Entering El Tipico through a royal purple door, it is likely best to reset your expectations for what a Mexican restaurant in Toledo should be.
Ingredients are fresh and organic, from the finely chopped onions to the freshly picked cilantro. El Tipico sources fresh produce from the Phoenix Food Co-Op and Claudia’s Health Foods. That attention to fine details sets this family-owned eatery apart as one of the finest Mexican restaurants in the city.
I was quickly seated at a cozy table against a backdrop of burnt sienna walls in the modest sized dining area. Two family portraits of the Villa clan, the family that has run El Tipico since the late 1960s, overlook the room, casting watchful eyes over the diners.
Helpful hints for a visit to El Tipico
First piece of advice: Get a reservation. The place is almost always filled with patrons and even though I was seated without a long wait, it’s best if you pre-plan your visit. El Tipico has a devoted following who swear by the family created recipes that make up the menu selections.
El Tipico has no liquor license and even though most area Mexican restaurants offer margaritas as part of the dining experience, this is a restaurant that doesn’t need booze to make a good impression. Though I usually would opt for a cane sugar-based bottle of Mexican Coca-Cola, I opted instead for the Mexican hot chocolate–a semi-sweet potion with a mixture of spices that linger on the palate and complement the food. The Mexican hot chocolate mix is even sold to go, along with most other menu items, including chips and tamales by the dozen. They also sell to-go portions of their house-made salsa, prepared fresh every day. Mild salsa is usually served, but there are also hot and extra hot options available for those with daring taste buds.
Menu selections
Resisting the urge to finish the complimentary basket of fresh tortilla chips and salsa, I ask my server for a small order of guacamole, one of the true test items for any Mexican restaurant. Served with a fresh tomato slice garnish, the guacamole is damn near perfect–creamy and cool with just the right amount of tartness.
Though the Mexican hot chocolate is a powerful impetus to order the chicken mole, a traditional Mexican dish with chocolate and nutmeg as its foundation, I instead select Mexican Dinner #1, which comes with a little bit of everything– a delightfully melted cheese enchilada smothered in traditional red sauce, a beef burrito stuffed with chunks of tender steak swimming in a dark, rich gravy, a crispy shelled taco with ground beef and a bean tostada topped with fresh vegetables and plenty of cheese, all served with sides of refried beans and Mexican rice.
Family operated for six decades
The mastermind behind El Tipico is Dina Villa, who takes a small break from manning the kitchen to come talk with me. The restaurant has been a part of the Villa family for almost six decades and Villa uses the recipes handed down by her late mother, who founded El Tipico in March 1968.
Her father was an Air Force recruiter who worked in downtown Toledo when her mother had the idea of opening a “little taco stand.” Fifty-seven years later, that little taco stand has become a Toledo culinary landmark. Long may El Tipico reign.
El Tipico Restaurant
1444 South Ave
(419) 382-0661
Weds – Sat 11am-8pm
eltipicotoledo.com
