I really enjoy the food at El Pollo Loco, and I usually go to the Monterrey location. On this occasion, I ended up visiting the La Quinta branch on Highway 111, where I was assisted by Jezabel! She was very friendly and attentive--great at serving customers and offering recommendations on their specials. Why am I leaving a review for this specific location? Because I've visited other El Pollo Loco branches where the staff always seemed to be in a bad mood and had terrible attitudes. At *this* El Pollo Loco location: 1) Great customer service! 2) The food came out in less than 4 minutes! 3) The food was exceptional in both presentation and flavor! 4) A very clean establishment with plenty of convenient parking! Definitely 5 stars for outstanding service--especially from Jezabel! read more

El Pollo Loco - Plate of pollo and all the goodies - Fast Food Near Me - La Quinta, California

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Horrible!! Order the salsa verde "quesadilla" payed $11.73 for literally a COLD tortilla with hardly any chicken, almost no cheese and chips. I should had bought a rotisserie chicken instead and made my own damn quesadilla at home!!! I used the kiosk cause the lady at the register seem super annoyed at her job. She was wearing glasses, Hispanic on 6/29 @ 6:30pm she was so rude to an elderly woman snapping her mouth as she was bother by her, the lady simply asked for extra salsa and that employee said OH MY GOD!!!! Tried to respond to the comment that was left by Olivia R. from Business Customer Service when I did and got to the part where I had to check the box, I'm not a robot and it never worked!!!! read more

El Pollo Loco - A cold salsa verde "quesadilla" with no cheese - Fast Food Near Me - La Quinta, California

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Terrible service. Waited 10 minutes and all the employees ignored everyone in line till people left. They definitely need better training.

Came to this location in La Quinta went through the drive-through and Xavier helped me. He made sure I had all my condiment and was with a great attitude. Thank you. read more

I was super surprised to see so many negative reviews for this El Pollo Loco. I have only had fantastic food and service at this location, and on top of that it has a chic decor scheme going on. It has a station where you can order on a touch screen (which I never use) and if I order from a human I never get shade from them for not using the kiosk. (yes, this is a thing at many fast food restaurants) The food is freshly prepared and always in uniform quantities with all my other visits. Honestly just a quality restaurant all around. I highly recommend this El Pollo Loco store! read more

El Pollo Loco - Fast Food Near Me - La Quinta, California

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I've given this location more chances than I should have, but today's experience finally pushed me to leave a review. This is, without a doubt, the worst El Pollo Loco I've ever been to. Since the day this La Quinta location opened, there has been one issue after another. I've been told they're out of chicken, out of corn, out of beans, you name it. One time I sat in the drive-thru for over 30 minutes, only to finally reach the speaker and be told they had no chicken. There was a long line of cars, and not one employee or manager came outside to let customers know. Everyone just sat there wasting their time. Today was the final straw. I went through the drive-thru and was told, "We have no chicken." At El Pollo Loco... a restaurant whose main product is chicken. I said, "Okay, thank you," because honestly, I was confused. Then the employee asked, "Are you still going to order?" Order what? I came for chicken. This isn't a one-time mistake, it's a recurring pattern. At some point, management has to take responsibility. Running out of your signature product over and over again shows a serious lack of planning, inventory management, and leadership. A competent manager should be reviewing sales trends, ordering appropriately, and making sure the restaurant is prepared for business. The employees can only do so much, but the leadership at this location is clearly failing them. The lack of communication, poor preparation, and overall disorganization make this one of the most frustrating fast-food experiences I've had. Corporate really needs to step in, evaluate the management at this location, and make changes. This restaurant has so much potential, but it's being held back by poor leadership. Until then, I won't be returning. read more

Our last visit to ElPollo, been going there for years went tru drive tru today 55.00 for a 12 piece meal that's 6 Costco chickens or 8 great chicken sandwiches from chick filet Let that sink in! read more

