We absolutely LOVE this local spot! The food and service are ALWAYS fantastic. Anytime we are in Houston, we have to go! Especially for the Empanadas. The food and salsas are always so fresh and delicious and I love their in-house made tortillas! read more

Don Pepe - Mexican Near Me - Houston, Texas

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I'm so happy I moved so close to this place! When i retire i want to move to CDMX and eat huaraches every day for a snack! This place brings me back there when I ate all the tacos from every stall on the streets. Its cozy and the service is excellent. I will be a regular here! Oaxaquiteño tamale: 4/5 The mole is sweet and the masa is super savory. Not too much meat which let me enjoy the masa and mole flavor that much more. Menudo: 3/5 Chicken tamale with salsa verde: 4.5/5 The masa once again is super savory and you get more chicken in this one. The tamales are wrapped perfectly! Husks just slide right out on each side without unrolling! Huevos divorciados: 4/5 The beans. Omg. Huitlacoche quesadillas: 5/5 Don't even skip this one. Corn fungus!!! Make sure you get a chanve to eat the corn tortillas by itself! Its soooo goood! Super soft and not bland at all! read more

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I was hesitant to write this review because I don't want secret spot being discovered by the masses... but it needs to be said these are the best breakfast tacos I have found in Houston. I don't know if it's the tortillas, the salsa or the way they mix the eggs, potatoes and cheese, but they really are unbelievable. The menudo is also very good. I haven't had anything else from the menu, so I can only attest to those items, but I am sure everything else is just as good. The restaurant itself is very clean and the owner is almost always there in the mornings working the cash register. He runs a tight ship, and it shows. Parking isn't vast, but there is street parking if the lot spaces are full. I would definitely recommend! read more

Don Pepe - Menu - Mexican Near Me - Houston, Texas

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We've been going here since they opened and it's SO GOOD. The owner is kind, the food is authentic and delicious. I'm addicted to their breakfast tacos. The salsa is incredible. Love this place! read more

Went there around 1:30 pm looking for a good tamale and ended up with an egg, bacon, and cheese taco on a flour tortilla for a total of $4.18 which included tax and 12 cents for a card charge. I didn't realize the tamales would be wrapped in banana leaves and mostly without meat, so I didn't buy any. The taco was not very big for the price, in my opinion. Service and ambiance were good. read more

First time visiting and ordered chilaquiles and iced coffee. chilaquiles was good but i want to tey a few more items before i make a fia verdict. Iced coffee was not good.. too sweet and premade. Admired the work ethic and dedication of the owner. He greeted wverg customer , worked the register, took orders, served, everything! read more

Personable friendly staff. Good basic real Mexican food. Three of us ordered breakfast. Food was good and service was quick, just don't expect a server to come back to your table after the food is delivered. Clean and neat throughout. Was disappointed to learn they only had three kinds of tamales that day. Chicken, Black bean, and something else. No basic pork tamales at all. We had hoped to take home a few dozen. Easy to find, only a block south of 610 and a block west of Main. read more

Wow. Amazing food and service. Great little spot that nobody knows. Like a hidden gem. My favorite spot. My kids love it. Rene rocks.

I have only been here for breakfast and I only get the Breakfast Platter. But, it is such a good, simple, healthy meal of scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, refried beans and homemade tortillas and salsa, that I have to give it five stars. read more

Service was excellent. Tamales had a lot of corn and little meat. The empanadas was a little greasy. Fajita tacos was dry. read more

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My cousin and I came here after searching on yelp for about an hour. I drove in from Dallas so I was starving. When we entered the place, we went directly to the counter to look at their menu. All orders are taken at the counter and then you seat yourself. I asked a few questions about their meals and my cousin asked which items were the most popular. Their food is not Tex Mex so don't expect queso as an option for your sauce or cheese enchiladas. My cousin and I decided on a Pork Tamale each and we split a Beef Enchilada dinner. Your only option for beans are refried beans. After placing our order, we grabbed a table and waited for our food. We chatted away for about 15 minutes and I noticed that we didn't receive any chips and salsa. FYI- This is not your typical complimentary chips and salsa establishment so make note of this if you plan on making a visit. Very disappointing. I also wasn't for sure if we were suppose to go to the counter to pick up our food or if someone would bring it to us. I got up from my seat and peeked around the corner and noticed a lady bringing food to another table so that answered my question. LOL When the food arrived, we both went for the tamale. I took a few bites of masa before I actually tasted any pork. I looked over at my cousin to see that she was also looking for the meat. I have had better tamales with much less masa. Unless you love masa more than meat, don't waste your money. The Beef Enchilada dinner was ok but not worth the drive when visiting my family again. Customer service is good but I'm here to eat and it was definitely a disappointment. We didn't try their breakfast so in all fairness to them, maybe they are known more for their breakfast dishes. read more

