Tio's Latin American Kitchen — Restaurant in Hilton Head Island

2021: Updated: I've visited this restaurant on multiple occasions (and locations) over the years of visiting Hilton Head, but this week I was particularly unimpressed for a few reasons:

While the waitstaff is wearing tie dyed tshirts with "Tio's Tequila Squad" on them, our waitress could not tell me what tequila was in the house margarita when asked if it was 100% agave. Turns out it is Juarez, a terrible mixto, so save yourself and call your tequila for a few dollars more.

The service was lacking. For the inflated prices, service should be upbeat, proactive, and timely. Our server was reluctant, annoyed, and disappearing.

The food was meh at best. Several people at the table complained (quietly, not to the server) of how bland/boring their dishes were. I ordered the Tios salad with grilled "coastal" shrimp (Gulf coast, SC coast, China coast? Nobody knows) and was disappointed that it was served with no grilled pineapple, little avocado and the smallest shrimp I have ever been served.

The drinks were inconsistent. My wife ordered a skinny margarita, that while overly acidic (perhaps forgot the agave?) was not bad. Her second, though, tasted like sea water and simple syrup.

If you're going to give them the benefit of the doubt, hold your ground and make sure that you get what you're paying for. If it's not what you ordered, send it back. No need to be a Karen, but without feedback, I don't know how this place will survive. (See below for the stark contrast of my 2018 visit)

Also, I did not pay the bill for this trip, but read from others that they charge an additional 3.5% for credit card processing. That is unlike most restaurants on the island and should be included in their prices or FULLY disclosed before you order food. Beware.

Note: I live in Texas where tequila knowledge and good food are tablestakes at Latin restaurants.

2018: Such a special treat every time we come and eat. Be sure to try the carnitas, the house made corn tortillas and the...

I really want to give a better review but I just can’t. Was very optimistic upon arrival, very nice, bright open space and a tasty drink, but it quickly went downhill. My order was wrong and the server acted personally offended when I pointed it out. Her initial cheery demeanor turned on a dime. For the price of the entrees I don’t think I was remiss in asking for what I ordered. The manager stopped by and was very gracious and corrected the order and made sure we were satisfied (this was very good customer service on his part). Unfortunately the food was mediocre at best (I had the chimichanga, my dad had the tacos which he enjoyed). The chimichanga was mushy and fairly bland. The guacamole tasted like the packaged kind I just bought from Publix. The worst part was the server, who couldn’t wait for us to leave. After we paid the bill we were chatting for a bit and she came by asking us if we wanted desert (we had already said no prior to paying the bill), she was clearly anxious for us to leave. I note that it did not appear that people were waiting, nor were we there for an excessive amount of time. She just wanted us gone. I note that there is a lot of competition for this type of food on the island, I’ve had way better experiences at numerous other places. I’d think twice before coming back but again kudos to the manager for trying and caring. Improved food and a more pleasant server may improve the experience, but I won’t be rushing back...

Our first night going and surprisingly not super Busy in the location they are at. The restaurant is very festive with tables miss matched and funky chairs. The two of us were sat nearly immediately. After nearly 10 minutes of waiting for a person to arrive to take our drink order, the hostess came over and asked if anyone had taken her drink water. A waitress came from the other side of the restaurant and took our drink order at that point. It turns out she had been working the outside and had one table inside which was ours. We ordered our appetizer at first which was queso and chips. The queso and chips came before our drinks and it was bland. Zero flavor. Our drinks came several minutes later, I ordered a glass of Prosecco and my daughter ordered a virgin piña colada. Note the bar was not busy. We ordered our dinner which was tacos which came out about 20 minutes later And delivered by the hostess. My drink was empty. I had to flag our waitress down to order another glass of Prosecco which arrived after I finish my dinner. We quickly paid our bill which was $67 plus a tip and I decided to talk to the manager about our service. Obviously from being in the restaurant business nearly my whole life I understand that it can get crazy busy and it likely was not our waitresses fault, but the service really was terrible. The manager didn’t seem to really care. I had a wonderful time with my daughter but we will not be...