Illegal Pete’s

I literally love this place. Not only is the food amazing, the staff is extremely friendly as well. The ambiance of the restaurant/​bar is popular for the students during the year!

I wish I could give this restaurant 10 stars. I admit, I last tried it 8 years ago and hated it, but WOW they have changed for the better! Being from Colorado where this chain is based, when one opened in Tucson, I had to try it!
Full service bar, Chipotle style burrito/​taco/​quesadilla assembly line, and the BURRITOS ARE CHEAPER THAN CHIPOTLE! I do have to step aside and compliment their service, it was amazing! The employees struck up a conversation with me and went out of their way to be helpful.
I used to be a HUGE Chipotle fan, and I am definitely switching my allegiance to Illegal Petes. Ive already been 8 times!
A lot more toppings and variety than Chipotle, not to mention live music, two full service bars, around 10 beers on tap. Simply incredible! Expect a line and about a 20 minute wait, word is spreading like crazy about how great the food is!

After a morning hike, I was looking for nourishment in the form of something quick and un-​fussy (I was not dressed for fancy food). Unilocal pointed me in the direction of Illegal Pete’s and I was very pleased with my meal there. I found the restaurant without issue, and found a parking spot on the street just as easily (being from out of town, and lacking the fundamentals of parallel parking, trying new places can be a real crapshoot for me). Pete’s wasn’t super busy yet but it was only about 10:30 in the morning on a Thursday. I was disappointed to have missed the breakfast menu; however, I took delight in their willingness to basically just dump everything into a bowl for me. They were out of rice at the time, but I didn’t miss it — I had all the veggies, pinto and black beans, chicken, and tons of toppings (fresh tomatoes, lettuce, salsa, pico, corn relish, and jalapenos) in a bowl and I devoured it with reckless abandon. It reminded me of a burrito bowl from Chipotle but seemed heartier, fresher, and tastier. Served with a huge iced tea, this was the perfect meal for me. I love sitting outside to eat and was thrilled with the very comfortable outdoor seating area.
Looking back at my college days, I wish my campus had contained places like this — ample outdoor seating, neighboring establishments, great food with the option of adult beverages — this seems like a great place to hang out for the locals (and visitors too!). The neighborhood is comfortable, the food was reasonably priced, and if I lived in the area I would probably be a frequent visitor.

Illegal Pete’s an excellent addition to the University Blvd scene. It’s clean, hip, and has very friendly service. The venue definitely is a breathe of fresh air to that little corner, next to Frog n Firkin. It’s almost like a fancier version of Chipotle, but with alcohol. There’s plenty of seating both inside and out on the patio. I love the huge patio umbrellas that offer necessary protection from the grueling sun.
My date and I came here for brunch, and were still able to order off of the breakfast menu, even though it was well after 11 am. I ordered the breakfast quesadilla, which consisted of eggs, cheese, and potatoes with a delicious dipping sauce and a side of pico de gallo. Everything was super fresh, handmade, and I could definitely taste the quality in every bite.
My date ordered the breakfast bowl with steak, and he almost finished his entire bowl before my quesadilla came out from the kitchen. We were both satisfied and full, and this was a perfect meal after a late night.
I can’t wait to come back!!!

I went into Illegal Pete’s for the first time on a Saturday at 6pm. I really didn’t expect the line to be that long.
I’m somewhat conflicted by this place.
While waiting in line, you are surrounded by sorority girls and fraternity bros. Yes, it’s as obnoxious as it sounds. Prepare to have people yelling over you (and the music), and people’s friends cutting in line to not only talk, but to order food as well. There will be bumping. Okay, so the environment is a bit immature, but what about the food.
Obligatory Chipotle Comparison:
The steak burrito was comparable in size to Chipotle, but a few cents cheaper. However, the taste comparison lead to Pete’s being on the slightly bland side. When we found the only salt shaker in the restaurant, and put a little on the burritos, it definitely helped.
PLUS: The ability to add queso was a huge plus for me. It added a lot to the burrito. But, as soon as Chipotle gets queso, I’ll be there waiting at the door. That’s probably the only benefit to Pete’s burritos.
Be prepared to yell your order over the counter, because the music is loud.
We sat outside. As I walked back in to grab some napkins, a cell phone from the top floor patio was thrown down to the ground and shattered about three feet in front of me. From there a frat guy proceeded to come downstairs and began arguing with the bouncer and some other person about how some girl threw his phone over the edge. The situation didn’t necessarily bother me, but it continues to paint the picture of Pete’s.
Overall: The food is worth eating. However, it’s hard to justify, when I could go across the street, and not have to worry about the loud and drunken environment of soror/​frat –ness, and get a better burrito (unfortunately without queso) at Chipotle. I think overall, it would be better if the crazy atmosphere was isolated to the bar upstairs, and not to the normal restaurant downstairs. I hope to be back at some point to try the breakfast burritos.

