Tlacaelel — Restaurant in State of Mexico

After a few hours of high elevation sunshine, walking a gravely rough terrain, descending and ascending steps, and enjoying the magnificent wonders of the pyramids of Teotihuacán we were way more than ready for a hardy, tasty, satisfying and relaxing sit down to refreshments and meal. Our tour guide recommended this marvelous combination restaurant and boutique loaded with tourist goodies (not a bit of it junk) from artisan crafts, gifts, native goods and more – with a humongous restaurant with a large indoor and outdoor seating. Wonderful attentive staff, a troubadour strumming his guitar and singing traditional songs, bright colors and décor, and comfortable and ample seating. A perfect repose to our pyramid trek. The food, well, as we have found throughout our trips in Mexico – the food never fails to be terrific. It seems they don’t know how to make bad food! We began our Tlacaelel dining journey by imbibing Cervesa Tecate, a Tequila Sunrise and a couple of Margaritas tradicionales. Refreshing! Once settled in, we were ready for a meal, a very, very good meal consisting of my starter of Consommé Tlacaelel (a strong tasty broth with Chicken, Aguacate, arroz, Cebolla and cilantro), my wife enjoyed a terrific juicy and tender Pechuga a la Plancha (grilled chicken thigh), my Sis and Nephew had the Pollo con Mole (Chicken in an astounding Mole Sauce, and I had Tampiqueña (a tender thick slice of beef with rice, guacamole, enchiladas and beans. Too full to even contemplate the fine array of desert offering, we decided to walk it off by visiting their adjoining boutique. The walk around the store was helpful to settle ourselves down from being so full, and its assortment of crafts, art, gifts and much, much more kept us busy for quite a while! This restaurant and boutique is highly recommended for any who visits the nearby archeological pyramids site. It makes for a magnificent respite to chill, drink, eat and repose!...

My Lover & I planned to treat our guide to a nice dinner here if he was able to accept our hospitality because he was extremely gracious with his knowledge and advice during our stay in Ciuadad Mexico, and we both genuinely enjoyed his company.

Fortunately he was able to accept our invite after making arrangements with his familia.

Beth and I opted to go with native dishes from the robust menu, again taking hints from both our guest and the waiter. Our guest ordered traditional, and we proceeded to enjoy the ambience of Tlacaelel which was surprisingly empty. It is a large T shaped high ceilinged establishment located on the exit access road leading to/from Teotihuacan Pyramids parking and the highway back to Mexico City.

Prices were fair ranging from $$$$ to $$ dishes and the selection was expansive. We ordered a range of dishes that enabled us to taste a variety of meats & vegetables cooked in differing cultural and period styles. Neither Beth nor I disliked any of the fare and I considered the meal to be a high point of the trip, especially in conjunction with having just experienced a day taking in the amazing splendour, historical antiquity, and sheer granduer of those magnificent pyramids, followed by the company of two wonderful people to share time, conversation, and a joyous palate of authentic cuisine.

I would highly recommend this establishment to those departing the pyramid grounds or for gathering with friends and family for companionship...

If you're reading this, you were probably brought to this place as a part of your Teotihuacan tour itinerary.

From the moment you entered the restaurant with your group, they had an agenda. To use you, the tourist, as a cash cow.

The food was mediocre, the meat tasted dry. The salsa sauces had no taste whatsoever.

Two people were dressed in Aztec clothes. The man was playing drums and a lady dancing, wouldn't walk away from EACH table without receiving a tip (tipping was NOT optional), a flamenco guitarist playing before and after the dancer & drummer's performance.

To add to it, the waiter was asking for a tip from me and my partner which was rude. I have happily tipped at every place in my Mexico trip except this horrible place.

So, to sum it up - The female Aztec dancer forced us and every table to tip, the flamenco guitarist wanted us to tip but did not force us at least which was good, the waiter was demanding a tip.

I could not wait to leave the place because of all this. All of it was intense.

Please stay away from this tourist trap or at least inform others if you had a similar experience as me, because sometimes as a tourist you don't have a choice of the places you...