Today's order wasn't fresh the chicken overcooked burnt too dry. i should of returned it.

We love El Pollo Loco food. But the service at this location sucks. I picked up an order to go.. no forks! Then when I called, the manager said she would find out who packed the order. Then she put the phone down without asking me to hold, told her coworker what I said and the two had a laugh. Eventually I was hung up on. Then when I called back they let it go to the answering service. So, if this is how you want to be treated, go to this El Pollo Loco. read more

On July 18th 2023, my wife and I went to El Pollo Loco located at 1145 Avocado Avenue in the city of El Cajon Ca. My wife found a small chicken drumstick which appeared to be raw. Terrible service and ambiance. My wife was accused of placing that piece of chicken in her salad bowl. read more

I'm a big fan of el pollo loco when it comes to high protein/ somewhat healthy quick meal. I've been to a lot of different el pollo locos over the years. This location is subpar. No one was in line to order, and was not greeted to let me know when they were going to come take my order, so I sat there in limbo for several minutes. Not really an issue, but would have been nice if someone would let me know that they saw me come in And would help me in a couple minutes. Seasonal tamale was still cold. Wouldn't expect them to cook them in the back but would be nice if it was hot at least. The chopped chicken breast was good but stingy on the portion. Its definitely not anywhere near a full breast. Flavor of everything was good. I still ate it all. Probably just go to a different location next time is all. read more

I normally don't write bad reviews but my experience here last night was very disappointing. To start off, they got my order wrong and I found out at the drive through window. They tried to charge me for 2 burritos when I only ordered 1 and the girl working at the drive through window had a terrible attitude with me just because they got my order wrong. She told me "well they already made the burritos soo.." and I continued to be polite and told her that's not what I ordered. She then was still being rude to me and was acting like I was the one wrong in the situation even though they were the ones who got my order wrong! Finally I got the burrito I ordered after waiting a long time and they still got my order wrong. Will be taking my business elsewhere now. Do better El pollo loco. read more

Great spot for the individual pieces of chicken or tacos. I occasionally get their salads with chicken or shrimp. Not the greatest salads but still good. The individual chickens with their green sauce is crack!! It is soooo delicious! Their tacos are great as well. I always ask for extra green sauce because I love drenching all my food in it. Ive also never gone down to eat. I always go through the drive thru. Great customer service and they are fast too! read more

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Extremely rude employees. My wife went in to pick up food we had ordered on the app, when she got there the employees did not want to help her, told her they were busy ( to give her food already paid for) and then proceeded to attempt to help other people before her who appeared after she got there. After it was all said and done they sent her on her way without our paid beverages forcing her to waste gas and drive back. When she arrived and asked for the drinks the employees rudely slammed the the cups on the counter and exclaimed "you can get whatever drink yourself". Seeing as how this location has 2 stars I'm not surprised that they treat paying customers ON THEIR APP like this. The churros were cold, the tostada salad sucked and these employees need to learn how to treat paying customers. If you can't handle the drive though and online orders and in store then maybe you Shouldn't be working there. read more

After a long day of work and school, I hastily searched for a somewhat healthy meal and I thought "grilled chicken", that's it! Despite my previous experiences, I decided against my better judgment and went to El Pollo Loco in El Cajon. I had an annoying experience the last time I went to the El Pollo Loco on Broadway. Last time I ordered a 3 piece chicken they gave me two pieces and some weird breaded, nickel sized, pop corn chicken looking thing with some stale fries. Ah, I digress... This experience was very similar in that I ordered a grilled chicken breast and wing, but the wing was basically a deformed misshaped arm of a chicken. Maybe the chicken broke it's wing in some horrific skateboarding accident or something, I don't know. I'm not sure if El Pollo Loco does this on purpose to mess with customers but it's honestly become hysterical. It seems as though every time I go to their drive thru, they purposefully give me some weird piece of chicken that didn't quite make the cut. Like they just think, "I bet this guy had a super long day at work, how can we make it a completely terrible day for him?" Not to mention the whole meal cost like $10, which isn't exactly a significant amount but I could have bought my own groceries and cooked a far better meal...eh time constraints. I just want to thank you El Pollo Loco, because of you I now have funny pictures to send to my family group-text to laugh about. read more

El Pollo Loco - Their delicious, mouth watering, deformed chicken wing. - Mexican Near Me - El Cajon, California

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The worse experience in this restaurant was my firt time in this location and never again come back the chicken was not fresh was hard and the green sauce was only ground green chiles im very disappointed for the money i pay read more

