Haven't been here in years! But the food is just as good as I remember it! Extremely flavorful and the prices are good. For the people who like chipotle you would love this spot. Highly recommend read more

California Tortilla - Tex-Mex Near Me - Columbia, Maryland

We had California Tortilla, bowl and burrito! Lots of gains and savory flavors. First time eating from this place and wow we wanted more after this one. I highly recommend California Tortilla!! I put this on my tik tok so people can see! Link below! Check out this TikTok I posted! We had California Tortilla, bowl... Watch the full video now! https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8p571gb/ read more

Always fresh. Store is clean. Employees and owner are always nice. The guac is the best around.

This California tortilla has gone above and beyond our expectations. The queso is absolutely delicious and the staff are very personable and friendly 10/10 recommend. read more

California Tortilla is great. The food is always good and the staff is very friendly!

This location is fairly new. The ordering style has shifted from counter order and payment and pickup at pickup area to Chipotle style, where you pick your base, add your toppings, and pay at the end. I have gotten the bean and cheese tacos for like 20 years and I ordered the same today but adventurously added corn mix. It still tasted great. The Wall of Flame was clean, fully stocked, and had a variety of sauces. The ambiance was enjoyable and fun. The restaurant itself is very clean and tidy. This location is 1000x better than the one in Burnt Mills. Get a free taco for signing up for their emails! read more

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This is my favorite tex mex restaurant but far. I chose this location over the others because the staff makes me feel valued. The food is fresh and healthy and the cleanliness is unheard of. read more

California Tortilla - Tex-Mex Near Me - Columbia, Maryland

Great bowls and guacamole, they have some good turkey chili also. Service is quick and food is always fresh and delicious.

The best place ever , the food is delicious, And the service is 100 percent. I love this place read more

I bring my son here often and it has always been good. Tonight, not so much and probably won't be going back. The queso was almost brown color like it was the burnt part at the bottom of the pot and it looked broken. The taco beef for the nachos was very dark and DRY. Guacamole has zero seasoning and the steak was seasoning was very overpowering. Very disappointing. read more

TLDR - Taco Tuesday (BOGO) is a winner as is their wall of flame. Been coming here since they opened. I still have their grand opening day t shirt. I used to go to Caltort when I visited northern Virginia. I now come here weekly, sometimes more to get tacos on Tuesday. I am a huge fan of their blackened fish taco. I also really enjoy their Korean BBQ burrito, California Screamin burrito, and their LTO burritos. You can customize anything to your liking as they're making your food. Way more options than Chipotle. Their wall of flame sometimes is questionably stocked, but when its stocked well, I always like to try a taste of some of their various sauces that range from sweet and fruity to very hot. I will admit the queso is also hit or miss in that sometimes its a little too watery, but its usually solid. If you're reading this and debating this over Chipotle, give it a try. I don't understand why Chipotle always has a line when this option is available and the wait is always under 5 minutes or less. read more

California Tortilla - Blackened Fish Taco - Tex-Mex Near Me - Columbia, Maryland

I've seen this location a few times. Recently stopped in to redeem a birthday perk. Placed the order online for the honey lime chicken bowl. The order was ready soon as I arrived. The food was so delicious. I forgot how much I enjoyed this chain. There's not as many around as they used to be but good to know this location is here! Don't forget about the sauces - love it! read more

It's ok, its giving the fast casual version of chipotle (yes I know chipotle is already fast casusal, im trying to set the stage) The rices isnt as good which creates a bad base for most of the bowls and burritos, The wall of hot sauces was great and had hella options but outside of that I would just go to chipotle read more

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This place is new to the Columbia area and I'm a fan! It's nice to have a new a yummy option for lunch. I've tried the tacos, salad bowls, and the regular bowls. All 3 options have been delicious. My favorite ingredient is their queso sauce and the many options for sauces. See pics! read more

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4.13.22 Grand opening was today. Customer service was awesome. Staff was friendly. I was immediately greeted upon my arrival and through the line. It was a bit hard to hear, but not sure how that could be rectified. I was given a rewards card. If you download their app by May 1 you can get a free taco. I ordered the fish and carnitas taco which were amazingly flavorful. My husband got a beef and carnitas taco. We shared an order of the chips & queso, which he absolutely loves. He was trying to scrape every last bit of the queso. Lol. We're so glad to have California Tortilla in the neighborhood. Don't tell their rival, Chipotle, across the street, but my loyalty is now to California Tortilla. Lol Check out there grand opening events at this link: https://californiatortilla.com/columbia-grand-opening-events/ read more

