Burrito Loko & Mofongo Express — Restaurant in New Britain

I came here to grab a quick lunch and really wanted their vegetable medley (roasted zucchini, caramelized onion, mushrooms, bell peppers in chimichurri). When I walked in and requested it, the man at the register just nodded and featured at the other end of the line, saying to pick my rices. I selected my rice, beans, etc - I was a bit surprised because I thought it was a set entree but figured they allow you to customize it before throwing the listed items on top. I repeated twice that I specifically wanted the medley with the zucchini and mushrooms. Him and the other man who began making my bowl just nodded and asked me to pick what else I wanted. I asked if guac was extra with the meal and the guy said they wouldn't charge me for it. I thought they were being nice since I clearly hadn't been there before but then they started closing up my bowl and I asked if the zucchini, mushroom, caramelized onion was all going to be on the side? They then told me they were all out of it. I told them I didn't order a custom bowl, I specifically wanted the vegetable medley. I work at a Mexican restaurant that serves basically the same thing as their vegetarian build your own so I wouldn't spend money on it unless it had stuff I wanted like the items I repeated! They just kept saying oh well we won't charge you for guacamole. I still felt too bad to let the food go to waste but I told them they should tell people when they're out of something rather than just guide them to a bowl and make it an awkward experience where a customer is given something they didn't ask for. Based on the prior reviews (especially the takeout) this is something this business does regularly. The food was okay (chopped tomatoes seemed a bit unevenly portioned) but the whole experience was feeling tricked into getting something I didn't want. The free guac just wasn't enough to compensate for that since I would've been fine not getting any guac if it meant I received what I ordered. I hope they are more upfront with their...

Been here 3 times so far, each time has been an odd or frustrating experience.

1st time: I gave the worker my order, a rice bowl. He started making my rice bowl, or so I thought, putting in everything that I requested. I ordered two more items, so a second worker stepped in to help. While the second worker is helping me, I see the first one take what I thought was my rice bowl, bring it over to a table and start chowing down on it! I'm thinking, what the hell just happened? The second worker completed my order, and all was good, but that was extremely weird and unexpected.

2nd time: I ordered two rice bowls, pointed to the item on the Burrito Loko menu. When they were done they rang me up over $12 + tax each. I told them I thought it was only $10+ each. They told me I have 2 Mofongo bowls. Not wanting to argue I paid and left very frustrated.

3rd time: I decided to give them one more chance. I ordered a rice bowl, this time explicitly requesting it from the Burrito Loko menu. I eliminated the possibility of any confusion. When he was done wouldn't you know it was rung up as a Mofongo bowl for $12+. I said, no, I ordered from the Burrito Loko menu, it should be $10+. They corrected the issue for me.

It's clear to me that this is a tactic they use to get a couple extra dollars from anyone who orders a rice bowl.

The food is good, but I question the integrity...

Stopped in for something quick. When I walked in the place was empty. Should have been my first clue. There was an employee sitting and eating their lunch. I waited at the counter for a few minutes. When the employee noticed that no one else came out to take my order, they got up and took my order. I appreciated the fact that their break was interrupted but what I didn’t appreciate is the fact that this person did not go and wash their hands before taking my order. I ordered 2 empanadas, one beef and one chicken. The menu said that they were fresh but the employee went to the freezer and pulled out 2 frozen empanadas on parchment paper. Again, they did not wear gloves nor did they wash their hands. The employee deep fried the empanadas for a few minutes and dropped them directly into a small lunch sized paper bag. The oil was seeping through the bag before it was handed to me. They were $3.00 each. To my surprise, there was also cheese (yellow, yuck) in them which I wasn’t expecting nor did I want. Unfortunately, I did not like the taste of either empanada. I could not finish. They were very small for $6 bucks and there was a weird aftertaste. The positives are that the place was clean, the server was nice despite not using gloves or washing hands. I wanted to like this place but if you mess up empanadas, I ain’t...