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- Hours:
Mon-Wed. 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Thu-Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 a.m.
Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Price Range:
-
$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good for:
- Lunch, Dinner, Late Night
- Alcohol:
- None
480 reviews for Iguanas Burritozilla
Review Highlights
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One of the Business' Favorite Reviews What's This?
A quick warning: I do not believe in burritos. Mexican restaurants can be determined by one thing only: the godliness of their tacos.
I enjoy trying random tacos. Period. So, during a late night, not-sober excursion to Iguanas, I decide to try the shrimp taco. Even though my Mexican hockey teammate refuses to call anything besides steak or pork wrapped in a tortilla a taco, this is a TACO! Shrimp taco... oh man.
Try it. No burrito, no quesadilla, just shrimp taco and you will understand. Also, the carne asada fries here are a major drunkness cure for all of you "designated drivers".
Iguanas is one of the places that will definitely be on rotation of the places to satisfy my burrito cravings.
Ive tried the al pastor and carne asada burritos and both always hit the spot! These things are massive and will destroy your hunger for a least 24 hours... hehehehe.
Their orange salsa is very good as well it has that smokey roasted pepper taste that's isn't in La Vic's orange sauce. Don't get me wrong La Vic's orange sauce is gold but Iggie's deserves a spot right next to it.
All in all very good place for a quick bite and a variety of different things to eat.
The Carnitas super burrito I had was very bland and the taste of avocado in the guac was not even noticeable (mixed w sour cream?)
Clearly I ordered the wrong stuff according to the other blazing reviews or I was just not drunk or high enough to embellish the goodness.
Regardless, if you are coming from San Diego expecting a decent carnitas burrito, be warned, even Sombreros would put this place to shame.
A couple days ago, some coworkers, Elaine, and I went to watch a couple people try to take down Burritozilla. Needless to say, they couldn't tap into their inner Joey Chestnuts and come out on top.
The food here is typical college-quality Mexican, meaning not quite as good as a real taqueria, but not as bad as Taco Bell. The prices reflect the quality of food.
I got the carnitas nacho fries since I was craving carne asada fries, but with pork instead. I also opted for jack cheese instead of nacho cheese, because, well, let's face it, real cheese is much better than processed. As Connie mentioned, the fries get soggy pretty quick, which isn't a total sin in my eyes. Yes, the crunch is welcome, but soggier fries are easier to eat. The carnitas was spot-on. It wasn't too wet, and definitely not too dry. The flavors were prominent enough to be noticed, without overpowering the flavor of the fatty-ish meat. I totally forgot to ask for no guacamole, but this time, it was OK. There was something about the combination of fries, pork, sour cream, and guac that said nothing but, "Eat me and be happy."
Elaine got the chile verde tacos. She wasn't too fond of it, saying that the chile verde at La Vic's is superior, but I enjoyed it. There is a strong taste of cilantro, but since I love cilantro, I thought it was good. The pork bits were perfectly cooked, but I would've preferred the onion pieces to be smaller.
Needless to say, Igaunas has their own orange sauce. I vastly prefer the sauce around the corner, but this sauce is good in its own right. I liken it to a mixture of chile de arbol sauce with La Vic's orange sauce.
I'll be back sometime, but I'll be honest. La Vic's, with their mediocre food and awesome sauce, will get my business before Iguanas does.
Favorite. Burrito. Place. Ever. Its always quick, everyone is always nice, and as patient as can be with the drunkards. The burrito is never runny, and their salsa is AWESOME!
I came to check out Iguanaz on a Wednesday night. There wasn't a huge crowd, but was definitely the spot for students to go after classes. I ordered a taco salad, which was basically iceberg lettuce, beans, cheese, sour cream in a fried burrito skin. The salad is skippable. Another thing that I didn't like was that the salsa is not unlimited, and you need to pay for more salsa should you require extra.
outstanding food here. The burritos are bomb and they make one of the best hot sauce's I've ever tasted. Rich, zesty, and very hot compared to most burrito places around here.
Strongy recommended! Go here NOW!
We came here after seeing this place on Food Network. My fiance accepted the Burritozilla challenge, after I told him he couldn't do it.
Menu looked quite expansive and it all sounded really good. I ordered a regular burrito with carne asada, my son ordered regular nachos, and my fiance ordered the Burritozilla with carne asada. All three things $30 even.
