Chipotle Mexican Grill - Palo Alto

We visited the restaurant at 5:50 PM on a Tuesday evening. The place promotes fresh ingredients and the sound of sizzling, highlighting that their food is always fresh. While the food met our expectations, the atmosphere left much to be desired. With only a few diners inside—most of whom were waiting for their takeout orders—the tables were dirty, there was trash on the floor, and the condiment area was messy, lacking napkins and forks while straws were scattered everywhere. To make matters worse, we were seated at the only clean table, and next to us was a woman sleeping at her table. Despite having six staff members present, when we mentioned the disarray in the condiment area, one of them handed us two forks and left things as they were. There's definitely significant room for improvement.

I had lunch with my Yelp friend Joey, and we chose this spot because it tends to be less crowded. We arrived just before 1 PM on a Friday, and thankfully there was no waiting. It’s important to mention that the El Monte location, which is closer to our home, has terrible service. So, the extra drive was definitely worth it. I ordered a beef burrito from the special menu. The meat looked a bit dry, but it tasted decent. I was able to customize my order, and the staff happily added extra veggies for me. We also ordered a lifestyle bowl to go using the app, and the food was ready right on time; the standard version of the bowl was satisfactory. The restaurant was somewhat lacking in cleanliness, but with an abundance of napkins and a quick wipe down, we were seated by the window in no time to enjoy our lunch.

So here we are at the famous Chipotle. After many choices and decisions on where to have lunch my picky my Yelp bud Lawrence and I decided to come here. I have been here several times, and it is my choice vs the one that is closer to both of us on EL Monte in Mt View. This place is friendlier and not as crowded. Of course, had to clean down the table quickly. I did notice thru our lunch that their staff is there cleaning. I think we just picked out our table before they could get to it. I had as usual my chicken burrito bowl. I think its a good choice because since I am on my manly diet ah the see food one you know, its a better pick for choices: Ok, getting more serious. My friend had this really great looking Burrito stuffed with vege's and rice and beans and steak!! Did you hear me say STEAK!! Yep you did. The thing that I like about this fast food choice is the spectacular mariachis that go throughout the restaurant playing the typical and traditional sounds of Mexico as you eat!! Ha ..psych kidding!! But that would be cool right, with some Margaritas. I can almost see myself on Cabo, ok perhaps in Tijuana. ; Listen whatever it may be, if you like fast food American Mexican food head out here. The staff is nice and friendly. Be sure to let them know that Joey sent you, perhaps that will get you a free tortilla chip, not sure, just saying! ;

They changed their recipe on their guacamole. It's greener, more watery, it taste like they put less salt and less fresh lime. It's really annoying they changed it. It changes the whole flavor of my burrito bowl. Maybe they are using the chipotle guacamole machine that I've seen in tiktok? If it's being handmade, then the person making it has changed the recipe ‍

Worst Chipotle location I 've ever been to. Not only is the restaurant dirty but the service is terrible. The glass where the food is served was not cleaned which is already unsanitary and made me wonder what else they don 't clean. The worker who made my salad did not speak a single word to me and mindlessly dumped everything I ordered into the bowl. When I reached the register, I noticed that they did not include the vinaigrette that usually comes with the salad. When I asked for it, the worker basically said they don 't have it and that it was an option . I 'm not sure what he meant by that so I asked if I could get some. He went to the back and came back a few seconds later and said they didn 't have any. Whenever I order a salad at my usual Chipotle location (in Millbrae), they always include a dressing on the side. They definitely need to work on the customer service at this location if you 're out of stock of something, let the customer know before they order! Go to a different Chipotle if you can.