ordered the trilogy of blue corn fritters. The roasted goat cheese and fig was absolutely the best thing on the plate. The roasted pork belly and pickled watermelon rind was also an interesting combo.
My entrée was grilled bistro filet. A little overcooked, ordered medium and it came out well. Still a great steak though.
For dessert I ordered the Soft Center Chocolate Guajillo Cake peanut butter ice cream and brittle. Very tasty and would get again.
A great place that is very pricey, but well worth it on those special occasions. Plus they gave us a chocolates and a marzipan dessert that said happy anniversary. Nice personal touches. Also Janos often walks around and asks how things are. Nice to see the owner/​chef greet customers.

It all started with a Groupon to Janos. That was the incentive, as Janos can be pricey and you must be prepared for a celebrity-​restaurant type bill. My mother, Gary (husband) & I, often a dining trio at many Tucson-​area restaurants, visited Janos last night.
We had a reservation and were seated promptly. Service was seamless and attentive without being overdone the entire night. The chairs are large and comfortable. The ambiance was quiet, very clean and upbeat – a quietly stated comfortable/​slightly Southwest/​modern combo (decorating terms are not my forte!).
However, eating is. Have mouth, will travel. We opted for 3 different choices. Gary ordered a Green tea smoked Duck Breast, mom a scallops dish and, at my mom’s promptings that she wished to taste it with me, I ended up with the special big-​time $ 50 «Ten Terrific Flavors of Summer.» (optional: $ 80 with wine pairings). All were a grand success. However, I’ll comment on mine, as it had so many courses that it pretty much covers many of the other menu items!
One general note on the type of cooking: It is a combo of French and Southwest, I believe. Very creative combos. One thing the mild eaters must watch is that this restaurant uses a bit of spice in many dishes (such as Jalapeño or ancho chiles-​the latter are mild). I am not a spicy hot food lover myself, but I don’t mind a little «bite.» If you are ultra sensitive to any «hot,» your entrée choices here will be limited – the chef can accommodate you, so don’t worry.
Bread basket first-​breads can change day to day: impressive, delicious special signature corn bread (bluish), French roll and the best Lavosh (?) cracker with perfectly chewy pumpkin seeds (I think) on it. Sweet butter is served with all this yummy stuff. The best bread basket ever. Warning: DO NOT FILL UP ON THIS – very easy to do.
First, I love grazing. So all these «tastes» worked just fine for me. If you have the money, do it. A menu of the 10 tastes was left on my table for easy identification (I really used it, too). The dishes came out periodically, timed nicely to accommodate my completion of each course with a slight gap of time to digest it. The first trio of samplers was of soups: a clear tomato water Dungeness crab (very subtle flavors, crunchy something added), chilled water melon soup with herb-​ricotta stuffed cherry (sweet, fun & different) & a «Huitlacoche”-a green thick purée with tiny diced cucumber, mango and scallop, served on a Chinese type porcelain soup spoon. I loved that one best. The flavors were all surprising blends, but that’s the fun of these tasting menus!
Next trio tastings were a pan-​fried chicken with black beans, cilantro and a tomato buerre blanc (crunchy, yummy), a sample of the dish Gary ordered, the green tea smoked duck breast served with marinated lo mein noodles and a taste of Chinese sausage and bok choy bits (loved this one-​really perfect flavors, texture & I normally do not like duck) and a roasted bacon wrapped quail served with green chile corn spoonbread (really great textures & flavors-​& I normally would not go near a quail dish either but I loved this).
Uh oh, started to get really full, even though I was getting «tasting servings.» Reason? My mom reneged. (She decided not to really taste much of anything as she got into her scallops (really great), and Gary also just tasted a bit of my courses). So I had a lot of food to myself!
Next trio: lamb barbacoa on something grain-​based like a cracker but softer, with avocado and roasted corn vinaigrette (exotic, not like any lamb I ever tasted!), NY Strip Loin with chipotle creamed corn and red wine reduction (beef is not my usual 1^st choice, but this was perfectly done with fantastic flavors, textures), and cochinita pibil taco with orange and jicama slaw and a smattering of salsa (pronunciation aside, this pork dish was tender, all served in a tender torfilla with the fruit touches making this really lovely, even for non pork lovers). I had to just taste most of this trio and pack it up for later home enjoyment – or I would not have room for the dessert tastes to come next!
Last (Whew!), out came a trio of «sweets for the heat» as they labeled it. Chocolate jalapeño ice cream sundae (fab flavors, but a bit too spicey for me-​Gary inherited that one!), Lemon mascarpone panna cotta w orange/​ginger sabyon (a soft blobby shape on a cakey crackery texture with a sauce-​fabulous) and a berry raspado with raspberry cheesecake gelato (purple majestic lovely dessert-​not very sweet which was really great).
…Suffice it to say, we all had a fabulous meal and a great experience in a lovely setting (at sunset, too). It was worth the money and I highly recommend the experience to expose your taste buds and mouth to exquisite, unique food pairings, tastes and textures! SUMMER NOTE: Janos’ menu offered some special lower fee entrees for the summer. Definitely affordable. So go try Janos or go back. It’s fun and yummy.

