El Pollo Loco

I've been coming to this Chick-fil-A for years since I live nearby, and overall I've had plenty of…read moregood experiences here. The staff is usually friendly, service is quick, and the restaurant is generally well maintained. That said, there was a period where I received undercooked chicken on a couple of separate visits. To be fair, I haven't experienced that issue recently, but it definitely left an impression. As a parent, I now find myself pulling apart my kids' chicken before they eat it just to make sure everything is fully cooked. I continue to visit because the recent experiences have been much better, but food safety is something that sticks with you. I'm hoping those issues are firmly in the past because this location has otherwise been a reliable neighborhood spot for many years.

I'm not sure if the management has changed at this location recently, but I'm honestly shocked by…read moreall the bad and subpar reviews. My husband and I were driving home from LA and thankfully it wasn't Sunday, because I had a mean hankering for Chick-fil-A. I mapped the closest one to the freeway on our route and landed on this location. Upon arrival in the parking lot we were both impressed by the ample parking spaces, despite it being around lunchtime. The woman at the register (red hair, I think her tag may have said she was the catering manager) was super friendly and funny. Once we placed our order and received our food (took less than 5 minutes), we chose a spot over on the astroturf because it was an incredibly beautiful day. There are two reasons I knocked a star off my review - the barstools at the outside tables on the turf are way too high, my legs nor my husband's weren't even able to fit under the table so we were perched awkwardly on the edge of these stools with our knees at table height. The second reason is that I didn't get one of the sauces I'd requested (and honestly I was too lazy to walk back inside to get it). Aside from that, our fries were hot and crispy, our sandwiches were freshly made and everything tasted great. It was a great lunch experience on a beautiful day, and we will definitely be back to this location again.

See all

In-N-Out Burger

3.8(110 reviews)

1.6 mi

We visited on a Sunday night on the way home from San Diego as it's conveniently located right off…read morethe 5 freeway. The food was great. I got the #1 with alterations (Double Double minus onions but with extra spread), fries, and soda. The fries at In-N-Out are usually hit or miss depending on the location, time, and whoever is working but today they were winners. I docked a star because of the condition of the dining area which was disgusting. Although busy, there were several open tables, all of which looked as though swine had been let loose...ketchup smears, pieces of lettuce, spilled drinks, wadded up dirty napkins...you get the idea. A reflection of the deterioration of common decency. We had to go ask for someone to clean a table. He wiped down a tabletop with a wet cloth then left. We got a bunch of napkins to dry the table and clean off the seats...nothing we could really do about the spilled food and condiments under the table other than watch where we put our feet. I've never experienced this before at any In-N-Out. Maybe it was bad timing but next time I'll keep driving north to the next city that has an In-N-Out (I guess that'd be San Juan Capistrano).

I like the burger. Of course the fries are garbage regardless of what they try to sell you they…read moresuck balls they could have at least par fried them and do them French style but they're cold and shitty. I don't know service, stiff and saccharin sweet, but insincere typical teenagers in retail. Better than most but I think they have more supervision here than typical drive-thru joints. Ambiance - piss poor. Often you're turned off before you even get into the center there in because the line is out on the main drag despite the fact that they're supposed to do traffic control. This is something I've noticed up by The lax location where they actually do pretty good job for such a weird location in a very high traffic zone. This really fucked up traffic on pico. And they don't care because they're there to make money not pay people to help the community traffic situation. I got to be honest I don't like buying food here because of their conservative lean and actually supporting what's going on currently so that's that but that's choice the burgers are pretty good. Also just the burger is very affordable. Hard stop there. Go on off hours. You'll be happier. Who the heck wants to deal with that crap in your parking lot anymore I mean really?

See all

In and Out

Nick the Greek

4.6(196 reviews)

1.0 mi

The free baklava got me to write this. The pork belly gyro earned the review…read more Nick the Greek in San Clemente absolutely nailed it. The pork belly gyro was straight fire and is now the only thing I want to order here. Anthony was super helpful, genuinely enthusiastic, and clearly knows what's up because he loves the pork belly too. Come for the gyro. Trust Anthony. Get the pork belly. Disclosure: They gave me a free baklava in exchange for writing an honest review.

