Really appreciated finding a place with vegan options close to the park. I went twice, and had the veggie fajitas one day and the veggie enchiladas the next (order with no cheese or sour cream). Definitely preferred the fajitas as the seasoning is better and I wasn'tthe biggest fan of the sauce on the enchiladas, but hey, an option is an option when in an area without a lot of choices, so the enchilada is still something. Highly recommend the chips and salsa or guac as that was delicious and clearly homemade.
Vince Mancuso
We arrived for dinner on a Friday evening around 6:00 p.m. The place was nearly empty—just three occupied tables out of about twenty—but it still took about ten minutes before we flagged someone and asked if we could seat ourselves. After 10 minutes of being self-seated, we grabbed our own menus and utensils from the cashier’s station (since no one offered them, or came by to introduce themselves). There were three staff members working the front and a visible kitchen crew, so it wasn’t a staffing issue, just a lack of attention.
We ordered combo fajitas for two and a cheese quesadilla. The fajitas arrived in about 20 minutes and were disappointing—clearly a pre-made “heat and serve” dish. The chicken and beef chunks were bland and indistinguishable, while the peppers and onions tasted like overcooked frozen vegetables. The quality just wasn’t there.
Meanwhile, our kid’s quesadilla never showed up. Every time we checked, the response was simply “it’s coming.” In the meantime, no one offered refills, brought napkins (even after asking), or delivered the cups of ice we requested. We ended up drinking our sodas straight from the cans.
By 7:20p the quesadilla still hadn’t arrived. We were the only table inside at that point, but the staff seemed more focused on chatting at the cashier station than checking on us. We finally got up, went to pay—minus the uneaten quesadilla—and left. No explanation, no apology, not even basic courtesy. We didn’t have a bill, so it took about 10 minutes for the cashier to track it down, and another 5 minutes to get the undelivered quesadilla removed.
Terlingua has some great local spots, but unfortunately, Chili Pepper Cafe wasn’t one of them for us. It has potential given the space and location, but the service and food need serious attention before we’d consider returning.
Food - 1 (out of 5)
Service - 0 (out of 5)
Carnage Knight
Awful Service. A buddy and I went in and were completely ignored. It really felt racist if I’m being honest. 0/10 do NOT recommend. Lots of white people came in after us and they were being waited on and none of the waiters looked our way. EVER!!!
Hot Dowg Tony
Cute little place with some good eats. Very reasonable prices too. Indoor and outdoor seating, all covered from the sun. Nice working staff that were very helpful.
Debi Baker
Excellent service and food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nathan Nause
Great food, great people
Catherine
Great crispy tacos, rice and bean@ what more do you need?!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
kevin cope
We had the breakfast burritos and they were delish 😋
Martha
The service at the Chili Pepper Cafe is super friendly and welcoming. The food is really good. I especially like the cheese enchiladas.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Tony Sweeney
Cute little place, friendly staff, great atmosphere and not 1hr plus wait like most other places in town. We sat outside on the 3 occasions that we ate there.
This quaint little restaurant in Study Butte, Texas, is home to absolutely delicious Mexican food. I had the Mexican plate which comes with one pork tamale, one crunchy beef taco, and a set of beef and cheese enchiladas… with refried beans and rice. If I had the option I’d make it a weekly thing… unfortunately I live about ten hours away north of Houston. Jhade (Ja-day) was our waitress this afternoon for our lunch. I just wanted to say she was kind and courteous. Please do your best to ask for her.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Pier Zeringue
Great food, service, and prices!!
Carol Kozel
We had good food, Crow, our server was excellent.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
J L (clanc43)
Good breakfast for a reasonable price. Operator is really nice too.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Ethan S
Had an OK experience here; food we had was kinda bland and no flavor atmosphere was chill and cool. Service was OK granted there was only one waiter.
Really appreciated finding a place with vegan options close to the park. I went twice, and had the veggie fajitas one day and the veggie enchiladas the next (order with no cheese or sour cream). Definitely preferred the fajitas as the seasoning is better and I wasn'tthe biggest fan of the sauce on the enchiladas, but hey, an option is an option when in an area without a lot of choices, so the enchilada is still something. Highly recommend the chips and salsa or guac as that was delicious and clearly homemade.
We arrived for dinner on a Friday evening around 6:00 p.m. The place was nearly empty—just three occupied tables out of about twenty—but it still took about ten minutes before we flagged someone and asked if we could seat ourselves. After 10 minutes of being self-seated, we grabbed our own menus and utensils from the cashier’s station (since no one offered them, or came by to introduce themselves). There were three staff members working the front and a visible kitchen crew, so it wasn’t a staffing issue, just a lack of attention. We ordered combo fajitas for two and a cheese quesadilla. The fajitas arrived in about 20 minutes and were disappointing—clearly a pre-made “heat and serve” dish. The chicken and beef chunks were bland and indistinguishable, while the peppers and onions tasted like overcooked frozen vegetables. The quality just wasn’t there. Meanwhile, our kid’s quesadilla never showed up. Every time we checked, the response was simply “it’s coming.” In the meantime, no one offered refills, brought napkins (even after asking), or delivered the cups of ice we requested. We ended up drinking our sodas straight from the cans. By 7:20p the quesadilla still hadn’t arrived. We were the only table inside at that point, but the staff seemed more focused on chatting at the cashier station than checking on us. We finally got up, went to pay—minus the uneaten quesadilla—and left. No explanation, no apology, not even basic courtesy. We didn’t have a bill, so it took about 10 minutes for the cashier to track it down, and another 5 minutes to get the undelivered quesadilla removed. Terlingua has some great local spots, but unfortunately, Chili Pepper Cafe wasn’t one of them for us. It has potential given the space and location, but the service and food need serious attention before we’d consider returning. Food - 1 (out of 5) Service - 0 (out of 5)
Awful Service. A buddy and I went in and were completely ignored. It really felt racist if I’m being honest. 0/10 do NOT recommend. Lots of white people came in after us and they were being waited on and none of the waiters looked our way. EVER!!!
Cute little place with some good eats. Very reasonable prices too. Indoor and outdoor seating, all covered from the sun. Nice working staff that were very helpful.
Excellent service and food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great food, great people
Great crispy tacos, rice and bean@ what more do you need?!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We had the breakfast burritos and they were delish 😋
The service at the Chili Pepper Cafe is super friendly and welcoming. The food is really good. I especially like the cheese enchiladas.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Cute little place, friendly staff, great atmosphere and not 1hr plus wait like most other places in town. We sat outside on the 3 occasions that we ate there.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
This quaint little restaurant in Study Butte, Texas, is home to absolutely delicious Mexican food. I had the Mexican plate which comes with one pork tamale, one crunchy beef taco, and a set of beef and cheese enchiladas… with refried beans and rice. If I had the option I’d make it a weekly thing… unfortunately I live about ten hours away north of Houston. Jhade (Ja-day) was our waitress this afternoon for our lunch. I just wanted to say she was kind and courteous. Please do your best to ask for her.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great food, service, and prices!!
We had good food, Crow, our server was excellent.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Good breakfast for a reasonable price. Operator is really nice too.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Had an OK experience here; food we had was kinda bland and no flavor atmosphere was chill and cool. Service was OK granted there was only one waiter.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 3
Loading...