Tio’s Tortas

I am sooo sad. I work across the street and have been a big fan of this place since it opened. What happened Tios? You will be sorely missed!

cheap (big) pitcher of dos equis? check!
condiment bar featuring everything from pico de gallo and mango salsa to spicy bacon ranch and jalapeño ketchup? check!
salty, crispy fries that are good plain or doused in chili and cheese? check!
Great service, great food and a solid location make this a hit whether it’s for a quick lunch during the work week or a drawn out feast on the weekend. Definitely check out the pavo (grilled turkey w/​guacamole, smoked pumpkin mole sauce, cranberry sauce and crema).
I’m a complete condiment geek so when I saw that Tio’s was given the «Best Condiment Bar in Dallas» by D! Magazine, I knew we were a match. Saffron rice is a nice side if you want to skip the fries especially if you add a little bit of the mango salsa.
BONUS: We call it the homeless appetizer, but if you take the jalapeño slices from the condiment bar and dip them in the spicy bacon ranch you’re in a little slice of heaven.

When I saw the sign for Tio’s Tortas, I didn’t know what to think. Mexican sandwiches, or tiny cakes? Can I get a tiny cake? The answer is no.
You can get a sandwich as big as a baby though. I got the Cuban, which, in case you were wondering, is not Mexican, but still pretty bomb ass. It came topped with lettuce, cilantro, refried black beans, beef milanesa, queso fresco, and ham? The thick sliced ham tasted like bologna, which made it more bomb ass. All that stuff made it hard to eat, but I can forgive that because bologna can right any wrong.
Tio’s also has elotes. For the crackers that translates to «sloppy mess of corn and things you should get instead of fries.» I was really excited for them, but the serving I got was overtly soupish. Really though, half my cup was liquid and I’m pretty sure the corn was sweet corn from a can. I still ate half of it though, so maybe I just prefer my elotes prepared differently.
Mexican style points for having frescas, horchatas, and tamarindas. I opted for the horchata, and lamented the fact that I had already ordered before I saw the sixish dollar pitchers. The horchata was good though.
Overall, I think I liked this place. All the other people must be getting playa prices though, because my sandwich, a cup of elotes, and horchata was around $ 12. Next time I’ll probably split a torta and a pitcher; maybe then it will deserve 4 stars. Maybe they’ll even have churros like a legit Mexican place, or tiny cakes. Or maybe I’ll just go to Zaguan for those, and Tio’s for a Mexican sandwich.

This place is the good.
The owner is a chef and always there behind the counter. He watches over nothing but belly goodness. If you’re in the area and looking for lunch at a place that doesn’t remind you of off-​campus lunch in high school, hit Tio’s… on Lemmon.

I don’t remember how I heard about this place but it sounded good. So on Saturday, I stopped by to pick up some lunch and was extremely disappointed. The pictures make the tortas look excellent but the taste is poor, I ordered the small carne asada torta for $ 7. First of all it is small and for $ 7 it’s not worth it, second there was no flavor to the torta at all. What ever the filling was did not flavor the torta, not the cheese, or the pico de gallo or the meat itself. I can get a better tasting sandwich from Jason’s Deli and even Subway. As for «Mexican» flavor I rather pay for a burrito from Chipotle.

After getting my hair cut at Christopher Box’s salon on Friday, he suggested that I give Tio’s Tortas a try. I had seen many a review for this place over the past 10 months that I have been Unilocaling, so … why not?
Let me just say YUM. I ordered the Barbacoa Torta (#2) which had Barbacoa Beef with Pico de Gallo, Refried Black Beans, Queso Fresco Cheese, Avocado, Leaf Lettuce and Crema. The entire bill was $ 5.94 for this huge «Mexican Sandwich» that I have no clue how I actually finished. I guess because it was so good, I just kept eating until it was gone.
I am not in this area very often… and by not very often, I mean only when I am getting my hair cut or colored, which is maybe once every two months… but I vow I will be back for another Torta.

Good food and hard for me to compare it to anything which probably makes me like it that much more. The condiment bar is good and I really liked the Cubana. I don’t often make it over to that part of town for lunch. I hope they expand and add a location up in north Dallas.

