Papi’s

This had got to be… Hands Down the only place to go for the best Carnitas ANYWHERE! I have made it scheduled stop on my way down south and on my way back to the Monterey area.

Favorite place to eat some yummy tortas! Come here pretty often and the nachos and asada fries are another favorite.

Bought a meal to set in outside dining area. As soon as my food came a lady who was not eating came inside the fenced area and started smoking. As I have asthma and it is not legal to smoke in eating areas I went inside and asked Felix the owner to ask the smoker to leave. He told me I could have a box for my food and take it home. I have came to this eatery for years as the food is good and you are able to eat outside. I will not come here again!

Portions here are HUGE. Prices are reasonable compared to nearby restaurants. I ordered the crab enchilada. The crab didn’t taste fresh and the texture looked dull, which leads me to believe that it’s canned crab. Next time, I’ll try something else. Service is excellent though.

We were double charged for three tacos, and they were incredibly rude when we called them out on it.
There are plenty of taco joints in Paso with better food that are also respectful of their customers. Never again.

After all the reviews, we were looking forward to this place. Unfortunately our lunch was pretty mediocre. I ordered a chile relleno and an enchilada. The chile relleno had several issues — it wasn’t de-​seeded, had minimal cheese and tasted like it was fried in old oil and was really greasy. Bummer! The enchilada was fine, but greasy as well. My husband ordered the pork burrito and while it was tasty, the pork was so salty (and I like salt). The tortilla was grilled though, which was nice.
The salsas were solid — spicy and fresh, and the people were nice, so maybe we ordered the wrong thing?

Best chicken tacos in paso and good service. Food takes a little while but it all gets cooked fresh, worth the wait.

I absolutely LOVE this place. My husband and I have been coming here since 2005 and Felix always knows it’s me when I call in an order. There is no shortage of Mexican restaurants in Paso whether they are holes in the wall or complete sit down experiences but Papis has something for everyone and they keep it simple. They’re close to downtown (like a block away from the park). Our go-​to meal always is burritos but Felix has won awards for his pork tacos. Hailed by Sunset magazine and recently won «best of the best» for Mexican food in paso, Papis offers full servings of a variety of Mexican food with fresh ingredients. You can pick up (faster) or dine in. There is patio seating with great people watching views. Order at the counter, get your own beer from the self serve cooler or a cold soda, find a table and relax. Your name will be called when your food is ready. Friendly staff adds to the awesomeness. This is a great place to grab food to go for watching a parade downtown or to take to park and chill under an oak tree. My husband raves about the chicken burritos and gorditas but I can’t seem to venture past the rice, bean and cheese burritos. FYI, they’re closed on Mondays.

We’ve been customers of Papi’s since they opened like 20 years ago. We have been through the good and the bad. Divorces, remarriages, watched the kids grow, new menu items, etc. The food is the constant. Felix never settles for less than the freshest and he doesn’t feel comfortable delegating much. All the items in the salsa bar are chopped by hand every day. There are no canned tomatoes or salsa, that is why he started charging for chips, he’s really charging for the work and ingredients that go into the salsa bar. Everything is delicious, but my favorite item is the torta. He makes it just in Guadalajara, ahogada, or dipped in chile sauce. He has the bread made special in Santa Maria. This is the type of local, family owned business that Paso is all about!

BEST MEXICAN FOOD IN PASO ROBLES
I have been to the other mexican restaurants in Paso and honestly, nothing can compare. They make the food fresh to order (so yes a wait will be involved but it is worth it). Their chips (also freshly made to order) and their salsa bar (salsa made fresh daily) are to die for. Their pricing is incredibly affordable and much cheaper than other nearby mexican restaurants (and so is their quality). In my opinion, they are the most authentic in town as well. Try the carne asada burrito «wet» with salsa verde, guac and sour cream. BIG portions.
** There is seating in the restaurant but you order at the window and then wait for your name. Very casual.

People are too picky. Do you want a sit-​down restaurant that serves «high end burritos» filled with confusing ingredients? Or do you want an awesome authentic ma&pa hole in the wall that’s dishing up pinto beans and Mexican rice specialties like no ones business…
Go to Fish Gaucho if you want the glamour, come to Papi’s if you’re really really hungry.
I called in my order on a Sunday afternoon and it took exactly 15 minutes (what she quoted me).
The only thing I could complain about is it wasn’t very hot, but nothing to run home about.

