its location is not conducive to drawing in younger diners. i think it has a reputation as a place the older generation goes for business dinners or special occasions. having said that, i am open to trying it (i'm in my early 30's) but forget about it- maybe they need to advertise more.

My husband and I (both in our late twenties) ate at Tio Pepe's for the first time last month. We received a gift certificate as a wedding gift. We both enjoyed ourselves, for the most part. The atmosphere reminded me of restaurants I've been to in Europe. The food was delicious - very rich. I had lobster stuffed with crab, shrimp, and mushrooms, and my husband had the chicken and lobster in a sherry sauce. We could have easily shared one dish. The portions were huge and both meals were very rich. The staff was friendly. My only complaint is that it's a bit cramped in there. It was crowded when we went and I felt like I had been hemmed into the corner. The meal we had felt like a splurge-ish comfort food type of deal. We probably won't be going there frequently, but we'll be back at some point, I'm sure.

I first visited Tio's as a teenager with my parents and loved it. Now that I am in my mid twenties I have been back only a few times during Restaurant Week because I am on a student's budget. That said, I look for any excuse to go to Tio Pepe's. I feel like it is a restaurant expreience you absolutely cannot get anywhere else in area. The service is phenomenal, the food is as good as I have come across in the city (blows the doors of the Brass Elephant, which consistently gets good reviews), and the atmosphere is unique. Even during Restaurant Week, when many places fall flat on their face due to the overwhelming crowds, Tio's seemed to take it all in stride. Anyone that wouldn't have this restaurant in their top ten or even top five in Baltimore is crazy. I have only ever had one complaint there, and it is the noise. But its well worth putting up with to have a meal there.

My wife and I ate there 20+ years ago shortly after we got married and she moved down here from NJ (I had been here for a couple of years already). In North Jersey, Spanish restaurants are plentiful, popular and generally fairly relaxed places to go. We found Tio Pepe's food OK and the atmosphere not warranting "jacket required." Those are the main things I can remember from the experience, other than having to wait for our table even with a reservation. We just didn't find it to be a place we were interested in going back to, and wondered what all the fuss was about. On the other hand, we lament the loss of Haussner's, a truly enjoyable experience, no matter how many times we would go.

I'm not surprised at all that Tio Pepe didn't make Baltimore Magazine's list of "Top 40 Restaurants that Advertise Heavily in Baltimore Magazine."

Back in college, one of my older professors, and an undoubtedly true Baltimorean, all could talk about whenever he refers to food and hunger was Tio Pepe's. For him it was the place to go to as you have described - a beloved (and almost forgotten?) institution for many years. I am still in my 20's and I have never been there and for some reason have no desire either. I guess I do belong to that fleeting generation that's more concerned about trends and latest things than what has been tried and true. Nevertheless, I would have loved to still have other institutions such as Marconi's, and Haussner's (I recently read a National Geographic from the 1950's on Baltimore that featured the latter). Alas, maturity and appreciation still needs to catch up to me.

Hate. No quiero Tio Pepe. Es muy mal. It's in a musty old basement. The service and the silverware are spotty (yuck). The sangria is not refreshing - it often tastes like it has too much brandy and cinammon even though I'm not certain those flavors are from directly using too much of those ingredients. The "white" sangria just shouldn't even be offered. The food doesn't get close to being traditional Spanish food aside from the names. All dishes are sloppily plated and portions too large. People who claim to be "in the know" like to order dishes not on the menu which is pretentious and annoying.

I have never been able to fathom why people always raved about Tio's even during it's hay day, which has long since past. Firstly, the dinning area is too cramped to feel really comfortable, the portions are way too large, the food is mediocre at best and the service (if you're not a regular) is hit or miss. I myself really liked Cafe Madrid and Chef Pepe. He was really interested in knowing what you thought of his cooking and more importantly he was interested in good food! Spain is a large country with a large variety of wonderful food and wine but the menue at Tio's does not reflect this at all. Maybe one of the reasons that it is still so popular is because it caters to what most Americans think Spanish food should be and the large portions.

