Illegal Pete's - South Broadway (Denver)

I must tell you that the reverse nachos are addicting. The ability to add whatever toppings and ingredients you want right in front of you, is amazing. The vibe is calming, sometimes the music is loud - which is okay. The staff are always attentive, friendly and helpful. Speaking to the staff is like speaking to old friends, as if you've known them for years. They are real people. Diverse. Lovely. I support this local business and I'm glad it is in my neighborhood.

Staff is polite and awesome they will fix what ever you want and give great recommendations. The food was amazing service fresh and hot. Love this place High-quality services. Definitely recommend Illegal Pete's

Good afternoon/morning, I'm not one to provide reviews much, but after coming here for the 1st time, the man who served me was downright impatient and disrespectful (or at least he came across as such). Also, yes, this was my first time ever at an Illegal Pete's. For a place that originated in CO, it sure didnt embody that classic CO hospitality with that server. Tall man, red hair, and lots of piercings (not that descriptors matter). He was rushing my order. At the beginning, he asked for a bowl or burrito - I misheard and asked what the options were again. I was met with a tone upon repetition. Then, after he abruptly gave me an option for a salsa, he shook his head as he served it. Its not my fault I've never heard of a potato salsa or whatever it is - I didnt even catch the second alternative because I just wanted to get my order over with. Anyway, the bartenders (there were two - long hair + beanie & mustache man slender) were awesome and chill/relaxing to talk to. Food: No complaints. It was actually pretty delicious! Note: Yall have 3K reviews. I genuinely don't expect change - I also dont expect a successful business to actually care about 1 review, but please at least talk to the guy.

Stopped by for fish tacos with my husband after a swim workout. There was a small mixup with my order and service was amazing. Fixed it right away, very patient and friendly. Tacos and beer were delicious. Love having this place in our neighborhood.

I was literally sent 100% raw steak, I’m in disbelief… you guys can kill someone like this. And good luck getting a human on the phone, have to wait until Monday to contact corporate. Be careful and check your food if ordering from here.

I am not usually a fan of Illegal Pete’s but I am completely impressed by this location. First off, the vibe and atmosphere of this place is absolutely on point, especially in the hot 70 degree weather. The colors pop and would’ve the perfect hangout spot for me in college. I greatly appreciate the amount of outdoor and indoor seating for Covid. Also, I was a huge fan of the happy hour special. I found myself enjoying more of the beer since there was so many discounts and combos. The bar is amazing and perfect for the weather. Although, I will admit, the service was a bit off. I am not a huge fan of the QR code system since it does not feature the entire menu but I understand the limitations. It was super busy when I went and it made it harder to order food. But that’s not the fault of the establishment or the staff but merely the amount of people there. I’m planning to come back when there’s less COVID :)

First trying trying Illegal Pete’s, and it was awesome! The staff were friendly, great DJ and music, plenty of seating inside and on the patio, and great drinks and food! The Apple Izze was nice and cold and the 3 steak BYO tacos I ordered was very good too. Overall, I liked it, a great must-stop Mexican restaurant in Denver!

Some of the best fish tacos I've had in ages! Yummy! Service was friendly and the food was fresh. The fish tacos came out hot and crispy. And they give you 3 where a lot of places like this have cut back to only 2 tacos per order. The restaurant was very clean too.

Inconsistent portions depending on who is working. Oftentimes they are so busy that when they fill the bag with chips, say, with the reverse nachos, it's the dregs of the chips, not filling the bag completely and chip crumbs/slivers instead of whole chips. Service is hit or miss. The food is great. Other items sometimes are hefty portions. Other times not-so-much. I usually adore Illegal Pete's but the past month (end Dec to Jan 2025-26) things have deteriorated after the holidays? I will always come back. I will update this review if earned. I don't like leaving poorly reviews. I love it so much I left 4 stars for food and nice staff and awesome atmosphere. Sometimes the music is wicked loud making ordering difficult. Thanks for all you do. I support local businesses. You all should also. You'll be glad you did.

