Tio Lucho’s: A Peruvian-Southern Restaurant that Locals Love in Atlanta

Dinner with Chef Arnaldo Castillo

By Daniela Cintron

Published September 29, 2025

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Artículo disponible en español.

When we sat down for dinner with chef Arnaldo Castillo at his restaurant Tio Lucho’s, the dining room carried a rhythm of its own — part funk, part bachata, a little rock’n’roll humming beneath the chatter of guests. “Your food, your restaurant feels like… like you,” I told him, echoing what he had already said himself. He smiled, because that’s the point.

Tio Lucho’s is Castillo’s story, written in flavor and plated for Atlanta. It is a love letter to his father, to his culture, and to the city where he has been cooking for more than a decade. And now, three years after opening its doors, the restaurant has become more than a place to eat — it’s a marker of how far Atlanta’s dining scene has come, and how it continues to grow.

(Photo by Alejandra Martinez)

A Name That Means Comfort

“It’s Tio Lucho’s because I named it after my dad,” Castillo explained. “So my dad’s name is Luis. And if your name is Luis, your nickname is Lucho. And Tio is a term of endearment, so everybody knew him as Tio Lucho. And I thought, like, man, that’s it –when I think of my dad and I think of his name, it just brings that feeling of comfort.”

His father was also a chef, and in 1995, he opened what he tells us was likely Georgia’s first Peruvian restaurant, Costa Verde. Castillo grew up in its kitchen — peeling shrimp, doing homework at the tables — absorbing a life he didn’t know he would eventually claim as his own.

(Photo by Bailey Garrot)

When opening Tio Lucho’s, the joy of new beginnings was cut with grief: “My dad was the chef in all these restaurants, and he passed away just two weeks before I opened my own,” says Castillo. The timing was devastating, but it made the name and the mission matter even more.

“I wanted to create generational wealth,” he said. “I grew up in a lower-middle-class family, so I just wanted to provide better opportunities for my kid now.” 

A Journey through Atlanta’s Kitchens

Castillo has cooked in Atlanta long enough to watch neighborhoods change. He trained in some of the city’s most notable kitchens — Pura Vida, Empire State South, Little Trouble — and later became executive chef at Minero in Ponce City Market. But the pandemic reshaped everything.

“I quit my corporate chef job. My whole goal was just to learn about running a restaurant. Pandemic happens. It’s 2020. I started cooking at home, and I was really yearning to taste those flavors — those authentic Peruvian flavors. And so I just started cooking,” he said.

Those home meals turned into pop-ups, first under the name La Chingana. He laughs when he thinks back to the early days. “I always say, man, I was selling sandwiches in a parking lot before I opened this restaurant.” But those pop-ups gave him his voice and his following.

With the support of his wife, a nurse who had just left a high-stress ICU nursing job, Castillo built Tio Lucho’s out of both grit and grace. “I was definitely in a dark space, but all I wanted to do was make this successful,” he remembered. “So I said, ‘I’m gonna give this a thousand percent of my energy.’”

(Photo by Bailey Garrot)

A Peruvian-American Story Told in the South

At the table, Castillo rattled off ingredients the way some people list favorite songs — huacatay, ají limo, ají amarillo — flavors that are the DNA of Peruvian cooking. Thanks to a partnership with Pinewood Springs Farm, he can now visit the farm and see those ingredients growing in Georgia’s red clay. “That’s my culture,” he said. “And here it is in Georgia.”

That mix of place and heritage is what defines Tio Lucho’s menu. “I want to create a story of what it’s like being Peruvian American here in the South,” said Castillo. “I want to showcase the great bounty that’s available and also marry those flavors, techniques and ingredients that are Southern and Peruvian.”

The results are dishes like fried okra with huacatay ranch, sorghum-dusted tiradito with local strawberries, and pollo a la brasa cooked over a Big Green Egg with collards on the side. Southern comfort and Peruvian soul, sharing a plate.

