5 Overpriced Chipotle Menu Items, According To Customers

Chipotle is known for its customization and fast-casual atmosphere, which allows customers to choose from its menu and add ingredients as desired. The chain likes to focus on making food fresh daily, so it forgoes using a freezer or a can opener to craft its dishes. Artificial flavors, colors, and even preservatives are nowhere to be found, at least according to the website's values page.

The company has thousands of locations across the United States, indicating clear success. It spans beyond the U.S. borders to Canada, the U.K., France, and even Germany, but that doesn't mean it's problem-free. You can always count on customer reviews to get to the heart of the matter, saving you from wasting your time or money. Chipotle may be well-known for its burrito bowls, but it, too, suffers from plenty of problems.

One big issue that plagues the quick-casual chain is its overpriced menu items. And its customers are clear and loud about their thoughts on the matter. We hunted down customer reviews to identify which foods and drinks patrons felt were the most overpriced, and they didn't hold back. We'll discuss what people say about the overpriced menu item and give you a ballpark cost based on prices, using Louisville, Kentucky, and Reedley, California, store prices as our guideline. 

A regular cheese quesadilla costs $9.90 in Louisville, Kentucky, and $11.35 in Reedley, California. Either way, that's a chunk of change for tortilla and cheese. If you plan to add meat, it will bulk up the price even more. If you want something like steak or beef barbacoa, you can expect a $2 upcharge, and this just doesn't jibe with some customers. There's an entire Reddit thread dedicated to debating whether Chipotle quesadillas are a good deal. Many people chime in about how overpriced the item is.

"They are the biggest rip-off on the menu," said one commenter. They went on to explain that they are an employee and don't find many things worth purchasing, save for the bowl with a side tortilla or taco shell. One user claimed their partner cringes at the price, while others mentioned it's only a somewhat good offer if you can get a buy-one-get-one deal. Others have a bit of humor but still reiterate the expense. "Wait, you mean $13 for some cheese on a tortilla isn't a good deal?" a Redditor responded. No matter which 'dilla you get, it's clearly not worth the money.

Considering how simple it is to whip up a crave-worthy guacamole, it's hard to imagine Chipotle's is so extraordinary that it's worth the high price. People seem to think that making guacamole in a larger restaurant setting should be more cost-effective and therefore cheaper. You can make things in batches, use tools, and employ other tactics that the average consumer might not have at home. And that means that for some folks, the chain's guacamole prices just don't add up. A small side of guac costs $2.95 in both Kentucky and California, while a large is $5.90. 

Chips and guacamole are even costlier; one person commented on a Facebook post about the price of Chipotle's side dish offering, saying that the chain charges "extra for guac and give you the TINYEST SCOOP EVER." Some think that Chipotle's guac prices are too high, and other customers long for the days when it used to be a dollar. "There are multiple reasons why I don't eat at Chipotle," said one Facebooker. "The #1 reason being they charge for guacamole." They went on to explain that this is the main reason why they shop at Qdoba instead. Many comments agreed that Qdoba is superior — in case you were looking for an alternative. In fact, when we checked, you could add guac and queso to a Create Your Own Qdoba bowl at no extra cost.

One of our favorite foods is smoked brisket. It can certainly take quite a long time to make — around nine hours — which can sometimes justify an elevated cost. However, customers don't think the price of the limited-time Chipotle offering aligns with the quality; they say it might taste good, but it isn't good enough to justify the price point. Even folks who adore the stuff say it's flat-out expensive. Someone claiming to be an employee has the same thoughts — it's fine enough, but the cost is high. 

Although it is not currently on the menu and we could not find any prices, one Redditor posted a receipt from January 2025 in Anaheim, California, showing that just the extra side of smoked brisket cost $7.80. Another poster from September 2024 showed it as $7. For a late 2026 comparison, a side of chicken costs $4.20, and steak costs $6.20 in Reedley, California — that's a noticeable price difference. Ordering the brisket protein came with quite a sticker shock for customers. Though the fan-favorite item is a limited-time offering, it returns enough to fill customers' voids. And yet, people have been complaining about the brisket's price for over five years.

Queso is meant to be thick, a bit creamy and salty, with a little heat tossed in to round it out. You can find a lot of great store-bought queso or handcraft it yourself at home in under 15 minutes. And Chipotle serves its version as a side menu item, where you can get a small or a large portion with chips. The small chips and queso blanco will run you $5.20, while the large is $8.70 in both California and Kentucky locations we used for comparison. Customers are pretty peeved at how much it costs to buy it at the chain restaurant. 

Someone wrote a whole Facebook post about their lackluster queso experience. In addition to it being expensive, they said that it was thick, bland, and easily the worst thing they tried for their meal. Others responded that it's "massively" overpriced or that it "sucks." People have been calling it overpriced since at least 2017, so the high cost is nothing new. If you were on the fence about ordering it, you can feel comfortable knowing that people have been displeased with the price for nearly a decade.

You might be able to justify a slightly higher price for fountain drinks at a restaurant, particularly if the staff is constantly coming back to refill them. However, people complain about the high cost of fountain drinks at Chipotle. A 22-ounce soda will cost $3.25, while a large 32-ounce cup bumps the price up to $3.55. "It's even worse than that, because it's generally assumed your cup will be 1/2 ice," said one Redditor. And that makes a lot of sense, which makes the price even more egregious.

The solution here is pretty easy, though. People say they simply don't buy drinks at Chipotle for this reason, preferring to buy food, or that you should just get water. "Largest profit margin item too. [Pennies] to fill the cup," said one person in the same thread. "Yet look at those prices. The cup itself is another story as to costs." Another person claiming to be an employee said that if you're a regular customer and especially kind toward the workers, you might get a free beverage — but we'd advise you not to count on it as a method of choice.

We sought customer reviews on the websites Reddit and Facebook. We were looking for items that repeatedly came up as being overpriced. While it is easy to complain about something that doesn't taste good, hearing from customers who actually enjoy a menu item but still find it overpriced was particularly telling. Chipotle doesn't have a lot of menu items, more so various toppings, salsas, proteins, and other random add-ons, so this list is short.

Not only that, but we wanted to include things that were notoriously expensive and had a lot of customer feedback, not just one or two people whining about the price. This list is short but mighty, and we hope it is valuable as you decide what to order (or avoid) at Chipotle. So instead of buying the above items, you can stick with the best burrito orders from customers or other secret menu picks.