Great food, good portions, and everything tasted fresh. The gyro was flavorful, the meat was cooked…read moreperfectly, and the service was friendly. Definitely worth coming back

Dubai Chocolate Froyochocolate

See all

Habit Burger & Grill

3.4(318 reviews)

2.7 mi

I think The Habit gets overlooked because it's a chain. Apparently, once you have more than a few…read morelocations, the burger critics confiscate your "serious burger" credentials. I'd like to officially throw The Habit's hat into the ring. Their burgers have that great chargrilled flavor that a lot of places simply don't have, and they actually show some creativity throughout the year with their specialty burgers. I believe the Hatch Chile burger is coming up, and that one alone is worth a visit. Is it some tiny, secret burger joint where the owner grinds the beef in the back while telling you about his grandfather's recipe? No. But the food is consistently good. And I also appreciate that there are actual choices. Sometimes I want a burger. Sometimes a chicken sandwich. Sometimes a salad. Sometimes onion rings. It's nice going somewhere where the entire menu isn't basically: Burger Burger with cheese Fries Good luck. Give The Habit a chance. The char is real, the specialty burgers are surprisingly good, and there's a lot more variety than many of the trendy burger places getting twice the attention.

So, well I used to come here a lot but as of recently it just hasn't been the same. I haven't been…read moregoing there as much as I used to. Their food portions seem to have shrunk in size a lot while prices remain the same and/or have gone up in price to be honest. When the $5 wraps came out I decided to give it one last chance. I was there on 7/9 in the early evening. First thing when I walk in the manager was having a conversation with what seemed to be customers to him but maybe he knew them personally. Talking about his personal dating life and just not really a dynamic in which this should be spoken of. So I order my food and go to sit at a table. Every single table is dirty. Every single table. So I ask the manager if there's something I can wipe the tables down with. He proceeds to wipe all of the outside tables but left the inside tables dirty. The whole restaurant was just dirty. Laziness is a disease you know? Not to mention the manager, who was seemingly running the store was just so unfriendly and I felt a little bit of a burden when I spoke to him. We got our food. The chicken in my wrap was dry not nearly enough sauce. And where on earth is the patty in my boyfriend's burger ? All in all, this place honestly needs to get shut down at this point. The food isn't great here anymore, the people don't run or maintain it well. I don't think I see myself coming back here sadly. There's plenty of other much better places in town to eat at that are the same price range or slightly cheaper now. Adios, Habit.

This shouldn't be a thing

Onion Rings - Very good

See all

Coastal Cowboy

We moved to SC in early May and have been wanting to try Coastal Cowboy ever since. No seed oils…read moreand garbage in their food, our kind of food. The first move is you walk in and order at the counter, the line moves quickly and the girl who took our order was very knowledgeable and friendly. You can tell these employees are trained well. They give you a number and you grab a table. We were there on a Saturday night at 6:45 and we had no problems getting a table. Pro tip: Order beers & appetizers at the counter and then hang and have a couple of drinks and order dinner with your waitress. The food: Tallow Fries - Must order, the best fries you'll ever have. With the homemade ketchup good lawd! We got 2 baskets for 4 of us. We should have gotten 3 baskets. Coastal smash - 2 Pattie's, no seed oil sauce, pickles, onions, cheese on a fabulous brioche style bun. My wife LOVED this. Brisket tacos - An absolute winner. Smokey, salty, tangy, plenty of umami with cilantro and pickled onions. Fire! The only thing i would have loved was some sort of salsa. Maybe there was and I missed it. Caesar salad wrap chicken - this was a sleeper hit. My daughter is a Caesar salad conissuer and this was right up her ally. And with avocado oil Caesar dressing, no garbage! Comeon. Grilled fish tacos - very fresh and good. I think there was a sauce but these were dry. It needed more sauce and some salsa. Mind you the quality was there, so I had no problem eating them. But they were a bit bland honestly. 10/10 friendly service 10/10 easability if ordering and seating. 9/10 Food This will become one of our favorite family spots no doubt. Thank you Coastal Cowboy for caring enough to be seed oil free and health conscious with your cuisine.

Great menu and very clean place. Looks new. Ordering at the counter isn't my thing and then…read moreasking for a tip. Ugggg. I don't mind tipping servers however ordering at the counter isn't service. Cool that you can eat at the counter but still having to order in a line rather than a server. Restroom very clean! That's a huge plus. Pricey place however what do you expect from a tourist place. Ahhh. Restroom so clean I had to leave a gift Food was very tasty . Got fish n chips and a side of rice. The rice was A+. Fish and tarter was very good. . Why not give five stars. Well. Service for a 22 buck 2 piece fish n chips could use some help.

