We stopped into Papa Jose's for lunch on a girl's day yesterday. I had frequented Papa Jose's for years but due to my move several years back, I had not been in for a long time. We were seated and this was the start of the experience that led to the 3. The server was incredibly short and rude. My friend, who had not been in before asked about margaritas, the server said, "We have beer or house margaritas, no flavors, we are not a full service bar. We mix it in a jar and that's it. Lemon lime." My friend ordered the margarita but was trying to give the server her card to make sure I didn't try to pay for my lunch, the server said, "I don't even have a check for you yet." She didn't just wasn't friendly at all-didn't ask if we wanted appetizers or dessert. Our food came out and the cheese enchilada was delicious, just as I remembered, the cheese was gooey and the chili had just the right amount of spice. The rice was good but the beans didn't taste homemade or fresh which was somewhat disappointing. We left after paying, underwhelmed with what we experienced. read more

Papa Jose's Union Cafe - Mexican Near Me - Pueblo, Colorado

Worst experience ever. Have been going there for decades but tonight I ordered a deep fried taco smothered with enchilada sauce, which I always order. Taco came out dry with a super small thing of sauce which cost $2.99. They have never done this before. Asked to speak to the owner and he came out mad, extremely rude and mean. He yelled we do not smother tacos, (even though I order them every time). he accused us of lying and when I said we'd never come back, he said good don't ever come back. The entire restaurant heard him yelling at us. The owner's daughter was extremely rude and the waitress was also rude. It's a shame to be berated and called a liar when we've been going here for years and have never been treated like this. The previous owner was one of the nicest people you could ever meet. Too bad a small saucer of sauce trumps faithful patronage! read more

Papa Jose's Union Cafe - The size of the saucer with the enchilada sauce - Mexican Near Me - Pueblo, Colorado

The owners and employees at Papa Jose's do an outstanding job! You rarely have to wait to find a table and the food is delicious and affordable. Plus, it's locally owned and they make the best sopapillas in town! I send everyone I know to Papa Jose's! read more

The service was good. However, the food was not so good. I ordered a chile relleno and could not detect the chile to save my life. I took it home & cut it up only to find a soggy tortilla, and mashed green stuff. Is that the chile? Every chile relleno I've ever had was a whole stuffed chile., not chile mash & not wrapped in a tortilla. Very disappointing. My husband said his meal lacked seasoning. read more

Papa Jose's Union Cafe - Cut up chile relleno wrapped in a tortilla with green chile sauce. No whole stuffed chile to be found. - Mexican Near Me - Pueblo, Colorado

My very good friend has been going there for a long time. Her and her family were put on the list, went outside to wait. Other families arrived & put on the list, but were seated before my friend and her family. When they went in to ask about it, she was rudely approached by the Co-owner who yelled at her and said you didn't come when called. My friend heard her call every other family. My friend said if you're going to be rude, we can go somewhere else. The co-owner said loudly "BYE" How sad! Won't be going to that one! read more

We were in the area for the chili festival. Got a table for our party of 3. Restaurant was not full. Two family members wanted to join us and they were not allowed because they were not "on the list". We asked if we could move to one of the two empty 6-top tables that were empty. The hostess became very aggressive and intimidating. It was not crowded. There were no people waiting. There were 5 empty tables in the restaurant and 2 empty tables on the patio. Another employee apologized for the lack of flexibility. Our waiter was excellent, but this one individual prevented a party of 5 from ordering dinner with drinks. read more

Last time we will dine here after decades. They are now charging 3.99% additional tax for using a CREDIT CARD or DEBIT CARD! Cactus Flower has a much better menu, parking, service and actually has ambiance. PLUS...THEY DON'T CHARGE YOU TO USE A CARD! read more

I've been to Papa Jose's twice both times I had bad customer service. Ambiance is great, Food is good but customer service can definitely improve. For this reason I don't see myself returning. My second time I gave it a try because I couldn't judge a restaurant off a first time bad experience so I returned only to officially judge it and write a review. Spoke to other guests and they felt similar about the place. Over all good food but not the friendliest staff. read more

Good food, great service and a nice place to eat. My wife and I have been going there for years. My son from Denver enjoys eating at Papa's and says the food is better and cheaper than in Denver. I have a coworker who lives in Colorado Springs who likes it better than the Mexican restaurants in Springs. read more

