Bar Pepe

Ordered for pickup, and the food was ready on time and delicious as always. I haven't had a bad meal or experience at the Red Pepper.

Amazing food and great cocktails! The rolled tacos where nice and crunchy and the mai tai was delicious and strong

The food was delicious, the service was great, the portions were ample, and the food arrived quickly. We were here on the early side so didn't have to wait for a table which was nice.

This place has it all! The food is exquisite, the staff is extremely friendly and welcoming, and have recently started having karaoke on Friday nights. The ambiance makes it possible to either relax or, like many people, come celebrate important events. Must check out.

Totally underrated place with a friendly atmosphere. The owners are the best and this is one of the places worth visiting. It's uncommon to find a place where you feel welcome and free to make your experience what you want it to be. Red Pepper is a good place to show up last minute for your special event or party and still enjoy special treatment. Make the best of it, not very many places make you feel at home. If what you're looking for is a festive place to have a personalized affair, this is your spot.

Jorge Jimenez

This place has it all! The food is exquisite, the staff is extremely friendly and welcoming, and have recently started having karaoke on Friday nights. The ambiance makes it possible to either relax or, like many people, come celebrate important events. Must check out.

Gretchen Boria

Totally underrated place with a friendly atmosphere. The owners are the best and this is one of the places worth visiting. It's uncommon to find a place where you feel welcome and free to make your experience what you want it to be. Red Pepper is a good place to show up last minute for your special event or party and still enjoy special treatment. Make the best of it, not very many places make you feel at home. If what you're looking for is a festive place to have a personalized affair, this is your spot.

I have been coming to Red Pepper since March of 2020, and the place is fabulous! The staff, food, drinks, and they treat me like a family member. The owner, Mario Gurrola, has always been great to me. He treats me like a son, and so do their staff. My favorite margarita is the Mi Caballo, I am a regular customer, can come to a safe place to feel relaxed. So, come to a welcoming and friendly Mexican restaurant! 😊

We've been going to the red pepper ever since it was in Monte Vista. It's still a very good casual restaurant with good food. The carne asada is the real deal and it's just fantastic tender and delicious. We were told they marinated for days on end to get that flavor and tenderness. It's a cut above your typical Mexican restaurant, but still a casual eating place with an extensive drink menu.

Stopped into this 'new to me' restaurant for an early lunch. Would love to see this place lively at dinner time.

Best Nachos in the area! They are a little expensive but I'll pay because they are soooo good. I wish they gave more guacamole and sour cream though. The portions are too small for the amount of nachos.

I have been eating Red Pepper food from before I was even born. My mom would pick up food here from the original Cupertino location near the golf course. Red Pepper has always been a staple for my family and I passed it onto my own as well. Things have changed over the years but mostly remains the same great food. Love their way of doing chips and salsa. Chips from most Mexican food places are obviously from a bag. They have always been made in house at Red Pepper and their salsa is different than any other place I have ever eaten and I love it here and always have. My goto dish has remained the same in my over 40 years of going here, Chile Verde plate. It has always satisfied and I love it. My wife loves the chicken here in either enchiladas or tacos. My kids love the food here as well. Many Mexican food places could use a little more salt in the food in my opinion and Red Pepper does as well but a little dash and I'm happy. My only gripe is a common one which is pricing is high but this is how it is nowadays especially when your establishment is in a high rent shopping center. Even the bike shop moved away and my other favorite here was China Shuttle. They couldn't afford the rent either and moved. Don't ever change and I hope my grandkids enjoy the food someday.

Good food and nice outdoor patio on sunny days.

Was really good. Not cheap, but very good. Friendly and attentive staff. Refilled the salsa and chips as many times as we requested. And recommended good dishes. I had the Quesabirria and it was really good. They provided special salsas to put inside, and another one to dip the taco in. Everything was super flavorful and good.

Richard Murphy

Good food and nice outdoor patio on sunny days.

Debra Tripp

Stopped into this 'new to me' restaurant for an early lunch. Would love to see this place lively at dinner time.

