2. January 2010: Restaurant Mariscos Chilo

The restaurant “Mariscos Chilo“ is located about 19 kilometers of Querétaro and easily reachable by a short car-ride along one of the main roads. Although you wouldn’t pull off when you’d see it from the outside in the first place, you will soon realize that actually it seems to be a place worth going to.

No matter what time of the day and what day of the week you’re going there, you will be sure to wait around at least 15 to 30 minutes to get a table – depending also a bit of the size of the group you’re coming with.

The place is quite crowded and there’s hell lot of people waiting, sitting and eating so it does lack a bit of ambience on one hand but on the other it has something anyway as the place is so crowded and mostly by Mexicans and not really much tourists (if at all). It’s not really a beautiful place but it’s a place which lives!

Each table gets its personal waiter and the waiter is there quite fast in order to serve you with your menus and to take your order of drinks in the first row and finally your dishes.

One thing I can definitely recommend to try is basically “beer with oysters” (Chela Preparada con Ostiones) which is basically a special mix of spices (like chili, maggi and some other stuff) with beer (which ever you want) and finally oysters. Whereas, it looks quite weird in the first place, it’s definitely a “must try”.

The dishes finally lack a bit of nice look when you get them served but on the other hand, the taste of the dishes pays off for the missing “looks”. First, I enjoyed a “Tostada de Pulpo” which was good but not outstanding as the calamari was a bit chewy but still it tasted good.

After that, I tried a “Caldo de Camaron” which basically is a fish soup with king prawns which is quite rich especially considering the fact that the king prawns are whole when they’re in the soup and therefore, it’s quite adventurous eating them with a spoon (but still, when you get to crack them, they’re delicious).

Finally, I got to the main dish which is definitely an extremely delicious, tasty dish: “Pescada Especial” which means “Special Fish” but is basically a whole fried fish with rise, salad and king prawns. It’s not only extremely tasty but it’s also quite filling. When you’re there, definitely go for it as it’s extremely rich in taste!

All in all, the food experience is extremely recommendable – letting the fact aside that the dishes don’t look that nice when you get them on the table but as mentioned before, the taste of the dishes pays of for the “missing looks”.

Furthermore, it’s amazing again – at least for Europeans – what you actually pay for it: 5 people with several dishes each and enough to drink for everybody cost 700 MXN (which equals about CHF 65.00)!

Definitely, if you’re ever in or close to Querétaro, definitely go to this place – it’s worth the waiting time!

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Contact Details:

Restaurant Chilo

Carr. Slp Km 17.5

Colonia El Salitre

Querétaro (Quintana Roo, MEX)

+52 (44) 22 91 20 50

About the Author: Sven

I started the blog in October 2009, while living in Milan which I definitely consider to be one of the food capitals of the world. I was in touch with food since my early childhood (as my father is a former chef). Whenever I can, I travel the world to discover new places, to meet people but mostly to try local dishes and to find hidden gems! If you know a place worth going, please drop a line to: info@thediningexperience.org. Currently, I am a member of the following food-related associations: Chevalier @Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Zurich-Ville; Membre Gourmet Dégustateur @Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs [OMGD]; Gesellschafter @Goldener Fisch and Member @Slowfood Convivium Zurich City.