Guac Time Mexican Grill: What to Know Before You Order

Guac Time Mexican Grill is a fast-growing, halal-certified Mexican grill chain that started with one Manhattan storefront and has since spread across New York City, Long Island, New Jersey, Connecticut, and even Chicago. If you have seen the name pop up on Uber Eats, in a TikTok comparison video, or on a friend’s Instagram story next to a birria taco, this guide covers what the chain actually serves, how much it costs, why so many customers stack it up against Chipotle, and whether the halal claims hold up branch to branch.

What Is Guac Time Mexican Grill?

Guac Time Mexican Grill is a build-your-own, fast-casual Mexican restaurant chain serving halal-certified tacos, burritos, bowls, and quesadillas, along with Jalisco-style birria served with a side of consome for dipping. It opened its first location in Manhattan in 2021 and now runs more than a dozen locations across the New York City area, Long Island, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Chicago.

The format will feel familiar if you have ever ordered at a Chipotle or Moe’s. You pick a base (bowl, burrito, tacos, salad, or nachos), a protein (chicken, steak, shrimp, jerk chicken, or a vegetarian option), and then load up on rice, beans, salsas, and guacamole. What sets it apart is the halal certification and a menu that leans harder into birria than most of its fast-casual competitors do.

Most locations offer dine-in counter service alongside delivery through Uber Eats and Toast, and a good number are open past midnight, which is part of why the chain shows up so often in late-night food videos and “what’s still open” searches.

The Story Behind Guac Time Mexican Grill

The chain’s founders, Ash, Sunny, and Manny, spent more than two decades working in Mexican restaurants after immigrating to the United States before they had saved enough to open a place of their own. That first Guac Time Mexican Grill location opened in Manhattan in 2021, and the concept expanded quickly from there.

Within a few years, new locations opened across Brooklyn, Queens (Bayside, Astoria, Bellerose, and Jamaica), and Long Island, including Hicksville, North Babylon, and Franklin Square. The brand then crossed state lines into Hackensack, New Jersey and Stamford, Connecticut, and eventually opened a Chicago location, marked with a free chicken bowl giveaway for the neighborhood. Local coverage at the time of the Hicksville opening framed the chain’s pitch simply: familiar Mexican staples like tacos, burritos, and nacho bowls, built entirely around halal protein.

Guac Time Mexican Grill Menu: What’s Worth Ordering

Reviewers keep coming back to a handful of items across nearly every Guac Time Mexican Grill location:

• Birria tacos and birria quesadillas: slow-cooked beef or chicken birria, often called out as the standout order, served with a warm consome for dipping.
• Burrito bowls and taco salad bowls: a build-your-own base of rice, beans, and protein, topped with fresh guacamole and salsa.
• Loaded nachos and loaded fries: a shareable option piled with the same proteins and toppings as the bowls.
• Quesadillas: available with steak, chicken, or birria filling.
• Jerk chicken with habanero sauce: a menu combination reviewers describe as genuinely spicy, not a watered-down “mild” version.
• Sides: guacamole, queso, and salsa, sold on their own or with chips.
• Desserts: churros, tres leches, and fried plantains round out the menu.

Portion size comes up again and again in customer feedback, with several reviewers on Yelp and Uber Eats describing servings as noticeably larger than what they get at comparable chains for a similar price. Base items like burritos, bowls, and salads generally start around $9 to $10, birria dishes run closer to $10 to $15, and sides land in the $3.50 to $6.50 range.

Vegetarian and lighter options: because everything is built to order, Guac Time Mexican Grill works reasonably well for vegetarians who skip the meat and load up on rice, beans, guacamole, and salsa, and the “high protein bowl” style option lets you double up on chicken or steak instead of rice if you are watching carbs. It is not a dedicated vegetarian or health-food menu the way some newer fast-casual concepts are, but the build-your-own format gives you more control than a fixed-menu Mexican restaurant would.

Is Guac Time Mexican Grill Halal?

Yes. Guac Time Mexican Grill is certified through the Halal Food Standards Alliance of America (HFSAA), and its meat is described across multiple locations as hand-cut Zabiha halal. Several branches, including those in Hicksville, Astoria, and Bellerose, show verified halal certificates on file with Zabihah, the halal restaurant directory, while a few newer or smaller locations currently show only staff verbal assurance pending fuller documentation.

