Pepito’s Grill

Our favorite Mexican eatery in Tuscaloosa. Friendly people, colorful décor, tasty food and very reasonable prices.

I eat at Pepitos on occasion; however, each experience is hit or miss. The food quality is similar to other restaurants in the area but almost double the price. Service is average. Margaritas aren’t very strong. I’m happy to tag along if my friends already plan on eating here but Its certainly not my first choice.

great authentic Mexican food, fresh chunky salsa. good margaritas, huge portions. Lots of Mexican customers … must be good!

Pepitos is definitely my favorite spot for Mexican food in Tuscaloosa. The margaritas are delicious and pretty reasonably priced as well. Also, I believe they have happy hour specials throughout the week on Margaritas. The chips there are amazing and the white queso dip is also delicious. The service is not the best, but it’s not horrible either. I would highly recommend this as the best Mexican restaurant in Tuscaloosa.

Cant go wrong with Pepito’s! Dont be fooled there are no authentic Mexican restaurants in Tuscaloosa but this comes the closest. They need to get better quality meat but its not super expensive to eat here.

Sometimes it’s the little things. The chips are really thin and flavorful. The hand made guacamole is fantastic (you custom order it the way you want it). They use only quality ingredients and the recipes are from their families kitchens. Margaritas are made with fresh lime juice (not a mix like everywhere else). So if you want «real» Mexican food go to «Pepito’s Grill».

Worst service ever! After waiting at the bar (!) for about 25 minutes, someone finally decided to show up but he was so rude that I decided to leave!

Well, I learned to order the right stuff, which apparently is a frozen margarita, guacamole, and a chicken taco. The outdoor patio is pretty nice on a clear evening. It was really good. Right on, Pepitos!

The roll tide taquitos are awesome. The perfect balance of chicken, beans, tortilla and cheese. Pepitos stands out from the other Mexican places around by offering some more unique items than you tend to get at several.

Great food, good service– my husband & I will go back.

This is my favorite Tuscaloosa Mexican restaurant. The food and the margaritas are fresh and delicious. The service can be slightly slow if you’re sitting outside, but who cares. The salsa is also spectacular.

Summary: Horrible Service (aside from the «Salsa Guy»)
Went there one night with a moderately sized group of people. The service was so bad, we left before ordering.
Pros:
1) The «Salsa Guy.» As soon as we were seated, he came out with warm chips and moderately spiced salsa. Everything else when downhill from there.
2) Aroma
The delicious smell of enchiladas was enough to pull our group in from The Strip.
Cons:
1) Location
Had the hardest time trying to find somewhere to park.
2) Space
The restaurant is small. It fills up with drunk University of Alabama students quickly.
3) Incompetent Staff
The waiter made the space feel even smaller by seating our group between two other large groups. There was barely enough space to pull away from the table, let alone move your elbows. We noticed that there was plenty of space on the other side of the partition. Why we weren’t placed there is anyone’s guess.
4) Rude Staff
Waiter became frustrated when we asked him to explain the drink specials. «No, that’s Tuesday — Thursday.» «No, that’s only Monday and Wednesday.» «No, that beer is only for Sundays during a Harvest Moon.» I was tempted to order a drink just to throw it in his face. Additionally, he left the table for 15 minutes in order to give us time to review the menus (i.e. smoke break).
We were left with lukewarm nachos/​salsa, no water, and no silverware. So we calmly packed our things and left, leaving Pepito’s with no business from us.
I’m not even going to speculate as to *why* this place had crap-​tacular service. I didn’t stay long enough to survey the opinions of the dim-​witted, drunk, Confederate flag-​wearing patrons squished next to me.

In a town full of Mexican restaurants Pepito’s is consistently good and cheap. It doesn’t have the margaritas of El Rincon, or the convenient downtown location, but the food is better. The menu is large, by comparison, and you get good-​sized portions. The service is decent for a Mexican restaurant, which is to say, well above average.