Food came out relatively fast. We ooohhhed and ahhhed, and took several photos of the Burritozilla. It was HUGE. Looks aside, the burritos suck. I have nothing positive to say about my regular burrito. The carne asada was gross, rice was gross, and the burrito just completely falls apart. I had more of the insides on my tray than I did in the actual burrito once I started eating.
End result of the Burritozilla challenge? I won. He ate a little more than 75%, but says that if it tasted better, he probably could've finished it.
Aside from the novelty, there is no other reason to come.
1.5 stars to be exact
The only points that earn Iguana's their 1.5 stars is that they are open late. That is it. But if I have cardboard or some other form of bland, dry, hard materials laying around my house I may chose to consume them before heading to Iguana's. The quality of their food is downright despicable. I would feel guilty giving it to a homeless shelter.
I have been here on 2 occasions because I reside nearby and have decided to not make this mistake again, even when hammered out of my mind.
The burritos are garbage. The quesadillas are soggy. The sauces are terrible. All in all, no good.
came across the remains of a burritozilla(18.75) in our refegeriotor. seems a family member couldn't finish it and left it there. it's a 5 lb. /18" monstrosity that sjsu students like to snack on amongst friends.
the 'zilla had lots of black beans, cheese, rice, sauce and some asada. but the rice and beans still tasted dry. the asada beef was tender but not tasty
frijoles refritos:
-"burrito" was sitting there for a few days, so results may be jaded.
-no plans to get a fresh burritozilla
-in .'05, the 'zilla went for $15.
-without sauce, the 'zilla was acceptable, though a little salty.
Rwarrrr it's Godzilla Burrito!!!
Came here after a night out in SJ because we'd heard there were 3-foot long burritos. That was a bit of an exaggeration, but the real Burritozilla is a full 18 inches of deliciousness. I didn't try it (definitely wasn't THAT hungry!) but the guy who got it said it was pretty good. I had the carnitas quesadilla and it was also quite tasty.
I'll for sure have to come back here sometime and try the Monster itself.
Nothing to write home about. Came here with the bf after we saw it on Man v. Food (2nd disappointment in a row of featured restaurants from the show...losing my faith in you, Travel Channel!)
I got a super carne asada burrito. First off, the tortilla was COLD...gross. Thank goodness the ingredients were warm or it might have been completely inedible. The insides were okay, nothing too special. It was definitely lacking flavor, couldn't taste any hot sauce, and there was barely any guacamole. It was also very messily put together, I had to keep it in the foil so that it wouldn't completely fall apart. I'm thinking they are either lazy or wrap them sloppy to make them look even more big. My bf got the veggie burrito (which, might I add, has NO veggies in it....salsa doesn't count...) which he ate, but when I asked him how it was, he said, "La Vic is better."
On the upside, the chips were good, and the salsa fresca was decent. Not hot at all though. Something tells me I'll be back because I live close by and it's open until 3 am. Bound to happen right? Maybe it'll taste better if I'm drunk...OH! And they do give student discounts, which is pretty awesome...but, if anything, coming here made me miss SF & LA and their far superior burrito fare...
This place has definitely gone downhill in the last 6 months or maybe I should just stop eating here sober. Granted, it was never that good and more of a late night, mediocre tasting Chipotle style joint, but my recent visit was horrific.
I recently had a super carnitas burrito, and it was terrible. My burrito had bland, tasteless rice. In addition, the black beans were hard and cold. It had plenty of sour cream, but a real lack of guacomole. The carnitas were soggy, cold, and not crispy on the edges. And well, the saddest part of it all was that my burrito was cold. There was no heat emenating from it. Plain and simple, there was nothing "super" about this burrito.
La Novia got a super quesadilla with pollo asado that was warm, but it was mega soggy. It fell apart rather quickly. It was so bad, she quit eating it and went to bed hungry (and angry at Iguanas).
Here are some tips for Iguanas:
1) Stop making that weird tasting smoky orange sauce and learn how to make a decent "pico de gallo" salsa or green salsa can throw inside a burrito to give it flavor. My caucasian friend commented as he was eating the same burrito I was eating:
"Wow, this is the worst burrito I have ever had."
2) When making quesadillas, put the sour cream and salsa on the side. Putting it inside the quesadilla makes it soggy and hard to eat.
3) Stop making nacho fries and salsa dogs and whatever non-authentic dishes you can come up with, and go back and focus on the basics of a taqueria. Once you can nail tacos, quesadillas, and flautas, then go out and try to do something experimental.
And all you Yelpers out there that have helped this place average 4-stars, please stop eating here drunk.
