Tio Luis

Tio Luis Restaurant Review:

Although the restaurant is located in the Condesa, Mexico City’s trendiest neighborhood, it is on a quiet side street, and its most winning quality is its resolutely old-fashioned atmosphere. In business since 1939, Tío Luis is the sort of restaurant where middle-aged waiters in black vests and bow ties address their clients as jefe (chief), caballero (gentleman) or señora. Decorated with bullfight photographs---the late owner, Pedro Yllana, was a matador in his youth---the eatery hosts lunch crowds that are entertained by a pianist who knows every ballad from the Latin American repertoire written before 1965. The food is eclectic, with Mexican specialties such as chicken enchiladas in a piquant green tomato sauce or puntas al albañil (steak tips in a fiery chile sauce); a topnotch paella; or milanesa Holstein (a breaded veal cutlet topped with a fried egg and an anchovy). But Tío Luis is most famous for being “el rey del pollo”---the chicken king---and of the varied chicken dishes on the menu, the standout is pollo Tío Luis, the closest thing to Southern fried you can find in Mexico City.