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Excellent authentic Mexican food. We enjoy breakfast here, my three boys love the empanadas and tamales. I really like the huarache. They have churros, huitlacoche, flor de calabaza, tamales in banana leaf, if you really know Mexican cuisine you will really like it here. Even though is a very simple place, no luxury here, it feels clean and safe. Keep in mind the bussiness hours because opens really early and closes in the afternoon. Buen Provecho!!! read more

Don Pepe - Mexican Near Me - Houston, Texas

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I just moved to Houston from Southern California where you can find authentic tamales on every street corner so I was super disappointed that it is so hard to find a good tamale in Houston. Most places in Houston serve a Tex-Mex version of the tamale, which is smaller and just tastes completely different than a tamale should. Tamales Don Pepe is the closest thing I've had to homemade tamales back home. The chicken mole tamale in the banana leaf is amazing with a flavorful and moist masa. I've also really enjoyed the chicken enchiladas here, which is made with white meat so it tastes much healthier than most enchiladas I've had. Despite the name of the shop, their menu is pretty extensive---they don't only sell tamales but tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, etc. The older gentleman who manages the cashier (who I suspect is the owner also) is really friendly and nice. This is my new favorite Mexican food spot. Btw, the chicken tamales in the corn husks sell out fast. I've come at 11 am on a Thursday and they were gone so do plan to come early if you want a chicken tamale. read more

Don Pepe - Tamales Oaxaquenos (chicken mole tamale wrapped in banana leaf) was extremely flavorful, moist, and delicious! - Mexican Near Me - Houston, Texas

I came here for lunch today and the process is simple. You order at the counter and then pay when you're done. I ordered the cafe de olla, 2 tamales (vegetarian mushroom and black bean & queso) and 1 breakfast taco (scrambled egg, potato and chorizo). The cafe de olla was delicious! The hint of cinnamon adds a nice touch and taste. Tamales - I liked how fluffy the masa was, but I felt it needed more filling especially in the mushroom tamale. Breakfast taco - it was a good. But I prefer that the chorizo wasn't cooked with the egg. It's just a preference thing. The potatoes could've been a little more crispy. Overall, I enjoyed my experience everything did taste wonderful. I definitely want to come back and try the enchiladas. read more

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I first reviewed them a year ago, shortly after they opened. This husband and wife team are cranking out some really amazing food! You will notice in my first review I raved about certain items and said I couldn't wait to try more menu items. Turns out, over the past year, the owner, Rene, has been helping the hubby and I continue our love for good food and filled our bellies with tons more amazing dishes! We love the breakfast tacos, the tamales, the empanadas, and flautas! Oh man, and absolutely amazing ceviche! (Not sure if that's on the menu yet)! And over the past year, I had had to go gluten free for health reasons and they cater to this! They make amazing corn tortillas, corn tortilla chips and even the empanadas! You can see by the reviews that this place is loved so, if you haven't tried it yet, what are you waiting for?! https://www.houstoniamag.com/articles/2019/6/25/killens-tmx-tamales-don-pepe-tex-mex-food Follow me on my way to Foodietown! http://britneygfoodie.yelp.com read more

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Delicious, fast, and convenient service. Great breakfast tacos! So greatful for this neighborhood restaurant.

best breakfast tacos in bellaire and the guy who owns this place is so nice you can customize your breakfast taco however you like!

If I could I would give this restaurant a -1 . The worst customer service.. Very racist, I came in with my family to have brunch, didn't even let us finish ordering when he started taking another customers order (white family) , we arrived first. Also the worst food! Just a quick tip "business owner, customer service is key" We did not feel safe here. I would not recommend this place unless your racist like him! read more

Don Pepe - Racist Business owner - Mexican Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Been wanting to try this place out. I ordered the chilaquiles with carne and 2 eggs in salsa verde. I also had a tamale verde de puerco. The food was ok it wasn't bad, but it did lack more of an authentic Mexican flavor. The chilaquiles were not spicy and the tamale was a bit dry. Coffee was good and hot. I'm giving it 3 stars not because of the food but the customer service. The man who attended was nice and spoke proper Spanish not slang which is rare nowadays. A lot of time I will go back eat food at a place where the food isn't the best and is not the worst just because the service is good. This is one of those places. read more

