Illegal Pete's - Park Hill

Illegal Pete’s was an absolute blast—fast, fun, and downright delicious. The tacos were bursting with flavor and super satisfying. The “silly sticks” (aka taquitos) were a total win. My daughter went big with the nachos, and honestly, I was jealous—the presentation was spot on, and the portion could feed a small army. The burrito? Out of bounds—stuffed with flavor in every bite. Even the quesadilla and fish bowl held their own, hearty and tasty to the last bite.

My first time to this illegal Pete's. 28 years ago, I frequented their boulder locations and was excited to have it again. Got the big fish and a chicken burrito. It was better than I remembered. There was a slight mishap with my fish burrito, but no harm no foul. It was probably better for it. I love that they mix the burritos before wrapping. All the ingredients were fresh and delicious. It makes me want to move back to Colorado.

Great vegan options, like the Taco Night plant based meat. I hope they keep that forever. Please add a vegan cheese option! Sad to hear they’re getting rid of Athletic NA beer options on tap and in cans. It was a great local spot for NA beer on tap. The NA margaritas are great, hopefully those stick around.

First time trying illegal Pete during my travel in Colorado. Love the generously overloaded grilled chicken burritos, which is like three times more than my hand! Food is great and everything is fresh. The lady at the bar was so friendly. She guided me to takeout area personally. Park Hill store is definitely a must visit. I am sure I will be back next time.

I used to go to Illegal Pete's every Tuesday for their health care and teaching BOGO deal. I haven't been in a while but today, while leaving Pete's, I almost got into an accident and my queso went flying. I went back to the store and someone up front gave me more queso, chips, and a cookie when I explained what happened. Completely made my day, thank you! Everyone who works at the store would have done the same, these folks are so nice. I'll definitely be back next Tuesday ❤️

Absolutely fantastic experience at Illegal Pete’s! From the moment I walked in, everyone was warm and friendly, making me feel right at home. I ordered a burrito with rice, pinto beans, carnitas, queso, guacamole, corn salsa, savory peppers, and lettuce. Every single ingredient was fresh and flavorful, and the carnitas were especially juicy and tender. The portion size was no joke—this burrito was massive! On top of that, the prices were very reasonable for the quality and quantity of food. The manager even came out to personally welcome me since it was my first visit, which was such a thoughtful touch. This place truly represents incredible value for the community, and I can’t wait to come back with friends. Highly recommend!

This is the best Illegal Pete's in the state!! Seriously, I would drive the extra miles just to have this type of customer service. I specifically want to call out Bud for making our experience SO amazing. What I loved the most was I brought my 3 year old here who is extremely shy, Bud asked her what she'd like on her Taco and she just pointed. Bud wasn't rude or anything. He was extremely patient and so kind and helpful. Definitely come here! All of the employees are amazing as well as is the food.

Our family loved it, even our daughter who won’t eat chipotle. We made an online takeout order that was super easy thorough the app. The window service was friendly and professional. The fat burritos made two meals for our younger kids and they enjoyed it just as much the second time. Their meals were flavorful with great salsa options and a killer Baja sauce.

This location always has something happening inside. Be it trivia or large parties, it is often very loud, with one having to scream the order to the server behind the sneeze shield. Overall this location is similar to others and the service and staff are nice and helpful. They go above and beyond. I like this location. You should give it a try. The food is good and the portions are large.

We went back to Illegal Pete's last night for dinner hoping to have a better experience and we did. I have to say the steak was fresh and seasoned well. It didn't look gray like last time. The container the bowl is in looks small, but it's deceiving. I should have taken half of it home and have for lunch today , but it was too good to do that. I'm glad I gave Illegal Pete's a try again

Please bring back the old queso! I will start off by saying the staff at this location is always awesome, and very rarely are orders incorrect. We come to Illegal Pete's over your competitors specifically for the queso- it is leaps and bounds above chipotle, qdoba and the like; or at least it was. That being said, the new recipe is awful, and it makes me so beyond sad! We LOVE Illegal Pete's for the queso and I am begging you to please change it back We took one bite of our food and instantly noticed something was off. So sad to hear it's been changed to a premade bagged version- isn't one of your core values that you focus on fresh ingredients? While economical for corporate, pre-batched and bagged flavorless queso is hardly something I, and many others would consider fresh. I will miss you, Illegal Pete's

