It was our 1st experience at any Torchy's and in this case, the Boulder, CO location and it is to be our last. We were told to go early if we wanted to make it to a 7:30 P.M. concert at Mackey Auditorium, so we arrived at 5:30 P.M. Considering we, a party of 4, were only about 10th-12th deep back in line it seemed like we had made a very reasonable decision. But then reality quickly set in. The noise level was absolutely off the charts, at least for our group, all in the 55+ range, who were still blessed with pretty decent hearing and wanted to keep it that way. I forgot I had a decibel app on my phone, but I'd be willing to bet a good steak dinner that it would have recorded at somewhere in the 85-90bd+ range which in many workplace environments would require some type of hearing protection, not to mention the potential hearing damage exacted upon the several infants in the restaurant, sitting on top of tables in carriers. At one point, there was about a 20 sec break in the hard driving boom box background beat that for one small moment almost seemed to catch the crowd off guard, and for one brief moment, we could actually hear the other party speaking just across the table. Seems I read in a restaurateur magazine somewhere the philosophy behind pumping up the volume of the music was to force the patrons to raise the level of their voices over the music and as a result their mouth and throat dried out. Mix that in with unhealthy over-the-top saltiness of the food and viola, the drink sales tend to skyrocket. I am not saying that is Torchy's philosophy, but the saltiness of the food, at least to me, as someone who loves to cook, made the food selections nearly inedible. The only saving grace was that I was really hungry. With so many other factors on the con side, it would almost be easier to start with the pro side. Having worked at a popular fast food chain on the east coast, when I was about the same age as many of the staff employed at this Torchy's location, and having experienced the dinner hour crush by hordes of hungry families returning home from a day at the beach, with a constant 4 lines of 20-30 deep, I appreciated just how well the cashiers, servers and bus staff seemed to be able to hold it together and maintain some semblance of efficiency, and friendliness, under what seemed to be extremely harried working conditions. Now back to the cons. As some others have mentioned seating was horrible and quite frankly it seemed almost as if this establishment simply was not prepared for opening. Yes, it's true that there were many just hanging around, playing on their smart phones or reading a paper, long after they finished their meal, leaving others to stand, as we did for 15-20 minutes walking back and forth trying to locate a table for 4. But in fairness to some others, sitting down to a dinner meal should not be an eat and run experience. And to sit 5 minutes or so after eating to simply digest your meal I would not think is overly selfish. Once we were seated however, it was extremely annoying to have people waiting for seating hovering over your back long before you were finished eating or staff reaching in while you were eating and clearing your table before you were even finished eating sending what seemed to feel like a strong message of hurry up and leave so we can turn the table. Some people were so turned off by the inside scene they chose to sit outside in the unheated picnic table area with temp in the maybe high 40s. Pricewise, it seemed at first that the items we very reasonably priced until you realized the close up photos online of the tacos were in reality not much different than the size of Taco Tuesdays tacos served in other decent Boulder restaurants for less. So by the time all is said and done it's very easy to rack up a $40+ bill for two with one drink each and maybe a side of guacamole and chips. And when the food did arrive, for the most part it was cold. Didn't have the time though to send it back. And the margarita my wife had was tasty but unlike margaritas at other area Mexican restaurants, it had like zero effect. How could it? It appeared to be mostly rocks. I could go on but the bottom-line, at least for us, is that we will not be returning any time soon, and in fact, not at all. I was even tempted not to write this review but rather send a note directly to the corporate office. Recommendation, with so many other good choices in the area, find a place where you can not only enjoy a good meal with great taste and flavor without all the salt, but one where you can actually talk to and enjoy the company of the person sitting across from you, even it means spending a couple more $, because you may just find you will also be taking home lunch, or breakfast for the next day. If there was a rating at less than one star it might have been more befitting. read more