This page has a problem that has to be dealt with before any menu advice: it is not clear which restaurant it is about, and the previous version described at least two different companies as though they were one.
Answer: at Pepe’s Mexican Restaurant (pepes.com), the Chicago-area chain, there is one item worth asking about — the Vegetable Fajitas — and nothing on the menu can be confirmed vegan. Pepe’s publishes an allergen and gluten grid, but it covers 28 products rather than the menu, it carries no vegan or vegetarian designation, and it does not track lard, animal fat or stock at all.
Which Pepe’s Is This? The Honest Answer Is: Ambiguous
Several unrelated businesses trade as some version of “Pepe’s Mexican Restaurant.” The previous version of this page pulled facts from more than one of them without saying so.
Its title, its address on this site and its disclaimer all point to pepes.com. That is Pepe’s Mexican Restaurant, and its own history page says, verbatim: “Established in 1967 by Mario Dovalina and Edwin Ptak, Pepe’s has grown from humble beginnings to become a famous Chicago original.” It has “more than 25+ locations in the Chicagoland area and Northtwest Indiana” — the typo is the company’s — and its page title reads “Mexican Food in Chicago and Indiana.” The paragraph this page carried about recipes and kitchen conditions changing is a close paraphrase of a disclaimer on pepes.com, so whoever wrote it had that site open.
But the history section described something else entirely: three brothers called Tony, Joe and Fred; a founding in 1962; Alhambra; a Downey branch in 1976; outlets in the San Gabriel Valley, Los Angeles and Orange Counties; “the Southland.” That is a Southern Californian business, and it is a different company. Pepe’s Finest Mexican Food, at ogpepes.com, says on its own site that it “was founded in 1962 by three brothers — Joe, Tony, and Fred.” Different year, different founders, different state, separate corporate web presence. On top of that, the previous version’s opening link pointed at a third business, in Virginia.
So this page has been rewritten to state the ambiguity rather than resolve it by guessing. Everything factual below is from pepes.com, the brand whose name and disclaimer this page was actually using. The Southern California history has been removed, because it was unsourced here and, whichever company it belongs to, it does not belong to this one. Facts must not cross between the two.
All pepes.com material below was read on 31 July 2026: the Allergens and Glutens grid, the history page and all fourteen menu sections.
Four Of The Seven Dishes This Page Recommended Do Not Exist
Veggie Tacos — no veggie taco appears anywhere on Pepe’s menu. The taco dinners are steak, beef, chicken and pork. Removed.
Vegetarian Quesadilla — does not exist. Pepe’s quesadillas are cheese, steak, grilled chicken, chorizo, crabmeat and shrimp. No eggplant, cactus or pesto appears anywhere on the menu. Removed.
Mexican Salad — does not exist. The salads are Steak Fajita, Taco, Chicken Fajita and Garden. Removed.
“Vegan Burrito” — does not exist under that name. The nearest item is Vegetable Burrito Suizo or Frito, and Pepe’s own description is “Sautéed seasonal vegetables with fried beans, lettuce and sour topping.” Suizo, elsewhere in the same section, means topped with melted cheddar. Neither build is documented for allergens.
“Vegetarian Empanada” was described as a savoury pastry filled with cactus, capsicum, eggplant, mushroom and feta. At Pepe’s, an empanada is a dessert: “A sweet puff of lightly fried flour tortilla, with blueberry, apple or cherry filling, topped with powdered sugar and cinnamon.” Removed.
“Vegan cheese” was offered twice on this page. It returns zero hits across all fourteen menu sections. Pepe’s does not offer vegan cheese. Removed.
All five nutrition tables have been removed as well. They gave calorie and cholesterol figures for dishes that mostly do not exist on this menu, and three of the five reported non-zero cholesterol for dishes the page was recommending as vegan — without remarking on it.
The Two Items That Do Exist
Vegetable Fajitas. Real, and the closest thing on this menu to a plant-based order. Pepe’s publishes exactly six words about it: “The freshest vegetables sautéed in our fajitas marinade!” No ingredients, and the marinade has no row in the allergen grid at all. The previous version of this page called it “very vegan for you” and listed mushrooms, onion, capsicum, pickled cactus, frijoles beans and eggplant. None of that is published. The marinade is the specific thing to ask about.