For our anniversary, my husband and I are visiting Tucson from south Texas and chose Janos as our «splurge» celebratory dinner spot. From the greeter to the hostess to all the staff with whom we came into contact, service was impeccable. We each had different three-​course meals and all of it was tasty and unique. We spent $ 100, including drinks (tea, adult beverage and dessert cocktail). Chef Janos came out and greeted each diner by table. Lots of complimentary extras. It was a fantastic dining experience, and we would definitely return.

Went here recently for celebration dinner and had an excellent night. The service was a little slow at first, but once we got to order, the staff was very attentive and accommodating.
FH ordered the tasting menu and I got an appetizer/​entre combo and we shared everything. Highlights:
— My fried soft-​shell crab/​curry/​asian slaw/​aioli greatness, it was perfectly balanced and tasted fresh and amazing
— Lobster bisque/​minted pea & crab soup on the trio of soups unusual and expected flavors that were soooo good
— My vegetable special cassoulet in a puff pastry. I love almost every type of vegetable, and each was cooked carefully to perfection (even the brussel sprouts that I normally hate). Don’t let the veggies fool you, it was a very substantial dish.
— Snow of foie gras — shredded foie gras over granola wow
— Bread basket, every one has to get this blue corn bread/​pumpkin seed bread crisps. It took restraint not to fill up on this alone
Plus– they sent out tons of little freebies throughout the night, appetizer, gourmet lollipops.

Food was terrific. Celebrated anniversary there. They kept congratulating us, from the hostess to the waiter to a small box of chocolate compliments of the restaurant and complimentary dessert. The prix fixe menu had 12 small, tasting servings of various dishes.
They were all very good and by the end we were too full to finish dessert!
All in all, a pleasant (other than waiting 30 min after reservation to be seated) experience. and not too expensive.

I had the Tasting Menu with a fall harvest theme of 4 courses with 3 items each for $ 60 or $ 90 with pairings. I don’t really drink so I just had the food.
The bread basket was interesting — blue corn bread, flatbread with pumpkin seeds, and fresh French rolls. My favorite was the French rolls! Then we started with an amuse bouche for each person — fennel with beets and mandarin orange topped with blue cheese and a candied walnut. Not bad.
Of the appetizers, I definitely loved the pan seared scallop with a pumpkin risotto croquette. The rest were OK.
The three entrees included lamb, duck, and short ribs. I thought the short ribs were a bit dry and I don’t like lamb. So I finished the duck. Everything else to this point was truly just enough for a taste but the entrée portions were quite generous for a tasting size. I was actually full at this point.
When dessert came, I just had the apple strudel while my son ate the root beer float and bread pudding.
Around the time of our entrees, Chef Janos Wilder came out to greet is and talk to all the dinner guests. That was a nice surprise. But even better than that, we got truffle lollipops with our check — mango ones and pistachio ones!
My daughter had the surf & turf (filet mignon with sea scallops, so-​so according to her) and youngest child had a lobster bisque (covered with puff pastry –he loved) and pan seared scallops (which he didn’t finish because he was full). I can’t remember what oldest son had — not that great if I can’t remember?
Service was excellent and the atmosphere and setting was perfect with the sun setting and the clouds turning a beautiful reddish pink while we ate. I just wished the food was more spectacular since all the reviews I read were so glowing.

while in tucson we also wanted to enjoy janos signature restaurant another time (see review for downtown kitchen&cocktails this same trip) as we have so loved it in the past.
we were not disappointed! the quality of the food, presentation and flavors are wonderful with some unusual combinations that we loved. 2 of us had the lamb 4 ways which was really good– especially the lamb tongue tacos, the mole sauce & large chop and the tamale.
for dessert, of course it was the chocolate jalapeño sundae. never ceases to amaze us what a great dessert this is.
wonderful wine, lovely, elegant service and surroundings. thanks, janos!

We went here the night we got engaged. I had puff pastry lobster bisque (with corn in it!!!) as a starter, and the green tea duck as an entrée. My fiancé can’t remember what he had as a starter (real memorable, right?) and some kind of very buttery (i.e. very French) fish. My duck was interesting but not spectacular. His fish was very good though. Over all, it seems like this place is resting on its laurels. Janos is putting together *interesting* dishes, but they fall flat on the taste buds. That being said, it is worth trying if you are looking to go to a restaurant in this price range. It’s billed as the best in town, so you might as well judge it for yourself.

Ate at Janos a month ago. The food was good — that I remember — but I’m struggling to recall particular high points. I remember enjoying the blue corn madeleines in the bread basket — those were yummy. My friend’s entrée of short ribs was delicious — the depth of flavor and the texture were right on, I thought. My duck and foie appetizer was almost on the mark, but the tartness of the cranberries overpowered the plate. The fattiness of that dish definitely needed acidity for contrast, but unfortunately, the cranberries dominated the flavors. For an entrée, I got the lamb four ways dish — lamb tongue tacos, lamb mole, …and 2 other ways that I can’t recall. It was nice, but I wasn’t floored.
Overall, the meal was… good. The ambience of the place was lacking — practically empty on a Saturday night. And the interior space is so vast and open that you can really feel the emptiness of the restaurant. I’ve heard the J Bar next door may have more energy to it. I would definitely go back and try more things on the menu. I will give two very enthusiastic thumbs up to Janos’ margaritas! Now that was memorable!