Illegal Petes has now become my GO TO SPOT for joy, fun, and outdoor time. 10000/5. Not only is the food incredible and affordable, the people who work there are kind, compassionate and just downright incredible!! When I am sad or need to celebrate, I specifically go to Park Hill's Illegal Pete's! P.S. if you work in healthcare or are a first responder on Tuesdays you get a Buy 1 get 1 deal. It is fantastic and so thoughtful!! If you know whats good for you, you should check out Illegal Petes in Park Hill. P.P.S. the cookies are TO DIE FOR!! I get one every time and have no regrets about it

Such a rude girl behind the counter. I felt like I needed to apologize for putting in my order.

Love illegal Pete's but just got some for the first time in a while and was super excited, unfortunately after the first bite I knew something was wrong as it tasted off. Did some digging and sounds like there are murmurs that they switched their queso recipe and it is now bought as a bagged premade queso. It is nowhere near as good as before and I'm just disappointed :( here's a warning to all who loved their queso you may not get what you expect. Probably won't be coming back until they bring the queso back because that was the best part. I don't even know if I can bring myself to finish this burrito

I am such a great fan of East Colfax and this well known chain is always busy. If you want to ride a coach to a Red Rocks concert, this is the only way to go. We get a quick meal and a to-go drink(s) for the ride to the concert. You bus ticket gets you a free beer if you order a meal. The Baha Fish is freshly cooked and my favorite item on the menu. It takes a little longer than the other proteins a sets them apart from similar restaurants. I've had the tacos and bowl and its good however style you want. I've also tried the smothered burrito. Order any burito and make it Colorado style but smothering it with green chili. Nice touch.

It's like a chipotle but without the c, so hip-otley Anyways, they also have fish and a few other things, so it's more local. Service was great and accommodating. Their guac was really nice too although I wish I had gotten the cheese queso on the side! Overall my bowl was very good, I can't complain. They also have a bar with beer on tap.

How has it taken me this long to check out an Illegal Pete's?! Oh right... my husband mistakenly described it similar to Chipotle and I steered clear, missing out on years of delicious beer-battered fish salad and tacos. The way you order is similar to other fast-casual establishments, but the vibe of Illegal Pete's is what makes it unique. They have a bar and serve alcoholic beverages reminiscent of the college days. I'd recommend sitting at the bar if you don't have kids in tow or outside on the patio on days with nice weather. Going back to those fish tacos. The staff doesn't fry the fish until you place your order, so the fish is perfectly crisp and warm. I'll have to make up for lost time now, so we'll be coming back. Maybe for a date, or maybe for dinner on Wednesdays when kids eat free.

I've been coming here for a while, but surprisingly have never written a review! I love how low key this place is. Ordering is quick and easy. Enjoy some great food and a good drink at the bar. Definitely try the taquitos with cheese! The only thing I will say is the person taking our order last night was extremely rude, however everyone else was super pleasant and friendly. She was short with us and rolled her eyes a few times, maybe just a tough day?

We have been regulars at IP for a long time. We love the fact that they offer free guacamole that is onion-free and a free tortilla with their bowls. Plus, we want to support local businesses. Approx. two months ago, we ordered 4 bowls, 2 chicken, 2 carnitas, for 6 people for take-out. The 2 carnitas bowls were bad. The meat was either rancid or they used too much vinegar or something. They were inedible. We called IP. They never answer the phones but a message was left. Twice on two different days. They never called back. I was by myself this past weekend and went to this same IP. I ordered a chicken bowl to go. When I got home first, I was surprised to find several potatoes in my bowl! I did not order potatoes nor want potatoes. But worse, the brown rice was teeth-cracking hard. It had obviously been sitting in the metal pan too long and the person making my bowl was scraping the rice off the bottom of the pan. They should have known better and replaced the old rice with a fresh pan. I called IP twice and as I say, they never answer their phones. Left messages but as is their wont, they have never bothered to call back. What kind of customer service is that? Bad kind.

