Bomb Burritos & Bowls — Restaurant in Westerly

TL;DR: Bomb Burritos & Bowls is a must visit. The food, employees and vibes all met or exceeded my expectations 💣 and it stands out as a local fast casual restaurant I"ll be visiting regularly. Hard to fault, easy to love. I'd pick it over Chipotle 7 days a week.

Full review:

Upon walking into this place, I was really impressed with the smells that greeted me. There were a number of employees who universally seemed to be in good spirits, something that I rarely see when visiting a restaurant. Definitely a sign of a good team.

There was a small line that formed and passed by a drink cooler on the way to the counter. Very convenient. They had a small variety of Jarritos including my favorite variety - pineapple.

Above the counter they have digital menu boards that are readable from anywhere in the restaurant, which features every option for building your burrito and bowl. I was a little surprised that there were not labels in the glass or counter, but the two people who helped me build my burrito walked me through all the options with patience. One menu item, denoted "roasty boiz" did require an explanation, it's roasted garlic.

The context of the rest of my review is based on the following order: burrito with brown rice, black beans, fajita veggies, roasty boiz, carne bueno, pineapple-cilantro salsa, pickled red onion, shredded cheese, lettuce, guac and bomb sauce. I also got a side of chips and queso and as mentioned earlier, a Jarritos. The total with tax was about $20, which these days is pretty average.

The blue corn tortilla chips were nice. They were thick enough to scoop queso (and my friend used some for his bowl) and well salted. The queso had great flavor and texture. I think the ratio of chips vs. queso could use some work (too many chips for the size of queso) but it's not a huge deal. The burrito itself was above average size. Noteworthy ingredients included their pickled red onion which was fantastic, something I feel most places fall short on. The pineapple-cilantro salsa was sweet but not distracting and paired well with the beef, which was well seasoned and pretty tasty. I think getting some roasty boiz in my burrito was fun but ultimately they were a little too strong, and I'll probably omit them the next time that I go. All of the ingredients tasted fresh, there was hardly any grease and even though the burrito was massive I was able to eat the entire thing leaving full and happy. Note, if you can't handle moderate to large portions, a standard burrito may be too large to finish. I don't know what kind of animal would be able to demolish something "all the way" style with double protein, which was $3 or $4 for their vegan option. The "chorizo" looked so good, I think I'm going to get it next time and I'm not even vegan.

I think the guac was solid, but not worth getting on the side with chips. It's guac that goes well in a burrito, with a smooth texture and simple flavor.

The seating in the restaurant was spaced out, so it was comfortable to dine in. By the time I finished my meal, there was a line of about 8 guests and they got busy. They also have a standing counter in the front window which seemed great for solo guests.

There is a bathroom with a "pee pee poo poo" sign on the door. A few of these subtle memes are present throughout the restaurant which really made me feel like the owner/operators of this business are chill and down to earth.

Currently, I can offer very little suggestions for improvement. I think they could benefit from a small selection of "signature" options for those who don't possess the creativity to design their own burrito/bowl, something pre-determined that can be ordered with ease. The bottle opener mounted on the wall is pretty risky to use, a manual one on a string would be better. For toppings, I'd love to see a couple different pepper options with a range of heat instead of the single option...

I've been in RI for about 7 years, I've lived in alot of states throughout the East Coast. Something I've noticed about the East Coast of RI, especially Westerly is people tend to favor local spots. If it were a Chain serving the same food they might consider it mediocre, but because it's local and it has decent food, it jumps up a star or two on the ratings scale.

I'm not going to rate this from a biased perspective. I'm rating solely on the fact that it's food, that's it.

If you're the type that knows the difference between a good Chipotles burrito and a bad Chipotle burrito, served with the same toppings then you probably won't love this place. If you're the type that tends to love alot of the other local Westerly RI spots then I'm sure you'll give this a high rating.

I tend to think RI and MA food (particularly the east coast) is overpriced, has too much salt, and not enough other natural flavor,... this applies here. Also, for some reason how well the food is cooked and completimented (toppings/buns/ presentation) seems to be excused locally. For example, there are places here that charge $16 plus for a overcooked lobster roll and throw that on a standard cheap hamburger bun and people buy it all day everyday bc of the "atmosphere" When comparing that food to this, this is much better. When you're used to that from local restaurants this food seems fantastic. .

Music - Too loud. I couldn't hear anything she asked about my order. The volume isn't really the issue, it's the location of the source of the music. It perfectly masks all normal volume words spoken at the counter.

Price- Let's be real here, the Westerly prices are very apparent here. Expect to pay around $30 plus to feed two people.

The rice - isn't cooked well, it tastes like Uncle Ben's microwaved rice. I've had much better prepackaged stovetop rice, period.

The meat - I've only had the chicken, so I can't speak on the other meats. It seems to have been marinated in a homemade marinade. I'm not a fan. It's not flavorful to me, just salty and fairly overcooked.

The sauces - like most local foods the level of spice in my opinion is lacking here. I asked for the spiciest sauce on one of the burritos, was told I would be sweating. I'm a big spice can so I'm biased but I can assure you it was less spicy than standard Frank's Red Hot. It was called "the bomb" sauce. I can't speak on the other sauces but I was under the impression that this was the best spicy sauce they had to offer. I wasn't impressed.

The Queso - If you're big salt fan, you'll probably enjoy it. I payed extra for a side of Queso and was unpleasantly surprised. A recurring theme here, really salty.

Imo, on a their best day, Chipotle gets about a 4.5 out of compared to other fast food places. The worst I've had from Chipotle (at least 3 times) was a 3 out of 5.

This experience was like a bad Chipotle burrito. But because I've also had great Chipotle burritos I'll give this places at least another...

The food was awesome! Unfortunately the dining room was freezing cold and the music much too loud. I couldn't hardly hear the server! I mentioned those concerns to the staff before I left. Although the food was excellent, if I go again and it's still freezing cold and too loud I will probably leave without ordering Tried again, music seemed even louder than last time. It was warmer today inside but the doors were both open and 74 degrees outside. There was no line out the door, I was there about 1pm. Others have commented on the decor; it's ok but for me doesn't create a lot of ambience. There are only 2 tables and 2 smaller bar height tables. Both the tables were full when I got there and I can't sit on the tall stools, so I was concerned about where I was going to eat but luckily 1 table left and I grabbed that table. The other table had some people talking business and on a computer. They had been there for awhile when I got there (they were finished eating) and they were still occupying the table when I left. In the future if I can't get a table I will most likely leave without ordering because I do not like to take meals home to eat unless it is a cold sandwich like a grinder. This is not a place I would take most people over 55 as it is too loud and seating scarce and uncomfortable. I had to shout to the server and she had to tiptoe above the case and shout to me to get my order. Food was good, fresh and mildly flavorful. I had the beef...