While doing photography for the Westin La Paloma hotel, I was in a meeting with the owner of Jano’s and was curious about his restaurant. A friend and I dined there later that evening and felt horribly out of place.
I called ahead of time and asked what the dress code was and they said «Whatever you are comfortable with.»
I thought BADASS! Skinny jeans and a grey American Apparel Tee… Hilarity did not ensue. As my friend walked in (he was wearing an ASU shirt… In Tucson) we were easily the youngest people under forty in there and the only ones not in dress shirts. Awkward-​ness aside, we then ordered. Our server was a colorful character and helped us decipher what to order.
I decided to go with the three-​course deal and got a $ 17.00 appetizer which was a whole 2.5 bites (no wonder rich people are so skinny). We then received our main course which was mahi-​mahi over coconut rice or something exotic. While the fish was most delectable the mixing of French cooking with Latin food did not strike a note with me. While I am sure some of the other dishes pull it off well, this tuna was blasé.
The interior of the joint is pretty snazzy though and paired with the view of the city, but the experience, for us, was totally worth it because my friend and I got caviar on-​top of something else equally exquisite, compliments of the chef… I thought that only happened in rap songs.
Overall, if you want to impress your girlfriend this is the place and they even bring you gourmet lollipops at the end. Little things like that make the wallet-​raiding seem almost worth it.

4.5 stars
This is the BEST restaurant in Tucson… go Westin hotels!!! Absolutely beautiful setting and interior, impeccable service, I don’t think my water glass every slipped below halfway, and just over all an awesome experience.
I had the elk which was cooked to perfection, my boyfriend has the lamb 4 ways that was also amazing, and our desert was great. Good wine selection.
I would ABSOLUTELY go back — when I wanted to spend that much money. But it was quiet, romantic, all those lovely things a dinner date should be.

Not as elegant as some fine restaurants I’ve dined at… something is missing, I’m not sure what it is… but very nice and I appreciate the use of local, seasonal ingredients.
Our meal:
Amuse Bouche… duck confit over a corn and tomato salsa.
(This was pretty big for an amuse)
Me:
Anaheim Chili Relleno with Toasted Walnuts, Apples, Cider Sauce and Roasted Dates — Roasted Anaheim chile stuffed with toasted walnuts, dried apples, grapes and queso blanco, served on apple cider sauce with dates stuffed with whole roasted almonds wrapped in prosciutto.
Striped Bass and Crisp Whitefish with Olive Oil-​Mashed Potatoes and Mediterranean Garnishes — Fresh striped bass pan-​seared and served on olive oil-​mashed potatoes with carrot nage, black olive tapenade, dried-​tomato vinaigrette and garnished with crisp-​fried whitefish.
Him:
BBQ Quail Breast Stuffed with Pork Carnitas on Green Corn Tamale Pie — Quail breast stuffed with pork carnitas and wrapped in mesquite-​smoked bacon, roasted and served on green corn tamale pie with BBQ sauce, pearl onions, haricot vert and roasted corn vinaigrette.
Lobster and Wild Mushroom Bisque — Rich lobster cream with exotic mushrooms, corn and smoked poblano chiles, baked in puff-​pastry dome.
Tournedos of Beef Tenderloin Worthy of a Splurge
Twin filets of beef tenderloin set on brioche toast, slathered with foie gras butter and served with truffle sauce, port braised cipollini onions, fingerling potatoes, fall mushrooms and leek purée.
Dessert to share:
Warm Chocolate Truffle Soufflé and Kahlua Ice Cream
For the amuse/​starters we had a 2002 Robert Sinskey Pinot Blanc from Napa. It was incredibly floral and fantastic…
With the main courses we went with the recommendation of an 03 Raptor Ridge Pinot Noir. which was decidedly jammy but not overpowering so. (Both wines were half bottles). With the dessert, the BF had a glass of 20 year Tawny. I forget which…
We would not hesitate to go back. the bisque was a standout. occasionally I found myself wishing for just a little bit more salt, though, to bring out a bit more flavor in a couple of the dishes.

The food and service is with no question five stars, yet I am compelled to award only four because, A. The old location years back was so much better, and authentic, and a boost to that area and B. La Paloma Resort, where it is presently, is so corporate and was always disliked by natives when it was built… a.k.a, the «pink scar» on the Catalina’s.
This said, Janos Wilder is perhaps one of the very best chefs in the United States, definitely in Arizona (and after all, he is from the bay area!).
The eclectic, but harmonious menu is marvelous and ever-​changing. The last time my dinner companion and I went, we had the Salmon, which was so tender, buttery moist and had just an almost undetectable smoky taste and hot spiciness… this was great even if you are not the biggest fan of Salmon! The other entrée was the Quail Breast, which was accompanied with Chorizo and bread pudding… It was raved over, not just by my companion, but from other diners who ordered it as well!
This restaurant is still a «must» in Tucson, a «destination» even … long live Mr. Wilder!