Dan Belick

We've been going to the red pepper ever since it was in Monte Vista. It's still a very good casual restaurant with good food. The carne asada is the real deal and it's just fantastic tender and delicious. We were told they marinated for days on end to get that flavor and tenderness. It's a cut above your typical Mexican restaurant, but still a casual eating place with an extensive drink menu.

Stacia

Best Nachos in the area! They are a little expensive but I'll pay because they are soooo good. I wish they gave more guacamole and sour cream though. The portions are too small for the amount of nachos.

Daniel Norman

I have been eating Red Pepper food from before I was even born. My mom would pick up food here from the original Cupertino location near the golf course. Red Pepper has always been a staple for my family and I passed it onto my own as well. Things have changed over the years but mostly remains the same great food. Love their way of doing chips and salsa. Chips from most Mexican food places are obviously from a bag. They have always been made in house at Red Pepper and their salsa is different than any other place I have ever eaten and I love it here and always have. My goto dish has remained the same in my over 40 years of going here, Chile Verde plate. It has always satisfied and I love it. My wife loves the chicken here in either enchiladas or tacos. My kids love the food here as well. Many Mexican food places could use a little more salt in the food in my opinion and Red Pepper does as well but a little dash and I'm happy. My only gripe is a common one which is pricing is high but this is how it is nowadays especially when your establishment is in a high rent shopping center. Even the bike shop moved away and my other favorite here was China Shuttle. They couldn't afford the rent either and moved. Don't ever change and I hope my grandkids enjoy the food someday.

Becki Wright

Have enjoyed the food and service of The Red Pepper for over 30 years - and we just keep coming back for more! Outdoor seating available, kid friendly, wonderful Mexican food selection. Chicken Especial is now listed as Vista del Mar - you can get it with shrimp or chicken - same great dish as always!

Chris Wilson

Was really good. Not cheap, but very good. Friendly and attentive staff. Refilled the salsa and chips as many times as we requested. And recommended good dishes. I had the Quesabirria and it was really good. They provided special salsas to put inside, and another one to dip the taco in. Everything was super flavorful and good.

Bit pricy but tasty and the staff and atmosphere are lovely. I've been a long time fan of their water glasses, which are different colors on the bottom so the ice glows! Very pretty.

The food here is very good. The prices seem to have gone up a bit though, $19 for their top dishes during dinner hours. The enchiladas Mazatlan is delicious.

Delicious food and margaritas! Visited with a friend for lunch and we thoroughly enjoyed our food. There is bench seating inside and a small patio area. They bring out fresh chips without being asked and service is prompt. We both had the 2 entree lunch which was delicious! This is a great little mom & pop place!

Decent place. Service was good. I ordered a chicken 🐔 dish. Sorry, I can't recall the name of it. It was ok, but was very tough/chewy. Always a huge turn-off. Chips and salsa was decent, and refills came quick. I would not make a special trip to this place, but if I'm in area and hungry I might return.

Sampada Patel

Delicious food and margaritas! Visited with a friend for lunch and we thoroughly enjoyed our food. There is bench seating inside and a small patio area. They bring out fresh chips without being asked and service is prompt. We both had the 2 entree lunch which was delicious! This is a great little mom & pop place!

Tim S

Decent place. Service was good. I ordered a chicken 🐔 dish. Sorry, I can't recall the name of it. It was ok, but was very tough/chewy. Always a huge turn-off. Chips and salsa was decent, and refills came quick. I would not make a special trip to this place, but if I'm in area and hungry I might return.

Standard Mexican food. The Mushroom quesadillas are really good.

Prashant Shamarao

Standard Mexican food. The Mushroom quesadillas are really good.

Food was satisfactory but way overpriced, even with a groupon coupon. On top of that the waitress (who was very nice) told me she had been told by the manager to charge people $3 for a soft drink even though it was clearly $2.50 on the menu. I would not go back here again. Portions were average size and unimaginative.

