I've never eaten at a Chronic Tacos before, and I was actually quite pleasantly pleased. They're something like a Chipotle, but much better. Just like Chipotle, they build your meal according to your wishes, but they have a much more varied menu and a larger selection of meats. I had the "2 Taco Plate" which includes guacamole, rice and beans. I chose chicken, but you can choose from a variety of other options. This combo goes for $7.95, which is not bad. It's a lot of food. read more

Chronic Tacos - "2 Taco Plate" - Mexican Near Me - Irvine, California

Lots of options. Only thing I didn't like was seeing how the potatoes/fries were premade so when packing them into your breakfast burrito, they were cold and soggy. read more

Found VERY SHARP GLASS PIECE from taco!!! I spit it out with food! All our family stopped eating and brought ​it back to store. We met the manager and showed him. He collected the glass piece and called his owner but the owner did not answer so we gave our contact info to the manager. The manager did not even refund our order nor did he care to solve this issue. No calls from them for a week. I went back and asked to talk with owner... and finally, I could talked to owner.. that a glass piece was found in our food while eating and the owner's response was shocking... The owner said "It is common for this to happen. You didn't swallow it and nothing happened!" ?? WHAT??????? SERIOUSLY??? Terrible experience!!! read more

Chronic Tacos - Very SHARP edges of glass! - Mexican Near Me - Irvine, California

Simple authentic Mexican food with all the desired toppings to appeal to the weight conscious to the not so weight conscious. The servers and staff are polite and are ready to serve. Take out is the requirement, however. read more

One of the cashier employee behaving SUPER rude, doesn't even try to be friendly or helpful. This is completely unacceptable in Irvine, the owner/manager have to fix this issue. read more

Rude service!!! would not help me.very disappointing! I was looking forward to eating there. Laughed at me when I left. read more

Just did a pick up order from Chronic Tacos for the first time. Ordered several items for my family. The cashier went through my order, which came out to over $80. I should of checked the order, but was in a rush to get home. Upon arriving they forgot to include a bowl-rito that we ordered. I'll be sure to speak with the manager as the the person answering the phone speaks very very little english, which makes the experience all the worse. The food we had was mediocre at best, but I guess that is expected looking for good street tacos in Irvine. read more

WIDESPREAD FRAUD... Reported it to the FBI Their menu says $3.25 for a taco, "guacamole included," (their exact words). Then... the fraud begins. They claim to not have guacamole... almost daily they do this scam. Then they charge you the full amount for "guacamole included." And their soda is always flat. They try to make extra money by fraudulent guacamole conduct & not replacing sodas in the machine. When you ask them why you are charging full price on the menu, which states "guacamole included," but refuse to serve guacamole almost daily, their reply......? "We are out of guacamole." OK... so adjust the menu prices or drive someone to Costco 1 mile away, which provides an abundant supply of avocados. But they want to conduct fraud instead. Simple. read more

Chronic Tacos - Mexican Near Me - Irvine, California

I guess I just find it odd that I'm the only customer standing there and there are 4 people behind the counter yet not one looked up to ask me if I needed help. I finally just walked out. read more

Delightful service from a wonderful staff and the food was fresh and made to order!

SMACK TALKING EMPLOYEES AT THIS LOCATION. The employees at this location love to gossip and talk trash in Spanish about the customers even while they are in front of them. Especially the Hispanic lady with light brown wavey hair. There must've been three customers ordering before me and the servers were talking smack about ea of them and laughing assuming the customers don't speak Spanish. Not a good look for them. read more

I've been in the Irvine area for a while now but I can hardly find any Mexican restaurants around... so when I do find one I make sure to check it out. This place exceeded my expectations. I went in on a Tuesday evening before closing (they close at 9:30, pretty early in my opinion but I wonder why) and service was excellent! The menu is small, but it still manages to offer some variety. Another thing I noticed was that it was similar to Chipotle in the sense that when you order your food, you can pick what you want as you go. On Taco Tuesdays, tacos are only $1.99 and they're quite huge! You can pick everything you want for your tacos and GUAC IS NOT EXTRA. I was surprised when I saw guac was not extra considering most places charge you $1-$3 just for a spoon of guacamole. My friend ordered a California burrito and he was pretty pleased with the taste, and the size of the burrito was big too. Service here is great, staff was very kind to us. And be sure to check in to receive the free chips and salsa! I'd totally recommend this place to everyone in the Irvine area. read more

