El Pollo Loco

Food is great? But skimp on the avocados… Wth, we paid extra, for the avocado and the chicken is DRY I got a new salad, tasted much better

Always get my order wrong and now today they ran out of rice that was supposed to go in my salad. I asked for a discount and got denied. If I were to request extra chicken or rice, they would charge.

We have tried this location again and again. It’s really the only El Pollo Loco drive thru near us. They have forgotten items from our orders countless times and today was no exception. Not only did they forget parts of our order, the chicken was charred and dry. The wait always takes forever. We give up-​never going to this location again. Disappointing because we really like the restaurant chain. Just this particular location is the pits.

Horrible service. I simply ordered a chicken quesadilla and they give me a cheese quesadilla which looks like a tortilla with some cheese thrown on it.
I had to drive all the way back and of course they say that’s wat I ordered. The manager thought about charging me the difference but I think he knew better so he didn’t. I would rather find another pollo loco than come to this one.

Hey, we don’t have El Pollo Loco where we live, so it’s a treat to go there. It was very good, the salsa bar was fresh and clean, and the food tasty as I remember it.

This place has terrible service! I ordered a #2 combo and the chicken didn’t have skin, so I asked for a new plate and this heavy set guy got all upset and told be all there chicken came like that which is a lie cause I always go there! Then my tortillas were all cold! This place is horrible, will never return! This pollo loco gives Santa Ana a bad name…

Pollo Loco can be a great place to eat. However this location is not. The lobby was was not very clean and there were flies flying around, not ok when you consider there is an open salsa bar in the lobby that everyone eats from. The salsa bar did not have lemons nor chiles, when I asked for some they told me they would put some out soon, didn’t even bother offering me some. Not very friendly customer service. On a side note I looked for their restaurant rating and did not find it, correct me if I’m wrong but those are supposed to be visible to the public. Not returning to this location!

As much as I love the food and I have tried to give this place a chance, every time there is a problem with my order or I’m reminded why I don’t go as often because of the bad customer service.

This el pollo loco has horrible customer service. They got my order wrong and I tried calling them and they let the phone just ring and ring. Would not recommend that place.

Good healthy lunch chicken bowl very good thank you so muchdid not have wait long today anything you eat here is real good and tasty

It’s a shame Unilocal doesn’t allow 0 stars because this place definitely deserves it.
Thought I’d order take out inside to scoop up my own varieties of salsa and onions. Ordered the 3 course meal and took almost 20 minutes. They served the 3 guys who ordered after me and wouldn’t give me my food even though I was standing in front of the cash register waiting.
It wasn’t because the chicken wasn’t ready because they had that ready in 2 minutes. They would not make the salad and kept making the burritos other customers ordered after me. Once they finally made the salad, they gave me flour tortillas when I asked for corn. So they had to microwave the tortillas and they then realized they didn’t put the churros in the fryer.
Absolute mess. It fits the way the kitchen and the employees looked.
A big fan of El Pollo Loco normally but this place made me view this franchise in a different light.
None of the employees seem to care I’ve been waiting that long and about 15 minutes into waiting one even asked if I’m waiting to order.
Definitely not returning to this location.

I’ve always liked El Pollo Loco food and visit the one on N. Main St Santa Ana but it’s closed for remodel so I thought I would try this location. The food was good but the employees at the drive thru didn’t even acknowledge me at the window except to say what my total was for my order. No «hello, hi, thank you». Nothing. Maybe they were having a bad day BUT I shouldn’t have to feel like I’m a bother to them.
I’ll stick to the one in N. Main St when they reopen. At least their employees greet me with a smile and are cordial!

What a mess! I came in for dinner around 8pm and the prep area, side dishes area had food splattered all over the place! It looked so gross. I probably would of not had paid so much attention to it if I didnt have to wait 5 minutes before someone would take my order. Kept being told, someone was on their way, as I’m watching the cook throw chicken onto his chopping block. Placed my order and got some salsa from the salsa bar which was full and pretty clean. I got the Taco Al Carbon combo, the chips were perfectly STALE and on the cold side. The tacos and corn tortillas were what was expected. As I was waiting for my food the manager was on her lunch and told one of the ladies to serve me my food since it was ready to get the food out since its been almost 15 minutes. When I got my food, I told the manager, Thank You. And not to the Iced Tea, it was waayy too strong, was really looking forward to the iced tea, but it was almost undrinkable I had to add more ice and some water. Then the restroom, YIKES! Papers everywhere, stunk and just dirty everywhere. Almost went out to the soda machine to rinse my fingers off. Dont know if it was my timing or what, but this was another let down. I really do like El Pollo Loco and all the locations I have been to have been great, but this one. 2 stars for Manager stepping up and tacos were cooked as expected. Everything else was a tough 1 star. Whats up with food in Santa Ana?

