Chilorio’s Very Mexican

Terrible and dirty.

I really wanted to like this place. I held off reviewing for quite some time. I wanted there to be a decent neo-​fast food, kinda hip, Mexican joint that could inspire… or at least give me something marginally tasty to eat. I went back 3 times to vary my order, to try different things, to try it different ways, giving them every benefit of every doubt… but alas… repeated failure.
No, it’s not close to being very Mexican, very Tex-​Mex, or very Cal-​Mex for that matter. It’s not close to being any of the passable, arguably of quality, Americano-​bastardized variants of Mex that have popped across these United States, or anywhere else for that matter… and if you say it’s Fla-​Mex I’ll puke.
First, I entered unawares. I almost fainted when he threw my «burrito» into a panini press… A PANINI PRESS! Paninis are not very Mexican.
But I ate it anyway… no flavor… just salt and monotonous fatty slop.
But the kid behind the counter was kind and eager to do a good job… and what the hell, let’s give this paninirito a chance.
Second trip… just as bad. The pressing actually kills a lot of the flavor, or so I thought.
It was literally a hot mess.
Third trip… I intervened just in time, causing profound confusion in begging him not to press my burrito. Of course, their tortillas are not designed for wrapping, so he rolled it, dropped it on a plate and handed it to me…
An aside about sides… I just wanted chips… I had a craving… I get two sides, I want them both made out of chips…
«What sides want?»
«What?»
“Sides?”
“Sides… Ah… Chips please…“
[grabs a handful of chips and puts it on the plate]
«Second side?»
«May I just have some more chips please?»
«OK»
[picks up exactly 2 broken chips and adds them to the pile]
I’m pretty sure I got 1 side with an extra chip or two.
In any event, my unpressed burrito was, as anticipated, better than the pressed version… but nevertheless terrible. I’m never, ever going back.

I think for fast food it is a nice healthier option.
I used to come here often, but now I can only come when I am in the area!
Good food.

The food was okay. The service sucks AND they got rid of one of the things most people like about it. Being able to see what they’re doing and such. I recommend for a quick lunch but not for much else.

The food is ok. Not great… The burritos are not fully enclosed. They build it for you with whatever you want and then just kinda roll it then put it into a panini press and grill it for you. A novel approach. However, sometimes the fillings don’t get fully heated.
The sides are good. Save for the chips. I am sorry, but the chips are horrible. Its a shame too because they have a nice salsa bar but I never get the chips because they are yucky.
They have a cilantro dressing for their salads… this is stellar! The rest, pretty good. The chips… suspect.

It was a weekday and I left late from work. I was hungry and wanted to eat something before my long ride home. I was craving something Mexican and therefore I went to Chilorio’s as it was fast, convenient, and close to my job.
When I went to the restaurant and took a look at the menu, there was a Create You Own section. So I wanted to create my own quesadilla. On a flour tortilla I chose to have chicken, mixed cheeses, avocado and Pinto beans. Yum! After my quesadilla was served I went to the Salsa bar and served myself the different varieties of salsa from the mild to the watch out. I wanted to taste all of them.
It was hot and tasty. The salsas were very good as well. Definitely will come back and order another Create Your Own.

I have no idea why this place has such below average scores!
First and foremost, they are really cheap. And second, the food tastes all right– not amazing, but all right (but that is only if you are comparing it to a place like Chipotle.)
I went here for the first time today, and my whole meal costs around $ 7– a veggie quesadilla with two sides. I got the rice and chips. The veggie quesadilla consisted of mushrooms, onions, and corn and was definitely worth the money. The chips were crispy, and I definitely recommend the avocado salsa.
One complaint I have is that they did not have guacamole when I went there– like how a Mexican place run out of guacamole so early in the day. It’s seriously a staple Mexican food item. They also did not have their selections listed on their menu like if they served burritoes, quesadillas, or tacos– but I guess we can guess that since it is a Mexican restaurant, but they seriously should have it listed on their menu. They also had a television in the restaurant, but it was not working when I went there.
I definitely would come here again. There is definitely a lot of seating inside to accomodate all guests, and it definitely has competitive prices compared to a lot of places on Miracle Mile.

I had the chips and salsa. The chips aren’t that tasty but salsa is good. The chicken tostada was ok. I think there are many other quick Mexican type places to eat around town one could go to before Chilorio’s.

