I have a great experience every time I go to Papi's Mexican Food. The service is usually amazing--staff are friendly, attentive, and make you feel welcome. The food is always delicious, fresh, and full of flavor, and their tequila selection is incredible. If you love tequila, they have pretty much any kind you could want. The only negative for me is the beer selection, which is pretty limited compared to everything else they offer. One other thing I've noticed is that if you sit on the patio, it tends to take a lot longer to get a server or place your order. Inside service is usually much faster and more attentive. Other than that, it's a great place and I keep coming back because the food, drinks, and overall vibe are always good. read more

Food was yummy!! But I genuinely come back bc of the service Vanessa served my family both times and she always goes above and beyond & makes the experience so much better!! So sweet & easy to talk to! & FAST! my drink never goes empty & she's always checking in to make sure we're good! 10/10 customer service read more

We've been coming here more recently. We love the drinks and the food. They have good pricing and their service is great. We came here tonight at 8:35 and they close at 9pm (I know, I don't like to come into restaurants that close to closing, but see our review for blast and brew), but they were so kind and never once made us feel like we were being inconvenient for being in close to closing time. Our waitress even came up to our table at 9pm and asked if we wanted to order anything else before the kitchen closed. Our food came within 10 minutes and it was so yummy as always. They also have a really big window in the bar so it lets in a nice open and fresh feeling into the restaurant. read more

We have had Vanessa as our server several times and she always does THE BEST for us. Never an error and always super fast. The speed is due to the kitchen being awesome as well. The food is always great and our drinks are always full. You can't ask for more. read more

Papis is my go to spot if I want good, shareable food! I love to get a drink, salsa and chips as well as their rolled taquitos and chicken nachos. Their chips and salsa are THE BEST as well as their drinks. They're so consistent read more

First off our server was awesome! I believe his name is Nicarando. Refilled my soda so quick I barely had time to blink! My friend had the bowl with grilled chicken and it looked great and she said it was very filling and very good. I had the Quesadilla Moleanda, or something like that. A quesadilla stuffed with shredded chicken, roasted corn cheese, and topped in an excellent multi sauce. Everything was just very good and the service was excellent! I will certainly be back! read more

Solid 3 stars. Team members were all super nice & quick to help. The restaurant itself was nice & clean. Our family of 5 came in on a Saturday afternoon & they were having their Happy Hour 3-6pm I think. We order a couple Steak Mexican Pizzas (they were on the smaller side & the steak was very fatty & mediocre.) We also ordered the Pollo Nacho Fries that were a good size for the price. We also got a Chicken Quesadilla which was probably the best thing we got. Everything we got was from the Happy Hour Menu, next time we'll just order off the regular menu & see if the food is better. I attached pics of the menus since there weren't any on Yelp. read more

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Drinks were good, food were good, and happy hour has great pricing. I didn't get a picture but the churro sundae was very pretty and delicious. read more

Papi's Mex Grill - Grilled shrimp tacos with a chipotle sauce. Sides weee cabbage, rice and beans - Mexican Near Me - Madera, California

Order tacos and and a few burritos to go worst I ever had not to hate but Taco Bell would been better the service was good and the bar drink looked good but take out was horrible read more

Came in for a much needed family dinner and was given the best experience. Great energy, great service, and bomb food! Thanks for taking great care of us, Ashley read more

Fabulous Mexican food, lovely ambience and great service. The Chile verde is the best in town. My go to place for truly good Mexican fare. Tasty cocktails too! read more

Ambiance/ Service: My fiancé and I often come here, maybe once a week. Everytime that we have been here the service has been great. The servers are welcoming, friendly, and try to be as quick as possible. The ambiance of Papi's is fun and they have large tv's that often play sports. If nothing interesting is on, they will have great music playing. Papi's have high-top tables in the center and booths against the walls, when the weather is warm they will have an outside area open and have seats where you can order right from the bar. When you walk in you will see a full bar covering the back wall with a crafty bartender. I get the watermelon margarita and my fiancé orders the Patron margarita, if you're feeling adventurous they have large pitchers and fish bowls of margaritas. Happy Hour is a must! Papi's marg: $8 Patron marg: $8.50 60 oz marg: $25!!! and food too (nachos, asada fries, guac is delicious) Now the important part- FOOD. Honestly, the food is okay not exactly authentic mexican food but it's not the worst (hence minus the one star). Comparing cost to what you get, the ceviche is good, enchiladas are better, and their burritos are good as long as you don't get chicken. Unfortunately, their chicken can be dry. Their salsas are amazing, if you can handle heat ask for their extra spicy salsa (they don't bring it out unless you specifically request for it). Cheers. read more