Gross disgusting and easily last months chicken thawed put and microwaved. Asked for avocado sauce, the lady with too much makeup on said it's in the bag. The bag was sealed, i opened it and no sauces at all. Not even salsa for the chips. I will only go to the El Pollo Loco on Mission Gorge Rod going forward. Never had a bad experience. Will check it out and see if it's a new chronic issue. Post pending. read more

I had the "Overstuffed Quesadilla" and all I could say that it was horrible. You eat this type of food on a bad airplane flight. It was totally bland. Even putting salsa on it didn't improve it. The customer service at this location is only average. There is a reason that the only time I go El Pollo Loco is when someone insists that they want to eat there. BLECH! read more

Ordered 4 Avacado chicken street tacos...they were absolutely awful! No chicken, too much lettuce, and some of the chicken had gristle from either a chicken leg or thigh. Price was .50 higher than the Broadway restaurant. Never going to this location again, even though it's closer to my home. Broadway st, in Lemon Grove is worth the drive. read more

Being that I live close to the restaurante , I go here because it is faster. I will say that if you go here before 7 pm your food will still be hot. I found that going here between 8 pm and 9 close to closing your food will be cold, hard and thrown together. There is a mentally that seems to be adapted that hot food and caring about the customer is not important when the staff seems to be trying to get off. It is pretty sad that people don't get that customer drive revenue for business and people will soon take the drive to another location or somewhere else to eat if lack of care is not given to food. Last, I am not sure who decide to come up with the Tamale plate but the tamale's there were gross and cold inside. How does that happen, the rice is hot, the beens are some what hot and the chicken? It appears the tamale was sitting out and just thrown on the food. read more

Every thing was good till they delver the food but my order was missing the soda and call the store they say it's not there mistake I don't get my soda and they want me to go to the store to gets it .with bad attitude read more

El Pollo Loco - Mexican Near Me - El Cajon, California

Unfortunately I worked here, as you can see if you read one of the previous reviews. I just wanted to say I never got my last paycheck, apparently it was thrown out :( read more

I would give it zero stars if it was an option. Now I know why the drive through was completely empty. The food portion is beyond small. My tostado barely had anything in it. Never again. read more

The customer service is always horrible especially today the cashier named Elisa was very rude she not only rolled her eyes but also had an attitude never will I go to this one again it's literally right next to my house but I will drive further to the one on broadway where they're actually nice and treat their customers with FRIENDLY service!!!! read more

The worst food ever. Also, ordered an 8 piece meal and wound up with 6 pieces as they shorted us. The chicken was dry and overcooked. Coleslaw was warm and sour. What a waste of almost $30. I called and let them know they didn't give us the 8 pieces and they did nothing to honor the mistake. Which is fine as we hadn't tried the food - had we, I wouldn't have wasted my time calling. Corn tortillas are paper thin. Don't waste your money on this dump. I've ordered thru other Pollo Locos and never had problems with the quantity and quality of the chicken. read more

Saw the ad on tv and thought it looked good, so decided to try it. Got 2 of the Dos Locos salads. I got the cheese quesadilla and got my wife the chicken taquito one. The chicken was so dry she wouldn't eat it and the guacamole was tasteless as was everything, so she tossed it out. I finished mine because I was really hungry, but won't be going back. Even the churros were mediocre. Had high hopes, but like most of the fast food places every thing gets by, but isn't any good. read more

Only voting two stars because the woman did apologize for her poor customer service and fixed our order. Food was not like any other EPL I had been to. It honestly was not that great. The woman at the drive thru failed to listen to my best friend's order with attention and make sure it was correct . (Which we later found out it wasn't). Little tip, if you eat here you might wanna make them repeat the order a few times. read more

Never ever again.. the 3pc chicken , two thighs and and a leg was so over cooked that I had to PULL the skin off because it was brittle and the meat as dry as the bone . They had to have been on the grill for hours.l could not bite through the skin , it was that hard . All I ended up with was a photo to remind me never to return. read more