Garden Salad. Real. Pepe’s full description is “Crisp and crunchy garden fresh vegetables topped with cheese.” No dressing is named, so the Italian dressing this page attributed to it has been removed, as has the suggestion of vegan cheese. Ordered without the cheese it is unverifiable, not vegan — Pepe’s publishes no salad row in its allergen grid.
What Pepe’s Allergen Grid Covers, And What It Misses
The grid tracks seven categories: Soy, Wheat, Milk/Dairy, Egg, Seed, Gluten and Tree Nuts/Peanuts. It covers 28 numbered products — fillers, sauces and fried items — not the menu. Most dishes have no row.
The rows with no milk and no egg declared are Burrito Filler, Mexican Style Rice, Spanish Rice with Vegetables and Pasta Picante. Rows that do declare Milk/Dairy include Chile Con Queso, both Chile Rellenos, Cheese Mini Tacos, Chicken Tenders, the Cream Cheese and Cheddar Cheese Poppers, the Beef and Chicken Milanesa, and all three churros, which also declare Egg.
What the grid contains no row for at all: beans, guacamole, salsa, tortillas, tortilla chips, the fajita marinade, salads and dressings. Every single item the previous version of this page called vegan in its FAQ is absent from Pepe’s own allergen data.
And the grid tracks no animal fat. Lard, beef fat and stock are none of its seven categories — which are exactly the things that most often make Mexican rice and beans non-vegan. Pepe’s own menu describes the beans as “fried beans” and publishes nothing about the fat used. That is the unanswered question running under this whole page.
Pepe’s own caution, verbatim: “Incidental contamination can occur during food preparation from the grills, inserts, utensils, cutting boards, and frying oils.” And: “product recipes change, modifcations occur and kitchen circumstances dictate changes from time to time… information that may be accurate today may not be true tomorrow.”
Corrections To The FAQ
“Is rice at Pepe’s vegan? Yes.” That has been changed. Mexican Style Rice and Spanish Rice with Vegetables declare Soy, Wheat and Gluten and no milk or egg — which means they are not disqualified by the grid, not that they are confirmed vegan. The grid does not track lard or stock. “Yes” is not supportable.
“You can also try their guacamole, salsa, beans, and tortillas. All of which are made vegan.” Removed. None of the four appears in Pepe’s allergen grid.
“Pepe’s provides a gluten-free wrap” and “gluten-free and vegan diners are welcome.” Removed. No gluten-free wrap appears on any of the fourteen menu sections, the word “vegan” appears zero times on the site, and Pepe’s own gluten guidance is a caution rather than a welcome: “there are a good many hidden sources of gluten… you should consume any seemingly gluten-free food item with caution.”
“All of their guacamoles and sauces are made in-house and include no flour, dairy, or thickeners.” Contradicted by Pepe’s own grid: Mole Sauce declares Soy, Wheat, Seed and Gluten, and Chile Con Queso declares Milk. Removed.
Three Sections About Other Restaurants Have Been Removed
The previous version carried substantial blocks about three other businesses. They are gone, and one of them needs naming rather than quietly deleting.
A list headed “some vegan options are” for another Mexican chain included Chile con Queso, Cheese Fries, Rice and Cheese Sauce, Sour Cream and Shredded Cheese. Five dairy items, and a bowl of chili, listed as vegan options.
A paragraph about a second restaurant claimed its “parmesan, gouda, mozzarella, cheddar, and cream cheese are surprisingly vegan-friendly.” That is false, it was unsourced, and its accompanying list offered “Two Cheese Enchiladas” and “2 Rolled Tacos With Cheese” as vegan choices. The paragraph also contained a block of undated filler.
A third block promoted a plant-based product at a fast-casual chain. All three were about companies other than Pepe’s and none was sourced to those companies’ own data.
The Bottom Line
Pepe’s Mexican Restaurant publishes more than many small chains do — a real allergen and gluten grid, with a candid warning about shared grills, utensils and frying oils. It is still not enough to confirm anything as vegan, because it covers 28 products rather than the menu and tracks no animal fat.
The Vegetable Fajitas are on the menu and the marinade is undocumented. The Garden Salad comes with cheese and no published dressing. The rice is not disqualified by the grid but the fat it is cooked in is not covered by it. Ask about the marinade, ask about the beans, and ask what the rice is cooked in.