Papi's Mex Grill - Ceviche - Mexican Near Me - Madera, California

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Great food! great service! Good vibes :) Brought my daughter to lunch and the coffee was strong food was perfect! Thank you read more

Fresh...fresh...fresh. Salsa was fresh, food was delicious. Service was excellent. A popular place for the locals. We don't like to rush through our meals so the relaxed atmosphere here suited us. We had homemade chips and tomatillos salsa, dos tacos plates (chicken and steak), papi's margarita and a shot of don julio anejo. If you like spicy, ask for their spicy salsa (habanero). read more

Papi's Mex Grill - 2 tacos plate (steak) - Mexican Near Me - Madera, California

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Felt grossed out by food. Chipotle is better. Too expensive. Wouldn't come back here.

Pretty good Mexican food. Their burritos and enchiladas are yummy. The atmosphere is pretty nice too. No loud music blasting and good drinks too. read more

Papi's Mex Grill - Mexican Near Me - Madera, California

We love the happy hour at Papi's we have learned for the best service to sit at the bar. Sitting in the dining area is hit or miss on service. They are in a new development so I can see how it's difficult to staff for inconsistent crowds. As the new housing hasn't been fully built up in that area. Onto the good stuff - In my opinion best Micheladas in town. Love the ceviche tostada and carnitas taco on the happy hour menu. They have happy hour all day Sunday and Monday and other days 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM. read more

When we walked in there was a nice vibe with good artwork on the walls, but the food messed everything up. My family ordered 4 guacamole scoops, and it tasted like they chopped one cherry tomato, mashed 2 avocados, and threw it in an ice cream scooper. No seasoning. My asada tacos barely had salt. This place doesn't have seasonings! The chips were crunchy though. read more

A very disappointing family lunch at this location. Everything from the customer service to the food was completely underwhelming. When we first arrived at 1:30 on a Saturday morning, the space was pretty empty. Although our drink orders were taken promptly, our waiter dropped off the wrong drinks and quickly walked away so there was no time to correct it. We also had to ask for chips and salsa when we had already been there 15-20 mins. We also had to wait an extended amount of time for our food orders to be taken. During that time, drinks went dry, chip baskets were empty and we didn't see our waiter at all to ask for more. When our food orders were taken by our waiter, there was a food runner/busser with him that was super attentive and helped with all of our refills, napkin requests and chip refills. She was so friendly and awesome! When our food finally came out 30 mins after ordering, we were super disappointed. Two of my family members ordered the menudo and it had very little tripas and hominy. It was mostly broth. My carnitas plate felt hot to the touch. Only the beans and rice were hot, but they were both pretty flavorless. The carnitas were bone dry and cold. Not the juicy, flavorful dish I expected. Our waiter never checked on us and we had to wait about 40 mins before we even got the checks. In all, it was a 2.5 hour lunch that consisted of mostly waiting for service. I wouldn't return. read more

Papi's Mex Grill - Carnitas plate - Mexican Near Me - Madera, California

Living in Riverstone I come here few times a month, today I decided to come in around 2:30 for lunch (solo) on a Sunday. As I walked in there were a lot of tables open and not so busy, told the employee it's just for one person and she tells me it's about a 15 minute wait, so I just stood to the side. Few minutes later three large parties come In and are seated right away, I ask the employee and she apologizes that she just came on. Than finally sit down ask for salsa and the waitress brings me some in a plastic container says we do have the clear ones, while at the same has three other clear large ones filled with salsa. Then no return to follow up if I need anything and literally sat there 20 minutes waiting for my check finally had to go the front and ask her to get me my check and receipt. I don't know if I was alone or what but the service was not it today. Sad because I loved how close this place was but I don't want to return if this is how the Coustmer is coming in alone. read more

Papi's Mex Grill - The salsa - Mexican Near Me - Madera, California

Actually some of the worst Mexican food I've ever had. No seasoning. Reheated. Run down refreshed beans and chewy asada along with a disheartening cheese sauce with shrimp that tasted freezer burnt and rubbery. Will not be back here for a long time. read more

Best place in the world to have dinner. Great Vibes, Service, and Great workers.