I met a friend here on a Saturday afternoon. The parking lot is pretty small, but we were both able to find spots in the lot. There was a short line, but it wasn't too busy. I thought the taquitos were delicious and I would definitely go back for those.

My review is just on the food. The last few times I have stopped by this location for a burrito the food just hasn't been very good. I have always liked the food at their Evans and downtown locations, but this one sub par - even compared to Chipotle. Keep in mind, I just get basic burrito and the last time I visited This location I threw it out after a few bites. The workers at this location are very nice, but the food needs work.

In the battle between Chipotle, Qdoba, and Illegal Pete's, IP wins every time. I use to go out of my way to go to the DTC location and was pumped when it came to the neighborhood. The inside is somewhat small, but lots of bar top seating available (the margaritas are boozy and delicious, perfect for happy hour at $5 with chips and salsa). Whenever I go the tables and floors are clean. For food you can get burritos, tacos, salads, nachos, quesadillas, taquitos, and even fish tacos. I usually opt for the shredded beef burrito. Sometimes I'll go with chicken or steak. Some of the hidden gem options are getting green chili or pesto added. I can't recommend them enough! I give it four stars as sometimes the meat looks dried out sitting on the line. It's deceitful though because it always taste great. Oh! If you have kids they've been having a free kids meals deal on Tuesday. It can get crowded so grab a margarita at the bar and wait it out.

The great thing about this location is the large comfortable patio in the quiet east Park Hill neighborhood. Ample umbrellas for shade, a misting system to keep it cool, and large tables in case you bring a group. The food is fine--basic choices are tacos, burritos, and quesadillas. The protein choices (chicken, steak, carnitas etc) are good and there are ample ways to add to your taco or burrito as you move along the line (cheese, tomatoes, salsas, and much more). I'm not sure I'd grade the food above other chain burrito places, but its at least as good and when you choose a place like this, you know you don't have gourmet expectations. They have beer and cocktails.

Came here for the breakfast burrito. Got the bowl version with chorizo and green chilli. Sub no dairy with guacamole. Very generous serving!

Illegal Pete's being the competitor of Chipotle, needs to set the standards higher, and most of the time, they do just that. The Oneida location has ample parking, comfortable seating and good staff who provide quality to the customer. The one area that this location, and the company as a whole, needs to work on is providing additional fish to their burritos to make it more value oriented to the customer. There simply is a lot more cabbage and salsa than fish. If they do this company wide, I will be a regular customer!

Today my coworker went to grab lunch for a few of us. My exact order was a grilled chicken burrito, cilantro rice, pinto beans, fajita veggies, potatoes, shreaded lettuce, sour cream and queso. The burrito itself was very good which is why I won't give no stars. But halfway through it, I noticed something a bit glossy in the fixins so I grabbed a fork. (Side note- I work at a school which is why I have the boat that I put it in). The glossy item in question was a piece of cellophane wrap. Very glad that I noticed it, because so often we educators are eating on the run. I just wanted to post so that staff will be extra careful and cautious when preparing food items so no one will potentially get hurt or worse. Otherwise the food was good.

I have never had as many customer service problems consistently with a restaurant as I've had with this location. While the staff is friendly during face-to-face interactions, if there's anything wrong with your order, good luck getting it addressed. I had the wrong items in my to go order a week ago, and I called back several times, I asked to be contacted by a manager, I requested Contact from the employees. I never received any kind of callback. They just silently refunded my meal, and never said a word to me. I ended up calling back several days later to find out why I hadn't heard anything and the manager at the time is very apologetic... But it had been four days Since the event. I should not have to wait four days to have a meal that was incorrect addressed. I should not have to call back in to talk to a manager, when I have left two messages explicitly requesting a call back. I do not recommend anyone goes to this restaurant at this time.

Let's talk fish tacos, when the fish is lightly breaded, tempura-like and flaky, that's the best! Well Illegal Pete's in Park Hill makes amazing fish tacos, so much so that I have a hard time ordering anything else, my husband got the burrito- also fish! My tacos were delicious, fresh cabbage, beautiful tomatoes, this yummy sour cream dressing and for me, lots of red and green hot sauce. I could only eat two of the three mandatory order, but my husband ate the extra fish. His burrito was wonderful, based on how quickly he ate. He had a margarita too, but I was too tired for that! You walk up order and pay and they bring you your food. Super casual, not expensive and excellent quality food. Illegal Pete's is perfect for when you are too tired to cook and hungry!

