Pueblo Solis

Ratings Guide:
Half handshake, half chest-bump hug – 5 stars
Chest bump – 4 stars
Fist bump – 3 stars
High five – 2 stars
Handshake – 1 star
Manly ass slap – ½ star
Fone and fone – 0 stars


Restaurant: Pueblo Solis
Location: 5127 Hampton Ave


When my wife and I were living down in South City before moving up to the Chi, we used to go to Pueblo Solis all the time. It was easily our favorite restaurant in the city. Looking back, I think there were a lot of reasons that made it our fav. First and foremost was the food. It’s Mexican, which just happens to be our favorite type of food. And back then we were convinced it was the best Mexican on the planet (yes, even better than Brad and Julia’s Mexican, which brings up another discussion; the other night playing cards a friend of a friend brought up Brad Pitt, and said something to the effect of “For all the hype, Brad Pitt really hasn’t been in that many good movies. Benjamin Button is like the first one.” Everyone was a little too nice about it, because he was a friend of a friend. First off, Button is an enjoyable movie, but by no means is it a great movie. And Brad Pitt was good in it, but the whole time watching it all I could think was “yep, that’s Brad Pitt.” So we pulled up his IMDB page. (Let me also say that I’m not some sort of great Brad Pitt defender, but Dru and I were both rattling off great movies that he was in, and great performances that he’s had, and felt we had to defend his honor. In a totally not gay way.) The list was pretty impressive. We counted 17 enjoyable and watchable movies, 4 all-time great movies (True Romance, Fight Club, Snatch, and Seven), and at least 10 great performances. Not too bad.)

The other reasons we always loved Pueblo were the location (we lived just two blocks away, and it really felt like a great neighborhood spot that we discovered, at least to us), the atmosphere (again, very neighborhoody and welcoming), and the drinks (tasty, and strong).

We hadn’t been since moving back, and a couple of weeks ago we had a sitter (parenthood is awesome), so we decided to head down and see if it really was as good as we remembered it being. And honestly, I was terrified to find out. I had a sneaky (you can call it snobby or elitist) feeling that it wasn’t going to be what I once thought it was. Why? You guessed it, Chicago. After enjoying real Mexican and Latin American food, I was pretty sure we were about to discover that Pueblo was a fraud. I hadn’t been this nervous since the first time I kissed a guy (which was at Mardi Gras, and I was drunk, and it was my birthday, and that’s a story for another time).

The good news is that the location and cozy atmosphere we always loved hadn’t changed. They even added an outdoor patio that’s covered and heated in the winter. The bad news is that St. Louis still allows smoking in bars and restaurants. And the cozy part we love means that the entire place smells like smoke, which sucks. Luckily the margaritas were even better than I remembered. Great tasting and full of alcohol. My only fear now was that we didn’t live two blocks away my wife’s buzz would wear off by the time we got home and I wouldn’t get any action that night.

The bad news is that the food wasn’t as good as I remembered. Well, parts were, and parts weren’t. The fajitas were terrific. Tons of meat, full of flavor, and I’d argue the best fajitas you’re going to find anywhere. Or at least in St. Louis. At the very least, the best on Hampton. They really do hit the spot. The bad parts were the tamales. Just terrible. Dry and flavorless. And we got a chicken something-or-other that was also very mediocre.

In general I came away thinking that Pueblo wasn’t the amazing Mexican restaurant I always made it out to be. But it’s still pretty enjoyable, and there are enough good options on the menu (like chicken OR steak OR shrimp fajitas) to make it worth visiting over and over again. If we still lived in South City, then this would still be a staple for me and my wife. But we don’t, so I see it being a place we head to occasionally to meet friends who still live nearby.


Pueblo Solis - Fist bump with a manly ass slap (it gets the little added bonus for the margaritas)

First dude-kiss – high five