pepe's hacienda & restaurant

the real deal mexican. now i have been looking for a realmexicanrestaurant for years. i mean one that doesn't have a salad on top of anything you order. also with real re-fried beans not the ones in a can. if i wanted paste i would eat elmer's glue like i did when i was a kid. on this trip i enjoyed the barbocoa (beef head) and a fried (twice cooked) pork torta. the only thing that was missing was the real thick tortilla with a pocket cut into it. the ones that i used to get in mexico when we went surfing there. both of the dishes were really yummy but i would just like a little more spicyness to them.

economical and delicious. this place is so authentic - from the food to the waiters to the littlemexicanstore attached on the other end of the restaurant. the portions are huge for a very low price.

only real mex in jacksonville. this place is great. realmexicanfood to a mostlymexicanclientele. corn tortillas are made daily on their own press and they make their chips from their own tortillas. all the flavors are right. my favorites have been the carnitas a la mexicana (pork in spicy green sauce) and pulpo gallego (octopus grilled with peppers and onions). they have standard white people food too (tacos, burritos, fajitas, though why get them...). highly recommended.

authenticmexicanfood - and i mean authentic!. i was pretty excited to try this restaurant after stumbling across it on urbanspoon. i'd actually seen it many times before, but never realized there was a restaurant there, so i just passed it off as being amexicangrocery store. my husband is the more adventurous type. i tend to avoid places that don't look inviting from the outside (and make me uncomfortable), and this was one of them. no one greeted us as we walked in, so we sat ourselves. the restaurant was absolutely packed, but we were brought chips & salsa pretty quickly. our server was at our table right after. now let me preface my review by saying i grew up in phoenix and frequently went to the border towns in mexico (juárez, nogales, rocky point( puerto peñasco), calexico, etc) and the yucatán peninsula. i'm very familiar with the culture and the food. since moving to florida, i have struggled to find food even close to what i grew accustomed to. walking through the doors of the restaurant is like walking into mexico (only much cleaner). i was the only white woman in the entire place. good sign! if you're expecting american service and "americanized"mexicanfood, you're not going to get it here. if you prefer that, i suggest you visit cantina laredo or taco bell. the true test for me is the steak tacos, and let me tell you, they were spectacular. the steak was tender and full of flavor. they also use handmade corn tortillas,mexicancrema, queso fresco, and serve them with a large piece of fresh avocado on top. the tacos were accompanied by refried pinto beans (homemade as well) andmexicanrice – just like in the southwest. the chips were cut from the tortillas and deep friend. this is also very common in the southwest and mexico. they were not premade/bagged then warmed up. the only thing i didn’t care for was the salsa. it tasted like they threw some chopped up onion and cilantro in canned tomatoes. no flavor at all. i'm used to pico de gallo. the two sauces they served with the tacos – one red, one green – were very flavorful however. i saw a great deal of people eating menudo. the hearty soup is typically eaten on sunday. our server said they have it every day of the week until they sell out. they sold out while we were there. if you’re looking for authenticmexicanfood or just want an adventure, give this place a try. just keep an open mind. you may be in the us, but you’re not dealing with american’s here! ** and before i forget - the grocery store is amazing too!

i’m always on the quest for goodmexicanfood and my wife is a chips and salsa aficionado, so when some friends of ours told us about pepe’s hacienda and restaurant, off we went.

horrible service. never coming back, the worstmexicanrestaurant i've ever been to.

the real thing. step inside and instantly transport yourself to mexico! ok, i eat at taco bell a lot; la napolera too. who doesn't love cheesie, gloppy tex-mex comfort food. just know that in ciudad de mexico they don't serve burritos. however, this place pepe's is not tex-mex, it's the realmexicandeal. the food is authentic and delicious. not much english is spoken here, and you won't see many blonde heads. enjoy yourself and try not to look like an ins agent.

pepe's can be great, but it isn't always great. sometimes it sucks. even though it sometimes sucks it is worth the gamble to give it a try if tastymexicanis what you are in the mood for...long as you are not in a hurry, the service is generally mucho slow.

mehxican.... i think something was lost in translation between this restaurant and the full-page spread i see for it each month in mint magazine. if you dare try this place, do it with a coupon to offset your regrets! our waitress set the tone of discomfort by embracing the language barrier, forcing me to mime "$10 bucket of beer" as described in the ads. she refused to understand us and brought my buddy jess and i one beer each. they do not have margaritas, so if that's your thing, there's no need to read any further. we had to point at the menu to make our selections when our verbal attempts were met with no reaction. the preliminary salsa was thin and tinny...think tomato paste from a can with water added. the chips were fair, but not plentiful. the time it took to get our meals allowed us to take in the atmosphere and if you like watching waitresses huddle behind the counter, dillydallying on their cellulars, you'll be set. otherwise, entertain your claustrophobia with the idea of being crushed by the hundreds of piñatas that crowd the ceiling and prevent fresh air from circulating. don't let's start about the food. i had no clue what jess ordered, but my flautas had the look and flavor of cigarette butts. it was during our wait for our bill that we decided to to go to anothermexicanrestaurant nearby for a do-over. jess went to ladies room while i paid at the counter and in the time it took me to get that settled, she had returned, gone to the attached bodega, and browsed. i don't think the aisles are wide enough for wheelchairs, if you're one to care about that sort of thing, but at least the cramped ambiance was continuous. perhaps the best revelation about this joint occurred in the car on our way to a pitcher of frozen margaritas. jess explained that when she went to the bathroom, it smelled like rotten fish. we're close friends, so in my concern, i asked whether this issue was coming from her digestive or reproductive areas. after a solid minute of hysterical laughter, she clarified that she was talking about the physical restroom of pepe's hacienda. now that's authentic!

