La Bamba

I went to La Bamba when it first opened and was unimpressed. … but my last experience there was pretty fantastic for what it is.
The burrito this time was enormous. The steak in the burrito tasted better and had a better texture than you’d get at Chipotle or Qdoba. The veggies in the burrito were all fresh and the staff was very polite.
In the end I paid $ 8 for an enormous burrito loaded with steak. It was definitely better than you’d get at the chain burrito purveyors and it was convenient.
In the rest of the country it’s normal to find decent food at gas stations so I’m happy to see this place here in Wheaton for when I want a burrito, some fuel, and a beer on my way home from work.

So I decided to try this place just for some tacos. I must start with the poor motivation of the kid working here. If you tired, stay home. The girl that works there is extremely pretty.
I had their steak tacos and overall was descent. For a quick bite it’s worth it. I personally enjoyed the Horchata. And again, the Latina is beautiful.

La Bamba was by far, my favorite restaurant during my college years (1990 – 1993 @ ISU normal, IL location) I was quite excited to see a La Bamba open in Wheaton. Once I was at the restaurant, the mural on the wall reminded me of ISU. I ordered my burrito, and bit into it. The flavor was the same, it reminded me of the La Bamba of 20 years ago, however, I must say La Bamba burritos are much better at 1:00 am after 15 beers. I think it was my first La Bamba burrito wile sober, so not as good as i remembered. Glad I went Back though.

It’s gas station Mexican food… If that’s not reason enough to steer clear. The service was poor and so was the food. Don’t know why anyone would go here with Mi Casa and Qdoba so close…

Good food, okay prices, inside the Mobil gas station.
Don’t expect haute cuisine here and you’ll be fine, it is what it is and the food is pretty darned good, been there 4 times now.
Service friendly.

That was awesome!!! One of the best taking me back to college again. It’s nice to know there is something out there except that… ptle place.

The best La Bamba I’ve been to is the one in Springfield. It comes close to re-​creating the excellent food of the original Champaign one (which has since moved and is not very good). The one in Wheaton is far, far, far worse. I got the combo burrito. The hot sauce is like chalulu with liquid smoke added. The pork was way over seasoned and borderline gross. Steak was meh. There’s better burrito places — the frozen ones in the gas station next door for example.

Being an ISU alumni I was very excited to see a La Bamba opening up close to home. I went opening weekend and the Super Nachos were good, but not what I remember. I have been back several times since and have tried the tacos, burritos and super nachos again. I can honestly say they have made much progress in matching that of their other locations. Only difference I’ve noticed is that the super nachos do not come with jalapeño peppers as all other locations I’ve been too have included them. Regardless, I’m a fan, and I try to get out there once a month.

Growing up on the south side of Chicago, it is hard to find anything that compares, in the western suburbs. Hands down, La Bamba completely exceeded my expectations. Fantastic char broiled steak burrito… not the steamed or boiled steak you seem to get at most suburban restaurants. The salsa was also fantastic. Not too spicy for this gringo, but spicey enough for my Mexican husband! I highly recommend La Bamba!

Attached to a Gas Station right on the Wheaton, Carol Stream (and practically to the Winfield) border sits La Bamba Burritos. I became aware of it after another Unilocal friend reviewed it and decided to give it a try on my drive home from work. I decided to play it safe and just order a single taco on my initial visit. I pulled into the drive through, placed my order and a few minutes later it was ready.
Being a place attached to a gas station I didn’t have too high of expectations of La Bamba burritos but the taco was surprisingly adequate and I made a note to return and actually try a burrito on a future visit. This was particularly noteworthy as they advertised «Burritos as big as your head». A few days later I was back in the drive thru line ready to try a burrito. I went for a steak burrito and the largest possible size, and by no means was this tiny tortilla treat a match for my monstrously massive melon. And it also wasn’t quite as good as the taco and for the price, I could do a lot better at other places.
Overall I don’t think La Bamba Burritos is a bad place, especially for being attached to a gas station. But it isn’t a «Go to» place for Mexican food for me either, and while I might go back due to the convenience of the drive-​thru. One final thing to comment on is the name La Bamba Burritos, is it named after the Richie Valens song? Maybe the guy in the band on Conan O’Brien’s show? I’m not sure, but if you’re in a rush and want a big burrito it’s certainly not a bad choice. However, if you want authentic Mexican cuisine at a fair price, then far better options exist locally.