I chose Tio’s as my first Unilocal review because I LOVE the food!
My first visit was about a year ago. I was working in Dallas at the time and — on a whim — my co-​workers and I decided to try it. I’m glad we did! Since then, I’ve eaten there a bunch of times.
My favorite torta is the milanesa: thin cut of breaded and seasoned steak. It comes with black beans, queso fresco, and plenty of fresh veggies. The bread is fresh. The chica is filling in and of itself, but if I’m feeling particularly hungry I have an elote as well. The first time I tried it I thought it tasted strange. I’d had elote before (not corn, elote) so the rancho sauce they used was not what I expected. However, when I stopped comparing it to what I’d had before, it was pretty darn tasty!
I’ve tried some of their aguas frescas. The pineapple has been the best by far. I tend to be picky about my tamarindo and my favorite is my mother’s, so it’s rare that any other will get a good review from me.
So if this place is so great, why only four stars? It has two big drawbacks for me. The bench seats are horribly uncomfortable. Seriously. They look cool, but my butt hurts after just a few minutes of sitting. Also it’s not the easiest parking lot to get into. You have to know exactly where you’re going, otherwise you go past it. Just try turning around on Lemmon!

Tried to give Toys a try but they were closed for some reason so I ended up here on a whim. Glad I did…
fresh and tasty bread and ingredients, non-​refried beans and saffron rice. This is a traditional Mexican dish that never achieved widespread popularity in the States but it’s nice to know Tio’s is living the dream and doing its best to bring a slice of Mexico.
Give it a try. If only they’d open a downtown location and I could go somewhere other than Subway for lunch.
Patio is nice and shaded and therefore not terribly hot if you go in the evening.

Continuing my day of indiginous indulgence (see previous review: Lucky’s Café), I hopped across Lemmon to Tio’s Tortas for dinner. I’d been here a couple of times before, but my eyes were opened to a few new facts on this visit:
1. Smaller size tortas. «Chica» size was more my speed, and didn’t come with fries. Not that the fries here aren’t great, but it’s usually a matter of overkill when you’re looking down the barrel of a two-​fisted torta.
2. Condiment bar. Has it expanded since I was here last (about a year ago)? Wowza. I had a good time poking through the various offerings on display — zucchini pickles were yummy, and the regular red and pineapple salsa were both excellent. The pico de gallo was H-​O-​T hot. My only disappointment was that the fresh cilantro was all used up. I love cilantro, don’t you?
3. Cost. Tio’s ain’t cheap. I hadn’t noticed this before, or at least it didn’t register. Could it be rising gas prices that made me take notice today? Who knows. Now, I’m not sayin’ it’s astronomical, but for the price I was quite happy when a nice lady brought our order to the table for us. It took a little of the sting out.
My margarita chicken «chica» torta, a daily special, was delicioso. I’d recommend it if you see it on the board on your next visit. In fact, all the tortas I’ve tried here are great. Next, I’m going for the pavo, which includes cranberry sauce in an adorable south of the border homage to Thanksgiving.

Many of the reviews boast a nice value price of under $ 5 but with rising food and gas prices – my chica cubana cost $ 7.03 I was kind of sad about this :(
Anyway, I got the cubana since it had a bunch of different meats I could try – nothing like a standard cuban sandwich you would imagine in florida with just ham, pork, swiss, and pickles… totally different. This is filled with ham, sausage, and steak milanese plus black beans, avocado, lettuce, tomato, and red onion.
I did not know what steak milanese was before I went there and I found it to be quite disappointing. I google’d it to find it is «Breaded Beef Rib Eye Roll Steak» Anyway, this breaded steak + beans made the sandwich almost taste like a falafel to me (middle east/​mediterranean fried beanballs)
I didn’t want to add any of the large array of salsas, dips, and spreads they have to my sandwich since it was my first time eating it.
I will go again if someone else is paying and I will be sure to add some of the mango salsa or something to take away from the falafel taste.

