Garden Burrito — Restaurant in Highland Park

Very HONEST and FAIR review from a Dietitian

Overall: 4.75 Garden Burrito truly is something special hidden in plain sight in Highland Park, New Jersey. From the welcoming experience of the family running the restaurant, the price of the food, and most importantly, the taste of the food, you really can't ask for more (Other than more variety of Jarritos). Their burritos are definitely something to look forward to, as well as their tacos. I find minced meat to lose a lot of moisture and flavor, but Garden Burrito knows how to cook them well to preserve their spices.

Recommendation: Chorizo or Carne Asada for Burritos/Tacos, topped with mole sauce.

Food: 5/5 Overall, Garden Burrito lives up to its name. It is a great burrito spot in central jersey if you are in the area. Their burritos are dense, neatly packed, and very generous with the meat and toppings they give you. Speaking of the meat, usually, the flavor and moisture are lost when minced, but you will taste every pork, beef, and or chicken with how wonderfully it marries with the spices that they used. Ask to top your burrito off with some mole sauce, or just add some spicy salsa or the salsa verde to take it to the next level.

If you are dining in, enjoy the crispy chips with the spicy salsa that they provide. I'm not sure what they do with it, but those chips definitely will hit the spot if you're craving some crunch.

I haven't tried their birria tacos yet, but from my research of the other reviews and my own experience, I highly doubt you will be disappointed. Aside from the birria tacos, my next try will be the parrilladas/meats on the grill, and the garden nachos. (stay tuned)

Price: 5/5 For the price, you'll get way more than you'll ever get from Chipotle or Qdoba. I've gone twice in the past week and their flavors have been consistently great. Again, they are very generous with the meat and are very kind to take some recommendations if you ask nicely. Their prices are around the average for burritos/birria tacos/tacos in the area.

Service: 5/5 The service is great and they make you feel like you're entering their own dining room. Everyone is so kind.

Ambiance: 4/5 Hopefully, as they continue to settle in and significantly grow, the ambiance will improve. But you really can't ask for more. Good music, good food, great family service.

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First of all, I'm writing in the spirit of helping this young business with a lot of promise. Second, we are a vegetarian family, so we only ordered from a few selection of vegetarian stuff.

We liked the atmosphere which is low key but authentic. The server was very warm. However, all three vegetarian dishes that we ordered were much below average. They had, what seemed like, frozen veggies from Costco. It included broccoli which is not known to go along with Mexican food. They were clearly not fresh. So it was a jarring our taste. Because of a lack of freshness, the taste was significantly hampered. Even though we ended up finishing what we ordered because we were very hungry, it would take a lot for us to visit again.

Again it could be because they are not used to serving vegetarian stuff. That said, and doesn't take away from the experience that we had. Hope they will be able to fix these issues going forward.

Wishing...

This place is a hidden gem! The birria tacos are the best you’ll have on the area. This is a cozy and quiet restaurant. Not too much traffic inside, but if you choose to sit in, it’s a quick order, pick a casual table and eat inside. They make the food very quick. The guy taking orders and also working in the kitchen said 12 mins for our order of 7 tacos. Pretty quick and staff is very nice. Also this doesn’t seem like the kind of restaurant to call and make an order/ or door dash. Best experience is to come inside and order to stay or take away! I saw other reviews staying no one knows when they are open. Doesn’t seem like there is a working phone, but the hours seem close to google hours except maybe opening an hour or two later or closing an hour to two early.also the prices are great! 3 big tacos $12 and 4 for $15. Very very filling. Anyways this is the secret spot for a fire taco night! Give it a try and you’ll...