Thanks.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
8/4/2009
Does anyone but me notice that the food just sits out in heaters Chipotle style? Fail.
Please do not… Read more »
My friend and I came here last night after hitting up Pearl for another friend's birthday nearby downtown.
My friend was craving some carne asada fries that he once had in San Diego... So we got here around 1:30AM, got the fries, and shared an order...
Damn were we disappointed. Fries were uber mediocre; kind of like the fries you buy from safeway in a frozen bag. I don't even remember the guacamole being on the fries. I did remember a shit load of sour cream...
Bleh, I definitely won't be coming back here for the carne asada fries but I will be coming back to have a good burrito with some spicy sauce compared to la vic's milder orange sauce around the corner.
Don't come here for the carne asada fries. Do come here for a burrito with some good hot sauce.
3rd Street is quite a interesting road. A lot of businesses are located in what used to be homes. All these businesses are quite interesting but however Burritozilla falls a bit short.
Coming in the cash register, I'm greeted by a nice lady humming along to the music playing in the background. I came here for a quick lunch and ordered a super burrito with Chlpotile Chicken and Pinto beans. The turnover rate is quite fast especially for when I was coming in during the lunch hour.
My Super Burrito was okay, after the first couple of bites. But after that, it started becoming a huge challenge eating the burrito. They might have forgot the drain the beans or something, but my burrito was dripping wet after that. Bite after bite, the burrito was basically crying. The amount of napkins I had with me wasn't enough to keep my lap dry. I was basically done before I can even finish the burrito.
It's a disappointment for me. 2 Stars.... until further review.
I think IB was featured on Man v. Food and that's how my boyfriend first heard about this place. This past Sunday we drove to San Jose and made the trip.
Our meal:
Me: Carne Asada burrito with everything plus Nacho Fries
BF: Burritozilla (5lbs) with Al Pastor
The burritos are huge and can be taken home as left overs for the next day (which actually taste good). My burrito was okay - wasn't anything super fancy. The nacho fries with carne asada are the bomb!! (A must have if I come back) The service is very friendly and nice. I was impressed that they host open-mics which is nice as the space allows for it. Good size place and cute house front entrance.
You come here for the huge serious ginormous burritos and the nacho fries with carne asada.
Be sure to allow for nap time after you leave here. Thumbs up, IB!
I will likely come back with people more for shock value then taste buds.
Iguana's is one of the things I miss about not going to SJSU anymore.
BIG. ASS. Burritos!
While it's not the best burrito I've ever had, it comes close and it's BIG. When you're a college student on a shoestring budget - that matters a lot. I miss Iguana's.
Most of the stars I give them is because they are the only place that I'm aware of that serve food that closely resembles CARNE ASADA FRIES... and I feen for them almost every day of the week..
I felt pretty dumb when I didn't see it on the menu.. I proceeded to ask, "do you guys have carne asada fries????" .. the guy says, "no but we have nacho fries with your choice of meat!!" DUh... I guess i was so hungry i didn't read the whole menu carefully enough..
I must say, the carne asada/nacho whatever you wanna call it fries were pretty damn delicious AND it did hit the spot.. next time I would just ask for less cheese cus it was soooo cheesy. I popped some Tapatio on those bad boys and it made a meal fit for a fat king. Yum.
I also got a super chicken taco and I already finished it walking from the restaurant back to my parked car. :/ It was soo juicy and delicious.. the sucky thing is that I didn't know they had their own special sauce!!! =( Please believe I'm coming back to try out this SAUCE...
I had a Chicken Mini Burrito...BIG ASS THING. I couldn't finish it :( But I promise I will next time.
I really like the workers at Iguanas. They're all very super nice and friendly. And I guess we were there for a while, but someone had called in an order, but they realized they got the wrong place after they ordered so the cashier gave us their order for free :D So awesome. Iguanas is not as scary as La Vics. They do give sauce, but the sauce is pretty damn watery :(
4stars because this place is like Chipotle but service is better.
OH and they close at 3am :D
I was first introduced to this fine establishment after a night of drinks. I didn't really get to enjoy the food since I puked in their bathroom. Bad mistake because they really do good food here.
Came back once I was sober and it is delicious. The cash register guy is cool. And though everyone talks about the orange sauce from La Vic's, I believe the orange sauce here is much better though it has more of a kick. But even without the sauce, the burrito here is much larger and better hands down. The rice and beans don't feel like they have been sitting in the warmer all day so it is delicious.
