Tio Pepe: A Taste of Spain and Mexico in the West Village

This is the fifth in a series of posts from a weekend trip to NYC. You can read the first post here (a general overview), the second post here (a review of a small chain of Thai restaurants), the third post here (cupcake truck!), and the fourth post here (more cupcakes). The remaining posts will go up over the next several days.

When traveling, I've always found the most interesting meals by trusting the advice of locals. Kim said Tio Pepe was amazing, so we had no choice but to go. We headed over with Joel before going to see The Stepkids play at Sullivan Hall. Tio Pepe felt a bit like a brighter, more open Dali with less cool stuff hanging on the walls. The website mentions a "romantic skylight garden" that does look rather romantic, but we were not seated there.

Service was friendly, although I earned a stern "no more sangria for you" admonishment from our waiter after I knocked my knife onto the floor. (A few minutes later, he poured me a very full second glass from our very large pitcher.)

Kim swears by the chimichangas, but I was dreaming of chorizo, so I ended up with arroz con pollo, a traditional saffron rice dish with chicken and chorizo, embellished with peas and red peppers.

Delicious.

I was lost in sangria-land and don't remember what Joel ordered, but everyone left satisfied. If this were in my neighborhood, I'd definitely return, but since it's in NYC where there are hundreds (thousands?) of other restaurants I need to try, it'll probably be awhile before I go back to this one.

My NYC weekend miniseries continues with Part VI: A Farmers' Market on Wheels.