They are still open, they just get slow on Sunday and sometimes close early. It would be nice if there was a note on the door or something like that. Maybe they should adjust their posted hours. Combo Burrito was tasty.

Horrible. Just horrible food. No wonder it’s attached to a gas station.
Bland rice.
Fake meat (or at least it had the appearance & taste of it).
Never again.

I was thrilled when I saw that a La Bamba opened within reasonable driving distance from my house — THRILLED. I had spent many a night in college here after drinking way too much and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on some of the steak tacos that I grew up on. I too drove around unable to find this place after mapping the address listed on Unilocal which is incorrect. I expected a cute little restaurant with a burrito-​head painted on the wall. Afterall, that is where I dined during my college days. Imagine my surprise when I saw out of the corner of my eye a La Bamba sign attached to the Mobil gas station. I knew that this was essentially hangover food, but I didn’t expect to be eating lunch at a gas station. I walked in and saw that they 4 tables and a row of bar seats. The nice cashier/​waitress took my order and told me that she would bring it to me when it was done. I had a bit of an issue spending $ 9 for lunch at a gas station, but it was La Bamba… It looked like I remembered — but tasted different somehow. It was pretty good, great for a gas station restaurant and if I were in the area and had a hankering for a taco I’d probably stop. BUT I had definitely built this up to be way more that it was. The next time I want to take a stroll down memory lane it will be back to the Peoria La Bamba I go…

First of all, the original address given for La Bamba is incorrect. I don’t know who submitted it but clearly their GPS was off, as mine had me circling the old Dominick’s shopping center for 15 minutes. La Bamba is further west, at the corner of Gary and Geneva roads, next to the Mobil gas station (some of you might remember it as «Bartel’s»).
Let me just say that I’ve eaten my fair share of «gas station» tacos. Of course, they were in Cicero and the employees hardly spoke English. But that’s how you know it’s the real deal.
Walking into La Bamba, I noticed there weren’t any other customers. A very bored looking girl was playing around on her smartphone. When I walked in, she did look up and greet me, so that’s a plus. A young guy (I’m guessing he was the cook) was also standing around, but they were the only employees. I told the girl that I needed a minute to look at the menu. I decided to try the mini burrito value meal. The burrito comes with your choice of meat, beans, lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese, and their La Bamba hot sauce. I was disappointed that they didn’t have al pastor, so I opted for my second favorite, chorizo. The meal came with rice and refried beans. She asked what I wanted for a drink (Sprite), which is a dead giveaway that there’s no free refills. I paid ($ 9.21) and then took a seat, as the cashier said she’d bring the food out to me.
I chose a cozy booth, and surveyed my surroundings. The restaurant was clean; the décor modern and simple. Music is piped in overhead, but the volume is low and I was able to hear the girl and guy’s entire conversation, which was a bit awkward. There are two booths, two tables with four chairs each, and then four chairs along a high countertop. It’s not a very big place, but there are two picnic tables outside, so you can eat your lunch outside in the summer (amongst the gas fumes and such). There is also a drive-​thru.
The girl finally brought my food out five minutes later. Well, she carried the napkins and a plastic fork and knife; the cook carried my actual meal out. At first glance, I was pretty surprised by how good the food looked. Sure, the presentation wasn’t the best, but I wasn’t expecting it anyway.
The refried beans come as just beans. Not even a sprinkle of cheese on top. They were hot in temperature and didn’t taste like they came from a can; if they did, kudos to the cook ’cause he sure fooled me. They were still pretty bland but I added some mild salsa and managed to eat about half.
The rice looked good, but after the first taste I was a bit disgusted. It was way too heavily seasoned; I’m not sure with what but the flavors were far from subtle.
The burrito was okay; I couldn’t detect the cheese or the La Bamba hot sauce. Of course, I would have liked some jalapenos or sour cream, but those would have been an additional charge. I threw some salsa verde on it, which helped slightly.
As I dumped the last of my meal in the trash and headed to the door, I looked towards the register to say thanks but didn’t see either the girl or the guy, so I exited and didn’t look back. Would I go again? Honestly, probably not. The food was okay, but not enough to justify the price tag and certainly nothing to write home about.