Frijoles

Rating: Very good
Meal: Lunch for 3
Price: 3840 yen
Payment: Credit cards accepted
Dishes:3 burritos, all 3 with guac (mucho extra deniro)
English Menu: Yes

Ever eaten at Chipotle's?  Well, if you are ever hankering for it in Tokyo, Frijoles is the best imitation going.  We had heard about it before, but never eaten there as all the branches are way down town for us, but we had business in a building where we knew one existed, so we figured we should give it a shot.

They all pretty much looked like this.

I had been warned it is pretty expensive for what you get, and sure enough, it was.  Beware!  The setup is very much like Chipotle's where you just point at what you want and they make the burrito for you, but there are several gotchas you won't realize if you don't read the menu carefully.  Chief among these is the disparity in pricing depending on the meat you choose.  Second is that guacamole is 260 yen extra.  Our total bill was twice what it costs to eat at a reasonably priced place for the 3 of us, and I'm sorry but as good as the burritos were, they were a step above fast food in all reality.

Speaking of which, 2 of us had shredded pork, which was delicious.  My wife had the chicken, which was ok, but she said lacked some punch in the flavor department.  We all had guac, which was pretty darn good.  Overall, it was a credible imitation of Chipotle's, complete with Smoked Chipotle Tabasco sauce being available.  I don't know that I'd go too much out of my way for it, but in Tokyo, it might be worth the trip given how rare of a find it is.