Pollo Tropical

Poorly managed restaurant! I’ve given this place a few chances, but left disappointed every time. Other Pollo Tropical locations are so much better.
1. My order was wrong 3 out of 5 times.
2. Sometimes the food takes way too long to prepare. One time I waited 17 minutes for a Tropy Chop.
3. There was at least another unhappy customer who either had to wait too long or didn’t get what they ordered every time I was there.
4. It is dirty. The staff uses the same gloves to work the register, package to go orders, hold pieces of chicken, etc. That’s terrible and dangerous.
5. Staff is casually chit-​chatting about personal matters while there is a line of customers waiting.
6. Some days the chicken is perfect, others it is waaay too salty, and I love salty food.
Somebody needs to look at the way this place is managed. I love Pollo, but this location gives the restaurant a bad reputation.

12÷3÷15 7:59PM Mercedi was awesome!
The food was moist, tasty, freshly made, hot, and just plan yummy tonight!
Not a big fan of fast food… but this was good stuff. Great sides, very good.
I was here before, but honestly, was not really that excited about it… then I had it tonight. It was great, everything was very fresh, light, healthy. I was impressed.
RUDE CUSTOMER: We were turning into the drive thru and some rude lady cut me off at the drive thru to the window, and I could see she was complaining about something. She held up the line, for quite a bit of time, complaining about something, and was just too damn lazy to go inside. I was getting a bit upset, thinking, wow, my food is going to be cold by the time Ms. Grouchy gets out of the way…
WRONG! Mercedi was so bright, happy, pleasant and professional at the window. I asked for a few extra sauces and she put them in my bag. She apologized for the delay… and the manager gave us some of the yummy fried bananas.
They have my biz!

Went here on a whim after work because it’s close to home and I was getting hangry. It was about 10:20 and it looked like they were closing up shop, but I saw a car at the drive thru and decided to take my chances.
My only regret is that I didn’t order two Calypso Beef Wraps. The sauce on it was amazing and the beef was so seasoned and tender. I’m definitely coming back to remedy that.

This is my first time trying the food here and I’m very disappointed, both my husbands food and my food came out cold !! And my french fries looked like they have been sitting out for hours and once i told them that they looked like that all they did is refry the same fries and bring it back out i wont be coming back here… And i wouldn’t recommend this place

This place sucks. Sorry.

I’ve been here four times which means I’ve now given this place on Wertheimer four chances. This now is the forth and last time I come to Pollo Tropical especially this one. It is exactly 12 o’clock noon on a Tuesday. Every eatery within 5 miles is packed with the lunch crowd. This place had 5 people at the time I left. Why do I give it a 1 star, because, I can’t give it any less. And here’s why. The white rice was under cooked, the black beans where cold, the chicken pieces are small, the floor was sticky, the salsa bar is positioned in a way where you have to crawl under the glass to reach the items in the back. However, the bathrooms are clean and the tea was good.

I did not visit the particular location I visited the one on Eldridge. This was my first time dining at Pollo Tropical. Parking was easy, I arrived about 12 noon for lunch. The menu took a minute to figure out but not too long. I decided to try one of their specials. Which was Mojo Roast Pork with sides of Corn Souffie, yellow rice with veggies and a bowl of beans. I did not have to wait in line very long the service as the cashier was good. I did ask a lot of questions and had no issues with patience. There was plenty of food I did not leave not satisfied. As far a flavor, uah it was okay but not much flavor with anything outside of the corn. If you like sweet then you are going to like this corn. Almost like a corn bread pudding. They give you a number and bring the food to your table. Overall a good experience and would visit again; however, going to try a different dish.

Came here for Sunday dinner — As we came in there was already people on the line deciding on what to order. As the cashier came up to take our order, he looked up the line and made a horrendous face as he didn’t want to work. I should have taken that as a red flag but it was late and needed to get my daughters as they were hungry.
We placed our order at 7:51pm and didn’t get the food till 8:36pm _​over 30 minutes just for some chicken and sides.
This place was very disorganized as I can see/​hear the staff yelling at each other. The guy who was taking the food to the table was supposed to be for drive thru order and vice versa. I guess they didn’t know if the food was suppose to be for the drive-​thru or for people who was suppose to dine-​in.
I ordered a whole chicken with the following sides: plantains, mashed potatoes, mack n cheese and Caesar salad.
All the food was very good — The Cilantro Garlic sauce and the pineapple rum sauce was very good. The person who delivered the food to our table was apologetic so for that I give it a 3 star.
Overall the food was delish but the service can improve. Maybe more staff and someone that can run the restaurant would have made a difference.

