Terrible service. Stood at the counter for 10 minutes and never got acknowledged. All workers just staring at us and never asked if we were needing help. They weren't even busy just didn't wanna serve us I guess. Decided to leave and spend our money somewhere else. read more

Food has changed too much from the original days. So sad. There are other options in the area b

I used to go to El Pollo Loco in the early 2000s and loved it. Now every time I go it seems the chicken is getting smaller and smaller. Last night I ate there and I asked a manager if they're buying baby chickens. I told Manager every time I buy chicken breast they're always dry. She told me oh no it's fresh you're gonna love it. I got two thighs and a breast. Three or four bites of meat and each thigh is not enough to feed a kid. And my chicken breast was dry and some of it was so hard you couldn't even chew it. I'm never going back there again. I am so disappointed because I was craving it for several days. read more

I believe this has got to be the best chicken tortilla soup i've ever ordered for takeout. I added cilantro to it just because I love cilantro and as you can tell from my picture- All Gone. It's yummy. read more

El Pollo Loco - My empty bowl - - Mexican Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

I have eaten at El Pollo Loco twice First time was 20 years ago, ate at the El Pollo Loco that just opened up behind my house, it was disgusting, I was halfway through eating a piece of chicken, and it was still raw inside, They offered a coupon to make up for it. The second time a friend talked me into going through the drive through, her chicken salad contained No chicken in it, and my 2 piece dinner, consisted of a wing cut in half, the 2 tiny pieces were a 2 piece chicken dinner, was offered another coupon for more of their disgusting food. El Pollo Loco is a joke read more

This location is CONSTANTLY out of dark meat. We've come at all different times all different days and it's ALWAYS the same problem. Talking to a manager does nothing. They don't care. They will say whatever they think they should say to keep you from complaining to corporate. If I could give zero stars I would. read more

smells bad slow perma-stoned employees first time here at this location didnt get my order done dude on other end sound high asf so i backed out and left read more

I would just like to thank the team at this location for being so rude and providing such poor service that I was hurried through my order so quickly I forgot to order the chips and guacamole and churros. Staying on my meal plan thanks to you. All kidding aside, service is horrible but the food and the price can't be beat. The only reason that this place is getting two stars. Please educate your employees on customer service. read more

This location's quality control is non existent. You order rice and they give you mac & cheese, order corn tortilla and they give you flour. I ordered mash potatoes no gravy and I got mashed potatoes with gravy mixed in. If you are feeling adventurous on what you want to consume , visit this location, more than likely they will not pay attention to you and give you what they are craving. May the odds be ever in your favor. read more

I used to love El Pollo Loco, but yesterday we were in the area and I hadn't had it in awhile, we are dieting so we needed something healthy and stopped for an 8 piece chicken only. Not only was it expensive,$16!!! but the chicken was so dry the skin was like leather and the thigh meat was mushy and weird, even the salsa which I used to love wasn't good. I will never go back, it's just not good anymore. read more

So let me start off by saying I absolutely have no complaints about the food here and find El Pollo Loco to be absolutely delicious. My complaint is with getting what you pay for and getting the correct items! Every time we come here they mess up our order or don't give us something(and no I'm not exaggerating). I always order through the app for convenience and so I don't have to burden anyone with taking my order over the drive thru speaker, but they still screw up every time! I've learned to go straight to a parking spot after I get my food and go through the bag to make sure everything is there and every time I have to go back in because I'm missing something! When I pay almost $50 for fast food chicken, I expect to get the salsa I asked for, the gravy for my potatoes, the correct amount of pieces of chicken, the correct tortillas I ordered ect... I always order extra tortillas(which they charge for) and they always short me. Whoever is bagging these orders needs to pay better attention. I'm sure the employees don't care, but the manager should care if his/ her team isn't doing their job correctly and shorting customers by not paying attention. read more