I don't normally like to review chain/corporate establishments, but I'd just like to give some credit to this El Pollo Loco because they have been consistently awesome. I especially love the employee named Grizelda because she's always so nice. My husband and I gave up eating fast food almost a year ago, however there are still many nights that no one wants to cook and sitting down or even sitting and waiting for takeout seems like too much. Those were the nights we used to hit up fast food places. In comes El Pollo Loco. Now I know technically EPL is fast food, but when you compare their menu to, say, McDonald's you get food that's way more wholesome and healthy. So it's great that this EPL is just down the street from us because I end up stopping in to pick up pollo bowls quite often. I don't do chicken on the bone, but my husband loves their chicken meals. I love their ultimate bowl. The avocados are always fresh and the bowl itself is filling, even without the tortillas (which I never order so I can't speak on their quality). Pretty much I only eat the bowls, the salads, and when I'm feeling especially fat, the macaroni and cheese. All of them are excellent, especially coming from a fast food joint. A couple weeks ago I was fighting an extremely sore throat. I did not want to eat, cook, sit in a restaurant, or do anything but be sick under a blanket. We decided to run through EPL so my husband could get himself some dinner since I wasn't hungry. But behold! El Pollo Loco had tortilla soup! Just what a sick person with a sore throat would desire. I ordered a large but they either accidentally gave me two, or the large is very large because I had enough for dinner that night and lunch the next day. It comes with crunchy tortillas strips and cilantro and queso fresco. I was very pleased with the quality. I should also note that I'm VERY picky when it comes to meat. I was a vegetarian for years and only started eating meat again because I became anemic and started dreaming about meat (seriously). So, because of that, I will often stop eating a meal right in the middle if I feel the meat is not great quality. I don't like dark meat or fat. If I find any of those weird veins in my chicken, I'm done. That being said, I've never had a problem with the chicken from this El Pollo Loco. The chicken on my pollo bowls is always large chunks of freshly grilled chicken breast. Even the meat in the soup was top quality. It's refreshing to trust the meat, especially for someone like me. Also, CHEAP. Also also, their churros are pretty good for $1. read more

El Pollo Loco - Tortilla soup. My bowl and spoon, but everything else courtesy of El Pollo Loco. - Mexican Near Me - El Cajon, California

Dam this place... Didn't give me any salsa... The girl said it was in the bag and she was the one who asked me if I wanted some when I ordered during the drive through. This sucks... You know how dry their chicken gets after sitting for a while. I usually buy chicken for lunch and ill have it again later dinner time. The car before me asked for some extra salsa and the girl also told the driver, she gave extras in the bag... So when I pulled up I figure she got it, she is good at her job since she asked me if I wanted some salsa and tortillas.... WRONG!!! Damn I shoulda ask for some salsa lol. (I wonder if the car in front of me got their salsa) The chicken was good, made a little taco for myself. Dry as hell... Hope this places do me justice next time and ill review again Or add to this one. read more

First off this restaurant is old and run down. Not a fave and have had problems before with quality but decided to try again since it's close and I had a coupon. First I had issue with their app. They offer a free appetizer for first time users. It didn't work. And if courseI there is no one to help you. Nice bait and switch. I went ahead and ordered anyway. Chipotle Avocado Burrito was so spicy it was almost inedible. Have ordered before, I'm not sure what happened. I contacted the "HELP" line whose email address starts with DO NOT REPLY. I knew it was probably a waste to go on after seeing that but I did. They were a absolutely no help and obviously did not want to be bothered. I was sent to an faq page like a 3rd grader who asked too many questions in class, and is told to quit asking questions. I'm done. There are too many good places to eat in San Diego that I'm not going to waste money on one that really doesn't care and has inconsistent quality. SIDENOTE... It appears their current CEO came from Starbucks. That could explain a lot regarding there customer service. read more

The cashier and shift manager were very nice and went out of their way to get us what we ordered and make our visit awesome!!!

Came in today with a coupon for a family meal, and the Customer Service was actually much, much better this time. The Food wasn't bad either. Keep up the good customer service and keep the food hot; if you keep this up, maybe more customers will give 5 star reviews. read more

Ordered 10 pc mixed chicken dinner with pinto beans, mac 'n cheese, roasted corn and sweet corn cake. Chicken was fresh! Beans were hot. Mac 'n cheese was gooey, roasted corn - meh and the sweet corn cake - the best! read more

I like El Pollo Loco especially this one, tonight I went and saw a tip jar on the front counter. To me it's that's wrong! A large fast food chain resorting to begging for tips? C'mon, that's just tacky! read more

Not smart workers at all , she forget to add drink to my meal and when I asked to add she charged me the regular price $2 while it said add a drink for $1 It's on Wednesday 14 August of 2019 read more

**DELIVERY** Move over pizza, El Pollo Loco is in the house On-line order received in 30 minutes . I ordered the '8 piece family choice' dinner. Chicken: delicious, hot, freshly cooked. Black beans: steaming hot, delicious Rice: Warm, not hot, still pretty good. Tortilla Soup: Steaming Hot, very good! Flour Tortillas: still pretty warm. I asked for, and received: cilantro, onions, salsa, pico de gallo. The tortilla strips for the soup were bagged separate (very nicely done). Everything was packaged and bagged exceptionally well: NO SPILLS! It was raining outside (in San Diego?), Saturday night, football on TV.. and still, I received: great, fast, friendly delivery service! PS: Thumbs Up for DoorDash! read more

