Pappasito’s Cantina

I ordered the filet mignon with the crab stuffed shrimp with cilantro rice and it was absolutely delicious.
Sadly, the service was terrible. Once we sat at our table, we waited 10 minutes to get approached by anyone. We ordered an appetizer immediately and even ordered our entrees during the first contact with the server. We waited another 10 minutes and still hadn’t received chips with salsa.
I got tired of waiting so I stood up and walked over to the chip station and got mine own. The appetizer was delivered with our entrees and that is totally unacceptable. I asked for flour tortillas for my meal and did not receive them. My food was getting cold so I stood up and got my own tortillas. I had asked for a set of silverware but it still wasn’t delivered to me so I stood up and got my own from another table.
Once we completed our meals the checks were delivered with all of our entrees still in front of us. Totally disappointed because this is one of my favorite Mexican food places.

This review for the catering portion of the restaurant. Having been loyal Pappas restaurant fans for well over 20 years, we decided to use Pappasitos for our family’s first quince.
Although the food was OK, it wasn’t worth the almost $ 3000 we paid for it. Some people thought it was from Taco Cabana. They use clear plastic plates, however, they were too cheap to put the queso and borracho beans in a small bowl. The guacamole, cheese and pico were also served on the plates and were just plopped on with a spoon. Totally different from what you received at the restaurant. No garlic butter or even onions/​peppers or jalapeños.
They were roughly $ 1200 more than the other caterers we were considering, but we decided to go with them based on our past experiences. The whole sitdown dinner portion of the party was an epic fail. The presentation portion of the meal was a complete letdown.

I went here for the first time and had the cheese enchilada plate with rice and beans. The enchilada cheese was hard and it took me a few bites to break down the cheese in my mouth, which I ended up spitting out because it became chewy and gross. My rice was severely undercooked, it was hard. I mentioned it to my server who then brought me another bowl… which was also undercooked. Normally I don’t complain and I know being a Friday night that I went I know it isn’t the servers fault. But if I pay $ 17.50 for an enchilada plate… I expect it to be edible. I am local to San Antonio and although I could’ve went to numerous other locations and pay a cheaper price for enchiladas, I was on a date with my boyfriend and he wanted to take me somewhere I have never been… We won’t be back again. All it takes is one visit to make or break a 2^nd and future other visits.

This place was okay, but for the price and reputation I expected more. They didn’t have the Chile rellenos they are famous for the night we went. The chips and salsa were cheap, and the drinks were overpriced for the quality. The food was okay and service was casual. This would be a cool place to visit for a Tuesday night no frills dinner.

Excellent food and excellent service. There is a reason these guys have a wait time. The wait is well worth it. I will miss customer service like this when I go back home.

We went to lunch here this afternoon. I found the staff to be very pleasant and attentive.
That’s the good part.
Here’s the rest: we got the Wednesday lunch special, which consisted of a cheese enchilada that looked as if it had been run over in the parking lot, saddled with a block of sharp cheddar cheese, then thrust into a microwave for three minutes. The chicken flauta was as long as my forearm, and almost as thick; all bread. What chicken existed was so dry, one could only masticate it with the aid of the carne de whatever sauce that we ordered on the side, sans carne. If you examine the menu, it appears they like to drown all their enchiladas in this lukewarm, cornfloured Taco Bell mild sauce, if only to provide the illusion of girth for their steamrolled entrees.
I understand they have good margaritas. That is the only explanation for how this place has been able to stay in business, if our lunch is any indication of how they think Mexican /​Tex-​Mex cuisine is prepared.
I hate writing bad reviews, but for 17 bucks, they had it coming.

Some folks come here for the Mexican food, but to me Mexican food is best when there is a delicate balance between authentic and Tex mex, and I go elsewhere for Mexican food. The hidden gem here is their seafood! We have had the redfish on the half shell with brochettes shrimp and avocado. You can taste the grill in the smokiness of the fish, and it is always super fresh.

Food’s good, but a bit pricy. Bar tender is extremely inattentive — seems to prefer to other end of the bar. Took forever to take my food order, then told me they were out of beef brisket enchiladas. Forever passed a second time and I finally got a second drink and ordered my food.

Shrimp Diablo, guac bar, fresh tortillas, melted butter, queso, and margaritas. Can you say, «Heaven?»

I like the atmosphere and the food. The staff is responsive and very friendly. I’ll be back the next time I’m in SAT. The crowd is large so the food draws them back and it seems like a great place for a group to party.

I love this place! The service is exceptional. The food is delicious!
The environment is loud but that’s due to everybody having such a good time. They have a good happy hour (bar area). You can order anything off the menu and walk away being totally happy.

Good food, large portions, plenty of seating /​parking and a place I always stop when I’m in San Antonio on business.
Would have been 5 stars, but they took the flan off the menu… just as good as the food is, the flan was amazing.

Dear god could there have been a worse place to stop. The margarita was watered down and way over priced! There gauc was 60% garlic 30% salt. Our server might of looked like Jesus but was nothing of the sort, you want about crap service at a high price you found your place!

This place has fantastic food. I had a platter of enchiladas and they were cooked to perfection. I wasn’t able to try the drinks this time (which looked good on other tables), so I can’t comment on that yet. However, after trying my meal and a bit of all my friends’, I can tell that this place is a serious contender competing for the Tex-​mex crown.
The service was incredible as well. One waiter, a bearded fellow named Ahmad, was amazing. He was attentive, friendly, and just kept us happy.
Will be returning.

