Dr Frost Rathbone had been looking forward to visiting Burrito Bros for some time so it was with high expectation that we headed in. Initial impressions were OK, the décor inside was more minimal than the explosive colour typical of burrito places but it was clean and not without character. An outside seating area was an unusual but pleasant addition given the clement weather.

Slow Country for Cold Burritos

Unfortunately, this is where most of the positive comment ceases. Our burritos took a surprisingly long time to construct and we were told drinks would have to follow as there was no one around who could make them at present. The burritos were also a little smaller than we are used to. Not that we at LBRI value quantity over quality but I’m sad to say these burritos delivered neither.

Let ’em Eat Bread

The first bite delivered little other than tortilla – there was a very high ratio of wrap to filling throughout the burrito and this effectively watered down the flavour throughout. Neither the tortilla nor the filling was hot. A burrito doesn’t need to be piping hot, but it does need to be at least warmed. The second bite offered a pretty large kick of spicy salsa but unfortunately this was not continued through the burrito as frustratingly most of the salsa was at one end of the burrito. This meant that a comparatively bland burrito followed this single, very spicy mouthful.

Guaca-smoothy anyone?

The guacamole looked great from a distance but on closer inspection was blended much too smoothly. Guacamole needs some texture (mash your avocados with a fork don’t blend them) and larger chunks of avocado hold flavour better. There were chunks of red and yellow capsicum which added colour but little flavour. Consequentially the guacamole was lacking any real flavour or texture – very disappointing from what is normally one of my favourite parts of a burrito. I shall resist the temptation to be overly critical of the meat: it was too cold for burrito filling and this made it hard to judge anything else subjectively but it was tender and had flavour so certainly there is potential for it to be a tasty filling. For now the jury is out.

Second chances, but probably not a third

Overall this was a very disappointing piece of burrito analysis. Doubly so given our high expectations. In Burrito Bros defence we did visit in the early evening when trade was at a trickle. A higher turnover of food may have made for fresher, warmer ingredients, and presumably more staff on. Nevertheless, it is not really acceptable to penalise customers arriving at less popular times and this only excuses part of the issues with these burritos. Given the positive reviews that can be found elsewhere for Burrito Bros Dr Frost-Rathbone and I will be giving them a second chance but there will have to be some major improvements if there is to be a third visit from LBRI.