Don Pablo's Mexican Kitchen provides exactly what it promises on its commercials: good *Tex-Mex* food. We went there last night, and the service was FAST, friendly, and responsive. This restaurant is part of a chain that originated in Texas; although I haven't been to one in Texas, the Don Pablo's in Pgh. ranks right up there with places well-respected Texas chains like On the Border, etc. We ordered chicken quesadillas and chicken flautas, which were both very spicy and flavorful. The chili con queso was mild, but nicely seasoned. The salsa and chips, which are complimentary and come with unlimited refills, were both good as well. The salsa tastes fresher than that of most area restaurants, and the chips were very fresh, and neither too greasy nor salty. By the way, the portions are HUGE! We sat in a patio area off to the side of the main dining room. While the patio area was pleasant, the main dining room seemed kind of loud (it's a very large restaurant). If you're looking for microbrews and trendy Mexican food, then go to Mad Mex. And if you want more authentic Mexican cuisine, then go to Casa Chapala or Fajita Grill. But if you want good Tex-Mex food and friendly service, then try Don Pablo's. As a transplanted Texan, I guess I'm a snob about Mexican food, but I really enjoyed this restaurant. Don Pablo's is located in McIntyre Square off of McKnight Road (near the Olive Garden). The phone number is listed with directory assistance.
Pittsburgh, PA
REVIEW: Don Pablo's Mexican Kitchen
My family and I went there last night as well. I agree with K. Brune's review, if Tex-Mex is what you want - go! My wife, however, felt that it was so-so food, and short on the Tex-Mex authenticity. She is vegitarian, and the menu is not vegetarian friendly (though there are a fair number of seafood dishes). She had a vegetable fajita dish,(the only dish which is vegetables-only, not including the salads) veggies grilled in the style of fajitas -- and that is NOT Tex-Mex. They do have a lot of combination dishes, which IS Tex-Mex. I had the combination plate called "Paco" -pork tamale, chicken enchilada with sour cream sauce (a mixture of sour cream and cheese) and a cheese enchilada with traditional enchilada sauce, all served with mexican rice and refried beans. I enjoyed it, but then I can be happy with "El Fenix", "Ojeda's" "Pappasitos" or "Joe T. Garcia's" (all TexMex places in either Dallas-Fort Worth or Houston areas) (Do any DFW transplants know if Joe T's is still open?) Salsa is good, chips are home-made, price is reasonable (2 adults and a child, no alchohol, no dessert--@ $20). Service is good -- though they did just open last night, and we were team waited on -- our beverages were never empty before a new one was put on the table, and with out our asking for refills -- i wouldn't expect that to last too much longer. Also the wait staff was knowledgable of the menu. Don Pablo's is a kazillion times better than ChiChi's and Chili's, different than MadMex, probably a little better than Cozumel (in Shadyside,the only on I've gone to, and my wife is not real impressed with them either -- they seem to try to do Mex/TexMex with local ingredients, which is a difficult thing to do); we have not been to Casa Chapala nor Fajita Grill.
Excerpts from netnews.pgh.food: 29-Feb-96 REVIEW: Don Pablo's Mexican.. by Philip [email removed] > My family and I went there last night as well. I agree with K. Brune's > review, if Tex-Mex is what you want - go! I went there last night too and definitely agree. The only Mexican restaurant in Pittsburgh that I've found that compares is Fajita Grill and while I find the food quality about the same, Don Pablo's offers more food at lower prices, including all the chips and salsa and drinks that you want. Fajita Grill does have a greater variety of Mexican food on their menu though. A waitress last night told me that they've also opened a restaurant in Monroeville in addition to the one in McIntyre Square, just across from Border's on McKnight Rd. that I visited last night. > She is vegitarian, and the menu is not vegetarian friendly > (though there are a fair number of seafood dishes). She had a vegetable > fajita dish,(the only dish which is vegetables-only, not including the > salads) veggies grilled in the style of fajitas -- and that is NOT > Tex-Mex. While the cheese enchiladas don't include any vegetables, they also don't include any meat and are an excellent deal at $6.50 for three of them with the standard beans, rice, and black beans/vegetables that come with most of their entrees. Entrees are also served with their homemade flour tortillas. I'd like to see more vegetarian entrees too, but I very much like their enchiladas and fajitas. > Service is good -- though they did just open last night, and we were > team waited on -- our beverages were never empty before a new one was > put on the table, and with out our asking for refills -- i wouldn't > expect that to last too much longer. Also the wait staff was > knowledgable of the menu. Actually, I would expect that to last longer because I've gone to a Don Pablo's in Toledo a number of times over the past few years and it's always been that way there. They generally have one or more waiters who stand with a platter of chips and salsa or drinks watching the dining room to see if anyone needs refills. Service may not be quite as good on weekend nights and considering that the place was full last night, I'd definitely call ahead though I don't know whether they take reservations or not. James (http://www-hep.phys.cmu.edu:8001/~walden/home.html) "Truth decays into beauty, while beauty soon becomes merely charm. Charm ends up as strangeness, and even that doesn't last, but up and down are forever." - The Laws of Physics
DhT wrote: > OK, I'll "bite" where is this place? (preferably the Monroeville location) > According to their radio ads, the one in Monroeville is on Mall Blvd; the one in Ross Township is in McIntyre Sq. Beth Mazur "Whatever you fear, whatever you hide, whatever MAYA Design Group you carry deep inside...there's something more Pittsburgh, PA than this." [email removed] -- October Project www.maya.com/Local/mazur
So, in response to the discussion here of Don Pablo's, we went to the McIntyre Square branch Wednesday night (3/6). At 6:55 on a mid-week night less that two weeks after the place opened, there was a _40_ minute wait! Good grief! How does the word get out so fast? It can't be that _all_ those folks read pgh.food, can it? Well, we won't wait 40 minutes for much of any restaurant and so went elsewhere. We'll try again earlier in the evening earlier in the week. Art Evans
Eric S. wrote: > > My gf and I (and a friend) tried to go last weekend. Good luck. I think > the wait was an hour and 20 minutes. Do they take reservations? (I may > have missed a post which said yes/no - sorry if that's a repeater.) > My family and my sister and her children (3 adults and 4 boys, ages 9 - 3) went to the Don Pablo's in Monroeville this past Friday (3/8) night. I called ahead and they told me to call as we were leaving the house and they would put us on the waiting list. We did this. It was very crowded when we arrived but we were seated within 15 min. I don't know if we were just lucky or if the call helped. By the way all the kids loved it. It is noisy (the kids don't disturb other diners), they have $2.95 kids meals, a little menu to color and crayons, and the kids can watch the tortilla maker work while waiting for their food. We adults enjoyed our food as well. Anne Jane