After driving past this location maybe a thousand times in the past 5 years, I finally caved. The commercials on TV always made El Pollo Loco chicken look amazing, but my star rating clearly says otherwise. I ordered to take-out the 8 mixed pieces (chicken only). Good: The girl taking our order was really nice and patient as we were trying to figure out what to order. The place looked clean and there was an ample amount of space to sit in. They have a small salsa bar with three options: Spicy Avocado/Guac, Pico De Gallo, and House Salsa. Not so good: Well, I thought it was a little on the pricier side since I paid $15+ total for 8 pieces of chicken only. That's really sad for fast food. But to give an idea of how big the pieces were, all 8 of them fit in one of those square Styrofoam boxes that is often used for taking home remaining food at a restaurant. We opted to try the salsa bar so we took home at least one of each kind. The pico de gallo and the regular salsa tasted horrible. The tomatoes tasted rotten..awful. You know it's bad when a young boy who loves salsa spits it out and says it tastes gross. Also, the chicken was pretty bland, and they had told us they don't have spicy or any other. I totally understand the lack of customers at the location considering there were only a couple and another person, besides myself. read more

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Out for a quick bite today & in the mood for chicken, we decided my husband and I to go to El Pollo Loco. We have been here a few times before however, quite a long time ago now. We ordered the family meal which has 8 pieces of chicken and 2 large sides. We decided to order the rice and coleslaw. For some reason they offered us an extra side for free. Glad they did, we picked the corn without asking why! The whole meal with one small drink cost around $26, not too bad. While waiting for our food, we got our toppings from the bar and the drink. A few minutes later, they called our name. When we opened the box, we were surprised to see that the chicken pieces were small, they looked like Cornish hens rather than chicken! The drum stick was super tiny. We were worried this wasn't gonna be enough after all but we decided to just dig in and hope with all the sides and the tortillas that we would be full. Honestly, the food was delicious. The chicken was tender and fresh and the sides were great. By the time I had my third piece I was absolutely full. My husband enjoyed the rest of the meal and by the end of it, we were both glad we ordered it not more, not less because it was the perfect portion. Will be coming back again. I've always liked their food and so far they have never disappointed me. read more

I hate that people are so much more motivated to leave poor reviews than good ones. I've been to this location about 30 times (not exaggerating!). They're FANTASTIC!! The staff is super friendly, they always get my order right (minus a tostada dressing ONE time), they're always ready with my order on time, the restaurant is clean, and it's a nice atmosphere. The food is always fresh and high quality. They've really, really earned this rating. I feel for those who had a poor experience, but if it was a one time experience, consider mine. I'll probably hit 50 visits by autumn of this year (2021) and I continue to be impressed. I'd love to give something back to the staff here for their outstanding service. read more

We decided to try this location again. My husband being from Mexico 38 years ago, loves the beans and rice a lot. Their customer service is the worst. WE drive way out of our area to get better customer service, especially when you are hungry. We never did a thing to this store, we just order. So I got an email that if you order $30, you save $10. Sure enough, I forgot to add the coupon and the app said call the restaurant if you wish to cancel. I did and they said they had no idea how to cancel my order. So I paid double, yes, I paid again, just to get the coupon off. They owe me $30.31. I will call the corporate office or my bank to get a refund. Upon arrival and sitting in the curb pick up, no one came out. Why have it? We went in and service was slow and the poor guy ordering in front of us, trying to get the worker to smile. Why not say thank you, welcome in or please? The lady whom finally handed me my order, never thanked me. We are grateful people that just want to eat. Why treat good people this way? Put more value on customers. Geez! Very disappointing. You can do better. I bet your CEO would be waited on. Do you love negative reviews? Stop treating people like this. read more