I visited this adorable little burrito place about a month ago, or so, for the first time. It was fantastic! It's small, but not tiny. The atmosphere is perfection. And the food?? really??? I couldn't have asked for anything more! Delish!
Quality of the carne asada burrito is about what you'd expect at an airport, bus station, convenience store, or school cafeteria. Mediocre ingredients prepared with no soul. Makes me yearn for a real Mission District burrito.
This place might just have the best Tortas is San Jose.
+Great for late nights
+affordable
+delicious food
-usually crowded, out-the-door lines at night.
-parking is annoying, but its downtown san jose, what more can you expect.
Does San Jose have better carne asada fries than San Diego? Heck no, but at least Iguanas tries with their version, which they call "Nacho Fries." The fries they use get pretty soggy when drenched in melted cheese and sour cream. But I still love the combination, and if I'm really jonesing for some carne asada fries, this spot will suffice. Plus, they're one of the few taquerias that are open until 3am on the weekend.
Their burritos are really tasty, and I love that they have a baby size, perfect for my small appetite. For those who have a bottomless stomach, they've got the perfect burrito for you: their 5 pound burritozilla.
Like others have mentioned, Iguanas does have an orange sauce, but it's not quite as good as the one at La Vic's. But at least here, they aren't sauce nazis.
this place's food is just as bad as la vics.
la vics food is only good with the "orange" sauce.
iguans food is only good if you drown it in salsa,
sour cream, or hella salt. the only thing worth any
stars here is the asada fries & open mic night.
Burritos are way good here, ingredients are fresh, staff is chill, and they give student discounts. The burrito-lovin college boy in me is definitely satisfied with this place. Definitely the place to stop after a long night in downtown san jose. Carne asada fries ftw.
Holy crap. Big burritos. Me and some pals went here because, well, we could. We ordered the Burritozilla and went to town on it. Divvied it up into four pieces and gobbled it down. I'd already eaten a burrito at school earlier so I wasn't too hungry but heck I still ate it. It was with carne asada.
Overall it was pretty darn good. Definitely good if you wanna feed three to five people for a decent value. Get the orange-lookin' sauce, it's the bomb diggity.
WOOHOO! as good as it gets!
Their burrito is huge and soooo yummy and oh my! the sauce in indescribably good. hah! better than la vics? CHYEAHH!
go figure.
Open Mic on Thursday Nights?! Down like James Brown.
Rather than the usual carne asada, try the al pastor. Its dope.
I kinda think it sucks that Iguana's has a little social war with La Vic's. They are both really good.
In terms of taste, they both win.
In terms of rep, didn't La Vic's close down a couple times for not-up-to-par health standards? Maybe the reason La Vic's orange sauce is so good is because of the trace amounts of ammonia, or other bacteria that forced them to close down.
La Victoria's over Iguanas Burritozilla.
Sorry! It had to be said.
In terms of the burritozilla itself, I finally got around to ordering the $18 piece of grease... I have a feeling its more of a novelty item, i doubt anyone actually craves something as artery clogging as that.
Oh, but if you are the type of person who likes three tortillas with 5 pounds of grease in the middle... by all means, enjoy.
Have fun dying.
Simply put, my SAN DIEGO friends from the bay wanted to try Iguanas "Carne Asada Fries" aka Nacho fries...
When my boyfriend and I got there, there was suchhhh a long line! Apparently it was Stupid Saturday (FREE FOOD UNTIL THEY RUN OUT!) Not a good idea, since we had a Cal game to watch at 12:30, and it was already 12 noon.
We decided to try Iguanas after the Cal Game. This was definitely well thought out because we would need a pick me up of FREE Carne Asada Fries after a horrible loss, but that's history now *sigh*
Take note that before we went to Iguanas, my boyfriend bought LA VIC'S ORANGE SAUCE.
FOOD
NACHO FRIES aka CARNE ASADA FRIES:
---This was the first time I tried Carne Asada fries. I was excited. When I took my first bite, it was alright. No fireworks in my mouth or anything. A bit too cheesy for my liking, and way more sour cream than I needed. Overall it was okay.
***ADD ORANGE SAUCE: The sauce was delicious, and gave the fries the 'kick' that it needed! Definitely was able to scarf down more than half of my order. Try this with the O-Sauce from around the corner. You won't regret it.
CARNE ASADA SUPER QUESADILLA:
---If you like HELLA meat in your quesadilla, then this is the right quesadilla for you. I wasn't really into the tortilla, since pieces of it were burnt, and it was bland. The meat overpowered every bite, but the guac was pretty good. Gotta give them props for their guac...
