Freebirds World Burrito

So I heard this location (mercifully) closed. Their food was decent and I thought the hipster theme was kind of neat at first.
But oddly what turned me off about this place wasn’t the food or service (which was chaotic sometimes), but their marketing campaign a few years ago during the grand opening. They advertised this place to death, from sending out mailers, bumping loud music right outside the university gateway with a giant logo, and even having a plane fly the freebirds banner above.
I thought. for crissake, it’s a friggin’ burrito, don’t make it more than it is. Meanwhile, the Chipotle down the street from USC kept on chugging along with long lines of loyal customers, no hoopla, no loud advertising, nothing… just an organized, well oiled machine.
Right when I thought the week of Freebirds marketing was over, I saw a group of young women drawing a large Freebirds logo (with chalk) on the concrete next to the Galen Center (diagonally across the street from the Freebirds restaurant).
ahh, the memories. Well for you business majors, Freebirds was a case study of over-​advertising. If anything, they didn’t need to advertise at all because they were located in a very high student foot traffic intersection of the University Gateway. And attempting to gain the burrito market share while being a stone’s throw from Chipotle is blind ambition.
Freebirds is now closed, and the Chipotle down the street continues to have customers lining out the door.

I love going here for the dine-​in experience. The foil decorations are so cute and the artwork is nice to look at. The staff is usually funny and friendly. I actually like freebirds a little more than chipotle because they have cool tortilla options and the delicious queso! (Try it in your burrito… Yum!)
Using the restroom here is a bit of a pain (you have to get a key and go to an adjacent restroom). Also, on a few occasions, they had run out of certain meat options (I usually get dark meat chicken) and that’s just disappointing! :(
Also, I really recommend trying the «pot brownie»… So good.

HIRE A DECENT MANAGER!
This place is so poorly run. I work at USC and sometimes the amount of time I have to eat is limited. Rather than wait in a huge line at Chipotle, I go to Freebirds. RARELY A GOOD EXPERIENCE with the EMPLOYEES. They’re never in any hurry to help you at all. It’s the perfect place to work if you want to be lazy, have no motivation and don’t care about a good customer experience. They’re attitude is always «I’ll get to it when I can…» Someone in another comment mentioned it’s where you go to get served by hipsters… I would agree with that but I would add «stoned» hipsters without a care in the world. And I have nothing against hipsters (I live in Silverlake which is hipster-​vile)! But for goodness sakes, learn how to be fast, efficient and professional.
I understand Freebirds is trying to be hip and cool, but that doesn’t mean they had to also adopt the «lazy» attitude that goes with being «cool…» After all, it’s a business!
Overall, this is the perfect place to go if you want to get the customer service you would get from a lazy, stoned high school kid.

I have no illusions that burritos are light and healthy cuisine, but the steak burrito bowl I got here was so absurdly greasy that I couldn’t even finish it. Shame, because everything else about this place — staff, décor, menu options — is pretty solid. I left feeling queasy, weighted down, and reeking with bad meat juice breath. I don’t know if this is the standard Freebird experience, but I don’t feel like putting it to the test again.

Much more funky Chipotle with so many more options!
From the type and size of the tortilla, to so many meats and fillings, I really enjoyed the variety and flavors here!
Prices are super fair considering the portion size, my husband got the biggest one they make using two tortillas and I would say it was about the size of my thigh and enough to share and still have leftovers.
I had a bowl with pretty much every topping and it was super tasty.
Very fresh, good flavors, worth coming back to.

This place is basically like Chipotle but with hipsters making your burritos.
I went for lunch during the week so there was a bit of a line. Since I’m a «half-​full» kinda guy when I saw the line I didn’t feel «FUUUUUCK…this is gonna take long». I actually felt excited (well as excited as one can get waiting in line for a burrito) because I assume this place must be amazing with all these people waiting. Let’s just say they didn’t live up to expectations.
The music makes the place seem festive but they should turn it down a bit so the workers can hear the customers. I ordered the carne asada on spinach wrap, selected my rice and veggies and was at the sauce section. I was trying to decide what sauce to put on there when the guy next to me yelled out to his burrito-​maker «LIME JUICE». The music was so loud that the girl making my burrito thought I said lime juice so she splattered it all over my burrito. Before I could utter «ALTO» it was too late! Luckily I’m not that fussy and didn’t want to start over so I just took it. The girl was really apologetic and offered to do it over but I was starving from waiting in line so long and it really wasn’t a big deal to me. But I can see someone going apesh1t over a mistake like that. So loud music where people are ordering equals NO BUENO!
Anyways, the burrito was good but nothing to rave about. I’d eat it again if I was hungover on my couch early Sunday morning and someone came over and gave it to me but I don’t think I’d wait in line for 15 mins. and pay $ 9 for it. There are just way too many burrito spots that are better and cheaper. Maybe Freebirds will do better in Standback, Mississippi!

Usually, I like this place. The workers are cool, the vibe is chill, the food is good. But as of lately, it’s gone downhill fast. The ice machines don’t work, the workers are more interested in hanging out with each other than ringing the customers up, and they got new bowls for the burrito bowls that give you half as much food as usual but for the same price as before. I feel jipped and honestly quite rattled. Not cool. Probably won’t come again, and I definitely used to frequent this place.

As a resident at Gateway, I was super excited when I heard that a Chipotle-​like restaurant was right downstairs. But each time I’ve gone, I always regret going there. The quality and taste of their burrito bowls don’t even compare with Chipotle and plus its pricey! Each time I’ve gone I realize that their meat is too salty or the rice is a bit cold — both not too pleasant when you’re trying to find a Chipotle alternative.
The only thing I’ve ever enjoyed from Freebirds is their pot brownies though. No they’re not weed infused but they look like they’re cooked in pot shaped containers! Really chocolate-​y and soft&chewy on the inside :)
But other than that, I don’t see any reason to even go into Freebirds anymore. I’d much rather make the effort to go to Chipotle if I’m craving a burrito bowl even if it takes an extra thirty minutes.