Beginning in Mexico originally as a Roadside Chicken Stand, El Pollo Loco has come a long way since opening it's first American El Pollo Loco on Alvarado Street in Los Angeles (I think sometime in 1980) In any event I love when I get to visit in Southern California & Arizona. That's when I get a chance to grab me some Pollo Loco !! Such a different chicken place from the others !! Their Fire Grilled Marinated process just makes the difference !! So Many Sides to choose from, it's getting me hungry just writing this review....... I have visited this location a few times during my visits and have always had good service. They have Horchata here too !!! Would be nice if they expanded the market to Washington State !! (Hint, Hint.......) I would definitely visit here again. read more

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i have a really strong stomach keep in mind- not even 5 minutes after eating this i instantly was sick to my stomach and curled up on the couch. The chicken looked and tasted old. The rice and beans were fine. The salsa (pico) had a stale color to it also and was definitely NOT fresh. BLECK. i wish i could describe how absolutely terrible the chicken was. the outside was rock hard and the inside was slimy and grey and mushy. PLEASE SAVE YOUR STOMACH/HEALTH AND DONT COME HERE read more

I have always loved El Pollo Loco but this was the first location I have tried in Arizona. I love that they have many lo carb/healthy-ish items on the menu. For lunch I decided to go with the Double Chicken Avocado Salad. It was pretty good but the ingredients could've been a bit more fresh. The lettuce wasn't super crispy and the avocado was already starting to brown. This salad could've been so much better if it had been fresh. There were lots of other healthy items on the menu as well so I'd like to return and try something else when in the area. read more

El Pollo Loco - Double Chicken Avocado Salad...380 calories - Mexican Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

The grilled chicken is fantastic. Plenty of sides to choose from. Bowls and Tostada Salad Bowls are good. The manager of this location has been here for many years and when he is here, the place clicks like a clock. He's a good guy. read more

I used to love pollo loco. But all the food on my plate tasted like some kind rancid cooking oil. It was disappointing. The taste clung to everything. It had to be the oil that was the only common denominator. So bad I will never go back. Ugh. read more

Chicken tasted very bad at first bite. It seemed as it had been left out for hours. Had to throw it away. Service was bad. They hand you the bag of food at drive thru and close the window with no "thank you" or "thanks for coming". No courtesy at all. Will never return. read more

I ordered the classic pollo bowl and got about two teaspoons of dark meat chicken. What happened to breast meat in this bowl?? The bowl was full of rice, I'll give them that, but that is obviously the cheapest thing you could give more of. I'm very sick of places like this shrinking food and raising prices and thinking we are all too stupid to notice. Well, guess what? We notice. I will not be back. read more

This is by far the worst experience I've ever had at el pollo loco. I haven't been here in along time and now I know why. I ended up going to the drive thru and order 2 chicken avocado stuffed quesadillas. I asked for no pico and there was pico in both. The chicken was raw and bloody my wife and I took a few bites and threw them away. We will never be returning here again. read more

I rarely eat here cause it's so over priced for what u get but I saw a advertisement for 4 cheese enchiladas for 4$. Guess what? It's only if u order the 20$ family meal. It's gonna be a few more years again before you trick me into over priced food and long wait times. read more

Normally have good service and food here, but last night my husband got a chicken dinner and I had two pieces of thighs. For some reason they kinda made me sick and thought I'd throw up, but I stuck it out and took a tums before bed just in case--- fast forward to tonight I thought it was a fluke so I had two more thighs that was left. This time they had to come back up. They were tough and just didn't taste right. Puked most of them up. Gross. read more

I stopped in today to order dinner, which was a double chicken tostad, and a 2 piece white,cole slaw and mashed potatoe, when I got home (Gold Canyon) about 15 miles from this location, OF COURSE THEY HAD MESSED UP MY ORDER GIVING ME A THIGH AND A LEG, to far to drive back and get it done right, if I do ever go back I will always double check the entire..Guess I'll have cereal for dinner, so upset. read more

This restaurant was out of chicken their main food item they serve very frustrating, and got two small burritos and 2 small tacos and were not full at all. Could have gone out for that price and a restaurant would be fully stocked during business hours! Would not recommend anymore. read more

