What is going on El Pollo loco serving us dried and burnt chicken?! I ordered a 2pc chicken meal, wing and breast for $12 with a side of salad and beans and this is what I got? A very tiny wing mostly all bones with burnt and dried chicken breast? If only i could return my order I would, this is a rip off. I got really upset as soon as I opened my food. The tacos for $3.99 per piece were decent, it was pretty good but this chicken for $12 is embarrassing! Come on now! FYI: the picture may not look as bad as it was, as it looks like a normal size but if you saw it in your own eyes, you would know what I'm talking about! read more

El Pollo Loco - Mexican Near Me - San Diego, California

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I love el pollo loco but I honestly come for their mild and hot salsas! This is my second time in a row getting food from this location on my route home from work. Unfortunately I live 30min away from this location and found out I donor have salsas. It feels like eating dry food :( I paid $37 for a family meal and I even ordered extra salsas read more

The best pollo loco I've been to . Very flavorful, great salsa, fast and not too pricy. I recommend the original pollo bowl with avocado salsa. read more

I wanted to try this place! I got the chicken avocado tostada salad, a breast and thigh chicken meal, and corn chicken bowl. It was good! The ambiance is kind of like a Wendy's. The roasted chicken reminded me of cowboy chicken a little bit. read more

El Pollo Loco - Mexican Near Me - San Diego, California

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We were 1st timers at this Carmel Mountain Ranch location and will never return. Extremely overpriced very low quality 8-piece chicken order. Worse yet, was the alleged Queso Guacamole Chicken Burrito that was terrible tasting with its miniscule remnants of chicken surrounded by a extra-thin spread of guacamole (on less than half the burrito), along with mostly rice and frijoles. read more

When El Pollo Loco is good, it's phenomenal. Unfortunately some of these restaurants have a habit of selling chickens that have been overcooked to the point of being near jerky, and since it's to drive-thru customers, they usually get away with it. As a result I don't eat at El Pollo Loco restaurants near as often as I might - it's a 50/50 proposition what I'll get. This was last night's 12 piece family dinner from this restaurant, and it was near inedible, so dried-out it was like it would have kept for the winter unrefrigerated. read more

El Pollo Loco - 12 piece family "meal" - Mexican Near Me - San Diego, California

The thighs and legs with mashed potatoes sides are fire here. I also like the generous amount of tortillas they provide, El Pollo Loco is definitely a place to go for bowls and chicken. read more

This place is so slept on! I love everything about this location, and it is the BEST fast food/drive thru restaurant I have been to. For whatever reason this el pollo loco is just on a whole other level of presentation and dining. The inside is so clean that anything dirty will stand out. To this day I do not know if you put away your own trash or not because I have seen other people who do not. I always throw away my own trash anyways. The staff here are very nice and will pay attention to any needs. The bell is to be rang if you had a good customer dining experience and the bell is so satisfying on our end and the workers! The food is always so tasty in my opinion. The salad dressing is my FAVORITE! Additionally I always enjoy the chicken and how it is grilled with the skin never completely burnt. I recommend getting the tostada bowls, it is addicting! If I could eat something for lunch everyday, I think I would choose that! read more

El Pollo Loco - Tostada Chicken Bowl - Mexican Near Me - San Diego, California

BEWARE OF SUPER DRY CHICKFN THAT IS HARD TO DIGEST!! This is the second time in a month that I've ordered a two piece combo with white meat. The breast is SO DRY that I started to choke on it. The first time it was so dry that it was literally sitting in my throat and I had to make myself throw it up. Well pretty much the same thing happened again tonight! I now have a bad headache from coughing so hard trying to get that dry chicken down. Please re-evaluate how you're preparing the chicken. It is overcooked and too dry. There is literally no juices flowing. I don't recall until recently that it's is so dry. read more

You can't go wrong with El Pollo Loco when you need to grab a quick meal. This location I have found has the friendliest staff. The girl in the drive thru was super nice and patient as I asked for a few modifications to my stuffed quesadilla. Unfortunately i threw away the receipt so don't have her name. The food is always fresh and hot. Their green avocado salsa is delicious. read more

