Everyone has a type when it comes to breakfast burritos — but often the best ones come wrapped in foil, able to retain their heat until lunch or contain the sauce when things get messy. At its core, a proper breakfast burrito is a hand-held flavor bomb with more power than a stick of C4. Once it needs a fork and knife to consume, it’s lost half of its utility. Breakfast burritos are supposed to be portable. There’s something magical about the combination between greasy chorizo or bacon, eggs that keep you full, potatoes that soak up the chile and cheese that holds it all together. A good burrito warms you from the inside, like a shot of room-temperature whiskey.
Santiago’s Mexican Restaurant
Where: Santiago’s boasts 28 Colorado locations. Check their website to find the nearest location.
When: Individual store hours vary. Most locations open at 6 a.m. and are closed on Sundays
Cost: $2.55 as ordered
The Lowdown: Santiago’s owners launched their burrito empire 31 years ago. Although the restaurant has grown, adding locations across the state, its quality is unwavering. Santiago’s rotates the meat in its burritos daily. You decide your spice level: hot, mild or half and half. Unlike other restaurants, Santiago’s chile more resembles a green chile sauce than a stew. The sauce is smoother than most others. It’s the same shade of 1950s era wallpaper, a fading pinkish-orange that’s best kept wrapped in its burrito robe. Santiago’s breakfast burritos aren’t huge. Order two depending on your appetite. Make sure to arrive early, before they run out or, order online.
Little Anita’s New Mexican Foods
Where: 1550 S. Colorado Blvd., Denver
When: Hours vary. Check their website.
Cost: $3.45 as ordered
The Lowdown: Little Anita’s lies in a strip-mall on south Colorado Boulevard wedged between an Old Navy and a kickboxing studio. The restaurant prides itself on its New Mexican cuisine. Chile aficionados will notice a slight difference from other burritos on the list in the New Mexican style sauce that they use. Little Anita’s is the only shop I visited that offers red or green chile. Their burritos are packed to the gills. Unless your hands are the size of Shaq’s, these monsters are a step up from handheld burritos.
La Fuente
Where: 3023 W. 44th Ave., Denver
When: Closing hours vary, open at 7 a.m. daily
Cost: $5 as ordered
The Lowdown: La Fuente is a small Mexican restaurant at West 44th Avenue and Federal Boulevard. The store’s red lettering beckons hungry locals in for a taste. Teresa, the owner, does a bit of everything. On the day I came, she was running the cash register, checking on customers and helping the cook. La Fuente’s burritos are light on the green chile, but packed with bacon. They offer fair-sized burritos, with your choice of meat. La Fuente allows in-person dining at a reduced capacity.
Tamales by La Casita
Where: 3561 Tejon St, Denver and at Denver International Airport, Concourse C
When: Opens at 7 a.m., Monday through Friday, Opens at 8 a.m Saturday, Closed Sundays.
Cost: $4.30 as ordered
The Lowdown: Why would you buy a breakfast burrito from a tamale shop? It’s a reasonable question, but La Casita seems to have mastered multiple disciplines. If you like La Casita’s award-winning tamales, you’ll definitely approve of their breakfast burritos. Burritos come with your choice of meat, or you can opt for a simpler vegetarian option. La Casita will smother your burrito if you’re into that or will add green chile and roll up your creation for you. La Casita uses shredded hashbrown potatoes, which were a nice change from the larger potato chunks that can quickly make a burrito bland.
Gomez Burritos
Where: 3460 Park Ave. West, Denver; 5520 Washington St, Denver and 806 E. 78th Ave., Denver
When: Open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., but check the hours before you go.
Cost: $2.05 as ordered
The Lowdown: Gomez Burritos has three Denver locations. I visited their store on West Park Avenue, near I-25. The store was packed with folks on their way to work: police and paramedics waiting for a call and other regulars. Gomez offers two sizes for burritos, regular and super. I stuck with the regular, overwhelmed by the super-size burrito replica hanging by their menu. With the restaurant’s diverse choices for add ons, it’s easy to fill up on a single burrito. The chile sauce has a strong garlic flavor and packs a nice punch in terms of spice. Gomez offers to smother burritos for a slight increase in price.
All photography by Kori Hazel, unless otherwise noted
Don’t forget about Tamale Kitchen!! Egg potato chorizo special
Obviously, this writer has not been living in Denver long. Maybe they have a small circle of travel around the metro area. There are many places that have breakfast burritos to top all of these places. This looks like a gentrification list of places. Neighborhood restaurants are all over, with amazing breakfast burritos and other food as well.
There certainly are lots of good options. I’d love to hear your suggestions for other spots to try in the future.
