Maybe it’s the unique spin on Tex-Mex. Maybe it’s because people need a break from burgers every now and then. And maybe it’s the addictive hot sauce. Whatever the reason, America’s collective love for Taco Bell is undeniable. It is our biggest Mexican chain and one of the biggest fast-food chains in general.
But having such a big national footprint and such a popular menu leaves a lot of room for error as well. In the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index, Taco Bell received the lowest customer satisfaction score out of any major fast-food chain based on a survey of more than 6,000 consumers. And Taco Bell’s food isn’t immune to quality complaints.
Every single item on the chain’s menu has likely been served in a sub-par version at one point or another. (You’d be hard-pressed to find a major fast-food chain that doesn’t mess up occasionally.) But there are some Taco Bell items that seem to have a more systemic problem in execution, where the quality issue seems to be a pattern instead of a minor hiccup.
Here are six Taco Bell items with the most quality complaints right now.
When executed just right, Taco Bell’s Crunchwrap Supremes are tasty little packages of seasoned beef, nacho cheese sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, and crunchy tostada shells wrapped inside soft tortillas. But customers have said that Taco Bell is consistently serving Crunchwraps that are shockingly underfilled.
The chain received a wave of criticism in May after a customer posted a picture on Reddit of a Crunchwrap with so little filling that it was almost completely flat. Hundreds of other customers commented on the post to lament the drop in Crunchwrap quality.
“The Crunchwraps keep getting worse and worse. I swear the last one I had maybe had like 3 bites worth of meat in it,” one person wrote.
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Taco Bell finally gave its popular Grilled Cheese Burritos a permanent spot on the menu in April, previously offering them for a limited time only. Unfortunately, this menu item has been losing favor among customers ever since it turned permanent.
A key feature of these burritos is that they have a three-cheese blend grilled directly onto the tortilla. But a recent Reddit post noted there’s a 50/50 chance of getting “burnt” cheese or receiving a burrito that’s “a third of the size it should be.”
“When it first dropped as a limited edition item a while ago, I thought it was amazing. Now that it’s been around for a while, the quality is just so bad,” the person wrote.
That post received more than 100 comments from customers airing their own grievances about the Grilled Cheese Burritos. Some agreed that the burritos are too small for what they cost. Others said they’ve had issues with Taco Bell employees not cooking the cheese long enough when they grill it.
Taco Bell’s quesadillas might seem simple enough that they would be hard to mess up. Unfortunately, customers have been reporting major execution issues with this cheesy menu item.
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In a recent Reddit thread listing Taco Bell items with “the worst quality control,” the quesadillas received dozens of mentions. Customers complained that they don’t have enough filling, leaving pockets of dry tortilla around the outside.
“When it’s made well, it’s fantastic. Best item on the menu. When it’s underfilled, it’s pretty crappy,” one person commented.
Others said that Taco Bell frequently fails to cook them long enough so the cheese ends up “stringy” and unmelted while the outside doesn’t get crisp.
The magic of a well-executed Taco Bell Chalupa is all about the shell. The chain fries pieces of flatbread until they become chewy and crispy and stuffs them with taco fillings. Unfortunately, many fans say that Taco Bell’s execution of these shells is very hit or miss—the chain either undercooks or overcooks them.
“I feel this changes by store but the one I usually go to refuses to fry chalupa shells correctly,” a customer wrote on Reddit.
Some suspect that the shells aren’t very fresh. “I find that more often than not, the shell just sits in the store all day from the morning fry. When it’s fresh, it’s great. When it’s 2-4 [hours] old, I want to spit my food out,” another person commented.
The biggest complaint from customers about Taco Bell’s NachosBellGrande isn’t that they’re bad, but that they want more of them. Many have received nachos with frustratingly skimpy layers of toppings.
“Nachos you either get a lot of toppings or a minuscule squirt of each topping,” a customer wrote on Reddit.
In fact, getting a well-dressed container of nachos is uncommon enough that customers were jealous when a Redditor posted a picture of a generous portion.
“That’s the hook-up we all wish we had,” one commented.
Like the Chalupas, the quality of Taco Bell’s fruit-flavored Baja Blast drinks seems to vary widely depending on the visit or location.
Dozens of customers complained in a Reddit thread that Baja Blasts are great at some locations but taste “bland” and “off” at others. Only Taco Bell and its restaurant operators might know the real reason for this inconsistency, but customers speculate it has to do with the varying syrup-to-water ratio.
“I recently moved to the opposite side of town and I’ve noticed the Baja Blast is consistently awful at this other location while it was always perfect at the other,” a customer wrote.
Zoe Strozewski
Zoe Strozewski is a News Writer for Eat This, Not That! A Chicago native who now lives in New Jersey, she graduated from Kean University in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Read more about Zoe