Illegal Pete's burritos and bowls and tacos are filled with more rice, more beans, more proteins than either Chipotle or Qdoba. And they give you so much that you don't need to ask for more like one does at Chipotle and Qdoba. Further, they offer other options like potatoes and two kinds of veggies and, more variety of sauces. And unlike Chipotle or Qdoba, guacamole and chips and/or a tortilla when ordering a bowl, are free! Finally, Illegal Pete's does not have that sterile corporate vibe that we always feel when entering a Chipotle.

This place is awesome! Like a fresher, better chipotle! I LOVED my beer battered fish salad loaded with toppings for $8.99! It just tasted so fresh and delicious. My fiance got carnitas bowl, which was also amazing. The drinks are $5-7 including their margarita so an awesome place to chill, eat, and drink on their outdoor deck. Happy hour is daily from 3-6pm. We'll be back for sure

Spent a lot of money here over the years. But your cashier's smarmy fucking attitude has me taking my money elsewhere.

This was our go to place for the past couple of years. Great regulars, amazing staff - and my favorite bartender in Denver. We brought all of our friends and family from out of town there for the people. I guess the people don't matter. For whatever reason the new leadership destroyed the culture and community we had, I'll take my business elsewhere.

Andrew, Amanda, Lynn, Brooke and Tony are amazing employees and are always helpful and get my order right every time. They all deserve a raise. Thank you for adding these great employees to your restaurant it has made me want to come back all the time.

Illegal Pete's is like Chipotle except 4783725262x better! I love the park hill location and grab food here at least once a week. The employees are super friendly and helpful. Some of them - Ali, Logan, and Kennedy even remember my name! Their chicken quesadillas are perfection. Food is very consistent so honestly probably my favorite restaurant in Denver. Also make sure you sign up for their rewards program!

We did an online order here. It was ready on time and the food was delicious. We decided to eat the restaurant because it was really nice and they had all the windows opened up. The staff was super friendly. My daughter spilled her drink and the staff was super kind about it and helped us clean up. Their quesadillas are so good, and he home made cookies are also amazing.

Love our local Pete's. Mel is the best bartender! Keeps us coming back regularly. Always makes us feel welcome and tended to. :) Families, couples, singles -- there's something for everyone. Also I highly recommend the queso, fish tacos, and Lulu's Thursday trivia nights.

Good food at a good price. Family friendly. But almost too family friendly. TVs on everywhere with cartoons and kids oriented shows. I took my kid out to eat to spend time with him and all he wanted to do was stare at the TV. Will go to Esters instead.

Well, like others have said, it's great to have this in the neighborhood. We have been in a few times now, and each time they have been fast, clean, friendly, etc... Great ambiance as well, should our overlords ever allow us to congregate in person again. We've only taken to-go, but looking forward to grabbing a beer and dining in.

Out of food on a Sunday, ordered nachos online at 4:43. Confirmation email said order would be ready in 45 minutes?! Okay, they must be busy. Order was spot on. Queso is good when you're in the mood for it. Chips are thin, crispy, and not the salt bombs that Chipotle dishes out. Last time I ordered online, I got a text when my order was ready. This time, no text. Have no idea how long my order sat on the pickup shelf. (Why no text?) Still, I'm starting to appreciate a place in the neighborhood I can go to when there's no food in the house and I don't feel like going to the grocery store. Also, free guac on meat items if you skip the dairy. Nice.

Back for round two at my neighborhood Illegal Pete's, this time I ordered well in advance online and they texted me when it was ready for pickup. It was a relatively complicated order (for six people, all custom build your own tacos/burritos/quesadillas) and all came out exactly as requested. I was a little bummed that we only got one bag of chips for two orders of queso (and chips), but if that's the only issue, it's a good IP's experience.

Service was wonderful!! And the food was very good as well. I'm honestly a picky person but was super impressed with the quality of the food. Will definitely come back!!

