El Pollo Primero

I’d give 3.5 if there was an option. $ 8.50 for large chicken sandwich and fries is good and it was a lot of food. Got it to go and they did not cut it in half so would def ask for that next time. Nothing super special and if I cared about atmosphere the place is a little run down, but I enjoyed sandwich and would go again.

I know everyone has different tastes, this place for me was great! I had dinner got soup which was delicious, pupusas were huge and delicious, the beef tacos were OK the beef was a bit overcooked and I had the plantanos with beans and crema. Those were good too. I’m certainly coming back no matter what!

Stopped by this place because I was in the area and figured, it’s Peruvian chicken, How bad could it be?
Well, about that chicken. I will echo what one Unilocaler said — it seriously tastes almost Asian — like kinda Asian preparation for duck. I’m Asian, so I can say that. J/​K :)
This is not the place to get Peruvian chicken. The chicken was cooked well and wasn’t dry. I give it that much. Lacking flavor, I had to dunk it in the green sauce which, thankfully, is as good as the sauce in any other Peruvian chicken place.
The salad was just iceberg with a tasty dressing. My fave part of the meal was the fried yuca. I mean, it’s yuca and it’s freshly fried. What’s not to like?
I also tried a cheese papusa only because my friend had never tried one before and I didn’t want her to eat one all by herself. I’m considerate like that. Well, I should have let her try it alone. This also lacked flavor somehow. The accompanying cabbage was also pretty damn flavorless. I don’t know. I’m used to papusas and the cabbage coming together so well and, I’m afraid, my friend probably thinks papusas are foul. Argh.
Anyway, the guy taking to order was nice enough, but I should have left the moment I saw the place empty on a Saturday afternoon. Other Peruvian places seem to have a constant stream of customers. Lesson learned.

I have been a fan of this place for a while but went there last night and the chicken was not only bland and sweet (terrible seasoning), but it was also SPOILED! MY husband, daughter and me got terribly sick after eating there!
Also, the yuca was not freshly fried or crispy as it had been in the past :(
Not going there again! Save yourself and go to pollo ranchero instead (right up the street on richmond highway)… Pollo campero is opening soon also a little bit more south on Route 1! (yum)

While ordering food in another language is not my strong suit, it definitely makes for a more adventurous meal. It seemed like the staff appreciated the effort too.
After visiting my normal pollo place multiple times over the past month, I wanted to see if any other local joint could challenge them for the top spot. Upon entrance, the restaurant gave you the standard pollo place feel. A loud soccer game is a plus. Ripped vinyl seats are a must. Tacky table cloths and wall signs make for a top notch experience. This joint had all that and more.
The food came out fairly fast and we got two extra white sauces at no charge. The salad was surprisingly good! They didn’t pull a pollo faux pas and use the same dipping white sauce as salad dressing, so that’s a definite plus. The yucca was so soft and tasty. Probably in my top three for all I’ve tried in the NOVA area. The papas were also a solid choice, cooked a little past golden brown, just the way I like them. My issue was, however, with the chicken. It just fell flat on it’s face. My piece was room temperature and much too dry. I also wasn’t a big fan of the flavor either. It may have just been a fluke. There’s no way they make crappy pollo with such tasty sides!
While their powers weren’t able to dethrone Su Pollo as my top spot, they definitely do a solid job and I’ll be back in to give the chicken another chance.

The chicken was tender but there was no flavor.
I also had some plantains to go with it and they were dry.
And… I got some cookies… and really that was about the only redeeming quality but they didn’t even taste that sweet.

Havent had a single bad experience, pollo a la brasa was delicious, yuca fries were good as well. Service is friendly, not too fast, nor too slow.

this place is the shiznit! love the chiken and that white sause :)))

Chicken was mediocre tasting mostly just of salt. Service was slow and disorganized.

Came here after hiking at Huntley Meadows. It was close by and it beat going to Ruby Tuesdays.
We opted for the ½ chicken, 1 queso pupusa, and a mango shake. The smoothie was awesome! The pupusa also delicious and cheesy :) The chicken while good, almost tasted like it was prepared Asian style. Although still juicy, it didn’t quite compare with El Pollo Rico.
Cheap meal, filling and delicious. But unless I was in the area, I wouldn’t make a trip out specifically for it.