El Pollo Loco - Stuffed chicken quesadilla - Mexican Near Me - San Diego, California

Been coming more often to this location since the pandemic began. This place consistently offers properly-prepared food and decent service. Extra star for usually serving flame grilled chicken that isn't too dry! Eating flame-frilled chicken here is almost as awesomesauce as grilling with family and friends by the beach right?! Well, not THAT good, but good enough to let me slip into some pre-pandemic nostalgia of better days... I usually order via the El Pollo Loco mobile app, which can (insert colorful adjective here) suck, but it frequently has yummy specials like FREE chips and guacamole that are hard to pass up. You also get points for each order that you can redeem for free grub. The drive thru here can get super long during peak times (I.e. lunch and dinner) so ordering online for pick up in-store or walking in to order/pickup is usually a better bet. Online order bags are sealed after being assembled and they are using clear containers for their chicken now with vents built into them, versus the old recycled boxes that got soggy if the chicken sat in them too long when closed. Oh and the double chicken tostada salad is a guilty pleasure of mine here...nuff said! read more

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Just ordered two double tostadas! Very good One chicken and one Shrimp Great service cashier Brian/angel was very helpful with my order and even brought our food to us read more

I ordered online to get the $10 off on order more than $30. But my online coupon won't go through . When I got there . The guy in front was not helpful. We were going back and forth . He can't help me because it's an online coupon.I sho have d him the coupon and he just look at it and did nothing. It was frustrating. read more

El Pollo Loco - Coupon unredeemable - Mexican Near Me - San Diego, California

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$3.50 for 16oz of bottled water. Let that sink in. Sides are overpriced. Burritos decent

I was only at the menu board, NOT AT THE BOARD to order and I could hear them asking for my order..THREE TIMES I HAD TO SAY I AM NOT AT THAT SCREEN TO ORDER YET! When I did get to the screen to order before I even came to a complete stop they wanted my order! They talked WAY TOO FAST I COULDN'T UNDERSTAND THEM! I asked what is the prices difference if I wanted breast and thigh and they kept asking what sides I wanted. I didn't want to choose my sides if the prices was too much! They kept asking for my sides! I felt rushed I changed my order from a HUGE order to a 2 piece because of this reason!!! When I got to the window, they had my order ready! I paid, and before I could even put my credit card away, they were handing my order to me and said here you go, here you go, here you go..RUSHING ME! Terrible visit! Calm down, speak slower, and be kind to your customers! Rushing me, made you restaurant lose money! It was a Friday night at 5:30 and I was the ONLY car in the drive thru......wish the other one on Scripps Poway Prkwy was still open, they were the best! read more

******SIX STAR REVIEW!!!!!! Caden, Brian, Axel, Azhuna, Kattya and Mel are Superstars!!!!!! My car group and I eat here regularly. Caden got everything right and processed the transactions at the speed of light. Bravo Caden for your enthusiasm and professionalism. Brian and the whole crew worked behind the scenes, keeping everything flowing in a highly ordered manner. Brian is leader that is quick on the uptake, very keen and a total pro. The whole operation was fast, friendly and exceeding efficient. The food was fantastically delicioso and super fresh. I should mention that my wife and I use the drive through once a week and amazingly, after we place our order, we then drive around to the other side of the building to pick it up and presto: the order is ready when we arrive. WOW. Everyone here exceeds our high expectations every time. All are apex pinnacle top representatives of El Pollo Loco!!!!!! Thanks!!!!!! VR "J" read more

The drive thru service was very quick and efficient. The lady was very friendly. The chicken avocado tacos, no lettuce, were flavorful and delicious. We really enjoyed our visit. read more

Returned to this El Pollo Loco after several months to order and pickup takeaway dinners for seven adults and six children. Ordering was easy with a pleasant and helpful cashier. We were able to use "online coupons" that the El Pollo Loco website refused to honor. [Side note: I hate the online ordering for El Pollo Loco, but that's not a negative reflection on this location.] All of the staff were great. Everything was delicious when we got dinner home. read more

I've gone here a few times on my lunch break and the service is always quick, the workers are friendly, and the food is consistent! Nothing to complain about for a decently healthy fast food joint! read more

