The Most Overpriced Mexican Restaurant Chains In The US, According To Customers

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Gone are the days when you could count on a quick and inexpensive meal at your favorite Mexican chain restaurant. As with pretty much everything else you spend money on, even simple food at the most economical establishments has headed steadily in an upward direction, resulting in overpriced Mexican food that was once refreshingly reasonable. Blame it on the rising cost of ingredients, increased operating expenses, or keeping up with competition in an ever-expanding dining market. Whatever the reason, diners have noticed their usually price-friendly tacos and burritos are now firmly in sticker shock territory ... and their wallets have noticed it too.

Which Mexican restaurant chains have become the most overpriced outlets on the circuit? Just about every well-known chain has rolled up the listings on their menu marquees for a majority of the items they sell, a pattern customers have called out on the regular. To give you a helicopter view of the most unreasonably expensive Mexican restaurant chains around, I've put together a rundown of the spots pushing the priciest tacos and burritos, while exploring possible causes for the seemingly unyielding upward trend. I used customer chatter online about prices reaching nosebleed levels, and corporate happenings like operation cost increases, Chapter 11 filings, and sales of chains as criteria to explore possible causes for the upward trends. And yes, Taco Bell is on the list, though I still find great things to eat for under two dollars. Other outlets aren't as accommodating, by far.

One of the most visibly elevated pricing structures in the world of chain Mexican dining is at Chipotle, a company where you can practically watch the prices roll up-up-up like a stock market ticker. From noticing the ever-upward swing of costs on brisket bowls to the general price increases that have occurred several times between 2021 and 2025, according to one Reddit discussion, customers are not pleased with the growing expense for their burritos and bowls. Some commenters pointed out that if customers keep coming, the company will keep raising prices, which may explain the fact that it keeps happening without justifying the why. No wonder customers came up with the three-dollar-burrito Chipotle hack to make their money go further, a slick trick the company quickly took measures to quash.

As far back as 2017, Chipotle was making headlines with its 5% to 7% price hikes that made patrons choke on their queso. With July 2023 pricing sailing 20% above the close of 2020, it's clear the company isn't shy about piling on the price upticks, even if there's no additional food included for the trouble. And speaking of additional food ... a 2024 price increase (it never ends!) was tied to a promise of larger portions. By March of 2025, the CEO claimed the company would eat any cost increases that came with the new administration's looming tariffs, but by now, the bad vibes generated by Chipotle's pop-up pricing practices may cause customers to side-eye that proclamation.

Qdoba wasn't always an overpriced Mexican chain restaurant. There was a time when a simplified approach to pricing helped the company achieve a 14% bump in same-store sales by increasing what customers spent, without setting their hair on fire when they saw their receipt. It came after research showed patrons weren't happy with the feeling of little increases coming through all the time. But that was 2015, when the world of dining was a simpler place. Over the years, Qdoba prices have kept in line with competitors like Chipotle, with one customer noting on Reddit in 2022 that a double steak bowl with guac and queso rang up at more than $14 in their area. As recently as 2024, prices for chicken bowls had ascended from one day to the next as well, turning one customer's stable lunch budget into a moving target.

Part of the movement toward overpricing was the 2022 sale of Qdoba to Butterfly Equity, which was intended as the start of a colossal comeback for the company. Apparently, the price restructuring from 2015 didn't provide the long-term success the company had hoped it would. A 2022 survey even revealed that Chipotle's prices were lower than Qdoba, placing the latter near the top in terms of overpriced Mexican food. As recently as 2024, a chicken burrito at Qdoba rang up at $10.55 according to one comparison, while Chipotle's comparative burrito was only $9.10. Who would've guessed a chain could outprice Chipotle?

Is it possible that the addition of seafood Mexican fast food can justify the extra funds customers need to pay for a meal? If increased business costs driving Rubio's to close 48 underperforming locations in California in 2024 are any indication, it's a definite consideration, especially in such a competitive market. Unfortunately, the closures were part of a Chapter 11 reorganization to keep the company afloat as it sorted out its expenses. The CEO even posted a letter on the Rubio's Facebook page to let customers know what was coming, a move surely designed to soothe worried patrons whose ongoing business would be needed to help hoist operations out of the sticky situation.

A shift like this doesn't come without a price tag, and it's not difficult to draw a straight line between the shake-up in the company and the higher prices seen on the Rubio's menu. Customers were quick to notice that the quality of the food had gone downhill after Rubio's 2010 purchase by a private equity company. Yelp reviewers were already pointing out the high-price-to-portion ratio and calling out sticker shock on a $38 lobster bowl, quesadilla, and beverage meal just one month after the reorg. Considering Rubio's April 2025 throwback promotion, which dropped burrito prices to $7.99 while increasing the portion sizes, the company seems to know it's been moving in a more costly direction.

