Pepitos Mexican Restaurant

Holy smokes!!! Our server JAVI! Absolutely amazing! I ordered an Aztec margarita and let me tell you the whole mix was a pleasant balance of flavor a strength. The food and everything was tasty! Ambiance and music complemented everything as well as the homeliness even the art… this place is WELL WORTH THE VISIT!

Pepitos is awesome! It’s everything you want when looking for a quality, sit down Mexican restaurant. First of all it’s beautiful inside. There is some really great original artwork. There is sit down inside, an outdoor patio and a bar (cantina?) I had the ranchero burrito and it was amazing! The shrimp in the cocktail and salad are huge! Everything is fresh made, creative recipes with great flavor. The owners pride themselves on seeking out genuine, home made recipes to present, and it shows. I highly recommend Pepitos and I look forward to returning again!

We came here about 4 years ago and didn’t have a good experience, so we hadn’t returned until now. This time, we were hungry, wanted something different, and didn’t feel like traveling far, so we gave Pepitos another chance. The restaurant itself is nice — it’s in a good shopping plaza, the inside has a cool vibe with plenty to look at, and the service was solid with no complaints there. Where things went wrong again was the food. We started with the guacamole and chips, but unfortunately, the flavor just wasn’t good, so we sent it back. Next, we ordered two carne asada tacos and a wet burrito. Presentation was decent, but the meat was extremely dry and tough — like it had been sitting in a warmer all day, even though we ate around 4 pm. It felt like chewing on rocks, and sadly, that was true for both the tacos and the burrito. We didn’t send the food back since we had already returned the guacamole, but it was disappointing to pay so much for that quality. Honestly, it’s hard to understand how anyone could serve meat like that and expect customers to have a good experience. My son took one bite and left his taco, and we ended up picking through the burrito just for the few tender pieces of meat. I wish them the best, and maybe others have better luck, but for us, this visit confirmed it’s just not the place for good Mexican food. Unfortunately, it was another letdown in an area that already lacks great options.

This place has the best service, the best food, the ambience to let you unwind. Orion, Natalie, Vanessa and Ruth are truly amazing servers. Our groups are usually five or more and they know how to handle it! We have been here over 20x and have nothing bad to say. We have had happy hour parties here, game day watches family time and lunch after church on Sundays and all was great. If you are in Riverside, make sure you come here!

Went there yesterday with family as a going-away last gathering. Great place. Good food and the Blue Moon is on draft and cold.

Abraham did a great job with us on a busy Friday night just before the holidays. Everything was made fresh and delicious and my parents and I really enjoyed our time. Shrimp cocktail looked and was outrageous so we tried it. Wow good stuff here. Thank you

One of the best Mexican restaurants in Riverside! They start you with fresh chips and salsa and everything from start to finish was delicious. Our server was super friendly.... wish I caught their name. The quesadilla had just the right balance of meat and cheese. Not too salty, and the carne asada burrito was tender. Portions were generous and we had enough to take home. Definitely worth coming back!

A couple of weeks ago, I hosted a milestone birthday party for my wife at Pepitos. We had the entire upstairs reserved with a dedicated waiter, Abraham, who took great care of our group. The manager, Luis, made the planning process easy and ensured everything went smoothly. The food was fantastic, soft drinks were included with the menu, and their margaritas were some of the best I’ve ever had — and I’ve tried quite a few at different restaurants.

They have a good variety of food and drinks. Well priced especially for the amount of food they give you. The customer service is phenomenal especially from our server Jenny!

Customer service is amazing, food is delicious, we would definitely visit again! Great to order from for large-scale events!

Very cute little restaurant with great service and good food! Our waitress was wonderful I wish I could remember her name!