We ordered 2 chicken tostada dinners and got the bill for $70.00!! I found maybe 3 pieces of chicken and it was mostly beans and salad. I won't be dining there in the future.

Give it a 3.5 - The chips where very good. The Burrito Verde I ordered was was Chicken with beans and rice, served with beans and rice. That is a lot of beans and rice for $17. Otherwise the place seems like it could be a good place to hang with friends for a decent Mexican meal.

Food was ok, service was ho-hum…. will have to agree that it is overpriced (for a simple chicken quesadilla, it's $12…. it's slightly better than Chipotle but costs almost 3X as much!). Ambience was decent with the high french windows. If you love sports they have a few TVs around the space. I probably wouldn't go back here; living in the bay area there's plenty other better places.

The price for the portion of the flautas was disappointing. $18 for 2 small flautas with beans and rice. My friend got a chimichanga for the same price and it was 5x the volume of food for the same price.

Food was mid, nothing special, not terrible either. Salsa was basically a purée of pizza sauce, virtually no kick to it. Tortillas were nice and hot but they gave us very few of them considering we ordered 5 lunches to go. I would say flavours aren’t catered to connoisseurs of authentic Mexican cuisines.

Funny story... working in the area, our first time here. Waiter or Owner gives my partner a $5 off when you spend $35. There are 3 of us, we start with the margarita special of the day, The Cadillac for only $11 each. Margaritas are good, not great, but good enough that we end up ordering 7 between the 3 of us. Our dinner was great. I had the enchilada Mazatlan, ah maze ING! It was $30, Nate had chicken fajitas $28, Con had a combo like $25. Quick math no tax a bout $83 for food and $77 for drinks... $160 no taxes yet or tip. Con busts out the company card and ask for the check. Dude brings the bill and Con hands him the card and before he leaves, Con says, "OH Yeah here's the coupon!" Dude says, "It's no good." Con says, "Why?" Dude says, "You had the special on the margaritas! As he gestures over the whole table, he says, "You want the $5 off then you can pay full price on the margaritas!" " No, that's fine" says Con. And now we know why the place was soo empty! Of course when he came back with the signature copy, Con just took the $5 off of the tip and we will never go back. Too bad because the food was really good! Real example of, "stepping over a dollar to save a dime."

C. R.

Food was mid, nothing special, not terrible either. Salsa was basically a purée of pizza sauce, virtually no kick to it. Tortillas were nice and hot but they gave us very few of them considering we ordered 5 lunches to go. I would say flavours aren’t catered to connoisseurs of authentic Mexican cuisines.

luke coleman

Funny story... working in the area, our first time here. Waiter or Owner gives my partner a $5 off when you spend $35. There are 3 of us, we start with the margarita special of the day, The Cadillac for only $11 each. Margaritas are good, not great, but good enough that we end up ordering 7 between the 3 of us. Our dinner was great. I had the enchilada Mazatlan, ah maze ING! It was $30, Nate had chicken fajitas $28, Con had a combo like $25. Quick math no tax a bout $83 for food and $77 for drinks... $160 no taxes yet or tip. Con busts out the company card and ask for the check. Dude brings the bill and Con hands him the card and before he leaves, Con says, "OH Yeah here's the coupon!" Dude says, "It's no good." Con says, "Why?" Dude says, "You had the special on the margaritas! As he gestures over the whole table, he says, "You want the $5 off then you can pay full price on the margaritas!" " No, that's fine" says Con. And now we know why the place was soo empty! Of course when he came back with the signature copy, Con just took the $5 off of the tip and we will never go back. Too bad because the food was really good! Real example of, "stepping over a dollar to save a dime."

Can't buy items individually... the few things That are available (taco, burrito) only come with beef or cheese ...NO exceptions! If you would like to modify you have to order the special or combo. Chile Verde was extremely tart and flavorless. Huge let down.

It was unfortunate but while the staff was nice and friendly, the food had no taste. Cheese in enchilada was not even melted. Chicken was obviously cooked earlier and served. Rice and beans were bland. Very disappointing but glad it works for them.