It's the crazy chicken. You know what to expect when you go here. For those who don't know what to expect, it's a Mexican/American fast food restaurant that serves some satisfying flame grilled chicken at a low price. Remember that I said fast food, so this means it can potentially come with bad service (depending on the cashier) and crazy customers. I really do like this location though. I think I come here at least 1x/every week or every other week to get a fix of my pollo bowl, overly sweetened horchata, and some bomb guacamole salsa (I seriously think this is one of the best salsas I have ever had) They also have some great $5 deals going on every now and then. Not to mention the coupons they constantly give you for family meals and other smaller items. They also have a "dollar" menu but they are priced starting at $1.14 for a chicken taco, flan, a piece of chicken leg (yes just the leg), churros, and other things. It's quite a value meal deal. To me, if you don't like El Pollo Loco, then maybe your palate is just too fancy or just plain wrong. I support the crazy chicken! read more

The food is good and a welcomed break from the average fast food joint. However, when I was eating there, something in their kitchen started beeping really loudly. I watched to see if anyone was going to turn off whatever was sounding the alarm...but no one looked affected b the noise. The beeping continued for over 8 minutes before I asked an employee what was making all that noise. She said they were cleaning some equipment. And asked if the noise was bothering me with a tone and look that showed she was confused that anyone would be complaining about it. It was very annoying and caused me to rush to finish my food just to get out of there before I ripped all my hair out. I only give them 3 stars because the food was good. Otherwise it would have been less just for the poor service and disregard for their customer's dining experience. read more

I have to come inside the restaurant to make sure that my take out order will not be another mistake. Well, The gentlemen that took my order seems to have a hard time understanding my English. My order was speedy and no mistake this time. I am looking forward in the future of a service crew who can hear well when taking my order. read more

El Pollo Loco - Nice parking space. - Mexican Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

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DO NOT EAT AT THIS LOCATION!!! The food was only average The restaurant was dirty It was 85 degrees in the dining room and the woman at the restaurant said she couldn't turn it down :-( To top it all off...I called the manager the next day to report that someone had fraudulently used my credit card the day after I used it at his restaurant. I wanted him to know, just in case there was a pattern. He was argumentative, not helpful or concerned at all. I have no reason to go back here. read more

We went here recently and were very disappointed. This El Pollo Loco restaurant was absolutely FILTHY! Every table in the dining room was not only covered in trash, but the floor had garbage all over as well! The seats were covered in some kind of sticky substance (I'm guessing it was soda). It was no wonder we were the only customers in the place. And it wasn't like they were short staffed as they had plenty of people involved in horse-play behind the counter. We were forced to eat our meal outside which we really didn't want to because the store is located on S Power RD and US-60 which is a EXTREMELY busy area. After eating, we used the restroom before we left. TALK ABOUT GROSS AND DISGUSTING!!! Obviously it had not been cleaned for a good long while. EW! We will NEVER patronize El Pollo Loco ever again! I am also reporting this to the AZ Health Dept., Dirty Dining, and have posted in onto my Facebook page as well. I wouldn't be surprised if they close them down! There is NO EXCUSE for this kind of thing, especially since the employees had so much time on their hands to goof off. BEWARE OF THIS EL POLLO LOCO LOCATION!! read more

We ate dinner at this location at mid-afternoon on Friday, May 17. The "Grande Avocado" bowl we ordered had TWO (2) slices of avocado on it! The cashier (a female name "Deisy") could not have been more hateful or arrogant. It was painfully obvious she was annoyed that we had interrupted her day. Totally uncalled for, and a significant detriment to this business. While eating, we battled houseflies throughout the meal. The FOOD here is actually pretty good. Too bad the management and employees don't care enough about their customers to take care of the business. Never again - not at THIS location. read more

