Burrito Libre

Will never go back… There was nobody in the building at lunch so I was slightly surprised. The staff could have cared less. Basically received a hey «let’s get this going I want to sit on my phone after I make this» The meat looked like it was warmed up in the microwave. Wasn’t good at all… I think I paid 14 $ including a pop and chips. When I got home I took one bite and immediately the bottom bursts open through the foil. But I honestly didn’t even care. The meal was the worst Mexican food I’ve ever tried. It tasted like I was biting into a salt brick. I was sick the entire night with a awful stomach ache. Would drive another 2 km for better Mexican.

It was 7:30PM on a weeknight and the place was empty but a few more people came in after us so that was good to see. There’s lots of seating, and although we got take out, it looked clean and chairs neatly pushed into the tables. We were warmly greeted but it took a while to look at the menu.
There are burritos (white or whole wheat), bowl with no tortilla, salad, hard or soft taco, and quesadilla. I choose the whole wheat burrito and had my choice of ¾ fillings (rice, beans, potatoes, and sauteed onions and peppers) and went with everything but the beans. For my protein, I picked the pulled chicken (beef, pork, shrimp, and veggie are also offered) and classic fresh tomatoes for my salsa. Lettuce, sour cream, and a bit of sauce completed my burrito. It was nicely wrapped and I paid just over $ 6 for it. The service was efficient and quick.
When I got home, the meat was warm and I didn’t need to heat up my burrito. It was tasty with flavour and freshness. I enjoyed the burrito and was a satisfying dinner. They also offer sides such as chips and salsa or cookies (but they didn’t look very appetizing to me).

I’m a big fan of this concept but it could use improvement. The burritos are excellent and even their least nutritious options are nothing that I would consider unhealthy. My only menu recommendation would be to change out the «special» burrito on a more regular basis. If its no good, get rid of it. And if it is good, either add it to the everyday menu or get rid of it to keep me wanting more. I also notice that, like me, their customers rarely choose to eat-​in (the dining room is often empty). If their typical customer is anything like me, it’s because I can’t stand the annoying retro dance music that does nothing to enhance the Mexican theme. Their staff is really good for the most part, although I do wish they were a little more consistent with how they prepare the orders.

A delicious quick lunch or dinner!
I always get a regular borrito and it is more hen enough for a great meal. They have wonderful seasoned meets and great toppings including guacamole.
The staff are really welcoming and provide great service.
I highly recommend this location!

I only needed to try this place once to realize it’s not the place for me! I am a huge Mexican food fanatic and thought I would give this place a shot!
I had a coupon for free chips and salsa, so I thought I only really needed a few tacos to even out the meal.
The menu although seemingly small, is actually pretty big when all is considered! I decided to go with beef tacos… It came with a bunch of toppings (potatoes are one, which I thought was strange), sauces and cheese. I took as much as the tortilla would allow! I asked for everything to go as I only live a few blocks away.
The price was right at only a few dollars per taco. But I can now see why…
By the time I got home my tacos were soggy and falling apart :-(I didn’t even eat the second one! I was disappointed to say the least!
As for the service… It was at par with most fast food joints!

If only there wasn’t so much cilantro!
But really this place if pretty good even if you hate cilantro like I do. It offers a few options that other Mexican fast food outlets in Edmonton don’t offer like potatoes and darker lettuce among other things. I’ve tried a few of their meat options, and they do have Tabasco sauce if you’re avoiding cilantro like the plague (like I am likely to do). If I think ahead I’ll just use my own salsa in the future, but yeah.
The cookies are bizarre. They are far too sweet for me as they’re essentially caramel and chocolate messes.
Get on their email list. It’s worth it! That way you will find out about Free Burrito day in advance!

This was my first and last visit to burrito libre. I was driving by, so decided to stop here. I got a flavorless burrito the size of an index card. They only have black beans, the «desserts» are cookies from Costco repackaged in pairs, and it was a pretty poor value for the dollar.
It’s worth it to go five blocks east Mucho Burrito instead of here.

They have corrected their pricing to avoid confusion. Food is always great here. Service was fast.

For the longest time Mucho Burrito was the only real game in town and they sort of set the standard. To my dismay they made a change to their chorizo option and I wasn’t super pleased about it. Then Burrito Libre was introduced to me and it fairs pretty well. In a pinch they certainly deliver a tasty option and the ingredients are fresh. I do feel that in an effort to be different than Mucho they wrap their burritos differently and they seem loose and difficult to eat. I also feel there is more bang for your buck at Mucho. All in all you won’t be disappointed with the taste and service but even though there was an ingredient change I think Mucho would be my preferred option.

