What People Really Think About Chipotle’s Queso

Chipotle is finally serving queso, and it only took the beleaguered burrito chain 24 years to do it. But is it any good? Eater NY critic Robert Sietsema tasted it back in July when it was only available at Chipotle’s Manhattan test kitchen store and was unimpressed by the company’s stab at the beloved cheese dip, calling it both “notably bland” and “a bit grainy.”

GQ’s Drew Magary published his own review today and was a bit more forgiving, calling it “perfectly fine queso” — but he hedged that compliment by noting that “the adage about pizza and sex is true for me and queso: Even when it’s bad, it’s still pretty terrific to me.”

Now that Chipotle’s queso is widely available — the chain began serving it nationwide on September 12 — it’s time to look at what the people think.

Reviews are trickling in on Yelp, and opinions are decidedly mixed: Kenny T. from San Diego wasn’t a fan, writing, “I came here to try their new queso because I had always been a fan of qdobas melted queso. ... The queso was EXTREMELY disappointing. It was super light and watered down. I mean it's like 6 shades lighter than the queso they show in advertisements. Qdoba definitely does it better.”

Meanwhile in Pennsylvania, Troy B. felt differently, saying, “While it did have a little bit of spice flavor, it was in my opinion extremely mild. The texture was good, and had none of the grittiness that I was expecting, and it seemed very similar to regular, warm, melted nacho cheese. I liked it. And knowing that it is made with all-natural, simple ingredients, that was an added bonus.” Other Yelp reviewers have declared it “extremely gritty” or “super tasty.”

On Twitter, reviews have been decidedly less diplomatic, with the general consensus being that Chipotle’s queso is, well, not good:

While subpar queso can’t possibly be as much of a liability to Chipotle’s bottom line as its recent food safety disasters, CEO Steve Ells probably also won’t be printing out these reviews to proudly post on his refrigerator.

• Chipotle Unleashes Queso Nationwide [E]
• Chipotle’s First Shot at Queso Falls Short on Flavor [Eater NY]