I don't really ever post reviews of fast food places, but this location is really great. I just started going frequently at night after the gym. They always greet me with a really warm smile and all seem very happy. I feel like their good vibes come across in their food too cause I keep ordering a 3 pc meal and it's TOO GOOD! YALL IM EATING ONE RIGHT.NOW! you hear me? that's what led me to do this review. Cause I said Aw hell, THEY DID IT AGAIN! Let me go tell the good people on Yelp that this location is certified. There's a nice woman that's usually at the drive thru and she's very sweet. I've seen her 3x this week. I'll catch her name next time and update y'all. BUT MAAM AT THE DRIVE THRU! I hope you're having the best day of your life! I hope all the blessings show up at your front door! I hope the blessings pour in so heavy you're overwhelmed! Bless everybody in there!!! Thank you for these mashed potatoes! Thank you for this chicken! And bless YOU MISS DRIVE THRU CHICKEN QUEEN read more

Very good food, reasonably priced. Good service and clean facilities. However, the 50's music is terrible. Getting rid of the 50's music would improve the dining experience. read more

Very delicious. Try the chicken avocado stuffed quesadillas and the deluxe tostada salad.

Love the food and the people are great. Consistently well cooked chicken and the value is great. Service folks are very nice but they are super stingy with the salsas. Bring back the salsa bar! read more

If you're on a diet, come here and order the breast and wing combo. The breast is so small, there's almost enough to fill a tiny tortilla. The wing is even tinier. It wasn't even a full wing, just the tiny drummet portion. I ordered the salad and rice as my sides and they were normal human size portions. I usually enjoy all the salsas but the red tasted weird yesterday, like plastic. I do wish the chicken size was bigger because it had good flavor. The service was also very friendly. read more

El Pollo Loco - That's 2 Breasts and 1 Tiny Wing - Mexican Near Me - San Diego, California

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Excellent service very professional and friendly! The menu has plenty of options for everyone. I chose the Keto burrito and it was tasty. Healthy options! read more

9.21.2017. This post is a day late as I had lunch here on 9.20. This franchise has really tasty chicken. Its not oily or fried like the other places. So if you want a more healthier option, this is the place to go. The menu is pretty large and wide and they have great deals. This day, i didn't feel like a heavy meal so I opted for the under 500 cal meal. The chicken wrap with mini salad was great. It is truly a go to meal for me now when i want a single meal. The customer service at the register was nice and the location was clean. On your way out if you like service and food, please ring the bell by the exit door!!! read more

El Pollo Loco - Mexican Near Me - San Diego, California

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I was obviously craving some good ole el pollo loco but extremely disappointed!!! $25. Family mixed "8" piece chicken meal. All the chicken pieces where either dried up or hardly existent. I paid more to knowing I would get a couple breast pieces in there. I ended up picking out any chicken I could get off the bones and mixing it in with my dogs food. But if El Pollo loco wants to call these pieces "chicken" and actually came from a "chicken" then don't waste your hard earned money on trying to feed a family of 3. I swear this was the size of a Cornish hen!! Only reason I'm even giving this a star is because the pinto beans where hot and good. Carmel Mt El Pollo Loco, you better choose your chickens wisely because this is not what a chicken looks like read more

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I really like the chicken avocado salad. I wish they had more avocado. I think I had 3 slices. Compared to the size of my bowl it was very chincey. Could be more generous! read more

This is my first and last time at el pollo loco. I was very excited to try the birria tacos because I've seen so many commercials, only to be given a thrown together meal filled with burnt meat, broken/stale taco shells, and a quesadilla with no cheese. Terrible and very disappointing. read more

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Love the customer service experience, the food its really good it's a great place to eat.