The techniques used in the kitchen are distinctly Peruvian, but the result on the dish is more contemporary.

(Photo by Bailey Garrot)

Shaping Atlanta’s Culinary Landscape

Atlanta often is called a city of transplants, but restaurants like Tio Lucho’s remind us that culture here is not just imported — it’s created, rooted and remixed in real time. Castillo has watched Poncey-Highlighs on the Eastside change with the opening of new restaurants and bars, where parking lots once stood. And yet, he feels singular.

“We’re sharing culture with a lot of our clientele who are not Peruvian,” he told me. Sometimes that means gently resetting expectations and broadening diners’ horizons. That’s where the power of storytelling comes in — on the plate, in conversation, in community.

As our plates cleared and the night wound down, Castillo circled back to what drives him beyond the kitchen. His restaurant may be built on family and flavor, but its heartbeat is community. He spoke about his responsibility to the hospitality world that shaped him and to the Hispanic community that raised him. Giving back, he said, is non-negotiable.

(Photo by Bailey Garrot)

“It always comes back,” he told me, describing it as a kind of good karma. Three years into Tio Lucho’s, that spirit is as much a part of the restaurant as the food itself — nourishing not just diners, but the city it calls home.

24-Hour Atlanta Culinary Itinerary by Chef Arnaldo Castillo

Chef Arnaldo enjoys exploring a city through its food. During a recent trip to New Orleans, he visited nine different restaurants in one day. When hosting his friends in Atlanta, he takes on the challenge of making it to 10 stops, as there is just so much to try.

Here is chef Arnaldo’s culinary itinerary of Atlanta:

Waffle House

Legendary way to start the day. There is a Waffle House in every neighborhood in Atlanta, so find one near your starting point.

Ming’s BBQ

Head to Buford Highway to enjoy Cantonese roast meats with the Siu Mei specialists. It is located at 5150 Buford Highway in Doraville.

Taqueria Michoacana

Not far from Buford Highway, find a room for Mexican tacos at 3328 Buford Highway.

Talat Market

Make Summerhill your next stop for the MICHELIN-recommended Thai restaurant, Talat Market. Visit Chef Parnass Savang at 112 Ormond St. SE.

Little Bear

Just around the corner from Talat Market, in Summerhill, chef Arnaldo likes to stop by MICHELIN-recommended Little Bear for drinks. Visit Chef Jarrett Stieber at 71-A Georgia Ave. SE.

So So Fed

Make your way back up to the Eastside and enjoy Lao food as chef Molli Voraotsady recreates some of her grandmother’s recipes. So So Fed is a pop-up located at OK Yaki, 714 Moreland Ave. SE, open only on Sundays and Mondays.

Gigi’s Italian Kitchen and Restaurant

Nothing like an Aperol spritz and fresh salad featuring locally grown produce at Gigi’s at 1660 McLendon Ave. NE. Check out our interview with Gunshow’s Chef Cody Chassar and see what he ordered at Gigi’s.

Madeira Park

Sip some wine at Madeira Park’s patio while letting all the bites settle before the big showdown. Madeira is located at 640 N Highland Ave. NE.

Tio Lucho’s

Just down the street from Madeira Park, Tio Lucho’s awaits the big dinner moment. Visit chef Arnaldo at 675 North Highland Ave. NE.

Wings Mania

Yes, Atlanta has wings. Lots of them. All styles and flavors. Chef Arnaldo swears by Wings Mania, so make the jump over to Decatur for legendary flavors at 1141 Columbia Drive.

Need activities between all the eating? Check out our guide to 50 Fun Things around Atlanta.

Daniela Cintrón is an award-winning journalist, editor, and producer passionate about storytelling at the intersection of food, art, and culture. She is the content manager and bilingual editor for Discover Atlanta and contributes to publications like the Los Angeles Times, Atlanta Magazine and Eater.