Peppers Mexicali Cafe

I have been a loyal customer of Peppers since I was a kid. Peppers is not just a local landmark, its a legend!!! To the other folks that wrote negative reviews, well all I can say is, you have a right to your opinion, however wrong it may be!!!! What you need to keep in mind when going to Peppers is that it is not your everyday Mexican food joint. Peppers is an eclectic spin on Mexi Cali cuisine. If you want Mexican food,,,go to Salinas. If you want some of the most intriguing flavors you can experience with simple, local ingredients, go to Peppers!! In 25 years I have never had anything but the best of service at Peppers. I grew up as a local, Scott, the owner still knows me by name, even though I am no longer local, and maybe get to enjoy eating there once year if I am lucky. By the way, I wish you were still there Scott, I hope you are enjoying retirement. I have to laugh at the comment made by another person that reviewed Peppers, ""but then the locals are so 'whitebread'"". I challenge any one to find a spot in Cali, or any where else that is more culturally diverse as the Monterey Peninsula!! Pros: Localy owned, Great food, and Awesome atmosphere Cons: None that I can think of!! more

The management at Peppers clearly does not understand the value of maintaining a loyal local customer-base during a recession. My husband and I have been to Peppers twice since moving to Pacific Grove. On our first visit, we thought the food was only so-so?but we did note that they had a full bar, which is rare in PG! So one Thursday after work when we wanted to go out for happy hour someplace that was within walking-distance, we decided to get a couple of margaritas at Peppers. What a mistake! The $8 margaritas were good, but a few minutes after receiving the margaritas and telling our waitress, ?We?re only having drinks,? the hostess came to our table to have a word with us. Apparently, even though there were at least three other tables open and no line, in her mind we should have gone to the bar instead of a table if we were only there for drinks. My husband told her that there was no need for us to move to the bar, we?d just take the check instead. After paying, we told her that, if she would have allowed us to stay, we would have ordered several drinks, at a cost that would have more than totaled the price of two dinners. She said, ?Okay.? We told her that we thought it was rude of her to seat us at a table, and then come back later to tell us we had to move if we weren?t going to have dinner. She muttered something about how most people sit at the bar when they want drinks. When we reminded her that the bar was full when we arrived, she just brushed us off with a sarcastic, ?I?m sorry.? We told her not to worry because we wouldn?t be returning, and she said, ?Okay.? This entire situation demonstrated not only Peppers? bad business sense, but also their complete disregard for customer satisfaction. I don?t know how this place stays in business. Pros: None worth mentioning. Cons: I don't like paying people to be rude to me. more

I've heard about Peppers for a couple of years from people telling me ""Everyone in Pacific Grove eats at Peppers."" Pros: Service, Food Freshness, Sopaipillas Cons: A bit bland, not authentic more

It's not the most authentic mexican food, but it's good cal-mex. For mexican food it is a little pricier than it needs to be. The salsa and chips do rate in the top 10 of any mexican establishment for sure. The maragaritas are awesome too. It's probably the loudest restaurant in PG, which kind of gives it a party atmosphere for the locals and it is a local favorite, but then the locals are so ""whitebread"". So there you have it! If you want the real deal............make the drive to Salinas ; ) Pros: Chips, salsa and Margaritas Cons: Not authentic enough for me and a little too $$ for Mexican food more

I'd call it more Cali-Mexican. With a dearth of good, cheap, authentic places to eat Mexican food in Monterey and it's environs, I'd skip Peppers. That said, I did have a nice meal there--a beef taco with black beans. Nothing spectacular, but it wasn't bad, either. This place is very popular with tourists, has a full bar, and always has a long wait. Pros: Fresh ingredients, kid's menu, casual Cons: Long waits, loud more

I grew up on authentic homemade Mexican food. We tried Peppers a couple of years ago; the Margaritas were good, the atmosphere was fun, but the food was just okay. Recently we decided to give it another chance since it always seems busy, maybe we just got them on a bad night before. The wait was over 30 minutes and the food was just okay again. We have so few really good Mexican restaurants here that this place gets more hype than it deserves. Our favorite Mexican place is Zocalo on Fountain between Central and Lighthouse (and our neighbor from Jalisco agrees) The atmosphere isn't as festive and they don't have a hard liquor license but the food is fabulous and very authentic. They have some specialty Mexican drinks that you never see in restaurants here. One of them is beer with tomato juice and comes out with shrimp around the top of the mug. The salsa is the best I've found, we go through at least 2 bowls everytime. It's hot, but not too hot and has the best flavor. They use Angus beef, the shredded beef tacos are great. If you don't specify you get the soft type which I love. Always check the specials too, often things you won't see other places and worth a try. Try the Chicken Enchilada with Mole sauce if they have it. Yum. I haven't had anything there that I wouldn't have again. Thinking about all this has got my mouth set for Mexican, gotta go to Zocalo for lunch :-) Pros: Ambience, good Margaritas Cons: Long wait for average food. Kind of bland more

This is one place you DO NOT want to miss. Super fresh and YUMMY!! HI Scott & Linda :) Love and miss you tons. Kat more