10/10 I've been waiting over 4 years to try this place. I'm 5 months pregnant & these nachos make me want to make a baby again illegal Pete's knows what they doing. The whole staff deserves a raise and the tall ginger man with a beard who made my nachos is a contestant to be my daughters God Parent at this point. Will be coming back soon.

The good ole Illegal Pete's menu and some friendly personable service are the high points here. Reliable favorites like their other locations at a neighborhood joint off Oneida. Biggest drawback for me was everything tasted like week old deep fryer grease. Even the best baja fish tacos and tortilla chips will only be so good dripping in old grease. My $0.02.

Went to eat here while I waiting for some people. I definitely recommend. Had the 3 tacos meal. Chicken and I honestly can't remember what they called the other meat but it was spicy beef with potatoes and spices! I also tried the green chili! Had a seat outside and did a little work. Service was friendly for the most part, seating was open. So first come first served with that, but even still I was able to grab a great seat on the patio! I would describe this place as a taco sports bar! Lol lots of tv's to catch the games. Also, get a giant cookie. I had it for my night snack and immediately wanted to go back for another. Would definitely recommend!

I am a huge lover of Mexican cuisine so while in Colorado I wanted to check out a few taco spots. I ordered tacos, a burrito and taquitos. The taquitos were pretty good and I would order them again. I didn't like any of the salsas they were very bland lacking flavor and spice. The meat in the chicken tacos was okay and I'd say the tacos themselves were underwhelming. The biggest disappointment was the quality of tortillas they used for the burrito and tacos, the tortillas were tough and dry and reminded me of another Mexican fast food chain that uses pre packaged tortillas, but these were worse than theirs. I prefer fresh pressed tortillas. Also I chose steak and chicken for the burrito, the steak had a lot of inedible pieces. I would not recommend this restaurant instead I recommend sticking to the food trucks that are sprinkled all over the cities they had really good offerings.

I want to like this spot because I like supporting local businesses. It may be difficult to find sufficient help, but good food handling hygiene here is suffering. The staff is friendly and helpful, and they wear gloves....but who do the gloves protect? All employees were handling multiple non-hygiene surfaces (counters, spit guard (between us and the employees, probably their phones, piercings, etc..., then building my burrito by hand, patting the rice and beans, adding the cheese, lettuce, etc...with the same gloves. I admit, I am a bit of a germaphobe. However, a lesson or two could be taught to this crew about proper food handling. In general, most places are operated by people who are well trained in customer service, but lacking in general food handling knowledge. With everything prepared out in the open we at least know what we are getting into. With a little effort in the right areas, this place could be terrific!

My friend and I came by this Illegal Pete's mainly because our first two restaurant choices weren't open at the time. I actually didn't know what an Illegal Pete's was until I came into this one, but saw that it was basically the localized version of Chipotle with some additional ingredients. Everything was okay and the food was lukewarm - but that's typically the case for establishments like this. Nothing special here, but I pretty much feel the same way about Chipotle.

I love this Illegal Pete's! The food is always great and the staff is always friendly. I usually get a rice bowl with the delicious pork, black beans and that queso is so good with those CHIPS. Or I get the fish tacos which are equally delicious! Idk why they don't have a higher rating so I hope this will help boost it. I have never been back to any chipotle or q'doba bc they are subpar and they don't have margs!

As others mentioned, super excited to have this so close. We go out at least 4 times a week trying to support small businesses during the disastrous covid situation that is killing our small businesses... With that being said, it's obvious when a place hasn't taken the time to figure things out like everyone else....sadly this is one of these places. First off, there is no indoor seating and the few tables they have outside seem to be spaced way more than 6 ft so it severely limits capacity. Secondly, the scanned app that you order from doesn't work properly and was SO frustrating! It was accurate about 50% of the time, unable to modify order once added to cart (if it even added it to the cart and then you have to start over). Each time you want to order a drink you have to go back thru all the steps in the process yet again. I signed up for an account thinking that would make it easier but that didn't work either. You're not allowed to go thru the line to order like you normally would (and like Chipotle is doing without a problem) so you order EVERYTHING thru the difficult to operate app. Good luck trying to customize anything! The fish was so over fried it was hard and dry and the "customizations" that we ordered were non-existent (missing) when our food arrived. Just getting a drink takes SOOO long....know why? They have the poor bartender running his butt off serving food, taking orders placed (to go as well as the few people they can seat), bussing tables and yeah, trying to be a bartender. I feel horrible for the wait staff here due to a poorly run business. They seem to be working so much harder being jack of all trades yet at such extreme limited capacity they can't be getting much in the way of tips. We saw so many people walking away due to long waits to order food, be seated at the few tables outside (over an hour at least) and also because people wanted to watch the game on the TV but no, can't enter the building. While the host staff were nice and friendly, I really don't need to see more political messages on their face coverings that were being worn. A place of business is not the place for that and as if we don't get enough political opinions already on top of a stressful pandemic. This is a poorly run establishment. I can not support a business that is so blind to common sense and more than anything, how they are treating their employees working their literal butts off.