We stopped by this location on a Saturday night around 7:00. There was a 25 minute line, which is not the end of the world. They just seemed so understaffed…
Everybody was super nice, but they were out of Chicken (really?) and guacamole (that is a crime!!)…
The place was super dirty and looked ransacked.
On the plus side, my wife really enjoyed her super spicy burrito, and mine tasted great too…

I was so excited to try free birds burrito my friend was bragging about. The «steak burrito was worth my trip» she says well i instantly got a rude awakening the moment i walked in.
First of all while getting comfortable with my surroundings the employee shouted out are you going to order?! Very uncomfortably i asked if i could use the bathroom key first. Without answering he walked a away. when i finally realized what he was doing he was already out the back door expecting me to follow him to the creepy hallway to the bathroom. Normally past experience i dealt with would normally hold the door open so i may pass. Not this guy. I think i even heard mumbles coming from his breath. I can feel his irritation seeping through his uniform. I even said thank you for opening the bathroom at the end, he left without a smile. on my way back i noticed the photo of the general manager and it was none other than my night and not so shining armor prince.
At the end i lost my appetite and walked out. Hopefully others won’t have this experience and actually get to enjoy their meals.

Freebirds is terrible. I order one of their featured spicy chicken burritos for $ 8. What i got, was a boat load of beans and rice, where the hell was my chicken… Oh a few sprinkle of them down there… I see them (with my magnifying glass). I got about 10% meat in my burrito. That’s pretty sad compared to Chipotle.
I am not complaining about their portion (which was huge) but the ratio of meat given compared to the rest of the fluff in my burrito is pretty disappointing
Definitely not coming back here… Especially now that Blazed Pizza is open next door.
See ya!

The burritos here are so tasty. They have three size options, which even the small one was too big for me. I love that they have a Spanish rice option. They have many different tortilla options, including spinach and cayenne, and they also have so many different options to put in the burrito. The chocolate chip cookie they have is one of the best I’ve ever had!

I think it is ridiculously overpriced. I payed almost 12 dollars for averaged sized nachos and a drink. Most of the things that make nachos good are an extra charge (shredded cheese, sour cream, and guacamole, etc.) so that was a bummer. It was okay tasting, but I’d definitely had better nachos before, for cheaper.
The staff was awesome though! Very nice and patient. I would much rather have chipotle…
Maybe their nachos aren’t as good as their burritos, but I would probably hesitate to come back here.

They never updated their time schedule on the internet for Weekend hours, therefore I came in at closimg time. I was so pisssed I paid for underground parking.
Other than that I came in the next day and the location is filthy, it never smells clean. Its smells dirty and they need bleach. They wiped down the food bar with the same dirty rag, the brownie tasted exactly like the plastic it was wrapped in, not to mention the container doesn’t stay closed and the chips get hella soggy when you order nachos.

Every time I come here, I wait at least 5 minutes to be acknowledged by somebody. There seems to be 3 – 4 people working at once, but I’ll see 2 employees filling up the ingredients then going back to the kitchen while only one person is with the customers. That one person is going down the line then helps the person pay at the end.
Of all the meats I’ve tried, the dark meat chicken seems to have the most appealing taste, but that doesn’t include the veggies. Cilantro lime rice, black beans, dark meat chicken, monterey jack cheese, veggies and corn. Done.
Just take your burrito home. Don’t eat here because that burrito needs to be warmed up! Past 2 times I’ve gone, it’s so cold. Cold, hard beans and unmelted cheese. What’s the point!

Got a Burrito… He was scooping so much in the burrito that I thought it was going to pop (and it did).
They did not have much rice so I got a mix of Spanish & Cilantro rice (I wanted cilantro only). To my experience, Spanish rice should not taste so sour, but it did… which made me wonder how old the rice was since it was cooked.
It was first time and burrito lacked flavor… I don’t know if that is how it always is but that was just how it was for me…

If I was piss drunk and I went to make a burrito at 2am, that burrito would be the same as what you get at Freebirds. The quality seriously lacks and does not even compare to Chipotle. It is like comparing a Kia to a BMW. It is dirty, service is slow or non-​existent and just not a great establishment in general. I was curious since it is close to USC, but now that curiosity has turned into disgust.

3.1 stars for me.
To me, this place is a Chipotle-​wannabe.
The food here is decently good. However, it just lacks a special something that Chipotle has. I think it was the fajitas or the punch of the sauces or meat flavoring.
But this place does have some pluses:
1. The service at this joint is quite pleasant.
2. The ambience: this place has a hipster/​cool vibe. The interior design is nice so it’s a nice place to hangout and eat. Plus, Yogurtland is just a short walk away so there’s dessert for after. :)

I came back a second time and tried the Steak Burrito with a Spinach Tortilla. It was super tasty! Service was great as well!
I guess the first time I went, the girl who was working just did not put the burrito together right. But this second time around was much better!
Thanks Sam, for looking out for your customers.

I went yesterday and THEY CHANGED EVERYTHING!
They now charge for SOUR CREAM (WHAT!!!) for a dollar, they give you a TINY squeeze.
My burrito bowl, which has always been around 7 or 8 dollars, was 10 dollars yesterday.
The guy said that they changed the menu and took some stuff out, while adding charges to some of the ingredients.
GO TO CHIPOTLE.