Red Burrito

You never really know what you’re going to get here, portion size varies drastically by who prepares your food, there is no consistency, therefore the value is really poor. The premium cost for cheese and guacamole is laughable also. I really want to like thos place because when it’s good, it’s good, but when it isn’t i feel just plain ripped off. Which is how I’ve felt the last few times I’ve gone here. You’re much better off going to cinco de mayo on esplanade in north van for a burrito.

So I have been to other Red Burritos and I always find its a lottery.
I ordered the roasted Chicken red burrito. Brown rice is a nice option. No choice in beans, only black. Only one size and two types of tortillas, red and brown.
The burrito was dry an they are really skimpy with the sauces. The spicyness is meh. Medium is like mild. Guac and cheese are extra. And no extra free sauces on tables. Booo
The guy behind the counter was cut and dry no smile nothing. Its fast food so it doesn’t matter too much.
On the burrito scale chain in Vancouver these guys are medium low. More low than medium. Mucho Burrito is higher taco del mar has more options like wet and a variety of toppings.
Probably thinking twice about Red Burrito next time. Simply not worth the money anymore.

This was my go-​to spot back when I was in high school. Their prices have not changed drastically…5 years later… however, I’ve noticed they put in less «fillings» now. Same price, smaller burrito. The staff are friendly and service is quick. I still eat here because it’s sooo good. I usually get the chicken burrito on tomato tortilla add everything in with cilantro and onions. Definitely recommend to others.

I didn’t have time to go to chipotle for lunch one day so me and my friends decided to check out the red burrito. When we entered we were greeted with a really friendly staff that welcomed us. I got the chicken burrito with rice and all the fixings (I defiantly recommend it) it came to around $ 10 which I thought was a pretty good price since the burrito was huge! Over all I really enjoyed it and would definitely come back for lunch another time!

I order once in a while, when back from work, a burrito or fajitas here. I recommend the spicy beef, it’s always juicy and tender. I like it with more beans than rice, and onions.
It’s getting big and pricey, especially when you want and add extra avocado/​guacamole for 1.50 (!), that’s a bit too much for the little teaspoon they add to your already oversized burrito.

I decided to give this place a try since it is around the corner from my office. After being ignored slightly by a staff member on the phone I was greeted by another one that didn’t really seem to want to be there.
The burrito was good, not great, good. I’d eat there again but the staff didn’t really make it anything special for me so probably not often.

solid 3.5 stars; one of their better locations, as there’s major booth seating on the left and lots of light at the front entrance.
almost like a loft-​style height.
used to be a Steamrollers.

Came here to try the burritos here. Yeah it’s a chain, but I was hoping there’d be something special (for example, Chronic Tacos). Unfortunately, nope.
Parking is available in the rear. There was a guy sitting in a van reading a paper — I think he was hired to watch the lot, but couldn’t be sure.
The burrito I had was half decent, but honestly it was nothing special. To be honest though, I thought it was pretty overpriced. The place has a wall where they placed all these awards, but I’m not sure if it’s just due to a lack of competition in the city.
The inside had a really ghetto feel for some reason. I’m not sure if it was the bare concrete floor, the flies buzzing around (yes, there were flies in here), or the uncleaned tables. The place definitely felt dirty.
The burritos here are $ 7 – 8, and the price goes up as you want more toppings. It’s a decent size, but come on, half of the filling is rice and beans. The taste is decent overall, but I didn’t feel too comfortable eating here, based on the points listed above. I would suggest getting your food to go. If you are the owner, I hope you take this as constructive criticism.
But if you’re in the area and have a craving for Americanized Mexican, it does the job. But unfortunately I do have a hard time recommending this place based on strict value.

Their service isn’t very good ! Their food however is decent ! I will get it the odd time when I just want something different to eat and am walking by but for sure isn’t at the top of my list of favorite places to eat. The service actually makes me not want t go there as well. Its almost like you are being a hassle when you go in there and order.
Anyways maybe they had a bad day just saying they weren’t very pleasant !
Thanks.