Chronic Tacos - Mexican Near Me - Irvine, California

I love me some Chronic Tacos! It sure beats Chipotle, their al pastor is just too good! The only thing that keeps me from giving them 5 stars is that they are stingy with the meat, both in the burritos and tacos making it a bit pricey for what you get. I love their salsas and toppings, I usually get them all and it is always fresh and tasty. Service is nice and they often have specials and coupons to offset the price a bit. I like the vibe of the place, the location is clean and well kept and not too full. Great lunch in the area! read more

I was excited that they were open for breakfast, but I was disappointed with the quality of my tacos. I ordered the carne asada but it was tough and dry. My husband ordered the breakfast burrito and he seemed to like his more. My favorite thing was the chips and queso. Staff was super nice and they had great service. read more

First time coming here, definitely not disappointed! Food, service and environment was all great. You definitely get what you pay for. Will be back soon! read more

Use to be way better, now they just toss a bunch of food, condiments, and sauces all over. There use to be alot more care and when preparing the food. You can see they don't really give a shit. This place is one of those, you gotta eat here every once in awhile in the hopes that they got better and also connivence. But ends up just reminding you why you don't got here as often anymore. read more

Ordered online. Service was good but food was mediocre. It didn't feel the food was fresh and chicken was chewy.

I'm not quite sure how to review this place. I was picking up a catering order to deliver to some nearby hospital staff. When I walked in, they had apparently recently chopped or blended some incredibly strong peppers. I immediately started coughing and had to exit the restaurant. I stood outside waiting for the order and even 20 feet from the open door it took my breath away. One worker was inside coughing and the couple of customers that walked in were coughing as well. Once my order was ready I went inside to attempt to pay and couldn't breathe. At this point I kept having to run out the door to get air. I started coughing so bad I was gagging and passerby's were stopping to check on me. Thankfully one of the employees came out to take my card and rang me up without me having to re-enter the restaurant. I ended up without a voice and with a terrible cough for the next 2 hours. It felt like I had been pepper sprayed. As far as the food goes, I couldn't try it, I was so sick from the pepper inhalation. Everyone else said it was good, so I'll take their word for it! read more

My local Chipotle has always been spotty, but the food has never made me sick. Decided to try this place out because it has 3.5 (vs 2.0 for the Chipotle) and the reviews seemed very good. The chicken looked iffy, but I'm usually too picky, so I tried it out anyway. Reviews are good, I shouldn't be worried... The carne asada also looked suspect (far far far lower quality than Chipotle), but again, can't be that bad. It was bad. Taste was off on everything. Chips and quesadilla had loads of grease. After biting into a chip some oil bursted out, yuck. I stopped eating after 4 bites. 2 of the carne asada taco, 2 of the pollo asada quesadilla. Didn't like it, was done eating. 30 minutes later and... well I think you can predict where I quickly ran to sit down... read more

I got the chicken bowl and the two plate tacos. Reasonable price for both. It was very filling and they are generous with serving. Totally recommend! read more

Chronic Tacos - Mexican Near Me - Irvine, California

See all

This place is located in the same plaza as the Ralphs and the Starbucks. The place itself is a bit on the smaller side, though there are a few tables to eat at. This place reminds me of a crappier version of Chipotle. My friend and I got the burritos, and the food was mediocre at best. You order your burrito and they will heat up the tortilla, then you add rice, veggies, your protein selection, and other fillings. It's basically what happens at Chipotle, though I feel the ingredients did not taste as good. My friend got the Carnitas as the protein, and I found the meat to be pretty bland tasting, and lacking any depth or character. The Al Pastor was better tasting, and there was more flavor, but I still felt it was pretty boring tasting. They do have Tapatio on the counter, and when I don't like a certain food item too much I tend to just douse it in the hot sauce to cover up all the taste, which is what I did this time. read more