If halal certification is a deciding factor for you, it is worth checking the specific branch you plan to order from rather than assuming every location has identical paperwork on file, since certification status is tracked per location rather than as one blanket claim for the whole chain. That said, the halal angle is consistently the detail local coverage and reviewers point to as the thing that separates Guac Time Mexican Grill from typical Mexican fast-casual competitors.

Guac Time Mexican Grill vs. Chipotle: How It Compares

The comparison to Chipotle comes up constantly, from TikTok reviews to Yelp comments, and it is easy to see why. Both chains use a counter-order, build-your-own format with similar bases (bowls, burritos, tacos) and a comparable price range. Where Guac Time Mexican Grill differentiates itself:

• Halal-certified protein across most locations, which Chipotle does not offer.
• Birria and jerk chicken on the menu, dishes you will not find at a typical Chipotle or Moe’s.
• Larger portions, according to a recurring theme in customer reviews, for roughly the same price point.

The tradeoff is consistency. Because this is a smaller, faster-growing chain, quality and service can vary more by location than at an established national chain. Yelp ratings for individual Guac Time Mexican Grill locations range from around 3.3 stars to 4.7 stars, with complaints at some branches about inconsistent portioning or slow service during peak hours, alongside plenty of locations praised for fresh ingredients and generous servings. If you are trying it for the first time, it is worth reading reviews for your specific location rather than judging the whole chain off one branch.

Social media has amplified the comparison rather than settled it. Food-review accounts on TikTok regularly frame it as a head-to-head matchup, with plenty of creators siding with Guac Time Mexican Grill on flavor and value while others note that Chipotle’s national consistency is still hard to beat. Treat the online hype as a reason to try it once, not as a guarantee of what you’ll get.

Prices, BOGO Deals, and Catering

Menu pricing at Guac Time Mexican Grill is generally in line with other fast-casual Mexican chains. Typical starting points:

• Burritos, bowls, salads, and quesadillas: roughly $9 to $10
• Tacos and birria dishes: roughly $10 to $15
• Sides like guacamole, queso, and salsa: $3.50 to $6.50
• Desserts: $3.50 to $5

Delivery apps frequently run buy-one-get-one (BOGO) promotions on Guac Time Mexican Grill orders, which is one reason the chain shows up so often in Uber Eats “top offer” listings. For groups and events, Guac Time Mexican Grill also runs a catering menu with tiered packages, generally scaling from about $120 for 10 people up to roughly $480 for 40 people, plus add-on trays of chips and guacamole, queso, or churros.

Guac Time Mexican Grill Locations

Guac Time Mexican Grill has locations across Manhattan (including Chelsea and Greenwich Village), Brooklyn, and Queens (Bayside, Astoria, Bellerose, and Jamaica), plus Long Island spots in Hicksville, North Babylon, and Franklin Square. Outside New York, you’ll find branches in Hackensack, New Jersey, Stamford, Connecticut, and Chicago, Illinois.

Hours vary somewhat by branch, but many locations stay open late, with several listing hours until 3 a.m. daily. Because the chain is still expanding, the fastest way to confirm the closest open location and its current hours is to check a delivery app or the chain’s own locations page directly, since new branches open fairly often.

Is Guac Time Mexican Grill halal?

Yes, most locations are certified through the Halal Food Standards Alliance of America and use hand-cut Zabiha halal meat. A handful of newer branches currently rely on staff-confirmed status while full certification paperwork is finalized, so it is worth double-checking your specific location if this matters to your order.

Is Guac Time Mexican Grill better than Chipotle?

That comes down to preference, but the most common reasons reviewers say they prefer it are the halal-certified meat, the birria and jerk chicken options, and portion sizes that often feel larger for a similar price. Consistency varies more by location than at Chipotle, so results can differ depending on which branch you order from.

Does Guac Time Mexican Grill offer catering?

Yes. Catering packages typically scale from around $120 for 10 people to about $480 for 40 people, with additional trays of guacamole, queso, and churros available as add-ons.

What are Guac Time Mexican Grill’s hours?

Hours vary by location, but many branches operate from around 11 a.m. until 3 a.m. daily. Check a delivery app or the specific location’s page for exact hours, since they can differ from one branch to the next.

Does Guac Time Mexican Grill have vegetarian options?

There is no separate vegetarian menu, but since every bowl, burrito, and salad is built to order, you can swap in extra rice, beans, guacamole, and salsa in place of meat at any location.

If you’re building a list of halal-friendly fast-casual spots worth trying, Guac Time Mexican Grill earns its spot on the strength of the birria alone, just pick your location with the reviews in mind.