Los Pepitos Locos

Great Food! This is not your regular Mexican food. This is also a little healthier than the usual. They put a lot of thinking and pride in their food. Clean, fast and friendly. A lot of made from scratch food.

Just to clarify. This restaurant is not 100% mexican. The chefs and cooks are at varying times mexican and a certain amount of time central american (El Salvador). And when you eat the food you (at least i did) notice right away from the flavour and style that its not mexican food. This was dissapointing to me as i was desirering mexican food. No offense at all to central american food. But when you go to a restaurant and the sign says mexican food. And later you find out its not.
Ill still come back because the el salvadorean/​mexican food is pretty good.

I am wondering if I went to the same place as some of the other people who have reviewed this restaurant. Or maybe I just ordered the wrong item, though it seems like making a pretty good taco wouldn’t be too hard.
I had an order of steak tacos and it was very disappointing. The meat inside the tacos had absolutely no seasoning and was overcooked. The soggy soft taco shells (only single wrapped) fell apart when picking up the taco. While there was enough meat, there was no onions or garlic or peppers or cheese. Amazingly bland.
This meal came with rice and refried beans: tasted like the worst Americanized Mexican food you can imagine. No spices, no texture.
Since I was starving, I ate everything, but I would never go back here again. There is a food cart by my house that has amazing tacos where you can get three flavorful, delicious tacos for less than what I paid at Los Pepitos Locos.
If you like flavorful food that isn’t bland and Americanized in the worst way, I really can’t recommend Los Pepitos Locos.

This place is damn good. Decent prices, friendly staff and great food. I love how avocado and the works are already in their burritos.
A much higher quality alternative to King across the street but not as cheap. Still get a bomb burrito for $ 7 though!
Highly recommend you go here the margaritas are kicking and only $ 5 at happy hour :)

now i’m into the pupupas, so good! worth a visit for that alone. still a friendly place, glad it’s surviving.

Tacos were amazing. The Burrito, not so much. Burrito had no consistency at all (meat was all to one side, all sauces/​sour cream was shoved to the other). The killer for it was the lettuce… Shredded lettuce on a burrito is just a terrible idea. That alone ruined all of the flavor the burrito could have had.
Tacos are worth it though. They were just the right amount of everything

One star because we came for breakfast at 9:30am Friday, August 7^th. The restaurant was closed.

The papusas were amazing, the margaritas were in deceptively large glasses, and the service was awesome. They mentioned being conscientious about not using lard or chicken stock in their beans and rice, how nice. We will be back!

Love this place! The tacos are to die for. So fresh and tasty! The service is great too. The employees are so nice and they really get to know the people who come in. My favorite Mexican spot in north Portland for sure. Check it out! You won’t be sorry ;)

Yum yum yum yum… not fancy, not hip, and Spanish language tv turned up… but really good food. Green chili sauce perfect. Margaritas served in huge glasses with salt and chili powder on the rim. I’d go again and bring friends. From out of town and found this restaurant on Unilocal — would have never found otherwise. Thanks Unilocal

I’ve been stopping by this place since they bought the space more than a year ago. The surprisingly diverse Mexican and Central American dishes on tap have been getting better and better. The setting is informal but clean. Don’t let the copious amount of painted signage on the windows steer you away: most dishes are a step above the quality of bare-​bones cheap Mexican food the place may remind you of. Tonight I had the special chicken in habanero sauce with fresh salad, and it was homemade and very tasty (and the salad had real dark-​leaved lettuce). Prices are very reasonable. The aguas frescas are refreshing but not too sweet.
If you come to this place without pretense or expectations for haute cuisine style Mexican food, you may be pleasantly surprised.
Here’s to hoping that the owners continue their tradition of enlivening their dishes with rich flavor, savory spices, and fresh ingredients!

I came into an empty resturant around 4ish p.m. on Valentine’s Day (Saturday afternoon). First impression the place was clean and smelled clean but not overly clean like someone had dumped a whole bottle of Fabuloso on the floor. The television was blaring quite loudly but to me this is typical of a small establishment of this type. The place seemed inviting with warm colors and plenty of options for seating.
While I was waiting for my bf to show up the host graciously welcomed me to have a seat and promptly brought me crispy chips and salsa. The salsa was mild and had a little cabbage in it. Then he brought me a huge margarita for only $ 5 (see the picture.)
I ordered a pork, bean and cheese pupusa and a carnita sope al la carte (see the picture.) These two items came to under $ 6. The portions were what I would expect (being from Southern California) and there was plenty of fresh crispy lettuce and cheese. The carnitas meat was a bit dry but there was a sauce that was served on the side similar to an enchilada sauce but mellowed out a bit that made the dryness of the meat go away.
My bf had a pastor quesadilla which was also a good size and I believe he paid $ 6. The meat was fantastic and not greasy. It was served with fresh slices of avocado and sour cream.
When the host brought me my second mondo margarita He showed me the breakfast menu which is served Friday, Saturday and Sunday only. I am excited to explore this menu and the size of their breakfast burrito which is $ 4 looks to be just a little short of a baby’s arm.
While we were eating more and more people started to show up of all different backgrounds. This is when I knew that this spot is a hidden local gem which I will visit frequently because it is just down the street. I have not been able to find anything close to this place in terms of flavor and freshness outside of Southern California or Mexico.

