QDOBA Mexican Eats — Restaurant in Walnut Creek

This Qdoba location was pretty out of the way. 23 minutes to and 23 minutes from. I went earlier today since I really had a great experience at the Qdoba in Seattle back in 2018. When I walked in, it felt pretty empty. No long lines, and the atmosphere just felt like a graveyard. I could tell the employees weren't going to be friendly at all.

When it came time to pick out what I wanted in my burrito, right when I asked for my first topping, the rice, I was looking at the Qdoba app to make sure I got all the ingredients I wanted; I didn't want to order online since I had bad instances with Chipotle giving you very small portions if you order online.

So I basically just requested Seasoned Brown Rice instead of Cilantro Lime Rice (since that's what the app describes them), and the employee corrected me and said, "both rice are seasoned". I didn't ask for back talk, I was just requesting the type of rice based on what the app calls it. I showed him on the app that that's how both rice were described on the app. I asked for Citrus Lime Shrimp, and then he asked if I wanted brisket; he misheard or forgot, so I just let him know that it was shrimp.

I got all the other ingredients in my burrito: 3-Cheese Queso, Hand-Crafted Guacamole, New warm Mexican Street Corn with creamy elote sauce (not really warm), Pickled Red Onions, Fajita Veggies, Shredded Cheese, Sour Cream, Shredded Romaine Lettuce, Cilantro, Picante Ranch Dressing (Medium).

When it came time to pay, even the cashier was unfriendly. When she set up the register for me to pay, she didn't do anything else and left the register and didn't even say, "Have a good day" or anything. I basically had to reach for my receipt and bag and left the restaurant. When I got home, thankfully I ordered a delicious Big Cheez-It Crunchwrap Supreme from Taco Bell on the way home. Everything about the burrito was just bland AF. Even the UNSeasoned Brown Rice, which the employee earlier in my review claims both rice were seasoned, was bland. It's no wonder, it makes sense from my initial impressions of the place that the restaurant felt like a graveyard.

I really hope the service and the food improves, since I want to give them another chance, even if the drive is out of the way. They've been open for 10 months now, almost a year, and they still haven't improved... Do I have to expect subpar quality...

I love this place. Been going since it opened.

I really like getting their giant catered bag of tortilla chips and the mild queso dip as a take home treat for the family. Their roasted salsa is excellent for chips and salsa…it should be sold in bulk, I could buy it by the quarter gallon.

The taco salad shell is so good and crisp, it’s the OG taco shell type that I have always loved (like the one at the green burrito). I usually get the taco salad with ground beef (call me uncultured but try it and you won’t wanna stop).

The steak quesadilla is incredible. I make sure to get mild queso in there too. It’s a reasonable request for unreasonably delicious returns. The guac and sour cream that come on the side are excellent companions.

I could go on for days, but if this place is new to you give...

One of the things we missed after moving to the Bay area from Boulder, CO apart from the Flations, was Qdoba! We were very excited when we learned about this location and drove an hour to eat at one of our family favorite restaurants. Ordered a naked veggie burrito in a taco shell, taco salad, nachos and a veggie burrrito. The taco shell was stale and there was no crunch. The burrito was cold too. They didn't press the tortilla to make it warm. We still enjoyed the food and felt nostalgic. We will come back especially after an employee gave us a coupon for a free burrito when we told her about the food. The staff was friendly and nice. Hopefully, by next time, they would have ironed out some of their new and...