See all

Caveat: To be fair, I must say, I'm grumpy. I'll admit it. I haven't had a great day, it's been a tough week on top of a tough year. But I really I wanted to like this place! I went in with interest and excited to discover a new taco joint. And when I found out they had Mahi Mahi I had hoped to replicate an amazing Mahi Mahi burrito I used to get at a place called Dos Coyotes in the Sacramento area. (It's so good, especially with the cactus salsa, if they still have that...) But this was not only NOT a good proxy burrito (yeah, that's a new term I'm gonna make happen... any food that can stand in for something you crave is a proxy XXXX, sooo one might say, "the other day I was craving this one donut I love, but I found an awesome proxy Sidecar at Johnny's Donuts in SF!"). Unfortunately, in the end, Chronic Tacos' Mahi Mahi burrito was not only a terrible proxy for Dos C's, it wasn't even a good version of itself, if that makes sense. It's like when Will Smith went up and smacked Chris Rock. Will was not a good version of himself. So my visit to Chronic Tacos just made me grumpier and even less happy. Allow me to explain. In general terms, this place is a poor man's Baja Fresh. Now, Baja Fresh can be good, but it's not really the height of fast Mex. The expected toppings all looked fine, seemed fresh, but nothing that interesting going on there. The tortilla is one of those giant, flavorless, mass produced tortillas one might expect. They grilled it up but it didn't really get all that toasty or even warmed that much. The server was kind of hustling through the motions (I mean, it's a thankless job, working on those assembly lines, with customers peering over the short glass barrier that provides ZERO protection from the irritable vibes some people exude... so I don't begrudge the server a bit of boredom). But I'm a pretty pleasant customer and tried to engage, so I was a bit put off by the factory feel of the place. (note: One of the other servers was very nice, much more interactive...) Finally, the burrito folder, different from the tortilla warmer/fish frier, did not correctly fold the burrito, so the protein a did get, was all in one line across the middle of the burrito. I know this is just a burrito order, unrelated to any of the epic issues of the world today, but I increasingly feel no one takes any pride in anything these days! (Oh my god, I'm becoming my parents...not sure which one I'll favor, but I can hear both of them in that last statement...) So, the main issue is with the protein quality and amounts. First of all, the Mahi Mahi is frozen, so it's challenging to cook correctly. Mine wound up being quite dry. Second, it was under-seasoned, and, as a rather subtle fish, it needs a good bit of seasoning. Third, one must pay extra for what looked to be about half the amount of other protein options. I don't mind paying a bit more for the SAME amount of a higher priced protein, but I do mind paying more for less. It's like offering a sunroof upgrade on a SUV, but then the car dealer pulls up with a Mini Cooper. Actually, now that I think of it, that's kind of what it felt like, car-salesman schmuckiness (Not sure if that's a word but I'm too tired to find the right one and you definitely know what I mean...) Case in point: two other people ordered burritos, one with steak and the other with chicken. They each received nice big portions of protein, while I was provided four small bites of fish for the entire burrito. I ran into fish very rarely. (NERDING OUT HERE a bit - skip to the last paragraph if you don't want the #s). If I do the anecdotal math, my entire burrito was about 30 bites (erring on the side of less bites, I really think it might have been closer to 40) and I ran into fish 4 times. So that's a 13% protein exposure rate. While I'm quite sure the other burrito eaters ran into chicken or steak at least half of their bites, probably more like 3/4 of their bites, which would be a 50-75% protein ratio. So that's the long and not so short of it. And, now that I've spent nearly 40 minutes writing this, I'd say I've really not chosen wisely tonight. Hoping Chronic can up their game and not short shrift the Mahi Mahi lovers, but I also just don't think this place is all that great. The Loving Critic read more

The food is amazing, customer service is consistently good, and the price is right. Flavor city! Never leave, please! read more

Had a great experience at the Chronic Tacos on Culver so I came here expecting good clean food but stepped in this location and everything was met with nothing but disappointment. Because of the heatwave the door was left open without an air curtain. There were flies all over the food. I'm sure this is a health violation of some kind. I noped out of there really fast. read more

My burrito was SOOO SALTY that im legitimately concerned for my health after eating it. I got the pollo burrito, idk if it was just the chicken or what but that wasn't right. read more

