Illegal Pete's - Pearl St.

So delicious and they mix the ingredients in the burrito before folding it, love this! Great customer service and food. Drive around and eventually you'll find a spot, its not to bad. Its worth the time. Great shops and restaurants on Pearl st.

I come to Illegal Pete’s all the time and it’s usually very consistent but this time I was left quite disappointed. It was an empty Sunday night and I got a togo quesadilla which had just a few chunks of meat in it. For $13 they shouldn’t skimp on the meat especially since the other ingredients are just cheese and tortilla. Staff is always friendly though.

We shared the chicken bowl with white rice, grilled chicken, black beans, cheese, black olives and cilantro and it came with a side of chips. The chicken seemed overcooked and a little chewy. All the other ingredients were great. We did arrive later in the evening for dinner. It felt like the college town near campus restaurant where the staff are partially dialed in but friendly. Great location on Pearl Street Mall. There’s only two tables outside facing Pearl Street. Street parking only. If you park about three blocks away it’s free parking.

I've been coming to this location for a few years so I'm trying to balance all that in. The food is good, staff is friendly, and their cookies are fantastic. However some of the staff are sometimes a bit unhygienic and definitely makes the food less appetizing. Things like using mysteriously wet gloves to make food, and sneezing, coughing, sweating all over the food line. Nothing has ever been wrong with the food, but definitely less appetizing.

It had been nearly 15 years since my last encounter with an Illegal Pete’s burrito, and I’ll admit—I was nervous. The kind of nervous you get before reconnecting with an old friend you haven’t seen in ages. Would it be the same? Would the magic still be there? Or was it all just fondly remembered hype? I’m happy to report: the friendship is alive and thriving. Like no time had passed at all. Illegal Pete’s is still, without question, home to some of the best burritos I’ve had in my entire life. I went with the chicken burrito—rice, black beans, extra guac—and for all intents and purposes, it was flawless. One bite in, and it felt like I’d never stopped eating there. That burrito didn’t just feed me—it unlocked pure nostalgia and made my trip to Boulder, Colorado, genuinely unforgettable.