5 Chipotle Menu Items You Should Avoid Ordering, According To Reviews

Everyone loves a good burrito. When done well, there's almost nothing more satisfying and delicious than a well-stuffed burrito — or an overstuffed one, if you wrap it right. And for many people looking for a quick, cheap burrito, Chipotle is a consistently good choice. They're known for their quick Mexican options that lean on the cheaper side. 

Chipotle is a long-running fast casual Mexican chain that specializes in the "build your own" approach to tacos, burritos, bowls, and more. It has a devoted following, and there are certainly people who love what the chain has to offer. At the same time, though, there are plenty of menu items at Chipotle that you should definitely avoid eating. We wanted to find out what Chipotle menu items people didn't like, so you can watch out next time you build yourself a burrito. We combed social media and review websites to put together a list of the five worst Chipotle items, based on taste, quality, and value.

If you're familiar with carnitas, then you know what it takes to make it good. Carnitas is really about the seasonings, as well as the method of preparing which involves cooking it in its own juices and then frying it at the end. When you get some good carnitas, there's really nothing better. But as it turns out, Chipotle carnitas doesn't quite fit that bill.

The carnitas at Chipotle is commonly seen as being underwhelming, with one Reddit user saying, "The carnitas can seem conspicuously bland and sometimes a bit gross." The word most people tend to use to describe it would certainly be "bland," as another Redditor also said. They added that the "only seasoning is salt and pepper after being boiled in water." There is an obvious lack of flavor from the carnitas that can only really be salvaged if you get a decent amount of toppings and salsa on your meal. Otherwise, you'll definitely get something very dry and uninteresting. 

Steak is something that shouldn't be too hard to get right, at least if you know what kind of cut to use. There's a lot of opinion out there about how to make a good steak, and lots of ways you can do it, too. Apparently, Chipotle didn't get the memo on that, because people do not like its steak, an item that has been on the menu forever.

Chipotle's steak consistently gets criticism for how dry and tough it is, plus how much fat it has. One Reddit user noticed the quality of the steak getting worse over time, while another agreed, saying it's "often fat and gristle, it's disgusting. And it's shameful." In another thread, a Redditor called it "too chewy." Another commenter on the site said that the "quality has gone down massively. It tastes like stew meat. Not sure what cheap cut they are using now." Next time you're craving a steak burrito or a bowl, avoid Chipotle if you're looking for something truly satisfying.

When it comes to meat alternatives, it's hard to find something that really makes it all worthwhile, and there are a lot of vegan options out there that you should generally avoid if you can. Chipotle has sofritas, which are tofu protein cooked with spices. Sofritas was first introduced in 2013, but it's become one of the chain's menu items that people genuinely do not care for.

While this plant-based protein is a staple on the Chipotle menu these days, it certainly doesn't seem like people enjoy it all that much. One passionate Reddit reviewer called it "hot garbage," saying it's "always soupy and [ruins] the rest of the bowl with their wet, sloppy, tasteless mess." Another user who called it nasty criticized it as being "just a check-the-box 'we are vegetarian friendly' gimmick." Interestingly, another Redditor exposed their local store for how they cooked the sofritas, saying that employees boiled it in hot water while the protein was in a polythene bag.

A good dressing is all about the ratio, especially when it comes to a vinaigrette. It can be relatively easy to mess up a good dressing by adding too much of one thing, and with vinaigrette, the biggest killer is when there's too much vinegar. Chipotle's honey vinaigrette seems to get the ratio wrong pretty consistently, as customers have expressed pure disdain for the taste and mouthfeel of the condiment.

The honey vinaigrette is a relatively recent addition to Chipotle's menu, and it's one that employees and customers actually seem to unite on in terms of how bad it is. One Redditor, who's an employee, said it's "absolutely f**king foul," and revealed that the condiment is "90% pure rice bran oil." Another Reddit user said they were "disappointed" in the vinaigrette. In another thread, a commenter said it was simply "not that good." Another Redditor said they "absolutely hate it" and called it "nasty af."

Carne asada is one of the most delicious ways to cook steak for a Mexican dish; full of flavor, juicy, and perfect for anything from a taco to a quesadilla. Chipotle's carne asada, however, doesn't hit the mark. Interestingly, the restaurant's carne asada gets a particularly bad rep among its menu items, with social media users and reviewers pulling absolutely no punches about how bad it is. 

One Reddit user said it "tastes like dog food," which commenters on the thread wholeheartedly agreed with. One said it was "so damn chewy." On Facebook, one customer said they bought it because of how it looked in an advertisement, but ended up being disappointed, saying it was the worst they'd ever had. Veteran reviewer and former chief food critic at Eater New York, Ryan Sutton, blasted the carne asada in a review, saying "the level of beefy sinew was so intense that I couldn't physically chew it apart" and that they detected a "livery tang" in the meat.

Chipotle might be a popular chain across the country, but they have plenty of menu items that people agree just don't hit. To compile this list and save you the hassle of unknowingly ordering some bad carne asada or sofritas next time you try this fast casual eatery, we combed social media sites like Reddit and Facebook, as well as food review websites, to come to a consensus around which items you should avoid eating. Our criteria for the list included taste, quality of the item, and the overall experience of consuming it.