Pepe's Hacienda & Restaurant — Restaurant in Jacksonville

To say I'm obsessed with this place is to put it lightly... The TLDR is that this place is consistently excellent!

I just moved back to the area after 10+ years in the panhandle and, for me, Pepe's is a very welcomed addition to the area code. I'd wager I've patronized the place 10+ times in the month of July and I can't say enough good things about Pepe's.

I've been in the restaurant industry for over half a decade and for Pepe's to be a fully operational market full of fresh and authentic produce, a highly specialized butchery, latin american grocery items you won't find elsewhere, featuring locally made tres leches and flan that is to die for AND a fully operational restaurant with three services (breakfast/lunch/dinner), I am incredibly impressed with this place considering it's hardly been open for 2 months. And I'm pleased to see it consistently busy.

As I make my way through the menu, food-wise I've enjoyed so much at Pepe's! If you like good food, you will find something to love here. I love traditional style tacos (protein, onions, cilantro, and salsa) so Pepe's does it right for me but if you like them with all the fixins they do that too (taco's pepe). The pastor, birria, and carnitas have all been winners for me and are hard to venture away from. But I've also enjoyed their flautas, tamales, and queso fundido. My mom has loved her enchiladas suizas, fajita quesadillas, and tacos. I have never eaten so much cake in my LIFE than the tres leches I have been getting at Pepe's (you'll find other flavors such as strawberry and chocolate in the market!) The flan is also fantastic. The agua frescas are delicious and made fresh in-house!

You will notice the chips are not your typical pre-bought tortilla chips scooped up from under a heat lamp but actual fried tortillas. I personally prefer them as they are sturdy enough to carry guac, queso, or even rice and beans... but remember they're free :)

The guacamole is so fresh that it's usually a little under-seasoned for my palate but its nothing a little salt and pepper can't fix... I still order it almost every time.

Also, they drop salsas at the table for a reason... dress your food!

If you're bummed about not having liquor (YET) you can tell from the bar set-up that they are working their way to being able to pull licensing for it—so check back in later.

Service-wise things have been great and consistent as well. I have only received bar service at Pepe's but my mom has had the same experience with table service.

Addressing other comments about communication issues and language barriers—no restaurant is flawless in this department—but this staff has always made an effort to bridge any kind of language barrier that may have presented itself and I've not experienced a mix-up or mishap with any of my orders. Communication is a two-way street :)

That being said, I have had delightful and attentive service from Lida, Sara, Irma, and Jennifer across all of my visits so far. The rest of the staff (who's names I've yet to learn) has also been very pleasant and usually eager to check-in with me upon eye contact. Chef has even touched my table/bar spot to check-in one more than one occasion and always departs with humble gratitude. My mother and I even inquired about the elusive chocolate tres leches cake sometimes available in the market and Lilly was kind enough to take down my number and personally let me know when more chocolate tres leches had come into the store and offered to hold one for me!

I love the atmosphere. The place has a great feel to it when it's busy and lively. They've done a fantastic job with design and decor... At this point I've said too much but could say plenty more.

Much love to the...

I recently checked out this location with someone who’s a big fan of the original spot in Mandarin, so I came in with high hopes. The space itself is super cute — very open, vibrant, and thoughtfully designed. I loved the aesthetic and how the store is on one side; and the restaurant on the other.

Menus are available via QR code at the table. That doesn’t bother me personally, but worth noting for those who prefer physical menus.

That said, I was surprised (and a little disappointed) to find out there were no margaritas — especially with such a large L-shaped bar setup. It appears they may not have their liquor license yet, as only beer and wine were available. Had I known that ahead of time, I likely would have chosen a different spot, as we were in the mood for tacos and margaritas on a Saturday night.

Our server was stunning (truly!) but the service overall felt just okay — not bad, but not great. My tacos were missing tomatoes, which is something the server specifically asked if I wanted and I said yes. There were upcharges for just about everything: cilantro and onions, plus rice and beans. A bit surprising, since those are typically standard with tacos at most places.

Now, onto the highlight: the pork tamale. It was excellent — fresh, flavorful, and the best bite of the night. Highly recommend giving it a try if you visit.

As for drinks, I ordered the sangria since it was one of the only options available (that or beer and you have to ask bc again, no bar drinks are listed on the Qr menu) Unfortunately, it tasted more like cranberry juice with chopped apples — not something I’d order again. I ended up switching to a Mexican Coke, which oddly costs less than a fountain coke.

My dining partner also noticed that this location’s prices are noticeably higher than the Mandarin location, which was unexpected given the more tucked-away location off Merrill.

Toward the end of our visit, a few staff members checked on our table — possibly after they saw me taking photos with my light, lol — so I know the service potential is there, even if it wasn’t consistent from our assigned server.

Overall, I don’t think I’ll be returning to this location anytime soon. With so many solid options for tacos and margaritas in Jax — often closer and more convenient— I’ll likely stick to those for now. But if you go, do yourself a favor and order the tamales. Walking around in the store after dinner looking for new things to try was a fun perk. I did get tasty guava juices to go to make my own spiked drinks at home which I also highly...

I so wanted to like this place but it was not to be. This restaurant is very beautifully decorated and visually appealing. It has an awesome grocery store adjacent to the restaurant. The inside of the restaurant was bright and festive very nice space. No menus. They have a QR code on the table to scan for the menu there were no physical menus. I guess some people like that it's not for me. I'm a dinosaur I'd rather hold the menu in my hand. Our waitress is good an the service was fine however everyone's food was cold! It started with the chips, the chips were cold thick and very hard! We asked for some warm chips and the waitress said that she could bring us another basket but they'd be just like the ones we had! I respect brutal honesty. The salsa if you can call it that was more like a tomato puree with something else in it I couldn't really identify, it also had a kind of a white milky consistency that went away when you stirred it but came right back after it set a minute. No one at our table cared for the chips are the salsa. Probably one of the only Mexican restaurants I've been to where they don't warn you that the plate is hot because they weren't hot! I had a chimichanga and it was like it was heated on the grill or something? Only half of it was hot. When I got to the other side there was sliced cheese inside that wasn't even melted! How can that even happen? I showed it to the waitress but there wasn't really much she could do about it and we were almost done. The beans were very lackluster flavor and consistency. The rice was very orange and would have been a lot better if it was hot. Everything would have been a lot better if it was hot. My sister had a salad of some kind which she said was just kind of okay. My nephew had a quesadilla and it looked pretty good but again wasn't hot. I was very disappointed would this visit my expectations were high based on the reviews, and even the appearance of the restaurant kind of raised the expectation of it being a decent place. Based on our first visit to this location we will...