On our way to the 2013 Hatch Chile Festival, we stopped in for lunch at the Pepper Pot. Â They were very busy because of all the people in town. Â I thought that the staff did an excellent job seating people, taking orders, and serving the food with a full house. Â We did have to wait but not unreasonable with the crowd. Â My wife had the taco plate and I had a green chile beef burrito smothered with green chile. Â Both meals were very good. Â Being busy did not lower their meal's quality!
Review Source:They closed the door in our faces! We were passing through town and stopped to eat. It happened to be about 15 min before they closed. They saw us walking up, turned off the open sign and locked the door. I understand wanting to close on time, but would have been better if they had opened the door and just let us know they were about to close. The restaurant hours weren't visible until we reached the door.
Review Source:Not good! I am not sure what food other reviewers are writing about, or what Anthony Bourdain saw in the Pepper Pot, but it was one of the top 3 worst places we have ever been. The chicken in the green chile enchiladas was pre-cooked, grilled chicken like that from the grocery store. If you are near Hatch, keep driving to El Paso and go to L&J. They serve the world's greatest green chile chicken enchiladas.
Review Source:Drove with my family  to hatch to buy hatch chiles and heard about this restaurant being a local favorite. I have to say the food was excellent. If you live in the area or a driving past it, it will be well worth your visit. The food is authentic New Mexico and by far better than other restaurants in the area. I tried the combination platter with an enchilada, a taco, and I requested a sopapilla (an authentic New Mexico dish). I have to say everyone was delicious and tasted home made! I lov it. It's a small place and it was delicious. Must warn that I was given the option on hot or mild and I opted for hot and it was hot!  So if I am ever in the area again, I will most likely ask for mild. Happy eats!!
Review Source:Yes 5 Stars *****
Stopped by here on our way to Denver Co from Tucson Az this place feels like home and the service is amazing. The food is Absolutely Ridiculously Fantastic it come from a kitchen no bigger than the little town of Hatch Nm but sweet lord it's a life changing experience the freshness & vibrance this food gives you. We made a stop on they way and on the way back they were closing at 2:30 we arrived at 2:45 and they said come on in as long as you don't mind us cleaning up while you eat another fantastic meal,
Found this place on the tvfoodmaps app. Anthony Bourdain featured it on No Reservations, so I had to try it. My experience with places on this app is "hit and miss". But, this was definitely a hit! The place is quaint and is an old converted house. Service was a bit slow, but the ladies serving were friendly, attentive and great. I ordered the stuffed and loaded chili rellenos. My goodness - amazing! Could not stop eating them and wanted more. The chilis were fresh and tasty, stuffed with miid cheeses and ground beef. It was covered (loaded) with cheese and an amazing sauce! I cannot wait to go back. Highly recommended!
Review Source:With all the positive reviews I really WANTED to like this more than I did. I may have hit an "off day" or something, but the food wasn't superb or anything. (Note my other reviews and you'll see I have a tendency to be very forgiving & talk up places if I feel they deserve it. I'm not a cranky critic...)
The salsa is OFF THE HOOK hot! Enjoyed that, tho it did make me sweat & almost cry. lol
Had the combo platter with a Chile Relleno (decent), Taco (average), two Enchiladas (meh-tho I did really like the green sauce), rice (meh) and refried beans (meh-they were pasty). Â
It's a diner-type place without a lot of ambiance, but I wasn't looking for that anyway. The waitresses were having a very racy conversation (loud) which I was entertained by, but wouldn't have wanted my Mom to hear.
My waitress was very quick and accommodating, though at one point I was the ONLY table occupied.
It was a good meal overall, but I wouldn't go out of my way to go back.
Mind you this was during the Chile festival, so the line was long and it was super hot in there, but when we finally sat down and got some water, it was great! The salsa was hot enough to burn your face, just the way I like. Â We ordered the chile rellano plate, which seriously was the best chile rellanos i've ever had and I've had a lot. Â Make this a stop if you're ever in Hatch, they are only open for breakfast and lunch.
Review Source:This place Rocks! Â We went the weekend of the Chile Festival and after the parade and a walk around the fairgrounds decided to stop here for lunch. Â Thanks to Tony Bourdain - he's right, best enchiladas EVER! Â
Actually, the enchiladas themselves are pretty standard, but the sauce...oh the sauce! Â Personally, I'm not the biggest fan of Mexican and New Mexican food, but this stuff was phenomenal. Â Both the green chile and red chile sauces were the best I've ever eaten anywhere. Â And the chile relleno was amazing. Not sure if it was because this is chile season, or if they're this good all the time, but the relleno was fresh and absolutely delicious. Â We enjoyed it so much that we went again the next day for lunch before we left town.
So if you're headed to Hatch, driving near Hatch or just in your car one day with some time to spare, take the trip to The Pepper Pot. Â You will not be sorry.
I love me some green chiles and Hatch, NM is the epicenter for green chiles in the World. That being said, that does not necessarily mean the restaurants here serve the best green chile dishes in NM but in the case of Pepper Pot, they DO.