Mmmmm, met denorama here for lunch today and it does live up to the hype. Tortas have been one of my favorite lunch treats since I first came across them in LA.
While the don’t have my favorite here (the jalisco style torta ahogada), they do make a damn good sandwich. All the key elements are there, soft buttery bread, frijoles, crema fresca, etc.
I went for the cubana and was not disappointed, 3 types of greasy meat with all the fixins. for the side, I stuck to deno’s suggestion of the elotes which was delicious. Next time I’ll probably try the arnaldo with yucatan style pork pibil, with the chili cheese fries.
like everyone says, the small is good enough, a whole is for the obese or soon to be.
The other thing I noticed is $ 2 draft beer, which means I’ll probably come back for dinner sometime.

Tried of the same old hamburger? Then you have to try Tio’s Tortas if you never have, I just like saying «Torta» I like using a Ricardo Montalban accent when I order, «I’d like a Torrrrrrrrrta please.» The girl behind the counter always looks at me like I’m dork, which I am… so we’re all cool. They just don’t make these thing out of hamburger, they load’em with pibil pork, barbacoa beef, piernes, smoked sausage, and rich Corinthian leather, no they don’t. I don’t know what a lot of that means but in any language it means delicious. You got to love a hamburger (that’s not really a hamburger) that’s got both a beef patty and smoked sausage. You can hear your heart now «Noooooooooooooooo!» But it’s the topping that make these things different, like guacamole, pico de gallo, sour cream, mushrooms, chili rellenos, red onions and many, many more.
They come in two sizes, Chica is small and Grande is big, so that’s why I’m guessing they call it «Grande». This is what I call a great «Food-​Lude» because when you eat one there’s a good chance that you could go into a «Torrrrrrrta Coma», so I suggest that you split a large.
The margaritas are made with Agave wine, most places to this so they don’t have to get a full fledge liquor license and most wine margaritas just taste weird, not these Tio’s does a great job of making a really good margarita. They also have a drink made from bean pods called Tamarindo and another Horchata made from rice and condensed milk, give’em a try for something different.
I just realized that I may have stolen the whole Ricardo Montalban bit from Taco Bell and their Carne Asada ad, I apologize. But I do what I like to do and that’s talk in fake, badly impersonated accents and noone can own that, so «Smiles everyone, Smiles»

I was introduced to Torta’s in the most obscure of locations. A cabbie in Madison, WI directed me to a non-​descript Mexican bakery in a random strip mall situated next to a DQ. Alas, I had my first Cubana. It was huge, filled with tasty meat, and all the right fixin’s.
When I moved to Dallas, I drove by and had a torta sighting. Tio’s was pegged immediately as a restaurant to try. I was not disappointed.
Echoing many of the other reviewers, I give this place my stamp of approval. I got the Cubana and horchata, and ordered a large, to be split with mi madre. The torta wasn’t as thick as i was used to, but was toasted to perfection. Crunchy exterior and providing foos crisp and texture. This was a balanced sandwich. Whereas some places pack sandwiches full of meat and filler (not a bad thing, mind you), Tio’s uses just enough of each ingredient to create it’s delicious masterpiece. My only complaint is that the chorizo tasted more like a kielbasa than chorizo.
Half of the large was enough to curb my hunger, though it left me wanting more. The health-​conscious part of me said «no more» but the rest of me could have eaten the whole large, and been left satisfied, albeit very full and in a state of food coma.
MMM…

Let neither the flirty counter-​girls cajole nor slightly-​smirking counter-​men debase you into ordering the large torta. They are too big and if you keep with the small, you can order a side or something. Or just fill up on the delightfulness that is the condiment bar.
I have liked all tortas I ever got here, so do what you gotta do.
My one complaint would be the inconsistent appearance of tamarindo, which, for me is the perfect accompaniment to the torta. If they have it, though, go for it, you will be happy.

