Aztlan Grilled Taqueria — Restaurant in Chico

Update ! Management took care of all my issues very quickly and I will definitely be back . Great service absolutely trumps mistakes every time. !!!

So I was very very excited to try this place now that I live on this side of town right around the corner . I ordered two shrimp burritos and added steak and Barrilla sauce to dip the burritos in and a cheese quesadilla . It didn’t take to long to put what I thought was my order together I would say 10-15 minutes so again still fine for not calling ahead . When my buzzer to get my food came up I walked to the counter and saw two identical burritos (one was supposed to be either no or lights sour cream I left it up to them which ever was more convenient as sour cream can be a hassle if it’s to cold I was fine with none) but no I got two identical burritos . Ok . But my son’s quesadilla wasn’t there and hasn’t even been started and at this point I will just grab him a burger as I don’t want to be there for a quesadilla to be cooked . Mind you I paid $40 for two burritos with shrimp and steak (full portions of each) . I don’t mind paying that honestly as long as I’m disgustingly full after haha . Or I can split it into two meals . No not the case because after getting my $6 refund for my missing quesadilla and finally got my barilla sauce which one of the containers the lid was barely on so it just ended up in the bag and all over my car . I thought for sure they would get the plastic lids on the styrofoam cups correctly as they hold very well out of all of the soup type containers . Nope mine had a tear in the lid very visible and just completely lazily overlooked mind you NO BODY ELSE WAS IN THE RESTAURANT AND ONE SINGLE MAN CAME BEHIND ME !!! lol so for three employees behind the counter there should be literally no mistakes ( I’m cool with mistakes as everyone’s human) . Every single thing I ordered was missing or messed up . So I get home . Let it go and just sit down to eat my treat . I paid $8 to add steak to my burritos for me and my friend. And of course . NO STEAK !!!! Zero !!! I paid for a full portion not none lol . They absolutely could not have messed anything else up and again I was the ONLY CUSTOMER !!! So also I got an attitude from the employees obviously like I was being picky of course . Being in fine dining in San Francisco for 20 years I know the absolute tip top of the food industry . I know what is able to be accomplished with good food good employees and adequate management , I would have obviously bought my meal . The mark up on food is usually around 78-75% obviously that fluctuates . So buying my food they would have lost $10 but Gained that back the next three times I come or less . I eat out very often . Then they would have had a for ever customer because the taste of the food was actually REALLY good . Minus it not being spicy at all and I asked for it to be very spicy . Again that can be over looked because the flavor of the shrimp was exactly what I wanted today !!!! That salty buttery oily shrimp nicely seasoned with whole pintos and rice !! Ugh , but I mean I jahbe a list of no Karen issues !!! So why on earth would I ever go back? There are 87 Mexican restaurants in Chico and another 29 taco trucks some being much better than restaurants . So no I will not go back . I did not take my very generous tip (especially for counter service which was 25% ) but I do not like paying for what I did not receive . That’s insane to me . It’s my only “must” if I pay for something I insist that I revive that item . Anyways for them not being busy at all and me being the only guest my meal should have been so fresh and so incredibly perfect that there is just no excuse for the 9 mistakes . So I would have to say do not eat here . There are so many good Mexican places : REAL AUTHENTIC mexican places and food trucks. There is no room for this kind of nightmare experience . Again I will NEVER eat the again and I all pre you to...

I have been a loyal customer of Aztlan for years before this location was even open, always enjoyed their food and atmosphere. However, my recent experience was extremely disappointing and frustrating. Unfortunately, the tacos we received were far from the quality we’ve come to expect. The tortillas tasted so foul and smelt like rancid meat had been prepared next to them or maybe stored next to it. We have been here a million times and the tortillas never looked this brown and I promise the smell was so bad I couldn’t eat it and honestly ruined my appetite it was that odd. When I called the restaurant to express my concerns, I was met with rude and unhelpful service. I tried to politely explain the issue, but the person on the phone was dismissive and clearly uninterested in resolving the problem. When I asked to speak to a manager, I overheard her say “they want a refund, should I just tell them no” Then proceeded to tell me “yah sorry we’re not doing a refund” regarding my request for a refund. This level of being rude for no reason and poor customer service was so unnecessary, literally the first thing I was telling her when she answered was that we love to come here and I hate to do this, but something off this time and we can’t eat it, but she couldn’t care less. After working 12 hours and being hungry craving something then be let down sucked. After getting off the phone I decided to drive back because I was in shock as they are always so nice, I got there and gave her the tortillas in foil so she could see I was being truthful and her face when she opened up the foil validated my concern, she was still just dismissive so before I left I said you should probably smell them because your serving people these. No offer to make it up in any shape or form, I didn’t get a refund or even my food remade. It’s incredibly frustrating to have a place I’ve loved so much act like this. I hope the management takes these issues seriously and makes the necessary changes to restore the quality and service that Aztlan was once known for.

The pictures are the Birria taco which was fried but still tasted awful. The other two pictures are the Brown Foul Smelling tortillas on top, for comparison a normal looking white corn tortilla thats under the meat is one we made from home to try and save at least the meat (but still the meat wasn’t even good, so we didn’t...

In my opinion, this is the best place in town to get a burrito. Their nachos are just okay, but if you want a boss burrito this is the place to go. The burritos are huge, priced very reasonably, and if you order meat in it you'll get a generous amount rather than a bunch of bean or lettuce filler like some other places. I highly recommend adding the nacho cheese option to it because it's what makes the burrito exceptional. (The large McDonald's soda cup in the picture is for burrito size reference). Their battered fish street tacos are excellent too. Tip: ask for your taco tortilla to be grilled.

Update October 2022: In light of inflation everyone has raised their costs, but some places have also cut back on quality and portion in addition to charging more. That's why I'm updating all my reviews, to share with you what restaurants are still hanging on to their pre-pandemic quality and portion sizes. I'm happy to say Aztlan is one of them. I've included a photo similar to my original one to illustrate this.

Update, March 2024: Okay, so, in my original review, I wrote the nachos off as meh, but I decided to give them another try. This time I removed the chipotle sauce that comes on it and added their green tomatillo salsa; so much better. Their chipotle sauce is absolutely fantastic on the fish tacos, but for me, it was an odd flavor profile on nachos. Anyway, in summary, the nachos are great. Try them. Also, if you haven't tried the quesaburria tacos, do yourself a favor and get some! TIP: spoon the remaining birria sauce over your nachos. You're welcome.

Update May 2025:

Still fat amazing burritos as here! If you like guacamole and sour cream, I highly recommend upgrading your burrito experience to a burrito supreme. I've included my classic burrito-with-a-soda for reference pic along with an updated photo of the quesabrita tacos. Aztlans really does have the best birria in Chico,...