I have been seeing this chain pop up in several Houston locations for some time now. I have been curious to try given the fun name and inviting atmosphere. Apparently this chain started in Miami and is quickly expanding. They claim to use chickens that are free of hormones and trans-​fats. Hmm. I’m intrigued.
This particular location was pretty packed on a Sunday evening. First impression, large menu selection including «Tropical Lite menu, featuring five healthy, happy choices under 510 calories.» I tried the chicken breast with a side of mash potatoes. If you are dining in, they hand you a number and deliver the order to your table. They have a «sauce station» in which they have a variety of sauces, my favorite being the garlic cilantro.
Chicken breast was surprisingly tender for a fast food joint. Mash potatoes were ok, reminded me of KFC’s mash potatoes, which is certainly not a bad thing considering I like their mash. Pricing was doable.
They close at midnight every day. All in all, pleasantly surprised.

Rude drive-​thru service.
Food was pretty decent for a fast food. Great grilled chicken salad! It was ‘real’ chicken with a nice grilled taste. I love having healthier options on the go.
My husband had the quesadilla chicken wrap and a side of fries and while small, he said it was good. They charge extra for items like plantains. I was sort of shocked being that it is a Caribbean place. I figured I could swap the fries at no cost, but nope.
Not sure how often I will come here, but nice to know I have an option of fresh grilled chicken if I am on the go in this area.

OMG! Yum!
Apparently this is a Caribbean spin off of the Taco Cabana chain. If that’s REALLY true, then TC needs to take notes from its baby sister!
Everything is ultra fresh, the portions are right on.
The Calypso Beef is great. I’ve had it in a wrap, a bowl… you name it. Another great choose is the Guava BBQ Pork. The Chicken soup and corn soufflé are pretty yummy also.
The atmosphere is bright and airy, nothing like its predecessor at ALL.
You almost forget you’re in the middle of the city at a fast food joint while you’re snacking on Yucca and Pineapple Rum sauce.

They should call them Pollo (insert however you say terrible in Spanish here)!
There exterior was pleasing so my hope were high about the inside. But dang — dirty dirty dirty — table, salsa bar, floors. The staff had absolutely no personality expect the ‘I hate my job’ look on their faces followed by monotone voices. Hmmmm, maybe they were robots?
Now I know I’m a vegetarian and that can be tricky at a place that has «pollo» in it’s name, but I scanned the menu before walking up to the counter. They actually did have veggie options, so I got the veggie bowl. Basically it sucked. No flavor, lukewarm and they guy who put it in my bag didn’t even close the lid all the way, so when he handed it to me it tipped over and spilled out. When I asked for a new bag «because the lid wasn’t on and it spilled everywhere» I got the blankest stare. Oh dear God — just get me out of here. They even forgot my cheese empanadas, so I had to ask for them. (Kinda wish I would have just skipped them as well, because they were no better).
I will not be going back for any reason at ALL!!! I’d rather skip dinner really!

My new fav fast food phenom. I noticed these babies popping up on every corner around town & decided to try it the other day. I’ve been back twice since. ;) The grilled tropical chicken wings are good. Really tender, smoky flavor. I love the sauce options. I try to try a new one each go round. The balsamic tomatoes were yummy. I wasn’t impressed by the yellow rice & veggie melody like I thought but the red beans were good. Almost like charro beans. Try one of the refresca juices too. My Fruit Breeze was cool like papaya. The staff even had the island accents to top it off. I enjoyed my 6 min carribean getaway experience thru the drive thru lol. P. S they stay open till midnight ! FTW

Decent fast food. Service was slacking… Cashier was very confusing as she struggle taking order with not only me but couple in front of me. Dinner time and one cashier??? Big pet peeve… Really!!!