Illegal Pete's has a program for touring musicians called "Starving Artist," which we were able to use during our tour stop in Denver. They fed our band for free, which, as an independent band, was incredibly helpful. The restaurant was within walking distance of the venue, so we headed there after our soundcheck. Everyone we encountered was friendly and helpful. I ordered a chicken quesadilla with guac, rice and beans, and chips with salsa. The portion sizes were huge, and the food was full of flavor. We loved hanging out and relaxing in the outside area before our show.

Is this just another Chipotle? No....it isn't! The fish burrito is next level adding new textures and flavor to the boring burrito or bowls. Also, the queso here is miles above others with taste and ingredients. Yep! It is a return again place for sure.

At first, I thought they were closed because the door's a little sticky but just use a little persistence. If you sit inside, the music is a little noisy but if you go out on the patio, it's nice and quiet. They do have a happy hour from 3 PM to 8 PM With drink specials. The staff is very friendly and they will recommend what they like. Best to kinda guide you through what you may want. I came very indecisive. I was too hungry to really make a choice so I chose the plant based taco night protein. It looks like ground beef and it's spicy like taco meat but it's got mushrooms in it and it's got kind of a mushroom texture. So it's not quite as chewy as beef. But it is very good. Every time I go to illegal pizza I enjoy the atmosphere and the food. But I always think it's pricey. I paid $19 without the tip for my plant-based Nachos and soda. Now I will probably eat this again but nachos are really only good once The next time around at least one element isn't quite as good as it was the first time. I will come back to a illegal Pete. But I won't come back as often as I would if their price point was a little better. But they do have good people and you really can't put a price on that.

Oh how I wish I could give them zero stars. Not only did my burrito have two long hairs that were absolutely NOT mine but my mother's fish tacos were soggy and disgusting. For the price I paid for the entire meal + drinks this food quality is absolutely unacceptable. Do better!

Great outdoor seating especially with the weather getting chillier. I love their carnitas quesadilla and that it comes with a side of guac. The staff here is always great and there is plenty of parking which is awesome for S. Broadway. We are big fans of this location since even when it's busy, it's nothing crazy and you can still get a seat- and get in an out quickly.

Basically a better chipotle! The guac here is amazing! They also have a nacho option that is soooooo good! Sad they don't have these in Illinois! Food is done quickly and space is large and inviting! Cute sticker decor

"Mexican inspired" it might be , but Mexican this is not. My "taco" disintegrated on the first bite. Corn tortillas shouldn't be steamed to the point of falling apart. And why just one tortilla? Is it really too much expense to at least give a structure to this bland mess? After we finally got our food I then had to wait in yet another long line for a drink, and finally gave up, returning to my table to find my son had already finished his meal. Fun family night out--ugh. I have no clue why there was such a long line for this place. (Two redeeming facts: staff are very kind and upbeat and the patio is wonderful.) But dang, they could do so much better.

Took a few days to stew on this and it made me really sad the girl on the hot food side of the restaurant went to her manager to ask if she could be switched off or if the music could be turned down because she couldn't communicate with customers because of the aggressively loud (and bad music).The manager looked this girl in eyes and literally said "whomp whomp" and sent her back and then turned to another co worker who was sitting on the corner of the bar with his laptop, with rage and disgust in her eyes and said "the audacity"and turned to me like I agreed with her. This place has gone downhill and the customer service was the only thing that made this place special.Refuse to give money to a private business that is publicly shaming and treating co workers so blatantly bad in front of customers. Also since when do you handle cash and then touch someone's food the woman at the register was disgusting.

Terrible service dont know how make a margarita. real unfortunate for such prices. Had to wait 30 minutes during ight traffic as well.

Delicious Food- chipotle has competition. Fast service and great vibes. Favorite location in Denver. Limited vegan options but there's vegetarian options. No alternative or plant based meat. Although, if you are pescatarian they do have fish. For any lactose intolerant people, no dairy alternatives but needless to say the burritos are still delicious without cheese. Very fresh!

