(10 stars if I could)…read more El Pollo Loco in San Clemente is basically my second kitchen at this point I'm here every other day, no exaggeration. The whole family loves it, the kids go crazy for it, and honestly... it's hands down the best flame-grilled chicken around. Period. That chicken is always juicy, smoky, perfectly seasoned -- not dry, not bland, not drowning in grease. You can actually taste that it's grilled, not just cooked and slapped together. Huge difference. And let's talk about the rest of the menu because it deserves respect too. The quesadillas? Dangerous. The tacos? Solid every single time. Rice, beans, sides -- everything just works. It's one of those places where you can order almost anything and you know it's gonna hit. What really keeps me coming back though (besides the food addiction lol) is the service. Special shoutout to Jose, the general manager -- seriously one of the nicest, most genuine guys you'll meet. Always friendly, always smiling, always making sure customers are taken care of. He's hooked me up with some great specials more than once, and it's never forced or fake. Just real customer service, the way it's supposed to be. Respect. The place is clean, fast, and consistent -- which matters when you're feeding kids who are already starving and impatient Orders come out right, staff is cool, and the vibe is just easy and comfortable. If you're in San Clemente and craving something reliable, flavorful, and actually satisfying, this El Pollo Loco is a no-brainer. We keep coming back for a reason. Highly recommend. Now excuse me while I probably go back again tomorrow

The food quality here is horrible…read more Had the runs for 3 days cause of their chicken and sides. The health department should make a stop here to see how the food is being handled and stored. Ontop of paying those prices for fast food, I'm out .

The best halal chicken tenders around! They make their own sauce called Comeback sauce, one non…read morespicy and one spicy. Service is always pretty good here, a few spots to choose from to sit inside this food hall. I love their pudding as well!

Just an upscaled, overpriced Raising canes'. They copied their box combo, substituted the texas…read moretoast with white bread, which in my opinion is a downgrade. No coleslaw, replaced with slices of pickles. It's not bad, it's just, I was let down. The chicken was real good, higher quality than RC. Service was a typical food stall where you order from a screen and they have the audacity to ask for a tip! Ambiance is nice. The surrounding area is relatively new, so it's very nice and beautiful outside.

Unfortunately it wasn't how I remembered it. Nice people but chicken (original crispy) lacked…read moreanything close to being crispy. Skin soft with no taste. Sides (macaroni and cheese) was tossed after one forkful and corn didn't last much longer either. I guess you can't go back.

They didn't give us half the order we placed. Obviously i could've checked before leaving but we…read morejust learned abt the laguna niguel one being shut down and had a huge family waiting for food. Ridiculous

Food is good for the price as always. The issue is order completeness in drive through. Too many…read moretimes incorrect tortilla type of forgetting salsa or dressing. Finally had to call it out.

Bday 2025: a perk of joining EPL rewards program is when its your bday you get a rewards, in my…read morecase it was $5 off any order. So, last night i took full advantage. This establishment is located in Ocean ranch plaza, near Starbucks, Zen Sushi, Starbucks, and across the street from Cinépolis . Around 9:30pm I approached drive thru, parking lot vacant , quiet for a Friday night. I ordered the double chicken tostada , extra rice and beans on the bottom, no salsa Fresca ( allergies), cilantro dressing on the side. If you want another dressing its going to cost ya here! $0.65 or 0.75 i think she said . When i explained my allergy. She informed me beans should be fine, and salsa fresca would be an issue. So, i believed it. I asked for cilantro and onions on the side from the condiment bar. Everything seemed smooth, until i got home and started eating. The top layer perfect, chunks of chicken, avocado, lettuce. Then as i started eating the mix of Rice and beans. Thats when it started. My throat, and i realized something is off, and wrong. You got it folks, jalepeno or some Sort of green serano pepper was found in the beans . Luckily, epi_pen in hand and here we go. Often, people that don't deal with life/death allergies don't understand how eating something as normal as a tostada salad could turn for someone else into a Nightmare. Each time I go out extra care and anxiety starts to play because any oversight can cause panic. Case in point tonight.

Just ordered a breakfast meal. It was the smallest chicken on a sandwich I've ever seen from…read moreChick-fil-A. I had to pull forward and wait for black coffee 11 minutes with nothing but sorry, that's ridiculous. This is the closest Chick-fil-A to us. But I never go here. Drive onto another Chick-fil-A. It's not worth stopping here and getting bad service . I know why it got such low ratings. 10$ for this. Drive to another Chick-fil-A

You could improve everything! We got three burnt chicken sandwiches and a black manager with a…read morecondescending attitude. This store has horrible food and the rudest employees I've ever experienced! They have gone way down hill this year and have lost our business! If you're hungry RUN from this place!!!

I can see why this location has such low ratings. We…read morestopped here on the drive down to San Diego on Sunday around noon. The location is convenient right off the 5. The service is definitely sub par. We dined in, walked up to the counter and while there were several people working, behind the counter, not a single one acknowledged our existence. It took several minutes for a man to finally come up and take our order, and he look annoyed. Mind you, the place was empty when we arrived. No one at the drive thru, only 2 other people inside. Food was what you'd expect at a pollo loco. The service however needs a major overhaul at this location.

Needs to improve service. So many times the counter person seems disengaged and not listening. I…read moredon't know why I keep coming here to get my requests wrong more times than not. Also certain side, like small corn ($5.49) as an example, are way over priced for the size

We went for the second time last night 2/14/26 and it was just like old times. I suggested it and…read moremy daughter was not exactly thrilled at the suggestion. But boy, tonight is exactly why restaurants deserve more than one visit. Especially if you go right after they opened. Or reopened in this case. We were in heaven eating our dinner and talked about it the whole way home. We went not long after they reopened and the Crispy chicken tacos in a flour tortilla are just like we remembered them. Crunchy tortilla, juicy hot chicken, a little lettuce and a generous helping of grated cheddar cheese. It's the perfect taco. But the salsas were not the same. Thankfully, that problem has been solved and the hot salsa is exactly how I remembered it...delicious. It is the perfect topper to a crispy taco. And even when your mouth is on fire, it is addicting. My daughter had the soup and my son-in-law had a few Baja shrimp tacos and both were delicious. The crew seems to work well together and it's nice to see their friendly smiles. Can't wait to return.

Great location, high hopes, but missing the mark on execution…read more Living just down the street, we really wanted to love El Patio Café. As a rule, I want every local business in our community to thrive, which is why it pains me a bit to write a review that isn't a glowing five stars. Unfortunately, our recent lunch here left us wishing the execution matched the potential. Walking in, the welcome was a bit frosty; the staff wasn't particularly warm or eager to orient us through the menu. Once the food arrived, the kitchen choices left us scratching our heads. I ordered the mahi fish taco, which was inexplicably blanketed in shredded cheddar cheese--a culinary pairing that raises some serious eyebrows. We also tried two crunchy beef tacos, which lacked flavor and, at $6.50 a pop, felt significantly overpriced for what was delivered. The ambiance added to the overall confusion. Instead of leaning into a classic Mexican vibe, the soundtrack for our meal was reggae music. I love reggae, but it felt out of sync with the experience. We love having options right down the street, and there is a foundation here for a great neighborhood hangout. But right now, from the hospitality to the menu pairing and pricing, the execution just isn't quite there. We genuinely hope they can tighten up the details, because we'd love nothing more than to see them crush it.