A fan favorite for Tex-Mex lovers in the Southwest, Filiberto's has delivered some wildly high prices in the past few years. When it arrived in my area, it was the go-to spot for oversized portions that were lovably greasy and favorably priced. But nothing that good can last forever, and pushed in the same direction as most other restaurants, Filiberto's has taken its pricing into the stratosphere; a double order of California burritos cost one customer $30, while another went from paying the already-too-high $17.37 for carne asada fries and a churro to paying $19.98. Leaps like that are pretty unsupportable.

My personal experience with this Mexican food restaurant is similar. Not long ago, I could round up a veggie burrito for about $7, which I thought was mighty lofty; a few weeks ago, I shelled out $12 for the same burrito. When the food was cheap and tasty, it was a perfect Mexican food moment. Now that things are so enormously overpriced, it'll take a lot of convincing to get me through the doors.

Yes, it may be your favorite place for steak nachos and crunch wraps, but the grand tradition of Taco Bell's value menu has long since been replaced by a slew of price increases. One customer jumped on Reddit to report that the cost of a chalupa in their area had risen to $6.70, without being part of a combo meal. Another noted that in their region, they could more readily afford a meal at a sit-down Mexican restaurant than at Taco Bell. It doesn't appear to be a new development, either; in 2023, a patron discovered the Build-Your-Own Cravings box had risen by about $7, while the Beefy 5-Layer had gone from $2.47 to over $6. Overpriced is the right adjective here, Taco Bell or not.

Circa 2023, Taco Bell was giving away free tacos for the World Series, and now its prices are nearing outrageous levels. But a restaurant this widespread knows how to bury hidden treasures on its menu; savvy shoppers can still find items under the $2 mark on the value menu, good stuff like spicy potato tacos and simple tacos and burritos. But if you choose to indulge in some of the snazzier items, you'll definitely be paying more than you should have to. Adjust your tastes and choose wisely, and you should do fine.

There's no world in which pricing queso at $14 is good for business, but Chuy's is giving it a try regardless. A DoorDash reviewer calmly calls out that the queso in question was extremely small, though it's hard to imagine how much cheese sauce would actually be justified at that cost. Another DoorDash customer noted that their $11 guacamole arrived less than full, a price that makes one wonder why you wouldn't go buy an avocado and make your own. With Redditors bemoaning the mediocre quality of the food, and an announcement in 2022 of a new and more expensive menu, there's little justification for this overpriced Mexican fare.

Could these really be the right prices for Chuy's? A peek at the menu for the Denver, Colorado, location showed a basic bean and cheese burrito priced at $14.19 as a base, with extras tacking on additional costs. So yes, the overpricing is real here. What's worse, the post-COVID quarantine era seems to have created a far less enjoyable suite of selections at rising prices, according to patrons who loved the chain prior. The company was purchased by restaurant giant Darden in 2024, which may have triggered even higher prices, though there's no solid evidence this was the cause. All customers know is they're paying too much for what they used to love, and they're not so chuffed about it.

It may be keeping its pricing protocol more customer-friendly than its key competitors, but Del Taco has undergone some price increases that surprise its most dedicated patrons. The clear culprit is the soaring cost of Del's business in general, which always tips the scales in favor of menu mark-ups. But with mind-blowing leaps like a three-taco Thursday deal jumping up to $3.89 from $2.69 in just a few weeks, according to an eagle-eyed Redditor, customers have had to clench their debit cards for fear of letting too much money leak out into the payment terminal.

As of May 2025, parent company Jack in the Box was preparing to sell Del Taco and had strong interest from buyers. It seems price increases have driven customers away and dropped same-store sales by 3.6% overall, not an unreasonable consequence for perpetually asking your clientele to empty their pockets for a burrito and a Coke. Revamping locations and incorporating "innovation" are also on the horizon, which are likely to be tied to additional price increases in the future, if the pattern holds. Steel yourself for that combo meal to separate you from more of your silver.

Choosing a healthier version of Mexican food won't spare you from paying more for your meal. In fact, when the restaurant in question is El Pollo Loco, you've been paying more than you would at the usual taco-and-burrito chains for quite some time. Some customers have emptied their bank accounts to the tune of $18 for a two-piece meal and a drink in the past year. Customers were stunned by 2024 price increases, enough to back out of the drive-thru to avoid having to pay far too much for chicken and tortillas. The item in question? A 12-piece family meal that had risen from $12.99 to a staggering $43.99, with stops at $23.99 and $28.99 along the way, according to the customer. And if a TikTok clip showing a patron being charged $7 for three and a half pieces of broccoli doesn't scare you off, nothing will.

