Tu Y Yo

Excellent unique dishes that are authentic home cooked mexican food.
If you want taco and burritos with a Mariachi band this is not the place for you.
If you want real mexican food that isn’t greasy and has unique flavors you’re in the right spot.
Chicken Mole is amazing!

Absolutely yummy! I can’t believe the great food Tu Y Yo put in front of me. I can’t imagine there being a better Mexican restaurant in Massachusetts. It’s a must eat at place.

Absolutely delicious authentic Mexican food. Tableside guacamole is awesome. The mole sauce is some of the best I’ve ever tasted. Yummy margaritas (I especially love the pomegranate). If you’re looking for Mexican in the Needham area, please drive right by Acapulcos and head to Tu Y Yo.

I really wanted to like this place more. The outdoor patio is beautiful and has a romantic, laid-​back atmosphere on a warm summer night. The server was nice and professional. The type of cuisine is a little different from many other local Mexican restaurants in that it offers pre-​Hispanic Mexican dishes and family recipes.
But the food was kind of hit-​or-​miss. Unfortunately two out of three dishes that we tried just weren’t that good. We ordered plantain and cheese empanada appetizers. They had a strange, not necessarily appetizing taste. We eventually gave up on them and figured we’d wait for the main course. My boyfriend got Chicken Mole Poblano and liked it. I ordered the Pipian Paskal (chayote squash). It had a cactus-​y texture and came with a sauce that was very bright, pretty, and contained lots of ingredients, but didn’t have much flavor. So I filled up on the complimentary rice and beans, which were tasty.
Prices were kind of high for the suburban location and the quality of the food.

Fantastic, authentic Mexican food. Don’t expect a burrito-​taco-​fajita menu; expect quality, classic Meso-​American entrees. The carne asada was delicious, and despite the fact it was made (live) by a teenage gringo, the house-​made guacamole is another gem. We did have a drink snafu — there was clearly little to no alcohol in one of our margaritas — which they quickly and happily fixed.
So far, Tu Y Yo is our favorite Mexican restaurant in a solid 10 mile radius. Definitely give them a try.

Alrighty– it was hot and feeling lazy decided to venture to Needham for some Spanish/​Mexican food. The joint was not jumping but heck thats fine– the service was alright– some kid who was doing the best he could… But the water glasses on the table– dirty. The table cloth (disguised by the paper on top) was completely cover ed in slopped food from previous diners.
The food arrived and one of us had pollo chipotle which tasted like old chicken with chef boyardee sauce. Awful. I had the mole poblano, a dish I have had many times elsewhere and it also featured the dried chicken and bizarre version of mole.
On the plus side the portions are large.

Great food! We went on a date night here on the Tuesday before the 4^th of July. They were short staffed but still managed to deliver good food. We really enjoyed the sauces. Unique flavor profiles. Very tasty.
I agree with other reviews that the service is slow but given they are committed to slow food. It is a great place to kick back and enjoy an evening if you are not in a hurry.

There are so few authentic Mexican restaurants in the Boston area that Tu Y Yo is a refreshing change from the goop laden burritos and enchiladas so prevalent around here. It does not, however. compare with the great places you can find in California. the Southwest or even Chicago. (and, don’t forget MEXICO.)
The sauces are complex and well spiced– as evident in the the shrimp dish with tamarind sauce. Big shrimp and really delicious– but the «grilled seasonal fruit» garnish turned out to be sliced pineapple right out of the can– and still cold from the refrigerator. What’s with that? Then they serve black beans in a form that is not quite soup– but impossible to eat with a fork. Not sure what to make of it.
A chopped pork tenderloin was properly marinated and then cooked in a sauce of peanuts, chiles cinammon and onions– which created a perfect blend of sweet, spicy and salty all at once.
Highly recommended is the guacamole made tableside– and only $ 6.95– one of the better buys, since most of the menu is about 20% overpriced. Using coupons here is essential to bring the bottom line tab down to reality.
Our experience with service was positive, with a waiter who was efficient and helpful and paced everthing perfectly. Can’t blame him that they were out of most Mexican beers other than Dos Equis and Tecate.
We will be back– but hope they can find a fresh pineapple somewhere (hint: try BJ’s at $ 2.99). Also, you must like 2 year olds, since there were a lot of them onthe premisis on the Friday night of our visit. The local McDonald’s must have been full.