Ya'll need help. I'm writing this review for your own good. Not the same restaurant I remember 20 years ago. Chips like cardbord now, el-cheapo version (used to be thin and crispy), same with taco shells. both meats chicken and beef unbelieveably bland. No salsa on tacos? wut? two weeks ago I actually stood at the "wait to be seated sign" for about 5 min. before deciding they didn't want my money and left to eat at In 'n Out. Last week I came back, but only 1 other table 6:30pm on a Saturday night, indicative of a dying franchise. If trying to go out of business going the right way about it. Owners must be absent or complacent, I would not go back, food too bland now and I felt like I was being served by the janitor.

Okay, so let me explain. The food isn't bad. Warm chips. tasty salsa. Friendly service. But $22 for two small chicken enchiladas? $18 for 3 skinny taquitos? Are you kidding me?!?! I could see if we were at some fancy place. But this is literally a hole in the wall in a little strip mall. I just couldn't believe it. But. they've been there forever, so clearly somebody's paying. I just can't be that guy. Sorry Red Pepper. You're obscenely overpriced.

Food is okay and WAY over priced. $20 for a burrito is expensive even for silicon valley. It does come with rice & beans, but there is not an option to have just the burrito. I won't be back.

ok place. bland food. expensive for the same food in everything. Who wants to pay 45$ for broken plate, outdated cutlery.. the this beans and rice , etc... On top it , very empty restaurant. felt like go away from this place.

Arjun B

ok place. bland food. expensive for the same food in everything. Who wants to pay 45$ for broken plate, outdated cutlery.. the this beans and rice , etc... On top it , very empty restaurant. felt like go away from this place.

Went to this place on my lunch break with my coworker. We were seated by the owner. He went to get menus. Didn’t offer us drinks we had to ask for them. Got our food brought out to us and he set both plates at the corner of the table. Didn’t even hand them over. We had to reach for them. We had Horrible customer service & didn’t feel welcomed just by his gestures and demeanor. We saw him greeting other customers and offering them drinks smiling. He definitely needs to have a better attitude towards paying customers. It’s not like the food was free.

Just not good. Great location for locals but the food is so blah and it's crazy expensive. Very inattentive service. We had to ask for more drinks and water and were never asked if we needed anything. I have no idea why this place has 3.8 stars or who these people are who think it's 'authentic' Mexican food. It's about as authentic as Taco Bell It's baffling how this place stays in business.

Don't be fooled by the 3.8 stars of this place ! We just ordered their burritos and not only they tasted plain and uninspiring but the owner tried to overcharge us ! Once we called him out on it , he said the menu is wrong - go figure, what a rip off, worst $10 burrito I ever had. I would take it back but we gave them to the dogs.

Food is pretty boring, which given how expensive it is: Not a good deal. But to add injury to insult, there was a stick in my burrito! I bit down on a small twig, which jabbed into my gums a bit. I mentioned it to our server, and she told us not to worry, it's from one of the spices. Who cares what kind of stick it is? It was in the burrito, so there was no way to avoid hurting my mouth. I think they should apologize and try to be more careful in the future. Throw the trash in the trash, not in the burrito.

We ordered two items entry (dinner combo for19$) and lady served in two plates. Later she billed us 40$. The food had only rice and beans in all of it as it’s veggie.Saying that there are three items. On top of it Italy or lady the accused saying “you guys” , meaning Indians eat for free . This is totally out of the line. I think we guys should have eat elsewhere.

Photos must be from a different restaurant. Quality was so bad I almost got upset. They sell you 2 flautas + rice/beans for $20. I wouldn’t mind paying $20 for 2 flautas if they were of high quality. I 100% got ripped off. I ordered because I thought it would be 3-4 flautas but I was surprised. Salsa is 100% from can. Flautas are also NOT fresh. I either got packaged flautas or they were made the night before. And the Buffalo wings I also ordered were still frozen. I wasn’t checked in on until the end of my meal when I was ready to pay. Cost for 6 wings, 2 flautas, and rude/beans? $38. Aesthetics: 3 out of 10 Food quality: 1 out of 10 Customer service: 2 out of 10 Cost: 2 out of 10 Cleanliness: 4 out of 10 Overall: 12/50 Borderline scam.

