I stop here every time I'm in Paso. Great little family-run place with good, fresh food and great salsa. Don't come here often enough to know how it "was" but will post again after my next visit. For me it's an easy choice if I'm in the area. read more

Friendly service...a tad slow. A little bit high in price for what you get but not too bad. The food is very tasty. We both had shrimp...I had camarones a la diabla and my friend had the camaranoes al mojo de ajo...mine was better. The sauce was so good...but not spicy enough for my taste. Actually none of their salsas were hot enough. But it was still really good and left us happy and full. read more

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 2nd 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 senorita adentro dijo que no habrian hasta las 11. Haci no se have buen negocio y regresan clientes. Que lastima porque no regresare read more

Fish tacos grilled fresh, all the trimmings. Not a fancy spot but great food and friendly service. Recommended for fish taco lovers!

I'm no expert of Mexican food...but Papis hit the spot. A friend of mine and I were driving from Los Angeles to San Jose and decided to stop by for lunch. Papi's was a perfect choice given it's distance from LA and San Jose. My friend and I both ordered the chicken enchiladas which is served with a side of rice and beans. The entire dish came out piping hot (although it took FOREVER) which cheese smothered over the top. I opted for the chicken enchiladas with the green sauce and it was delicious. The beans were probably cooked with lard and bacon grease...but they were so yummy (hey...it's not often that I take a road trip up north - I can afford a bit of lard). I do have to agree with the other yelp reviews in that I would have expected a little more of the salsa bar. Some of the salsas looked discolored, which was a sign that it had been sitting out for a while and wasn't fresh. Given the several hour drive ahead of me...with no good place to stop for a bathroom...I opted not to smother my dish with the salsa (when I normally would have). Overall...the food was pretty good. I'll definitely be stopping in again on my next road trip. Food - Not bad. Service - What service? read more

Aways good, great verde buritos and fabulous salsa bar read more

Papi's - Mexican Near Me - Paso Robles, California

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. read more

Papi's - Crab enchiladas. Tasted liked canned crab, not fresh. - Mexican Near Me - Paso Robles, California

Ok. Sooooo.... I've been going here for many years because the food is delicious. However, I'm finally pushed to do a review because the service is horrible. Every time I order by phone (because it takes 45 min to an hour to get one single meal on a lunch hour) they literally say they didn't get the order or they simply just don't start making it until you show up, leaving me to wiat the 45/1hr either way. It is BEYOND frustrating as this has gone on for years but because the owner is nice and the food is good I have put up with these constant issues. Mind you, it does not have to be busy for these things to happen. I have been the only person in the restaurant with 4 people working and have waited 45 min for a to go order that was put in 45 min before I arrived. So it takes 1.5 hours to get one meal. I hate to complain but if I don't, I don't see how they will ever get better and it's the only truly authentic Mexican in the area. I just walked out, yet again, with no meal because they don't know who answered the phone or who took the order just 20 minutes ago. Good luck with the service and make sure to leave yourself 2 hours to eat here, take out or dine in. read more

I love the tortas and burritos from here. Everytime it is delicious. If you call ahead it beats the long wait for the delicious food. Thank you for being an awesome restaurant for the locals and tourists. Cheers to many more tortas! read more

The food is pretty good but the owner/cook/server is a dud. the worst part is you can never depend on which days of the week or times of the day he will be open. Well...I hear the restaurant is now permanently closed. read more

If you want authentic mexican food, this is the place! First time there and the owner is amazing! Knows how to make you laugh, goes out their way to make sure its how you like it. Could not have been more satisfied. Great stop read more

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 read more

Papi's - Outside - Mexican Near Me - Paso Robles, California

This is my favorite place in town. When I want good food and I'm not looking for surprises Papi's is the place I go. I know the food is good and can rely on the cook to offer good conversation. read more

I am surprised this place has 4 stars. The service was very poor, none of the salsas were good, and the food was mediocre. We will not be back. We were very disappointed read more

This place is a gem! My sister and I were traveling north on the 101 from Santa Barbara to San Jose. We decided to pull off in Paso Robles for dinner and picked Papi's solely based on a craving for mexican and their close proximity to the freeway. What a happy accident - the food was sooo delicious! My sis had nachos with steak and I had a delicious, perfectly browned shredded beef quesadilla. Staff was friendly and service was quick as well. Highly recommended! read more

We came here because of its reputation, and were pleased. The service was really friendly, and the waitress and cook were making jokes when we were there. The cook that works there is the same one from 2000, and they have photos up of when they opened. The food itself was pretty good... We had the Pescado Frito which was fantastic. The only bad side is that we were waiting for at least 45 minutes, so prepare to wait a while read more

Great service. Got our food fast and everyone was very friendly. We ate on the patio, a perfect spot for our dog to join us! read more

Papi's - Chance our dog was waiting for us to drop him a bite! Yummy shrimp tacos and assada torta - Mexican Near Me - Paso Robles, California

What fantastic food! had a chicken enchilada and beef taco. Wow...it was so great. The enchilada was hot and not heavy spicy. the taco was shredded beef and delicious. Service was great and the price point was great. I will definitely eat here again! read more

This place just moved down the street from my work and I could not be happier! I got the tamale beans and rice plate and it was absolutely amazing! The beans and rice taste so good individually and even better together. Not to mention how nice and soft my tamale was with just the right amount of meat. 5/5 would eat again read more

It's reopened on 14th st. Just east of spring st. Soooo happy!!! Getting an amazing torta tonight!

