Carlos & Pepe’s was founded in January 1979. Our objective was to develop an authentic Mexican restaurant that catered to the ‘Gringo” taste. We have always used nothing but the finest and freshest ingredients that can be found. In a few rare instances where a certain product wasn’t available, we would temporarily take the item off the menu rather than substitute something of lesser quality or perhaps a canned item. As an example, we only use King Crab meat in our nachos and enchiladas and have never substituted a lesser product such as snow crab. Our salsa is made with fresh tomatoes and even when tomato prices reached record highs, we refused to substitute canned tomatoes even though it would have saved a fortune in food costs.
Familiar Mexican fare with some American touches plus margaritas served in relaxed, strip-mall digs. Based on 974 reviews, the restaurant has received a rating of 4.1 stars. Price $$
✔️ Dine-in ✔️ Takeout ✔️ No-contact delivery
Address:
1302 SE 17th St, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316
Phone: (954) 467-8335
Social Profile: 
Hours
| Saturday | 11:30 AM–10 PM |
| Sunday | 12–9 PM |
| Monday
(Labor Day)
|
Closed |
| Tuesday | 11:30 AM–9 PM |
| Wednesday | 11:30 AM–9 PM |
| Thursday | 11:30 AM–9 PM |
| Friday | 11:30 AM–10 PM |
Menu
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Photo Gallery
Reviews
Amber Machado
Had a great evening and experience at Carlos and Pepes. We sat at the bar and before we sat down, we were immediately greeted and asked if we wanted fresh chips and salsa. The staff was so friendly and attentive. We loved the bartender, Lauren “LG”. She had a great personality and made great drinks. Margarita pictures. Yum!
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Reed Kirsch
Tacos Al Carbon were delicious. Refried beans and rice were good nothing crazy. Service was good. Kinda slow but I get it, because they aren’t a busy restaurant so they can’t truly staff it correctly. All around a pretty good experience.
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Adam Wilson
We had a very good lunch here but it was a bit empty because we eating at 3pm. Service was excellent but we were the only table. Margaritas and food were very good, chips are ok and salsa wasn’t my favorite. But the decor is excellent and it is a nice cozy place to be. I would eat here again.
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Elizabeth Scheuer-Murphy
Came here for dinner. The salsa that came with the chips was excellent. We did end up waiting for over an hour for our food. We had the chimichanga and tamales and burritos. It was all very good. We did order the Mexican fondue. Not what we expected. It was melted cheese in a sauce. It was not blended. They gave up homemade tortilla shells with it loved those.
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Renee K. Quinn
Delicious Margaritas, Nachos & Sizzling Fajitas since 1979! A go to for traditional Mexican fare.
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OG Jewcy
I hadn’t been here for about 10 years & happened to be craving authentic Mexican food, so I stopped by. The food, margarita, & service (even at the bay) were superb! I will be going back with my family & friends very soon!
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Leanne K Porter
We have been going for over 30 years, basically before we were married. Server was great, but food was huge disappointment. Portion were half of what they used to be. Barely any cheese on super nachos. Both the beef and chicken in the burritos was tasteless. The fried ice cream was basically a scope of ice cream with corn flakes on top and a spoon of hot fudge. My husband and son ordered same cocktail, they came in two different glasses. One had twice as much as other. Who is mixing their drinks? Time to find a New Mexican Restaurant! Sad but a legend is gone.
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David Stanton
Used to have this restaurant on our weekly rotation for last 10+ years, but now down to about 2 times a month or less. Just visited last night (post-ownership changes) and although many of the same service people are there which is great, we saw quite a decline in the quality of the food and had to wait almost an hour for it to be delivered (pretty simple entrees too). Not sure what is going on, but I know there are more seasoned regulars who are not going to like this if they experienced what we did. Management, take a look around at your most loyal customers and remember why they frequent your place, we know it isn’t cheap mexican food or drinks, it’s for great quality and service. Don’t give us another reason to go back to Rocco’s or elsewhere. I’m already missing Karen’s margaritas, just having to say the last sentence.
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Jeff
What a fabulous surprise Carlos and Pepe’s was. We were staying at the Embassy Suites and wanted to find a place we could walk to. Our server greeted us at the door with a friendly welcome and smile. Jenica recommended the black bean salad and tacos. The black bean salad, with chicken, was fantastic. It was served in a homemade, fried tortilla bowl. Lots of wonderful flavors. We also ordered the chicken quesadilla. Again, the flavors were fantastic. Service was excellent and would highly recommend stopping here for a bite. We will definitely be back the next time we are in town
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Barbara Clendenen
We have been long time customers of Carlos and Pepes. My niece is visiting from out of state so we took her last night as she loves Mexican food. What a disappointment. They are no longer making the Cobb salad. My husband and niece’s food came out cold. The once huge portions have been drastically cut. Even the tacos are smaller and almost no meat in them. The beef nachos that are supposed to have spicy beef had flavorless ground beef instead. I had bragged on the fried ice cream. I was shocked when it came out…much smaller than a few weeks ago, only the top was coated the crispy flakes, and there couldn’t have been more than a spoonful of fudge on it. What a difference from our last visit a couple of weeks ago. The server was wonderful and kept apologizing. Sadly, we won’t be back.
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