See all

Dinning area

McDonald's

2.1(231 reviews)

1.4 mi

McDonalds is a large chain, so you can count on a similar menu, similar quality, consistent food…read morepreparation and taste. They also have similar architecture and design, but not always. This one is located not far off the 5 freeway. Parking lot is small and has small tight spaces. There is a drive thru. Service was friendly and fast. Food was good, consistent.

I'm loving it. But besides the slogan i actually like getting here since it's right off the exit…read more I'll grab breakfast before c&c or lunch if Im passing through driving up. Pretty good service and food tastes like mcdonalds.

See all

Biggie's Burgers

4.2(815 reviews)

2.3 mi

My 17 year old son had been raving about this place since last summer. We decided to make a stop on…read moreour way from San Diego to Los Angeles and it did not disappoint! Lina took our order and delivered elite customer service, she was very sweet and very welcoming. She checked in on us throughout our dining experience and made sure everything was perfect. All workers were hardworking and attentive. The food tasted delicious. From the burgers to the curly fries and chili cheese fries to the lemonades and shakes, everything was fresh and tasty. We look forward to returning on our next drive by and recommend this place to ALL.

Good burger and reasonably priced - I ordered the king burger: a 1/2 pound patty with fixings like…read moretomato, onions, lettuce and pickles and it was $11.99 for a large, juicy and flavorful burger. Sides are all a la carte. I was ordering for delivery and fries don't do so well after traveling, so instead I got the chicken strips ( & 11.99). Oddly you had to pay for sauce at least when ordering online. A nominal .30 charge but still, should be included for your first couple. These were okay, a little too much breading but sizeable tenders. They also have a crispy chicken sandwich, turkey and veggie burgers, and hot dogs but the menu is definitely no-frills overall. They do have some "meal deal" options that include fries and a drink for around $20. Delivery was fast and it was packaged well. I would order again!

See all

Cool and clean

The Riders Club Cafe

4.3(1.2k reviews)

2.1 mi

This place is so cute!!!…read more The food was really good and the buns are excellent. My only issue, was that the veggie burger made me super gassy, which is not the fault of the restaurant at all- they did what they are supposed to do- make the food I ordered, make good suggestions, and let me enjoy their beautiful patio happily- hence 5 stars... but man... the farts. That was surprising. They had a bunch of housemade sauces. I would not suggest the homemade ketchup. It's more like a homemade tomato sauce, which is a weird thing to dip fries into. As for the rest of the sauces, I would for sure pour them into my mouth. And a hard yes to the strawberry shake. That tasted like it was made from actual strawberries.

These are the best burgers I've ever had. Everything I could ask for in a burger, and they do it…read moreright, every time. The variety of toppings is also plentiful and perfect to build the burger of your dreams. The best thing though, hands down, their waffle cut sweet potato fries paired with their house ranch. I can't recommend them enough. I love that they both always taste fresh and delicious. I would include a photo, but every time I order them, they are gone in a flash. Service is done with a smile and a friendly energy. As far as ambiance, I'd say it's like a casual beachside kinda joint. (in my opinion anyway, ofc) I've been a loyal diner here for the last 10 years, and I'll keep coming back.

Front counter and grill

Two Hot Dogs Meal and Fries

See all

Outside signage.

Small's Smash Club

4.7(183 reviews)

2.7 mi

I'm not really a "fast food" gal except for In-N-Out. With that being said, Small's Smash Club is…read moremy new favorite, almost surpassing In-N-Out for me at the moment. While Small's burgers are no doubt delicious and one of the better smash burgers I've had, it's really their side offerings of fries (leagues above In-N-Out's) and onions rings cooked in tallow that really wins me over. While I've only had their burger as is (grilled onions, american cheese, pickles and smalls sauce) you can add jalapeños and raw onions to spruce it up as well as adding up to three total patties from the standard single. I'm fine with a single and my husband likes a double. This place is really onto something and they're moving on up with their second location soon to open in Laguna Beach in the former "Dizz's As Is" space - they will have cocktails as this location only offers beer/wine.

Great place, love the atmosphere and young staff was super helpful. Great place for kids too…read more Parents can have a drink while kids can eat a burger and fries. I love that everything is cooked in beef tallow. I'd highly recommend for a low key easy night out with the family.