I went on a Sunday night and although it was a pretty slow night, the service was super slow. The food was good – not great, but overpriced. Get a
gift certificate before you come here.
Service was awful and the server was a little bizarre. He brought me a dirty plate and when I asked for another one, he didn’t understand why. He also touched our food to «teach» us how to eat the appetizer (tamales), like we couldn’t figure it out ourselves.
Overall OK experience. Not bad. Not great. Kind of surprised with the great reviews. Without the gift certificate, we would of spent about $ 80 for two people not including tip for 2 drinks, 1 appetizer, 2 entrees. I think that’s a bit much for a mediocre place.

I went in on a Tuesday night (last night as a matter of fact, but Unilocal was down). Absolutely fantastic, one of the best places I’ve been to in at least a year.
Guacamole made at my table, stunning. I had the Nopales con Puerco, which was unbelievably good. Wow, just wow. The kids’ size was pretty big and my son had the Fajitas w/​Carne which were really good too.
Pretty quiet on a weeknight around 7:30pm. Will definitely return and since everything was so good I’m going to try the grasshoppers too.

Tu Y Yo was really good, tasty, fresh, authentic Spanish food. I wish I could give this place 4 stars, but there were too many attributes that lost points with our experience.
I was visiting my brothers in Needham, MA, and 8 of us joined up for dinner on a Wednesday night at 7:30pm. Getting a reservation was no problem; I realized upon arrival that the restaurant was having a slow night. The décor is simple, with muted desert colors and a little Spanish art adorning the walls. Our server came by to get us some waters while we looked through the drinks menu. We ordered a margarita each – they have about 10 to choose from – and nearly all of us got something different. After about 15 minutes the drinks came (understandable, 8 different hand-​crafted margaritas) but my friend Chris didn’t get his drink. The other server, who ran our drinks, was informed that we were short a margarita and it probably never would have come unless I asked our server again for it about 10 minutes later (overall 30 minutes to get one drink).
We placed our orders, but they were out of half the items we wanted. First they didn’t have a certain fruit juice for my mom’s top-​choice drink. Then they were out of the soup du jour (sopa del día, I suppose) which had lobster meat in it, and there weren’t any other soups. Finally, they were out of the salmon entrée. Kind of a bummer, not our servers fault but he failed to mention any comparable alternatives. While waiting for our entrees we had two baskets of chips and salsa (salsa was great and the chips were warm) and an order of ceviche. The ceviche was excellent; it was loaded with white fish, shrimp, squid, and who knows what else. The sauce was citrusy, as expected, but not overwhelmingly so. The plate came with a bunch of miniature tostada-​like chips and a few lime wedges. It was a big portion, too.
All of the entrees came out in a reasonable amount of time, and each plate had the same sides: rice and beans, plus some tortillas if you wanted to wrap everything together. I guess rice and beans is a staple, but it made EVERY plate look the same. The only difference was the meat you ordered and the sauce they put on it. I got a slow-​cooked pulled pork in a sweet and spicy brown sauce. The meat was very flavorful and tender, not much fat, and a really tasty sauce. It was robust and flavorful with touches of sweet and heat. I liked it a whole lot, and there was more than enough to fill me up. Other people at my table had a variety of beef, pork and chicken dishes, all were juicy and flavorful.
The best part of this meal was the deal: we used a
gift certificate that we purchased before leaving the house. If you time your
purchases around their sales, you can get one hell of a bargain. We got a $ 100 certificate for only $ 8, with a minimum purchase of $ 200. Our bill, after a second round of margaritas, was about $ 220. So we really only paid $ 128 for 8 people, that’s a hell of a deal.
The worst part of this meal was the service. Our server sucked. He never came by to make sure our drinks were right (one was missing), he barely came by to refill our waters, never once asked how the food was, and was overall invisible. If one of our entrees was wrong we wouldn’t have been able to tell him for at least 15 – 20 minutes. We couldn’t even order our second round of drinks through him because he disappeared. Fortunately the other server was nearby (I hate to do this) but we asked him to take our order and he happily did. He also brought us our check and bussed our table. I know some restaurants work as a team, but that didn’t seem to be their format, we just got a crappy server. I don’t think he even had any other tables.
Anyway, I did enjoy my meal here. I’d probably go back if lived here, I know my brothers frequent this joint with their great gift certificates deal, and I don’t think they’ve had issues with service in the past. Other nights must be busier, but I didn’t mind a half empty restaurant. Food was good, drinks were very good, service blew chunks.

