I used to walk into Illegal Pete's craving one of their delicious burritos... and then end up ordering something equally delicious, like a quesadilla or fish tacos or something like that. I appreciate the fact that I have those kinds of options, unlike at Chipotle or Qdoba. Illegal Pete's also was the first (in my book) to encourage me to get a naked burrito (without the tortilla) and to eat the insides with tortilla chips instead- something that Chipotle figured out much later. Now there is no going back. I live in Seattle. There is only ONE Chipotle in the entire city and it is constantly crawling with college kids, and then there are 500 Taco del Mars that make me sick every time. I miss Illegal Pete's like you wouldn't believe, and my mouth is watering just thinking about it. read more

This place is Chipotle on steroids. Furthermore, I was really high when I ate it. Don't fucking judge me. Best burrito in Boulder. Don't let your ignorant friends tell you otherwise. I'd also like to note that I've only been to Boulder once and have only eaten burritos at Pete's. Rock on, America read more

Ive been going to Illegal Pete's for years and I love their burrito. I usually get steak and queso and change up the rest of the toppings depending on what I'm feeling. The best part is that they stir up the all of the food inside of the burrito before folding it to make sure every single bite is perfect. Everything I've gotten on their menu is to die for and has a ton of great flavor. You can tell they use really good ingredients and care about their food. read more

Short and sweet - decent/good food, ingredient quality seemed good but not spectacular. Strange environment, seemed very bar-like, but not quite - what is their goal? Nice that they have beer on tap, perhaps high on my list if i want beer and tacos. Lower on my list if I want a nice sunny afternoon taco with friends and no beer. They need a salsa bar, I am convinced of this as much as the earth is round. (I'm only convinced that the earth is round due to educational propaganda and anecdotal evidence of course) What's with the cock sauce and tabasco, what, what? Tabasco and cock sauce, what? My bottom line - I'm going elsewhere to look for tacos for now, as I'm new to Boulder. If I go back, I'm going to ask for side of salsa while in the serving line. Tabasco and Sriracha??? read more

This is the boulder classic. Nothing reminds me of college days as much as this place. The venue of choice for dinner or after bar beer munchies. Steak burrito with corn and lettuce. Life does not get any better. And the Perl location even has a liquor license. This place will kick Chepotle's butt any day of the week. Not only for taste, but it's also for being an independent local organization, unlike the McDonalds' owned opposite. read more

Great burritos here. Staying open late does a tremendous service for everyone out for a night on Pearl. Do them a favor and don't show up with a group of friends right at closing though! Illegal Pete's will always be one my favorites. read more

I really enjoy their breakfast burrito, probably one of my favorite things on the menu. The lunch menu is diverse and has a wide array of choices to choose from, and can cater to anyone. I would like to state though that, their lunch is just okay. I usually get the burrito bowl with chicken and it comes with chips or tortilla. I have an issue with the chicken here, with it being on the dry side. I compare them to chicken and chipotle or qdoba and comparatively illegal Pete's chicken is pretty dry. I'm not sure if they use the thighs or not but its on the drier side. I have to applaud them for their green chile though, they go well with the breakfast burrito for sure. read more

This place is kind of lame, especially from a veggie perspective. There are two options for veggie burritos: One has green peppers and onions, the other has red peppers and something (purple onions?). That is not a veggie burrito- that should be standard! A veggie burrito will run almost $8. Pluses are the location, they serve beer, and they mix all the fillings in with a spoon before wrapping the burrito- so you never get a huge bite-ful of just sour cream, That is worth a star all by itself- and it leaves me wondering why no other burrito joint I've been to does this. read more

Stopped in Here for a Burrito before the Avery Brewfest. Delicious just like Illegal Petes in Denver. The guy who made my burrito was a rock star. read more

Save yourself the trouble and go to Chipotle. It's essentially the same concept, but the flavors are not well developed. I got a steak bowl and the meat was way too over cooked. I asked the girl behind the counter about the queso, and she said it would be worth the extra charge. Went for it, wish I hadn't. It's relatively flavorless. Their house special hot sauce.. not hot at all. The salsas are really wet. The bowl comes with your choice of chips or a tortilla, but that's not too much of a deal for an 8-9 dollar meal. read more

Stopped in here for an early dinner on the same day as the Boulder-Boulder, it wasn't difficult to park in the garage. People seemed to be trying to overcome the rain. I hadn't had any Mexican (or Tex-Mex as this is more accurately labeled) in a while and this satisfied my most basic 'Mexican' needs. I had a beef burrito bowl which was pretty tasty. I like that I could taste each ingredient and it all tasted fresh and good. Sometimes a burrito is just a mashup of random bland items. The guacamole was also yummy. The price was good as well. A cheap and pretty tasty quick stop for lunch or dinner. read more