Employee use the same pair of gloves to transport metal bins of foods, to clean up things and prepare foods for customers. I will not be back. read more

This place is the best!!' There fish tacos is out of this world! Fresh, fresh, fresh!!!!! my husband also said there breakfast tacos are so good! We come here often as we can. Big, delicious portions. And the fish tacos sauce is bomb!!!! read more

Chronic Tacos - Mexican Near Me - Irvine, California

See all

Thanks for the free taco, Angels! This place is overrated. I've had better tacos. I was a bit disappointed by the taco I got, maybe it was the meat but it tasted really salty. At first I thought it was the salsa, but then my friend stated that the chicken taco she got was salty too. Oh well. Maybe it's just this location, but all the "hype" I hear about Chronic tacos just led me to be disappointed. The service was quick and friendly. Again, the outdoor seating is nice, especially on a sunny day. The restaurant is small and only has a few seats inside. Maybe I'll try another location, get something else aside from chicken. Hmm...maybe I'll go to the one in the big "A". read more

Chronic Tacos - Chicken Taco - Mexican Near Me - Irvine, California

Chronic Tacos - oh how I love thee. Discovering this joint on a lucky happenstance while in town to see the ever amazing Offspring close out Irvine Meadows, I now find myself looking for a Chronic Tacos in every location I travel. The food was very flavorful and fresh with the menu offering your typical Mexican food choices, only better. The dining area was very clean and stocked with an assortment of hot sauces and such, ranging in flavor and level of spiciness. I was also pleased to discover they had Gringo Bandito hot sauce, a brand I had contemplated ordering for some time due to the band affiliation. The hot sauce was a perfect companion to the fantastic burrito I had to eat. The serving sizes at Chronic are perfectly proportioned and also well balanced with ingredients. The service was excellent and very inviting. The bathrooms were also clean and stocked. I will be visiting again when in town and have considered checking into a franchise of my own. read more

I came to try the cali burrito and opted for the shrimp. With beans, white rice, pico de gallo, salsa roja, cheese, onion, cilantro, and guac, it ended up being a hefty-sized burrito--dare I say bigger than chipotle's (at least in girth). I selected the grilled shrimp but after two bites of my burrito, I realized they had put in battered shrimp instead. Too bad I was already home or else I would have asked them to redo it. Apart from the batter of the shrimp getting soggy and being a horrible texture for the burrito, I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of it. They use fresh ingredients and the tortilla was toasted to perfection. The complimentary chips upon check in were salty, but paired well with the dense burrito. They weren't too greasy and were nice and light. I was shocked at how long the line was. The Chronic Tacos I have back at home is usually dead, but this location was poppin. Luckily, I had ordered online, so I walked straight to the front of the line. Beat the lines and order online! read more

Meh. I came here to try their "California burrito"; I ordered over the phone to-go and drove a good distance to pick it up. When I got home there were ingredients missing from my order - total bummer. The portions were large but I still think it was a bit over priced and under whelming, most likely because the order was incorrect. Maybe it would have been better if I had ordered in person and chose something different. Why is it so hard to find a good California burrito in this area read more

Skip this location. Just picked up a bag full of ice-cold food, that they said had "just been made". One of the burritos had the wrong filling. They were breaking down and cleaning the kitchen when I arrived to pick up my order at 7pm. I usually like Chronic, but that was deeply disappointed in this experience. I'll think twice before ordering from Chronic Tacos again. read more

I'm always greeted with a smile from Mimi. Sometimes I go to Chronic for lunch to get a burrito and some tacos. She knows my go-to order. Great costumer service! read more

