El Pollo Loco

Worst place ever!!! I asked specifically for something not to be in my food 6 times could they get that right. NO! Asked for spicy salsa and he gives me hot sauce. Try a different el pollo loco even if it’s 10 miles further

I do enjoy me some El Pollo Loco. Always a fair price and the food is great!

I come here because I love the crunchy tacos. However, 2 out of three times they give me regular chicken instead of the shredded Ranchero chicken that’s supposed to be in these tacos. That gets me so mad, super mad, kills my taco day.

Do not go to this place! I was called a insulted and called a liar in front of the manager by a sales girl who wasn’t even assigned to the register. Manager did nothing when it was discovered that I was not lying. I call the corporate office twice to report the incident but they did not care enough to return my calls. I felt discriminated against because I am not Hispanic. I also believe that the discrimination comes from the corporation.

El Pollo Loco needs to shut this location down or get a health code inspection ASAP. The salsa bar was disgusting. There was stuff floating in it and the manager REFUSED to put out new salsa and also REFUSED to give us the already packaged salsa given at the drive thru. I wish I took a picture. So gross. Every one I saw walk up to the salad bar looked grossed out and walked away empty handed. Who are the people who work here? I can’t imagine the condition they keep their homes. Seriously El Pollo Loco, shut this location down or get a manager who cares about cleanliness and health codes. Absolutely disgusting and disgraceful service from the manager who refused to give us a simple package of salsa. I would complete the online survey, but the receipt is so faded I can’t see any of the information. Yuck. Will NEVER return.

This location is filthy. Lots of trash on the floor, salsa all over the place, even food prep stations were a mess. It was an hour before closing and they blocked off the majority of seating so that area could be cleaned but there weren’t enough seats for customers. The area for customers was disgusting and wasn’t being cleaned or attended to in any way.

What a filthy excuse for a restaurant. Saw the staff walk by and just look at the mess without a thought of cleaning it up.

Pollo Loco is Pollo Loco and for the most part the food itself is very consistent at every location. This location however just isn’t in the best area. Lots of times you’ll have to be careful while using the drive thru because there is usually someone asking for money right at the window. This location is also at one corner of an always busy intersection where there is always traffic.

This by far is my favorite El Pollo Loco in all of Los Angeles. I stop by there today and Araceli took my drive-​through order and I must say all of the staff employed at oh EPL are always smiling, friendly and seemed to be in a good mood. I can honestly say this is why I keep coming back to this specific location. I ordered my favorite the grilled classic chicken salad and as always it was exceptional. But when you get good quality service like this you got to give the people kudos!

Came to this loco during lunch time. My chicken was pink inside my burrito. I also ordered a side chicken breast because I wanted extra chicken and I love chicken breast but it was old. I had my meal replaced. The meat in the burrito was still pink and old. Worst experience ever

I got a chicken burrito and the chicken wasnt cooked enough but some pieces were burnt somehow!

I usually buy their tacos al carbon, which are pretty good. Staff is very friendly and the drive-​thru line moves pretty fast.

Wait was pretty bad on drive through! Didn’t get order requested, went inside and manager didn’t seem interested in solving the problem. Terrible customer service!

People behind the counter here are friendly, but older folks have died of natural causes while waiting to get something off of the $ 5 menu. Twenty minutes to get a chicken burrito is not acceptable for a fast food joint.
On my last visit there was some very aggressive panhandling inside the dining area. I know it’s LA, but seriously…

Been to this El Pollo Loco a few times and always pretty respectable. Today thru the Drive thru in decent time with 5 cars before me during lunch time.
Wanted ½ chicken combo, for some reason they were out of breast and they were nice to give me 4 pieces for the same price as ½ chicken. It worked out pretty good. Tostada bowl was also good with sauce on the side.
Corner Alvarado and Temple St by the 101 Frwy. Ample parking in lot and clean dining room and bathrooms inside.