Kind of a young persons place. I tried it with a friend and wasnt too impressed. Someone threw my buritto together like it was meant to be put in a blender. Maybe Pete doesnt cook anymore. read more

Like I told my boyfriend, there really isn't anything to differentiate this Tex- Mex Giant Burrito place from any other Tex- Mex Giant Burrito place. Their menu does veer off the well- trodden path a little bit, offering taquitos and pork carnitas and fish options. Otherwise it's the basic blueprint of watching them steam your tortilla, and then going down the line and telling them what to fill it with. The boyfriend got steak taquitos, which were okay. He said the sour cream was kind of thin and tasteless, but that the guacamole was really good and fresh tasting. I got the chicken burrito, which was perfectly fine, but boring. They do offer several different beers, and I think a small breakfast menu. Glad we tried it, glad it didn't suck, but as they don't do anything different than Chipotle or Qdoba, doubt we will go back. read more

Here's the thing: when I'm downtown, and just need a little something to tide me over, I long for the street vendors of my last town (NYC)... I mean, really. Where can you get a piece of food for less than $3 that will fill you up temporarily? Answer: Pete's. I get a taco with everything, and voila: Problem solved. I also like the poquito burrito option for slightly more food, as the grown-up size burrito just makes me feel like a stuffed turkey. It's simply too big for one sitting. But tasty meats, and the 'guac rather than dairy' substitution makes this the go-to place. read more

Burritos, lots of different options for their insides...where could you go wrong? Here: Nachos. The chips are too thin, and they get soggy super fast. read more

Get a Fish Burrito. Just get it. Get a beer too. It's really good. It doesn't have the salty-ness of Chipotle, so if you'd rather have Chipotle I'd understand. But you get as much food from Pete but you don't feel like a huge heavy stomach when you're done. You feel good. Just go there. read more

I love Illegal Petes!! I always end up here whenever i visit Denver or Boulder! Just a chipotle-qdoba-ish kind of restaurant, with quick line made burritos, tacos, quesadillas, etc. BUT Illegal Petes tastes way better, always has great staff, fresh ingredients, a cool atmosphere, AND BONUS they're open LATE!! So its perfect after a night of drinking, or smoking! :P **At the Downtown Denver location, I once guilted and shamed a guy so badly who had cut in line in front of us, that he ended up buying me and my friends' burritos..!!!! :) read more

Most restaurants are closed by 10 pm, but Pete's stays open late. It's a cute little place on Pearl and attracts the college crowd. I had fish tacos which were pretty good, with chips. The food was average, the crew was very nice. Great place if you have the munchies late at night, and want to grab a beer or cocktail. read more

Typical restaraunte going for for the whole authentic Mexican food (especially in boulder where its near impossible to come by). Nope. Illegal Petes is like the McDonalds of the Mexican food. Bland tasting burritos that I can closely relate to cardboard. Employees are all typical Boulder Stoners trying to give out a vibe that they are so okay with smoking which I do not give a fuck about. I came here for food, not to talk about how friendly Boulder is with Weed, I don't smoke it. If you want a step up into some mexican food that actually has taste to it, try Mamis. La Choza is bomb and actually authentic Mexican food in Boulder, the rest are shitty american chain knock offs. read more

today was my second time going. yesterday was my first, tomorrow will be my third. place rocks- cheap enough, big portions, tasty.

Gotta love the Cali style burrito joints. Unfortunately, Pete's isn't the best but it'll do the job if need be! read more

This is our favorite fast burrito place and our go-to restaurant when we go to Boulder for lunch. I used to go here all the time when I lived out here. Try the steak and potato burrito or the chicken burrito. They're delicious. read more

Good but nothing mind blowing. As a vegan, being able to get guacamole for free if you get no dairy was a pretty big plus, but I was disappointed with no meat alternative option aside from just veggies. read more

I have a real Illegal Pete's problem. Their poblano pesto calls me back every time I end up on Pearl Street, which isn't often these days. Back in my younger days I used to eat there all the time, and it's always been a steak burrito with poblano pesto! They stir up their fillings so you actually get everything mixed together instead of giant bites of rice or meat or salsa. It's nice to still have a place from my childhood left on Pearl to share with my kids! read more

While I love Colorado's answer to Chipotle, my boyfriend thought the burrito was a little small and the salad was over saturated with peppers. The store could have been tidier and the staff friendlier. read more