Shout out to Oscar for recommending me this place, he the one who got me hook on their burritos. Literally, for the past three days I've been coming here on a daily basic before I head to work. My first ever burrito from here was the carne asada but my bae, Oscar was like "no. You got the wrong one. Get their shrimp burrito next time." And with that, I did for the past three days. I tried the fried shrimp burrito. AMAZING!! I got it with cheese and everything except guacamole (sadly it gives me heartburn but I wish I can add that in because it would be bomb) and the guy recommended me if I'm not mistaken it's called a Baja sauce, if not I'll asked next time and update this review. Instead of lettuce, I asked for cabbage (Really, really ties the whole thing together) for that extra crunch. Super delicious and if you're wondering I got the big burrito, and that fills you up. I wasn't hungry after that meal, and didn't even want a snack at my job. Bang for your buck I would say, got the burrito and a large drink for $12 and some change. Definitely worth it. Also, I tried their sautéed shrimp burrito with the same as the fried shrimp one I wrote above, mouth watery delicious. I even dreamt of the burrito when I got home from work and which is why I've been going for three days in a row. The shrimp isn't the small ones, nope; they are pretty decent size shrimp I would say, maybe bigger and so fresh. They aren't kidding when they say it's fresh man. Will definitely coming back here. It's only a street down my work place and I think they have a few other locations. read more

This place is amazing if you enjoy sitting on your toilet for 2 hours. Instantly after eating this my stomach hurt immediately and it has been hurting for the past 3 hours. The workers and everyone are nice but the food is dogshit. read more

When you have a line of people that doesn't mean rush your customer and forget to put items that's you're telling him to put on your plate... I promise you the line of people aren't going anywhere. And rushing the customer to hurry up is rude but foods good , I love chronic taco, recently started going back but yea don't rush me and if I'm asking you lettuce lettuce lettuce please and you put double cilantro.... Why? Cuz of a line? Odd read more

Great food! Amazing customer service. Julieta is excellent. She provides great customer service and does so always with a smile.

My review is for the staff. A gentleman in front of me paid for his food and was about to sit down when he realized he hadn't gotten any guacamole (which was included in his meal). He politely asked the woman behind the counter for some. She immediately started talking trash about this man in Spanish -- IN FRONT OF HIM! Clearly, they had no idea I understood everything they were saying. The guy simply asked for what he paid for and was polite about it. Another employee chimed in and they both stood there talking trash. And they went on (and on)! Management needs to talk to their staff. There are a lot of other places to eat in the area. Time to raise your customer service game!! ** UPDATED TO ADD: If you have a minute, do a quick search for "guacamole" at this location and see what comes up. Apparently, this is an ongoing issue. ** read more

Man, I hate to say it, but this place sure is a hit or miss. :( My boyfriend wanted to take me out to lunch today, but due to my time limit at work, I asked him to bring me tacos instead. After the great service we got last time, I suggested Chronic Tacos, and he agreed. I am super confused. Last time, I had gotten one of the carne asada, one of the chicken, and one of what I THOUGHT was al pastor. The "al pastor" was so delicious, and I even remember making the comment that "wow...these al pastors look more like carnitas haha." Well, surprise surprise, I guess they really WERE carnitas last time, because I asked him for the al pastors again this time...and they were definitely not what I received last time lol. With that said, the carnitas are probably the way to go. Al pastor was...not that great I'm afraid. My boyfriend asked for everything on the tacos. Unfortunately, "everything" may not include sour cream or chipotle sauce, because none of the tacos came with those. I was pretty disappointed...not gonna lie. My tacos barely had any cheese, had even less guac, and was just so dissatisfying. Boyfriend also thought the tacos weren't the greatest; he usually gets the burritos and regrets not getting it this time as well, because "it's hard to mess up burritos." My coworker asked for taquitos with sour cream and guac (which came out to almost $9 for 3 taquitos + guac btw people). Goodness gracious. Kinda stinks that I was given the wrong meat last time (which I guess turned out to be a blessing in disguise), and it stinks that we didn't really get what we wanted this time either. Perhaps it's just the location, but with other options around for taco tuesday, I am not sure if this place would be my first choice. read more

Chronic Tacos - Al pastor - Mexican Near Me - Irvine, California

First time trying them out. Had the grilled fish and shrimp tacos. Spot on. Yelped the free chips and salsa to go with it with a check in. For $8.50 it beats a combo meal at your local burger joint. If you're going to order the grilled fish or shrimp then be ready to wait. It took a while. The toppings were great. And I recommend the Baja sauce for sure. Can't wait to come back and try the other stuff. It is good food. Freshly made and the people working there show their pride in the food. The lady behind the counter was stirring the carnitas and she'd use the tongues to remove pieces that had fat or chunky meat that wasn't shredded. Awesome food! Enjoyed my first visit. read more