We've eaten at Papi's multiple times and the food is consistent. The service has generally been good, if occasionally a bit slow when they're very busy, and we really enjoy their outside seating area. The carnitas tacos are great, they have Negra Modelo on tap, and a good assortment of margaritas. Their Mexican food is adequate, it isn't stunning, but it definitely gets the job done. I recommend the carnitas tacos or the Caldo Xóchitl. read more

Papi's Mex Grill - a plate of food - Mexican Near Me - Madera, California

When it first opened nothing but good experiences. Now it's so so lacking consistency. Many different employees each time I go. In the beginning regular employees who knew me. I like a business who keeps their employees so you can recognize them. read more

The food is usually good but the poor service really brings it down. While I have had some good service in the recent past, tonight was deplorable. I walked in and it was not busy. No one ever came to seat me and I just stood there for a while. I made eye contact with the bartender several times and he did nothing to acknowledge that I was waiting or to call someone. I ended up leaving. I wish there were other places closer to home. read more

We have gone to Papi's at Riverwalk since the first week they opened. It's always been pleasant but slowly we've seen a change, not really in food quality but in service and management. Last night, 8/7 was the worst it's ever been. We arrived at 5:30, we stood at the hostess counter for 8 minutes, before the hostess came to help us. She then sat us, there were 3 of us. We were given chops and water immediately and then it was as if they forgot we were there. 20 minutes later I asked a waitress who kept walking by us if we had a waiter, and her response was, "yeah sorry we are really busy, I'll check to see who your waiter is." She walked off and 10 minutes later we just got up and left. read more

Didn't give me sides in either of my orders and charged me for them, gave me the wrong type of tortillas in both orders after I made sure she put in corn not flour. Took over 30 minutes for 2 small orders, the food wasn't bad but it wasn't worth the wait and inconvenience. read more

Stopped by with family of 6, female host and female waiter had no manners or greetings when we enter. My name and number was written down and that a text would be sent to me once a table was ready. Estimated time given to me was 15 minutes. Never got a text and was taken out the wait list. Once 15 minutes went by, we decided to go in to Fresno to a sit down restaurant. read more

Papi's Mex Grill - Mexican Near Me - Madera, California

Don't get me started ... 3 stars mainly because the drinks took FOREVER!! 10-15 mins to get our drinks ridiculous! Ive never had this issue before it wasn't even busy.. besides that food was delicious! new chorizo bean dip satisfied cravings and Vanessa is always super quick & has the BEST customer service !!! Will still come back but when Selina is bartending ! read more

I don't like leaving negative A reviews. But I have to be honest with my experience of the the quality of the cuisine. Fresno is home to some of my favorite Mexican food in the USA. Expectations are high when your cohort sets the bar high. This unfortunately falls way below the bar. The shrimp cocktail was not from prawns.. They were frozen medium shrimp with tail off pre cooked. Like the ones you get from the grocery store. Then they dumped it into flavorless and simple tomato flavor. The taquitos were definitely frozen and tasted like they were from a grocery store. We only had appetizers and a beer and decided yo go elsewhere for dinner. This does look like might be fun place to watch football games and have a bucket of beers. But we were here for a dinner and unfortunately it missed the mark for that. read more

