Pokémon stops at this place is great. Food and drinks are good. Line moves fast. Two patios out side.

Holy Schittttt. The Vegan green chili here is LEGIT!!! Creamy, soft potatoes, little tomato pieces, just the right amount of cilantro, the perfect amount of heat.... and they let you top it with fresh diced onions and pickled jalapeños!!! Oh, did I mention you can order it with a Margarita?!?! I mean, what else do you need in life?!?! read more

Illegal Pete's - Pearl - The VEGAN GREEN CHILI IS AMAZING!! - Mexican Near Me - Boulder, Colorado

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Illegal Pete's is pretty much the same concept as Chipotle minus the food poisoning. I ordered the bowl with chips and grilled steak ($7.79). I customized it with free stuff like black beans, red and green grilled peppers, cheese, sour cream, and other fillers. It was really good. Big portion size once everything was added and the side of chips were almost unnecessary but appreciated. We also ordered a small side of chips and queso ($2.49) and would've been happy with just that. Love chips and cheese! The Pearl location during the work week was busy. and there was a line the entire time we were there. Service was as fast as it could be for customers making their decision on toppings and wait time in line was minimal. Plenty of seating, couple of flat screens on, and a four song playlist repeated through the speakers while we enjoyed our first visit to Illegal Pete's. read more

I got two tacos and they were huge! Each for only three dollars too. On one I got the potatoes as a base and that was so tasty! Their veggies were really good. We also got a margarita which was strong and tasted really good. My fiancé got the barbacoa bowl and he inhaled in! This area of Boulder is really nice. Pearl Street is so cute and fun to walk around. read more

Illegal Pete's - Pearl - Mexican Near Me - Boulder, Colorado

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Living in San Diego the past 4 years I do consider myself a bit of a Taco snob. I ordered the 3 taco special to go. Maybe its because I ordered the tacos to go that the order didn't come with any sauces. You need a sauce for the taco not just limes. The fish instead of being flaky had a little more crunch than what I was expecting. Nothing special was done with the tortilla. All that being said it was a little over 9 bucks for 3 tacos which I find to be a good deal on Pearl st. For the price I will probably try the non-fish tacos to see if I'm more impressed next time. read more

This is one of those unique spots that I'm only giving 3 stars to but somehow I eat here regularly. It fills a necessary place in the market, offering decent fast-food style Mexican takeout. My theory is that the queso is really what keeps me coming back, as everything else is inconsistent in quality ranging from pretty good on their best day to bad. Somehow their fried potatoes always ruin a dish when I decide to add them and have a somewhat dirty taste (you'd think I would have learned my lesson) but as you can tell I have a weird relationship with this place. Ah well-I will continue to return here for local, fast casual Mexican food. Although I really do wish they would improve their food so I wouldn't repeatedly tell myself "this is the last time." read more

So amazing - and now I can say I have traveled the US and tried burrito places all over. I always come back to IP because it is just THAT good. Fresh ingredients - good atmosphere - decent prices read more

Illegal Pete's - Pearl - The works! - Mexican Near Me - Boulder, Colorado

My favorite queso ever. This place puts Qdoba, chipotle, and any other quick style Mexican food chain to shame. My personal favorite is the steak nachos. Can't go wrong read more

When I first got to Boulder I looked for a great place to eat lunch with my friends and this is it! Illegal Pete's has great food, music, and vibes. Love it! read more

I've loved the Pete's franchise for years but this visit is definitely worth special mention. The food, service, atmosphere and cleanliness were excellent. Whatever goes in to training and management is beyond my understanding and expectations of casual service. The staff were efficient, professional and friendly to the standards of a high end restaurant. Halfway considering a return for more fish tacos because it was that good. read more

Food is amazing! I didn't believe that it was as good as people would say, but it definitely lives up to the hype.

