I love Señor Pepe's.  Ever since I moved to Denver I've been missing a go-to Mexican place, and I've finally found it in Señor Pepe's. I love the atmosphere -- divey and a liitle odd (the Top 40 music always makes me laugh), but clean and comfortable. I love how the servers are far more formal than you'd expect (they say things like "and for the lady" and "may I remove your plate?").  I love that it is easy -- there is plenty of parking, never a wait for a table, and zero reason to dress up or anything.  The food is basic Tex Mex, and sometimes that's just what I need. I go for tacos and theirs are just plain good. They don't skimp on the meat or cheese, And the meat is really seasoned.  I do wish they came with beans and rice, it's annoying to have to pay a-la-carte (for the beans AND the rice).  I love their salsa and I'm glad they are generous with it.  They do a great job of refilling drinks and checking up on you.
My main criticism is that they could improve the menu -- there are only a few combination plates, and no appetizers, only dips ( guac and bean dip. The bean dip is obviously just the retried beans with some stuff mixed in and cheese on top). Â Also the burritos are kind of weak. Â But overall I love this place enough to go here once a week or so since I discovered it.
Senor Pepe's has my heart. For real.
Senor Pepe's is my favorite Mexican place in Denver. It's atmosphere is..... interesting to say the least. It's got two entrances and neither of them lead you to anything like a hostess stand. They just sort of dump you awkwardly into the restaurant. It's also really dark in there and the artwork is something else.
But - the booths are comfy, the service is tops, and the food is really, really tasty. Now, there are a lot of types of Mexican food. Some like So Cal Mexican, some like Tex Mex, some like New Mexican. I have lived in both the south and So California and I think that shapes my tastes in Mexican a lot. This place is up *my* alley. I can see why it may not be up someone else's. Their fajitas are awesome, the guac is divine, the only thing I'm not a huge fan of is their burritos but it's the sauce they pour on them. It's sort of runny and leans more on the green sauce side where I prefer thick, red, and completely un-chunky if something is going to be smeared all over the top of my burrito. The salsa is good but it's been different every time I've been in. Sometimes it's good and spicy other times it's a bit weak. But it's tasty to me. Margaritas are yummy too. It's a weird place, but I always get a super good meal there.
We have gone to Sr. Pepe's before and enjoyed it, but the other night was terrible. Â I ordered the combo fajitas (beef and chicken). Â The chicken tasted like it was seasoned with soy sauce, and the beef had no seasoning at all. Â There were so many unseasoned raw onions and green peppers on the skillet, that the meat was hard to spot. Â I asked the server to have the onions and peppers cooked. Â When he returned, they were burned.
His explanation was that the cook must be having a bad day.
You would never even know this restaurant was there unless somebody told you or you happened to drive by it. It's a tiny little place right off Colfax. My dad started taking us here in the mid eighties and I've been going ever since. Their chips and salsa is excellent and they never let you run out of either one. I've had most everything on the menu, but my old standby is the F. combination. It's a cheese and onion enchilada with a smothered burrito and a taco. The food comes out so hot you have to wait a little bit to let it cool down. While you're there a strawberry margarita is a must.
I've never had a bad time or had bad food here. The staff have been there as far back as I can remember and they always treat us like family. It's been a while since I've been there, but I plan on going back soon.
Senor Pepe's was opened in the early 1970s, and I don't think the decorations have been updated since then. Nevertheless its a strangely charming establishment with its heavy wooden front door, and fake oil lanterns. Plus the food ain't half bad, the homemade salsa is especially good. Word to the wise, they like to drown things in cheese.
Review Source:Admittedly, I've been here once so far. I work a second shift type schedule some days so I occasionally have "lunch" at 4pm. I generally get the place to myself. Senor Pepe's was no different.
The atmosphere is homey. It reminds me of something I still can't put my finger on and I've been pondering this one for days. The service was very friendly and food came incredibly fast. I didn't go crazy for the salsa, but I like salsa and chips enough that it didn't matter after the first bite. it reminded me a bit of Benny's salsa.