Management is bad. Personnel slowly walking around, getting their drinks while no one is handling the customers. Ordered 12 piece at self service without the system advising that there is NO chicken READY! Why would a restaurant NOT BE READY with chicken being cooked at 5:45 PM. WHO is managing this place! There were NO chickens on the grill! read more

Bad service food took so long got my order wrong food was cold! And people were asking for missing items on there order not sure what's going on but kinda ruins the pollo loco experience. Sad. read more

First time ever dining at El Pollo Loco. Disapointing. I ordered the two piece meal, with a leg and thigh. Rather than a thigh I received 1/4 of a thigh and the tail end of the ribs. I total the peice may have yoelded about 1/3 the meat of a full thigh. This doesn't mean I'm giving up on El Pollo Loco, but I'll be on guard should I ever revisit. read more

El Pollo Loco - Chicken rib running through a so called chicken thigh. - Fast Food Near Me - La Quinta, California

"I drove 17 minutes to this location because it's the closest one to my home. After waiting over 15 minutes in the drive-thru, I was told it would be another 20+ minute wait and asked if I still wanted to order. When I agreed, I was then informed that several menu items, including rice and mashed potatoes, were unavailable, leaving me with very limited options. After all of that, I was asked to park in the front and wait even longer. I understand that busy times happen, but better communication about wait times and unavailable items before customers spend so much time in line would greatly improve the experience." read more

Indio El Polo Loco Eight piece thigh:leg meal was not fit to eat . Old tasting and skin was like leather .I have called and left messages two times no call back. To expensive for this horrible food . I will not be back read more

El Pollo Loco - 8 piece chicken meal for 30.00 - Fast Food Near Me - La Quinta, California

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Fresh delicious convenient and the price is right. I always go back ! Highly recommended

What a horrible place to eat...the portion of serving for my Chicken Bowl was dismal-the contents was below the bowl line as if someone was playing a prank on me. I simply could not accept it. I shared my displeasure with the person who took my order and she had no response. Nothing! No reply or a word. Noticing her lack of response, I asked her to refund me or make another one that resembles the picture on the menu. She literally walked away and went to the back of the kitchen. About a minute later, the Manager walked up from the back and proceeded to process my refund. When I asked her if she would resolve my complaint, she refused to answer me and proceeded to process my refund. Again, I asked her why she wasn't offering to make another one, she had a smirk on her face and would not answer me once more. Once she printed the refund receipt, she layed it down on the counter and walked away. Her name is Amada. She lacked any semblance of professionalism, care, empathy or concern AND showed utter contempt and disdain. Now for the candid opinion: the service and attitude was pure TRASH! I normally eat 3-4 times a week at El Pollo Loco throughout the Coachella Valley. This happened on May 20 at 11:39 am. Since then and going forward, I will not eat at an El Pollo Loco again. read more

This place should be shut down! This is the absolute worst El Pollo Loco I've ever been to. They cut their breasts in half and they are dry as dirt. Basically chicken jerky. The wings are not even a full wing either but just the tip of the wing! It's absolutely disgusting and sickening especially for the amount of money they charge! Save your money and frustration and go anywhere but here! They should be ashamed of the food they dole out! It's not even edible and it's just gross and frankly inedible! read more

I don't know why I've come back here!!!! It's the same EVERY time I've come back here. The food looks ugly (I remembered to add a picture this time! The food doesn't taste fresh either! Unless things change here and I see some positive reviews were not coming back. Maybe if management acknowledges as well and are going to assess my concerns. read more

El Pollo Loco - Horrible! Nasty tasting! Unacceptable! - Fast Food Near Me - La Quinta, California

Can see why only 2 stars ordered 2 double chicken avocado salads it was missing the corn one of the main ingredients that makes this salad good, the chicken was dry and had a whole leaf of purple cabbage and lacked in avocado, looked a salad you get at a cafeteria! read more

If I could give zero I'd glad give no stars. I'm severe stomach allergic to shrimp and 1000% cross contamination is happening. Friday I bought all chicken meals (mine was a chicken tostada) I've NEVER had an issue with their food until today. I started to vomit 30 mins after my meal (the type of vomiting I get when I've had any shellfish interaction) and come to find out they fry their tostada shells in the same oil as the shrimp!!!!! WTF who is training these people you can kill somebody you idiots!!!! read more