Great food, great staff! Always fresh and delicious. They keep the restaurant super clean. Only issue is I wish they had breakfast every day and not just weekends and they should update their options on door dash to let me order lunch meats on my breakfast burrito.

Staff and managers very welcoming and friendly Food always delicious. Will always be back

I have never been to Illegal Pete's before, and I will say I will be going back. The servers were incredibly nice and accommodating. One of our friends has a peanut allergy, and they informed her that all but a few foods are peanut allergen free, but they still washed their hands and put on new gloves to ensure there was no cross contamination. I ordered 4 chicken taquitos with sour cream and tomatillo salsa. It was the perfect amount! The are made and fried fresh

This location used to be legit. Now they have shrunk proportions and increased prices. The Chip bags have gotten smaller. When this first happened they said just ask for another bag and it will be on the house. Now they are charging nearly $2 for Chip bags (about 20 tortilla chips). Food is still tasty but there are other equally good options that aren't nickle and diming.

There is a small parking lot which is nice otherwise you park on Broadway. It's just like Chipotle... but not as good. I got the steak burrito bowl with veggies, guac, black beans, white rice, lettuce, cheese, sour cream, and pico de gallo. It was very very very bland. No flavor at all. But they do give bigger burrito (not bowl) portions than Chipotle. The burrito looked like it was going to explode.

Great place to grab a burrito of tacos. Great location with a nice sized parking lot. Awesome bar inside with plenty of drink options. Fantastic outside dining option where you can bring your four legged friends too! Bocce ball court as well...although aint that an Italian thang? Super easy to order online or instore. They do used Niman Ranch meats (although they aint what they use to be). Fair prices and nice sized burritos. Great flavors I have tried several mexi places in Denver and this one is one of the better options. Don't let the Chipotle like order system fool you...this is not cardboard food like Chipotle.

It saddens me but I'm updating my original 5-star review and moving it down because I just learned that they fired Christian - apparently because of a singular Google review?! (From what I'm gathering, long story short, it looks like he cut someone off from ordering more drinks and their friend was angry and took it to Google.) He was so awesome and one of the best, most hospitable bartenders I've ever come in contact with. That is super unfortunate as I know he was very loved by many. Definitely an L for IP.

The bartender used the machine to tip herself over 40%. She took my card, ran it and handed only my card back. I never input a tip and I never signed anything in a POS machine. I guess this place must not be paying well if the bartenders are giving themselves 40% tips and gaslighting the customer into thinking that of course I was handed the machine and signed. I'm sure the cameras will show differently, not coming back if I am forced to tip 40%.

Such a fun place to stop before a bar crawl or any event you need a quick bite beforehand! It's a great place & such a great atmosphere, it's more than just a place to get food. It's a place to hang out and I will always cherish illegal Pete's in Denver

Ordered three dishes for delivery and they showed up with only two. When we tried to call and email seeking a credit, we got nothing back--still waiting, actually. Not sure what to do about it, either, as they don't answer their phones. Pretty disappointed in how this panned out.

I think I got a steak quesadilla, and it was pretty good, but their ordering system is a little confusing, so I didn't get to add other stuff to it.

Illegal Pete's was the first place I tried when I moved to Denver. I think it is a solid joint with good food. I have never been wowed, and I do prefer Qdoba, but this location is always busy. There is a full bar, and the drinks are decent, but I mainly come to this location due to the proximity and convenience. It's got a pretty lively atmosphere and you can sit in or outside. Parking is terrible and fills up fast.

Great vibes, this location is a little more appealing with a larger patio area but the food is just as good as every other location and the service is always great because they're always having a good time.

This girl is awesome! Great service, great atmosphere... I highly recommend! xoxoxoxoxoxo

Fast, convenient, delicious, and enough options to make a reasonably nutritious meal! Great for vegetarians. The line can get long but normally moves pretty fast.

Love this place. Its open late, the drinks are affordable and the food was delicious. The portions were large and tasty. I loved the nachos.

Very dog friendly. Large deck with water for dogs. Great burrito, fresh ingredients... Huge- couldn't finish it haha.