We walked in as a group of six, past the "please walk in" sign. A waitress rudely told us to step back out and wait to be called, so we returned to the waiting area. Meanwhile the restaurant was nearly empty. Seconds later, another waiter invited us back in, so we walked back. The same waitress who sent us out ended up seating us, and it was clear she wasn't happy about the situation. She seemed frustrated and was having words with the other waiter, and that energy carried into taking our order. It was mid-afternoon, around 3 pm, and the restaurant wasn't busy and there were 2 other waitresses. Even so, our food took about 50 minutes to arrive. My wife's meal was missed entirely. They offered to make it, but at that point it didn't make sense, ... I ended up sharing one of my tacos with her. My brother-in-law enjoyed his chile verde, but the rest of us barely ate half our plates and tacos. The food itself was okay, cold meat, not great. The waitress checked on us only once after dropping off the dishes, and we received just one drink refill. BOTTOM LINE (1 to 10): Food: 5 Customer Service: 1 ...and that's a shame because they have a nice place and are found in a great place. You're better off at Taco Bell.

Love love love the margaritas, but the bar tender was amazing Carolina was top tier. Not old did she make the best drinks but her personality was the best. I brought my friends from out of town to enjoy and they had the best time. The owner was also very friendly and fun to talk with. Pepitos's for the win always!!

Pepito's is our go-to lunch spot when my friend visits me. It's always a fun place with great service. We came on a Friday for lunch and were seated on their lovely patio. Javier took care of us. His service is always friendly and attentive. Complimentary chips never disappoint. The salsa has a nice kick to it. We ordered from their lunch special menu, the carnitas tacos and the carnitas fajitas. Both are reasonably priced, however, the fajitas appear to be the far better "deal," as the portion size, and particularly the quantity of the meat was way higher. We also had some skinny margaritas. They had a nice punch. Unfortunately, they are also quite pricey. If you can, they do have happy hour, M-F, 3-6pm, for better drink deals. Overall though, a great experience, and we will definitely be back!

Pepitos is awesome! It's everything you want when looking for a quality, sit down Mexican restaurant. First of all it's beautiful inside. There is some really great original artwork. There is sit down inside, an outdoor patio and a bar (cantina?) I had the ranchero burrito and it was amazing! The shrimp in the cocktail and salad are huge! Everything is fresh made, creative recipes with great flavor. The owners pride themselves on seeking out genuine, home made recipes to present, and it shows. I highly recommend Pepitos and I look forward to returning again!

Before I forget ...Paola is above and beyond! Thank you for helping these first timers have an excellent experience. This place is in a cute little shopping center in Canyon Crest with plenty of shopping and food and drinks! I had a carne asada burrito and my wife enjoyed a shredded beef chimichanga. We enjoyed everything and I hope you do too!

Service was really good. Our server was very attentive and service was amazing. The ambiance was nice not loud which was very good. The busboy was very very attentive and on point. We order the HH Nachos., the portion was perfect. We came yesterday and one the prices had change which I get it all is going up. But they should have kept the nachos at the same price or make it bigger. It seems the portions are less as well. Hmmm we will come back maybe but not really. The price is not the issue is the portions.

Pepitos is such a great spot! The food is consistently fresh and flavorful, and the portions are always generous. Luis, the manager, and the entire staff are friendly and attentive every time we visit. The atmosphere is casual and welcoming, making it perfect for a quick lunch or a relaxed dinner. It has definitely become one of our go-to places for business dinners.

A couple of weeks ago, I hosted a milestone birthday party for my wife at Pepitos. We had the entire upstairs reserved with a dedicated waiter, Abraham, who took great care of our group. The manager, Luis, made the planning process easy and ensured everything went smoothly. The food was fantastic, soft drinks were included with the menu, and their margaritas were some of the best I've ever had -- and I've tried quite a few at different restaurants.

Great food, service, and atmosphere. This is mine and my wife go to spot for last-minute dining. The service is always spot on, your order is taken in a timely manner, and comes out shortly super delicious. Never had a bad experience here.