I glanced at the menu to see how overpriced items are in my Arizona region. A basic salsa verde chicken quesadilla showed up at $9.99, which didn't seem terribly pricey. But it's a new item, so maybe it's promotional. Then I hopped over to the family meals and was flabbergasted to see an eight-piece mixed meal with two sides, chips, and tortillas priced at $30.79. A 12-piece meal was $44.99, and a 16-piece meal was $53.99. Granted, these meals feed several people. But you could feed a whole baseball team for that, not so long ago.

When it's time for tacos, Taco Time punches the clock and serves handheld heaven wrapped in a tortilla. But be prepared to trade a fair amount of your hard-earned cash in exchange for a combo meal you can probably wolf down in 10 minutes. A Redditor in Seattle reported having spent over $25 for Taco Time for two as far back as seven years ago, and the numbers have only ratcheted up in the interim. A shrimp taco that cost $5.29 in 2020 had risen to a walloping $8.49 by 2023 in Washington, according to another Reddit thread. As recently as January 2025, a customer labeled the chain as "incredibly overpriced," citing a simple combination of tortilla, meat, and cheese priced at $11 as evidence.

To see just how out of hand prices have gotten, I checked out the current menu for Seattle and found the Crisp Chicken Taco Light priced at $3.59, which does seem pricey for a basic taco; the fish Baja taco for $4.79 wasn't much better, even with battered and fried fish chunks. A mini soft taco was priced at $5.29 for the beans-only version and $5.79 for beef or chicken; full-size versions range from $6.69 to $7.49 — for a single soft taco. Increases in labor costs, ingredients, and overhead may call for charging customers more, but at some point, it's too much. With prices on the climb like this at Taco Time, it might be time to find your tacos elsewhere.

If the current prices at Taco John's are high enough to give you heartburn, the potential for even higher fast food costs due to expansion, a retro redesign, and new touches like pico de gallo made in-house is sure to turn your stomach inside out. When ordering the small meal only drops your bill from $15 to $12, you know you're being wrung out dry. Taco John's has been edging its prices upward gradually, but customers have noticed and are calling it out. Offering similarly-sized regular and junior-size breakfast burritos that cost $4.79 and $2.79, for example, points to a sneaky system of manipulating prices and portions, which is never a successful strategy when patrons catch sight.

Mexican food fans have noticed that Taco John's prices are higher than Taco Bell's, and while both outlets have done their fair share of bunny-hopping up the price scale, a simple comparison of the two using menus from their neighboring locations in Fort Collins, Colorado, shows Taco John's to be slightly higher than Taco Bell. It's a sorry precedent for any Mexican fast food chain to set, but with two menus that mirror one another so closely, it's particularly distasteful. Bottom line: If your loyalty to Taco John's over Taco Bell can't be swayed for the sake of savings (small though they may be), this overpriced chain is likely to keep taking more of your money.

You may be mighty attached to the Moe's Southwest Grill menu, but is it worth parting with more and more of your beloved cash? Not likely, considering the frequency with which customers find prices rising at this popular place. Forking over $10.69 for a smaller portion of the bowl you're used to seeing bigger and cheaper is never a fun experience, but when the app displays a higher price after you click — without adding any extras to your order — you know the restaurant is playing a little fast and loose with its pricing policy.

To soften the upward trajectory of the company's pricing structure while celebrating its 20th anniversary, a Moe's franchise in Philadelphia rolled back the price of The Homewrecker, a signature burrito with chips and salsa, down to the original 2005 price of $6.29. If that mid-aughts price sounds mighty hefty to you, the 2025 price of $12.49 without the bells and whistles must be a real brain-buster. What's worse, one customer called out a Moe Monday meal deal that increased by 22.14% overnight, when the drink was eliminated from the combo, forcing patrons to pay $2.99 to $3.99 to add it back in. Prices have leveled up so much, it seems the only things you can find on the menu for under $10 are chips, sides of guac or queso, cookies, and beverages. The struggle for affordable Mexican fast food is real, and Moe's helps prove it.

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Like other Mexican restaurant chain customers, I've noticed the price hikes and the sneaky increases in the past several years, driving costs higher and higher. Skipping the drive-thrus for a few months in favor of home dining revealed that the rice and bean burrito I once enjoyed for $7 now costs $12, which I consider prohibitively overpriced. The one exception is Taco Bell, where I can head in with a $5 bill and come out with three spicy potato tacos and a little change left over, thanks to the miraculous $1.29 price in my area. There are still a few items that limbo under the high-price line these days, though not many.

I sought out frequent customer commentary online to confirm price increases at pretty much every Mexican chain on the fast food scene, which surprised me. Elevated costs for supplies and operations are an obvious cause of price increases, as are turnovers in ownership and reorganizations that have had an impact on the pricing structures. I dug into the details of business developments, like companies being purchased by private equity firms, and what the impact on pricing might be. Overall, it seems that most of the best-known Mexican food chains are at least somewhat overpriced, a sad yet not entirely unexpected discovery.