Love supporting local restaurants!! This place is absolutely delicious and the girl with the accent has great charisma! Definitely coming here again! read more

Illegal Pete's - Pearl - Burritos!! - Mexican Near Me - Boulder, Colorado

I like this place so much it's worth the 20-mile drive from home. A perfect excuse to go to Boulder when I'm hungry! What's on the menu that makes me drive & drool? Try the Baja-style with whole-wheat skin and all the fresh-grilled . The palette pleasing overall texture is well balanced. Add a hearty Modelo and enjoy! read more

Illegal Pete's - Pearl - Baja-style whole -wheat & ! - Mexican Near Me - Boulder, Colorado

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One of my favorite places to eat in bOulder, the food is amazing and better than Chipotle in my opinion, drinks and great and so is service

I have been eating here for the past 3 years and love it. The atmosphere is always so lively, and the employees are always the nicest. The food is terrific, and they have so many different options. My favorite dish is the baja fish burrito, and I would highly recommend it to anyone. Overall, Pete's (as I call it) is an amazing restaurant that I would recommend to anyone. read more

First time going here a few weeks back. Everything looks pretty good on the menu; co worker had a burrito bowl and I had the fish tacos.

Went here for what I usually remember to be delicious burritos..... The girl making my burrito was clearly drunk. I remember seeing her take a shot with a table while I was in line before she went back behind the counter. I've seen her here before but she hadn't made my food before. I go up to the counter and I swear she's just oozing alcohol from her pores and didn't wash her hands after her shot which spilled on her mouth and hands. I could smell her bad breath and I was pretty put off. I kept hearing her friends shout to this girl named Claire and she stopped in the middle of making my burrito (I wanted green chili) to let the next person handle my toppings ONLY TO GO AND TAKE ANOTHER SHOT. I told her I wanted more beans and she gave me mostly liquid. Needless to say I got my burrito to work and it was a mess because of the mess of a girl named Claire that worked there. Come on guys--- have a little more pride in your work and maybe illegal Pete's needs to hire people who don't need to drink on the job. read more

They used to have bingo every Tuesday night and it was a big reason my boyfriend and I would go. It was such a fun weekly thing. I wish they would bring it back. Their food is pretty great though. read more

Came here for a late night meal after having a few drinks on Pearl Street. Ended up ordering a chicken burrito. It's the same style as qdoba or chipotle where they go down the line asking you which ingredients you want. I added all my preferred ingredients to the burrito and waited for them to roll it up. However, instead of just rolling it up, they actually took a spoon and MIXED UP THE INGREDIENTS. Meaning, unlike chipotle or qdoba, each bite consisted of a mix of the ingredients instead of having one bite of all sour cream, one but of just cheese, etc. Genius concept! Open late for your fourth meal pleasure. Enjoy! read more

i had pretty high expectations for illegal pete's since it popped up on nearly every "restaurants you must try when in colorado" list, but it was pretty ok to me! i ordered a chicken burrito bowl with a tortilla on the side. it basically tastes and looks exactly like a burrito bowl from chipotle. some people claim that it's jumbo-sized and you get way more than you do at chipotle, but it was exactly the same to me? maybe i ordered the wrong thing. im definitely down to go back and try something else, but i wasn't blown away. i can see how this is a hotspot with the college kids (like yes, we all had that late night munchies joint in our college towns, am i right?) but i wouldn't go out of my way for a work lunch or recommend it to people who're visiting from out of town. the staff here is super nice and friendly though!! there's also a bar towards the back of the restaurant if you're looking for some drinks. read more

Everyone in line told me this was like Chipotle but better. I told the server I have celiac and he changed his gloves. I got a salad with chicken. Tasty. read more

Similar concept & quality of food as a Chipotle. Only difference is this place has its own bar. It does have real good drink specials, the mojito was a good choice. Foodwise I rate it a 3, and for drinks a 3.75 star rating. read more

Illegal Pete's - Pearl - Mexican Near Me - Boulder, Colorado

Breakfast burritos are my jam. They go well with a shot of tequila and a margarita at 9:30am. Their salsa verde and queso are also great.

