Don Pepe
“The lunch menu is amazing, huge portions of steak or fish can be had for 15 or so dollars.”
“The paella is perfect for two and you will still have leftovers.”
“Sangria, Mussels with garlic sauce, *paella marinera, camarones provenzal, sirloin, and the lava cake.”
Don Pepe
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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My first and (to date) only time dining in Newark. I was in the area for a meeting and a Manhattan-based colleague suggested we get lunch near the train station before catching the Acela. I was a bit skeptical when we pulled up but pleasantly surprised when we walked into Don Pepe. The interior is simple, but decidedly more upscale than many of the options nearby. Our waiter was charming and the owner, who is quite the character, came over to chat. Food and service were both good, although my Paella could have easily been two meals. Overall a good experience.
Been to Don Pepe's multiple times. Compared to other choices available in the area, it's on the pricier side. They do make an attempt to justify the higher price point with some old school waiter service, as well as some nice bread to start you off before the entree.
I find the food quality to be consistently average or just slightly above. They have daily specials that will easily set you back $30 or more. The specials are indeed pretty good. However, once again, I'm hard pressed to spend it here considering other options available in the area.
Btw, no free refills… So watch out!
All things considered, par for the course…
Don Pepe is very well decorated and spacious with its three plus rooms and well stocked bar. I also find that they put quality behind the food they serve and the portions are generous. The appetizers I ordered were fine and enough to split between two, such as the fried calamari and spanish antipasto. The main courses are what I had the problem with. The fish dishes I ordered were the Sea food combination, Stuffed lobster and Paella Valencia and all three dishes tasted a little over cooked as if the ovens are on high temperature. The food was seasoned but not as flavorful as I expected. The sausage was very flavorful in the Paella but the clams were chewy and the chicken tossed in was bland. Their dessert menu is very extensive with some good choices. I went with the Tiramisu and Tartufo which were both excellent and the portions were large. They also have a very big selection of after dinner drinks such as port wine, brandy, sambucca and so forth. The staff is very attentive. If you are attending an event at the Prudential Center or in the area it's worth stopping by.
Came here to eat after my graduation at Prudential Center. We had a reservation for 7, and the service was super fast!
The lunch portions are HUGE, so if you can get here for lunch, you can definitely split a lunch portion between 2-3 people.
Everything we ate here was alright. Lacking flavor. Except for the paella! Oh my goodness, delicious delicious delicious!
The portions make it worth the money, but the flavor doesn't.
I'd go back just for the lunch portion paella.
Don Pepe is located not too fair from the Newark International airport near the NJPac center. Parking is not bad, we came here a little after 7pm on a weekday. We got here and looked at the menu and noticed not much was appealing. We decided to open order some wine and appetizers. The waiter requested what we would like to order we stated salad, mussels in marinara sauce with a side order or calamari. He immediately stated we would need to move to the bar area due to our order. I was a little stunned considering they were only a total of 3 parties in the entire restaurant. ( I believe this restaurant can sit over 100.) I was very appalled by the sheer rudeness of the waiter. After our move, it was refreshing to have a great bar tender.
Mussels in marinara sauce- very decent. The marinara sauce is a little watery but flavour is on point. I think they should add an additional spoon for the marinara sauce
Calamari- could be a little more crisper, however the sauce this was soaked in was flavored well with basil.
The food here is decent, but probably waiter could work on some customer service training.
So came here on my lunch hour…..they instantly provide you bread and butter and have an option to use Olive oil (it's on the table). Bread came warm.
Service was fine….we ordered clams casino…looked burnt but it was pretty tasty.
Then my friend and I shared a Paella Valenciana…..we got the Paella Marinara by mistake and they changed it right away which was cool.
Now……when we were done eating…asked for the check like normal people right???? OMG, it took forever. I saw our waiter just chatting away with his co-worker, trying to wave him down. So when the check was finally getting settled, why is it I look down to find the paella missing – YES we had so much paella leftover and I wanted to take it home for dinner. THEY DIDN'T ASK IF WE WANTED IT TO-GO/DOGGIE BAG! Oh man, that got me so upset!
I'm all about service, but when the waiter doesn't ask if we would like to pack the rest to go, that's a "no-no".
Would I come back, after that incident, I doubt it. The 2 stars were mainly for the food, definitely not for the service.
The restaurant had a rustic feel. With the walls and the waiter it had an old school vibe. The food was incredible! They had a penne pasta with seafood that was delicious! I even enjoyed the leftovers the next day.
The pitcher of sangria was perfect for two.
Lastly, the waiters made the evening perfect for my boyfriend's birthday. A slice of cake with a candle and a song made for a lovely evening! The only thing that stopped it from being a five-star evening was the fact that the molten cake did not melt! A bit dry but still ok.
If there is a less than 5 star rating from someone they have damaged tastebuds. This place! OMG! The garlic shrimp is effin amaze balls. The crab legs are to die for. The paella is scrumptious. The service is mediocre. Actually one of the waiters was born with a chip on his shoulder. I seen it every time I have come here to eat. Could be the Jersey personality…who knows? It doesn't even matter because the food is outstanding. The portions are YUGE which is great because you always want lefties from here. I can't wait to come back to Jersey to eat here again. Next time I want STEAK.