Don Pepe - Mexican Near Me - Houston, Texas

I've been coming here for years for breakfast and lunch. Their breakfast is fantastic, but if there is any one item that really sings it's the mole enchiladas for me. I always do take-out, and service is reliably fast and friendly. read more

Homemade tortillas. Nuff said right? But gotta give a food rec right? Best chilaquiles I've ever had! Didn't take a pic bc I finished them before I realized I finished them. Both times. One of my 'just go' places. read more

Food was fantastic, customer service is phenomenal!! Best hometown Mexican food I've had in a long time. read more

Don Pepe - Coffee - Mexican Near Me - Houston, Texas

I came here for breakfast at the recommendation of a friend. I had tamales and champurado (creamy cereal drink). It was fabulous. I highly recommend this place. Great little hidden hole in the wall. This is a Houston gem. Check out my photos. read more

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This place was a great find! The tamales really were hit or miss, so I won't say it's perfect. The pork tamales really did have a lot of masa and less meat like the other reviews suggest, BUT the chicken tamales were filled! The green salsa isn't as spicy as I hoped, but it had a nice flavor. I also recommend checking out other items if tamales aren't your speed (but then again, "tamales" is in their name!) The enchilada plate was great, but they could have used more sauce. Looking forward to coming back and checking out their breakfast tacos! read more

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First visit and happy to have found this place relatively close to the house. Tamales were really good with several veggie selections, had a huarache for first time with no meat, probably liked that a little more than tamales... another new try was a mashed potato flauta which was really interesting and good... Inside was pleasant and clean, owner super friendly..... will definitely be returning!! read more

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This hole in the wall place really surprised me! From the outside, it doesn't look like much, but they make a great breakfast! Their portions are huge, and they have so many different options for breakfast for the vegetarian and nonvegetarian inclined. We got a mix of their breakfast tacos and tamales, which are each about $2 (super affordable). The breakfast tacos were great - I love how fluffy they make their eggs, fluffier than most breakfast taco places I've had before. The chorizo and egg and potato and egg tacos were my favorites, especially with their homemade salsa. The tamales, their namesake, are also delicious. I don't usually like tamales because I find them to dry, but these tamales are super good and are the perfect texture! I've now had their: chicken tamale, pork tamale, mushroom tamale, and queso tamalae. The chicken w/ green sauce tamale is probably my favorite; it's packed with flavor and plenty of protein. The queso tamale was a little underwhelming on the other hand. Definitely a great place for a hefty breakfast at cheap prices! read more

Places like Don Pepe are one of the major reasons that I absolutely love living in Houston. Tucked away in a tiny strip mall with bars on the doors and windows, lies this little slice of heaven. And in typical Houston fashion, it's just down the street from West U / Braes Heights. I love how diverse our city can be from street to street. Zoning laws are for Austin! First of all the service and people are wonderful. They truly care about their customers and want each experience to be remarkable. I've taken my fourteen year old son and eight year old daughter and they both LOVE these fluffy, steamy, savory, hand made tamales from the heart and soul of the owner. You can't go wrong. Pork. Chicken. But the mole literally made me lose consciousness. My body could not take the shockwaves that went from my tastebuds to my toes. Dear Lord thank you for Don Pepe. Please take the time to drop by if you're in the area. If you aren't, then make the trip! You will not regret it and I will say you're welcome in advance! read more

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The food is amazing and the staff is so wonderful!!! Highly recommend :) Everything I ordered was absolutely delicious

Yum yum!! Amazing, authentic red chilaquiles! The chips stayed crispy, the sauce had the perfect flavor, and the queso fresco was fresh. I am going again tomorrow, haha. Think I may try the enchiladas and a huarache. The folks next to me couldn't say enough about this place either. The staff was very friendly as well. Well done!! read more

Excellent fresh food, especially like shrimp tacos. Great spot. Chips and salsa are not complementary because people took advantage of them. They are excellent. Thick chips like Spanish Village used to have. read more

I made it back to Don Pepe for breakfast. Their pork tamale did not disappoint, nor did their Huevos Rancheros. This place is truly a local mom & pop gem. read more

Don Pepe - Pork tamales & green sauce - Mexican Near Me - Houston, Texas

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The tamale oaxaquena was so good. The tacos were good too but I wasn't their biggest fan of thirty l their flour tortillas.

