Qdoba – West Broad

Crusted on grime everywhere you look … pots and pans, seating, the «carpeting» is a disgusting joke. I don’t think anyone ever cleans this place.
Too bad because the food’s not bad but I’ll never set foot in there again.

Fresh, generous portions, friendly staff. Typical Tex-​Mex done right.

Yuck! Though I came in around 9pm, still the place looked horrible! No up-​keeping done. The prep station had containers poking out. I really wanted to bail and hit up Chipotle, but I was in a hurry. I got to the counter. Told the girl who worked there with a grim face, «what is that smell? It smells like vomit!» Her reaction was a chuckle. I said «that’s not funny.» I’ll be going back and speaking to the manager.

This location is convenient and if you like cold food, the taste is adequate. The best thing is the Chicken Tortilla soup. At least that was hot. Chipotle is better and just down the road.
Their saving grace is their loyalty program.

I stopped by Qdoba on the way to a grocery store at about 12:30, a time I figured would have fresh line items. It was much more busy than the prior one I came (about 15 people instead of 2.
I got the Craft 2 again with a burrito bowl and crunchy tacos as the queso nachos last time were just a bit too «hockey game concession standy». This time I was less impressed with both items of the craft 2. The rice just tasted bland and both the tacos and burrito bowl were lacking in portioning.
It was still decent for the price but compared to my last visit it felt like an entirely different restaurant. I’m sure I’ll come here again, but I do believe I’m back to favoring Chipotle as I’ve had nothing but consistent meals from the few I’ve been to in Richmond.

After lousy food and service experiences at both the Willow Lawn and Chesterfield Town Center locations I thought I would try this location, after receiving 4 free meal cards for a horrendous experience at the Chesterfield local.
I found the food to be fresh, prepared well and was greeted by the Mgr Rachel who was on point.
Don’t know if this is the norm for this shop or just an anomaly, but my experience here was just fine.

It was lunchtime, I was hungry… it was across the street. We figured that if their major competitor was worth it, so should they be and certainly the places look very similar inside– clean, good service, though the line wraps widdershins instead of clockwise around the outside of the dining area, as if that matters [though it always throws me a bit, like someone’s running backwards on a track– I say this as if I run regularly].
I got a shredded beef burrito at the recommendation of the server [lovely young lady] and added peppers and onions [which is extra here?] and the usual salsas and stuff. The first bite was all right, it smelled good, but the prevailing flavor was a bit barbecue-​y and lacked any depth and the spicy salsas I asked for lacked any punch to jazz up the sort of mushy damp brown rice [there was some sort of sauce on it, I think?]. I didn’t actually end up finishing the burrito, though I ate enough of it that I wasn’t hungry afterwards. I just… I dunno, I’ll stick to ‘the other guy’, I suspect.

Best burritos in the Northern Richmond area. I’ve been to this location twice in the past month. The food and service are both great.

Alright for quick food. I like chipotle better. These quick Mexican restaurants are my go-​to post workout meals.

So, while I agree Qdoba is good… I’ve recently been going to Chipotle more and discovered that chipotle has the upper hand on them. They are better. Hands down.
I ordered chicken, lime rice in a bowl, it just wasnt as tasty as it is at chipotle. The chips were noticing different as well. The salt on the chipotle ones give them the edge.
Sorry Q, as much as I love Mexican food, I have to admit you need to spruce up your menu.

I have been a fan of Qdoba for many years, I was craving what i remembered as good food. Upon entrance I was not greet and the person making my burrito half listened to me, and had to ask multiple times what I wanted (this was not due to hearing impairment, just lack of caring). Charged me for a drink when I clearly stated I didn’t need a beverage. I let that slide because I just wanted to eat my burrito and get on with my day. The chicken was cold, the sour cream room temp, the lettuce wilted, and hardly any of the salsa I asked for. I drove passed a Chipolte for this, next time I will just go home, at least if everything sucks about the experience I can only blame myself.

Here’s the thing… You can survive as a restaurant if you have crappy service by having fantastic food. You cannot, however, serve mediocre food and have awul service. Qdoba unfortunately falls into the latter category and will no longer be receiving my business because of it. Here is what happened…
I waited in line for over 20 minutes because there was some large event happening… Whatever, no big deal. I order a fajita ranchero because I hate beans. Everything goes well until it’s time for the veggies. They were completely out… not just none were cooked… they had no more left. This was around 730 by the way. The server asked if I wanted beans to which I said no because I do not like beans. I asked for some extra chicken instead. I was told no. I then explained that it was not my issue that they ran out of veggies and I just wanted something to sub in for the veggies. I was then told that the chicken cost too much more. Alright… If that was their argument I asked if they were going to reduce the price to reflect the fact that I didn’t have veggies. I was told no. By this point I was fed up and said I’m done and left. At no point did the manager (who was chilling at the register watching this unfold without stepping in except to refuse to give me extra chicken) offer to fix the situation. Sorry Qdoba… but Chipotle has better food and equally bad service… so in my book they win. I’m not going to either of them anymore though.
Point is… as consumers… don’t tolerate awful customer service and take a stand against businesses that promote it by offering subpar training.

I am not a big fan of Qdoba as the food just seems more sub par bland than anything to me especially the chicken. However, the Queso Cheese here is very good.

Why do people love this place? Don’t you dare tell me because of the queso sauce! That sauce is like fennel to sausage — it hides the fact that is is sub par in quality. The burrito without the sauce is… well…plain, and with the sauce it is merely okay. Chipotle is far better, and they don’t need some cheese sauce to make their burritos and tacos taste better.
I still say that for a real burrito you should hit up Habenero’s, but if you have to make a decision between Qdoba and Chipotle, forget the queso and go for taste.

I used to be hooked on Chipotle but after my girlfriend made me try Qdoba I changed my mind. The waitstaff at this Qdoba are really friendly and quick to help customers. The food is great and isn’t too expensive. I def have converted to a Qdoba lover.

Okay so I hadn’t been to a Qdoba in a loooong time. My past visits had been less than desirable. The one by Chesterfield Towne Center always seems to have lukewarm food and the chicken’s texture is off. In fact, I’ve deterred more than one person from going to Qdoba before because I always thought their food was just sub-​par.
But, I was waiting to get new tires put on at Sam’s Club and I was hungry for lunch. My walking-​distance choices were Apollo’s, Taco Bell or Qdoba without crossing Broad Street so, rather than risking my life by crossing Broad and heading to Greek Isle, I decided to give Qdoba one more shot.
And, I was surprisingly impressed. I didn’t really order off the menu. I got a taco salad, no shell, with grilled chicken, black beans, red and green salsas, pico de gallo, cheese and guacamole on the side.
Service was really really good. One incredibly friendly staffer actually walked around the restaurant while I was eating making sure everyone was happy with their food. He offered to get me extra salsa or anything else that would make my meal better. When does this EVER happen at a fast-​food Mexican place? Wow. There was also another staffer cleaning tables almost immediately after people got up. In fact, the place felt very clean in general.
And, my food was actually good. The chicken was hot, and it actually tasted generally freshly grilled. I was really surprised by how good it tasted. The guacamole was very fresh with big avocado chunks in it. No green slime like you find at some places. When I got home I looked up my meal on the Qdoba web site and found it was right around 400 calories. Even better!
I usually consider myself a Chipotle-​only sort of gal, but if I’m in the West End, I probably will return to this Qdoba. That doesn’t mean I’ll go to any location, though.