QDOBA Mexican Eats — Restaurant in Jeffersonville

I have waited a while to give a solid opinion about this location. I figured maybe because it was so new they needed some time to get it together. Or maybe the drive thru option was hurting the quality of food. But I think it has been long enough.

I have chosen this location most frequently as of late since the Veterans Pkwy location that is closer to me is constantly understaffed and I was tired of having to wait 45 minutes in the store for my online order. From my first trip to the 10th St location, when it was open for maybe 1 month, I was taken aback by the strong smell of burnt chicken before even getting to the store. The food quality was okay, but again I assumed it would get better over time. But even for weeks later, when getting gas at Kroger next door, I was still bombarded by the odor of burnt meats.

The next time I went, maybe a month later, I ordered a chicken bowl and, again, the chicken was burnt to a crisp. The pickled onions were 3 inch long, 1 inch wide CHUNKS of onion, not the thin sliced onion I am used to at Qdoba. The cilantro was half leaves, half stems. Everything was cold, but I got a lot of veggies and salsa so I figured it was my own fault. But again, whatever, they're still learning, right...?

After a few more times of this same experience, I made a last ditch effort of desperation today because I am 11 weeks pregnant and literally nothing else sounded good. I ordered the chicken tacos, which IMO are a simple, un-f*ck-upable item. My husband ordered the special World Eating Championship burrito. So, once again...completely black, burnt chicken. But somehow my tacos were still ice cold. They had no salsa, and again giant chunks of onion and the "guac" was just huge chunks of avocado. Needless to say, they were inedible in taco form and required a fork. My husband's burrito was minimum 85% rice, all cilantro stems, same burnt chicken and avocado chunks, and no queso at all. He made it through half and threw the rest away.

I would rather wait 45 minutes in the Clarksville store for my food than waste another dime on...

Note to Corporate: Qdoba’s made-to-order Mexican is not cut out for drive thru. If anything, make it an online order pickup window, like Dominos. Some food for thought:

too many options/customizations leads to inaccuracies during drive thru order. Better left to customer, via app: nothing lost in translation.

poor order entry training makes for 6 minute order dictation. Our drive thru attendant had us repeat, slow down, etc, only to forget queso and rice options. You pay someone to do what we can do on our own via app/site, and much more accurately, when they could help speed up wait times by helping make the orders…

he didn’t make use of the 2 drive thru parking spots. (Which only serves as another layer of delay/frustration anyway)

it’s better to make a big “online order pickup” sign, encourage ordering ahead on app, and not offer drive thru than to offer a really subpar experience… unless you can guarantee “freaky fast” service from your line associates like Jimmy John’s, it only serves to frustrate your customers.

BTW, teach the cooks how to take off raw chicken gloves…? We watched a young cook, through drive thru window (while waiting 10 minutes), take 3 minutes trying to take off his dirty gloves! I’m no restauranteur or chef, but seriously — just pinch other palm, pull and bunch into fist, then clean hand pulls other glove off, inside out.

ppl want this new local option to succeed, desperately. More good food options vs another stinking car wash or bank 🙄… but it’s gonna take some care, IQ, and investment...

Let me just say first that my family has been eating Qdoba in Southern Indiana for almost 8 years. Since 2020 the qdoba’s in this area have just declined. We went to the Jeffersonville location around 9PM to pick up an online order through the drive through. The workers were completely distracted though they weren’t busy.

We picked up the order and made it home but our food was horrible. For sure the worst Qdoba I’ve ever had. The meats (chicken in a burrito and steak in a bowl) were so burnt and reeked of smoke flavor that it tainted the whole burrito and bowl and truly was inedible. When I took the lid off the bowl the smell of smoke came up and I was genuinely confused because it’s never smelled like that. I asked my four year old if her mini bowl was good and she said: no, I don’t like the chicken. (Kids will tell you the truth) she’s never not loved her Qdoba bowl.

When I took a bite of my food it was so bad that I wouldn’t digest it and ended up throwing the whole bowl away. It was such a disappointment because we have been faithful Qdoba lovers for years and it feels like each time we try to give it a chance again it just gets worse. What a waste of time and money.

I would not recommend this location. Though it’s brand new it’s not doing well.

P.S the guacamole was full of so much onion, and...