Qdoba Mexican Grill

They moved. The place is close! :(sad because was a good restaurant.

It’s close to work and cheap, what can I say?!

When Qdoba pulled out of California I stopped by this place in Washington in order to use up the credit I had on my rewards card. Suffice to say the food was as good as I was expecting, but the service was bad enough that I would never come back.
Pro tip: When the first words of the order are «I would like a Queso Steak Burrito» the two follow up questions the attendant asks should not be «Just one or three tacos?» and «What kind of meat? Chicken or pork?». Skipping over the queso entirely but still remembering to put it on the bill just added insult to injury.
I started to question if the employee serving me even understood proper English because when asked questions they would look over their shoulder to the person who was manning the stove at the time before looking back at me and answering «yes?» in a questioning tone. Even when yes or no was not an answer to the question!
«Excuse me, where’s the restroom»
«Yes?»
“Yes…what?”

If you are looking for a good tasting mexican style food this is not bad. I had a bowl and while the proce might be a little high for what you get, it tasted pretty good. The service leaves a little to be desired but it really is a fast food place.

Chipotle shits on Qdoba!

Qdoba over Chipotle.
Yea, I said it. You can quote me.
Qdoba has far more options and variety than it’s seemingly more popular counterpart. Personally I’m a fan of the Fajita Ranchera and Ancho Chile BBQ burritos. Both of them have a very distinct tastes. The Fajita Ranchera has tomatoes, onion, poblano peppers, garlic and spices in a fajita burrito that should be accompanied by chicken and rice. However, it doesn’t have to be. You can opt for the vegetarian route instead. The Ancho Chile burrito’s claim to fame is it’s sauce. The somewhat sweet and spicy semi-​solid has spicy chiles, hickory, smoky mesquite and from what I understand, the most subtle taste of chocolate.
To liven up the burrito party, there are a number of salsas to peruse; from pico de gallo to salsa roja to mango salsa. I usually grab the roasted chile corn salsa and extra sour cream. There’s also lettuce, cheese, guacamole, fajita and grilled veggies. Once you’ve decided on those, top it all off with a 3-​Cheese queso or ranchera sauce.
You’re basically creating your own masterpiece of a burrito with the palette of options behind the sneeze-​guard. Did I mention you can get your burrito naked? No? Well, you can. And let me tell you, I tend to go that route.
The service is extremely average and you will occasionally find the employee who was not able to leave it all hanging at the proverbial problem coat rack by the door. This is unfortunate and the reason why this location is not (at least) a 4 star review. There is plenty of in-​house seating and a tv that is usually running CNN if you need your news fix while you chow down.
Come if you like art and like to play with your food.
Don’t come if the first sentence in this review incurred wrath.

Always fresh food. I’m a big fan of the Naked Chicken Burrito with fajita veggies. Interesting menu with lots of variety, but being a creature of habit I tend to get the same things each time.
The chicken nachos are delicious!

Always fresh, always friendly staff! The line can be long at peak lunch times but the line goes really fast! It seems they have several full time staffers, all the same friendly faces day in and day out (lunchtime). Portion size varies from employee to employee but if you ask for an extra scoop of something they are happy to oblige. Prices are reasonable but it’s not a cheap spot. Depends what I order but my bill is usually $ 10 – 12 (with a drink)

My favorite is the chicken queso burrito and Dr Pepper. Some of the staff know my usual order. It’s great!

It’s predictably different. A change of pace and not disappointing, either. The food is decent, prices are a bit high though but, everything is fresh. I actually think of this place as what it’s not. not Baja Fresh, not Chipotles, not Taco Del Mar …

i’m not the biggest fan of tex-​mex food. but there is simply something about Qdoba’s chips and queso that just hits that warm spot in my belly and cures my craving for something salty — yet savory. and i swear that queso tastes good on everything!

oh delicious barbequey pork burrito, where the heck have you been all my life?
«what do you want for lunch? does taco bell sound good?»
«does taco bell sound good to YOU?»
«hey, i’m just trying to offer suggestions. how about qdoba? it’s right there.»
the stars must have been aligned perfectly to steer us away from «taco smell.»
we came in and were the only ones there, save for an old lady at the counter. sweet. pick of the tables!
the lady at the counter was welcoming and let us know she’d be right with us. hey, that’s fine… i still don’t know what i… oh. what’s this? ancho chile bbq burrito?
oh! okay! i know what i want now! she was really patient as it was my & my bf’s first time here… we were kinda half-​ordering half-​menu speed reading.
nice selection of salsas (i opted for just cheese and sour cream instead of salsa) and everything looked fresh.
got a side of chips & queso… oh mannnn the queso es muy bueno. nice and spicy but not too much that it renders my tastbuds useless.
the only downside? it’s not super cheap… two burritos, chips & queso, and one large drink sets you back a little over $ 20.
BUT
it’s not enough to keep me away! i came back the next day and got the same thing. and i’ll do it again. well, just not for another 24 hours, at least.