Went here based on Unilocal reviews and was quite disappointed. I ordered a margarita, but it came out tasting like it was from a plastic bottle and watered down. Tried the chicken mole at a whopping $ 19 or so dollars and was surprised to only receive some chicken drenched in a thin mole-​like sauce. Others in my party were not impressed with their meals either, especially at the price point. The restaurant had a dead feeling with only 2 – 3 parties on a saturday night at prime time, and the staff seemed to wander around aimlessly or watch the empty bar’s TV, although our server was reasonably attentive. The place had a forlorn and empty feeling to it. and I give it 6 months to a year before it closes if this is normal for them.
For the food received, the price was very overpriced. I expected much more of a presentation and higher quality for the expensive mexican food. Prices would need to be cut 30−50% for me to even consider coming back.
As an aside, this location seems to be doomed for restaurants… I’ve seen many come and go, some with good food, some without, but nothing seems to survive in this location.

This place is OK. It’s in a large restaurant space. Our waiter was a nice guy but he kind of mumbled and was hard to understand. He knew the menu and was also our bartender.
We started out with Milagro margaritas which were great. They’re not on the menu but I highly recommend them.
The chips and tortillas dont seem to be home made. The salsa was good. The guacamole was good. It was not made table side and it was served dripping down the side of the single bowl and not presented well.
We ordered the mole poblano (chicken with mole sauce) and the puerco en salsa de cacahuates (pork in an interesting peanut sauce). The pork was pretty good. The mole sauce was OK and the chicken was overcooked.
From the reviews, I had higher expectations. I might return.

No doubt about authenticity– this menu certainly has it. It boasts a ‘pre-​Hispanic’ menu which I didn’t know what it meant until I saw the name of the dishes. The dishes offered are those that are native to Mexico before the Spanish conquest. Certainly original and still plenty of options for those who are unfamiliar with pre– or post– Hispanic foods.
Great service– our waiter was up on his spices when we asked him about a certain spice we were unfamiliar with.
Downfall: Never in my life have I paid $ 20 for a simple carne asada. The prices are kind of outrageous for me compared to the prices I see in East Boston.

I have longed for a good Mexican and this is it. Very authentic and a great atmosphere. The food was very good and great portion sizes.
Some items (the kids food) came out a little late but I can live with that, this time!

Unforgettable food. Impossible name to remember. Should be called Yo-​yo. My family and I will be back.
We stumbled on the place after candlepin bowling with our 3 kids and what a surprise it was. I remarked to my wife as we headed to the restaurant, «Who cares if it got good reviews at Unilocal.All Mexican food in Boston is crap.» I could not have been more wrong.
For a start, the friendly owner greeted us and apologized that he was low on staff. I figured we would be sitting for an hour waiting for our food. Well, the service was fast and friendly.
I opened the menu and was pleasantly shocked to see no burritos or the usual texmex fare. This is the real stuff that Grandma used to make, at least it’s what I imagine my Grandmother would have made if she knew how to cook and was from Mexico.
Try the assorted tamales or the plantain fritters for appetizers. They were out of grasshoppers. Yes seriously they have grasshoppers on the menu. For mains, the cactus and the peanut pork were so good we couldn’t stop eating even when we were way too full of corn chips, tamales, and beer.
Our 3 kids agreed it was the best Mexican mac n cheese they’ve ever eaten. For drinks try the vanilla shake. It tasted like real vanilla and was so good I stole it from my daughter.
So much for my Atkins diet. We will be back. Try it!

