Peppers Mexicali Cafe

The place was a really nice hole in the wall on the outside and super busy. I was surprised when they asked if we had reservations but it really was that busy. Super nice staff amazing drinks and food was out of this world with big portions. Highly recopmmen.

Visiting Monterey for a couple of days and happened upon Peppers Mexicali Café. What a great find. We had a wait of about 20 minutes, but the time went quickly because the hostess was very engaging and welcoming. (I can’t believe I forgot her name!) Our server, Shelby, was extremely helpful with food input. The food was fresh and delicious and mmm, the Blood Orange Margarita! The atmosphere is bright and fun. The service is exemplary. What more could I ask for? I will certainly return the next time I’m in the Monterey area

Really good Mexican food and the service is great to. One of my favorite spots in PG.

The BEST chicken enchilada I have ever had! Tender chunks of chicken that just shredded. SO delicious!

Such a great find! My husband is obsessed with their mole. Everything is amazing. This is a new regular dinner spot for us. It’s typically crowded but I can see why. While waiting to be sat take a quick walk to lovers point, it makes for a great night.

Excellent fast service (especially on a packed busy night), I was seated quick, attended to very fast, and my food was fresh and hot!
I had the jambalaya, with a local Sparky’s root beer, and although it was a hefty portion of food, I finished every bite because it was delicious! Now I am all ready for a big Spartan Race tomorrow!
Definitely recommend this place if you are traveling in the area like me! I’m sure the locals know of this gem.

We placed an order ‘to go’ to take back to our hotel. After seeing this place on Unilocal and the stellar reviews, I couldn’t wait to try! It’s in a cute part of town very close to our hotel, so that was nice. I did appreciate the vegetarian options they offered and felt that they have a good selection! I got the mushroom and artichoke enchilada plate, and my girlfriend got a prawn taco and a chicken taco. She said her tacos were very plain and soggy. My enchilada plate was also very plain and most of the artichokes inside were very large, tough and inedible. The rice was plain and hard and I would have to say the same for the black beans. On top of that, it was a pretty pricy meal.

Ordered fajitas to go and was happy with the portion and flavor. The price of $ 20? Not worth the money!

Forget all other Mexican restaurants because PEPPERS is the best. Amazing Tacos Al Carbon;the juiciest strips of skirt steak perfectly pink and juicy. Wonderful nachos and just wait till you try their seafood. The quality of this food is beyond compare. Everyone who works here is so nice and friendly too.Enjoy.

Tip: if you’re itching to eat here for dinner .on a weekend… make sure you make reservations. If not, you’ll end up waiting for 45minutes-​1 hour. You can also just sit in the bar and have a few drinks.
The ambience here is cool. Good vibes. but food we tasted tonight didn’t hold up. Flavor profile was definitely lackin’…salt.pepper.and some other spices.
What we ordered:
Guacamole– was ok. it definitely lacked flavor
Two combo entrée#1: Chile Relleno and Chicken Tamale (Chile was pretty plain and the chicken tamale was loaded with maza… making it taste too dry)
Combo#2: beef taco and chicken enchilada .the chicken meat was way too dry. but the beef taco was the best. It was Tender, moist, and full of flavor
Chicken mole enchilada– description sounded great… but didn’t hold up to its promise. The mole sauce was neither sweet or spicy… it was more like thin and runny… and the chicken was also dry.
Overall clean place… prompt service… but definitely wouldn’t be my go to spot for Español food.

Awesome! Eat here, friendly and great food! We had the Salmon = very fresh and cooked perfectly. Salsa, chips = Will return!!!

Not sure what the hype was about. it was fine? Friendly waitstaff, pretty unremarkable huevos rancheros…

My server Carly was on top notch mode, made sure my drink was full and my food was good and hot. The Swordfish tacos were very delicious as well as the guacamole. If I had to find something to nitpick it would be the rice could use more tomato sauce but still I feel I’d be searching. This place I do recommend for anyone craving delicious Mexican foods and hey they have a full bar!

Try a pitcher of the blood orange margaritas. They are awesome and some of the best margaritas I’ve ever tasted. This place is a local hangout that one of my good friends has been coming to since the day they opened.
I ordered the mushroom and artichoke enchilada which was wonderful. I loved that they had black beans instead of refried beans as an option. My friend had the prawns which were beautiful and also delicious. My husband ordered the chicken burrito which he said was average. He won’t be ordering it again.
They had several options for salsa for chips including a mild, hot and green sauce which we enjoyed. The mild was eaten by 7 year old.

