Chipotle is one of my favourite places to eat in the grand ole US of A. So how excited was I to try my first Chipotle in Canada, eh!
We were in Toronto for the Apple Expo, and made a beeline directly to Chipotle on Yonge Street, Dundas Square. Regular Chipotle signage framed the outside of the restaurant, and it had the usual chain layout. This place was packed with hungry Chipotle fiends waiting patiently for their hot tacos and burritos. Luckily, I snagged us a table and Gary ordered our usual chicken and barbacoa burrito bowls, one with guac of course.
This restaurant looked like a Chipotle, and did our meals – the taste, however, left something to be desired. The cheese was rubbery, the salsa didn’t taste as fresh as American Chipotles, the black beans had a bizzare flavour, and both the chicken and barbacoa were comprised of unusual spices. Our gaucamole had a large chunk of unripe, unmashed avocado.
Prices were also more expensive than USA locations. Usually, chicken burritos bowls are around $5-6 USD, and steak, barbacoa, pork, etc. vary around those amounts as well. At this Toronto location all meat was the same price, so we paid: Burrito Bowl ($8.19), added Guacamole ($2.21), and a Small Soda ($1.77). Plus taxes, our dinner came to $23.01.
Overall, our meals tasted like a Chipotle knockoff, and did not live up to the standards of its fantastic locations we’ve visited in Washington (here and here), California, Arizona, and New York. We were disappointed. Toronto Chipotle: Get your standards up to par!
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