***ADD ORANGE SAUCE: The quesadilla did get a bit better, but nothing spectacular. My taste buds were just content. I'd recommend turning the corner and grabbing a super quesadilla at La Vic's. SO GOOD.
ENVIRONMENT:
The security guy at the door was really nice, and chatted it up a bit since we were a fairly big group wearing all Cal gear. I even asked him about their promotions, like Stupid Saturday, and he happily explained that Iguanas likes to give back to the community every year. Such a nice guy! So much nicer than some of the mean security people at La Vic's...
The place has limited indoor seating, but it was fairly easy for my friends to snag a couple small round tables and put them together. The bathrooms are ok - you can get a token at the front desk.
Overall, I'd give this place just 3 stars. Nothing out of the ordinary. I needed Orange Sauce from La Vic's for a kicker. I'll update this once I try their infamous burritos.
So I finally watched the Man v. Food episode that features San Jose and was pumped to check out this place which was featured first thing in the TV show.
My buddy and I get the burritos but were not impressed. The burrito did nothing special in our opinion. Chipolte or other taquerias in the area easily out do this place in terms of taste.
To add injury to insult, the place smelled bad. I'd understand if it was 2am and the drunk crowd was stinking up the joint, but it was Saturday mid-afternoon.
2 out of 5 as I do not buy the hype surrounding this place.
Good burritos and nice staff.
Sauce is better than La Vics.
I'd say its my 2nd place taco shop....I go here when I can' t make it to Viva Taqueira on Winchester in Santa Clara.
their carne asada fries are sooo yummy. it's ridiculous! bf and i went here just for that. and it was amaaaaazing.
Ordered the Super Burrito w/ Carne Asada and then came the Orange Sauce, I was in heaven after a busy night bar hopping.
The orange sauce is something I can't distinguish but it's amazingly delicious with the burrito. In any case, just pour large amounts of it into your food. But be cautious because some wondering person might snag it from you if you're not looking.
Get the Orange sauce in a bottle for $6 for those who can't make it home without it. =)
It's hard not to compare this place to La Vic's, but my personal opinion is that it's better.
Orange sauce aside, which is what most people seem to enjoy, the quality of food here is much better. Then again, I've always arrived when the place wasn't crowded, I can only assume what the night crowd can do to the place. As a burrito consumer, I hate it when there's way too much excess liquid. It's definitely the way they cook their meat and their beans cause the sogginess has always been to a minimal. I've also felt that the taste was cleaner too.
Orange sauce talk, people say that Iguana's sauce has a stronger, roasted taste to it, this is true. It's also somewhat spicier than La Vic's too. As far as better? I wish they had Tapatio :(.
If you're hungry and craving a Mexican feast, grab 3 pals to split a burritozilla that is the size of a massively long iguana stored in a cardboard box. The fish tacos with the a unique thousand island sauce over lightly battered fish are worth a try too. Despite the reviews raving about the nacho fries, the box full of melted white cheese with guacamole over potato fries didn't seem as tasty or appealing as I had hoped.
Service is friendly with a few tables on either side of the fast food joint. Parking is available on the street.
Whenever in San Jose you must eat here! It's the best late nite, had a few drinks kinda place ever! Staff are lovely, nachos are awesome and I'm addicted to their tiny tacos. Iguanas I love you! Such a San Jose cultural institution!
The burrito is quick and cheap eats. I give it a 6-7of 10.
I give it a 4.5 and a WOOHOO! ;)
We stopped by for some fuel before hittin' up the outlets.....my hubby had the nachos and I had the nacho fries. Service was quick and the food was awesome. I was tempted to get a burrito but knew that would be the end of walking around the outlets, more like rolling around the outlets if I had ordered a burrito....so the nachos were perfect.
I'm not a fan of the cheese sauce normally, usually prefer real shredded cheese, but on the nacho fries the sauce works, it's a must....I asked for carne asada since a girl needs her protein and it was sooo good. My hubby got the asada nachos and added jalapenos to his, he likes things spicy....he also loved the spicy sauce. I personally thought it was too spicy, made my throat tingle even after a few minutes...wow! So unless you like extra spicy, don't use their hot sauce. I prefer La Vic's sauce over Iguana's....however, the meat and food quality is better at Iguanas. So as most people recommend.....get the bottle at La Vic's and eat at Iguana's.
Will need to come back soon and attack a burrito!