If I could put 0 stars are I would. Bad customer service gave me little salsa even after I offered to pay for it and the food was cold. The manager was also being rude and the place had zero hospitality. read more

Portions have gotten smaller, food not fully cooked and rude staff. It's gone way down hill since they opened in La Quinta. Even the one in Indio has had bad ratings (cockroachs). read more

I decided to try this location again.. 6 years later.... Still terrible. I tried the shredded chicken nachos. The chicken had bits of bone in it. They were like thin sharp bone fragments. It stabbed me in the mouth and was super gross. Don't go here! Not only is that super unappetizing but also very dangerous. It's surprising that a large chain like this would put people at risk serving sharp bone bits. read more

Been through the drive thru here a couple times but it was so backed up today that I decided to go in to order. Service was fast & friendly. The inside area was actually nice & looked clean. The food was good minus the fact that our side salad bowls were about half full & the lettuce wasn't fresh. Solid 3 1/2 stars but I rounded up because the service was so fast & friendly! read more

"I'm sorry boss, but you are going to have to wait 25 minutes if you want chicken." To be told that while in line in a drive thru at a restaurant that specializes in chicken...I don't know. I assumed that they knew people were going to be ordering chicken and therefore would keep it cooking. "All the other food is still available." Oh, okay, so instead of chicken, I will take home an order of mashed potatoes and pinto beans for my families dinner. Awesome. The guy on the speaker mumbled something about there being a rush, but as I drove past the service window, I could see the restaurant had 2 customers in there eating. read more

This place is going to shit every day. This is the last time I buy anything from there. Twenty-seven dollars for a crapy burrito and a crapy 4 pieces combo. They gave me the most horrible dry pieces of chicken. These are the salsas. My husband burrito waa almost meatless. read more

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Great service and good quality chicken very clean environment shout out to Anthony for attending us

It seems like every time I go to this spot in the evening they are out of bone-in chicken and I am told I'll have to wait 45 minutes or so. Really disappointed. read more

Well tried this location Again, over the weekend. Ordered the 3 piece meal, gotv2 small breasts and One Dried up wing! Also ordered Mashed potatoes only. *** The time of day was a little bit past 5. Pm, noticed very few chicken items on the grill! The Chicken breast were Very, very dry. So dunked them in the gravy. ** Didn't feel like Fighting with the staff as to wether or not this is a Properly grilled chicken!! When I lived in Orange County ,CA , the Tustin location was much better!! I give up, maybe try the location in Indio! ** Doesn't look like Management reads these reviews so , bye, bye to this El Pollo!! read more

El Pollo Loco - Three piece Chicken meal, two thighs and one drumstick - Fast Food Near Me - La Quinta, California

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I would give 0 stars if I could. There has been a recurrence at this place of my chicken always being burnt! This time I ordered my usual a chicken tostada and the chicken was shredded and very burnt! I was waiting in line for at least 15 minutes. The service there is terrible, there was two men standing around laughing and cursing very loudly. That is extremely inappropriate and unprofessional. I will not be coming back here again. read more

Recent Experience: Last night my husband ordered food for us online for pickup. He drove over there to go pick it up, came back, and nearly half of our order was missing. My husband said that the guy that gave him the order over the counter said everything was there, so my husband just trusted that. We were missing soup, a taco, chips, tortillas, and sauces that were blatantly listed on the receipt that was attached to the bag he picked up. My husband called prior to driving over there to speak with a manager to see if we could get a refund on the missing items (this was before we realized MORE things were missing), which they honored, but not the remaining items. Mind you, we live 10 minutes away. So it took my husband 10 minutes to get there, and 10 minutes to get back. We now had to drive back. In total this was a 40 minutes excursion. Upon coming back the second time, my husband went back inside and when he came back out he said they were kind of short and snappy with him and that the guy who originally said that everything was there, tried to play it off like my HUSBAND did something wrong while ordering online, that caused them to miss a plethora of items. Like, c'mon, own up to the fact that you missed half the order, it's not that hard to take accountability. That along with remaking the food we actually got, because by the time we got back home my husbands food was cold. Needless to say, everything about this experience was unacceptable. Sure, you can say, well my husband should have double checked the bag before driving away, but that's not our job. It's the employees job to double check everything before handing it over to a customer to avoid things like this happening. We will not be coming back here. read more

