I’ve always like Tio’s. And it’s been around for a rather long time, considering the ephemeral nature of Surry Hills’ market for bars and restaurants. It combines casual and cool. I love the daggy sort of inside-outside bar where the bar area could be… on a beachfront or outside, and so the dark Surry Hills interior could really be outside somewhere, a warm night in a Latin American country. There has always been an interesting range of fun bar staff, mostly hipsters in various hipster dress, happy to explain the current range of mezcal and tequila. There are cheap cocktails. And there is good, interesting mezcal and tequila that I’m not sure you can get elsewhere.
We went on a beautifully quiet night; the only downside I’ve found about Tio’s is that it is sometimes uncomfortably busy and full for this ageing resident of Surry Hills. But perhaps I should time my visits better. We had a perfect nightcap here, after fried chicken and champagne at Butter, and I was reminded how much I like it.