After my first year at CU boulder this was definitely one of my favorite places to eat on the hill. It has great burritos and bowls that never fail to disappoint. The people working are always nice and try to have a conversation and it's very quick. They also have great portion sizes so you always get what you pay for. read more

This is one of the worst restaurants I've been in years. The worst part is having triple volume, blasting music going nonstop. Following that loud music are tables of dudes yelling at each other in nonstop profanity. The counter help people are great. The restaurant feels very dirty, clean up the place and do something about the awful, loud music. You owe it to the customers and the nice employees. read more

the blaring head banging crap music made the experience awful

Got a bowl with veggies & beans smothered in vegetarian green chili. So good.

While visiting Boulder a few weeks ago, a local resident referred us to Illegal Pete's. Before I go into detail, I want you to know I don't usually eat or enjoy this type of food. Illegal Pete's served us a GREAT MEAL!!!! The fish tacos/burrito bowls were outstanding. Everything was freshly prepared and the flavor combinations were so good, so harmonious, just delicious. This is not an expensive, special occasion kind of place. It's an excellent food that gives a great value for the price. Portions are abundant, too. There was entertainment, too! read more

Illegal Pete's is a local staple! Affordable for all, fast delicious food! Try adding the gambler (chipotle ranch) sauce to your burrito!

I usually come here for a late night snack after I've had one too many drinks from the bars in downtown Boulder. It definitely does the trick as their tacos and burritos are fresh with the ingredients. This place offers some of the best TexMex around Boulder. I'd stop by for a quick bite if you're in the mood for Mexican. read more

Illegal Pete's - Pearl - Chicken burrito - Mexican Near Me - Boulder, Colorado

Jesus, how does Illegal Pete's have a rating on the bonus side of 3 stars? How? I guess it's the cache, you know, everyone being like "Oh, it's a Colorado original that hasn't sold out to the corporate assholes". Is that what it is? Well, a shit born in Colorado, excreted in Colorado, and flushed in Colorado is still a shit, no? Didn't Chipotle get it's start right here in CO too? I guess the difference is when you serve quality ingredients and stick to your guns, you get noticed by the money investors and hit the big time. I would much rather sell out to the corporate beast and go to Chipotle to eat a quality product vs. eating a shoddy product just because they stayed local. I guarantee you that if Illegal Pete's was offered a ton of $$$ to expand nationally, they would take it in a heartbeat, local label be damned. If you can't tell, I've been disappointed by Illegal Pete's for the last time. The ingredients are just not quality. Whenever I get the steak, it's chewy beyond digestion. And the chicken? I almost always get grisly chicken in my tacos. Sure some of it is moist and delicious, but I can only reach into my mouth to extract fatty, tendon-y chicken in front of my friends so many times before I say enough already. The lettuce is always brown, and the flour tortillas are always dry to the point of being stale. I'll never understand why people will wait a half hour in line to eat here. read more

Illegal Petes is a fun atmosphere. You walk up to the counter and describe to the employee what you want and how you want it made. The food is always good and fresh and the price is decent for what you order. This is a great place to eat for a quick lunch while shopping on the Pearl Street Mall. read more

I stopped getting burritos from Illegal Pete's on Pearl because I can't stand the employees there. The food has always been pretty lousy, but there aren't a lot of quick restaurants downtown, which means I hit up Pete's more often than not. However, after dealing with distracted, vapid service from Pete's peons for the past few years, I've decided to end my burrito relationship with them. It's one thing to have lousy food. It's quite another to staff your restaurant with people who couldn't care less about the food production, let alone the customers. They are slow, perpetually annoyed and wholly unfriendly. It always feels like Illegal Pete's is a party to which customers are not invited. If that's the case, the restaurant should lock the doors and kindly ask people to eat elsewhere. The food would probably be better there anyway. read more

This review is for their catering. I ordered for 30 people last weekend and picked it up. Everything was right with my order, and my guests absolutely loved it! For $9 a person for a taco bar, you really can't go wrong. Thanks for making my party food a hit! read more