I'm surprised we have not been here before. It's fairly cute with seating inside and outside. We sat outside since it was a beautiful day. The restaurant was fairly busy for a weekday afternoon. We ordered the nachos richos and chicken taquitos appetizer. We also got the classic and house special margarita. The nachos were pretty decent and came with jalapenos which were nice and hot. That was a good addition. The taquitos were fried, very warm and delicious but bland. They came with guacamole which was very good, sour cream and the salsa which I had to add to every bite. I also got a side of their hot green chili and it was decently hot and very good and tasty. As far as the drinks go, the house special margarita comes with amaretto. I did not like it. I preferred the regular one. Beware, it feels light and smooth but hits you by the time you've finished it! We could do with a lot more salt on the rim than what the glasses had. All in all, a positive experience and we will be back. read more

See all

Just had the special which was a smothered burrito. It was good, though I wish the green chili had a bit more heat to it. I asked for jalapeños to add to it and they brought me a dish to add to the burrito for the heat. Then we shared an order of sopapillas, which should be their signature dish! They do the best job of any restaurant south of Tocabe in Denver. Love the service here as they are attentive! What I am going to be five if them thumbs down for is their passing on the fee the credit card company charges the business to use the convenience of the card reader. This is the cost of doing business for a business and is not to be passed on to the customer!! Shame on you PJs. When asked about the practice they said other restaurants are doing this. That does not make the practice right! I won't be coming back read more

One of the best restaurants and one of my go-to restaurants for a home cooked meal. Food is amazing and the staff is very friendly!! Good atmosphere as well. read more

Popped in on a Saturday afternoon. My buddy Manning loved this place, so first time here. Nothing fancy about the interior, as is normal. Diners were outside in a covered curbside patio. Wait staff was attentive to the outside guests. Inside, we were greeted and seated. My companion was excited about the availability of tacos with fried flour tortillas. We each had those, and she had ground beef tacos, but the flavor was meh. My single al-a-carte taco was filled with adobada meat. Wow! The meat was smoky and flavorful. Best taco in 5 years! We didn't have the smothered, but were offered green chile in mild, med and hot. They also offer a red northern NMX chile sauce. Maybe next time. I had a small bowl of menudo. It was served with onion and oregano on the side, if requested, as well as a steamed flour tortilla. I am a menudo expert, and it the flavor was good, but it was made a couple of days ago, due to the condition of the tripe. Service was good, with a couple of servers checking back on us. We'll be back. read more

If you want a taste of Pueblo... this is the spot. I grew up here and there's only a few places that I think the entire world would love... and this is one of them. I LOVE the chicken tacos on fried white, add a little salsa and boom! You've got magic. Tamales, green chili, everything is yummy. The chef is amazing! I really hope someday their delicious recipes get recognized by a TV show because it's seriously the best Pueblo Mexican food. You can sit inside or out, great views of the old buildings- would highly recommend read more

See all

Great little spot on Historic Union Avenue in Pueblo! Like the outdoor seating option on nice days. Always a tasty special of the day at a great price. Good food and great value! Attentive servers will take good care of you! Try the Italian Margarita!!!! And they serve Pepsi!! read more

You don't come here for quality, portion or flavor. You come for the prices. We came here Saturday at 1:00 and it was busy! We ordered two margaritas and then had to order two shots of tequila to make them palatable. We ordered two tacos each - my husband wanted chorizo and beef on flour shells and I wanted chorizo and chicken on fried corn tortillas. All the tacos came in hard corn shells. I got beef & chicken and my husband got chorizo & beef. We asked for more salsa for our chips and got a plastic ketchup bottle of salsa. Thank goodness they left it on the table or we would not have made it thru our dry, flavorless tacos. Our server never came back to check on us. read more

Have you ever wanted Mexican food? You know, so bad that you could just taste those bottomless chips and salsa? Perhaps it's a good thing you've never heard of Papa Jose, where the limited menu and tiny portions will leave you feeling like Oliver Twist, only somehow the food options in 19th century London are superior to those in contemporary Colorado. And true to form out here in the Centennial State (Motto: Sweet Mustache, Bro. Let's Look at Sprinter Vans), you actually have to pay for those nachos. Serves Pepsi products. read more

My elderly mother ate there last week. Choked on the food. She was turning purple & couldn't talk or breathe, not one employee helped or checked on her. Thankfully a customer helped my mother! SHAME ON YOU Staff and OWNERS of this establishment. You need to get yourself & staff first aide training!!! People be aware if you continue to patronize this place, it could be you next. The owner/staff will not check on you or Help. Will not call 911!! Zero stars for this place000000 read more