I am not sure if it’s because we came late on a Saturday night when the crappiest employees are working or what but the service was extremely slow, dirty tables everywhere, sick teenagers running the registers, shift manager with an attitude problem… Besides all that, the food came out OK. The chicken had a good flavor but has potential to be better. It was really dry like you really have to dig with your fingers to get the meat out. The wings were the average kind you get at a buffet. I wanted white rice but the bf insisted on yellow. Worst mistake ever. When it came out we were excited because it looked appetizing. But it tastes like if you fused uncooked cornbread with yellow rice if that make any sense. Management needs to step in and take over because this place cannot survive running like this. Show your team how to run a business when you’re not there.

3 stars for the chicken and the nice guy that kept checking on everyone asking if they needed anything. The chicken was good but the rice was tasteless and the roll was cold and hard you could tell it came straight from a bag in the fridge. I also tried the mango peach juice, which in pretty sure was just Tampico that’s like $ 1 a gallon and it was $ 2 for a tiny cup. I’m really disappointed :(

I tried this place for the first time March 23, 2015. I got the Chicken Quesadilla Salad, and an order of Sweet Plantains. Loved it. What a refreshing new place.
I went through the drive through and it was quick. The food was so fresh.
I went back the next day and ordered another sweet plantain and the Calypso Beef wrap. The Calypso Beef had a nice taste to it, but I didnt’ like the twangy sauce that came on it (I guess it was the sauce that was twangy). it also had onions on it. I would order this again without that twangy sauce.
I asked for the Cilantro Garlic sauce because I didn’t check to see what came on the wrap. The Cilantro Garlic sauce is so so good, I need a bottle of that stuff.
I really like this place. I love the outside décor, haven’t been on the inside yet. This will be my go to for a quick meal, and healther meal. Better than fast food burgers.
Oh and the prices are very good — cheap for such a good meal. I hope they don’t go up on their prices.
People check them out, I think you will like the refreshing take. Healthier fast food.
Yay.
I went to the one at Eldridge and Westheimer.

Hubby and I went to this location right after it was opened, the place was crowded but the service was good as was the food.
We decided to try it again today for dinner. Again it was crowded but not as much as our first visit. When we went through the door we were given number 18 on a piece of paper. We thought the number would be put on one of the tables. We then went to the line, there weren’t many in line so we walked right up to the register in about two mins. After having a cashier that wasn’t very curious or nice, we paid went to look for our table 18 and never found it. The week before the number was placed on the table for us. This time the girl at the door just put on the shelf inside her podium. That number is used on the table so the servers know where to take the food. We got someone on the floor to find our number and we picked a table and sat down.
When this was going on we overheard a man complaining loudly about the service. He told the server that he was going to complain heavily on the internet.
We sat down and waited. After about twenty mins we started noticing that it was taking a long time to get our food. Then the table next to us complained to the waiter. They took their receipt and after about 5 mins came out with bags of food to go. The order was not a to go order so they had to shuffle with bags and the waiter had to find plates and utensils. We still did not have our food.
I was looking around, now at least 25 mins after we ordered and a wait person asked if she could help, I said we were wondering where our food was. She went to check and sent a different wait person. Then she went to check. She returned saying they were backed up in the kitchen and our order hasn’t even come up on the screen for them to prepare. She apologized and said it was going to be a while.
We decided to get a refund and went somewhere else to eat.
If you want to eat in a reasonable amount of time, don’t go that location.
P. S. We started in the drive through but after waiting 5 mins the line hadn’t moved and since we weren’t trapped in the drive yet because the line was so long, we parked and went in.

Not worth the money for me. Can say I tried it but moving on…
The chicken was too soft and it taste uncooked. Rice and beans were not good. All of it was mediocre.

This review will be base on food quality, service quality and overall experience.
With that said the wife and I decided to give pollo tropical another chance. We had a very disappointing experience with the location on Westheimer and voss. We decided to stop to their new location on Westheimer and Eldridge. At first there was a lot of people in line and the while restaurant looked packed. Fearing a bad service we were very skeptical about staying and ordering. At the door we were greeted by an employee who gave us a number and told us that our table would be waiting for us by the time we got done ordering. (That’s new) so we took our number and went ahead and order. We went with a full chicken plus a side of beans, white rice and plantains plus fried yuca and bread.(yes it can feed four but we are husky ourselfs).
Whaoooo was it good. The food took about 15−18mins to get to our table but it was everything we order and the flavor was all there. We are very happy with the overall experience. I was able to complement the manager on how organized they were. He then told me that they have only been open for two days. Great job (Nelson mgr)
We’ll definitely recommend this location. Will be coming back soon.