I've been to Tio's the past three years for work holiday parties. It's good -- but a little expensive for a work luncheon party. I like their omlets and sangria. My favorite part of the meal is the almond nut roll -- so much better than the chocolate rolls!

I just don't like how it is set up -- it seems crowded and people are always walking very close to the table to get to their tables further back. But the wait staff is excellent.

Claire, you mention crowds. Crowds are a sign the restaurant's working at some level. If I run a restaurant, I want the hearts and minds of customers first, critics second -- even if it's a close second.
One guess as to why Tio doesn't register high on the critics' lists may have more to do with what's happening around Tio than in it.
Ever love a movie that was panned by a critic you admire? My sense is the critic looks with different eyes. She doesn't examine the movie or restaurant alone, but how it relates to industry context. That relationship can cost a good restaurant or movie points -- even if it's drawing big crowds.
Tio was the first restaurant I visited in Baltimore. Made me think, hey, I'm going to like it here. But if it was my job to cast a critical eye I'd look at not only food and service quality, but ambience, vibe, and whatever issues I bring to the table (pun, pardon, merci) or those I believe my readers bring.
Commenters on this blog reflect that phenomenon. Rarely does a restaurant get unanimous props among EL's commenters; some like, some don't, both perhaps for solid reasons or possibly one showed up at the wrong time (or has absolutely no taste and should be confined to the McDonald's in the third circle of hell).
Good restaurants, like good critics, need to be taken in their context. They exist to be extolled and reviled but live to be visited over and over and over.

I love Tio Pepe's. I took my wife and family for her birthday two years ago, and the service was so great that we made it our regular celebration restaurant. It didn't help that Chef Sanz made us Spanish potato chips in honor of my wife's birthday, or that the kitchen made a special chocolate dessert for her as well. I got the pine nut roll! Incidentally, I am in my late twenties, so I fit the criteria of a twenty-something.

I'm happy to still fit into the 20-/30-something category (and will for another 7 years)!

My take on Tio Pepe is simple: My favorite restaurant in Baltimore. Any special occassion is a great excuse to head there. While Charleston may be the best overall meal, the combination of food and amibiance at Tio Pepe is unrivaled. And, yes, it's not a trendy choice (so you don't go there to meet new people or people watch) and you leave feeling as if you'll burst at the seems but you keep coming back, year after year.

While many of us have great memories of celebrations there, they also do a wonderful job of making everyone feel special. How many people in Baltimore think they know a fabulous "off the menu" item there? Tio Pepe could've put all of these on the menu years ago but people feel special when they can order the potato puffs, appetizer sampler, seafood wellington, Lobster Emilio, etc. A great experience that I hope last for a long time to come.

I'm a fairly newcomer and a 20-something, and I actually haven't heard of Tio Pepe. Although I do love Spanish cuisine, so I might try to find out more. I will say that the decor in the picture of this blog makes it seem a little stuffy for a 20-something looking to go out for a date to a young and hip place.

I think that us 20-30 year olds find the Ruth's Chris/Capital Grille/Pazo setting much more appealing. Both of these places have a very spacious bar area where you could even order food, or just sit and chat over drinks. Tio's is more cramped, and really not somewhere you would swing by after work to have a few drinks with friends. Tio's is also really off the beaten path and not realy within walking distance to much of the night life like the other mentioned restaurants.
I had only heard about Tio's from my parents because that is where the marriage proposal happened...back in the 80s. The place still gives off a very "dated" vibe.

I was in NYC dining in a very good Spanish Restaurant. After complimenting the maitre de on the meal, he asked where I was from. When I said Baltimore, he asked me how they compared to Tio Pepe's. I responded that they were as good as Tio Pepe's and he immediately summoned the chef who had a grin from ear to ear when the conversation was repeated to him. To me that sums it all up. There certainly aren't many Baltimore restaurants that would have that far reaching a reputation!

I'm in my late-20's and LOVE Tio's. Although I don't frequent there as often as I prefer, due to budget reasons. Usually, we venture out to try something new and ultimately end up comparing to how we feel at Tio's. I actually like the layout. It reminds me of my time in Spain.

