Holy hell, what happened to this place?? This had been my go-to place for beans-and-rice Mexican in Madison for the better part of two decades, and I had converted my wife into a Pedro's fan. I'd had past or present Madison residents take issue with my insistence that Pedro's was a great casual dinner place, but I took that as part and parcel of Madison's legendary disdain for anything that's not edgy/hip/contemporary/iconoclastic/whatever. And old-school American-Mexican food is certainly none of the above, plus it represents one of the the greatest societal faux-pas of our time -- *gasp!* -- cultural appropriation!
Unfortunately, it turns out any snobbery -- incidental or otherwise -- toward Pedro's may be warranted. My wife and I stopped in for the first time in 3 or 4 years and we were both sorely disappointed with our experience. The burrito is smaller than it used to be -- I suppose that's how they've been able to hold the line on prices so the size reduction is probably justified -- but my wife's fajitas were chewy, and both dishes lacked that "kick" that they used to have. Our quesadilla appetizer arrived luke-warm and was nearly rock-hard within minutes.
The premises haven't changed in the nearly 20 years I've been eating there and it's starting to show its age. Service was adequate, no more no less. which would be fine if everything else up to par. In short, Pedro's lacks that extra spark that used to make it worth a special stop when visiting or passing through town. Not to mention the Mexican cuisine options have exploded in Madison in the last 20 years, so one would think Pedro's would need to step up their game rather than rest on their laurels. Looks like we'll be checking out the newer competitors on our next visit to Madison.