This has to be one my favorite Mexican food restaurants in Pueblo. The food is amazing and the service is really good! My favorite food here has to be the tacos. There are several flavors you can choose from and you really can't go wrong with any. I also got a chicken enchilada. While the green chile could have been spicier, I did enjoy it. Finally my favorite part of the meal was the sopapilla. Rather than the classic fried flour, I chose to add cinnamon to it which added a whole new taste to it! This has to be one of the best sopapillas I've ever had. read more

See all

SO GOOD!! If you're a fan of Mexican food, then you have to try Papa Jose's - it is hands down the BEST Mexican food we've ever had, and we've tried A LOT (we are from Denver)! From all the Denver restaurants to food trucks, nothing compares to the authentic, homemade goodness here. We have family in Pueblo who highly recommended it, and now we're hooked. The Mexican Hamburger? Absolute perfection. The green chile? Flavor-packed heaven. And let's not forget the tamales - they're to die for. The fried ice cream, the sopapillas - everything we tasted blew us away. The service is great too! We'll be coming back every time we're in town. SOOOO GOOD! read more

We just ate at Papa Jose's and it was great. The food was excellent and the wait staff was amazing. Be sure and try the fried ice cream.

I went to pick up a to go order. Staff was pleasant and attentive. I ordered a beer and was seated at a reserved table to wait for my order. Very good food, wait staff is great. Highly recommend read more

So as you can tell from the picture, the tamale platter is exactly that, a platter. It was hard to distinguish where the tamales are as they are swimming around in a sea of what was supposed to be a red sauce. Beans and rice were just that, no seasoning no flavor. The masa was just kind of piled on with not much structure to the tamale. We also ordered the bean chili queso which was basically watered down refried beans. No hint of chili whatsoever. Again, no seasoning and the chips that were served with it said they were homemade but they did not appear to be to me. They were extremely small, like the bottom of the chip bag. The only shinning star here was the server, she wears working her tail off and was excellent managing all the traffic!! read more

Papa Jose's Union Cafe - #19 Tamale Platter - Mexican Near Me - Pueblo, Colorado

Needing a quick and small Lunch, we stopped in for a small bowl of posole and two machaca corn tacos. The tacos were the better of the two. The posole was a thin red chili broth (heavy on the cayenne) with one small piece of pork, two pork fat pieces and about 1/8 cup of beans. $7.49 total for the two tacos and small bowl of posole. read more

Stopped in on a Sat afternoon. First time eating here. We had the chili relleno and fried white chicken tacos. Yummy chips and salsa..The tacos are on the bigger side and so good! All the food was very tasty. The green chili was very flavorful. The service was friendly and fast. Can't wait to come back and try more of the food! read more

I was wandering around and came upon this place I had a chicken enchilada, rice and beans. and a shredded beef taco. I thought it was very good. Good prices and high-quality. I recommend this place. read more

Excellent homemade authentic red and green chile are the draw for this charming hole in the wall in downtown Pueblo's depot district. I had the carne adobada stuffed sopailla a with red and green chile. The nest was tender and deeply flavored with warm spices (cinnamon and clove). The sopapilla was hot and crisp, not greasy at all. It was smothers in green chile studded with a generous amount of Pork and topped with shredded cheese. Rice and refried beans complete the plate. My husband had the machaca enchiladas with red chile, and loved them! Big beef flavor from slow steering and tender beef in the Special Red was a winning combination for him! I would get this myself next time! 100% My two girls who are chile averse (I don't know where they got that) loved their chicken flautas. The flautas are thick, made with a generous portion of tender roasted chicken, wrapped in flour tortillas, and fried perfectly. The guacamole in the ice was stuffed with bits of tomato and was impeccably fresh and well seasoned. A very busy, obviously neighborhood place, with efficient service and delightful food. 5 authentic and delicious stars! read more

See all

After my Steel Mill visit, I had an itch for some good Mexican food, and Yelp led me here. Its down the road from the Riverwalk, and has outdoor street-side dining... My Taco salad was good- though pretty plain..The Green chile was ok, as well. Perhaps the most entertaining aspect of my lunch was the two ladies of the evening (dressed in their finest summer Spandex attire)and presumably their Business Manager sitting at the table next to me scarfing down the tortilla chips!! Sorry guys, the hunt continues... read more

My absolute favorite Mexican food. The deep fried white flour tortilla tacos are the bomb. Guacamole tostada also delish! And yummy sopapillas. Wonderful service and fast too. I live an hour away and will come to Pueblo just to have lunch here! Cute little shopping district. read more

