Don Pablos

Good TexMex place, sure glad to see it. South Jersey needs some kind of flavor. It has been our little hang out spot for Mexican food.

Came with a friend one night and had a terrible experience. I love Tex-​Mex and Mexican food, and beings that this is the only game in town anymore (man I miss Chi-Chi’s), I finally decided to try it out.
Wow, was I disappointed. Food and drinks took forever to get to us. we waited almost an hour for food. and when they finally did manage to get it out to us, it was cold, looked and tasted like it had been nuked in the microwave, and just was not appetizing at all. It wasn’t even busy so I’m not sure what the excuse could have been.
Waitress paid us no attention and never even got asked if we would like refills on our drinks or if we were enjoying our food. Had to track her down just to get our bill. I probably won’t return for quite a while.

I have been to this location many times over several years and sadly, I feel that it has declined in service and quality. I had lunch at Don Pablos today and was seated right in view of the kitchen. First thing that bothered me was that my menu had dried salsa all over it! Not a huge deal so I moved on. Our chips and salsa were brought out to us, and a few chips in I notice a short black hair in the chips. I immediately looked up to the kitchen and noticed that none of the staff that was cooking and preparing meals were wearing gloves or hair nets. We got our meals in a timely matter and i discovered another hair in my taco salad. The food is ‘eh’ to begin with but I completely lost my appetite. As my friends were finishing their meals, I was looking around and noticed how dusty and and dirty the place looked. I’m not super picky about this kind of stuff, but I’m not sure I enjoy hair and dust so close to my food.

First timer, last timer. I thought this would be a family friendly place. NOT Next time I want to adventure out with my 8 children (all under the age of 13), me and hubby better try it out first. It seems to be very popular because the waiting area never stopped flooding with people.
FOOD– was tasteless– salt nor pepper helped. Everything seemed to be a little spicy for my children and even me. My children wanted french fries. I had to ask our waitress were they still picking them out the ground.-she compensated for that though.
BATHROOM– filthy, nasty, dirty

I ordered special which was Chicken and Cheese enchiladas. I should have gone with a more expensive option. As this was the «all you can eat» it was definitely second rate. The chicken was canned! If you cannot grill/​cook fresh chicken you do not deserve to have a restaurant. I will not eat here again — too crowded and the food is not good enough to wait for.

I don’t understand why this place only averages 3 stars… If you’re looking for a decent place to grab something to eat that’s affordable with a family check Don Pablos out. With four people ordering entrees and sharing an appetizer we normally average around $ 45 which isn’t bad considering the portion sizes. The free chips and salsa come non-​stop and the food tastes great every time. The corn spoon bread is amazing and a must have every time we go. The service is generally great although it can get slow at times as this place gets busy. Then again, if a place isn’t busy and packed it usually means the food isn’t good.

I’ve been here many, many times and I always ask for pork fajitas (not the carnitas). The fajitas are really delicious, although not every menu item is a sure thing. Definitely get the spoonbread as your side, it’s so good I have tried to replicate it at home.
They have really great drink prices and drinks. You can share a generous pitcher of Sangria (my favorite) or Margarita (my husband’s favorite) for under 20.00.
Don Pablo’s is kind of loud, due to an open floor plan and extremely high warehouse style ceiling. Great for kids, and even your loud toddler will fit in. Also nice for a boisterous group. It’s not a quiet dinner.

Connor was an awesome server, had a wonderful singing voice, and a great hair cut to top it off. For starters we had the nachos. Might I say muy bien fantastico!!! I’m serious– out of this world. Heaping scoop of guacamole on top of a mountain of nachos. Then for my entrée I had the burrito bowl. Wow didn’t think it could get better after the nachos… guess what… I thought wrong! The chicken was cooked to perfection. Then our cutie patootie of a server brought us out fried ice cream– hit the spot! Thanks Connor. !! We’ll be back before you can say ‘ayyeeee que lindo’

Subpar Mexican food especially for a sit down restaurant. Portions are the typical big portions expected but quality was lacking. At or below taco bell quality on the day we ate here. Big building and fun atmosphere. They also have all you can eat specials most weekdays. Haven’t done it but guessing the quantity compensates for the quality.

Right now, as I am writing this, there are 2 unsupervised children pulling coins out of the fountain. These rapscallions and future pirates are stealing the hopes and dreams of millions of Americans everywhere. Seriously. The benefits go to people who suffer from Leukemia.
I hope you’re happy, parents. I hope you’re happy.
The food was good though.

We walked in at 5minutes before closing and the only inconvenience was no rice. No big deal. Place is super cool! Ambient is on point and décor and music is Mexican. Some of the staff is Mexican too so definitely authentic. Their seasoned fries are awesome. Drinks are priced better than bars and clubs. They should keep bar open later.
Food was delicious very satisfied.
Waiter was perfect. Energy level was perfect.

I went here last night after I read on Unilocal that it was open until 11pm. The bartender told me that Unilocal was wrong and she gave us last call immediately for food and drinks, which was fine I was in a hurry anyway, but what she neglected to do was actually give us service. At all. She was focused on cleaning and didn’t ask how our food and drinks were. She huffed and puffed like we were an inconvenience for being there so close to closing time. I am a bartender and I know that sometimes you can get someone 5 minutes before closing (we were there 25 minutes before closing). I give everyone, even last minute guests the best service they deserve. I was extremely disappointed. I used to love this place.