Have always had a good experience here. Fast, clean and tasty. Have been about four times and still no complaints. They are still not very busy, even at lunch time. Maybe it is because they are a few dollars more than the surrounding fast food places. I like the short lines but hope they stick around.

I love Mexican food and have been enjoying all around many cities for this cuisine. Burrito Libre would give you a fast wrap to go when you don’t have a relaxing time to sit down.
At this location, it is very nice and clean (new location), the menu is the same but the choice of putting into the wrap is limited, the food was warm but not hot, the chicken was not in piece but shredded and mixed with sauce, and avocado was not as the photo either.
The fact is I still like this chicken burrito since I like vegetable, it healthy enough for my speedy lunch after staving for my blood test, anything would be great.:)
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To be fair, I will be back again and hopefully next time I will have more real tastes for my burrito.

I’ve probably had too much great Mexican food in the States to give any place here a great review, but Burrito Libre isn’t bad.
I can only speak for the hard tacos. I mean, who doesn’t like it hard? Actually, I can’t eat wheat, so hard it is for me. I’ve been pretty happy with the hard tacos. (I swear I’ll stop saying ‘hard’ soon.)
They aren’t too many gluten-​free meat choices – only the beef and seafood; however, veggie hard tacos are delicious, and if you get the veggie, guacamole is freeeeee!
What’s also great is that you get a larger portion of guacamole here with chips than you do at Mucho Burrito. The chips are only okay though.
Other than that, a few of the staff members seem a little lost, but the ones that are totally with it make up for that. Also, the stainless steel tables are a nice touch.

(Originally posted 8÷14÷2013 to the University Burrito Libre location’s Unilocal page.)
To put it bluntly, I was underwhelmed with my visit to Burrito Libre. The location was quiet and clean and the staff very friendly but the food left something to be desired — and hey, at the end of the day we go to eateries for the food.
The shredded beef burrito had practically no flavour. Even ordering the so-​called hot salsa gave the burrito almost no flavour. The beef was in juice (or a marinade?) and succeeded only in dripping out of the foil covering and all over my clothes while the elements that should add flavour — eg. the items with fat like cheese and sour cream — were essentially non-​existent. Only a very tiny amount of each was put on the burrito by the staff member, far from enough to really have any impact. The rice was unflavoured, the beans were unflavoured (and on a side note, why only one bean option? Why no red or refried beans?) and the protein was as good as unflavoured.
Perhaps one of the biggest issues I had was with heat. Not spice, but serving temperature. I don’t think anything that was put on my burrito was more than room temperature or maybe a little above. It was certainly not in the least hot. Not when it was wrapped up and given to me and certainly not after beginning to eat it a few minutes later.
Portion size could be larger, though the price was reasonable; protein options are perfectly acceptable at half a dozen choices. If you’re on foot and close to the 104ave Burrito Libre it’s an ok place to go if you have low expectations, but if you’re driving then go the extra few blocks to Mucho Burrito at 109^st/​Jasper Ave for WAY more flavour and a better value.
All that said, the restaurant has been open for only a few days at most and there are likely kinks to be worked out (such as the person behind me in line getting about 3 times the cheese and sour cream on their burrito as mine received), so I’m perfectly happy to give it another try after a few weeks to see if it’s improved at all.
Seriously though, expand your options. Whole wheat tortillas are a start but hello, brown rice? Low-​fat cheese/​sour cream (or if they’re already low fat, give the option for full fat). Also, if you’re going to say your salsa is hot then actually make it spicy! Staff could have been better informed of the choices — or if they are well informed, they could do a better job of giving me the choices available so I know what I might want to choose.
Update 9÷19÷2013: I decided to give Burrito Libre a second chance as about 5 weeks had passed and I thought maybe some of the early days kinks would have been worked out. Long story short, I was wrong.
The pork burrito I tried today was just as flavourless as the beef one I had the first time, despite asking for (and getting) extra so-​called hot salsa. Worse, the burrito was ice cold. The veggies they gave me looked stale and old (and not many were put on there), I had to ask for extra salsa and sour cream as very little of either was initially put on, and yet again they didn’t ask if I wanted certain toppings available (ie., jalapenos).
There won’t be a third visit to this or any other Burrito Libre location. Spend your money more wisely and go a bit further to Mucho Burrito. Vastly more flavourful (and actually hot — temperature-​wise and heat-​wise!) for about the same money.