I'm torn on Taïm. My feelings fall somewhere in the 3.5 realm and (from what you can see of this…read morereview) I chose to round up, though my reasoning might be a little skewed. Let me explain.
I met my buddy here for dinner back in late February before heading to the nearby movie theater. I hadn't known Taïm was so close by (or to be honest, what it even was!) until my Yelp search led me to this location. A little Mediterranean-esque meal sounded good and so we strolled in around 7:45 to a semi-spacious spot with no one else in it. Perhaps it was a bit chilly inside, a tad later for some, or maybe the menu isn't/wasn't as enticing to everyone (I watched a family of 4 walk in and out after reading it over), but whatever the reason, it worked for us.
Reading things over on that menu, taim feels a lot like Wild Fig or Hummus Mediterranean, two spots with a similar setup that I find to be superb. In the same bowl (or plate as they call it) manner, you can pick your rice/salad base, protein/veggie, toppings, and then sauce. There was plenty to choose from though I opted for the rice over chicken shawarma with toppings of pickled onion, feta, Kalamata olives, peppers, and a cucumber/tomato mix. I got harissa sauce on the side and it came with pita bread too. My buddy got a similar mixture of things. The price for my plate came to a little over $15 which seemed reasonable enough.
Once settled at a seat, I dug into the plate with the zing of the chicken shawarma taking hold along with plenty of spicy/tangy/creamy/fresh flavors coming through as well. The pita was subpar if we're being honest here, but I used it with some of that harissa which helped. Though mostly tasty, the plate did seem a little small and by the time I finished, I probably could have had something else to feel a little more full.
So why the borderline review? Honestly, the experience was fine, but as you can kind of tell, nothing about taim really jumped out to me. Interior was basic (with honestly too many stools and not enough seats), price was decent, food was pretty good, and service was ok (the staff seemed a little out of it) so me returning here feels like, at first, a real tossup...unless you throw in that proximity piece. Though it shouldn't really count, the closeness to the movie theater (which I will occasionally visit when meeting up with friends) will potentially get me to come back to a place like this again if I'm looking for a lighter type of meal. So with that in mind, taim may hold a purpose for some when in this area and wanting this type of cuisine.
Overall, I think Taïm is nothing necessarily special, but it can serve a purpose with its unique type of food in a location that does not seem to offer up too much else like it. Any competition might eliminate the desire to go here and therein lies the dilemma, but for now, I'll push things north and give taim those four stars if for no other reason than where it is and what's around it. Perhaps more visits (because of cinema closeness) will help to solidify those four celestials, but only time will tell.