Is Chipotle Considered A Fast Food Restaurant Or Just Fast Casual?

The concept of fast-casual restaurants is a relatively new one. One of the genre's biggest leaders, Chipotle, helped introduce and popularize it since opening in 1993. However, the resemblance to restaurants like Subway and its investment history with McDonald's — which once owned a 90% stake in the burrito chain — has garnered debate about whether it's actually fast dining or fast food. Put simply, Chipotle is fast casual dining by definition. Using the ordering process of fast food restaurants, the counter-service establishment serves meals made from higher quality ingredients via a made-to-order menu. Contrastingly, fast-food restaurants focus on value and speed rather than quality. This is in addition to a simpler, less customizable menu.

It may seem blasphemous to compare Chipotle's fast-casual style to fast-food restaurants, especially if you're someone who loves their food-doubling menu hacks. However, there's reason behind their perception is becoming blurred. Diners have criticized the restaurant for having more in common with a fast food experience. All too often, Chipotle is treated as a "grab and go" restaurant rather than one where patrons sit on the premises with their meal (something which this writer is even guilty of). This is even though Chipotle has distinguished itself as one of the best fast casual dining restaurants.

This isn't to say that Chipotle hasn't contributed to the confusion. Following their lead, there has been a controversial rise in restaurants offering fast casual bowls. In 2018, Bento introduced their own Chipotle-style poke bowl with rice and other customizable ingredients. Panera Bread even offered similar bowls until April 2024. Picking up on the trend, fast food giants like Kentucky Fried Chicken debuted their Famous Bowl, a customizable menu item featuring chicken nuggets, cheese, mashed potatoes, corn, and gravy. Taco Bell and Subway have even bowl-ified their usual ingredients into offerings like the Chicken Cantina Bowl and the Sweet Onion Teriyaki Protein Bowl, respectively.

While Chipotle exemplifies the fast-casual experience in every aspect, from the menu to the upscale design of the establishments, other popular chains further blur the line distinguishing them from fast food restaurants. For example, you may never guess that Shake Shack and Five Guys are also fast-casual establishments. They look like typical fast-food burger joints, complete with a drive-thru counter; however, Shake Shack emphasizes hospitality and good service and features premium menu items like their Shackmeister burger (which you can make at home if you can't make it to one of their 526 worldwide locations). Similarly, Five Guys may look like a standard fast-food burger stop, but uses only fresh ingredients — never frozen — and fries its fries in a pricey oil: peanut.