Don Pedro Mexican Restaurant

An authentic experience, insanely huge portions and giant margaritas make Don Pedro Mexican Restaurant a very popular choice among Charlotte locals with big appetites.

With three locations strategically placed around the city — 8943 S. Tryon Street, 5317 East Independence Blvd., and 10015 Lee Street in Pineville — Don Pedro is right around the corner for anyone hungry for both Tex-Mex and authentic Mexican cuisine.

Nicknamed “Big Plate Mexican” by locals, Don Pedro stands out from other Mexican restaurants because of their portion sizes. If four adults each order an entrée, the table will barely have room for drinks and silverware because it will be overflowing with their enormous plates — and these are regularly sized restaurant tables. 

Speaking of drinks, Don Pedro offers a full bar stocked with Mexican beer and tequilas. Their specialty is their giant flavored frozen margaritas with flavors like strawberry, mango or blueberry. The latter is probably not authentic to our south of the border neighbors, but it’s incredible — like a Slurpee infused with tequila. Although the drinks can be pricy when compared with the price of the meals — approximately $6 for the frozen specialties — the drinks are enormous and most customers won’t need more than one.

Many restaurants that serve up giant portions do so to disguise the fact that their food is not so great. Not the case with Don Pedro. Their food is fantastic and offers more than 60 items, many unique to the inexperienced Mexican eater. Sure, you’ll get great burritos, enchiladas and quesadillas, but Don Pedro shines with their meals focusing on chicken, steak and seafood.

Many follow a similar pattern. Combine almost a dozen items — meats, cheeses, sauces, vegetables, etc. — and grill them all to perfection. Then dish them out on a huge plate and serve with four warm flour or corn tortillas. One specialty, the Arroz Con Pollo, is outlined on the menu as “Tender sliced chicken breasts specially prepared with fresh mushrooms, onions & bell peppers served over rice with melted Monterey jack cheese & smothered with our special mild sauce. Garnished with tomatoes & avocado.”

Similar dishes are made with steak or seafood. Keeping the menu simple, most chicken dishes cost $10.45, seafood dishes cost $11.45 and steak dishes cost $12.45.

And just when you couldn’t eat anymore, the server will bring the bill with complimentary sopapillas for the table — crispy tortilla chips covered in cinnamon, whipped cream and strawberry sauce.

Although Charlotte is filled with many Mexican restaurants, once you experience Don Pedro you may ignore about all the others.

- by Mike D'Avria, Charlotte Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

He worked for the daily newspaper, The Athens Banner-Herald in Athens, Ga. before turning to freelance writing and video production.

Mike is the Executive Editor of CampLeadership.org, and has lived in Charlotte for four years.