Pepe's Mexican Restaurant at Newmarket — Restaurant in Brisbane City

A must try if you are new to Brisbane or visiting on holiday. They've been around a very long time and they're building is a well known local icon north of the river. The food servings are generous and tasty. We recommend exploring every part of the menu as you will not be disappointed.....or perhaps you need to do what we do and visit reguarly with an open mind😍

We tried the vegetarian sizzling fajitas, excellent value for money! You could even split the meal between two or more people. If you love sour cream or guacamole then you will need to order an extra serve of them because the ones that come with it are quite small. In fact it would be better if they served more sour cream, guacamole and salsa considering how big the sizzling plate serve is. Even a couple wedges of lemon amd lime would be ideal too. Then again we're big eaters so it really depends on your preferences lol. Again great value for money, exceptional flavours and tastes! You dont miss the meat at all🙌🏾

We grabbed the pork deep fried burrito (cant remember the name) and that was very tasty and a very generous serving size as well👍🏽

We grabbed the fish taco. Tasted really nice but the serving size was quite small in comparison to the others. Be ideal if there were two in a meal. Again cooked exceptionally well and everything tasted amazing together!🤙🏾

We tried the street corn (no photo) and we recommend trying it! Grilled corn rolled in sour cream and spices....absolutely delicious😍

And for the little one we grabbed the kids nachos......yup corn with cheese and sauce lol.....the cheese they use is amazing and it was delicious in all our meals🤩

We also grabbed a bowl of corn chips and guacamole......best corn chips ever!!!

Pros - always busy which is a good sign for any restaurant, food is always tasty and exploring new items on every visit is worth it!

Cons - you need to order extra sour cream and condiments, toilet floors are extremely slippery when wet⚠️, lady serving us seemed to be having a bad day or that might be her? One thing we dont tolerate while dining or venturing out is poor customer service!....people should stay home if they dont feel up to serving customers🤦🏽‍♂️ Ruins everyones experience and that is where all the gold is today! User Experience👌🏽Place could do with a make over, as cute as it is and the history it contains, gotta keep up with the times especially the slippery toilet floors!🤦🏽‍♂️

Would have given 5 stars if it wasnt for the cold lady serving us and the slippery toilet floors. Its a safety hazard and someone can get seriously injured...

We have been coming to Pepe’s Newmarket for years - it’s a favourite. We were there last night and as ever it was delicious.

However, we all agreed it will be our last visit.

It is always top quality and tasty food. The wait time for such a popular venue is not unreasonable and quite swift, in comparison to our expectations. The atmosphere is festive, happy and full on. The wait staff are all friendly, attentive, efficient and personable. The pricing is affordable and reflects the quality of the meals. The meal sizes are substantial - you are not left wanting, and offer value for money.

However, the location is awful and always has been. The parking is a nightmare and the ridiculous non-parking stance of the complex next door at night is ridiculous. The venue is so crowded it’s hard to get up and down from your table - human sardines. The staff were asking to remove plates when we were ALL still clearly eating. We felt ‘chivvied along’ which was not far from the truth, as it turned out. It is so popular and full and noisy, we can barely hear ourselves speak. We were given a 5 minute warning that we had to leave because the table had been booked for a later time, which is happening more and more now since covid destroyed so many eateries. We had not ordered more drinks, dessert or coffee by that time, so that revenue was lost. We were forced to go elsewhere for that in the end.

As we are a group of friends from all over Brisbane that gathers together every couple of months to catch up on news, we feel dinner should not be a ‘shovel and shout’ eating time-contest, but an occasion to enjoy a meal with companionable conversation.

We all agreed that the cons now far outweigh the pros for choosing this restaurant ever again sadly, and henceforth we will be returning to other old favourites that are quieter, offer better parking and don’t speed-date us through the process of dining, with multiple seating sessions booked one on top of the other.

Congratulations that you are so busy and successful, but we think other establishments will be pleased to receive our patronage and will give us time for coffee and dessert and a good, unrushed/unharried natter, until we...

📍 PEPE’S, NEWMARKET, BRISBANE

🥑 Pepe’s Signature Guacamole Dip- Fresh Avocado, Chilli, Lime, Tomato, Onion, Cilantro & Pistachio. Served With Corn Chips ($18) 9/10

🌮 Fish Taco- Soft Flour Tortilla, Crumbed Australian Barramundi, Cheese, Lettuce, Pico De Gallo, Tangy El Toro Sauce and Lemon. ($11 Each) 10/10

🥩 Sizzling Fajitas- Beef Stir Fried with Onions & Capsicums. Served With Pico De Gallo, Cheese, Lettuce, Sour Cream, Guacamole, Mild Chilli & Flour Tortillas. ($36) 9/10

🍺 Modelo Especial Pilsner ($13)

⭐️ Overall: 9.5/10

Review: After hearing only good things about Pepe’s, I was desperate to try. Went there Friday night for dinner and it was packed, so I recommend booking in advance. Authentic Mexican food with a very relaxed but noisy atmosphere. The waitress recommended trying the Modelo beer which was a refreshing start to the meal. Guacamole was made fresh at our table with a very decent serving of avo and corn chips. The guac was well seasoned and very creamy but wish they had house made chips instead of generic bought ones. Fish tacos were my favourite with a crispy but tender barramundi, complimented by the fresh toppings. You could tell the sizzling fajitas are a house favourite as I saw so many going past us throughout the night. We opted for the beef which came out sizzling alongside all the ingredients to make your own tacos. Meat was tender and there was a good amount of flavour and ingredients to make 4 loaded tacos. I thought the value for money was very good and we left full and happy. They also have a great looking dessert menu if you are looking to finish on something sweet. I will be back to try their margs.

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