Better food than other Pollo Locos. Sometimes you gotta wait for chicken but it’s worth it.

Cant complain too much, but seems like this locations chicken is dryer than other locations I’ve been too.

Ive been to this place twice and i am never returning, the person who took my order was rude and seemed bother that i was ordering, twice! and usually they are so nice at the other locations but i felt uncomfortable, and to top it off he got our order wrong, no stars for rudeness
If i knew his name i would put it but it isnt worth going back for it. Worse costumer service!

Found several small black hairs in my $ 5 chicken bowl combo. Pretty disgusting, I am trying to forget so I can stop gagging…

Was craving some crazy chicken, and drove to this location, even though the one across from the Bower Museum is closer to me. This one has a drive thru, but I forgot that its also a pain in the butt parking lot.
There was 3 cars ahead of me in the drive thru. The line went relatively fast, but the drive thru attendant was not the friendliest. Yah, I know, its a drive thru, I don’t expect her to chat. But it was so cold and impersonal.
I told her I had a coupon for the 2 piece. No response.
Robotically she asked the questions :
White or dark?
Corn or flour?
Sides please.
Drink?
Pull up, the total is $ 7 and change.
Wait. I have a $ 5 coupon I told her.
I’ll adjust the total at the window, she replied. Drive up to the window.
I didn’t have my money read, since I didn’t know the total. I get the impatient eyes roll. I handed her a $ 20, figured it’ll cover my lunch.
She hands me my change, the bag of food, and soda. I asked her if utensils were inside the bag. She said yes, but she handed me cutlery anyway. (Huh?)
The order was correct, the food was piping hot, but the whole drive thru experience is not for the rookies. You don’t have time to make mistakes. You get 1 shot, and so I’ll give 3.5 stars but service or experience is not quite a 4

BEWARE — This location gave me a bacterial infection called Campylobacter Jejuni which is caused by undercooked poultry.
i was hospitalized for almost a week! if i could give no stars i would have! Eat here at your own risk!

So far this is the best El Pollo Loco I eat at, and on my paleo lifestyle eating habits, it is one of a very small selection of fast food places I’ll even go into.
The reason this one gets my 5 stars and my «favorite» one is that the meal I get, which is always the same, 3 piece dark meat meal with slaw and a side salad, is consistently the best here in terms of correctly cooked chicken and the size of the thighs.
I would have assumed that all the restaurants get the chicken from the same place and that it would be the same approximate size, not so, this place has thighs that are at least 20% bigger than other restaurants in the chain.
Besides being more protein, the chicken isn’t over cooked.
I ate at the El Pollo Loco in Laguna Nigel (I think) the other day and the thighs were cremated, the drumstick was jerky. I’ve had this experience a few other times, the flavor is still good, and it’s not bad chicken, but over cooked is just not nearly as good as a big plumb thigh cooked properly, juicy, tender and flavorful.
Other El Pollo Loco managers/​owners ought to drop in on this one and see what it is I’m talking about, it’s a HUGE difference.
I will also mention that the service here is good, as it is elsewhere, the corporate higher ups have obviously gone out of their way to make the customer service the best in the industry and it’s on par with Chic-fi-la’s customer service in my opinion, far nicer than any other fast food place. It is noticeable and it’s a nice touch even when eating out for cheap.
So, in conclusion, I’d like to see the other restaurants I go to follow suit with this one, I seriously eat at El Pollo Loco about 3 times a week average because it so fits my diet requirements and the chicken is so good I never get tired of it.
BTW, 40 pounds later (six months on Paleo) I’m sold on the eat veggies/​meat avoid crap like wheat and sugar eating and I’d be more than happy to be a spokesman for this chain, I mean the before and after pictures are amazing, I“m still impressed myself, and I wasn’t exactly ugly before, but now, well, I“m close to becoming totally hot for an old guy.
Thanks El Pollo Loco, yeah, the picture here is the old me.