El Pollo Loco

Love the chicken here, the prices are great the only bad thing with this location is the table with all the employees drinks and stuff at the table. I think it is just so dirty. Thomas is so nice and sweet always greets everyone as they come in to restaurant.

The family 3 course meal isn’t that good. The beans were underdone and the tortillas were like paper. The rice also wasn’t as good as it normally is and tasted bland. The churros at the end were okay but smaller than normal. The cheese enchiladas weren’t that great either. The burritos there are okay. The green salsa is the best and the others could use improvement because they do not taste fresh or have much flavor to them.

This particularr El Pollo Loco, is the one I frequent the most. My family has been going here for years for their family meals, and they never disappoint. It may be a fast food chain, but the location is always well maintained and the standard of their service is always high. The food comes really fast, the salsa bar is regularly filled and the place pretty much stays clean. During lunch you may run into arather jovial older gentleman. And he’ll actually go around and ask you how your day is going and he’ll even pick up your finished food. His name is Thomas, and he’s a service expert. His company is very sweet, and it’s one of the reasons why I give this place a high rating. It may be fast food, but this particular location never misses a beat on remembering what it means to experience good service.
*Btw the new pollo bowls are bomb!

I used to go here a lot with my son, but now their portion got smaller it is not worth it for the price and the green salsa they add oil to it now and it’s all water, I don’t go back here any more

This review is for the drive-​thru experience ONLY.
I’ve had excellent service while dining in here during lunch hours. There’s this sweet old man who works there during lunch walking around so enthusiastically and chatting with everybody.
But anyways, back to the drive thru. Weird guy at the drive thru taking orders… He awkwardly pauses for a long time after my order and I’m waiting for him to say something. The people behind me get pissed so they honk and flip me off because they think I’m just sitting there pondering life. And then I say «Uhmm Hellloooo??» to the drive thru order guy because I don’t want the gangsters behind me to come jump me. He responds with, «will that be all for you?» Uh, yeah dude you could have asked me that 20 seconds ago instead of just silence. Thought maybe he ran away. After my 11 dollar order I get this super appetizing «double chicken avocado salad.» There’s nothing double about this chicken– a few measly pieces of not fresh chicken on both sides. And yes, yes, the two smushed pieces of avocado accentuate the dish perff. Should be called heap of lettuce salad with maybe some hard chicken and if you’re lucky a piece or two of mushed avocado. And the small bowl of soup is 4 dollars?

I went to To try their new chicken bowl. I got the mini, I was very surprised by the taste of the bowl it included their chicken pinto beans and rice! The bowl is definitely a go to meal! I was so amazed by the taste in the flavor profile of the bowl the mixture of the pinto beans the rice and the chicken extremely delicious. I had wish I’d order a regular size bowl because the mini was just not enough for me. The location of this restaurant was very nice! Definitely the interior is more modern than the past. The service was fast overall great experience.

We have eaten there for the last several years. The food is always good and reasonable. The service is excellent and the employees come by your table several times to see if you need anything. They will even refill your drink for you.
If you want a fast very good meal to eat and run or just relax and enjoy the food, go by and have a great meal.
Tony Gallo

I am a fan of the crazy chicken!
I come here often. Probably three times a month. If I order to go, I usually get the family meal which comes with 10 pieces of mixed chicken, 2 large sides, a salad, tortillas, and churros. If I dine in, I get the 2 or 3 piece chicken meal which comes with 2 small sides, tortillas, and a drink. The salsa bar has 4 diff flavored salsas, cilantro, and onions. The food is super filling and super delicious. Also, the employees are super nice and very attentive.

This little restaurant is a gem!
Small restaurant but very well organized. The tables are are well placed and clean. The floors look well maintained and the bathroom is spotless, well stocked, and smells fresh.
The drink counter is well stocked and clean. everything is really well managed. The workers were friendly and attentive. The food was delicious too. I had the ultimate double tostada salad and that was perfect! I ate in and my food was delivered to my table. Within minutes after getting my meal, a very friendly employee came by again to ask if I needed anything. I like that attention. It was surprising actually. She was so sweet!
I particularly like me how they had one worker give the restaurant lobby extra attention. She spent a lot of time out there cleaning and attending to guests. Very smart move.
I like how this particular location is making evident efforts to rise above their competitors. I’m very glad I came today and I will definitely come back.
Good job! It’s very much appreciated.