Awful food. The place has a bad stench to it. Chicken in the burrito was oily and fried. And they charge $ 1.35 plus tax for guacamole.
Try Chipotle in downtown. That would be a much better experience.

I was craving for a burrito and saw Red Burrito on Lonsdale. I walked in and looked at the menu it really reminded me of Chipotle in the US. I ordered a Chicken Fajita in tomato red wrap. I like it when they have different color wraps. Like green or red. Oh I get it now, I’m eating a Red Burrito in Red Burrito! I added some Guacamole extra $ 1.35 total was around $ 10+ expensive but big. I felt the chicken was marinated really well. Had a smoky flavor and enjoyed the burrito very much.
Fresh food and perhaps restaurant makeover? I saw them unpacking lots of stuff and the kitchen looked new like they just moved in! Will be back.

Always get a red chicken burrito with chips & quac, consistently good. Don’t come looking for real Mexican food and you don’t be disappointed. Burritos are pretty huge, much like a certain sandwich chain you pick and choose what you want in your burrito. Service could be better sometimes, could be friendlier sometimes, but what do you want, it’s an $ 8 burrito.

Worst. Service. Ever.
Walked in at ten to nine (place closes at nine). There were people in the restaurant eating. We just wanted to sit and have a quick taco snack on our way home from W Van to New West.
We were not told before we ordered that we would have to take it to go. which is ridiculous considering we were there before closing. Don’t like getting kicked out of a restaurant we are patronizing. Soft tacos don’t travel well. they were soggy as hell by the time we got home. Strike one.
This is besides the crap service we received while ordering. «green salsa on the beef taco please…». went directly onto the chicken taco (one of us likes hot salsa, the other not so much). Strike two.
AND, if I’m going to pay $ 4 for a soft taco, it’d better have more than that wee little pinch of meat in it. Strike three.
Had high hopes for the Red Burrito. 3 strikes. You’re out.
ps: what Mexican restaurant can you walk into and have them stare blankly at you when you ask them if the have carnitas?

I’m going to have to agree with Thalia L. and go against Greg. S. on this one. I keep trying red burrito to my own stomach’s torment.
I could complain that its not at all authentically Mexican, but c’mon you knew that. You went here to get a quick hopefully yummy bite of fresh tasting can-​mex food that doesn’t hurt your wallet. All I was hoping for here was fresh ingredients and some flavour.
Here’s where the place goes from red all the way to hell:
The Shwarma style rotisserie thing they used for their chicken, beef, and pork is kind of off-​putting, as if you have worked in the food industry you might have learned like I did, some information about food that cannot be unlearned. In this case, I know that you can buy a meat «cylinder» pre-​packed for these machines that you just slide onto the machine from its frozen state and let cook. These «cylinders» come in all kinds of grades of meat. Yes, that’s right folks, you can buy «b» and «c» grade meat of all kinds. Good gyro and shwarma places stack and marinate their own meat, or at least buy top quality.
The reason why everyone doesn’t marinate and stack their own meat, is that it actually takes some skill. You need to marinate properly, then you must mix the meat with fattier pieces and other cuts to ensure they all get constantly bathed in fat and juice as they cook, and if the cylinder is lopsided, meat may fall off and may not cook properly. It’s not something a High school kid or unskilled worker can just readily do.
Here at red burrito, I can assure you that we are looking at somewhere in the «b» grade, which uses older flabbier fat pieces and ends, makes for somewhat chewy, dry, or conversely watery and salty tasting meat shards. *blech* Not a good way to start a burrito or quesadilla.
The stuff you can top it with is pretty meh too. rice is often of the nasty uncle Ben’s instant variety which is crumbly and dry, the guac has citric acid in it to maintain its colour and shelf life (taste the baking soda-​ness?), the salsas are watery and kinda meh.
Sorry for ruining the rotisserie for you…

Am I the only person who’s had consistently nasty food at every Red Burrito I’ve tried?
I’ve walked past tasty smells enough to fool me the first time,
The second time I should have known better,
And as much as I’ve got a general three strike rules for mexican inspired food, I’m not going to give Red Burrito a third try without serious incentive.
These people can’t even make a decent quesadilla… it’s just cheese on a tortilla, really!