We found our selves in here when the 4^th avenue street fair was occurring because we wanted to get away from the crazy amounts of people (yes I know going this direction just meant more people but it was definitely less the 4^th). We came as a group with kids even. I wouldn’t suggest the kids going at night because this is a college hangout but during the day on a Saturday it was okay.
Positive: SO MANY CHOICES!, like Chipotle but so much better, my daughter had the nachos and I found myself eating off her plate they were so good (love the cheese sauce), I had a bowl and I loved the options that I could put into it (I love that they had olives!), they have a full bar (two actual, one up stairs and one down stairs), love all the seating areas… it made it easy to find a good spot, with kids, and still have enough room
Hmmm: The only thing I would fix is the bathrooms and the drink prices. The bathrooms are in a very weird and small spot. The prices for the food was reasonable but the drinks were a little much.
I will be going back for sure, probably just for the food though

This place has such a great atmosphere! Perfect for happy hour or dinner on a nice night. This was our first visit. The line was a good size but they had menus hanging everywhere with a large selection so my mind kept busy while waiting. I ordered a salad with barbacoa and steak. Got a side of guacamole and wish I would have tried the green chili. I liked their variety of options but didn’t care that the green chili was almost $ 2 extra and the fajitas were also an additional cost.
The food was good but what I ordered was a direct replica of what I get at chipotle and unfortunately it didn’t compare. Chipotle wins in flavor by far. However — I will be back! The bar looks great and there were many people drinking margaritas. I’m an avid margarita fan so I must go back. I think this time I will get something completely different and try to find what Illegal Pete’s is famous for!

I had a mishap with the food last time I was here but the manager, Joe invited me back in for a complimentary meal to give the food another shot. It was excellent. I got the primavera bowl with green chili sauce added to it. Better than chipotle.
Joe was very professional and handled the whole situation beautifully. I like going to places knowing their management team is in top of quality service.
Good job illegal Petes !

We stopped here yesterday after the book fair, and sat outside on the patio — it was a nice atmosphere and good music, and the food was good too. It was a Chipotle style bar, where you choose your beans, rice, meat, and toppings. They have burrito bowls and burritos, even breakfast! The tortillas, and salsa were authentic. There is an upstairs area and patio, it has a nice urban vibe, and they support starving artists. I do wish they had a salsa bar instead of paying 69 cents for each small salsa.

I had the chicken fajita burrito bowl, and it was great! Fresh ingredients and great flavor. Their margaritas are also great, only $ 5!

I like their food a lot, and I also enjoy their margaritas. really enjoy their margaritas. Free chips and salsa. the only reason this place doesn’t get 5 stars from me is their damn line that is always out the door every single time I want to eat here. Wish the line would go a little bit faster, but other than that no complaints. Great patio to hang out at, and their vegetarian burritos and breakfast bowls are great. I love how they are dog friendly too, definitely a huge plus.

First time trying them and I must admit I was very pleased with the food, I was glad to see that they’re open late I had been at a concert at the University of Arizona.
Great to see that they also had a full bar available.
I ordered one chicken taco and one steak taco I was very happy with my chicken taco full of flavor tender meat, Hadley wishing I had only gotten chicken tacos instead. The big talker wasn’t bad just that the meet was a little bit joy and a little tougher than I’d like, I must admit street tacos steak is a lot juicier and full flavor, but don’t get me wrong I do really like illegal Pete’s steak tacos.
My friend order the shredded beef and she said they were delicious and they actually did look really good I can’t wait to come back and try those now onto the nachos they are amazing, The portion can easily feed two people possibly even three.
Can’t wait to go back and try those shredded beef tacos next time!

I’ll start by saying, I’m an Phoenix native, lover of Chipotle but Illegal Pete’s took that love to a whole new level for the 2 years I lived in Colorado. When I heard the news they were opening a location in Tucson, I was ecstatic that it was so close (in relativity to the Colorado locations).
Though the building itself is not true to the traditional Illegal Pete’s ‘feel’, it’s perfect for the location and crowd that The University of Arizona attracts. Very open and clean with and abundance of seating both inside and out. There’s and extensive bar, which is traditional to Illegal Petes but this location has more draft beers than I have seen at other locations, mostly Colorado brewed, which is always a great choice.
The staff was friendly, and prompt and completed our party of 4’s orders without a flaw. The staff is much more cookie cutter in appearance than the locations in Denver, where they promote tattoos, piercings and such. Nothing the matter with either, the latter just adds to the ambiance of the restaurant, I suppose.
The food was as tasty as anything I had had at the plethora of locations in Colorado, the portions were a little smaller than I remember though, but still more than filling. I’ll have to go back again to see the portions again to confirm that they are actually smaller. The pork green chile (or vegetarian if you prefer) is always a must and though I didn’t have it this time, the queso is also amazing. Unlike chipotle, if you order a burrito bowl, you get your choice of a tortilla OR a bag of chips, which is beyond convenient if you ask me.
Overall, greatly impressed with the new out of state venture. I definitely will be back and hopefully, more AZ locations will be soon to come.