I’m not a big fan of fast food and rarely eat it. I was in a time crunch and was looking for something not as bad as McDonald’s.
The five stars is for the customer service. I was greeted nicely at the door by employees, was brought my food, and was offered an extra plate/​utensils by a staff member. I have to admit that I got better service here then some of the full service restaurants in the past.

Drive through family meal at El pollo loco, can’t get it wrong. Perfect chicken leftovers for meal prepping

Hubby and I stopped by after church to grab lunch to go. It was pretty busy around 12pm. We waited some 10 minutes for our food after ordering but had no issues. The food tasted fresh and was warm. Chicken breasts were grilled well. The chicken avocado burrito was really fresh and yummy. We brought home home of the salsa from the salsa bar and they were all fine too. We’ll be back again.

The last few Times I have been here there’s this new young kid at the register and all three times he’s got my order wrong and he takes very long time. I walked in with him helping 1 customer and myself to be next… I was waiting So long there were 8 people behind me and still him alone and no one helping him. Don’t put a new guy during lunch rush

Well, they just remodeled and I thought that they may have finally addressed the biggest problem with this place, the horrible stench, but NO! If anything, it’s actually worse!
The parking lot surrounding this restaurant smells just like a sewer (read:crap) for at least a several hundred foot radius. Don’t believe me? Smell for yourself!
I am not sure if it is a plumbing issue or what, but it is so overpowering that I am considering calling the health department.
Time to make a change folks!!! Maybe you should just change the name of your restaurant to El Pollo Choke-​O?!!

I really did not want to give a star at all. On my lunch hour my friend went to get the new chicken and kale salad. It sounds really good and we are excited to try it.
I sat down in the break room open my salad I was surprised at what I saw.
Half the lettuce was yellow gone bad I was really disappointed if I would’ve had the time I would’ve gone back and returned it but I only get a half an hour lunch so just picked out the good parts, and the bits of chicken that I was given.
How disappointing I will never go back there I get a better salad at Cosco!

The cashier, Nick, is polite and always so accomodating. He ensures that the customers have their utensils and condiments. He is also enthusiastic when it comes to customer service. This place can get busy, and you can see how he works well under pressure. It’s refreshing to see employees in the fast business be that patient with everything!
Also, the place is always tidy! An employee always comes around every couple minutes or so to make sure everything has been wiped and neat!
Food is never disappointing! Whenever they’re out of something in particular, they have ways of compensating your order! They either double up on an order or replace an order for a good price!
Keep it up, El Pollo crew! And Nick, your hardwork is highly appreciated.

The food at El Pollo Loco is decent, better than some chicken places. Salad and sides are good as well, tasting pretty fresh. My 4 star review on it is mainly due to the great service at the restaurant. They’ve got really attentive customer service. Highly appreciated from this customer. Will come in again when in the area.

I have been a fan of their large stuffed quesadillas since they first came out, so I ordered one from here when I stopped in for lunch. I ordered the carnitas or pork quesadilla with sliced avocado, shredded cheese, poblano salsa and fresh pico de gallo all inside the toasted flour tortilla. The meal deal came with a side of chips and a drink (
).
Now, the stuffed quesadilla was pretty good and the pork meat was tender and savory, but what bothered me a little was that they did not put freshly sliced avocado inside but rather a cold guacamole type mixture which immediately cooled off the warm carnitas and the toasted flour tortilla, so the whole thing turn cold rather quickly (
). If they would of put room temperature freshly sliced avocados as advertised, the cooling of the stuffed quesadilla would not of occurred.
I did like that the flour tortilla had a nice crunchy toast but it being cold, did not help things (
). Other then it being cold, the whole thing did taste pretty good and the pork was quite good, which is not bad from a place that mostly just makes chicken, hence the three stars.
Service was friendly enough, but that salsa bar needed some attention.

The customer service is the reason for the 2 stars otherwise this location is terrible.
The rice is ALWAYS under cooked and you will find yourself chomping down on hard rice pieces ugh which is beyond gross. The quality of the food here lacks big time. I like the scripps poway parkway location much better

Very cheap and very good, plus excellent customer service and good location. Ok, we all know this is a fast food chain and 4 stars in here do not equal 4 stars at a fancy upscale restaurant. That belly gets satisfied every time that I go, which has been a while since I did not remember this nice redecorated interior.
I usually get the chicken bowl combo which includes drink for around $ 6. Fast, tasty, El Pollo Loco does the job and I cannot think about other place to get my chicken fix. I usually do not even order chicken unless is in one of their restaurants. The senior man at the door welcoming customers with his well ironed white shirt is very lovely too.