I almost never write reviews, but this really made me mad. I got moldy broccoli in my drive through order. My wife gagged when she opened it at home. So I called and talked to a manager, and she even acknowledged that the broccoli had 'brown ends', but it was 'ok'. I said, "that's mold!" She said "what do you want me to do?" I asked for a refund or at least partial refund. She said it's against policy to do that. Offered me a few dollar coupon on next visit. Nope! What's worse, they are continuing to serve that disgusting moldy broccoli. This is the Power Rd location near I-60. Won't be back! read more

We were shorted on the food we ordered for delivery. I spoke with two managers --neither cared, but one was incredibly rude--who told me to call their customer service number. The only solution offered by the managers was for me to drive and get it myself or contact the delivery company, and no help at all was given from the customer service line I called. I declined going to pick it up myself, as I had just paid for delivery and tipped the driver. I was told they would look into it and get back with me. I did not order from a third party website, but directly through the El Pollo website, so I couldn't contact the delivery company for help like they told me to do. They said the driver makes sure the order is right before leaving, so either the driver lied and said it was complete because they didn't check correctly, or they helped themselves to my food. Either way, I didn't get what I paid for. This happened a month ago, so I should have heard back by now if they were going to be honest and return my money. I even wrote to them from the contact form on their website two weeks ago and heard nothing back. I won't eat here again, and I'm spreading the word why that's the case. I know firsthand they won't make things right, and I have no desire to help them stay in business by spending money there without getting the food I paid for. read more

I love this place, the chicken is tasty and seems to be cooked over a fire, has a smoked flavor. My usual is 2 pc chicken with pinto beans and corn. Comes with 2tortillas. Clean place and nice staff.....It's a "to the counter-order-seat yourself place", reasonably priced read more

What they show you on TV is totally different when you get inside there, it's your classic bait and switch it's a con game I'll never go there again to get anything!!!!!! read more

Purchased chicken from your restaurant because the ad on TV showed real good looking meat. When I got it home it was nothing like I expected, and nothing like you showed on your TV ad. It had black (burned ) skin so hard I couldn't chew it. What happened to thr sample you show on TV I probably should have checked it before I left. read more

My wife wanted me to pick up chicken for dinner and I was close to this place so I pulled into the drone thru. The girl took my order and I pulled to the window and paid the $27 for the 8 pc meal. The girl was very friendly and efficient. When I got home and opened the box I was appalled to see 8 pcs that were so small I thought they were from a squab. Really a 1.5lb 1/2 chicken for $27. It will me back to popeyes or KFC from now on. read more

I have been a loyal customer for over a year and up until recently had no issues bigger than the occasional Erie in the order, but I let it go as missing tortilla is no big deal. Last Friday this changed. I drove up to order, had my daughter on my Bluetooth when ordering, and ordered 3 two piece, both breast meat, with Mac and cheese and potatoes and gravy, and a lg guacamole. I had to repeat it three time then was told to pull up. Asked my daughter what I'd ordered and she said 3 two piece meals all wings, Mac and cheese and potatoes and gravy and lg guacamole.Got home and got one breast and one wing in each box and no guacamole. Called right away and explained the situation. Lady saying she was a manager named Marisa til me I had 7 day to come and get my missing items. When I went today to order lunch I let them know I wanted to pick up the missing food from Friday was to again to pull up did so and was told since I wasn't charged for the extra breast I would not get it. The whole issue is that the order was incorrect and I would have been perfectly fine paying the difference for what would have been the correct amount for the order but that was not offered. Was just told the higher ups said again I wasn't charged for it so they denied me the items I as told I could have Friday. I was so upset after producing the asked for receipt with Friday's. I had it with my note on it and showed the lady at the window. She said she was told that I didn't get anything including my order or the large guacamole I paid for on Friday. The chicken we did get on Friday was smaller than usual as well as some being part raw and part over cooked. The last few times the food quality has dropped dramatically. Do yourself a favor and bypass El Pollo Loco! read more