WHAT A RIP OFF! literally only one person in the restaurant which makes sense I took two bites of this floppy burrito and immediately knew that it was mostly just rice and beans literally no meat for $14.60 something I asked for CARNE ASADA not regular steak Lolol Oh and this “salsa” taste exactly like those Marinara packets from lunchables u eat when your a kid loll I’m just gonna stick to my east side San Jose burritos where I know I’m not getting ripped off terrible thank you Is there an option for 0 stars ?

Juan Zavala

Photos must be from a different restaurant. Quality was so bad I almost got upset. They sell you 2 flautas + rice/beans for $20. I wouldn’t mind paying $20 for 2 flautas if they were of high quality. I 100% got ripped off. I ordered because I thought it would be 3-4 flautas but I was surprised. Salsa is 100% from can. Flautas are also NOT fresh. I either got packaged flautas or they were made the night before. And the Buffalo wings I also ordered were still frozen. I wasn’t checked in on until the end of my meal when I was ready to pay. Cost for 6 wings, 2 flautas, and rude/beans? $38. Aesthetics: 3 out of 10 Food quality: 1 out of 10 Customer service: 2 out of 10 Cost: 2 out of 10 Cleanliness: 4 out of 10 Overall: 12/50 Borderline scam.

CATCH THA BAY

WHAT A RIP OFF! literally only one person in the restaurant which makes sense I took two bites of this floppy burrito and immediately knew that it was mostly just rice and beans literally no meat for $14.60 something I asked for CARNE ASADA not regular steak Lolol Oh and this “salsa” taste exactly like those Marinara packets from lunchables u eat when your a kid loll I’m just gonna stick to my east side San Jose burritos where I know I’m not getting ripped off terrible thank you Is there an option for 0 stars ?

Despite living only a stone’s throw distance to this place,We had been putting going there off and little did we know that was a smart thing to ‘not go’ there.First time in my CA life,i have seen a Mex restaurant serving food worse than Taco Bell,the food was so tasteless and unpalatable that nothing about the place (its location,laid back atmosphere etc) made us feel better about that place.Prices on par with decent Mex restaurants.Sorry Red Pepper for being blunt but ,you really need to step up your game to have coming back customers.Until then,this will be my first and last.

Ordered shrimp came not only over cooked tuff but smelled really strong, sent back. Ordered a steak burrito very little meat size of a pea, didn’t eat.

It’s a pass! if you are vegetarian I’d recommend skipping this place because it’s flavorless. It’s hard to mess up fajitas but I swear the chef forgot they owned spices or salt. The rice was dry and the beans lacking any sort of flavor. The drinks list is 4 pages of the menu so maybe this is a dive bar spot? But the food was awful. I rarely feel like I want my money back after a meal.

Beth Cruz

Despite living only a stone’s throw distance to this place,We had been putting going there off and little did we know that was a smart thing to ‘not go’ there.First time in my CA life,i have seen a Mex restaurant serving food worse than Taco Bell,the food was so tasteless and unpalatable that nothing about the place (its location,laid back atmosphere etc) made us feel better about that place.Prices on par with decent Mex restaurants.Sorry Red Pepper for being blunt but ,you really need to step up your game to have coming back customers.Until then,this will be my first and last.

Sheila Rasmussen

Ordered shrimp came not only over cooked tuff but smelled really strong, sent back. Ordered a steak burrito very little meat size of a pea, didn’t eat.

Shruti Shukla

It’s a pass! if you are vegetarian I’d recommend skipping this place because it’s flavorless. It’s hard to mess up fajitas but I swear the chef forgot they owned spices or salt. The rice was dry and the beans lacking any sort of flavor. The drinks list is 4 pages of the menu so maybe this is a dive bar spot? But the food was awful. I rarely feel like I want my money back after a meal.