Baja Fresh

OHMIKOT! This place closed down! So sad… It prolly never did any advertising so people don’t know it open back up. They should send coupons in the mail like other fast food places do. Too late I guess…

Okay, so the last two times I’ve been here… it’s been closed! Not closed, like we’re done for the day, like shut down. I thought it was back and gave it another shot, but not so much. I wish it would stay consistent or something!

I really like how they renovated this Baja Fresh. I like walking in there and the service and food are always good. The menu is always introducing something new, so there’s always something to try. Great food — fresh & tasty.

I must say ive never been a fan of baja fresh, I always thought of it as one step above taco bell, which I distaste. However, they seemed to really redo this location and I must say the food seems to taste better and the salsas are alot more flavorful. Kind of reminds me of Chipotle, but not quite Chipotle.
The cool thing about the new revamped location — looks nicer, you get chips with any order and the staff seems to go out of their way for you.
also a good tip, if you pick up the alhambra newspaper (you can pick them up by the golf course or city hall) they have a 3.99 coupon for a burrito. Good deal i must say.

Monday night. Basically empty. fast service. Slow at getting food out, but to me that means the good is cooked fresh. Overall okay. The food was fulfilling. Of, course you don’t come here for authentic Mexican food, but it’s a good Americanized version. I got the Ultimo and chicken quesadilla for about $ 15. Nice service and free chips and salsa= good! Minus star for the length of time waited, but i’m really not complaining that much, because everything else was okie dokie.

–yummy
–free chips with any order
–salsa bar
–20% off all LA fit members :]
–cant pick and choose specifically what i want in my burrito :[
–friendly staff

So glad that this location is back, and the new renovations seduce you to come in. Baja Fresh had me at the red, shiny counter and teak wood (or similar) seating.
Okay, back to the food. My usual fave meal are the mahi-​mahi tacos, but I felt daring last week and tried the langostino burrito. The burrito stuffed me, but the flavorings of the burrito was worth it. Baja also served my favorite pico de gallo salsa, and am now addicted to the pineapple salsa. The service is super-​friendly, and is worth going back. Conviniently located next to LA Fitness, another place I need to go before eating any more…

Used to go to Baja Fresh all the time but haven’t been in years. Why did I stop going? The redone restaurant in Alhambra is clean and once again serving very fresh tasting burritos, tacos, and taquitos. I love the Baja Burrito. The staff is super friendly and inviting especially Jenica. Lately I’ve been going to Chipotle for my burrito fix but Baja Fresh tastes better than ever. I ll go to baja instead.

Used to avoid the chain after another location badly messed up an order (they tried to pass a tortilla with pico de gallo and a litle guacamole in it as a full-​fledged vegetarian «Baja Burrito»).
Decided to give this location a try when they renovated and put an half-​off ad in the local paper. The place looks like they’re trying to copy Chipotle in architectural style — lots of brown and wood.
Went for the mahi-​mahi fajita plate and was not disappointed. Good pineapple salsa. Prices are comparable with Chipotle and Qdoba, which means I’m only eating here on a BOGO deal.
P. S. This place had a sign saying «margaritas coming soon», something that some Chipotle locations do, although the Alhambra Chipotle does not.

Armed with a coupon and too tired to cook, Mrs. C and I head out to Baja Fresh after running an errand. Funny thing about this location — it closed and the signage was taken down. It sat closed for several months, and when I saw some work being done on the inside, I figured it would open as a different restaurant. Now it’s open and it’s a… Baja Fresh. Wonder why it even closed in the first place.
The remodel on the inside is really well done. More booths and tables, and no more high tables and stools. The salsa bar was well-​stocked, and it looked pretty clean on the inside. However, the food definitely needed some working on. Steak nachos — bland and boring. Chicken Ultimo burrito — equally bland. I get that they are trying to mix up the fast-​food concept and prepare everything fresh, but we walked out with the same sad conclusion: we would have been happier at Taco Bell. Dayam Baja Fresh — you got yo’ azz handed to you by Taco Bell!!!

Recently reopened.
After visiting this location a little less than a year ago and seeing that it was closed, I figured it went out of business after Chipotle opened (a few miles down). They never even put up a sign to say they were remodeling (or at least a visible one from the streets!). So after hearing that they seemingly reopened after all this time, I thought I’d give it a shot again, though I knew they’re food quality was lacking compared to other locations (since I frequent Baja Fresh pretty often), but hoped for the best since this location is the closest to me.
It seems like most people have the same impression as I do: it’s still closed. On a Saturday afternoon they hardly had any business, but they still took forever to churn out the food – I waited a good 15 minutes for my taquitos. They also forgot to give me my favorite sauce that’s suppose to go with it, but in fairness they did give me an extra taquito.
They also did do a thorough remodeling of the place since it no longer resembles the other Baja Fresh’s. But it is, however, off putting to see their «B» health grade. Hopefully they’ll get it together so I don’t have to keep driving to the Foothill location.

I stopped by on Sunday and found out this location has been closed.