I really like their burritos! My fave part is that they press it! They make your burrito/​etc according to your specifications, then they cut it in half and press it! Omg, soooo tasty! The burritos also come with 2 sides, which is great, I get beans and a little salad or sometimes chips. They are also very generous with giving you extra sour cream, which for me, is a must! If you’re in the mood for a filing, delish meal, I recommend it!

Had the mahi mahi tacos and lets just say NEVER AGAIN!

Holy Guacamole, Batman! It’s Mexican food, served Subway-​style!
Pick your burrito, tostada or taco base and load it up with all your favorite toppings — black or pinto beans, lettuce, cheese, pico de gallo, sour cream, mushrooms, corn and guac. (However, If I had time machine I would have gone back and decided against the mushrooms.) Oh yea, and for all you carnivores, they have a selection of meats too.
We got great service and good food for cheap!

I’m not sophisticated enough to disparage it.
I like it. I go almost weekly, though at 8PM on Wednesdays there are few other patrons.
Fresh, flavorful, and made to order, everything made right there.
Excellent prices, quick,
I know most of the staff by name.
I’ll keep going.

I used to like this place better than I do now. Good concept, I think — local business, Mexican-​inspired (I’m not going to get caught up on whether something’s «real Mexican» or not), slightly more health-​conscious than your average burrito joint, with the options of whole wheat tortillas and baked chips.
When Chilorios first opened, I was a huge fan. If I’d Unilocaled it right then and there, I probably would have given 5 stars. Since then, I think it has slipped somewhat. Even if I’d Unilocaled it then, after today’s visit, I’d be forced to point to a declining trend in my update.
I liked the burritos. I craved them. You choose your tortilla, pinto beans or black, rice (Y/​N), lettuce, pico, cheese, onion, peppers. Sounds like Qdoba, sounds like Chipotle — but then, they do something magical, they put the burrito in what looks like a glorified panini press. This makes the tortilla crunchy and melts the cheese, creating a taste sensation that back then, I couldn’t get enough of.
Now, it’s just too salty, Was it always like this, or has my palate gone over-​sensitive to salt? This is something I allude to in an increasing number of reviews… but wow, my steak burrito was salty today, like drinking ocean water. Every time I’ve been there in the past 6 months or so, it’s been over-​salted, but not to the point where it was hard for me to finish.
I get back to the office and I just have to sit here and huff water all afternoon, because I can feel my mouth drying up badly.
It is a little overpriced, at $ 8 for a steak burrito. Plus, they did not have the hot salsa I usually like, nor did they have horchata. I think I need to start making my own horchata, because it seems that whenever I go to a place that claims to have it, they are always out, the machine is broken, or whatever. Blah blah blah. Spare me the excuses, I want my horchata!
«In December, drinking horchata… I’d look psychotic in a balaclava»
Anyway…#1 complaint — too salty, secondary complaint — slightly overpriced. I can overlook #2 if #1 is fixed.

My hubby and I voted against Bennihanna’s to go to this place in order to save money. All I can say, is… I wished we spent the extra 40 bucks and gone to the other restaurant. YIKES! The chips were some of the worst I’ve had, the mahi taco was decent, and the sauces tasted strange. The black beans were oversalted and overcooked. They managed to mix up my sides with my husband’s sides. We were the only people in here on a late friday afternoon which leads me to believe this is more popular at lunch. The service was okay, but then again we were the only people in the place.
We won’t be returning… there are WAY too many restaurants in Miami to go somewhere that could possibly be a repeat offender. Sorry Chilorios.: l

Let’s start with the bad news: The service.
A graduate class on business efficiency would have a field day with them– maybe it’s the way the service line is designed, maybe it’s poor training, or maybe they just don’t have enough/​the right people there. But having eaten there several times, I can say– WTF does it take to get a burrito made. Last time the same girl was making all the food AND working the register while 4 other dudes just wandered around the kitchen behind her. If there’s more than three people in line, count on a 10 minute wait.
Secondly– and this is a pet peeve– if you ASK me what I want to order– LISTEN to what I say–
Every time I’ve been in there, I ordered the same thing– a grilled chicken burrito on a flour tortilla. Those are the words that come out of my mouth. And every time, directly following that, the server behind the counter says:
Server: «Flour or whole wheat tortilla?»
Me «Ummm…flour?»
Server: «What kind of meat?»
Me: «Chicken»
etc.
Moving on– the food:
OK-​ish– honestly, it’s the BLANDEST Mexican-​ish food I’ve ever eaten– it’s like Mexican food in the witness protection program– doesn’t leave much of an impression, except for the empty hole in your wallet where the $ 9.25 used to be.
Personally, I don’t get the part where they jam your burrito into the sandwich press. Yeah, it melts the cheese, but if you have lettuce and sour cream and such in there, it’s all hot and nasty.
I’ll go back out of sheer laziness (it’s two blocks from my office) and eating on their terrace is nice on a good day.
Manager: Work that line out, man. It’s a MESS. And hit that chicken with a little marinade or something before you grill it. It’s like hospital food.