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LOVE LOVE @CaliforniaTortilla! Wish they would expand their restaurants in the south! Lived in Maryland for few years before shifting to Tennessee. Little backstory, my husband and I had our first lunch at California Tortilla in Washington, DC when we first met. Neither of us had ever heard of it, so we decided to give it a go and it was the best decision ever made. 5 years later, we're married and we STILL love it! I would also like to add the service and cleanliness of the store is exceptional! Whenever we visit family up North, we always make a day (sometimes two) to stop by to either dine in or take-out before we drive back to TN. Basically like Chipotle, but with variety of sauces and flavors. No hate to Chipotle tho! But we prefer California Tortilla! There's a lots to choose from, but our favorite is the "California Screamin," consists of blackened chickened, rice, queso, fajita veggies, salsa, and California Screamin sauce. Either choose to get a burrito or bowl. We always go for burritos. Ofc I get mine with black beans and fajita veggies, and my husband gets it with chicken and fajita veggies. They use their California Screamin sauce AND ITS OUT OF THIS WORLD. Sorry, but it really is. There's always a variety of sauces, but you guessed it, my personal favorite is the California Screamin. This is not the first time we've been to California, but this is one of the locations in Columbia, MD we went. The closest one from our Maryland home was the one on Quarry Lake, but it closed down, so this was the next closest option, so we went! Haha it's WORTH the drive. Try it next time! Promise you, you will thank me! :) Attached are the online menus! read more

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I enjoyed my lunch of tacos, chips, guacamole and queso and chips here. I like that it is customizable; you pick corn or flour tortilla, protein, and vegetables and sauce toppings. I got a fish taco with cilantro and cabbage, and a pork carnitas taco with cheese, pico and lettuce. The place is clean, bright and inviting, and the people working I'm at the counter are nice and helpful. I came in on taco Tuesday and got the buy one get one free taco deal, which was a plus. I'll be back again for more tacos soon read more

California Tortilla - Fish and pork taco - Tex-Mex Near Me - Columbia, Maryland

$5 burritos and bowls were offered on grand opening day. Normally they are priced for $9.69. Steak is $2 extra. The steak was tender and tasty. There are too many items to choose if you make your own bowl, but it is difficult to recognize some ingredients and should be labeled such as corn salsa and mango salsa looked alike. The workers could not hear customers. I wanted a fish bowl, but this protein wasn't offered during grand opening day. Hope it will be a regular menu item, which I enjoy getting at the Olney location. read more

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California Tortilla is a fast-casual Tex-Mex restaurant. It somewhat gives Chipotle vibes, but their offerings are a little different. I visited on a Wednesday afternoon, and it was pretty quiet with no wait. I ended up ordering a quesadilla with chicken. I took my food home to enjoy. The quesadilla was okay. I think I would've appreciated bigger cups of pico de gallo and sour cream. I would probably ask for more during my next visit. Overall, a decent experience. read more

This is a nice little counter service spot. The food was fresh at lunch time and a very good deal! Less than $25 for two bowls with extra protein! They also have a lot of sauce options read more

Having enjoyed the Laurel location for years before it closed, it's nice that Columbia has one now. The blackened fish and chicken are quite flavorful as is the queso. The options available made for some healthier choices compared to other Mexican eateries. Having not been inside a CalTort for years, the wall of pain was a wonderful way to sample hot sauces. Ordering on their app is easy and you receive rewards. Today was an unfortunate experience which began with a mistake. The app's default is pickup and I intended to order delivery. I quickly selected Cancel Order and when I couldn't use the app to complete another order I presumed the order was canceled. So, I used DoorDash to get delivery. Two hours later, the store calls and leaves a message that my food is waiting. I sent an email and now am leaving this review. I'm not certain if the Cancel was never received or ignored but since the app seemed to process it, I trust my payment will be refunded. read more