I like Qdoba a lot, but this place is pretty stingy on toppings. I pay $ 6.19 plus tax for the items on the Craft 2 menu, so I should be able to get a generous amount of toppings, but that is not the case here. I have to ask multiple times for more… which is sad because I only get lettuce, pico de gallo, and a little bit of cheese on my chicken tacos. So give me some more pico!
The staff isn’t particularly friendly and they try to zip me through the line as fast as possible… even though every time I’ve been to this location there isn’t a single person behind me in line.
The food always tastes good and fresh, but I would much rather go to a different Qdoba if I could. This place is just disappointing.

Okay, I have to admit… I am addicted to some food porn here! Yes, the naked burritos are a must for me whenever I enter this establishment. They are so damn good, especially when you add the mango salsa into the mix!!!
The staff at this particular Qdoba are always friendly, and they greet you right away. They don’t give off attitude while serving up your food, and make it exactly how you want (not that it’s hard to say which item to put on your order, just like at Subway).
I frequent this place because it’s good, and it’s MUCH healthier than getting lard-​heavy Mexican food at some places, or going to fast food (which I have sworn off).

Love the food here… but sometimes the employees don’t hear you or can’t understand what you say so communication can be a problem sometimes. Also, they should turn their T.V. station to FOX and not CNN. Just a suggestion!
Going there for lunch today… mmm!

Meh. I just got that «meh» feeling walking in. It was dead for a late afternoon. It was just me and the CNN-​driven TV above me. And the more spacious the place, the more weird it feels for a dead place. the lady took my order okay. didn’t appear swayed by me taking some time. i wanted something that would less likely produce the possibility of me hick-​uping, burping, sneezing, or farting… 3-​cheese nachos with grilled chicken and black beans. What? I can still get any of those? Well… it’s less likely– ha. Can’t go too wrong with nachos, atleast these weren’t overly wet.
Not worth going out of the way for, but falls into the «great along the way». Hm… and the water tasted funny…

Qdoba is a bit of a mixed plate for me. Is it Mexican? No, not on your life. Is it a grill? Sometimes you see them charring up some protein but you can’t get a grilled steak or chicken with beans and rice on the side. Still, I come here every two weeks or so lately for lunch. The food doesn’t offend me, there is plenty of seating to eat and read a book and the soda refills are free.
I tend to stick to either the Mexican Gumbo (is it a gumbo? No.) or the Trio which gets you a cup of Tortilla Soup, a taco and a soda. Today I decided on something different and went with a Chicken Burrito with Habenero Salsa. The salsa was spicy but there really wasn’t much in the way of flavor coming from the burrito other than the salsa. I also found the flour tortilla to get a bit gummy from the steaming they do before constructing the thing. I think I’ll stick to the soups from now on.
They do have a frequent diner card that gets you a freebie after 10 visits which helps to offset the kind of pricey menu they have.
Qdoba is a good alternative to the other «burger-​centric» joints but if you are looking for true Mexican flavor find the nearest taco truck.

I finally know what «meh» means.
My lunch experience today at the Qdoba in Renton was completely neutral. It wasn’t awful nor was it a raging totally awesome once in a lifetime event.
The good stuff: an interesting menu, the servings of food are HUGE, clean facility, and friendly, helpful staff (staff is way nicer than when the place first opened a few years back).
The not-​so-​great: it’s on the verge of being considered «moderate» for costs as it was $ 10 for a BBQ pork burrito, fountain drink, and side of chips and salsa is a bit steep (lunch specials at several other sit down Mexican restaurants in the vicinity are for $ 6 – 10), parking is a chore as it is poorly laid-​out and shares with a co-​joined Starbucks Coffee, where you have to fight caffeine-​addicted cell phone slaves to find a open parking spot, and, well, the food servings are HUGE.
To sum up: this is much better than eating your aunt’s butter beans and spinach casserole but I wouldn’t have it on my «top ten places to eat again before I die» list.

I wanted to give them 2 ½ stars but couldn’t. But really, it’s a 2 ½…completely average.
To me, there was nothing about this place that was remarkable. Food is decent (not great), service is decent (not spectacular), and it’s just so… average!
I’m not sure what kind of food this really is. «Make me a burrito with this meat, and then quac and sour cream, etc.» This isn’t Mexican food, it’s just a different version of Subway! I suppose if you like an american burrito, then this is a spot you can go to (but I see no difference between taco del mar, qdoba, chipotle. etc.). If you’re looking for anything that resembles Mexican food, save the tortillas, go anywhere else — -go across the street to Mazatlan! Now THAT’S good food-​not extremely authentic, but much more so than Azteca etc.

I love Qdoba! This one is not usually horrendously busy (like Issaquah or Overlake) and it’s large and clean.
Usually the staff are very nice. Our favorite staff member moved next door to Starbucks, we miss him at Qdoba!
Qdoba has a nice selection of flavors and meat. Chicken, steak, pulled pork, shredded beef, fajita veggies, grilled veggies… their tortilla soup is pretty tasty too. They are pretty fast and you can choose exactly what you want in each dish since you’re going through an «assembly line» reminiscent of Subway.
My only gripe about Qdoba in general is that the amount of meat, salsa, cheese, sour cream, etc. you get depends totally on who is making it. So sometimes you get a LOT, other times you have to keep saying you want a little more… maybe this is only when you’re getting the salad/​gumbo/​naked burritos.
Also, some of my friends are allergic to cilantro and Qdoba mixes the cilantro in with the rice.