Tio Pepe — Restaurant in Região Geográfica Imediata do Recife

(Updated Review) We recently came back here for lunch, and the experience made me eat my words from my previous review. The service was great and the food tasted and was presented very nicely. All our dishes were delicious. The crab appetizer was presented properly, the portions were decent and the taste was just right. For a main course, I had a delicious seafood risotto with squid & crab. My wife had a filet mignon with puree and both were also great. I’m glad I came back, because now I see why they’ve been open since 1964.

(Original review) This restaurant has been open since 1964, which is quite an accomplishment. The space is beautiful, decorated with quaint and quirky items. They have many different areas to sit, and each one has its own charm. This was my first visit here and I was excited to give them a try. Unfortunately, I was disappointed by the food. The service was good, but the food underwhelmed. We started with some chicken wings and crab meat served in its shell. The waiter put two items on the table and my wife and I started eating the wings. They were the crispiest wings I’ve ever had. The dipping sauce could have been better, but a little hot sauce cured that. It was plated nicely. I was waiting for my wife’s crab appetizer to come. There was a plastic cup on the table that I thought was some sort of condiment. Eventually, we poked at this “condiment” and it turned out that this was the crab we ordered. It was sad to look at and didn’t taste very good. When I asked the waiter about the serving, he said it was because of Covid (the excuse for everything these days). Tio Pepe is a member of the Associação dos Restaurantes da Boa Lembrança (the Association of Restaurants of Good Memories), and that’s the main reason we came here (I collect the plates they feature if you order their annually featured dish). We both had the dish—Pepa Chiquetosa (Chique Pepa). It consisted of 2 pieces of carne do sol (dried) beef, 2 delicious sauces, fried okra, rice and black-eyed peas with pumpkin puree. It was OK, but 2 pieces of beef? It was unimpressive. I will come back here again, but I hope that I have a better dining experience next time and if you eat here, I...

This is a wonderful atmosphere with indoor and outdoor seating. We ordered roasted chicken partially de-boned to lay flat on the open flame grill for even cooking without being dried out. It came with farofa with pumpkin rice & beans. I took a walk around the perimeter and through the kitchen. The place hummed like a bee hive turly impressive and well decorated. The red berry ciporoska was crisp and sweet. I heard from the table next to us about an expresso desert they said was a must so I ordered it! They were right it was a perfect finish to our lunch. Highly recommended and...

The location is really nice. The food is a little greasy. The service is not so good, if you ask a question the waiter may simply say yes without understanding your question. The food is very simple, it is very local cuisine. From the ratings and price we actually expected the quality to be a little better, but the restaurant's success seems mostly due to marketing and how hip it looks. I believe it is best to visit with groups looking for a fun time rather than choosy foodies. Please don't order a risotto thinking that's...