Playa Azul chorizo (they use hash browns instead of fried or backed potatoes it’s genius when it comes to flavor and texture)
El taco de Mexico chili relleno burrito is literally to die for
El Tacos Veloz anything you get here is da bomb make sure to ask for their assortment of homemade salsas
I can name like 10 others too but seriously stop just going to generic ass mexican restaurants and go to some real genuine family ran businesses. Puts a bad name on colorado when you put garbage lists like this out.
I have big diffetence of opinion…those small burritos at santiagos are worthless to me..
I want a breakfast burrito one can sit down and eat with fork and knife smothered.. Costs alot more bit the santiago version is like taco bell or mcdonalds very weak fast food…popular but awful.
Santiagos’s owner is from Brighton CO. She makes her food with staples that are traditional to this area, flour tortillas, cheddar cheese, ham, German sausage. Ingredients Spanish speaking people who have always lived in this area have had to make due with. Also a burrito is traditional hand held food. So Mark and Jose please respect our Colorado tradition.
I know this list is specific to Denver, but if you haven’t had a breakfast burrito from Loco Hermanos in Louisville, you’re missing out. Tons of variety and every option is delicious. Definitely worth the drive.
You left out Jalapenos at Dartmouth and Broadway.
White people burritos
Thank you for your article Cormac, I believe it’s an excellent review and that certain folks will never be satisfied. Five dollars or less is a great place to start a list of burritos! Cheers and thank you!
You are forgetting Ralibertos on 44th and Wads…Open 24 hours! Love that he does not put potatoes in his BURRITOS! Full of Bacon, cheese and Egg! Big portions and Under $5.
?
Chakas on Evans has burritos twice the size of santiagos for almost the same price – they are so fresh and delicious!
303MAG? Get some real Locals to write for you!! Gentrification for sure.. there’s weed all over the US damn transplants?
It seems like you didn’t read the author’s bio.
Lmao no way are you acting like it’s a good thing that a guy from Denver came out with this entitled corn bread never said jalapeño correctly in life so he doesn’t feel comfortable being in places where they don’t speak English list. Your defense of him being from Denver just makes this seem like cultural apparition. This probably won’t get approved by your moderators and that’s really sad because what you all are doing is a bad thing.
Happy to hear your suggestions but making rude and condescending comments about a person you’ve never met is not constructive and makes you look like a jerk.
Alameda Burrito on Mississippi in Lakewood. Their machaca breakfast burrito is amazing.
Now the REAL question: who offers a 100% legit vegan burrito other than Vegan Van? They just don’t carry them on the menu everyday. 99.9% of regular mexican places put pork (lard) in their beans and everything else. Eh
You left out bubba chinos and Chile shack. Your lack of knowledge of all things breakfast burritos is almost as embarrassing as your lack of knowledge about green chile. Guess they give a column to any hungry traveler now a days.
I have been to only one of the places you covered so I’ve got to try the others. Wife and I both love the ones from Los Arcos Express in Federal Heights.
Don’t forget Ricco’s Burritos off 78th and Washington. Right around the corner from Gomez burritos (which the address should be updated in article).
Ricco’s Burritos is hands down the best I have found anywhere. The burritos are very big and have an excellent flavor. I have been going there for years and will go out of my way to stop there if I want a breakfast burrito.
My favorite is Los Mariachis food truck in Parker. Try the El Loco con queso! Chorizo and bacon..yum! And I’ve lived here since the 50’s…
Breakfast Inn on East Evans – $5. Made to order, choice of meats, never pre made and sitting around for hours! You can call it in and have it ready to pick up so no waiting. 303-757-7491
Don’t forget Alameda Burritos….they have two sizes of breakfast burritos but I always ask for the bean burrito. Some of the best beans in Denver!
I second that on Raliberto’s!
Tamale kitchen’s burrito are far more delicious than santiago’s burrito’s. I use to love santiago’s burrito’s but when they started to put less and less in there burrito’s they lost me and my family’s business.
As a Denver native of 45+ years I agree with all of these picks. They’ve all been in Colorado a lot longer than most have been here. To claim “gentrification” or “white people burritos” is an insult to those of us that have enjoyed those burritos growing up. That’s nonsense. Stop it.
I would like add a couple AMAZING places though;
1. The Burrito Company/Cafe Mexico
2. The Original Chubbys- Steak, Egg, and Cheese BB
3. The Burrito Giant
4. El Jefe’s
Hank. Just want to applaud Louie about his comments. Denver’s mexican cooking amasses from hundreds of thousands of square miles and different places. Please don’t throw fuel on the racists feeling in Denver.
Santiago’s hand held B B and Gomez’ are the best size and price when eating them for coffee break at work. They certainly are better than donuts or bagels that used to be the standard for coffee & donuts. Now a flour tortilla filled with papitas, egg, chile, frijoles or whatever is a what we grew up eating. What’s the fuss all about raza.
This is a good list of Denver breakfast burritos. Don’t mind the trolls with overly critical and factually incorrect admonishments…… It’s a good top 5