Everyone kept telling me to go. And I’m so glad I did. It’s great. Unseasonably warm weather made us want to eat on the patio… however the girl sitting in her dates lap, licking his tonsils made us retreat back inside. Sign of a classy joint.
We over ordered, of course, so there was enough food for about three meals… all for under $ 20. My daughter had the small ham (Jamb) and I had the Cuban. I asked what the best was and was told the Cuban was the most popular. It contained piernes (ham), smoked sausage and milanese steak with avocado, refried black beans plus more.
We also had the chili cheese fries and the elotes con vaso – corn with cotija cheese, rancho sauce and chili ancho butter. The corn was the best thing on the table except for the Trivia Pursuit cards which kept my daughter from eating. I do now know that Aerosmith wrote «Dude Looks Like a Lady» as a homage to Tommy Lee’s eyeliner. The corn was amazing.
All in all, it was a good meal, great value and I will go back. But the only real stand out was the corn. I mean… it’s a great sandwich and all, but I expected it to be more flavorful. With a name like Torta it should have a little more umph.

VALUE ALERT!!! I have to start this review talking about the prices. A small torta (Mexican sandwich) is like $ 3.50 whereas the gut busting grande is a dollar more. Everyone is bursting with flavorful meat, beans, cheese, lettuce, tomato, etc (although I have not tried the carnitas yet, which disappointed Kathryn E, which I was sorry to hear). I really enjoyed this place and if I closed my eyes I could easily believed that I was back in L. A and a wonderful hole-​in-​the wall taco joint which is soooo plentiful there. Even if you have never been to Cali, you will enjoy theses tortas.
I had the pleasure of going during «El Bruncho» this weekend (there is a funny story posted about this «word’). The chorizo torta was freaking amazing and filled me the entire day. I ordered the much adored fries but really did not need them because my torta was so humungo and bursting with flavor.
My only complaint about Tio’s is that it isn’t the easiest place to get to, but considering it is rarely busy, I’ll take the drive. I wish I could get there at lunch. I’d go every other day, then. Of course, I’ll bet it’s packed at lunch.

It was Sunday at dinner time and there was no line so the service was quick, full of smiles and interspersed with friendly laughter between me and the cashier and the cooks and her. Started off great.
Then, I found out that the special drink of the day was $ 1 frozen margaritas in a big 16 oz plastic cup! Wow. And potent.
Then, the torta arrive, La Cubana. It was delicious and fresh. The tomato slices were perfect, the avocado, also. It was scrumptious. (licking my lips again as I type this!)
The Pumpkin empanadas tasted homemade.
Overall, it was affordable, tasty, clean, and I could find only one complaint: access to the restaurant is tricky unless you are Eastbound on Lemmon. Because if you are Westbound, there’s a NO U-​TURN sign. If you’re on the side street West of the restaurant, there is no access from the alley or from the sub shop on the one side or from the car wash on the other side. So, plan ahead.
If you can get there, it’s a great experience and I will be back out on their patio with oh-​so-​comfortable swivel chairs and glass tables (not the iron mesh kind so many other places have where the food crumbs and dripping condensation from your drinks fall through and onto your pants.
Thanks Tio!

I really liked the barbacoa torta here… the meat was delicious and it had just the right assortment of veggies and cheese… great bread too. We also tried the pilbil pork torta too and it was tasty but we both preferred the barbacoa, can’t wait to come back and try more. They also have a great condiment bar… we loved the bacon ranch and jalepeno mustard with our homemade skin on fries. yum!

Drove many times past this during the last few months. Never was tempted to go in as it is in a poor location between a nail salon and a carwash).
But, one day decided to try it out. Really good tortas (mexican sandwich… think bread and filling). No tortillas here… you choose either small or large bread size. You can also choose to just have your stuff over rice or a salad.
Choices galore (12 – 16) for what filling you want. I am old skool and stick to the grilled chicken or carne asada.
Typically, the torta here comes with your meat choice, refried black bean, salsa, lettuce, and, depending on what you get, cheese, guacamole, sour crème, and other items.
Their sides are ok. I normally just get fries.
It’s a nice interior and they have a small patio. Granted you are facing the parking lot and Lemmon Ave but at least you are technically outside.
They even have wifi!
all in all, I go to Tio’s Tortas about every two weeks for lunch. They also supposedly have a good breakfast menu but never been.