Illegal Pete's is a fun, energetic place with great food, delicious drinks and a cool patio!

Illegal Pete's is essentially Chipotle or Qdoba with a bar. The best part of this location is the outdoor patio area. Great atmosphere to get some Mexican grub and grab a few drinks. TVs around the bar if you want to watch a game as well.

Whoever thought they could fire Christian and not lose hundreds of customers is ignorant. What a large asset lost to this location. Massive L. Also why are your chips stale half the time.

I'm not reviewing the food since it seems consistent across locations. So if you really want to know, you could check out my other reviews. I will say the Baja Fish Tacos are my favorite. They take a little longer to make, but the fish, cabbage, and sauce combo is delish. Now for the vibe. This location has a great sound system and a few tv's. The sound is amazing, not in a loud way, but rather, in a cool bass ambiance sort of way, that spans across genres with uninterrupted mixes. It seems exactly like the one DU had when it was hip many moons ago. The patio is ginormous and the bartender is slinging drinks for those that need to get their margarita cravings handled. But what really sets this location apart is the staff! They manage to be professional, hip, efficient, and definitely happy behind their masks! Unlike the DU location, you won't get a pip-squeak calling you, "Buddy" here. I probably watched over 30 covers get handled by 4 different staff members and have nothing but praise. Keep up the good work Broadway!

Excellent food at a fair price. I got a steak burrito and my wife got the nachos! Both were great. Fast service. Friendly staff I definitely will eat here again.

Incredibly fresh and delicious food. I had the Carnitas bowl with brown rice, black beans, lettuce, tomatoes and onions. My BF got his standard 3 breakfast basic tacos. We also got a side of chips with guac and salsa. It was a Bronco Sunday so the TVs were all playing the game with fans huddled around. We sat outside...nice shaded tables with cool misting water. It was like we were on vacation except for Broadway traffic being right there. The parking lot when we arrived was full. We had to back out into Broadway due it being full. While eating there, we saw people from neighboring buildings who had parked their cars there. Tyler, the manager, was really nice and made us long life Customers :). This place has a great vibe and relaxing environment. We really enjoyed our time there and look forward to returning!

Their men's bathroom is absolutely disgusting. one of their urinals is so damaged that is literally sprays pee water all over the floor

I absolutely LOVE pete's! I always order to go, so i never sit down in the restaurant and eat, but omg the inside is so cool! They have stickers on the walls and you can add your own too! Overall the vibe is very welcoming and warming! I haven't had any issues with staff members and they've always been nice! Now the food, is AMAZING! Their fajita veggies are to die for and their Cheese dip has just a little bit of heat to it. I will definitely be coming back many more times!

This is a really sweet location! I love that Illegal Pete's mixes up the ingredients in your burrito at the end of the making process AND that they have a bar. It's always a great alternative to say Chipotle, especially if you'd like to drink.

Can't say enough good things about IPs on South Broadway. Always the best service, food and vibe. I went there last minute on NYE and worked with the manager Kat to pull together a same day catering order for 30. Of course everything went swimmingly and Kat was a delight to work with. Illegal Petes for Prez. Thanks again Kat!

Food is great, and ambiance is casual/fun/divey. The bartender service was great, as a solo female sitting at the bar I felt very comfortable. I'd choose this place over Chipotle or Qudoba everytime.

It's like chipotle, but more expensive... I went with the Carnitas burrito add quest by recommendation of the staff. Burrito was good, and I got free chips since I was sitting at the bar. They also have a pretty good happy hour here

The food is decent and the patio is cool. The patio faces Broadway and there's always interesting people walking along the street. Don't plan on driving to this location however. The parking is abysmal and the line is frequently out the door, which means a 20-30 minute wait to put in an order. The service seems slower at this location than other Illegal Pete's.

