Papi Chulo’s Mexicam Grill & Cantina

This is THE best Mexican spot in Scottsdale. Loved the atmosphere. Delicious food. Great and friendly service! Will comeback often.

I love this place! I had a Dos Equis and a Rum Chata, along with chips and salsa. The drinks were delicious, too bad I didnt try the food. Also Im giving 4 stars because Im a little buzzed

I had an excellent experience at Papi’s.
I sat at the bar and was quickly attended to by the bartender. I ordered a margarita on the rocks, no salt. The drink was delivered quickly and it was okay… not great.
I also ordered a grilled chicken burrito a la carte; it was outstanding. The burrito came with sour cream and guacamole; I requested some salsa which was quickly delivered. I thought the burrito was one of the best I have had in recent memory. Plenty of meat and tasty.
The next night I ordered the quesadilla with shredded chicken and it was really outstanding. Plenty of meat, and very tasty again. The quesadilla was not your typically round shape, but longer and narrow. The outside was more of a pastry covering vs. the regular tortilla. I truly enjoyed it.
If the margaritas were a little more tasty, I might have raised this to five stars. It is definitely worth a stop.

Had dinner here on a Sunday night, 1÷17÷16 and it was pretty packed. Very busy. Waiter came over promptly and took our order. I enjoyed the Fish Tacos and my wife had Steak Fajitas. We both enjoyed our meals and the pricing is reasonable. If you are looking for authentic Mexican food, go somewhere else but if you are looking for decent and inexpensive Mexican food, come here. We’ll be back.

Wow! I’ve never done a 1 star before but just to post on my recent almost dining experience with this restaurant. Came in at 6:43 and two people were in line ahead of us and we were told there was a 5 minute wait. As we are waiting another large group comes in and is immediately seated. No acknowledgement of our group waiting to be seated. I’m not sure if it’s a management problem or extremely badly trained servers. We decided to leave and not give our business to such an establishment. Incredibly disappointing.

Good standard Mexican. The steak is outstanding, but the queso lacks oomph and the guacamole is heavy on cilantro. Special mention of the great service we received. I know we’ll be back for that steak and I’ll ask them to not use the cilantro as a garnish.

Nothing bland here! Very clean and warm environment with great service! The food… Amazing… Not even a question of being the best Mexican food I have tasted… And I’ve been to many Mexican restaurants. I have tried Chile Relleno at every place… These were hands down the best I have found yet! Queso Chicken enchiladas were fantastic also! We will definitely be returning to enjoy this establishment!!!

Tried to go here twice and both times the kitchen was closed. I’ll never understand why restaurants have hours if they don’t actually follow them.

Fantastic place to eat very clean good hostesses. Great drinks food is excellent when I return to Scottsdale this will be my eating place

I remember when Ro and I ate at this restaurant on the day it first opened years and years ago. We were the 4^th table to occupy this place. While our food was being made, the manager gave us coupons for free margaritas on our return visit. I never returned to the restaurant until this past Saturday.
I purchased a special on Living Social and realized we had to use it before Dec. 12^th. So we trekked down and enjoyed a great meal. Loved the Chicken Quesadilla! Adam, our waiter, was great as well. I’m certain we’ll be back to this place. Cheers***

Delicious Margaritas! Loved the red Enchilada sauce! Probably the best I’ve ever had. The service was great too! We sat outside on the patio and it was relaxing. Just what I needed. I’ll definitely be back!

Stopped in here for breakfast this morning as my band and I were staying at the Days Inn so it was super convenient!
When myself and my drummer walked into Papi Chulo’s and found the other half of our band already seated we quickly joined their table and waited for a server to bring us some menus. Although the restaurant was empty (aside from one other table) five minutes passed by and nothing happened– the single waiter didn’t even acknowledge our presence.
I got up and grabbed two menus and he finally turned around and signaled he’d be right with us– which turned into another ten minutes. I don’t know what this guy had for breakfast but whatever it was he should stop, he was moving at a slower than snails pace and being overwhelmed by a total of two tables, though a third did join midway.
When he finally took our orders (30 minutes from original seating point) the food came out quickly and I was really impressed with my Huevos Racheros! Very large portion and absolutely delicious. Shame about the crap service.

Is the elder waitress racist or something? I hate to label people. But that was the experience I got. I went to the restaurant for breakfast. Was the only non-​white. For a long time I didn’t get a menu. I had to ask for it. While I observed the white customers after me got menu immediately. When the waitress went around asking refills on coffee, she just skipped right past me. In the end when I stepped out and said bye, she just stared at me. Ok for food, bad for service.