I’m a sucker for their free chips.
Environment:
Typical fast food /​takeout joint. Bright lights, order at the counter and wait for your number to be called. The upside is they offer free chips while you wait which totally hits the spot when you’re waiting for your food. There is a female manager who is very stingy with freebies and does not offer chips! Take action and request the free chips! :) (She also charges for extras like sour cream… boooo.) Beware — the bathroom gets kinda yucky.
Food:
I love fish tacos, and the fish tacos here are good but definitely not «authentic.» You can get your fish fried or grilled, and the fish is topped with cabbage, salsa, and pico de gallo (that has cilantro — blech). The salsa is reeeally tangy like vinegar, which is why I love it. The tacos are also served with a slice of lime, making the taco even more tangy. Yowza!
— The burritos are good too and are very generous sizes. The insides vary, of course, but they are pretty good about the meat to rice/​beans ratio. You can also get your burrito WET, meaning they pour enchilada sauce over your burrito and top it with cheese: extra gooey and extra melty.
— I’ve ordered the cheese dip and regretted it. It sounds better than it tastes. It’s just velveeta with some spices.
— Their salsa bar and beverage counter areas are generally clean, which I always appreciate because I gotta have at least two containers of salsa with my meals!
— The tortilla chips are good! Sometimes oily, they can be greasy and filling, but they are salted generously and usually fresh (or at least warm).
Why four stars?
For a quick Mexican meal, this place is not bad. Do not expect anything authentic! I’m only rating on the quality of food/​service/​establishment, not authenticity. The prices are reasonable and they serve the food fairly quickly which means you can have a quick and inexpensive meal in a flash — which is perfect for weeknights when you don’t want to cook or fight a crowd at a nicer restaurant.

I frequent this place a lot and would have given it a 4 star but my last visit downgraded it to a 3. The food is great… much less fatty and oily than some other mexican places… I think this is more American Mexican food though. I really love the fish tacos – the grill ones. The sauce in it is my favorite… they also have great quesidillas (spelling?) The open sauce bar is clean and has plenty of choices. the black salsa is my favorite.
I love their burritos – It’s big enough that I eat half – and get so full and save half for dinner.
The only reason I gave them a three star is because last time I went they ran out of shrimps for the taco trio (shrimp, beef, & chicken) and also I ordered 3 grilled fish tacos and got three bread fried fish tacos – even though receipt says I paid for the grill ones.
Other than that I really still love the food.

Upscale chain mexican fast food.
Better then places like taco bell but you pay for it, decent real mexican resturants beat it though.
Their burritos are probably the best thing on the menu.

For a fast food place this is better then some!
Clean, spacious. Free SALSA!
and i love to mix it into the rice.
Not too impressed with the grilled vegetable no tortilla bowl style. Just isnt good. Too bad a tortilla is 600 calories. boo! burritos are good!
I dont recommend their cookie at the counter. tastes like sand.

«eh… I don’t know… Fish Tacos. They’re known for that right?» I replied when my co-​worker asked me what I wanted for lunch from Baja Fresh. I felt indifferent as I took a bite of it as i’ve never had good expierences with fish tacos, but holy damn was there a party in my mouth. The lemon, the freash fish, the batter, the crispyness, I can taste it all individually. It didn’t taste like a lump of paste thrown in hot oil. Definately going back on my own one day to try other dishes. However, if you haven’t eaten breakfast yet, this meal can get pretty pricey.

What a big disappointment. I used to really like Baja Fresh — before this location in Alhambra opened, I used to drive all the way to the Lake Ave location in Pasadena, their food was that good. I was so happy when this location opened near me several years ago and have been eating here since. I always enjoyed their flavorful beef tacos, the meat was well-​marinated and perfectly cooked; their burritos were of a good size and filled with beans, well-​seasoned rice and meaty goodness.
Unfortunately, even though the service has always been good and the staff friendly, the quality of the food has gone downhill steadily as of late. I kept giving them another chance, but after tonight I don’t think I will be going back. Tonight my husband and I ordered our usual Baja Fresh entrees — he got a Baja chicken burrito and I got two Baja beef tacos. So simple, you can’t mess it up, right?! I don’t know who was cooking back there tonight, but the burrito was cold and had almost no chicken inside. Whatever chicken was there, was tasteless. The beef tacos I got were awful. The tortilla fell apart, which tells me it’s either not cooked thoroughly or not fresh; the beef inside was so overcooked, it was burnt and tough and I had to spit it out because my jaws hurt from chewing it.
But wait, there’s more disappointment! One great thing about Baja is their salsa bar, but even the salsa bar here was a total letdown. Tonight, the green salsa, which is usually consistently good, tasted like green cumin water. The pico de gallo was mushy and mealy. The chips were cold and stale, I almost choked on a few that had big lumps of salt.
Again, the people who served us were nice and friendly as usual, but you can’t make patrons go back to a place where the food really sucks.
Three strikes and you’re out, Baja Fresh Alhambra! Next time I want Baja Fresh, I’ll be going back to the one in Pasadena.

Baja Fresh makes me feel fresh after working out at the adjacent LA Fitness. It is your standard Baja Fresh, they offer great tasting Mexican food in generous portions for a decent price, with a free salsa bar. I like the burritos «enchilada style,» where they take a burrito and top it with enchilada sauce and cheese. Nachos and fajitas are also recommended too.
This location is kept very clean and has plenty of seating. The staff is very generous and makes sure they get your order as fast as they can. There aren’t too many Mexican restaurants in the area, so this place is a definite must to get your Mexican fix.

I love Baja Fresh! Yes, I know, they are all the same, but sometimes that’s good. Sometimes you want to know exactly what you are getting before you get it. They call that comfort food. No surprises here. Fish tacos, steak tacos, burritos, rice and beans.
This place is clean, it’s quick (especially since they are making it, uhm, fresh) and it’s medium rare on the price. Not the cheapest, but decent.
They have a little salsa bar. That way I can put all the onions and cilantro on my food that I want. I fill up a couple of their little plastic cups with the jalapeño slices to munch on while I wait for my order.