El Tio — Restaurant in Villa Rica

My gorgeous wife and I happened across El Tio on our way home from a brief (and well-deserved) vacation. Having a craving for some delicious Mexican "comida", we decided to give El Tio a try. Our first impressions were positive- a charming if modest appearance and a warm atmosphere. The cracks started to show as the food began to arrive. I found the salsa to be quite delicious, but it's not for everyone- my lovely companion found it to be rather sharp with aggressive acidity. The chips were not fresh. Some were still somewhat crispy but others had an almost soggy texture. As we began to peruse the menu, we were discouraged to find that the majority of the menu items were marked up by at least a dollar. It's tough all over, I suppose, but not the most professional look. We made our selections and several minutes later our main courses arrived. It was immediately obvious that they had lain forgotten beneath a heat lamp for some time- the exciting Oaxaca cheese atop my Pollo Fundido heralded by the menu had congealed into a thick paste. The chicken itself was completely dry- absolutely no moisture to speak of. The long-suffering chorizo atop it resembled loose, day-old taco meat. For her part, my darling wife was somewhat more pleased with her Pollo Loco although the only thing "crazy" about it was how thoroughly it, too, was overcooked. As we finished our meals (I managed about 50% of mine, aided ably by the adequate guacamole salad), we both took the time to relieve ourselves. The journey to the facilities proved to be a harrowing one, as we were forced to squeeze past huge buffet tables to a sweltering sweat lodge of a bathroom. After several minutes had passed, I inquired as to the status of the check- I was shortly informed that I was expected to go to the front counter to pay (despite our waitress being the only visible front-of-house employee and seeing checks distributed to other tables). I paid our tab and my vibrant partner and I made a hasty retreat. I award El Tio 2 stars for (debatably) enjoyable salsa and...

We were greeted as soon as we entered the restaurant. We were instructed to sit wherever we wanted. We found a spot, and I left to go to the ladies' room. I'm a clean freak, but I was wishing I had washed my hands before I entered the bathroom. Let's just say it could use a little elbow grease on the next cleaning (which I'm hoping will be that night before closing).

I gingerly made my way back to our table, eyeballing as much as I could on my short walk back. I noticed a lot of inventory, dirty floors, a table with silverware strewn from one end to the other, just a highly unorganized place of business.

The waitstaff was great. Very personable, attentive, even though the waiter forgot to bring my husband's beer, but he was honest and admitted to us that he forgot about the beer. The The first thing I did was to order a 32oz. frozen margarita! It was very good, but then again, it's made from a mix...kinda hard to mess up. So we ordered our dinner, me the Carnitas dinner and my husband, the enchillada, bean burrito and chille relleno. The chips weren't very good, they were thick. The salsa, on the other hand, was very good!! It has quite a kick to it, but not over the top. The food was actually decent, I must say I was pleasantly surprised.

Drum roll, please........ even though the food was good, the lack of cleanliness is just too big of a deal-breaker for me. The place needs a really good cleaning and a makeover. That sounds like a mission for...

Too bad i can't add picks of all the knats all over our food at the table. My wife ask our server about it and she laghed said they were everywhere they was trying everything to get rid of them even asked if we had any ideas on how to get rid of them. Not once did she apologize for it or even make an attempt to offer a discount or anything. We asked about a manager she said she was it and we could comment any problems. When my wife did this girl got extremely rude said she owned the villa rica, Douglasville, and Hiram restaurants and that my wife was not welcome in there any more but i was. Well no I'm not and will not be going to the Douglasville location any either. Unbelievable that a person would treat a customer's this way. The gentleman in the back came up and she told him our complaints he said I'm sorry 2 times but this little girl i wish i knew her name and could actually find the the real owner. She doesn't need to be in public...