Pepe's Cafe — Restaurant in Cottonwood

Before today, I would have agreed with all the reviews that claimed this restaurant had excellent service, how the friendly owner even comes up to your table and makes sure he greets you with every visit. BUT, NOT TODAY!!!

The bus girl bringing us 3 coffees for our table accidentally spilled about half a cup of boiling hot coffee all over me and my newly dry cleaned jacket. She did apologize profusely for her mistake, which I tried to be nice about and told her it was just an accident. BUT, I made it clear to her that I was in a lot of pain, as I was putting on ice cubes from my husband's water as I was burned over my whole chest. The bus girl went off to other duties, passing by us frequently but not once asking how I was, are you still in pain? I had enough smarts to ask our sweet waitress if she could talk to the owner to, at least, cover my dry cleaning bill for my white jacket, the coffee was enough to cover almost the whole left side and over the shoulder. The waitress confirmed she had told Pepe. We finished our breakfast and I was curious about why "friendly" Pepe had not come over right away to, in any shape or form, make it up to me by maybe offering to comp my portion of the bill which was only 2 eggs and a side of guacamole. But, no, he said, "Im sorry, BUT it is what it is"....in other words, accidents happen but it wasnt our fault, here's your complete check and nothing about covering your dry cleaning. SO, I went to dry cleaners immediately, left my stained jacket and got the bill and, went back to the restaurant with my new bill in hand. He told me immediately that I forgot to pay our bill, to which I replied, no I didn't forget, I refuse to (in actuality if my small meal had been comped for my pain and suffering, we would have gladly paid the rest of the bill). He then accused me of the whole coffee incident as being my fault, that's what the bus girl told him, that I hit the cup with my HAND! MY HAND WASN'T EVEN ON OR NEAR the table at the time! So, she clearly lied to the owner. When I told him exactly how it happened and how severe it was ( I was still in pain even after I went back!), he still did NOT want to pay for my drycleaning until I got loud and had to make a scene in the restaurant. He is definitely NOT as nice as he would have us all believe. And, the food isn't the best Spanish or Mexican food we've ever had. Try Polibertos in Flagstaff, awesome food and if the same thing were to happen there, they would have gone out of their way to make sure my family would be return customers but, NEVER RETURNING to...

To be welcomed and warmly greeted at the door by the owner, having a seat (for 2) ready upon arrival, promptly serviced and order taken, all without a reservation or anyone knowing you've decided to even stop for food was pretty spectacular! Then to have a multitude of breakfast selections to choose from while sipping fresh, hot, and tasty coffee in a warm setting (even while clearly a very busy and popular place) was very comforting. With 2 breakfast orders placed, one variant from the menu and a daily special of chicken fried steak, we were consistently checked on for more coffee and water during the minimal wait. Exceptional hashbrowns and home fries (we ordered both), perfect eggs, excellently prepared fried steak and melt in your mouth french toast hit the spot! Pepe's was a top to bottom clean environment, "fresh-smelling" clean restroom, and well maintained throughout. No one was rushed for their table, as there were a couple different older groups having coffee before their outing that were seated before we arrived and as we were leaving. Open from 7am - 3pm I highly recommend finding time in your day to stop by and have a bite to really feel at home away from home to see how it should be done. If anything negative could be said, it was how hard it was trying to find a parking spot, but now I understand why it was worth seeking out. Best kept "local treasure" in Arizona, without question! Our new favorite AZ must stop...

I'm used to more upscale places I guess. I thought it would be great by the reviews and the super friendly greeting. Someone came to get my drink order after a little while. While I waited another waitress came, and I told her that someone already came to get my drink order and she said that's done separately. Ah, a little strange, but okay. I needed more time on food. The first waitress never brought my drink. The second waitress came back and I ordered a drink from her with my food. A third waitress came and tried to get my drink order, but I said I already put it in. After a while the man that greeted me at the door came and asked me if anyone had come to get my drink order and I said, yes, 3 people! lol. He then made a remark to the nearest waitress about why she didn't get me a drink (she never talked to me and seemed surprised). My drink came quickly after that.

I ordered the root beer (clearly an off-brand). I ordered the biscuits and gravy. The biscuits are terrible and the so is the gravy, plus it came with a man's hair in it. So I asked them to switch it out for cheese nachos. They were so bland, slightly overcooked, and the chips got soggy very fast. The guac was good quality though.

They were playing news on the big TV as if we don't already get enough of that.

My waitress was nice and so was another one that I talked to, but I won't be back. Very...