RESTAURANT REVIEW: Pepito's offers traditional food at good price

Pepito’s Mexican Restaurant opened in Destin in 2000 and quickly became a local favorite.

The food

Pepito’s specializes in traditional Mexican food.

The menu is large with nine appetizers, four salads, 25 entrees and an additional 12 combination meals.

Pepito’s begins your meal with a large basket of crisp, warm tortilla chips and a bowl of very good salsa — not too spicy, but just right for our taste.

If you would like something more, appetizers range from guacamole or cheese dips, to chicken wings, stuffed jalapenos and five different types of nachos.

Salads include guacamole, tossed and mixed. They also offer a taco salad with your choice of grilled or fried chicken and steak.

The restaurant has a selection of extras that may be added to your meal as well as side orders of additional enchiladas, chile con carne, etc.

Pepito’s offers four vegetarian dishes: a vegetarian plate with cheese enchilada and chalupa served with rice and beans, chiles rellenos either with rice and salad or rice and beans and vegetable quesadillas with spinach, onions and bell pepper served with beans and a guacamole salad.

The menu at Pepito’s indicates how many of an item is served with each order, which is helpful, as well as exactly what is included with the order, i.e., rice and/or beans, salad, etc.

To get a taste of the restaurant, our order included: the Plato Especial which includes a burrito, beef enchilada, tamale and chalupa served with rice and beans topped with melted cheese; the Chimichanga, which is a fried burrito topped with lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream and guacamole, served with rice; and Enchiladas Rancheras, beef enchiladas topped with melted cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and sour cream.

My favorite item was the tamale. Tamales at Pepito’s are prepared daily in the traditional manner; wrapping them in corn husks.

This method gives the tamale a good flavor and helps to keep them moist.

Seasoning in all of the dishes served was on the mild side; however, hot sauces are available on the table if you would like to spice things up a bit.

Servings at Pepito’s are generous.

If there are members of your group who would prefer more American fare, Pepito’s offers Steak Americano, a 12-ounce steak with a choice of two sides, and a Gringo Hamburger served with fries.

The dessert menu at Pepito’s includes flan, deep-fried ice cream, chimi-cheese burrito, cake and sopapillas.

From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., you may order from the Lunch Menu, which includes 26 items, all under $9.

Pepito’s offers a wide selection of margaritas in addition to a complete list of beers and cocktails.

Monday night is “El Happy Hour” with $1.99 margarita’s available all day.

The restaurant also offers take-out, catering and in-house banquet service.

The atmosphere

Once you enter the parking lot at Old Time Pottery, you can’t miss the colorful array of market umbrellas in front of Pepito’s.

This area would be a nice place to enjoy a meal in the late spring or early fall.

We chose to sit inside on a hot June afternoon and were surprised to find how lively the crowd was. The reason was World Cup Soccer playing on each of the six large screen televisions place throughout the restaurant.

The restaurant is divided into three dining rooms with a large bar occupying one of the areas.

The service

Friendly, fast, efficient service was the order of the day at Pepito’s.

If you would like to know more about how a dish is prepared, just ask. The server was happy to answer any questions we had.

When he saw that we were lingering to watch the game, he kept our dinks filled until we were ready to go.

A final taste

If you are looking for a traditional Mexican meal at a good price, check out Pepito’s Mexican Restaurant in the heart of Destin.

QuickBites

Pepitos Mexican Restaurant

Location

757 Harbor Boulevard, Unit 1

Destin

650-7734

Hours

11 a.m. – 10 p.m. daily

Lunch served 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. daily

Reservations

Not necessary

Handicap accessibility

Good

Children’s menu

Yes

Price range

Appetizers $2.95 - $9.95

Salads $3.25 - $7.95

Entrees $7.50 - $18.95

Lunch $6.75 - $11.95

Children’s entrees $3.95

Dessert $2.50 - $4.95

Payment

Credit cards accepted