Chili Pepper Cafe

It was excellent Mexican cuisine
Waitress was so friendly and quick. Definitely go back

Love this little place. Queso is the BEST and have not found anything like it anywhere. Eat here every single time we're in the area.

Simply cannot believe this place has 4.8 stars. Have never had rice and re-fried beans this bad. Actually kind of in awe, especially of the rice, because someone had to work really really hard to make it that bad. First, by letting it sit out to get nice and dry and then, as a finishing touch, frying it until it is slightly burned in addition to dry. Seriously, it took effort to make rice this bad.

The cook who made the re-fried beans must be an understudy to the rice cook. Re-fried beans are supposed to be smooth. That's their defining quality - a smooth paste with just enough solidity to stick to a fork. When they are mixed with pintos, the pintos should be like nuggets of structure in the fluidity and smoothness of the re-fried. Not these beans. They were dry. As in crumble with your fingers dry. Dried mud dry.

Beef Picadillo is supposed to be sauteed onions, tomatoes, jalapenos, and chunks of steak, with sauteed being the defining characteristic of this Mexican dish. The sauteing brings out the flavors and mixes them so that the steak is seasoned by the caramelization of the onions and smokiness and spice of the jalapenos. Well, the onions were under-cooked, while the jalapenos were not cooked at all. Not even the seeds were taken out. Someone just cut up some peppers and tossed them on the plate. And there must have been a very serious shortage of tomatoes. No big surprise, then, that the steak chunks had no flavor... Luckily, salt is on every table.

The Mexican plate was a little better. Well, after liberal application of aforementioned salt to the taco, to the tamale, and to the enchiladas. There was a fascinating hint of Thanksgiving turkey stuffing to the enchilada sauce, however, while the rice and beans were again raccoon food. Well, depending on how hungry the raccoon is...

The rib-eye was OK. I guess even the worst cooks in Texas still have enough personal dignity not to completely ruin a piece of beef. A liberal application of salt was still required as there did not seem to be any seasoning whatsoever on the steak itself.

This sounds like a one star review so far, doesn't it? So how come I am giving two? For two reasons. First, the Nachos Grande were either actually good or we were too hungry to have perspective after skipping lunch on a long hike in the park. Second, the Margaritas were honestly good. Both of them. So, two stars.

If you are looking for a place worth 4.8 stars, turn West and look for Rio Bravo on your left. A little Mexican place where the Spanish rice is rich, moist, and flavorful, where the beans are creamy and delicious, where the Picadillo is sauteed as it should be, and where you will pay 1/2 the amount of the Chili Pepper for food that is authentic and delicious. And, you can bring your own beverages.

The best place for hot salsa if you incline that way, we visited in 2006 and till date no one makes salsa like that!!! endorphins galore if you dare to :P...

Delicious food and homey restaurant near Big Bend. My husband is vegetarian and was worried about options but the kind server even told him the sauces, rice, and refried beans are veg friendly which showed they know what vegetarian means. The vegetable enchiladas were so good with several vegetables inside, my husband said even better than those back home in Dallas! I had the crispy chicken wrap which was good too. Fresh food, great and attentive service, and laid back atmosphere, would come back!

3 steak tacos plate with a ice cold Mexican Coke. Great service. $ RV friendly. Loved the atmosphere. Food was 👍

Been here twice now - both times, it was a Monday (so NOTHING else was open and it was the only available restaurant in town) and the food was.... eh. It was okay. We had 6 people total and the only good plates were the club sandwich (very good, my spouse said) and the special at the time, which was tacos el pastor... but the onions and cilantro on top were sparse and wilted, and it really wasn't worth the price. Tamales were no good - hardly any filling. Ground beef tacos were like something out of a box. Most plates don't even come with rice and beans - you have to order it a la carte. Salsa was good - very hot.

The service was rough... One server trying to handle the whole place. She did as good as she could with such a dysfunctional restaurant, but she was clearly very frustrated. Not-good vibes between front of house and kitchen. Drink orders took a really long time. Food took a long time. Server tried her best, but kitchen doesn't seem to function very well.

Won't be going back unless I'm forced to find somewhere to eat on a Sunday /Monday again.

Food was delicious, I had the red chili pork
Beans and rice were just right and great tortillas.
The salsa was Excellent!
Tea also good
Staff good
No chips and salsa was the only thing I kinda wish I could had.
Other than that it was great!

We loved this place! The food was excellent and the service was great! This restaurant made our breakfast experience in Terlingua memorable. Oh.. they have the best bacon!

The waiter was extremely rude as soon as we walked in. We didn’t notice the sign instructing it was self seating, he says very rudely “the sign says seat yourselves”. When I was ordering I kindly asked him to repeat a question and his reaction was aggressive and condescending. I told him in a calm manner his approach made me uncomfortable, his response was “we’re busy and us people in Terlingua don’t care if we make you uncomfortable”. The restaurant only had one other small table being served. We were clearly not welcome there and the interaction was so off putting to the point we decided to get up and leave. When I tell my friends and family about our visit to Terlingua I will specifically tell them all of the restaurants are great aside from Chilli Pepper Cafe, avoid eating there unless you enjoy interacting with unfriendly people. BTW the owners of The Little Dipper food truck down the road were pleasant and their food was great!