Peppers Mexican Grill & Cantina — Restaurant in Gainesville

EDIT TO MY REVIEW FOLLOWING MY EXPERIENCES WITH THE PEPPER’S STAFF IN GENERAL 3/5/25: I spoke with our favorite bartender tonight, being he was mainly the reason why we were missing out on peppers. Every time we sit at the bar, Eduardo and staff are more than welcoming and make Peppers a place you want to eat at. We have not attended Peppers following my review down below, but clearly it is hard to cut something out of your routine (Pepper’s being one). The only reason we decided to come back was because we could sit at the bar tonight. We expressed our concern to Eduardo, and he immediately got the manager. We were able to speak with the manager and he listened to our concerns, and was sincerely apologetic. As we stated, and he re-iterated, our experiences with Virginia do not reflect the atmosphere & reason why we come to Peppers. I have changed my review back to 5-stars based on the sincere intention all employees (but Virginia) at Peppers have shown to provide a good & welcoming experience to their customers. This waitress was always the only problem we have encountered at Peppers. Peppers provides a happy, welcoming place to eat with your family and friends. There has not been a single dish I have disliked, and not a single thing to complain about other than the odd-ball Virginia, severely hurting the reputation all other employees at Peppers work hard to preserve. All in all, Peppers is a nice place to sit back and enjoy BOGO margs (any size), chips & salsa & guac. If Eduardo is on duty at the bar, then you’re even more in luck. Could not praise Eduardo for his service, friendliness, & entertainment enough; he makes the peppers experience special for all patrons.

Please read my previous, 5-star review from yelp (image attached) prior to reading why I have changed my review to 1-star: I have a really hard time leaving one of my favorite restaurants in Gainesville a one-star review- but, then again, my many experiences with the waitress 'Virginia' honestly make me not want to go to a restaurant that I typically visit at least 2x weekly. She has served us many times and every single time it is the same experience (not just a bad day for her). This waitress is extremely inattentive, rude, and just overall judgmental. I use the word judgmental, mainly because I leave feeling so, so, so very uncomfortable every time. She questions your orders and does not attempt to conceal her judgmental facial expressions. If she doesn't feel like getting you something you ask for right away, or just straight up doesn't think you need it, she will NOT put your order in for you. I then have to ask other staff members (time and time again) to find her for me so I can REPEAT what I asked her for 10 minutes prior. The best part is, it seems most of your attentive staff members may be just as bothered as me, constantly having to either find Virginia or just do the job for her. I wouldn't leave a one-star review for somewhere I am probably considered a 'regular' at if I didn't think there was a problem. But Virginia is the biggest problem Pepper's has, especially concerning your service reviews. I highly suggest her attitude and poor service reviews are addressed or she is fired. Again, I have never experienced such frustration with a restaurant's service, especially a place I enjoy going to so often. Being a business owner myself, this employee is highly detrimental to your business, your customers, and your reviews. She's not worth it. I would be more than happy to change my review back to 5-stars and continue to spend my money at your business, but only once Virginia is gone. That's how bad these numerous experiences have...

I wanted to like this place because when we vacation within our home state of Florida, we try to support family businesses or smaller chain establishments like this one that we dont have locally in Tampa. Peppers was close to our hotel after a long day at the springs and we were starving so based on reviews, we gave it a try. I should have followed my gut instinct when it comes to restaurants, if the smell doesn't hit me as a positive when I walk in the door, it's probably not going to be very good.

The food came out almost immediately, huge red flag - with some places they have the ingredients ready made and sitting around most of the day and throw it on a plate quickly, the meat was old. This explains why there wasn't really a smell of food cooking in the air when we walked in. It's an overpriced leftover taco bar. Chipotle is fresher, and cheaper, and you smell it when you walk in.

The price point is definitely misrepresented here, it's not $10-20 a person, it's $20-30, so when we saw the menu we had high expectations because there was a lot to choose from and maybe our first instincts were wrong.

The food was alright, edible in the "I'm really hungry and we are already here" kind of way - but the service was poor and the food was incredibly greasy and all three of us felt sick before we left the parking lot. Old food does that too.

We had zero time to peruse the menu when we were seated. After we asked for more time, it was way too much time - an experience others have said here now that I am reading these.

Bless his heart, the server had a difficult time understanding us. I asked for an Arnold Palmer with unsweetened tea, and received a very watered down unsweet tea, no lemonade - I even said to him "half lemonade & half tea" in case he didnt yet know about the popular Floridian beverage.

I asked for the special "add guacamole to any entre for 1.50" and pointed at the menu to the spot where its listed because I figured if he misunderstood my drink order then he probably thought we wanted a large guacamole. We received the small guacamole but charged for a large. When he brought boxes for the food, he didn't bring small containers for the guacamole or the other dips that came with my fiancé's & son's dinners and he whisked the plates away before we finished packing the boxes.

I speak Spanish by the way. I made multiple efforts to reason with the server.

Some of these things are just plain common sense and I've lived in Florida my whole life, so I know what it looks like when an establishment is taking advantage of tourists - I am sad to say this location seems to be the case and they thought they could pull a fast one on us with the check. I don't think I've ever been this annoyed with a local eatery, and to think I told my fiancé "no chipotle - we are on a mini vacation a few counties away, let's support someone else."

Chipotle is better for half the price, and at least we wouldn't feel sick, overcharged, & feeling disgruntled with the locals 100 miles north of us in a college town looking to milk travelers that aren't paying attention. My standards are not all that high, I rarely leave negative reviews. Very disappointed that check was $70 for 3 people for...

Pepper's...WOW!!! What a nice surprise. This is a young franchise that offers a huge variety of food options, with the wonderful taste of authentic Mexican cuisine definitely present.

The restaurant is located on West Newberry Rd, just west of I-75. This location does not offer a lot of parking and is definitely not intended for large vehicles, however there is a large parking lot just behind the restaurant that is part of the old K-Mart plaza that could host overflow and large vehicles.

The restaurant was not crowded on our lunchtime visit. We were a party of 12 and were immediately seated in a segregated party room. This location offers a full bar with available seating and televisions for patrons. The main dining area offers a nice variety of seating options including; high backed booths along the outer edges for privacy with the center filled with tables and chairs. Pepper's offers a full menu on their website and offers takeout for those on the go.

Our party ordered a variety of food which included the vegetarian menu...no one ordered the same dish. Everyone was excited with the flavor and presentation of their meals. The serving size of the meals was that of typical Mexican restaurants leaving no one hungry and food left over to take home. With visiting many Mexican food restaurants, Pepper's offers a unique experience of taste. Our food was a normal wait for a party of 12, and our server was tentative to our needs. The experience was a fun and pleasant time to bring our group together to share a meal with lots of smiles and laughter. Thank you Pepper's!!!

The restaurant was clean and tidy with nothing showing to be in disrepair. Restrooms were clean, tidy, and well stocked. Based on our experience, I recommend trying this wonderful restaurant and am eagerly anticipating...