We tried Papi's for the first time. Food was good. Nothing out of the ordinary. Our main concern was the restaurant was not clean. Dirty Dishes piled up everywhere. Floor, walls and tables also dirty. Also seemed like they were short staffed. read more

The food is great, portions and pricing are good, but the place is dirty. This restaurant would be so much better if they just swept/mopped the floors and cleaned the salsa bar! There is so much potential for this restaurant to be even better (the food is great), but the cleanliness issue is holding it back! read more

Moving from Los Angeles to Templeton, I have struggled to find true ethnic food akin to what I could find in Southern California. Today, I walked into Papi's Tacos & Gorditas, a modest establishment located in the heart of Paso Robles and fell in love. Honestly, it's very rare that I can feel the love put into food. I'm not saying I can't find passion or haven't had great food. But, it's rare that I'll take a bite out of something and just feel the love. Papi's is one of those places where I can feel it. I had the Gorditas Papi's Super Lunch Special (which was 1 Gordita with Rice and Beans) for $5.95. Then, I added a Sope for $2.95. Such a reasonable price!!!! At first, I was a little concerned because my order was taking so long. But, as soon as I took a bite of it, I realized why. This wasn't just assembly line Mexican food. This was homemade and wonderful and all cooked by Papi himself! Honestly, I cannot wait to go back to Papi's...which I'm almost thinking I might do tonight or tomorrow. LOL! read more

I just have to say this place has some of the best food . A must have is the hamburgers. YES hamburgers in a Mexican Restaurant . So if you would like the best hamburgers in Paso .GO TO Papi's read more

My son and me have eaten there several times and the food is outstanding!!! The owner/chef knows his business. Variety is great and from the number of people in rest. you know it is great!!! Everything is prepared from scratch with fresh ingredients, you will have to wait, but well worth it!!! Also a nice assortment of condiments and nicely air conditioned for the summer heat. Truly, the best Mexican food that I have had in 81 years. Clifford R. Den Otter read more

Papi's is the perfect neighborhood taqueria! We've been coming here for years, and have never received anything but delicious, authentic food. 5 stars all day!! read more

Food was cold. Noticed several people who ordered after me got their food before I received mine. Is it because they were Spanish speaking and I was not? That's the only difference I could tell. Also I had a small, easy order(1 bean,rice and cheese burrito) while others were getting full dinner plates. So if you speak Spanish I guess you'll get great service, otherwise you may want to avoid this place. read more

I remember how good Papi's used to be, about 20 years ago when I was still in school. Now it is terrible. After 1 or 2 times of getting my order wrong, we went into the new location. What a S**t show! They had a dishwasher taking orders that could not understand English, then when the owner came to help.. they still got it completely wrong and the bill was wrong. Asked them to fix it..waited15 more mins, guess what, the exact same thing came out. Sad, cause I used to love this place now it's an embarrassment. read more

Always great, sometimes amazing. Consistently friendly and helpful. Best salsa bar of any restaurant experienced. Get the California burrito. read more

Thee worst Mexican food ever!!! No flavor at all! Reviews are 100% misleading!!! Just left this restaurant to never return!. Not ever one star! read more

This is the place to go for great food and easy on the wallet. Why do we have to write so much about a particular place. Yelp sucks.

I ate here a lot a few years ago but moved away. I am now back again and cannot wait to get some Carnitas for Papi's! The best around. I have enjoyed everything on the menu (Carnitas as my choice of meat). It is unusual for me to walk in and almost have to make a game of which menu item I will choose. Everything is amazing! read more