Just don't get it.

Back in the day I was dragged there constantly for celebrations, and never had any food worth note except the seafood salad at lunch.

Couldn't figure out how Carol Levitt could choke down one of their desserts, much less seven at a sitting.

The waiters wouldn't speak to the women at the table, so I haven't been back in 20 years.

I do like the way they fold your leftovers into little foil swans and the like... not enough to get be to go back of my own accord.

I have only been a couple of times and that was probably almost 10 years ago. I was under-impressed by the size and quality of the ingredients used in some dishes I tried. At this time I was also dining at La Pescatore and found them much nicer and the table spacing better.

Now I go to Jalapenos in Annapolis. I'm dismayed that they are in a strip mall but the interior is lush and gorgeous. The service very good. The food AMAZING! It's hard to tear myself away and give Tio Pepe's another try.

I'm still in the 20/30 demographic and I don't get what all the fuss is about. I think you're right on about the dining experience at Tio Pepe's bringing back fond memories. The first time I ate there I had a decent meal, loved the pine nut cake. When I went back a few years later for a big family celebration, the meal was horrible. My paella tasted of bad fish and had more green beans than anything else. That, and being crammed into a corner, made us vow we'd never go back (at least not on our own dime).

I am the "Claire" that started this question about Tio Pepe. The responses are interesting to read; some were quite thoughtful. . I did also notice that this was the first time I did not see an ad for Tio Pep in Baltimore Magazine. Perhaps it was a response to being cut from the Best Restaurant issue for the last few years. I do not know. They have advertised in it for years. In response to another, I find waiters do talk to me. However, years ago it was the custom for a waiter to take the order from the man, not the woman. It was that way in all of the "better" restuaurants. That has probably gone by the wayside but these are "old-school" waiters from Spain. I think it is expensive for lunch but not porportionately so for dinner when you consider that the vegetables do come with the order and the portions are generous. I can usually count on dinner for another evening. Sadly I have not seen my leftovers handed to me in a "swan" in many a year. For those who do not like crowds a Saturday is probably not the best night to go, but if a restaurant is not crowded on a Saturday, they are not going to make it. And no it is not a place to go meet people, but it is a place for that very special occasion. I have heard of others who "popped the question" there. Thank you for your input. Claire

I'm in my early 30's, and I'll take Tio Pepe over the likes Ruth Chris any day. Ruth Chris to me is a place for people who don't really understand food, but they want to show off in front of their neighbors from White Marsh that they have some money. Don't get me wrong, I love steak, but if I'm after steak, I'm going to the Prime Rib.

Back to Tio Pepe's, what is not to love? How many other places offer suckling pig? Oh, and the garlic shrimp. As to the ambiance, I love it. Maybe it is dated, but it has charm. Anyway, I'm dated. My fashion is dated. My politics are dated. My food choices are dated. Oh, you get the picture.

Note for lillian -- my recollection is that Jeffrey and Karol Levitt's infamous gluttony (in which they ordering a dozen desserts between them at one sitting) occurred in the John Eager Howard Room at the Belvedere, not at Tio Pepe.

Baltimore Magazine is a rag. Hannah Feldman is fake(censor). Couldn't be happier that she's gone. Tio Pepe's is a classic, consistent and successful restaurant, where I've never had a bad meal. Baltimore Mag. is a sell out and should be marginalized and disregarded much like the "50 Best" restaurants that it promotes.

Last October, in the Food Issue of Balt Mag, Hannah Feldman wrote an article about Tio Pepe. She acknowledged the tension between the magazine and the restaurant, but the article was, overall, pretty glowing.

It focused a lot on personality - and I think that's appropriate. I've had great food at Tio (I'm 32, by the way), but it's the old school service combined with the festive atmosphere that makes me love it. That, and that I grew up around here and started hearing about the magic of the restaurant when I was a kid.

I actually wonder if people who grow up in Baltimore are more likely than transplants to love Tio as even young adults.

I have to admit, though, when someone knows that I'm a food blogger and they ask about Baltimore restaurants, I rarely mention Tio, despite my really fantastic experiences there. I always think they're looking for a new, "hotttt" recommendation. Maybe institutions just can't seem cool?