What a shame. I have been meaning to try this and walked in, asked the gentleman at the counter window if they served breakfast– he showed me a menu & said they opened at 10. The next morning we were there at 9:55 and waited. Finally about 10:10 I tried the door again & a woman setting up said they didn’t open till 11. Bad business– since we waited till 10 before we started our 4 hr drive. We will not give them a 2^nd chance.
Que lastima. Trate de comer aqui y entre y pregunte si tenian desayuno y a que horas habrian. Regrese el dia siguiente a la hora que me dijieron y no estaban abiertos. Despues de 15 minutos de espera, una señorita adentro dijo que no habrian hasta las 11. Haci no se have buen negocio y regresan clientes. Que lastima porque no regresare

Solid place for casual Mexican food. The rajas gorditos were delicious, wet burrito appropriately huge, and other items I’d like to try, like sopes and enchiladas.
There are non-​meat items on the menu, but not many. And I strongly suspect that the beans and rice are not vegetarian.
Also, the food does not come out fast – which is totally fine!! – but with that wait, and with that full salsa bar, I would have liked some chips.

I have never been to another mexican food place (and I love mexican food) that makes a torta like this place. Their carne asada fries are some of the best i’ve had too. My only complaint is that there are no real hours, so sometimes at lunch time you get there, and they aren’t open yet and I starve waiting for them to open, but once its opened up, I am happy and fed :)

Great fish and chips. Would have to say as good as I get back New Zealand. Taco was tasty. This spot was a great lunchtime find fill of locals.

Not the most fanciest place but the service is good and the tacos… Omg!!! Excellent. Incredible prices, i can’t believe we spend less that $ 20.00

OK, I’ve got to say something. Judging from the one time I ate here a little over a week ago, the food is awesome. Fresh ingredients, made to order, great salsa bar.
However for me the problems simply outweigh these positives. As many others have said, it takes way too long to get food here, especially if you’re limited to a lunch hour or less. It took around a half an hour for two gorditas to come out of the kitchen, and there were hardly any other tables occupied in the place.
Others have also made comments indicating the service was rude, and judging from what I just experienced I would tend to agree. I just called hoping to order lunch to go. I figured calling ahead was wise from my previous experience; Even their menu says «Please call ahead for take out orders» (found a picture of it online).
So I was a little taken aback when I called, it rang for a half-​ring, and then the line was disconnected. I figured oh well, they dropped the phone or pushed the wrong button or whatever, and called back. This time, it rang three times and was picked up by an answering machine with the default message. Irritating. I double checked the phone number on another site online, waited a few minutes and called back: answering machine!
So, Papi’s ALMOST had another loyal customer, which, from last time, it looks like they could seriously use.
Advice to «Papi»: During lunch hour, if the phone rings, it’s probably someone who wants to order food from your establishment. If you can’t take the call at the moment, at least pick up the phone and ask if the caller can hold! I would have held on for a bit. It would have been way better than being hung up on.
So peace out, Papi. Guess I’m ordering from next door.

Don’t come here. They’re racist. The main guy who works here thinks he’s funny or being endearing with his comments but he’s just being racist. Whether the food was good or bad, it didn’t matter anymore. It left a bad impression on the whole town.
The doorway also smells like urine.

Fresh made to order. Yummy! friendly family owned.
Tacos, burritos, and enchiladas all delicious.
I’m going to try the torta next time everyone was eating it and it looked good.

Came here for dinner while spending the night in El Paso Robles. Saw the reviews and figured 90 Unilocalers couldn’t be wrong and you weren’t. Very good Mexican food! Being from Los Angeles County originally, I think I got a good grip on good Mexican food and Papi’s is good. From the moment I walked in, I was greeted both in Spanish and English. The young Man handed me a couple of menus and told me when I was ready to order he would help me.
Food took a few minutes to come out, but that’s because it’s made to order. In the mean time, we enjoyed the salsa bar. Warning, red is hot, orange is not far behind… Fuego! Price for the food was pretty good, not over priced. After finishing our dinner, I walked up to the cook and told him thank you. He remembered my name and thanked me for coming. Did the same to the other customers, but not all by name. His nice and polite manners probably keeps a lot of customers coming back. Oh, and of course the food. When in El Paso Robles, try this little establishment out, I think you’ll enjoy it. Thank you Papi’s, I’ll be back one day. Don’t change the food quality, keep it real