First time visiting California Tortilla yesterday. They sell burritos, bowls, tacos, salads, quesadillas, nachos, chips, beverages, sides. They have a kids menu as well. I ordered 3 Crunchy BBQ Ranch Tacos. They were good. I substituted the BBQ ranch for just BBQ sauce. I should have left the sauce out because to me it was too much sauce. You can customize or create your own items. It's a nice chill place to eat. Not too noisy. You can sit outside as well. read more

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We did a mobile order for dinner. We ordered 2 bowls and 1 burrito. The bowls were well made and flavorful. The portions for bowls were great. The burrito was a veggie and not that much in it. Could be because there wasn't any meat in it. I don't know. I would definitely recommend it myself. Price was good. Definitely better than the competition ( Chipotle). You can order from a selection or build your own to your liking. They offer a few options for dressing or sauces. I like the lime honey. read more

Visited California Tortilla about a week ago, but it wasn't too busy when we got there. The staff was very friendly, but I still think a lot of them are still learning since they first messed up my Korean BBQ tacos and had to remake them. The tacos were delicious but they had too much sauce. It also made the tortillas super soggy, so it was just very hard to eat. We also got chips with queso and guac. Both weren't that special, but decent sides. My fiancé really liked his California Screamin' Burrito. They also had a Wall of Fame with a bunch of different hot sauces to pick from which was fun. Lastly, they had some fun fountain drinks including the strawberry hibiscus agua fresca which was fantastic. Overall, we think the main entrees were good and the service and food will probably get better overtime once they aren't as new. We will probably revisit in the future! read more

I got the sunset bowl. Everything is so fresh, and the hot sauces are so good, many options! read more

California Tortilla - Sunset Burrito or Bowl - Tex-Mex Near Me - Columbia, Maryland

Employees looked miserable, not even a hello or welcome when entered. Got two burritos. And added guacamole and sour cream, absolutely could not taste those at all. One of my burritos came with this weird meat ball when i was biting it. not acceptable utterly gross and traumatizing... read more

I went to California Tortilla with the hubby tonight and everything we had was delicious! Pictured are the carnitas tacos and carnitas bowl (not pictured are the chips and queso), and they were all great. Really fresh ingredients and very flavorful. The only item we skipped on was the guacamole because it didn't look as fresh. Service was great too, and even though there were a few hiccups they were quick to make corrections. The "Wall of Flame" was impressive, and my favorite sauce was The Cheech chipotle hot sauce. Can't wait to go back and try other items on the menu! read more

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So the whole cafeteria style make your own meal seems to be the way of the future for fast food. This is another restaurant of the Qdoba, Cava, Moe's, Nally Fresh variety. I ordered online and went and picked it up. They were behind schedule but gave me a free drink for the delay without me saying anything which was very kind. They try and set themselves apart from the other Mexican restaurants of the same type by offering some interesting takes on custom tacos, their own limited time King Pao Shrimp, and some toppings/fillers you don't get at the others. It was in the dollar slightly cheaper than comps in the bowl department. Single special tacos hover between $4-6. There was nothing wrong with the food and everything tasted good. The place is new and is still clean so that's good to see. No wow factor to pump it all the way to 5/5 but you can certainly do worse. If you find yourself rotating around a cycle of cafeteria style fast food restaurants, check this one out. read more

Honestly didn't have high hopes for this place. I would always go to Chipotle first, but decided to give this place a try. It honestly wasn't that bad and I was willing to go again. But then the second time I had it...I almost inhaled this giant dead bug in my bowl...I will 10/10 always choose Chipotle. read more

California Tortilla - Giant bug in my food - Tex-Mex Near Me - Columbia, Maryland

After being in the area for a practice, I searched nearby restaurants that were still open and thought this would be a great choice. Unfortunately, when I arrived, at 9:26 the restaurant doors were locked and the staff looked as if they were cleaning up. I knocked on the door for 20 seconds until one of the workers finally decided to look up and signal to me that they were closed. Through the glass, I asked "you're supposed to close at 10pm correct?" The time wasn't even 9:30pm yet! Two of the staff workers approached the door and said that they were closed. I reiterated my question to make sure I wasn't making a mistake about their store hours. I proceeded to ask to speak with the mgr and the staff stated the mgr left for the night. At this point it was clear that the staff looked as if they were in trouble. One of the staff members who approached the door proceeded to go back behind the counter to grab her phone and come back to the front of the store and speak in Spanish to her mgr. The conversation lasted longer than I expected and she never passed me the phone to speak to the mgr. The staff congregated behind the counter, still without saying anything and then finally pulls a guy out from the back who seemed to speak the best English to tell me that "the store was slow and the mgr decided to close early" Although this could have been the case but I find it highly unlikely that this could be happening. When I asked to speak to the mgr, I never was passed the phone. One of the staff members allowed us into the restaurant after stating they were "closed." Lastly, it took 8 mins after the staff congregating back and forth for someone to state that the store was closing early due to slow business. It's unprofessional and I don't feel confident that this was true. read more