Went today had to order online even though there were plenty of folks working to take my order. It took 39 mins to receive ad I waited with only 3 orders ahead of mine. The green chili was tasty. Te burrito and chicken bowl weren't even as good as Chipotle or Quedoba. It's close so I might give another try but definitely was not impressed

*** Shout out to the Park Hill location ~~~ Manager Nova & team helped me out on a last minute order for 25 people... Staff was friendly & so helpful ~ TOTAL PRO! Everyone enjoyed their individually ordered items ~ food, sides, everything super fresh and everyone had BIG SMILES!!! :) Cheers & ROCK ON Staff! We REALLY appreciated the support!!!! ***

I had a what looks like a pubic hair on my food . Which doesn't surprise me when they're was what looked like a man with his whole chest out to the world ... while working ... he had a shirt on that was more UN buttoned than buttoned and has his whole chest on display and his hair was barely tied back . Simply gross . All of it . Won't be coming back . All though everyone else was nice - that one hair did it .

Mel is the beeeest! Ask her for Green Chili recommendations! So cool and always has the best advice! She wins!

Had a bit of a hiccup with my To-Go order yesterday, 7/4. I emailed before going back in. When I went back in they were super kind and remade everything plus more. The manager, I didn't grab her name, was very nice. Matt emailed me this morning and went above and beyond. I appreciate y'all. My family loves Illegal Pete's and, as a vegetarian who loves green chili, this place has so many ways to accommodate your dietary restrictions. Thanks again!

We've seen these pop up everyone all over denver and definitely wanted to give it a try. I got a carnitas bowl, my friend got the smothered burrito. We both thought they were okay- but nothing special for the price. It would definitely have been just as good to go to chipotle (and a lot cheaper). We also got chips and quest. Personally, I loved the queso but my friend said he enjoyed Chipotle's better- so it might just be up to preference. Next time, I think I would skip the bowl/taco/burrito and either they taquitos or the quesadilla.

This review isn't in regards to food or the service at the food counter. This is solely in reference to the crazy rude bartender. I noticed she was being rude to other customers before even ordering and overheard people talking about how nasty she was. The restaurant apparently has some very strict rules about not accepting expired IDs (which is totally fine! I don't need a margarita THAT BAD!), not allowing anyone without a valid ID to even hold a drink for their partner who is wrestling a toddler (actually yelled at me to "put the drink down on the bar now!"), and not allowing children to play on the patio even well supervised (again shouting across the busy patio). The bartender could have easily enforced all of these rules politely even though they're pretty intense. If she had, I still probably wouldn't want to go back because it was so unfriendly to children. But this bartender was so nasty about all of it that we just left after eating about 2 bites. She was made a scene in the restaurant 3 different times and was clearly on a power trip.

Okay, have to admit I have NEVER been to any Illegal Pete's. My husband's customers gave him gift cards last year, and I finally got to use them. One went through easy, the other was complicated. Regardless, the managers and employees on duty handled it, were SO courteous and friendly, and that almost NEVER happens to us anymore! Just for the kind people working I would give 5 stars. I hope the opening staff from today works everyday ,so others can get the great experience we got. The food was pretty good too. A little more grease than I would like on the taquito's, but good for a treat. My children liked the taquito's and the burrito bowls too. They had seating outside too which we found great also.