just like home!. i am from san diego originally and had been looking for something other than whitey-mcwhite-whitemexicanfood. this is it!!! the atmosphere, the people and other patrons... it's just like getting the real stuff from mexico or southern california. i love it here!!! i take all who i deem worthy. i haven't had one person not love it yet! if your favoritemexicanfood is taco bell - don't go here. you wouldn't get it. if you love authenticmexicanfood, eat here often! i know i do!

affordable authentic mexican. this place has great prices, even on "premium" type dishes like steak fajitas or seafood . most meals are between $6-8. the portions are huge, plenty to fill you up with enough left over to take home for lunch the next day. just the burrito alone with no sides is more than enough for a meal.

the flavors are very authentic and taste much fresher than mostmexicanplaces around town, you can even get more adventerous dishes such as tongue. it is also located inside a tienda so there is a case of fresh baked goods to choose from for dessert and all the othermexicangrocery staples.

it is kid friendy with kid meals and friendly service. the kid meals are huge too, two small kids can easily split one.

it is our favoritemexicanplace in jax!

excelente!. if you are looking for authenticmexicanfood in jax then you must try this hole in the wall, strip mall restaurant. i've come to realized that some of these so called "hole in the wall" type places can be some of the best places to find good food and pepe's is no exception. as soon you walk in the door of this grocery store slash restaurant you know you are not in the typicalmexicanstyle restaurant commonly found around town.
the service is welcoming and friendly, the food is fresh, the portions large, and best of all it is inexpensive... pepe's has found it's place on my favorites list and if you give it a try it will surely to be on yours too.

despite the mildly uninviting exterior, anyone who enjoysmexicancuisine has no excuse for not checking out pepe's hacienda. as sketchy as it may seem at first glance, the people, food, and prices could not be more inviting.

lots of places in jacksonville claim to have authenticmexicanfood.... ...pepe's is as close as it gets in this town. case in point...what othermexicanplace in jacksonville is a pozzole maker?

consequenly, we've stopped going to all the other quasi-authentic places and stick to this place. (which is curiously run by a guy from the dominican republic.)

one thing i like about this place -- and most other ethnic restaurants in this town -- is the staff treats its clients with respect. none of that "are you guys still working on that?" crap one finds at far more expensive joints!

terrific authentic mexican!. this has to be the absolute bestmexicanrestaurant i've ever eaten at in jacksonville. this is real, authenticmexicanfood, not tex-mex or cal-mex, as good as those two cuisines are.
i've eaten here a bunch and do so every single chance i get. their tacos are amazing. they do it in the traditionalmexicanstyle - shredded meat (carnitas, barbacoa, lengua [tongue], al pastor or res [beef]), served up on a grilled doubled corn tortilla with chopped cilantro and onion on top. their special "taco de pepe" has crema, avocado and other specialness on it for 25 cents extra. their tortas are quite tasty, though i missed the spread of beans and slices ofmexicancheese that usually come on more traditional versions of this item. the milaneza on the torta was pretty thin and wasn't breaded either, but for three bucks you can't go wrong and it does taste great and will fill you up.

the burrito platter is amazing! it comes with the bestmexicanrice i've ever had in a restaurant and the beans it's served with are great too. the rice is like arroz con pollo, minus the pollo. the burrito itself is enormous! it's about the size of a five pound salami and is chock full of your choice of meats, with cheese, beans and that same greatmexicanrice and comes out fresh from under the broiler smothered in more cheese and a delicious red sauce. it's so gigantic you'll be taking it home and eating off of it for the next three days! i've also had their pozole before when it was a special (where else are you going to find that in jax?) and it was great too.

the complementary chips they serve are thick and crispy and their salsa, while not fiery is very tasty. they feature many fiery pepper sauces from their adjacentmexicanmarket that you can "juice it up" with though. also, the tacos come with great home made green and red sauces in squeeze bottles.

the service is friendly, helpful and efficient. the restaurant is only half of the establishment though. the other half is amexicanbakery, butcher, grocery and produce store where you can stock up before going home to make your ownmexicanfeast.

this place is a shining jewel in the dingy culinary crown of jacksonville. it's so good i'm really surprised that they've survived as long as they have in this city of chili's, sonic's and golden corrals.

if you like realmexicanfood, do yourself a favor and get over here as soon as you possibly can!!!