The lunch specials are $8.95 which I feel is un-special. Maybe I'm cheap. Maybe I'm used to crappy places, but $8.95 seems steep. The menu states that refills cost 75 cents. I asked for a refill anyway. Perhaps the menu was wrong, or perhaps the waitress liked me, but I wasn't charged for the refill.
I left full. I left happy. Perhaps it wasn't special, but it was satisfactory.
I was introduced to this place eight years ago by the Instructor that I was replacing.  I usually eat lunch here about every 6-8 months when one of my students comes down from WY.  I don't know why I wait for him to be in town  to eat here -maybe it is because he usually picks up the tab...;-). Â
Anyway I figured it was about time I wrote a review. Â Like I have said in some of my other reviews I have a tendency to judge Mexican restaurants by their chili rellenos - and the ones here are great! Â I also really like their salsa. Â It is definitely one of those "hidden in plain sight" neighborhood gems.
Ever walk out of a casino or a strip club only to find the sun is actually out and that you have been up for way to long? Well that's what it how i felt walking out of this place... granted I was there for an hour, but it had the dimmed lights and seventy's decor inside and the blinding outside light upon departure took me back...
Anyways, the Chips and salsa were pretty darn good! We ate like 3 baskets and they probably would of kept coming if we wanted more.
I got a huge enchilada and rice and beans... It was great! Wanted a bit more spiciness but all in all great flavor! I will be back for their Margaritas and Chili Rellenos which come recommened by my friends!
Yippee! Â What a fab find! Â I found out about this little place by reading our neighborhood newspaper and my husband and I both looked at each other and said "WHAT there's a Mexican restaurant like 3 blocks from us!"
So we walked over one Friday evening and yes it had VERY awkward entrances---we went into the one closer to Colfax, we ended up sitting at the bar and our food was EXCELLENT!  I think we had the chile rellenos  as well as a chicken enchilada, our basics, oh and the fact that they had soapapilla's on the menu was just a bonus!  The soapapilla was HUGE, next time I'll order it without the powdered sugar and cinnamon, but it was GREAT.
Way to go Pepe! Â Fab place, I love it and can't wait to suggest it when people want Mexican.
I really like Mexican food, but I am nowhere near a Mexican food snob. Lots of people I know pick a certain dish, maybe tamales or the green chili, and judge a new restaurant against an old favorite. Not me. See most Mexican has cheese and I think anything that has melty cheese is good.
Senor Pepe's certainly has dishes with melted cheese and therefore tastes good to me. The reason that I really like this restaurant though is the decor and the staff. It's like eating in a dive, but without dive quality food. Everyone was super friendly and seemed to work together really well.
I'd go here more often if it was closer to my house and I'm definitely glad I ventured down East Colfax to try this hidden gem.
Ambience alone wins my heart here. Â I'm a sucker for places with awkward entrances and black velvet paintings inside.
But seriously, Senor Pepe's is a pretty rad place. Â The pork green chili was a little above average and the tamales had a little less than perfect texture, but overall I enjoyed my meal. Â The portions were very large and the margaritas were strong. Â The staff was pretty attentive, although they forgot my extra cup of green chili at first.
Oh, and on the children's menu you can order your first "Sloppy Jose".
This is a word of mouth secret just off Colfax that is definitely worth repeat visits. Aside from the obvious fact that it's wildly fun to say "Senor Pepe's!" in general conversation, the place serves up tasty food affordably in a dive-y restaurant full of personality (that's been around since the seventies!). Â
I tried the fajitas, and they were good. There's not a lot of ways to change up fajitas, I suppose. The chicken was cooked well and the peppers (all two of them) and onions (all 427) were great, as was the guacamole that came on the side. The burritos that came to our table had no cheese on or in them, which was odd but definitely not a bad thing. Also, their salsa was some of the best I've had in Denver - yay for roasted flavor!
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