This place is amazing! We have had happy hour, birthday parties, family gatherings... all here in the front patio. We have come as a family, we have come for date night, we have come as groups and every time they do not fail us. This is the place to host your events! The food is great! The environment is amazing! The staff is superb: Abraham, Luis, Ms. Ruth, Ms. Ruth's sister, and Caitlin- all amazing! Thank you all for the good time! We will keep coming every weekend! :)

Jacob was our server and he was attentive and caring. It was our first time here and we told him it was our wedding anniversary and he brought us a little ice cream for dessert! How nice! The music is spot on. The food was delicious. If you are sensitive to cinnamon, I would not recommend the horchata as it is packed with cinnamon flavor. I asked for the "little flight" of margaritas and little did I know, they were not little lol

My husband and I had an errand in Canyon Crest and saw this restaurant so stopped in to eat dinner spur of the moment. The food was very good. We both ordered grilled fish tacos with rice and beans...delicious! They also offered us a second serving of chips and salsa. Great service so definitely giving a 5-star rating.

The service is fast, the ambiance is warm and inviting, and the food is good as well! I especially love the drinks!

Food here is great. our server Ruth is great. She helpful and attentive making sure we are good.

First time here and we weren't disappointed! Great lunch and my wife said the carnitas taco was the best she has tasted in a long time! Cooked and seasoned perfectly! Our server was great and fast! The decor inside takes you somewhere south of the boarder so you feel pretty good! The music plays all the time in the background!

We went to this Pepitos for a birthday and had reservations for a party of 25. They had 1 server tending to our party. Not much went well. We all got our food add different times all within 2 hours. The Trio Fajitas came almost at the end and was burnt to a charcoal crisp. We sent it back and didn't want a replacement. No exaggeration. We will not be back to this restaurant. All of the adults in our party had negative things to say about our experience. The ladies came back from the restroom complaining about feces smeared on the restroom walls 1 hour into our experience. We were there for 2 1/2 hours and when we left, the feces was still not cleaned. I'm embarrassed to have taken my family to this place.

I went to this restaurant on 11/8. The waittress took 15 min aftet we arrived to take our orders, did not check up on us, did not refill our water, only brought our check when asked. Service was so poor that I give less than 15 percent tip but I just found out after reviewing my credit card statement that the waittress Jocelyn altered the tip amount to give herself more than 20 percent. I will call my credit card company. Jocelyn should be fired!

Celebrating National Tequila Day at Pepitos! Still time for you to join! The chips and salsa slay tonight.

Great food Great prices great service Server Ruth was on top of drink refills and chips and salsa refills.

This place is phenomenal!! From the service , to the aesthetic to the food !!! They treated my party of 12 so well . Food came out fast and fresh. The ambiance of the place was so nice and definitely looks high quality . Will definitely be returning.

Went back to this restaurant after several years and I'm happy to say the food is still delicious. I'm absolutely in love with the Mango Margarita here. It's the best I've ever had and terrier it at several locations. This time I got the Carnitas, doesn't look like much but the taste is amazing. A must try.

We stopped by Pepito's for some drinks and "brunch". We ordered the Carne Asada Platter with Shrimp- BEST DEAL EVER!!! To add the shrimp it only cost an additional $5 but came with 6 big juicy shrimp! AMAZING!!! The platter also came with rice, beans, guacamole, pico de gallo, grilled corn on the cob and 3 freshly made flour tortillas. We also ordered the Enchiladas Suiza's which were also AMAZING and came with rice and beans! As for the drinks, we ordered a Guava Margarita, Frozen Mangoneada and Watermelon Margarita. They were all made well and were the perfect sweetness, tequila and natural flavoring of the fruit. Service was a little hectic as it was peak lunch time so our drinks came a bit late but were well served and the food arrived hot and ready to enjoy! Overall, great experience and wonderful ambiance with some background music playing but not loud where we couldn't have a decent conversation. Highly recommend to come for some great drinks and food!

My wife and I drove 13 miles to check out this new spot only to find them closing at 8:45 on a Saturday night. Update your hours on yelp!!!