This was one of the worst experiences I have ever had, mostly because the staff (specifically the girl behind the counter on 3/23/13) chose to handle it so poorly. After my wife ordered Huevos Rancheros, and waited quite a long time to receive it, what was delivered to us was some sort of chile verde type plate, very obviously NOT huevos rancheros.... When she took it back to the counter, complaining that her huevos rancheros had pork in it, and that this didn't seem like huevos rancheros, the girl behind the counter became upset, telling my wife "chile verde has pork!" and "you ordered chile verde!" Standing beside my wife as she ordered, I can indeed confirm that she ordered huevos rancheros. My wife HATES pork with a fiery passion and would never ever ever EVER order something with pork in it. Did I mention my wife hates pork? Ok, to continue... After arguing with the girl to remake her the correct dish, the cook jumps in saying "I'll fix it I'll fix it!" which was great, because I feel like that girl was going to do nothing other than tell us we ordered something that we didn't instead of saying: "sorry miss, I must have misunderstood you. We'll get those huevos rancheros right out to your table." I have worked in a restaurant for 13 years, and the reason you don't go popping off at customers every time something goes wrong is because very often it is YOUR FAULT, and you don't realize this until it is TOO late. You error on the side of caution and smile and say, "I'll fix that for you, no problem." You don't jump right to the: "damn these customers are crazy!" conclusion. Anyway, after waiting, again, for quite a while, I had already finished my food, and my wife was getting angry. She decided she was over it, and went up to the girl at the counter to get her money back so we could leave and continue on with our day. This is the best part: The woman at the counter says: "Why don't you go and drink more wine! Drink more wine! Drink more wine!" Because we're in Paso Robles, on vacation, we must be drunk. Yes, we're drunk tourists who have made a special effort to come to Papi's Mexican food for lunch to harass this poor girl about her huevos rancheros. This is a great way for your business to treat people, and made the rest of our vacation feel quite fantastic, thank you. read more

From the street this place doesn't look like much, but the smell of fresh tortillas brought us in. Being from LA, there are thousands of choices when you want Mexican... and this place is absolutely on par with the best! I have to recommend the shrimp enchiladas. The sauce is homemade and I'm not reluctant to say that it's the best I've ever had. Great job, guys! read more

Outstanding tacos - the best I've had in north county. The carnitas are rich, flavorful and not for the faint of heart. Other meat selections have all been good to excellent. The salsa bar is loaded with terrific house made salsas. Re: Kelly H's comment about cleanliness, maybe it's not sparkling clean but it's fine. It mostly just looks worn. I've eaten there at least half a dozen times and never had the slightest issue. Keep in mind, this is a casual place where you order at the counter and get your name called. read more

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! read more

We stopped here while on vacation in cambria. I had asked a local if there was any good mexican nearby. He said "the only good one is in Paso Robles". So, of course the next day we drove 30 mins to Paso. The place is a hole in the type place (the best kind). My wife ordered the flautas, She loved them. My daughter had a quesadilla and i ordered chilaquiles. The Chilaquiles were awesome.. good and spicy, just how I like them. The staff was very friendly, and made sure to ask if everything was cooked to order. Make sure you order a michilada when you eat here.. they make them perfect!!!! read more

Good weekday crowd at Paso at lunchtime, so we thought we'd give it a try. Hard to mess up basic Mexican fare, right? Well, actually it's pretty easy, if you're heavy-handed on the salt, which is how I'd describe nearly everything we tried! Even the roasted pepper salsa, beautiful deep glowing red--too much salt! Yech! I should be able to taste the smokiness, not the salt. The chili verde burrito, same thing. Bite in, first thing I taste is ... salt! Pretty close to totally ruining an otherwise savory verde. Borderline inedible. Finished about half, had to chase it with a glass of water and a LOT of salsa fresca. Too bad! Service: friendly, good energy. Presentation: hey, it's a burrito, but fine. Composition: perfect combo of verde, some rice, and a small amount of homemade beans. Wait time: not bad, considering small kitchen and size of crowd. Toppings: half-dozen salsas, cilantro, sliced radishes (not pickled), decent selection (except for SALT overdose killing at least one otherwise beautiful salsa). Good salsa fresca (saved the burrito, somewhat). If you go, ASK FIRST to try the sauces/food you want to order. If you can taste the salt, try something else or go somewhere else. I hope the chef reads this review, as the easiest way to kill a dish is with too much salt. Such a BASIC thing! There's a few foods where I like to taste the salt upfront, such as chips, but if I can taste it in the dish on top of the other flavors, it's been ruined, in my opinion. Caveat Emptor! Sample First! read more

Came in on a Saturday afternoon around 3PM and they were pretty busy. They had an AMAZING salsa bar, which boasted nothing but yumminess. Bummer though, found out after ordering that chips are an extra cost and not complimentary:( went up and ordered; chips were overcooked, and a bummer that they werent on the house after ordering 4 meals and 3 sodas. The plates are on trays that you pick up at the counter. In trying to remove the plates from the trays, 2 of the people in my party badly burnt their fingers. When they asked the employees for pot holders, they were instructed to use napkins. Kind of ghetto, would be nice to have something to safely remove plates from tray to table, as I could see a potential for serious burns. The food was super tasty, but their tacos are quite a bit smaller than other restaurants I have been to, so id recommend ordering 1 extra than you are accustomed to. read more

Real authenticity to this place. I'm used to paying peanuts for quality Mexican food, so it costs a bit more, but its still inexpensive compared to the area. Tortas, gorditas with chile verde hits a comfort food spot, carne asada taco are recommended. Reminds me of spots in Queretaro, Mexico where locals lunch, not the tourists. read more