I'm in the 20s/30s demographic and really like Tio Pepe, and have been there probably 10-15 times, for special occasions or holiday luncheons.

The service is not only really good, it's also very warm. And their garlic shimp blows away that at the highly regarded Sol de Espana (of Andalucia) in MoCo.

It's a cozy, attractive space, and when it's crowded, you can feel the energy but it's never too loud. Almost every time I've been, the chef has visited our table (and I don't know anyone there). And he sends out gratis these amazing puffy potato chips that seem simple but are actually pretty hard to make (I looked it up).

You usually have to ask for the swan presentation of leftovers. Some people like it, but I feel like a child walking out with a foil bird.

The great thing about it is, it's been the same ever since I started going there. You know what you're going to get, which is good if you're celebrating, or need a consistently reliable place to take your visiting relatives. And it's cool for people who aren't trying to be cool and just want good food in a warm atmosphere.

hmpstd, I also immediately thought of Karol Levitt and her 6 or 7 desserts at Tio Pepe's when this thread started. But they probably pigged out all over town, if I remember the newspaper photos correctly.

I'm 42 years old and used to work around the corner from Tio Pepe. I've never eaten there. My parents had dined there once in the early 70s and had a mixed reaction. Had they raved about it, I probably would have eaten there at some point in my life. But that, coupled with that big Health Department closing they had in the early 90s (?) has kept me away.

And do they really serve that food in Spain anymore? Maybe 30 years ago....

I have to agree with Ryan about Baltimore Magazine. It's not even worth putting on the bottom of the bird cage. Page after page after page of adverts and not one substantive article. And I have never been chosen as one of the so-called hot singles of Baltimore - ROFL.

But I digress - I've been in Bmore almost 18 years and I went to Pepe's once, to celebrate Mother's Day with the local mother unit. I didn't care for the place at all. To me the food was average, the prices high and the space claustrophobic.

kitpollard, you might be right about your "transplant" comment. I moved to Baltimore in my early 20s (now I'm in my early 30s). At first I loved the place, but as I said, my last experience there was pretty bad, making me reluctant to go back. My husband, a "native", used to go there for family celebrations and now feels the same way. But his friends, also "natives", think it's the best around.

It' unfortunate that so many commenters have had bad experiences at Tio Pepe's or have panned it due the non trendy menu or stuffy atmosphere. We Baltimoreans (born and raised) are kind of funny about places like Tio Pepe's. It's more about the experience and the fact that our parents went there. We like to live in the past no matter the cost. How many of us lament the loss of Memorial Stadium yet tend to gloss over the fact that the men's room rarely had running water? Sadly, we are losing Baltimore institutions faster than ever and once they are gone, they do not come back - that's how it is with traditions. If Tio Pepe's goes - who will be next?

Having read all comments on Tio Pepe's, it occurred to me that you could have substituted, at one time, Hausner's, as well as today, Chiaparelli's, The Prime Rib, etc and had the same lively commentary. Never having been to Spain, I asked my niece (she's 27), who spent 3 years at university in Salamanca , what she thought of Tio Pepe's food. So a 10 minute conversation can be put at: "she liked a tilapia done Andalusia style, said their paella was pretty good too. She liked the chocolate mousse. She did a lot of tapas bars in Spain and drank more beer than wine so this would put her more in the Pazo area. She likes Pazo. Obviously, you don't get tilapia or rock fish in Spain. She thought that it was kind of like eating Italian in the US. There's Italian, then there's American Italian. And there is nothing bad about either." I enjoy going to Martick's (I'd love to hear what people think about Martick's) and I'll bet I can find 50+ people who think the place is awful, the wallpaper alone could drive you out of the place. bryanintimonium makes a good point. I think it would be a shame to lose Tio's as well as Martick's.

Dave, you must be relatively new to this blog. We've covered Martick's pretty thoroughly. Do a search!