Chilorios Very Mexican should consider changing its name to «Chilorios not even remotely Mexican’ Both the food and service were atrocious, even though they had about 5 people standing around the kitchen area leaning on the stoves and 2 people serving.
The story goes a little like this :
I was on my way to Flemings steak house — and already had my mind set on either a yummy lobster tempura or a prime burger with an ice cold Stella but their bar opens at 5 pm… and it was around 3:30. so waiting was not an option. So, I took a stroll down Miracle Mile and stumbled upon Chilorios and since I love anything remotely Mexican, my friend an I decided to give it a try. The setup is the usual fast food/​fresh mex that you find in places like lime, baja fresh, chipotles. ect where you order the food at the counter, pick some of the salsas and just sit down and eat…
Well, since their menu is extremely limited it took me one second to order a burrito. and my friend had shrimp quesadilla. The girl behind the counter was running at snail’s pace and had the mental fortitude of my chihuahua… she couldn’t comprehend that my friend wanted his shrimp quesadilla cooked BEFORE she added sour cream and the pico de gallo on it… and he requested it on top. This was just one of many obstacles and hurdles we had to cross just to place a single order and we were the only ones in the restaurant!
Their rice is just plain white rice, the beans are tasteless, the chicken was dry… should I even go on? Unless you’re on Miracle Mile and you don’t have a car that can get you to Taco Rico Tex Mex café on US1 and le jeune (I think) and you want crappy Mexican … then this is the place to be! — otherwise just avoid it like the plague as I shall from now on.

My first visit to Chilorios on The Mile was also my very last.
Looking for a quick meal before school, I went in to Chilorios and ordered a Chicken Burrito. I was asked for my choice of sides, and I asked for their «home made» tortilla chips. The meal started off bad as my burrito tasted like absolutely nothing, extremely bland. So i took a trip to the salsa bar and gathered some toppings so i could try to enjoy my food. Shortly thereafter, i gave up on trying to make my burrito edible and moved to the chips. Drywall. Yes, Drywall. That is the only way to describe not only the taste, but the texture of these chips as well.
I left feeling taken advantage of, but more so disappointed that this restaurant with so much opportunity could be so horrible. If your looking for a quick lunch on The Mile, go to Pasha’s instead!

While writing my first review of Chilorio’s, I pondered the ethics of sharing negative information publicly without also sharing it with the owner. I found a customer feedback form on their website (nice website, btw) and filled it out that night. I got a response a few days later from Diego, who thanked me for my feedback and suggested a few other dishes to try.
Armed with Diego’s helpful suggestions, I returned to Chilorio’s today and ordered the Pirata, a burrito stuffed with cheese and avocado. This was better than anything else I have eaten there, and it didn’t drip on me. I also ate one of their chips the other day and noticed the faint flavor of salt.
The hot sauces are still not hot. I dipped my burrito (TWSS) into their 8x sauce and proceeded to nom. I was expecting tears, but all I got was a few seconds of reasonable heat and a hint of habañero flavor. I know most gringos are afraid of la picante, but come on.
Chilorio’s still is not very Mexican. They need to overhaul their salsa selection and swap out the Christian pop muzak for some authentic Mexican music.

This concept was already tried on the mile a few blocks west … and failed — this so called «fast good» Mexican simply leaves with the feeling that you have been taken for a ride.
This stuff is neither authentic, nor Mexican — It is indeed fast food and there absolutely no reason why it needs to be so over priced.
Anyway, generic, nothing to see here… keep movin’

Generic and overpriced. We have enough of the generic mexican places in Miami we do not need another in the Gables. Sorry Charlie. not for me.
Think the same thing as Chipotle, as Baja Fresh and as Qdoba. Yet not even as tasty, if you think those places are. Like salsa? Then these won’t satisfy.
Service? Mediocre.
There is Mexican — this isn’t it. I really wish they would stop trying to pass generic tex mex as Mexican.
Take a pass.