Meh, it was ok. The salsa sucks! The food was decent, but not good enough to return. Thr stuffed sopapilla was 3 of 5 stars, the pozole was 2 of five, the salsa was 0-5. Most likely won't be back. read more

Papa's is the best. Love their green chili, chicken flautas, and chips and salsa. They added a patio a few summers back which is such a cool place to people watch on Union. Service is always prompt, and friendly. New ownership had big shoes to fill, and they have done so. Such nice people! read more

This was our first time visiting this establishment. We live in Colorado Springs but we often visit Pueblo and their fine food restaurants. Upon walking in we were greeted by a very friendly lady. Immediately we could see this establishment was a favorite for the locals! They were very busy, and the food was coming out of the kitchen very quickly. After placing our order, our food was brought to our table in a short time. The food presentation was most eye-appealing! Once we started eating our food it was "delicious, we were very impressed! In visiting with our friendly waitress she told "the story of this twenty-five year old business!" They had recently remodeled and the restaurant looked great! Fresh, friendly and very welcoming! Our only regret was we have to drive to Pueblo to enjoy this wonderful gem!! We plan to eat here frequently when we visit Pueblo! Thanks for a wonderful experience!!! read more

We were in Pueblo, CO visiting our son who happens to reside there now. He recommended this place. Food was good. We got a quart of green chili to go. We traveled back to Colorado Springs. By the time we got home the extremely, temperature hot green chili melted thru the styrofoam container and into the bag and all over my back seat. I called the restaurant to see about getting my green chili replaced on my next visit. I was told, "The owners are unable to replace your green chili. You should have let the server know you were traveling". Huh?Customer service is everything. "I will never be in your restaurant ever again". And we are extremely nice tippers. read more

My husband and I ate at this establishment. He ordered a hamburger. The meat was thin, over cooked and dry. My chicken tacos were good. The server noticed he was unhappy. He complained about the burger, and she offered to see if it could be remade. Well, they stuck a new patty (just as bad) on the old bun, which was half eaten. Then, they charged us for a whole new meal! The staff got quite nasty about it. We paid for 3 meals, 2 which were bad. Never going back. We are native to Pueblo. Don't complain at Papa Jose's. They'll charge you double and say it's your fault for complaining. Worst service I ever had. read more

I found this little place by walking by :-) it's smelled good and I was hungry! Turned out to be a great find. Really loved their green chili. Chips were fresh :-) beer was cold! My service was very attentive and friendly. The food was tasty. I will come here again upon my return. read more

Papa Jose's Union Cafe - Green chili chicken enchilada. I think this green chili is some of the best I have found in the area :-) - Mexican Near Me - Pueblo, Colorado

See all

Pueblo style Mexican food with the Green Chili. Nothing too fancy. Food came out pretty quick. Chips and salsa were not included with the lunch meals. read more

Don't go to a Mexican spot run by white people, they looked at me crazy when I asked if their posole comes with cabbage and radishes, which traditionally it does. Posole was ok at best. Small portion for a large price. Nachos were horrible. Soggy, and lacking in the flavor area. Unseasoned. read more

We visited Papa Jose's for an early dinner; we were rather dissatisfied with the experience. The food is good - portions a bit small, compared to other Mexican restaurants in Pueblo. It was served (stove) hot & fairly quickly. The chili itself could have been a bit hotter to our taste. When the sopapillas were served they were hot and fluffy; the honey, however was in a "bear" squeeze container & we could barely get any honey - it was VERY stiff. We had to remove the lid & pour the honey onto our plates to get any honey at all! Why would you serve good sopas and not provide accessible honey?? We came to the conclusion that having very stiff honey serving containers is a money-saving strategy. We had to ask for extra napkins twice. As the small restaurant started filling up, the noise level was deafening. There is nothing on the floors/walls, etc. to deaden it. We were not really able to have a conversation at our two-top table. When we mentioned it to the server, she merely shrugged. Given the plethora of great Mexican restaurants in Pueblo, this one is toward the bottom of the list for us . . . overall experience not pleasant. read more

Fast and friendly service, and the food is delicious. They have weekday specials: we ordered the beef/bean burrito plate and it hit the spot. For dessert, the sopaipillas were fried just right, and the warm honey was an excellent touch. read more

We have been to Papa's several times and the food doesn't dissapoint. It's a small place, but the service is friendly and the Angry Margaritas are the bomb. read more