I specifically stopped at PP because my man Tony Bourdain featured them on his "American Southwest" road trip food tour and his word is good enough for me.
The green chile enchiladas are freaking AWESOME with tons of fresh green chile, jack and cheddar cheese and  good beans and rice. The chile rellenos are also excellent and prices are VERY reasonable. (If the photo below does not make you hungry, you must have just ate).
If you go here during the Green Chile Festival Labor Day weekend you will have a 1 hour wait. If you go any other time, the place will be all yours.
BONE APPETITE!!
If you are a restaurant called the Pepper Pot in Hatch, NM which is the chilie capital of the world, you will expect great chilie rellenos and all things  chilie to be good.  Not only does the Pepper Pot surpass all expectations in this regard, there isn't a single menu item over $10.  The restaurant is owned by two sisters who were laborers in the Hatch chilie fields many decades ago.  Today, they have a very successful business and serve the people they used to work for.  A true American Dream story.  The service is great and the staff is very friendly.  This is not a fancy place by any means, but if you want true New Mexican chilie fare for $10 or less, it doesn't get any better than this.
Review Source:I don't know ... no one in my group got anything with chilies so if that's the main thing I can't comment on that. I DID get the enchiladas though and it seemed very average to me. I've had a lot of good Mexican food and this doesn't really stand out. The dining area is very large and our waitress was very nice to us. I chose this restaurant while on a roadtrip, and I saw that it had been on No Boundaries. I don't think any of my friends were particularly impressed, and I don't think it was really worth making a special trip for.
Review Source:I drove four hours each way from Sierra Vista, AZ just to eat at the Pepper Pot. Â The Yelp reviewers were key motivators but when Anthony Bourdain looks into the camera and utters the words "Best enchiladas...ever" Â well then a guy just has to listen.
The experience was worth every mile driven. Â I had the combo plate with a relleno, a taco, one red enchilada, one green enchilada, as well as rice and beans.
This was the freshest and most delicious tasting Mexican food I have ever eaten. Â It has redefined what I thought was good. Â Everything that came before is just "Meh" to me now.
And when the friendly and efficient waitress tells you everything on the plate is hot so be sure to "blow before you bite," she is speaking the truth (in so many contexts).
I will make this pilgrimage anytime I am in the US southwest. Â That is how impressive this experience was for me.
Stopped in to the Pepper Pot almost by mistake, as it looks like a converted house with a little dog running around in front.
The food was everything you would want : simple, attentive, with great fresh ingredients.
I had the chili verde which was almost like a Tuscan soup, except for all of the wonderful green chilis in it. My friend had the classic stuffed peppers, and it was great. Highly recommended.
There is NO doubt - THIS PLACE ROCKS!
I recently took a road-trip with 4 other adults - in the same car - from San Diego to Carlsbad, New Mexico. It was cramped quarters and one heck of a drive. The Pepper Pot made it worth all the effort! I'm a HUGE chili fan... and since Hatch - The World Chili Capitol - was only a 90 minute detour, we just HAD to stop.
My Magellan GPS had this place listed, so we set a way-point, and headed into Hatch. I placed a call to the restaurant while in route... and they confirmed for me that I'd seen them on TV. When we arrived, we were greeted warmly, and joined the local lunch crew for a meal.
Chips & salsa were delivered shortly after we got seated. The stuff was SO good... I can't put it into words. I must have consumed a quart of the salsa. It was addictive, and fresh as could be.
Arguably, chili fans will know that the best possible platform to taste-test a fresh chili is to make it into a chili relleno. Let me just say it this way... I'd marry the chef (if female) - sight unseen - and pay a hefty dowry to do it. (My wife would understand, right?) It was INCREDIBLE!!!
If you're coming to Hatch, NM expressly for the flavor of green chili... skip everything and every place else. The Pepper Pot should be your destination. Kind, warm, friendly service, THE BEST FOOD... and an INCREDIBLE Chili Relleno!!! I still have dreams of the place... and would gladly choose this place for my last meal on Earth.
One last note: When returning to San Diego, our party unanimously voted to again make the 90 minute detour from our route to eat here just once more. Two visits to Hatch, two to the Pepper Pot - Hundreds of miles driven just to get here. WORTH EVERY EFFORT... don't miss it!
The world has voted. Hatch green chilies are the top chilies in the world. Rating a restaurant that is actually in Hatch means adding an immediate star to the rating. They simply have the best ingredients to work with.
In this case, the Pepper Pot should be an over-average Mexican food stop. Nothing's so simple in Hatch, and that means that every plate you'll have (even from a cart on a sidewalk) has been taken up a notch... except for the coffee. Don't order drinks. The drinks range between generic and sub-par.
We ordered the chilaquiles. Simply put, these were the best chilaquiles I've had in Stateside. Win! The price is medium to low. Bonus round! From the places I've found in Hatch, this has become my favorite stop to sit down and savor some chilies.