Our server, a young kid from Philly, was great in every way. He was extremely helpful, had a great attitude, and helped us get through the menu.
My group and I were here for happy hour. So we went with their appetizer platter, a couple of margaritas, and some beers. In looking at their menu, all of their appetizers are fried in some way.
This $ 20 appetizer platter was large, with taquitos, chimichangas, enchiladas and one big dollop of sour cream and as well as guacamole. While this platter was neatly made and arranged with lettuce and tomatoes… It just didn’t make the grade. I wish I had taken a picture for all Unilocalers to see. As neat as it was, at the same time it also looked unappetizing as everything was completely fried except the enchiladas. This is definitely bastardized Mexican food on steroids.
As for our margaritas, we got them with higher shelf Patron tequila, but their premade margarita mix really brought the drinks down.
Nothing we had here was really fresh, and the total bill on four people ended up being $ 75 with tax and tip.
I can’t recommend this place, especially when there are a lot of choices in Scottsdale for food and drink.

Not sure WHY this place doesn’t have ALL 5 stars. We recently visited the Phoenix area from California and let me just say this is the best [BEST] mexican prepared food I have ever tasted. I love mexican food and have been to countless mexican restaurants — every thing from the spices, presentation, ambiance, and service (with TJ) was totally awesome. We even got a chance to speak with the GM Brad who was very approachable. It was a very good experience. I highly recommend this place. Ask for TJ, he will treat you right. If we ever go back to Phoenix, we will certainly visit this place again.
Oh, also, they give you a lot of food — we had take out, refrigerated it at the hotel, and for the drive back microwaved it and it was just as good. I had the mixed fajitas, my hubby had the chicken enchiladas and our kids had the chicken quesadillas– good stuff!

I looked at reviews before coming here, they were VERY mixed so I wanted to check it out myself. I’m staying at the Chapperal Suites next door and ended up going for happy hour (Mon-​Fri 3pm-​6pm). I was surprised how good the happy hour food was and only $ 5! I also had a frozen strawberry margarita, AMAZING! And did I mention only $ 5!!!
We were the only ones in there when we first arrived. Chris our server was awesome, never a empty glass :)! There is a patio but it was wayyyyy too hot out (109) to be seated outside!
They have a comedy club attached to restaurant but its only open Friday and Saturday.
This bar is fully stocked! I ordered a Tecate but sadly they don’t sell it, a little bummed about that :(Ended up ordering a Corona light, was nice surprise to see it was $ 1.00 off! Usually only drafts are on happy hr.
All and all I had a great experience and would definitely recommend checking this place out! I WILL be back!!!

This place is great for a out of towner like myself, it is like Cheers there’s no stranger’s everyone is welcome to the family of fun… I think I have bben adopted… LOL. Don’t forget to give the comedy club a try. The SpeakEasy is only a doorway away.

Purchased a $ 20 Groupon for $ 10 to use during breakfast or lunch. I regretted not going for breakfast since this was the 2^nd time returning for lunch. This time I indulged in Combo #4. For about $ 11 you get 1 very salty cheese enchilada smothered in red sauce & 1 cheese and spinach stuffed chile relleno fried in a light batter and showered with a white sauce. That’s both complimented with ordinary Spanish rice and bland beans. Thank goodness I already filled up on their complimentary firm tortilla chips (which I very much enjoy) and savorless salsa. I remorsefully strayed away from the shrimp fajita’s (which is what I enjoyed the last time & left with a smile on my face) because I thought $ 18 was a bit too steep. I’m sure we’ll be back since my other half enjoyed his meat filled burro. But maybe I could talk him in to take-​out instead?
Service was friendly and observant (ensured our drinks were full & empty plates taken away). Place was deserted for a Sunday afternoon but that could be due to football being on. Which they did feature on one of four flat screens.

I don’t go to Papi Chulo’s very often, but when I do I am pleasantly surprised. It seems like other Unilocalers have a bad time, but the food has always been flavorful, fresh and hot.
We had a Groupon for breakfast or lunch and decided to try breakfast on a Saturday morning. There was one other table with a couple from the hotel, after they left we were the only customers there. We both ordered Papi’s Breakfast Skillet, one with egg whites and the other with chorizo. I asked for chips and salsa and got warm chips with salsa, salsa roja (awesome & spicy) and green chili salsa.
The skillet had crispy, seasoned home style potatoes (Papi’s potatoes), peppers & onions, jack cheese and egg. It comes with three flour tortillas. Comparing their skillet to Village Inn & Perkins, Papi’s is easily the best. Hot and tasty and adding some of the salsa roja made it spicy and extra awesome.
Give this place a shot.

This is a nice Three Star, Mexican themed watering hole.
Many of my SoCal/​LA friends might know Antonio’s on Melrose. It’s the only other Mexican restaurant I know that has a tee shirt concession stand inside the restaurant. LOL.
But the similarities end there, since Antonio’s is an LA institution, long before being featured on Entourage btw.
Here it’s just simple Americanized Mexican food, with large goblets of Margaritas, much along the lines of a ChiChi’s or El Torito’s. We came in after passing it many times and enjoyed ourselves.
Expect to pay around $ 25 each, including drinks, taxes and gratuities. It may not be a gourmet place, but this gourmand enjoyed it.
So Three Stars, «A-​Okay».