It should be noted that our server was attentive bringing us lots of refills and chips.
However we waited 50 minutes to be seated and then an hour for our food. As soon as we asked to speak to a manager, our food magically appeared. All the manager stated was that he was sorry, not very good customer service. There was a table right next to us, seated 10 minutes after us and they received their food a full 30 minutes before us. And then two tables next to us received their food within 20 minutes of being seated.
The food is sub par for Tex-​Mex. vegetarians stay away, only option is a cheese enchilada. I agree with other reviewers that the prices are way to pricey especially for a lack of quality. Stay away, San Antonio has plenty of great options. This place will be a waste of time and a waste in your belly.

This is a true Tex mex staple in San Antonio… margaritas are on point!!! I’ve been ordering the skinny margaritas and they are delicious. Went for work gathering and great group options for seating. I prefer the front room because it feels like you are on patio. Wasn’t to crazy about waitress but we were a big group and the food and drinks made up for it. Highly recommend for happy hour and dinner.

Note that my visit to this location was part of a corporate function that featured a fixed menu, and not a la carte service. Ordinarilly, I would be apprehensive about a review in this case as businesses often don’t get to put their best foot forward in these scenarios, but this meal was an exception.
After taking drink orders for our tables (we had an entire room to ourselves, a party of about 50), the chips and salsa arrived, followed soon by guacamole and queso. The chips were fresh and crisp, and the salsa had a nice heat and flavor. Guacamole was chunky and delicious, with a mild flavor and creamy texture. Queso had good bits of pepper in it, and was thick enough to hold on to the chips, a very welcome change from what so often comes to tables.
Moving on to our main course, we were presented with a huge platter of meats for fajitas (or just eating, as I did). Two notable racks of baby back ribs were present, as were a lot of bacon wrapped and cheese stuffed shrimp. Digging a little deeper netted fajita steak and chicken strips as well as sausage. The ribs were delicious, and not overcooked. They had a nice sweet sauce. but weren’t drowning in it. They were the best meat on the platter, but it was all good. The shrimp were fresh and had a nice «tooth» when biting into them, and had a nice smoky flavor, doubtless in large part to the crispy bacon. The steak was good from a flavor standpoint, but was a little tough. Sausage had a nice flavor, but didn’t wow me with the spice/​seasoning package.
We also received shredded cheese, sour cream, tortillas and other bits for fajitas, but I really focused on just the meats. It was a delightful meal overall, and ended with a variety of desserts including a fantastic tres leches cake, which I ate way too much of. A very good meal under circumstances that are tricky for any restaurant. Well done, Pappasito’s!

Bottom Line: Good food, attentive service, large portions and a cohesive design.
Regardless of which Pappadeaux restaurant I visit I always find the food to be good, the service attentive and the portions large. Moreover, the restaurants always seem to have nice terraces and brick patios and cohesive décor inside. This Pappasito’s Cantina is no exception as everything was very enjoyable.
The menu at Pappasito’s is huge but I really don’t think you can go wrong. In an attempt to go slightly healthier I ordered the Pappasito’s Salad with Fajita Beef. The produce was super fresh and the fajita beef was tender and flavorful. I would most certainly get this again. My coworkers had some awesome items too. The San Juan platter with pork ribs and huge grilled shrimp was scrumptious. Also tasty, but a bit sweet for me was the Swirl drink — a mix of sangria and margarita.
As noted above, the design and décor here is fun. Its whimsical and cohesive and watching the flour tortilla machine is fun. The brick patios with iron railings out front are a welcomeing entrance to this family friendly restaurant.
One potential downside to Pappasito’s is that it can get noisy being its a large restaurant with lots of hard surfaces. Fortunately, I was here early on a Tuesday night and it wasn’t crowded so having a conversation was easy. But on a packed Saturday night, phew it would be hard to chat in here.

Overpriced Mexican food, but everything is fresh.
I’ve been here quite a few times and I have only continued to go due to events being hosted. I wouldn’t go here by choice, few vegetarian options and a lot of everything has alcohol or pork in it, which is important to me.
Not bad but we are in San Antonio, you can find better Mexican food for cheap.
This place is good for out of town people, business meetings and events.
Anyway, I appreciate the service.

My boyfriend has been talking about Pappasito’s ever since we first met. He used to stop and eat there with his family when he was younger, and wanted to check it out again. We finally went last night. Unfortunately, we were both really disappointed. Most of the 4 – 5 star reviews I’ve read on here seem to be people who also had drinks in addition to their food. We don’t drink… so maybe that’s why we were less impressed!
Started off with waters and a strawberry lemonade to drink. The lemonade had big chunks of the strawberry in it, and was a little difficult to drink, but it was tasty. Not overly sweet. Took about 10 minutes to get our drinks, and the appetizer actually came out before our drinks did. We got chili con queso, which was good… but nothing special, just your average cheese sauce with tomatoes and some cilantro on top.
For our main meal, we split an order of chicken and beef fajitas. The best part of that was this butter garlic sauce that comes with it, it’s amazing. Besides that, again, average food. When the food was brought out, there were no plates for us to use, so that was another five minute wait. Then they forgot the rice and beans, another five minute wait. We finally had everything on the table and ready to eat. The meat had good flavor, overall pretty good. The rice was very under-​cooked, to the point where it was just past being crunchy. Very little flavor there.
I also ordered a cup of the Sopa de Tortilla to go, so I could have it for lunch the next day. Whatever they gave me, it looks nothing like any other tortilla soup I’ve ever had before. Looked like there was pieced of zucchini in it and random other veggies in chicken broth.
We did have a really nice waiter (Johnny). He offered to get a manager when I mentioned the undercooked rice. He seemed like he was covering a lot of tables, but he still managed to be polite with us even in the very loud, busy room.
2 Stars, because «Meh. I’ve experienced better.» perfectly fits our experience.