If you’re looking for a quick and tasty Mexican meal, look no further. Diego’s Burrito Factory, located on Sunset Drive in Panama City Beach, is a one-stop shop for customizable Mexican favorites.
The standalone building is easy to find, with its bright orange paint job, stone entryway, and double glass door entrance. A sign above the door donning the name of the restaurant directs diners inside.
The interior of the restaurant is bright, comfortable, and festive. The vibrant green and orange walls and colorful wall murals give off a fun and relaxed vibe. Wooden tables and chairs sprawl across the brown tile floor, ensuring there’s never a seating shortage. Several wall-mounted televisions make this a great place to watch a game with friends or family. There’s also a merchandise corner, where loyal customers and recent converts can buy branded clothing, enabling them to take home a little piece of Diego’s.
To order, guests step up to a counter, above which is mounted a colorful menu that explains the ordering process. First, diners pick the food item they want. Options include a burrito or quesadilla, each with multiple tortilla choices, nachos, a burrito bowl, or a variety of tacos. Next, customers choose what filling they’d like, with choices ranging from chicken, to grilled steak, to al pastor, to grilled fish or shrimp, to sauteed vegetables. After this, choose from a huge assortment of toppings, including rice, different types of beans, an assortment of fresh or roasted vegetables, a variety of salsas, and different sauces. Optional add-on toppings (for an additional charge) include fresh guacamole, southwest coleslaw, and cheese dip. For those with a big appetite, add on an appetizer of chips with salsa, guacamole, bean dip, or cheese dip. And to feed your sweet tooth, Diego’s offers flan and tres leches cake as dessert options.
Once you’ve ordered, grab your number, and settle in at a table. A server will deliver your food as soon as it’s ready. While you’re waiting, you might like to check out Diego’s Margarita Bar. Situated in one corner of the restaurant, it’s exactly what it sounds like. This bar offers more than 10 specialty margaritas, as well as a full bar menu. For those that prefer something other than alcohol, the restaurant also offers soft drinks, bottled water, and Mexican sodas.
The best thing about Diego’s is that the diner has the freedom to totally customize their meal. This means that there are countless combinations, and each is suited to a different person’s preferences. That said, here are a few combinations we tried and enjoyed:
Carnitas Burrito
We chose to fill our flour tortilla with tender Mexican pulled pork, also known as carnitas. We topped it with rice, black beans, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, cilantro, and salsa verde. There are a lot of flavors trying to mesh here, but for us, it definitely worked. The warmth and flavor of the pork coupled with the cool, crisp taste of the veggies, and the heartiness of the rice and beans created a dish we’d definitely order again.
Grilled Shrimp Quesadilla
This time, we tried the spinach tortilla and chose to fill it with grilled shrimp, sauteed onions and peppers, cheese, tomatoes, and black olives. We also ordered a side of guacamole, which, when spread across the top of the crispy tortilla, was absolutely delicious.
Veggie Burrito Bowl
For those wishing to avoid meat, we’d definitely recommend a veggie burrito bowl. The combination of grilled veggies, warm rice and beans, shredded cheese, fresh tomatoes and cilantro, and cool guacamole was just the right mix of flavors and textures. We threw in some jalapenos for some spice, but those can be left out for anyone who is sensitive to heat.
Diablo Margarita
This one’s for our spice lovers. The diablo margarita is a blend of tequila, triple sec, margarita mix, and jalapenos. It’s available frozen or on the rocks. We had ours on the rocks, but we’re pretty sure the frozen variation would be equally as tasty.
With so many flavor combinations available, there are seemingly endless meal possibilities. What did you include in your creation? What was your favorite?
Insider Tips:
-The burritos are huge. Unless you are absolutely starving, consider splitting one between two people, or taking half home as leftovers.
-Because it has a pretty loyal following, Diego’s can get a bit busy at times. Make sure to give yourself enough time to enjoy your meal.
-There is plenty of free parking here, so don’t hesitate to drive.