California Tortilla - California Tortilla - Tex-Mex Near Me - Columbia, Maryland

When I worked at Legg Mason many moons ago on light street on Baltimore I used to frequent California Tortilla. Needless to say I was excited to drive by this new location on my way home from a meeting. It's a wonderful feeling to enter an establishment from years ago and it's still a tasty treat. This location and the food did not miss. I ordered a chicken burrito, chips and queso and it was delicious. read more

California Tortilla has always been one of my favorites, ever since moving to MD in 2010. I used to go to their Olney location when I lived in Ashton in high school, and since moving to Columbia, I've been hoping that they'd put a location near me. I'm so glad they're here now! Their Honey Lime burrito is my absolute favorite, and is better than Qdoba or Chipotle. Lately, I've been ordering it adding in guacamole, extra rice, and mango salsa. It's so delicious and filling and I love their hot sauce wall. They offer BOGO Tacos on Tuesdays and they offer kid's meals. They also have a rewards program, so make sure you sign up. read more

We eat here or get take out often. We also had them cater our daughter's graduation party we held in a local park pavilion. They did an amazing job. On time, great to work with. We ordered the taco bar and everyone loved it. read more

Excellent place to eat, fast service, the staff is really friendly and the most important thing for me is that everything looks fresh and clean. I ordered a bowl and it was delicious, really recommend the shrimp. They also got more variety on toppings than other places. read more

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I really want to see this place thrive and flourish! My first visit was last night. I had mixed impressions. I don't understand why they are following the assembly line model set by Chipotle and Qdoba. I used to go often to the location in Silver Spring and the set up was entirely different. You walked up to the register and placed your order and waited for your order to be called. It was quick and easy and the food was great! No assembly line! I am so sorry they have decided to copy their nearby competitors. Dumb decision! Recipie for failure! Please don't imitate your competition. Be UNIQUE! I know they are new, but the behind the counter staff were pure pandemonium! It didn't seem that anyone really knew what they were doing. And no fajitas! Why on Earth not? The Silver Spring location has wonderful fajitas! Now for the kudos. The Blackened Chicken is delightful! The Queso is the BEST anywhere! The Manager is very affable. I look forward to returning often! But Please, just dump the assembly line! I simply DETEST it! PS: Thanks for my birthday gift of $10 off! Now I can buy gas! read more

First time trying California Tortilla. My husband and I tried 3 different tacos with 1 order of chips and salsa. My favorite was the spicy shrimp taco. The shrimp are very small but tasty. I picked a bunch of random toppings and liked them all. I'm taking off one star because I think $5 is too much per taco. The prices ranged from $4-$5. read more

Much better than chipotle in my opinion (and my husbands). The food definitely tastes more "real" and much fresher. We have had burritos and quesadillas so far and both delicious. I'm vegetarian and there are lots of options including tofu. My husband has loved all the chicken burritos he has gotten here. The staff has always been super kind and polite. Service is very quick. read more

Came here the week they opened, as I was familiar with a few other locations in the area and was excited to have one very close to my house. Service was poor, the people working had their AirPods in and seemed to hate being there. Food was very poor quality. My quesadilla was falling apart and barely had any cheese, and the chicken was burnt to a crisp. Decided to give it a try now that some time has passed, and the food is still just as terrible. The only decent thing on the menu seems to be the chips and queso. Literally anywhere else is better. read more

Food pretty good, but overpriced. Three Tacos, $18? Cashier not very friendly, and needs to at least smile read more

This is really a nice break from Chipotle over and over. The meals are a little lighter and their sauce is amazing.