I have never reviewed a fast food restaurant but I had to give honorable mention to the el pollo loco on Alvarado. The staff is unusually friendly and extremely competent. Whoever is managing this location is doing a good job.
And kudos to my newest favorite comfort food. The chicken tortilla soup. Fresh, hearty, with cotija cheese, cilantro and tortilla strip garnish. Fantastic!

One word to describe my latest experience with El Pollo Loco, WOW!!!
Out and about yesterday during the lunch hour, needed a quick, semi-​healthy, drive-​thru lunch so I stopped by one of my fav drive-​thrus, EPL. I typically order their El Tradicional, after all who wants to break tradition? On this day the Spicy Chipotle was the only burrito on the menu my eyes were drawn to. A fan of food with a kick of calante, I stumbled over my words as the thought of how good the burrito would taste with the swift kick, caused my eyes to well and my salivary glands to dance the happy dance.
Back at my desk I unwrap this bad boy and as I take my first bite a sense of ufouria takes over my whole body and I’m singing the praises of HUMMM!!! Bite after bite is better than the last, just the right amount of spicy, enough to take, not too much to overwhelm the original flavors of the contents. As i approach the mid-​point it is much spicier than the first bite. Three quarters of the way down the spiciness overwhelms the flavor of the chicken, beans and rice. I’m beginning to glisten, then I just can’t take it anymore. I couldn’t finish it, it was just too spicy. And this is coming from one who puts salsa rojo on her tacos at King Taco.
Not sure why burrito makers wrap burritos in a manner in which the consumer of the burrito doesn’t get a consistent experience. I mean really, for example, one orders a chicken burrito with sour cream, sour cream to moisten the chicken, come to find out the sour cream is all at the bottom of the burrito, so your stuck eating a dry burrito until the end when all you get are mouthfuls of sour cream. Yuck!
Overall the eating experience was just ok, would have been better if the spiciness was a little more equally distributed throughout the burrito. I might have been able to finish the burrito.

I have always tried the drive thru and never had any complaints. The wait is never long and the food is delivered fresh and hot. Keep in mind I typically go after 7 p.m. right after «drive thru dinner rush hour.»
Regarding the interior, the place appears clean and well-​kept. Although I have only ever gone inside to order, the booths are large and typically not crowded. The service inside is fast, efficient, and there is a salsa bar to partake in while you wait for your order (which, for a 3 course family meal, clocked in at about 10 min.)
Located on the corner of Alvarado and Temple, diagonal from the McDonald’s. If you are in the area and unsure from which to pick, I recommend going to El Pollo Loco. Mas delicioso!

Okay this El Pollo Loco has its pros & cons.
Listen to me very carefully…
DO NOT GO THRU THE DRIVE THRU. This has to be the SLOWEST muther effin drive thru in the continental U.S. I have never been in the drive-​thru line for less than 20 mins. EVER.
Now, if you go inside, they are pretty quick. The restaurant was recently renovated, you can see the attached pics and it looks pretty nice. The booths are large and big girl friendly. If you go with all skinny people you could probably fit 3 people in each side of the booth.
The salsa bar is always refilled when low. However the people who eat here are heathens, so it will always be messy as well as the soda dispensing area. The workers always have pleasant attitudes and they are not stingy with the cilantro ranch dressing.
Other than that, if you are going to the restroom it has two stalls. One of which is super weird and narrow and tiny and very very odd. I can’t really describe it. I don’t think I would even fit in there. I actually think it was designed for little people. The other stall has a handicap sign, so I always feel kind of bad going in there. But in this case, I guess my obesity has became a handicap, so that’s okay.
Overall if you have time and patience to go in, do so. Or wait in the drive thru from hell.

Nobody came around asking how I was doing like in another review but the restaurant is spotless and the food is good.
I really like the chicken and the salsa bar. The mashed potatoes not so much. Self serve drink refills and free parking to boot.