Came here recently for taco Tuesday, bidding farewell to a friend who is moving out of state. They have awesome deals for their tacos, but be mindful that it's kind of like an open salsa bar. You order from your waiter and they give you tickets to go up and grab the tacos yourself. Selection: they have your basic carne asada, Al pastor, shrimp, chicken, fish etc for your meats. I chose fish, Al pastor and shrimp. I liked the shrimp the most, wasn't the biggest fan of the pastor and the fish was kind my least favorite. Tacos on Tuesday start at $2.99 which is a steal, especially eating with large groups. Though, they are nothing like their more specialized items on the menu. The interior is really nice and warm and so are many of the amazing waiters that work there. Parking: it's a little tricky coordinating parking with big groups in this plaza, people can be parking on opposite ends of the restaurant because it's more of a walk-up establishment.

We used to come here a lot and decided to go back for happy hour for the outside seating. Things have really gone down since the last time we were here, both in service and quality. All new servers/bartenders and menu has a new look. We were sat and it took 20 minutes to get our drinks. We were a party of 3 and were sat with 2 place settings. When drinks came out, we were then given 1 straw as if they were deleting people each time something was brought to our table. We had to ask for these things multiple times. During this time, a party of 3 picked a table that had not been bussed yet, and of course, they asked for it to be cleaned. They put all the dirty dishes on another table and finally the gentleman had to literally get the server inside to buss the table (at least 30 mins.) of sitting on someone's dirty table. We placed our order and waited at least another 30 minutes. We contemplated leaving and we really should have. It was told to us that they were "between shifts", which I've been told every single time we've been here, and it's always during happy hour but has never taken this long. It took forever to get basic things like refills on water (on a hot day and sitting outside) or more chips while we waited for food. The food was mediocre and the quality has really gone down. The chicken tasted like it's from a can and has that distinct smell. Last time I was here, they had a good grilled chicken that was used. This was sent back as I couldn't get over the taste or the canned smell. The shrimp were a great size but rubbery, so overcooked. Lastly, the bill came and we were charged for a drink we never ordered. The waitress tried to tell me my father got that drink which wasn't true. She fixed it but the whole experience was extremely time consuming and embarrassing. Spent over $100 on an experience we will never be back for.

The food here is exceptional. I had the chicken enchiladas and my girlfriend had the carne asada. Their chips are home made and delicious. The manager, Luis, is amazing. He showed me all the ha d made pottery that brunch the following day was going to be served in. They are all hand crafted pieces. The brunch is only $38 for unlimited food and drinks. I can't wait to go !

Paola and Abraham are the best servers and bartenders ever! Love the food, drink and the ambience. 10/10!

The shrimp cocktail was pretty good, but the service was amazing with Abraham as our server. Very attentive, always came back to make sure if we needed anything. & had a positive attitude, highly recommend sitting in his section! Also being pregnant he saw everyone having a drink in our group & offered a virgin michelada. Again great restaurant & service !

Great food, great staff I would highly recommend! Happy hour prices are great. Not too busy on a Friday which is nice! This was happy hour time

I went to Pepitos for Taco Tuesday and liked the food, drinks, and ambiance so much that I decided to have my small wedding party here. The manager, Luis, made planning so easy on such short notice! We were able to reserve the 2nd floor (which holds about 50 people). Everyone was accommodating and provided great service. Needless to say, I love this place and will be visiting frequently for casual dinners AND special occasions!

First of all the service is amazing ! The staff is very attentive. I enjoy the environment although the food left me disappointed. I can understand the food may be suited for people with dietary restrictions and preferences. Missing that authentic Mexican flavor.

Pepitos has really gone downhill in the last 6 months. I'm sad to no longer have a quality Mexican spot near my house. The prices are high and the quality is subpar. The food is often not fresh as it could be. Service is sometimes awkward and inconsistent. It's a beautiful restaurant but it should be cleaned more regularly.

Excellent service. We had a party of nine and even when we arrived early they tried their best to seat us early too. Great big portions of food!!! I got the nachos with chicken and they were fine. The chicken didn't seem seasoned itself. But hit the spot.

Our favorite date night place. We also did teacher training here and they accommodated us at lunch in the beautiful upstairs patio.

