El Pollo Loco

Wow… The food quality here sucks… I ordered a quesadilla and Mac and cheese. The quesadilla was cold… Nasty… The Mac and cheese was soggy and cold as well. I asked for some cilantro sauce in the side and it wasn’t in my bag.

Fast food we rarely do. There… I got my Yoda out. But El Pollo Loco does fire roasted/​grilled chicken unlike anyone else I know, including myself (and that’s saying a LOT). Another California import to Texas, this is my go to for great chicken done right.
Ordered on Sunday 10 – 25. Went in, ordered and received the hottest, freshest grilled chicken this side of anywhere! Pair it with some rice, fresh tortillas and their new chicken tamales (these were HUGE… not like the smallish tamales found locally) were AWESOME! I feared that they had put cila… that nasty herb that is so prevalent in so much Tex-​Mex/​Mexican food here. NOT! The tamales had a smidgen… a smattering of pepper in them, but the filling was chicken. The masa was a tad dry but did hold together. I won’t worry about that. Macaroni and cheese was good, and rice had nice flavor without being overpowering.
Service was excellent! Even the cashier, who told me about the grill guy being only 18 years old, was very polite and accurate wth my order. The chicken, even after getting it home, was still piping hot!
We definitely will return and continue to love EPL!

A healthier option to fried chickens from KFC and others. I purchased the 3 courses meal deal for a family lunch. For about $ 30, I received 12 pieces of mixed flame grilled chicken, rice, beans, bacon avacado salad, 12 corn/​flour tortillas, and 4 charros. Help yourself salsa bar is in the dining room. The chicken and beans were nicely seasoned. The salad was fresh. Rice was a little on the dry side. The tortilla was ok, not the home made variety. The charro was chewy & sweet in a good way. Overall, a tasty and inexpensive meal deal that easily feed a family of four with left over.

This Pollo loco is slow as heck. It takes the cashier 5 minutes to ring up one person. A single person with one order. There was a long line with a cashier who had no idea what she was doing. At least the food seems fresh.

Had the chicken bowl. The rice and beans were very authentic to what you’ll find in a Mexican grandmas chicken! Wayyyyy better then taco cabana bowls.

Very good chicken. The staff was very friendly and welcoming. And exceptionally helpful for a first timer

I hate giving low scores. I don’t think I have left two stars for any establishments. Although there customer service at times is great, I usually get stuck with the same girl that hates her job! But that is not the reason why I am giving this place two stars. They have ran out of chicken on two separate occasions! And there chicken sandwiches are cold. When they are up inventory and can take your chicken order. The chicken is very tasty.

Chicken was great. Just how I remembered it in California. But, one of my favorite things they serve there is the salsa. When I got to my hotel room there was no salsa in the bag. The idiot forgot to put it in the bag! Ruined the entire meal!!!

I ordered the chicken avocado tacos and the chicken and the tortilla tastes great BUT there were no avocados! :(I was sad because it had potential

HORRIBLE if I could give less than one star, I would. The place is dirty, and the service was horrible. The lettuce was brown, and chopped in chunks. Disgusting. I couldn’t even feed my family the vegetables– very embarrassing. When asked to speak to the manager she was polite and appropriate, but very young, I highly doubt the staff got counseled or anything changed.

Love me some El Pollo. I’ve only been to this location and some days they are better than others. Lately I’ve been getting chicken that’s more dry, but if you don’t like what you get you can take it back and ask for better pieces. It does cost a little more than traditional fast food, but I think it is worth it. I really like that they are always updating their menu to offer new items and I get coupons in the mail at least once a month to get me through all my El Pollo cravings for the month.
There are low calorie items, vegetarian, and gluten free options. Oh and I love their mac and cheese. so creamy and cheezy! (yes it deserves a z)

This was a nice surprise. i haven’t had El pollo loco since i visited southern California back in 06. the service was a bit slow. had the rice beans and cheese burritos with a large side of rice. well it was a nice lunch, nothing too special

Great choice for fresh food. You have a choice of chicken or shrimp so you can’t go wrong. Tasty sides and delicious desserts. I don’t feel guilty when I eat this fast food!

Check review update below for November downgrade.
This is from August 2013 or thereabouts: What’s not to like? Friendly staff, inexpensive food, clean premises, quick service, more than adequate food, and condiments bar that’s fun to try. (We don’t care for the mild salsa — it’s basically just finely chopped tomatoes. .. but if you mix it with the hotter ones, it turns out okay.)
I signed up on line and received a coupon for free chips-​and-​guacamole, and another one for a free tiny entrée during my birthday month.
Our favorite meal is their «bowls,» particularly the regular one. I would also advise staying away from the fish tacos — overly dry, not well seasoned — but then they didn’t call the restaurant Pescado Loco, did they!
10 – 2013 — food definitely not good. Will give them another chance later.
11 – 23 gotta downgrade them — dirty floor and tables, cold food, tasteless soup. New management? We won’t be going back.

Ok, so I read all the reviews and I don’t get it. First of all the spicy tacos were sort of slopped together and filled with slop. I don’t get the cabbage thing either, maybe some like it but I don’t.
The salsa bar was nice, especially the guacamole, it was very nice.
The place us clean and busy, maybe I ordered the wrong thing?

El Pollo Loco really needs to stick to pollo. I love their chicken tacos and cilantro dressing salad. I tried both the fish tacos and carnitas taco. Yuck! I’ll stick to their chicken dishes for now on.

The food here is delicious, affordable, and defiantly filling! I usually get the burritos but the salad bowls are great as well! They have a wonderful guacamole sauce that I highly recommend, it has a wonderful spice to it! But stay away from there Roja sauce is the most disgusting sauce I’ve ever had! (not exaggerating) I perfer to dine in here because it always so clean plus they have a condiments bar and some good orchata unlimited!

We eat here at least once a week! We absolutely LOVE their food. The employees are always friendly, the green salsa is amazing, and and the kitchen area always looks clean! The only complaint I have is that the tables aren’t always cleaned before we can sit down. I do have to say we generally go during the lunch rush. We will continue our weekly treck to this El Pollo Loco.

I’m so glad I live/​work in the Medical Center. El Pollo Loco is a staple of mine and I’m oh, so disappointed I haven’t reviewed it yet. The first time I tried El Pollo Loco, I was on a severe diet so was treating myself to their chicken tortilla soup. Needless to say, the soup is freaking amazing. Now, when I go, I usually always get the chicken fajita taco bowl. Wooooow… there’s nothing better in this world. My son is a HUGE fan of their rice and their chicken. The service is always great, drive-​thru or dining in. Overall a great ‘fast’ food restaurant!

I seriously love this chicken… I mean it’s ridiculously good. I go here often, cause it’s walkable from my office, and relatively healthy (low carb mega friendly). For «fast» food, there is no better. To top it off, the staff and management are always very friendly. If you’re tired of burgers and tacos… this is good value and super quick.