Good but not great. Had chips, salsa, tacos and tomales.
Chicken in tacos was none dry. Been under the hot lamp for toooooo long.
Tomales had no flavor and suffered from same dry chicken
Portions will not feed the hungry.

Very Fresh. I have a burrito bowl from here about once a week. I have never been disappointed. Its incredibly filling!

I first visited Red Burrito a year ago one rainy day when I was working in the North Van Library. I was looking to get out of the rain and wanted something quick to eat. And then I visited again, and again and again, and I kinda got addicted. Sometimes, the guys there would crank up the crazy loud Mexican music, which was totally great because the high ceilings make it feel like a big dance hall. Good for waking up your mind before going back to the library — especially when you’ve spiced up your afternoon with some fresh hot salsa.
Now when I want something wholesome, yet fresh and delicious, Red Burrito still pops up at the top of my mental Google search.
Of course, I’m not always in the mood for Mexican, or standing next to a Red Burrito, but when the two coincide in the time-​space continuum of my mind, guess what: I’ll go to Red Burrito. Four stars, cuz for a cheap food joint with just a couple things on the menu, it’s got great food.

You can dress me up, but you can’t take me anywhere. I’m a bit of a klutz (okay, a lot of a klutz), so if I’m enjoying my food, I usually end up decorating my shirt. (I suppose I should really start buying shirts with random splodges of colour, so people can’t tell when I mess on myself.)
Now, when I first tried Mexican food, I was nine years old, and it was the first time that I had ever encountered anything even remotely spicy. I could not handle it. My whole family (except for Dad, who was actually enjoying himself) was gulping down whole jugs of water, not yet having learned that water doesn’t actually put out this kind of fire.
Fast forward mumbledy-​something years, and, while I like Mexican food, it’s not exactly a challenge anymore. Still, it’s fun, and when I was in need of sustenance, I popped in. (I would have checked it out long ago, except they don’t take credit cards, so I had to go to the bank and get some of that funny paper with the little scribbles on it before I could buy any food.)
The menu is deceptively short, because, like Subway or Harvey’s, you get to choose what goes into your meal, out of a surprisingly large selection of ingredients. (I think it’s the first time ever that I’ve been asked if I wanted cilantro in my burrito.) I was also kind of surprised to see a couple of those vertical roasters that they use in Middle Eastern restaurants to cook the meat for shawarma or donairs.
The proof is in the eating, and the eating is great. Those vertical roasters add a wonderful sort of barbecue flavour to the chicken, and give it more personality than you normally get in Mexican food. (Or at least, what passes for Mexican food «North of the Border, where the cacti are scarce and thin».) So, when I was about ¾ of the way through my burrito, and some of the juice ran out onto my lovely new shirt, well, I was too busy enjoying the food to worry about neatness at a time like that.
So, yeah, I am definitely going back. But I should probably take a bib.

Being a born Vancouverite, I am sure I have no idea what «authentic» Mexican food is supposed to taste like. (Have been to Mexico once, and ate some decent tacos there, though.) But I am pretty sure of what I like in a burrito and/​or taquito, and Red Burrito does it for me. They use good, fresh ingredients in their burritos, and just enough spice in the meat that it drains the sinuses yet doesn’t make me gasp for water.
I wouldn’t make a special trip for Red Burrito, but if I see one, and I’m hungry, I’m probably going to be eating there. Except not in a window seat. I’ve learned my lesson about eating great big burritos in front of windows that face busy streets. Trust me, no one needs to see that.