Illegal Pete's - Colfax — Restaurant in Denver

Oh Illegal Pete's, how I love thee, let me count the ways.

Your awesome burritos, with fresh meats, cheeses, meats, veggies, meats, potatoes, and meats. MEAT. They make Chipotle and Qdoba look and taste like dorm burritos in comparison, and at the same price-range.

You eccentric and fun staff, who always smile, always work fast & hard, and always get my order perfectly right. Errytime.

Your weird and eccentric ambiance that makes me feel a bit outside my comfort zone, but willing to overlook cause damn, them meaty burritos!

Your full bar? YES.

I think that's 4? Yeah 4.

I love Illegal Pete's, all locations. I was very excited to hear this location was opening... in 2013! I mean 2014! Oh dang, looks like it is 2015! Well, 2016? Oh, serious this time? Sweet, 2016 it is.

The exact location on Colfax makes parking a SLIGHT issue, but the lot in the back is big enough to accommodate, but could use a coat of paint to line it out. Like, bad. The couple-block radius goes from sketchy-to-hipster-to-hipstersketchy-and-back. The corner is a bit off, but whatever, it's East Colfax, deal with that.

Basically, the food rocks, the people rock, the beer rocks, the place looks awesome.

Only complaint if the too-loud music. I like the background music, but it was cranked up too much, that even in the back of the patio, my girlfriend and I had to lean in and yell to communicate.

They'll work it out. Always takes a little bit of time for a new restaurant to hammer out the intricacies, and this place is no exception. I have full confidence in ti.

I will be back and back and back and...

Illegal Pete's serves burritos that are just as good as the burritos at Chipotle and Qdoba. A major advantage in choosing Illegal Pete's is the convenience of getting prepared food late in the day when other dining options are scarce. The Colfax location where I go has a broad range of beers on tap at the bar, and they mix a margarita that is not only strong, but inexpensive. On the whole, the staff is easy to get along with; and then there are a few like server 302. These are the ones who seek approval from the "in-crowd" of friends and trendsetters at the bar, but continuously pass judgment --often out loud-- on those from the "out-crowd" who unwittingly offended their hipper-than-thou ethos. They will refuse to serve prospective patrons who look at them "funny," or fail to indulge their affectations of importance. I was finally moved to write this negative review after hearing server 302 complain at length to friends that the "foreigners" this server denied service to on a whim had caused an uncomfortable situation. The passive-aggression I saw server 302 direct at the two "foreigners"...

Coming from someone who only orders online takeout (couldn't care less about the venue / bar), the food is decent, but it's been on a steady decline over this last year. 2 price hikes have occurred since April, resulting in at least .80 increase across the board, and depending on what you enjoy (looking at you, taquitos, potatoes, beef, and pork green chile smother), closer to $1.20+ increase. That's a menu-wide 10-15%+ pre-tax price hike in 5 months. Meanwhile, portions appear to be shrinking (or at least somewhat hit or miss), often not as generous on the protein choice, especially if a beef option is chosen.

Ironically, Chipotle has stepped up their burrito game recently and provides noticeably higher volume of food at similar or lower cost. I remember when IP was the superior alternative, funny how the turn tables. I was very happy to see IP's new reward point system, which amounts to a 20% return after spending $250 ($250 = 2500 points = $50 gift card), but the price hikes and declining portion sizes are too much. Overall kinda disappointed with Pete's, will definitely eat here...