This informal outdoor seating-only restaurant/dive bar epitomizes Folly’s laid-back vibe. Located just off the beach at 122 E. Ashley Ave., Chico Feo is the perfect place to relax and unwind with a refreshing beer and a flavorful bite after a day of surfing or swimming. Chico Feo serves some of the most distinctive and delectable food found on Folly, using only the freshest ingredients sourced through local fishermen and farmers. Their specialty is West Indies and Caribbean-inspired fare, featuring Mahi tacos and smoked pork tacos delivered in homemade tortillas (Chico Feo touts themselves as the “only place to find homemade tortillas”), and rice bowls with your choice of red beans and veggies, curried goat or Wutang noodles. They are open daily for lunch and dinner. Bar service is fast and personable (note: there is no table service, so you must order at the counter), and they host live music and stay open late, so bookmark them as an after-hours hangout spot as well.
While mahi and smoked pork are the standouts, everything on their street tacos list (including chicken and vegetarian options) is worth trying.
Enchant your taste buds with their Vietnamese and Cambodian-influenced Num Pang sandwich topped with house-smoked pork, house kimchi, cucumbers, cilantro, and a drizzle of Sambal aioli all layered in a local Normandy Farms hoagie roll. Relish their Cuban, stacked with ham, swiss, and their mouthwatering smoked pork finished off with some coriander cucumber pickles on a Normandy Farms French loaf.
Or ditch the bread and tortillas and treat yourself to their Pozole, featuring stewed chunks of pork butt mixed in with vegetables and swimming in an Ancho, guajillo pepper sauce.
For vegetarians, you can always order their superb Cuban Beans. Chico Feo’s flowery, intricate description of this menu item should be required reading and simply has no parallel: “soft and billowy white rice smothered by the velvet embrace of a perfectly-cooked black bean, the stuff of Che’s conviction and Fidel’s logic, these two ingredients wrestle each other in a cosmic bachata, adorned with the regalia befitting heroes, tomatoes, red onion and cilantro crown these kings.”
Chico Feo slings plenty of ice-cold beer and ciders though no liquor but grab a Tecate and a taco in this chill spot and watch your worries melt away. Bring your canine companions along with your friends and family as Chico Feo welcomes dogs on their patio.
They regularly showcase live bands, so check the online music calendar at their website to see their upcoming schedule.
If you’re looking for indoor dining and air conditioning, Chico Feo isn’t your venue. Still, if you’re seeking a funky, no-frills staple of Folly off the beaten tourist path that serves fantastic, reasonably priced food, it’s hard to do much better.