Bar

Double smash burger! Oh yum

See all

Smashburger

3.1(280 reviews)

1.0 mi

Staff: We were helped by Juana who was amazing. She is so…read morecaring and attentive to her customers. I was really impressed. Quality/Quantity: This is a really nice location. The restaurant is very clean, nicely laid out, and has a small patio area outside to eat. We had a burger, chicken sandwich (which I learned is frozen chicken), fries, and a delicious Oreo shake. Value: Pricing is on par with other restaurants of this type. Overall: I like this location and will return again when I am in the area.

Good food and service I got a burger was very good i would come back very affordable tooread more

Bacon cheeseburger with egg and regular fries

Melt in your Mouth Avocado Club! Mmm Mmm Mmm!!!

See all

Took 20 minutes to get this burger. There were only a couple of people in front of me.

Why does Yelp recommend reviews?

Hundreds of millions of reviews are posted on Yelp, and our automated recommendation software works in the background to showcase the reviews that it …

3 reviews that are not currently recommended

The reviews below are not factored into the business's overall star rating.

Erik S.

9 years ago

I was given a $ 10 off coupon because of my last visit, which this restaurants manager Richie claims was already redeemed. To add insult to injury, there were remnants of bone in the taco! I will not be returning to the restaurant anymore . I suggest anyone else who's planning on visiting this restaurant to stay away. read more

rachel s.

9 years ago

We had a bad experience here and got a coupon from corporate and when we went to redeem it the manager tried to say it was used already he eventually gave us the coupon but again the quality of service and the quality of the food was bad. read more

Anthony G.

14 years ago

Spicy Chipotle Burrito, no pico de gallo, 2 sides of creamy celantro and tapatio!! AMAZING, BETTER than a Chipotle restaurant burrito HONEST read more

El Pollo Loco - mexican - Updated September 2026

People who viewed El Pollo Loco also viewed

Baja Fresh

3.6

(124 reviews)

This Baja Fresh is one of the best I have ever been to. The workers are always friendly, the food…read moreand portions are always proper, and the flavor of everything at this specific Baja Fresh remind me of Baja Freshs of old (Mid to late 90s). I went with some chicken nachos on this trip, and they were fantastic! 2nd favorite nachos behind Cafe Rio. These nachos had the perfect amount of toppings. Lots of chicken, cheese, sour cream, guac and pico. Really delicious. My wife got her Burrito Mexicano and loved it. We will continue to stop at this location between our drives from SD to LA/OC.

Didn't realize this chain still existed. Stopped in after a couple water polo games at a nearby…read moreHS. Still good quality food like I remember. Was provided with great Customer service, both front end employees were very friendly. Salsa bar and main restaurant area were clean and plenty of seating space. Music was playing but at a reasonable volume.

WaBa Grill

3.3

(92 reviews)

Great service. Fresh ingredients. The owners are wonderful people. They stayed open (late) for my…read moreboyfriend to pick up last night.

Don't go here for an online order if you're in a hurry! 2 times now I've done this, and they start…read moremy order when I get there! Other places have your order ready to go at the time you require when placing the order. Not only that, but I noticed they had forgotten to add the vegetables I had paid for. The cook looked annoyed when he had to take the bowl back to add them. Food is good, experience not so much.

Flame Broiler

3.6

(63 reviews)

Been coming here for months now, as someone with a busy work schedule this is the perfect place to…read morecome grab a couple of bowls for your day. I'm able to finish my workout and head over here and be out within a couple of minutes. The bowls are measured and weight for the perfect amount of MACROs, which is the first Flame Broiler I've seen do this which is awesome! All the employees are always so helpful and welcoming, as soon as you walk in, you are greeted and overall a great experience. I appreciate that even when I order through door-dash, you still get good portions on your bowls unlike other food places who seem not to care when preparing your door-dash order. It's also great to see a local business support our community by supporting a local high school boys soccer team.

I hardly ever leave reviews, but the experience at this location turned me off. The employee looked…read moremiserable, didn't say a word just sloppily threw my food in the bowl and walked away. If this location is wondering why they are doing so poorly it's because of service like that.

El Maguey Express

3.5

(53 reviews)

Tacos are good. They are pretty big . One taco gives you two. The burritos are also really good and…read morea good price . Definitely coming back to try the chicken

Really good Mexican food. I love their beans. My family gets take out from there all the time. So…read moregood.

Sancho’s Tacos

3.8

(373 reviews)