Gross. Unsanitary...the people touching your food are using gloves with holes in them. They drop tongs on all different surfaces and into other food buckets and then use them to serve your food. Next time you want to go here..don't. read more

I actually think of this place as a 4-4.5. But I am overrating because I feel like some reviewers have given irrationally low ratings. I think a business' intention should be considered when reviewing. This is a burrito joint: affordable and casual with some fresh and delicious (much better than Chipotle) tex-mex. It is not fine dining. It is not logical to use criteria for a place that costs triple when reviewing a place that gives you leftovers on an 8$ meal. read more

It's really unfortunate but since I became a vegan finding American Mexican restaurants is really hard! :/ I mean come on the basis should always start with great rice and beans and not needing to have cup of cheese and the "carefully flavored meat" to cover all the flavors (or lack of flavors) of the other very important ingredients. Illegal Pete's has been so far the best place to get American Mexican food for a vegetarian/vegan. I ordered the big potato and unfortunately the only thing that sucked were the potatoes :/ which was a huge bummer because since I eat raw till 4 I crave potatoes alllll the time. They throw small nickel and dime size cubes on the grill and that's it (they need to just be steamed, not lightly grilled on oil and give us potatoes) Come on guys it's in the name!!! But everything was clean and flavorful without tasting like I just ate a cup of salt. The line cooks are super attentive and I love it when you say vegan and they respond with, "oh would you like guacamole instead of cheese." The burrito was the perfect size not like other burrito shops that serve you something that's as small as a hot pocket. The atmosphere was great inside or outside, it had the "chipotleway" feel to the place without all the salt. Trust me I wasn't bloated after this meal. Now when I crave burritos I'm taking a trip to Boulder and shoving my face into the perfect carb fix. read more

Illegal Pete's is awesome, and the customer service is great. The food always tastes amazing, I have had bowls and the taquitos which are both very tasty. Also, their queso is so good, definitely recommend going here if you're in a rush or just want to hang out with friends. The atmosphere is very lively and exciting. read more

OK, one more solid review for Pete's, but here's my say: The breakfast burritos. Well, their website says they open at 11am everyday, but this Boulder location opens at 9:30 Saturday, maybe the same on Sunday, and maybe earlier on weekdays, due to their b-burritos. Huh? You'll have to call to check like me, or memorize their hours posted on the door. Anyways their breakfast burrito is around $4.50 and their regular burritos around $6.50. As far as I can tell, they come out around the same size, and I can get eggs, potatoes, chorizo, bacon, cheese, green chile and more in the morning. So this is just one large b-burrito, that I save the last third for later in the day (remember, your brain doesn't know your stomach is full until it's too late). So I'm in a race against time to obtain this burrito, when I head out late, to get there before they run out of eggs... No, Pete's is not authentic whatever, but they are fresh, generous, consistent, and tasty, which makes them popular with students, tourists, and lots others in Boulder looking for a quick, decent, satisfying, and importantly, cheap meal. But hey, I am still looking for an authentic b-burrito near me in Boulder...let me know where u go. Friend of mine turned me onto their green chile, both pork & veggie options, which can be slathered in any burrito. Not that much heat, but still quite enjoyable. Fish tacos made to order with crispy battered fish and their cooling smooth white sauce is also not authentic, but very enjoyable too. Word from staff is dog pals are OK on the patios (i'd still be careful on the front section, as that IS on the Pearl St. Mall, where pets are banned). read more

I was visiting from out of town this weekend and while in Boulder my friend told me about this place; she said she loved it and i thought yes.. let's eat here! We split a burrito as i wasn't that hungry (I know what you're thinking.. not hungry, right; but yes... ) anyways we ordered the chicken pesto. The first bite and i knew this was good. every bite just seemed to get better and better! I really enjoy how they mix everything for you. I would definitely eat here again next time I'm back! bonus is that they have good beer! read more