What a great place! We went on a Sunday night so it wasn’t very packed (I’ve heard it can get really loud on busier nights), but we really liked our time there. Got a seat right at the window, and our server was very attentive, refilling our drinks before we could even ask. I got an enchilada, and my boyfriend got tacos. Super good! The enchilada was really filling and the red sauce had a lot of flavor. Usually I ditch the refried beans but I gave these ones a shot and they tasted great!
Only major gripe is that the salsa and chips they served were too hot and not salty enough respectively. Going just off those two I was worried about the main course. Peppers, please give some milder sauce choices and a new brand of chips!

The lack of actual Latino Diners in this Mexican restaurant were the first sign that this place was suspect. The second was the watered down Margarita and the third strike came in form of a pepperoncini Pepper on the plate that screamed gimmick, if you are named peppers please have a roasted serrano or jalapeño not a pickled pepperoncini.
I ordered the Snapper Yucatan which warned «Spicy,» the dish fell short of mild and never attempted even a hint of spice, If you denote your dish is spicy and you’re a Mexican restaurant here’s a hint… spice it up!
Service was good, food was mediocre at best.

Oh Peppers. Not only the only Mexican restaurant in Pacific Grove, but also the most popular spot in town.
The food is «good». The service is «great» (which is why I’m awarding a 4^th star).
But…
My only request as a loyal patron over the last 20 years, I must say… step it up! Let’s see some new, inspiring dishes.
And please, spend a little cash on your bathrooms (especially the men’s room). Fix the slamming door. Fix the sink. Fix up the broken fans in the dining room. We love you, but it seems you’re just skating by on the same ‘ol menu while neglecting important stuff like a clean, functional bathroom and fixtures. Am I being anal? Maybe. But if you don’t keep up, someday, another Mexican restaurant is going to come to town and do it better. Just sayin’.
You’ve got the following. You’ve got the staff. Now, just tighten up your space a bit and add some flare to the menu, and you’ll last forever.
With love.

This was an awesome restaurant that we tried when we were visiting Monterey. We had a great time, plus this restaurant introduced us to Sparky’s root beer – some of the best root beer I have ever had.
We were a little skeptical at first because it kind of looks like a touristy place that will likely serve overpriced bad food, but we were surprised that the food looked and tasted great. The place was packed on a Friday night.
Our server was very nice and accommodating. I tried the corn chowder and got veggie quesadillas. Both were delicious. I think the boys got fajitas and tacos and loved their food too. Their chips and salsa were delicious as well.
The restaurant itself had a very festive and happy ambiance. They have a bar area in the front and the rest of the restaurant looks like a typical Mexican restaurant. I would check this place out if you’re looking for Mexican in Pacific Grove!

We really enjoy visiting PG because of the quaint relaxed atmosphere that surrounds it! A strict 15mph speed limit all downtown is a hint at what I’m talking about. We’ve driven past this place and have seen the line out the door and around the corner, so when we arrived into town late and saw the line had settled, we knew where to go! We were promptly seated and served our drinks. They don’t make micheladas here which was a little bit of a downer. They offered me a Negra Modelo instead.
As an app we had the local calamari. The calamari was fried in a Mexican style batter and served with a spicy chipotle sauce. Piping hot and very crunchy!
For my dinner I ordered the steak tacos. They were recommended by our waiter Chuy! They were fantastic. Thicker cuts of steak presented very well on the plate. (Refer to my pictures) my wife had the seafood tacos (shrimp tonight) and they were presented the same way. For a Mexicali cuisine, this place was top notch. I really enjoyed the whole experience. The service was impeccable. We will definitely come here again when looking for this style of Mexican food!

Alimentos que le hará enamorarse
We popped in on Saturday evening and the place was pretty packed, there was a 45 minute wait… Definitely worth the wait. You can call ahead to reserve seating, which a lot of the locals seem to do. Some spaces became available at the bar and the bartender made them available to us so this took some time off our wait.
We received some chips & salsa to start off with, the salsa had a great flavor a bit spicy but not to overpowering. We also order some chipotle calamari to start off with, which was pretty tasty but I would of preferred cocktail sauce over tartar sauce… But you really didn’t need any sauce the flavor on the calamari breading was tasty. My bf ordered the swordfish fajitas (Special), I ordered the artichoke/​mushroom enchiladas, and my mom ordered the enchilada platter.
Everything came out pretty promptly, and portion sizes were rather large. I was pretty full on the calamari but I munched down my two enchiladas (Ewwwwy gooooey loveliness) and took home my beans & rice. My mom & bf both really enjoyed their plates, and didn’t have much for left overs. I can see why this is a local spot, everything was amazing; from the service to the food.
We would definitely come back here if we were in the area.