Drove up here with my friends from Philadelphia because one of them wanted to go. It was adequate have had better. I got the enchiladas which were ok and the drinks weren’t too bad… not worth another trip from Philadelphia at least anytime soon!

Stopped by around 8pm yesterday (Good Friday 2015). Hoped to get some awesome margaritas and maybe hang out for awhile with the girlfriend.
Walked in and looked around the bar — 5 dirty tables.
When the 3 hostesses asked «how many in our party?» We said «two, but we just wanted to sit in the bar area». All 3 of the hostesses proceeded to laugh at us and say «it’s self-​seat», as if we were idiots.
Well, we would’ve loved to self-​seat, but all of the «open seats» were dirty — again, I repeat 5 dirty stations and it didn’t look like anyone was coming around anytime soon.
We proceeded to wait about 10 more mins, as each of the busers took their time — 1 picked up stuff from 2 tables, then walked away, another came by and picked up some stuff and walked away. We waited about 5 more mins and finally the last and final buser came by to wipe down the table.
***THANK GOODNESS WE KEPT OUR ORIGINAL RESERVATIONS AT BONEFISH GRILL — after drinking our margaritas, we left and I DOUBT we will ever come back***

Good price. friendly service. .good portions. American Mex… we like it. .family atmosphere and you won’t get killed with the check :-) recommended indeed. .yummy.

Food was typical Don Pablos food — same as 10 years ago. Pretty good! Prices have gone way up. $ 11 for a combo plate with two enchilladas, rice, and beans is crazy! You can get that for less anywhere else.
The house margarita was very good. Service was also great — our waitress was so nice. This location looks like most other ones and has tons of tables so the wait wasn’t long for a Friday night when we went.
Only 2 stars because the restaurant was gross. The dining area was jank — maybe update the interior? It looks the same as 10 years ago. Food all over the floor. Bathrooms are NASTY. Literally worse than a college bar. Don’t think Don Pablos is for me anymore, needs a serious update and better maintenance. There’s way better Mex restaurants/​chains to remain mediocre.

I always have fun at Don P’s. I have been frequenting this place since around 2005.
It doesn’t feel like a typical chain restaurant like an Applebee’s or the like. There is always a great atmosphere and the music is wonderful. The staff there is always friendly and even on the busiest nights, your wait is surprisingly short.
They have streak tacos that are amazing and they also serve a corn cake mash that is alone well worth the visit.
What like the most about this place is that while the music is played loudly, it sets a perfect pitch and atmosphere that makes you talk closer and be more attentive to whoever you’re with, which makes it a perfect first date dinner place.
In addition to the great atmosphere, they always have great deals. For example, a certain menu item maybe on discount depending on the day of the week you visit. And although they have a bar, it never gets rowdy or out of hand.
I recommend the appetizer nachos.

My boyfriend and I arrived at Don Pablo’s at 5:45 on Saturday night. We were told the wait was 30 minutes– awesome. After 45 minutes passed, we checked in with the hostess again. «Oh, you had a faulty buzzer». No apology, no coming to find us, nothing. The manager took us to our table, again no apology– just explained that this happens a lot.
After being seated, our server came 15 minutes later for our drink order. No introduction, just «What do you want to drink.» After ordering a margarita and beer, we waited another 10 minutes for our drinks to arrive.
I regret our appetizer of flauetas or whatever they are called. Frozen taquitos that were rock hard when they arrived at my table. After the appetizer, it took 35 minutes for our entrees to reach the table. My boyfriends was cold and mine was incorrect. After already being in this restaurant for over 2 hours, we had enough. The waiter saw we were frustrated and took one meal off the bill. Terrible service, terrible food, terrible management. First and last visit for us!

I know this is a chain, but it is also a buisness. I went here on Nov 5^th for a baby reveal party. There was 7 of us. We arrived at 7:00 and got seated within a few minutes. We ordered our food by 7:15 maybe 7:20…fast forward to 7:55…still no food and the waitress hasn’t been back since…2 minutes later the waitress comes back and says we ran out of queso… i asked well three of us have queso in our meal will this be an issue? 15 minutes later… she brings our food out… i ordered the border dip and magically they had a bowl full of slop, the nachos were rubbery and soggy, and all of a sudden they found more queso.
I complained on don pablos website, the GM called me the next day which was friday thr 7^th… and apologized and said I will put coupons in the mail today… it is now ¹¹⁄₁₄ and still nothing.

My family ate here 8 hours ago and I am JUST getting back a tiny bit of an appetite. We were all craving Mexican food and were in the area so stopped at Don Pablo’s.
First the host seemed annoyed when we requested a booth, my 2 year old sits best in a booth and when he is happy, we are all happy! He dropped off menus at our table and basically ran away without making sure the table was ready with plates and silverware. We waited 10 mins for a waitress to approach us.
After our orders were placed the service was extremely slow. I wish I would have timed it but we got there around 2pm and didn’t get our food until 2:50 ish.
Now to the food. My chicken quesadillas were incredibly greasy and pretty flavorless. My daughters corn dog was lukewarm and the hot dog was basically gray. My son got a «small» order of chicken fingers with fries. What he got was two tiny chicken fingers and 100 fries.
The waitress did come back a couple times to check in which was a plus. But when my husband asked to have his appetizer wrapped we had a box thrown on our table. I guess I’m used to our food being wrapped properly.
I was left feeling gross afterwards. Just a bad meal all around, and definitely won’t be coming back when I crave quesadillas!!! :(