I have been a fan of their large stuffed quesadillas since they first came out, so I ordered one from here when I stopped in for lunch. I ordered the carnitas or pork quesadilla with sliced avocado, shredded cheese, poblano salsa and fresh pico de gallo all inside the toasted flour tortilla. The meal deal came with a side of chips and a drink (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/el-pollo-loco-san-diego-4?select=FGPmK8G_mgU3rPVPznxmwQ#XAZftm8NWkg3vvc-9ldjeA). Now, the stuffed quesadilla was pretty good and the pork meat was tender and savory, but what bothered me a little was that they did not put freshly sliced avocado inside but rather a cold guacamole type mixture which immediately cooled off the warm carnitas and the toasted flour tortilla, so the whole thing turn cold rather quickly (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/el-pollo-loco-san-diego-4?select=FGPmK8G_mgU3rPVPznxmwQ#fiNUj1SNTwIXB2Tk1Qrbng). If they would of put room temperature freshly sliced avocados as advertised, the cooling of the stuffed quesadilla would not of occurred. I did like that the flour tortilla had a nice crunchy toast but it being cold, did not help things (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/el-pollo-loco-san-diego-4?select=FGPmK8G_mgU3rPVPznxmwQ#kI8U4NSoV0dzPU82H05iWg). Other then it being cold, the whole thing did taste pretty good and the pork was quite good, which is not bad from a place that mostly just makes chicken, hence the three stars. Service was friendly enough, but that salsa bar needed some attention.. read more

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Newly renovated inside and out... This location has come along well. Been visiting this location for years and have never once been disappointed with the food or service. The dining room and restrooms are always spotless! Definitely reassuring when I visit. If with my wife, we usually do drive thru and thy are always fast. The parking is ample and the location is very easy to get to. Normally it's a toss up between this place or McDonald's located right next to it. The struggle is real. I love their salsa verde, which had a hint of avocado and is the just the right amount of spicy. About once every quarter, they provide coupons via mail, which reminds you to come back and visit. It's about that time again, so I'll definitely be back. Thanks El Polo Loco for keeping me full and never breaking my wallet. read more

El Pollo Loco - Decisions decisions - Mexican Near Me - San Diego, California

Horrible dinning experience. Kitchen staff have music playing with heavy bass and turned off the good classic music in the dinning room. All you hear now is people screaming at each other and heavy bass from electronic music. read more

What a great place to eat at. I honestly loved the customer experience, everything was clean and we got our food super fast. Thank you to all the employees for keeping this place up, we would definitely come back! read more

Very cheap and very good, plus excellent customer service and good location. Ok, we all know this is a fast food chain and 4 stars in here do not equal 4 stars at a fancy upscale restaurant. That belly gets satisfied every time that I go, which has been a while since I did not remember this nice redecorated interior. I usually get the chicken bowl combo which includes drink for around $6. Fast, tasty, El Pollo Loco does the job and I cannot think about other place to get my chicken fix. I usually do not even order chicken unless is in one of their restaurants. The senior man at the door welcoming customers with his well ironed white shirt is very lovely too. read more

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This isn't so much a restaurant review- although my food was great- but more of an employee recognition. After finishing my lunch my car wouldn't start. Running late to pick up my kids from summer camp, pregnant, with a potential wait of 2 hours from roadside assistance Juan who is a shift leader- offered to help me with a big smile on his face. He and another young man from a local store jumped my car and I was on the road in no time. There are still good people in this world and Juan and Noah are two of them. So thankful and blessed the offered. Their parents raised gentlemen. Thank you!!! read more

El Pollo Loco - Mexican Near Me - San Diego, California

I got two tacos Al carbon and they were okay, it miss some flavor, to plain and expensive for small taco. Staff is good and nice, but the tacos need to improve. read more

WORST CHICKEN RESTAURANT IN SAN DIEGO Look at the size of these chickens please. Or should a say baby chickens, chicks. This roasted leg is exactly same size of a regular size wing. And they charge 8$ for this combo. If u want to waste your money this is your favorite restaurant read more

El Pollo Loco - Mexican Near Me - San Diego, California

It must be due to the Corana Virus that my usual chicken avocado burrito was more like beans and cabbage they must be running low on chicken if so they should lower the price. So disappointed was trying to support the business during this difficult time but won't be going back. read more

El Pollo Loco - Where's my chicken and this was the entire burrito okay not just the middle no chicken!! - Mexican Near Me - San Diego, California

The food & service was a joke. $8 for 5 cubes of chicken in a tostada? Really? Last time I'll ever come to this location!