Illegal Pete's - Pearl St. - Mexican Near Me - Boulder, Colorado

It's hard for me to get excited about 'yet another burrito place'. Mostly this is because burrito's are really just there to fill a hole in my stomach - nothing more. The food was OK. The service was OK. I would go there again if I was hungry and feeling unimaginative. Location is good, and there is a little seating area outside. The atmosphere inside is a bit like a busy cafe. read more

Before I was gluten free, I used to come here all the time for quesadillas and they were always delicious. I haven't stopped by in years, but recently came in and the food is still delicious. The staff was knowledgeable about which foods have gluten and other allergens...which, believe it or not, is rare (at many places that claim to offer gf food not all employees are informed about what gluten is/which foods are gf/possibilities of contamination). They give you a very good portion for the price, unlike some other burrito places. The only bad thing is the lady with the reddish hair at the register was rude. She was condescending and rudely told me she forgot to charge me for guacamole, so the next time I came in if I got charged "that's why." I thought this was an odd remark. Either charge me now or just let it go because it was your mistake. I'm not sure if she did this to get a tip, thinking she was being "nice" by not charging me, but it backfired because I decided not to tip. Since the cash register is where people tip, it's important that the person behind it is friendly. The employees working the line were great, but her sour attitude unfortunately ruined it. read more

I love their big fish burrito!! That's all I ever order, with all the fixins. Had one tonight, want another already. read more

Killer food, great music and an A+ staff. Check out the Baja fish tacos. Great atmosphere. The closest thing healthy, natural products being served as fast food. They don't have a freezer because they don't preserve products, they always use fresh food and everything is locally, naturally sourced. read more

We tried this place this past week for the first time. We walked in literally blind, not even knowing we were getting Mexican. We picked up on the concept right away, and split a bowl with beef and chips. The flavors were spot on. The amount of meat was skimpy, but everything else was great. Can't wait to be back! Four stars! read more

I would give this place 5 stars for their customer service and food. But they need to get out to the seating area more to check on cleanliness. Not one table was clean for us to sit at, and no employer came out during our 20 min sit down meal read more

Not too bad for a quick burrito and a beer. Enjoyed the atmosphere but service was not too great. Just short and ready to roll you out to get the next order. Good food tho read more

It was different but it was good! Their meats were great. The tortilla they used was good, if you want a solid burrito you should go here!

Would rather walk the other way on Pearl and hit up the well known chain for cheaper and tastier products. Not sure why this is so well known other than maybe good advertisement? read more

LOVE the bowls here. It is basically fast food mexican grub with cool seating and easy atmosphere. They can customize things or make it per the menu. Really friendly staff and they have cute stickers too. Sometimes they have live music I think read more

These guys are awesome! Had one of the best chicken quesedillas ever! In addition to having a very complete menu that you get to customize as you order, the staff is very friendly and helpful. It also has a bar so you can grab a beer or watch the game with your food. Try their Sopapillas! Not many people know about them but they are an amazing dessert! read more

Much better than Chipotle. More options, better quality food and better overall vibe. The staff is really friendly and make you feel welcome. They're usually playing rock and metal music and the whole atmosphere is pretty alive. The food is great, burritos are pretty filling but also tasty. I'd recommend trying their beer-battered fish, it's really addictive. read more

This place is incredible. I've been here A LOT. At one point I was coming here 5 days per week, on average, for about a 2 month stretch. They have a ton of ingredients you can add to your burrito to keep things interesting. I've never been anywhere else that has as many options as they do. They use Niman Ranch meats which is a network of farms that are committed to humane and sustainable practices (I don't think you can ask for much more at a grab and go eatery). They do something I have only seen one other burrito joint do -- stir the ingredients! Such a small but crucial element of their craft. They have a bar! It's small but it exists so this place works great for all kinds of occasions. The cookies are delicious! I don't think they make them, but God they are like a drug. Once you have one, you will ALWAYS want to get one with your burrito (better go climb Sanitas and then eat your burrito and cookie). Also, if you're nearby in the morning, get a breakfast burrito (and they open really early)! Their veggie breakfast burritos are fantastic and pretty cheap! To top it all off, the people are pretty chill! Boulder really is an amazing place, with amazing people. I've since moved out of town but this one spot alone makes me think about visiting again. This place is on my top 5 of Boulder, no doubt, and currently ranks as as my #1 burrito in the world. I've been addicted to Chipotle in the past and got sick of it -- I've never gotten tired of eating burrito's here. read more

I came here on a Thurs night and got a veggie burrito. I didn't know a burrito could be so unpleasant. The place sure was poppin though. Seems like you'd be better off getting schwasty before you come out here to eat anything (best explanation I can think of for all the five star reviews here). read more

They sold me a drink at 1:59 and took it away at 2:01. It cost $5. Money wasted. And, they were rude about it.