The tacos are great. The people that work there are nice. It’s right by my house. It’s open till 10pm. They have beer. What else could I ask for?

If I lived any closer to this joint, it would be in my front yard. Been there twice the last two weeks and plan to often now that we *finally* gave the place a change.
That corner of Baldwin and Lombard has been cursed; this is the third or fourth taco joint in this same location the last five-​six years… and honestly, that made me skeptical. That, and the fact that I don’t see many people in there it took us a while to try it.
Even a shout out from The Oregonian’s Cheap Eats couldn’t convince. Silly us.
It a took a ridiculously long line at the King and some serious hanger to get us through those doors at Los Pepitos… and we’re so thankful!
Sisters and brothers: this place is legit. The carnitas is some serious pork. Tasty and not too greasy. Plus, it was upon a huarache slathered with beans, lettuce, cheese, guacamole, and little sour crème.
I give it a «hellz yeah!»
Get over yourself and give this place a try. I want this place to succeed!

Forget the atmosphere, décor and climate control, this is the real deal. Move over Uno Mas and Mi Mero Mole, there is a new player in the arena.
It is right across the street from our go to Mexican joint (King Burrito) on Lombard. It is a cross between a take out and sit down restaurant with us doing the latter.
We had the Shrimp, Fish, Carnita and Pastor Tacos. They are a little more expensive than some places but the quality is top notch. Our favorite two being the Shrimp and Carnita tacos.
The server and maybe owner was very helpful in our choices and explained everything we didn’t know. He even gave us $ 1.00 off coupons for the next time we come. We can’t wait to try more on the menu. I’m talking to you Mole Rojo.
This is a must try in my book… Unilocaler’s.

We are brand new to the Kenton neighborhood and have been trying different spots in the area to see what’s good. We stopped into Pepitos today (Cinco de Mayo!) because it was close, casual and advertised as inexpensive. I am so glad we did!
I asked Pepe at the counter what was good and he recommended the day’s special. It was a leg and thigh of chicken that had been simmered in a delicious sauce until the meat was falling off the bone; served with a hearty scoop of rice and a simple salad of lettuce, radishes, cucumbers, tomatoes and a super simple lime juice and salt and pepper dressing. My husband had the Locos burrito. Because of Cinco they were doing $ 5.00 margaritas. For the drinks and food our total was $ 24.00. We ordered at the counter, then sat at a table in the window. The décor is unremarkable, but clean and comfortable enough. Big windows for people watching. You could stop in here in your most casual clothing and be perfectly fine.
Pepe brought us out chips and salsa and our huge margaritas. They were incredible! On the rocks with a spicy, smoky, salty rim. My meal was like something very simple, delicious and healthy that you would prepare for yourself. The burrito, which was huge and looked totally average, TASTED delicious. Had we not ordered the margaritas we would have eaten for $ 14 bucks. A steal! My husband couldn’t finish the burrito and brought a large portion of it home.
Inexpensive, comforting, delicious, simple. If this appeals to you, I highly, highly recommend you stop in. I was very sad to see they didn’t have more patrons. I hope they will be successful. I plan to return for certain.
See you there!

I brought my mom here on Easter Sunday (no traditionalists are we!) for lunch and I must say the owner was very friendly, the food was fantastic, and the Horchata was kicking. I had the Mole Chicken and my mother had the fajita plate.
The décor and location are not top notch to be sure, but that adds a bit to the authentic feel of this low key restaurant. If you are in the neighborhood stop on in and you won’t be disappointed.

This is my favorite Portland restaurant now! We are total foodies and this place blew me away. So fresh, so tasty, and the prices are great. I agree that the owner is very friendly, helpful, and gracious. Thank you for coming to North Portland!

Los Pepitos Locos is not an attractive taqueria by a damn sight. It’s dingy and dark, and the overall appearance doesn’t strike me as clean or inviting. The interior décor is atrocious, and the brightly colored paper taped on the windows advertising their tamales and other food choices aren’t going to win any awards; however, this place serves up a pretty damn good bowl of menudo, with all the accoutrements.
They have your typical street tacos on the menu, sans cabeza and lengua, which was disappointing, but not unexpected. The two salsas offered (rojo/​verde) are not particularly hot, and are rather unremarkable, and the tortillas are not made in house. My tacos came out on corn tortillas that had been slapped on the griddle in a puddle of red chorizo grease. In other words, I wouldn’t return for the tacos, but on a rainy day, the menudo hit the spot.
I can’t highly recommend Los Pepitos Locos based on my initial experience. I would give it another shot if I am in the neighborhood and I want a bowl of menudo with crispy tostada shells, but I will more than likely venture a little further toward St. Johns to Taqueria Portland or up Lombard to Javier’s for a far better food offering and presentation of quality and appearance.

The owner of this establishment is the nicest guy. He welcomes you, gives you suggestions of his faves, will hold a friendly conversation with you while you are waiting for your order and so on. Im really big on costumer service and he definitely has it. On to the food the pupusas are excellent, not to greasy, nice and crispy and excellent, flavorful fillings, like carnitas, beans and cheese, or just cheese. I recommend the carnitas. The burritos are larger than your head, if your coming with someone you can share because they are HUGE. Overall i hope to become a regular at this yummy hole in the wall joint.