Found this unassuming (but very clean) little spot off of Stella Link via Yelp. (Thank you fellow Yelpers, I would've been unlikely to discover otherwise!) The owner, Rene, was at the counter and took my order. There was only one other patron in the joint, but I was excited nonetheless -- especially because I saw they had Chilaquiles, which are incredibly hard to find these days. Warning my wife that I was going to be gluttonous, I proceeded to order the chilaquiles, a chorizo breakfast taco *and* a pork tamale. I'm pretty sure my wife was lame and ordered a waffle (that I could've made at home). Well, I know she was lame and ordered a waffle, but in her defense it might've been to share with our toddler son. She might've had a breakfast taco, too. I don't know. I was focused in on my deliciousness. The food came out quickly and was solid. I tackled the chilaquiles first. They were delicious; not too soggy, which is my typical complaint. The breakfast taco was solid, but not life-changing. (Read my review of Las Palmas in Seguin, TX. They ruined everyone else's breakfast tacos for life.) As Matt G. indicated, the tamale had a little too much masa-to-meat ratio for me, but after reading his updated review, I'm anxious to give them another chance soon. Look, I don't give out 5-stars like sticks of gum, but please know this place is on the cusp and can certainly earn that 5th star on my next visit. The service is friendly, the food was good and the prices-to-portion ratio was fantastic. In fact, that might be what impressed me the most. We'll definitely be back. read more

Don Pepe - Chilaquiles - Mexican Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Finallly came back to eat this delicious food!!!! First time for my girls!! Absolutely loved the sopes, huevos divorciados, & i had the green chilaquiles!!! read more

Don Pepe - Huevos divorciados!! My daughter loved them! - Mexican Near Me - Houston, Texas

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The food is good, but the service is great! I highly recommend the ceviche and al pastor tacos - delicious. The salsa that comes with the tacos are also sooo good. Everything else was tasty, but I wouldn't say exceptional - chicken enchilada and tamales were pretty standard, and did not disappoint. I really want this place to do well! The service is spectacular and who doesn't love a mom&pop shop?!! read more

I got the "divorced eggs with potatoes and beans.. excellent meal! Great flavor, perfect size and very delicious. I highly recommend this one. ( I asked for some Jalepenos on the side because I love the spice!) read more

Don Pepe - Huevos diversiados - Mexican Near Me - Houston, Texas

One of my new favorite places for lunch. Everything that I have tried has been excellent! The picadillo (ground beef) empanada is one of the best that I have ever had and the quesadilla rajas con papas (pablanos, potatoes and cheese) are out of this world. Prices are very reasonable. The owner was very nice and offered suggestions as well as explained some of the items on the menu. He was genuinely friendly and you can tell he cares about the quality of his food and his customers. Great Job! The restaurant is located in a run down strip center just off of 610 south loop and Stella Link (be aware of your surroundings). The inside of the restaurant was exceptionally clean and very comfortable. Great place to have breakfast or lunch! read more

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The best hole-in-the walls are the ones that you least expect it to be. With a plethora of other Mexican establishments in Houston, I had my doubts coming in, but Tamales Don Pepe is the real deal. Glad I came. It's in an unassuming area (off Stella Link and 610), but the space is neat and clean. Once you walk into the door you're greeted by the menu on the left wall and the front counter. I wish the menu had (more) pictures of the food though, because as a non-Hispanic, I had to sift through Yelp pics and ask the cashier what were some of the items. Ended up trying 3 items: Tinga (chicken) empanada: not bad. Chicken a little dry Migas breakfast platter: good. Loved the texture of the beans. Eggs were flavored well. Delicious and fluffy. Tamales Oxaquenos: 5/5 would get again. The mole was amazing! When wrapped in the banana leaf and spread with their mole, the chicken came out very juicy. Very authentic. I'll come back to definitely try their other tamales. read more

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This is a hidden gem, unassuming on the outside, but wonderful and delicious on the inside. I got 2 tamales and a chilaquiles. The chicken tamale was good but the pork, oh my god, was amazing. The chilaquiles was also incredibly delicious, and adding eggs gave it a nice touch! The service was amazing as well, at one point my girlfriend asked me where the water was and the owner came right over with water for us. And did I mention the prices were also very good? One thing to note is that the green sauce is more spicy than the red sauce, so pick your sauce wisely! I can't wait to come back again; this was a great place to eat. read more

Don Pepe - Chilaquiles with 2 fried eggs! - Mexican Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Breakfast here is AMAZING and the staff is so friendly! Our table got huevos divorciados, chilaquiles rojos, and chilaquiles verdes with café de olla. We also got tamales, highly recommend the tamales oaxaqueños! We finished off with some delicious warm churros. Can't wait to come back and bring the rest of my family! read more

Don Pepe - Huevos Divorciados - Mexican Near Me - Houston, Texas