This Mexican Chain Is Known For Being Overpriced

Aside from some eye-popping fast-food price gouges you need to watch out for — we're looking at you, truck stop Taco Bells — you don't expect to pay full-service restaurant rates for on-the-go Tex-Mex food. But customers are complaining that one quick-bite chain is charging way more than its food quality merits: Filiberto's. "I know that prices are increasing everywhere, but ... Filiberto's seems to be raising their prices more aggressively than other businesses, while having their quality go down and down," one Redditor complained.

Filiberto's is a fast-food brand that definitely isn't flashy. The restaurants operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, doing a lot of drive-thru business. For those who choose to dine in, ordering and retrieving your food are both done at the counter — no waiter or waitress comes to your table — and while the design scheme varies from location to location, the interior of any given branch of the chain is likely to be no-frills. You may see hand-scribbled signs alerting patrons to the location of the tip jar or letting them know the Wi-Fi is complimentary. Bottom line, it's not the type of place you would — or should — expect to pay premium prices for your quickie burrito or taco plate. But that's what customers say they're experiencing.

"It's the [McDonald's] of Mexican food," a Reddit user stated. "But people like to pay for convenience, so they thrive." Others agreed, with one user opining that the prices have skyrocketed over the years. "It's unreasonable. High-end pricing for mid-tier food."

While Filiberto's once attracted business with large portions and low prices, the chain's menu structure seems to have completely flip-flopped. In addition to hiked charges, customers complain the portion sizes have shrunk significantly. "Greedflation," one Redditor called it. Patrons also report that, despite inflated costs, the food caliber has tanked. "Price has doubled, quality has been cut in half," another poster bemoaned, with a separate user commenting they paid premium prices for food that was "so nasty I threw it out," including spending $15 for Carne Asada Fries that were "an inedible mess."

A 2020 menu from a Filiberto's franchise shows the chain's popular California Burrito — one of its top sellers, stuffed with carne asada, french fries, cheese, guacamole, and pico de gallo — was priced at $8.69. As of March 2026, the company's website lists the burrito at $12.79 (though prices may vary based on location), though customers report paying even more for it. "I love my California [Burritos], but charging me $17 for a burrito is insane. I stopped going," a Redditor posted. "The prices vary wildly from one [location] to another," a separate user wrote. The Two Carne Asada Burritos combo platter, for example, priced at $13.66 in 2020, is $19.99 in March 2026.

Filiberto's isn't a huge franchise — just over 100 locations, the majority of which are concentrated in Arizona, with a few outliers in a handful of other states, like California, New Mexico, and Texas. But if you're thinking you've never heard of or eaten at one — actually, you probably have ... essentially. The chain is one of many offshoot brands that are imitative of the O.G.: Roberto's Taco Shop. Many duplicates have spawned under different names, including Atilano's, one of the Mexican chains customers suggest avoiding.

Far from being annoyed by the imitators or seeking legal action against them, the creators of Roberto's Taco Shop have encouraged duplication of their restaurant concept, feeling there's plenty of business to go around for those wishing to serve traditional Mexican food Roberto's-style (per NBC News). The result has been a huge expanse of similar eateries. If you've dined at one, it's easy to spot the others — many share the same color scheme, foundational food offerings (you can almost always get the California Burrito), and even use the same font on their signage.

Depending on where you live, the restaurant in your neck of the woods may be called Alberto's, Rolberto's, Alfredo's, Alvaro's, Aliberto's, Riliberto's, or a host of other variations. If you factor in all of the copycats scattered across the country, the chain is enormous. And while pricing and menu offerings aren't exactly the same among the various iterations of the restaurant, elevated prices do seem to be a consistent factor. No matter where you order your speedy Tex-Mex fix these days, there's a good chance you'll be paying too much for it.