Papi's Surf and turf (chicken) burrito ordered with black beans and no sour cream and a shrimp cocktail ordered with extra hot sauce. The worker that took the order was very kind. Arrived and I went in to get it. The hostess was nice and welcoming! Told the worker and it was ready at the bar where the bartender was. Paid for the order, he brought hot salsa and wished a good day! The restaurant is very nice! Great bar! Tvs up in many places. Clean and safe. Lunchtime! I got everything ready per usual. The burrito is HUGE! My half of the shrimp cocktail was really fresh and delicious! Saladitas made it even better! My half of the surf and turf burrito was Fantastic! Fresh and tasty! Even better with the hot salsa which was really great too! Mother said hers was great! The meal included tortilla chips and she really enjoyed those as well! Even with splitting the burrito in half, we both still have leftovers! It's that big! Good service and delicious lunch! Highly recommended!!!! read more

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Sat at bar...waited long time to place drink order....took even longer to get drinks...food OK....bar area by refrigerators filled with stuff and receipts....very unorganized and messy. Staff focused on talking with each other why patrons wait. read more

First off about 8 months I rated this establishment 4 stars. With that said I can't believe a restaurant establishment go in reverse to being an absolute place to avoid. Food items that were ordered by our party was flavor less and cold and portions were reflective of running short so they tried to make it look like full portions. The service was almost non existent from our waiter and we had to track him down or ask other staff members where he was at. The Ambiance is a grill type establishment, small and when it does get busy it's loud. It is fair to say I would not recommend this location at River Stone on Ave 12 and Hwy 41 in Madera. Sorry for no pictures but food items were not picture worthy this visit. read more

Terrible service!! The last two times we've gone they were very very slow at providing waters yet alone taking our orders. We noticed they are short handed when it comes to waiters. The last time we decided to eat here for a simple midweek dinner, the hostess sat us down and we waited close to 20 min for a waiter to bring us chips/salsa or even water.... Well They never came and after waiting there with a toddler who started to get antsy we just got up and left. So disappointed. Won't be coming back. read more

Stopped by for dinner and a drink while sitting at the bar. The bartender was a big disappointment. She didn't give us a menu, but served us her attitude. We ordered something basic (didn't see a menu), and she got it wrong, twice.... After receiving our food, she STILL didn't take our drink order.... We had to ask... We noticed "the regulars" were given menus and one on one attention. Service was 0 stars... food 4 stars. I will go back to Fresno and enjoy the local restaurant. read more

It's always a great time at Papi's in Madera! Happy hour all day Sunday and Monday with some great deals. Also happy hour throughout the week! read more

Great spot to hangout. Wish Selina was working nights! 5 star with her at the bar during nights.

If I'm desperate I would dine here. Living in the California Valley, there is no shortage of Mexican food restaurants/cafes. The food here was not appetizing at all. I'm a little shocked that people flock here for the food. Maybe there is a secret menu I don't know about because this is not even close. I did need some refried beans once and came to get a side of beans and in all fairness they were very good! That being said, tacos were flavorless and the chicken soup was just a throw away. Service is okay, nothing memorable. The vibe is that of people who don't know good Mexican food haha! Maybe I'm ordering the wrong thing but it's hard to mess up a taco. read more

We just moved to the area and Papi's Mex Grill was our first meal. We ordered one of each of the taco salad (chicken and steak). While waiting for our food, Papi had provided some chips and salsa, which is a great touch especially coming from a long drive. We didn't wait too long for our food to come and when our food arrived we loved it! The ingredients was perfect and it tasted fresh and healthy. The staff was friendly and on top of our refills. The 2nd time we came to Papi's we had ordered out. We ordered the same meal as we loved the taco salad. Usually when you ordered out especially certain food like taco salad, it wouldn't taste the same as it would when eating at the restaurant. But Papi's proved us wrong on that. We loved it as much as we had it for the first time. Maybe next time we'll try their other menu. For sure, Papi's Mex Grill will be on our to go to restaurants for sure. read more

Papi's Mex Grill - Chicken Taco Salad and Steak Taco Salad - Mexican Near Me - Madera, California

Can't say enough about this place. Forgot my phone and Oscar honestly put it up. With all the scamming going on. That said a lot about how they treat their customers. All your info on your phone. I was like damn. Didn't know where my phone was. Thank God. Thank you Oscar for giving Great service and being honest. read more