I'm not one of the Tio Pepe fans and haven't been there in decades, so I can't comment on it today. But I can explain its continued popularity with my (senior citizen) generation. When it was opened a half century or so ago, Baltimore was a culinary desert. It offered the first truly upscale "international" cuisine in town (apologies to Marconi's). The first chef came from the Spanish Pavilion at the New York World's Fair. So it was the "splurge" restaurant for many years, as well as the leading place for celebratory lunches downtown.

Dahlink, I'm kinda new and will do a search, should be interesting. Only excuse is I do have a job! I also check Midnight Sun! The Sun! Seatle Times! Live! City Paper! City Cafe! Chowhound! The Onion! CNN! ESPN! Medline! Edline! The Weather Channel! E-mail! Voice Mail! Text Messages! News Hounds!!!!!!!!! Honestly, I haven't been the same since that house landed on my sister back in '39. :~)

Clearly you're spending too much time on other sites. I would eliminate the other things (especially e-mail; that's very time consuming) and concentrate on Dining@Large.

I think Dave really needs to reorder his priorities.

Life's a B*tch and then they drop a house on your sister.

I would eliminate the other things (especially e-mail; that's very time consuming)

I'd eliminate work...that's much more time consuming. :-)

Rosebud, Hal, EL, took your advice. Quit my job, Sam Sessa's off my favorite's list, cell phone's in the harbor, and I'm on a suicide mission to Royal Farms for..... Y'all are great!

Mr. Dave, you are just the sort we need here in the sandbox. Now, how about a mini-review of your trip to Royal Farm. Its been much too quiet around here. Tell us how good was the ...

I was intrigued by the references to the Levitt couple, so I did a search and found this article from 1986 in the Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/27/AR2006112700867_pf.html

Indeed, the article mentions Jeffrey and Karol each consuming six desserts at the Belvedere Hotel. With all of their extravagant spending in the '80s, it seems like they wanted to be Baltimore's answer to the Carringtons on "Dynasty."

Robert tSO: My RF experience began with 12.3 gal. of "street legal" gasoline that had an ethanol forward nose, displaying a varietal character similar to Wawa's E85, with a tanky finish. My lunch was a grilled to perfection chicken breast, with tender, crisp, and impeccably fresh iceberg lettuce, an exotic combination of roasted red pepper, tomato, basil, and capers, drizzled with a balsamic reduction, in an exquisite sun dried tomato wrap. And then there was the succulent sushi. SUSHI? I'll never doubt Ms Large again. Mea maxima culpa. It all ended with a Naked Juice fruit drink. Gotta dash, I'm off to Dundalk.

Dave - You made my day with that incredibly funny post. Thanks, and have a great weekend.

My lunch was a grilled to perfection chicken breast, with tender, crisp, and impeccably fresh iceberg lettuce, an exotic combination of roasted red pepper, tomato, basil, and capers, drizzled with a balsamic reduction, in an exquisite sun dried tomato wrap

Which, of course, was eaten with your impeccably clean hands.

Dave- does Royal Farms take reservations? I just don't feel confident about getting a walk-in on a Friday night...

Patrick, I think the RF on Boston at Newkirk takes reservations. Just be aware that there are some real characters in the place. Yesterday there was a Harbor Police mope, name of McNulty, there having some issues with the Krispy Kremes. If this does not pan out, try the Enron on Key Hwy and Lawrence. Bon Appetit!

Okay, Dave can stay, but he needs a better name. Anyone?

As a 20 something....I love Tio's. We do consider it a special occasion place, and where we tend to go before seeing a show at the Hippodrone. I think the place is all about the atmosphere. While you are sitting onto of the table next to you, it is over all cozy. The food is good, too rich at times, yes but overall very good and very much worth it. Whenever we go there is garlic shrimp and sangria all around. Of course we end the meal with the Spanish coffee...love watching the old men make them. Overall a Baltimore instituation that everyone needs to experience atleast once.

I'm 30 years old and my wife and I love going to Tio Pepe's. Perhaps it's the atmosphere? I think its a mix of the great sangria, great seafood dishes, potato puffs, and spanish coffee. I mean they set it on fire! How can you not have fun when your coffee is flaming! Great place to eat!