Don't get the Tostada Salad with shrimp. Safer with the chicken. Tried 2 days in a row and the shrimp was inedible. Grilled too hard both times. The seasoning they put on it is super salty as well. read more

Wrong order, Husband saw after he got home. Asked for 2.....hello.....2 Chicken Tostadas. Got 1 Chicken, 1Beef....what!!! He went back and showed the person at the uhhhh payment desk the receipt and she just blew it off. Hahaha...OMG! Got your name and contacting Corp.! read more

Place is unkempt, the employees are less interested in their job , no one wearing gloves. The food preparation area from where I could see it was messy . I got noodles in with my corn . The corn was watery. The chicken was dry and overcooked , almost burnt . The slaw which is usually so good was soggy . The guy who took my order kept looking passed me , I had to over my order several times as he just didn't seem to focus. He was more interested that the police were there because a homeless person fell asleep at one of the tables.. There had to be 6 employees and everyone was just talking , not cleaning the prep area or showing any interest. Been going ti El Pollo Loco for years and I see the decline.. its 5 pm and only 5 customers!! Should have got the clue read more

My experience was a 0/0 after a while of not having el pollo loco my family encouraged me to pick a family meal on Saturday 18th, the morning on the 19th. I am continuing to vomit and have diarrhea please do not go to this location unless you want to catch food poisoning like me, I would like to recompensed for the money I wasted this establishment should have their food handlers cards taken from them no one should go their sitting by a toilet continuously vomiting/ having diarrhea shivving cold as we speak. read more

Terrible! I said "Cole slaw" 3 times In drive-through, came home to find they gave me beans instead! So annoying!

Once again I have received horrible service here. This must be the 3rd time I place a mobile order to pick up inside and have had to deal with the dinning room being locked. I Parked in mobile pick up spots and called the restaurant about 6 times with no answer. I was hoping to cancel the order...so I preceeded to get on the drive through line only to have the girl behind the ordering speaker be rude to me and then refuse to tell me her name and could barely remember her supervisors name. My food was cold since it had been sitting there ready for over 35 minutes. read more

Talking about shrinkflation!! $10 for a meal with the smallest chicken I've ever seen! The leg wasn't much bigger than my thumb and I have small thumbs! read more

El Pollo Loco - 2pc leg and thigh meal. - Fast Food Near Me - La Quinta, California

We had the 8 piece family meal with 4 legs and 4 thighs, rice, beans, corn tortillas, salsas. We all enjoyed the flavorful meal.

Ordered last 12/22 online, meal for two and a classic chicken burrito combo. Got home, there was no flour tortillas that's supposed to be part of the meal for two and I believe it was the male manager that handed the meal to me. My order was missing 4 flour tortillas and no salsa roja too! No napkins, no silverware. Not coming back here read more

I ordered dinner last night on the web and prepaid. Got to the store and there was a cardboard sign out front that just said "Pollo Loco closed". What the heck! I went back today to get my money back and the cardboard sign was gone, but there is a note in the window that says the store is closed due to "minor fire". Then stop taking orders and peoples money! I tried to call the corporate office in Santa Ana. Sat on hold for about half an hour and then the call disconnected. Tried again later and just gave up after sitting on hold forever. I'm challenging this through my bank now. This is ridiculous! read more

El Pollo Loco - Fast Food Near Me - La Quinta, California

One star only because we actually got our order. Worst attitudes and ridiculous wait time even though nobody but us were in there. No salsa available. How in the F is that possible??? It's 1pm! Won't be going back & won't recommend read more