Haven't been to pollo loco fro a while. Ordered chicken, tamales n chicken tortilla soup. Chicken was regular nothing special, tamales were not worth ordering again....tasteless, too much masa and shredded chicken nor chunks. Soup was exceptional. Full of chicken and flavor excellent read more

Watched the tamales commercial play twice in a row at home, drive there t ok get 4 tamales for 5.99 was told had to buy $20 meal in order to get them. I'm from LA where (Real) Tamales are $1.00 each I'm already overpaying, then was told to go to the window and I thought they were going to honor them at that price, instead I hear the employee's assaulting me I n Spanish using Curse words, then they refused to give me their names, and called police on me, all while in drive through for 6 minutes! I'm disgusted by this behavior and will go to lengths to get them reprimanded! I when home without Dinner and very upset, I'm going to leave reviews on every social media outlets and make sure the public knows they are racist account Caucasians!!!!! read more

You don't even deserve one star but wont let me post it worst experience ever don't waste your money here i hope and they will go out of business coz of their shitty service and bad food the cheap ass mexican lady short and wear reading glasses with very bad costumer service i spend 35 dollars on food ask for water cup witch the cheep ass mexican lady give me not even a cup its was very small like quarter size cup and it was very hot day today i drink water and i refill water again i saw i think was raspberry i was let me try it and that cheap ass lady said thats not water if you want soda you can purchase i told her this is not even a cop and i just bought food from you worth 35 dollars i was just testing the drink if i like it i was going to buy some and i told her this is my first time her and its going to be the last time i don't want to come to cheep ass restaurant and also they forgot my corn tortias 9 pieces but F that i didn't go back and i don't want it and also the chicken was dried and not to good very bad costumer service this lady should go sell thinks in the swap meet not in this restaurant and specifically that area now im reading the costumers reviews im like wow why i didn't read this reviews before i went there i don't recommend this restaurant stay away they don't deserve you spending money there theres another locations one on broadway EL cajon and one in Santee also with this costumer service they will go out of business soon garbage restaurant and Ghetto lady read more

This place will forever be known as El Pelo Loco to me and my cousin after finding un pelo en mi plato de pollo several years ago. Please wear hairnets people! That is all. :-) read more

The crazy chicken is definitely a step up from most fast food places in my opinion with grilled chicken and good sides. I go to this location every so often and have never had an issue or a bad meal. Staff is always friendly, the food is always fresh and really good, and drive-thru is usually pretty fast. I usually get the Pollo bowl combo, really good deal for only $5. Chips, drink and a loaded bowl. My only suggestion is I wish they stayed open later. With not alot of late night food options in this shopping center, I think they would get a lot of business if they stayed open for a couple more hours. read more

Twice a month we use this El Polo Loco for over 30 people.The food is always good and the service is excellent. Any issue we have ever had has been handled immediately and to our complete satisfaction.We will continue to order from this location and would recommend to any one individual or group. read more

Worst service I have ever experienced. Young man stood behind the cash register, didn't bother to speak. I waited for him to take my order. He never did. Meanwhile, another counter person (I assume one who is older and more experienced) stood by idly chatting with another customer about her/his vaction. After 10 minutes, I decided they didn't want my business and left. I wanted a good salad for a sick friend, so I drove over to La Mesa El Pollo Loco (where the service is traditionally great) and bought the desired salad. I will never return to the El Cajon store, not when the people in La Mesa act like they truly want my business and make it a pleasure. read more

i ordered the three tacos al carbon combo with a coke in the drive thru, it took a few minutes for them to give me the food which wasn't a big deal. the reason for my one star review is because the chicken in my tacos was burnt, it tasted so bad i didn't even finish my food. total waste of money. if you want non burnt chicken go to the pollo loco on broadway read more

Food is pretty good for the price definitely worth the food. Just horrible customer service and employee do not care about what you need. For example, I needed the restroom and I got near the door when an employee told me that I needed keys. Instead of offering to open the door with the keys he instead got inside. Which he showed no need to help and when I asked for the keys in front the employee was confused. Then she tells me that the other key is missing. They just give you attitude just for asking but food is worth it. read more

Didn't give me salsa with my meal, like???? That's the whole point! You're the ones who asked me in the first place and you didn't even give it to me haha which is pretty sad. Otherwise it's just some stupid whatever chicken with tortilla. Gross. Going tomorrow to get the salsa I should've already had. read more