Went here with three teenagers on a whim when my wife said «Let’s try it, the new Mexican in Needham». I was truly surprised by the quality and the quantity of the food, the cuisine and the service were a success.
We had excellent free chips and homemade fresh salsa, then I had a chicken mole poblano which was as complex and savory a mole as any I have had. A big taste, one sure to satisfy with layers of flavor. The family style bowls of rice and beans were excellent and the quantity was unexpected, especially as I was the only diner who seemed to qualify for this side. Yet the bowls were full!
I thought my wife’s camarones were a trifle on the undercooked side, which should be hard to do, considering that shrimp cook in a couple of minutes. But they were cooked, and perhaps a trifle cool inside?
What was most interesting was that the server allowed the teenagers, two at 17 years old, to order off the kids menu, which turned the meal into a real value. That was very generous of them to allow and I was particularly happy!
Oh, did I mention that I had some of the best sangria I can ever remember drinking? Redolent with fruit essence and cinnamon spice, this was very easy to over indulge in. A drinking must!
All on, this is by far the best Mexican cuisine I have had in the entire metro west area and as good as that I have had elsewhere including California, with the emphasis on cuisine too!

I’d heard of Tu y Yo’s Somervillian cousin, but was not aware of a location in Needham until plans to dine at the Aztec were derailed and I needed my Mexican fix somewhere in Metro-​west.
Enter Tu y Yo, an inexpensively, yet quaintly decorated joint with a whole lotta tequila on offer at the bar. We were seated instantly in comfy chairs next to some potted plants and served water before our server, a delightfully charming guy, came over to introduce himself.
My frozen strawberry margarita with substituted Cuervo silver was pefect– delicious, super sweet, and barely separated at all! And a bargain at $ 8.95. For the main event, I debated trying some shrimp crepes but settled on pork in a red sauce with cactus pieces. Cacti look– and kind of taste like– green peppers with a little extra juice.
The chips and salsa were tasty, and sides of rice and beans were served family style to share.
Delicious food, tasty beverages that re-​instilled my love affair with tequila, and on-​point service were a five-​star experience for me.
Me gusta, and you should too.

We only had apps and drinks, but think we’re missing the hype.
Fish tacos were nothing like I remember from times hanging out in Baja.

Very good food. I’m from Texas, but this wasn’t TexMex at all — but still very good. I liked the flautas that were brought as a welcome to the table. Crispy and the sauce was full of flavor without being hot (my kids were at the table too so this was nice).
We ordered the 5 types of tamales for appetizer and it was a fun way to taste many types of tamales. I did not like the coconut one at all, but the rest were very good. My daughter loved the corn tamales, so I asked the waiter if they could turn that into an entrée, he checked and they made it happen. I really like flexibility in restaurants. We tend to dislike the child menu because it’s always the same thing over and over and what I’d really like is to introduce my children to the type of food we’re eating in smaller portions. (our kids are 9 and 12)
I agree with previous reviews, the mole sauce was excellent. I had the flank steak entrée and it was very tender in a wonderful mole. My husband had one of the pork dishes, on our menu it was the 2^nd from the bottom. YUM. My other daughter had the tortilla soup, which was unlike any I’ve ever tasted and I have to say the only disappointing dish on the table (except for the coconut tamales). It was mole based I believe, with strips of tortillas and avocado, not bad, just not very good either.