They had no sense of urgency when the lunch rush came through. There were only TWO people on the line. It took us 40 minutes to get through the line. Going through the line I asked for a kids portion of meat, they told me they'd still charge me for the normal amount (even though every other Pete's does not do this). I then asked for an extra scoop of queso & the two girls behind the counter started whispering to each other saying "I know you're trying to be nice but ____" & she puts it on THEN says "ya that'll be extra". Tell me that before you do it. So now you're charging me extra for the kids portion of steak I got AND an extra small scoop of queso. The bartender was amazing. He's the reason I gave it two stars.

Can basically sum it up by stating it's a better version of chipotle. The prices are pretty comparable and they do have good queso.

Unfortunately I really did not enjoy the food here. I ordered a burrito and at the end of the line they mixed all the contents of the burrito, and I really wished they had asked before doing so. When I began to eat it, it was floppy, 90% sauce, and cold. I politely asked to exchange it, and the staff was really happy to accommodate me which I really, really appreciated. I then got a chicken quesadilla, which was not much better. It was really greasy and I couldn't take more than two bites without feeling sick. My boyfriend enjoyed his, and the place had a really cool vibe. I would probably come back for chips and a margarita, but I've been really turned off by the food. They definitely get my points for having great service, being an inclusive establishment, and having a fun and welcoming bar type vibe.

Absolutely love their burritos.One of my favorites are the smothered burritos with Carnitas or their steak breakfast burritos. Huge portion and price is on point. Great place for breakfast or a late night bite!

What a fun spot! We were walking by and decided to pop in for a drink. Lots of outdoor seating but it was too chilly for us. Grabbed a table a couple of ice cold beers..they had the music blaring. I couldnt figure out if it was just a bar or some kind of hybrid club. Lol. Either way it was a cool vibe. I wasnt initially hungry but as people kept passing by me with bowls i had to try it. So apparently Denver is known for its green chilis so i got a rice bowl and added the chilis. The green chili was meh but everything else in my bowl was great. Friendly bartenders and just an overall chill vibe in this spot.

After a long wait I got to try Illegal Pete's. Thought it was good and a solid substitute for Chipotle specially if you enjoye red meat given they have shark and shredded beef not sure if chipotle have both (been long time since I ate there). I got a burrito with beef steak, guacamole, sour cream, beans, and veggies. The meat was a bit tough which is expected since it is a steak after all. Again a solid substitute for chipotle but thought it was as the same level. Grilled steak burrito: 8/10

Yaasss! Illegal Pete's has been on my "Must Try" list for a while now! Knowing that my girl Marilyn C. and I were going to need some food (in preparation for a sunny Saturday spent brewery hopping down Broadway) we stopped in to get our lunch on. I love a smothered burrito. Like LOVE! Needless to say, I chose to nosh on the shredded beef burrito, with black beans, rice, guacamole, pico de gallo, sour cream, and smothered with green chile. So. Good! Totes hit the spot and I even took half home for lunch! The green chile wasn't too spicy, but a little more so than I expected. I love spicy food, so that was a huge perk for me. My friend had a salad of some nature. She was equally as satisfied. Since we were about to embark on a brewery hopping adventure, we chose to stay away from the booze during this visit. Though it's fabulous that they offer a full bar! Can't wait to sip on a margarita with my next meal! Given the gorgeous day we dined on the patio. It was casual and the perfect place to catch up. They even have a service window to the bar so you can refill your refreshments from outside. Awesome. As other reviews mention they do offer a bocce ball court. Plus they have cute string lights to light up your summer evenings. The staff was super friendly and efficient. You can tell they are used to their popularity. Yet they still took the time to offer assistance to me since I was a newbie. Greatly appreciated. I know that I will be back to Illegal Pete's for more delish eats and drinks. The real question is WHEN?! **Pro Tip: Don't get concerned if you arrive and the line is literally to the door. It moves fast! They're just that popular!

I love illegal Pete's queso and their bowls. They have some good stuff that separates them from chipotle or Qdoba. However, I was not fond of the steak quesadilla, it was full of stuff, but it just wasn't very good. The steak was chewy and it wasn't cooked so that the sides were toasty, it was pretty soft tortillas that were floppy and made a mess while trying to eat. Just not super appetizing.