Good food (chipotle style taco/​burrito bar) for a decent price and the drinks selection is also great. I like that there are two full bars, one upstairs and one downstairs with many local craft beers on tap. While I didn’t try one, I also noticed their house margaritas are only $ 4 during happy hour and quite the nice pour of alcohol.
The best part is that happy hour is from 3−8pm every day of the week! There is a ton of seating and lots of TVs for sports fans. However, I can easily see this becoming a place that many students go to pregame before sports events or a night out. The staff was still training while I was there but I did notice that several people were asked to leave when they had had enough. I hope that mindset continues so the crowd of people doesn’t ruin it for the other patrons. Hope this places sticks around!

This place is the drunk college kid’s dream. It’s almost like a classy Taco Bell after a night of drinking. It’s also like Chipotle, but with green chile and queso options. I agree with others that the portion sizes were not that great. I had the chicken nachos with queso that were fantastic.
The worst thing about the place is the house margaritas. They were very tart and sorely lacked triple seq.

Ok. Allow me to begin by Saying that I DO love that something has finally occupied the space in the old Franklins building. That having been said… Illegal Petes was probably the worst Mexican food I’ve ever eaten. I’m no fan of Chipotle either and the two restaurants are basically the same. Super bland, cafeteria style setting with friendly young people serving the masses truly bad food.
The place is cute and once again the service was fine, but nothing could make up for the food. It was incredibly generic and there was little hint of any authentic Mexican ANYTHING anywhere in the restaurant. I understand that this is Colorado Mexican… but for goodness sake… to try and pass off this low level of Latin fare in Tucson is criminal!
I do wish them well and I hope it adds to the allure of Main Gate Square, but when parents weekend rolls around, I hope the kids take their folks out to south 4^th for Mexican! We in Tucson have a reputation to uphold!

I have now been a few times and I feel Illegal Pete’s is a mixed bag. I will say Illegal Pete’s and Chipotle perform about the same on burritos. I do not understand why a vegetarian burrito at Illegal Petes does not come with guacamole and dairy, just one or the other (I got very confused). But to me the burritos are about the same.
I like Illegal Pete’s expanded menu, but it can slow things down it seems. What I think Pete’s has the best going for it is the bar. A GREAT bloody mary, and the beer selections are well varied that everyone has an option.
Because I feel the food was not as great as I hoped, I just can’t give it 4 stars. But still it is a good place to check out and the set up is nice.

This is EXACTLY what this town needed!
Right at the trolley stop, a full service bar with lots of draft beers, a totally chilled out staff, very good quality Chipotle styled food, plenty of outdoor seating both front & back and a decent sized upstairs stage area that will soon be featuring live music!
Nothing gourmet or fancy but what could better on University Ave?
Viva Illegal Pete’s!

Not impressed even after a second visit. It’s wayyy too much like Chipotle. Both times I’ve had pork carnitas, first in a burrito that was over stuffed and sloppy and tonight I had two soft shelled tacos. The meat is bland and uneventful. My son loves Chipotle so naturally he likes this place… especially since I won’t allow him to eat at Chipotle since they can’t get the Ecoli issue under control.
No Ecoli here just bland regular no thrills food. If the college kids can get over the name this place might last a year but it’s off too a bad start.

Was dying to try this place after all the hype. Ordered a fish taco, carnitas taco and steak taco.
First, the not good. Steak taco was over cooked, tough and meat was cold, really didn’t have a lot of flavor. Carnitas were nothing special. The cilantro pesto was bland, needs garlic and lime. The service was awkward. Not as smooth as I’d imagine. The bar was left unmanned while the bar tender made herself a burrito. Not much fish in the fish taco, basically one piece. The music is LOUD. Like night club loud. There were four counter attendant and only one was helping me, while the two people behind me waited. The bathrooms were a mess with paper towels all over the floor.
Now the good. Fish taco flavor was awesome! Crisp, flavorful and moist. The house extra hot salad was very good. The service was polite and welcoming. The bar has a bunch of local beers. There’s plenty of very cool outside seating, even a rooftop area.
Now with all that said this place did just open so I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and try again. I know they do well in Denver just not sure it’s able to stand up to Tucson’s legit taco scene. Good luck Pete!