Kat, Abraham and Vanessa are amazing Thank you for making our experience amazing They were so fun and personable

I went to Pepito's with 25+ people for a birthday. While we were there, the service was terrible, with the waiter only showing up twice in the 3 hours we were there. Upon getting our food, it was either cold or burnt, and delivering of the dishes were minutes to an hour apart. To add onto the already poor experience, most of our orders were wrong. Eventually, a few of us went to the restroom, and found feces smeared on the toilet seat in the women's restroom. We complained 3 separate times, and yet, it remained. Overall, everything was horrible, and I will not be coming back.

Abraham took care of our group of 18. He got all our drinks and orders correct and kept checking to be sure we were ok. We had privacy on the patio, and the heaters/warmers were great! Thanks Abraham for the great service.

Let me start off by saying the location is in a cute shopping center. Ppl eating ice cream, a cute stream, pizza place, olive oil store which was closed. The food at pepitos was not good. We ordered the chicken taquitos, egg rolls, my son ordered garlic shrimp with rice and beans. The rice was okay and beans were rosarito can beans if not taste exactly like em. The chicken taquitos did not taste good, the tortilla was tough and chicken tasteless. Service was like the food, not great. We had a young girl that walked away after someone ordered something even though the rest of the party still needed to order lol. It took our server a bit to walk over and get our drink order to begin with, then this type of service. My son ordered a tea for a drink and she walked away before getting my husband and I drinks. Then she returns and we order the appetizers and walked away but again we were not done ordering. I decided not yo order anything else after tasting the quality of the other food items ordered. It's been a challenge trying to find authentic tasting mexican food.

Great food, amazing staff and our waiter VANESSA was EXCEPTIONAL !!!! Definitely going back asap !!!

Miss Ruth was amazing! Coming for Taco Tuesday couple times every month! Usually very friendly personnel! Yesterday Ruth was taking care of our party, she came to check us multiple times during our visit, we were very impressed with her service and enjoyed our tacos and drinks! Thank you !

Our waiter Orion was awesome! For my birthday today I had the shrimp cocktail. Good flavor but they threw in some "chopped" shrimp mixed in with a bunch of pico de gallo and a bunch of chopped cucumber. Very chintzy on the chopped shrimp. Everywhere I order this cocktail there's at least 12 full shrimps or more . On a better note, the rest of the people in my party were pleased with their foodie

After tonight's experience I would never come back. From the start it was a red flag. we were told the wait was 10 minutes ended up being over 30 minutes. We finally got seated and that's where the issues started. The waiter took our order and we waited over a hour for our food. We were a party of 5....about 15 min after we had our order taken the waiter said I'm sorry but a party of 25 is ahead of you and the kitchen is working on there food first. (We should have left then). We stayed had a drink and then finally we asked how much longer and they told us kitchen has completely closed and is still strictly working on upstairs orders. At this point we decided we were tired of waiting over a hour and got up to leave. As soon as we got up our food came out... What makes me mad is if the kitchen is backed up why are you still seating people? If it's backed up why aren't you being honest with wait times? The manger only offered a 15% discount and took off one plate and two drinks. WHAT A JOKE. Terrible customer service. We won't be back and definitely wouldn't recommend.

Relaxing environment to enjoy a delicious meal served by friendly waiters and waitresses. A must visit if in the Canyon Crest area of Riverside.

Benjamin was an awesome bartender... Very professional... .. Great experience... He's definitely a people person.... If you ever come here please ask for him....

We haven't been to Pepitos in a while because our favorite chicken tortilla soup didn't taste as good the last time we were here. Menu has gotten smaller but prices have increased. Soup wasn't hot, still not at the same level as a few years ago. $19 carnitas burrito was a huge disappointment. At first my daughter was happy to see all meat but then we discovered excessive amount of fat included. Last time coming here.

Sooo good. I triedthe new Savor margarita. I loved it. The bartender Kat made it with all fresh ingredients and made it table side. Side note you can get top shelf Tequila at no extra charge. Our Server Vanessa was amazing so welcoming , friendly and attentive. Food was hot and delicious We will definitely be back!