Chipotle Mexican Grill — Restaurant in New Orleans

This location has always been extremely sub par, but I never considered writing a review until after my experience Saturday 9/14/2024. First of all, I arrived at the store at approximately 8:20PM, and even though there were only a total of 6 people in line(including myself) the wait was still 45-50 minutes because the singular staff member working the food line was only prioritizing online orders and barely giving in store customers the time of day. Even upon reaching the front of the line I stood there for 8 minutes while the staff member just called off names to the huge line of delivery drivers, with no one even stepping forward to claim an order. Not to mention the fact, that there was only one person handling the food line and handing off online orders, but there were 3 staff members working in the back of the store to prepare the online orders. When I finally was able to order they were out of almost everything( only having steak and chicken as meat options, and no lettuce or guacamole available) which at this point I’d come to accept as a standard for the store if you arrive past 5pm(even though they close at 11). However, none of this is even my main issue, and the reason I’m writing this negative review today. I ate this chipotle bowl when I finally managed to get home at around 9:30PM, and at 10am the next day, continuing even through today I have had the worst bout of food poisoning ever in my life. I have inadvertently drank the tap water in both Mexico and India, and I have never been as sick from food or beverage as I am today. I’m not sure if this issue was with this individual Chipotle store, or the chain as a whole; but, I can assure you that I am never going back to this...

I placed my order using the app for a 7:45pm pickup. I promptly arrived at 7:45pm where there were 5 people waiting ahead of me for their online order pickups. After nearly 15 minutes, I turned to a woman who had been waiting prior to me and asked how long she had been waiting. She said she had been waiting for almost 30 minutes for her two orders. While I waited, there were 5 people behind the counter. Out of the 5, there were only two people actually working (one on the line preparing meals and the other ringing up customers and getting orders finalized). The other 3 people were towards the back of the restaurant talking, drinking a soda, and gossiping loudly about their other coworkers. One of the three from the back eventually responded to the one employee working the line when he repeatedly asked for more queso. The employee who responded to the request handled the food without gloves on. It wasn’t until being asked twice what my order was that I received it at 8:03pm. This was the absolute worst experience I’ve had at chipotle with a level of unsanitary and unprofessional conditions I’ve ever witnessed at...

FANTASTIC chipotle, cute location, clean restaurant, nice & friendly workers- most importantly they were spot on and took care not to cross contaminate. I have had trouble at other locations due to cross contamination, then getting very sick and having an extreme allergic reaction(which is never good when trying to enjoy a meal). As a vegan, anyone with allergies, or anyone wanting to avoid all flesh, secretions, and parts of beings, as well as looking out for the health of the people— it’s super important that cross contamination be taken seriously. Everything was great, even with as late as we came. The crew there were great and took good care not to cross contaminate; was so happy to be able to eat chipotle again! I got a bowl with the beans, rice, sofritas, and pico- pretty safe bet for vegans and people with dairy allergies due to the location of these items. If in doubt, let them know of your allergies or concerns of cross contaminarion and ask if they have more coming :) Great location...