Let's start with the saving grace: the prices. Because honestly... where are you getting lunch for $6.49 with tax these days? I ordered the original El Pollo Loco bowl and for the price alone, it's hard to complain. Affordable, filling, and exactly what you expect. That said... the customer service needs work. I walked in, greeted the staff, and one of the employees at the front turned around, looked at me, then turned back around. No greeting, no acknowledgment -- just a head nod toward the other employee to assist me. That felt unnecessarily dismissive. The woman who helped me wasn't rude, but her personality was very flat. She did give me salsa when I asked, so I wouldn't call the service bad -- just uninspired. There was no warmth or engagement, which made the interaction feel awkward. A basic greeting goes a long way, especially when you're the first point of contact. Would I come back? Yes, for the price. Would I like to see better customer service? Also yes. The food delivers for the value, but the front-of-house experience could use improvement. read more

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

Flame grilled dark meat chicken, solid sides and delicious mouth watering green sauce make this a staple in my fast food rotation. I usually get a family meal 8, 12, or 16 piece. Prices have gone up significantly over the last few years so I only come when I have a coupon. Unfortunately, my experiences have been inconsistent. Sometimes I have a pleasant experience. Most recently however, I had a very strange experience. I came to pickup a late takeout for dinner at 8:30 pm and immediately when I walked in there was a strong odor that smelled like dirty sewage. It was very unappetizing. It looked like the workers were getting ready to close for the night. My chicken was lukewarm and not the usual crispy goodness. My mashed potatoes sides were only about 3/4 filled. I'd like to keep coming back but I'd avoid coming in the later evening. read more

I recommend getting the tostada salads the most. It's the most unique and popular item. The service is very quick when you go through the drive thru. It is one of SD's classics when it comes to eating Mexican Food. Without it being "Pollo" it's not able to be "Loco". I love how they always give you free coupons they are so generous. read more

El Pollo Loco - This is my big ass tostada dinner. - Mexican Near Me - San Diego, California

My partner and I went through the drive thru and there was mice inside the screen we got grossed out and had to leave

The FIT bowls here are excellent - healthy and also nourishing/fulfilling - with your choice of spicy green salsa dressing, regular tomato salsa and salad dressing like ranch, etc. Service is also prompt and the interior ambiance is spacious with a lot of tables for dining in. Many other healthy menu options as well and convenient drive-thru - recommended! read more

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A great place to go for a chicken burrito that has no chicken in it. A $10 waste of money. What a joke! You should be ashamed.

Not much to say about this place except for fast service, mediocre salad bowl with dry chicken, and good value.

They may get a 5 star, but the corn tortillas are terrible. The hot sauce is marginal, except for their homemade salsa which is pretty good. I really wish they would serve authentic style tortillas. Their business would nearly double IME. The chicken and sides are always good and the meals seem healthy. read more

My family and I have ordered pickup from this location and the staff is always on top of it. This week I placed a very large order three days in advance and the team did an incredible job to have it hot and ready at my desired day/time. Janet, Rolando and team were amazing! Janet did not hesitate to take my order, and even confirmed it day of. Rolando was present at pickup time and helped me bring my items to my car. Such a great crew at this location. Thank you again! read more

Honestly I love this place, its affordable & close to home but the best part is the staff and the cleanliness of this location. Carlos always provides me & my family with the best service the food is always given hot even when picking up to take home it keeps warm so you know it's made to order. Everything in that area is expensive so I love being able to not drive far & still stay within a budget. read more

El Pollo Loco - Chicken not the best picture but delicious - Mexican Near Me - San Diego, California

Walked inside 1/9/2024 at 1:30pm to order a ton of food for 30 people Superbowl party. There was not a single customer inside or in the drive-thru. Three employees standing yapping away behind the counter. Stood there and stood there and not one asked to take my order. I left. YOUR BUSINESS WILL NOT SURVIVE doing this kind of stuff... read more

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

Chicken is always good but when I asked for a side of bean juice they told me it's impossible to juice a bean. I was confused as to what he was talking about because it's a by product of the bean. Extremely disappointing I was deprived of my bean juice. read more

Came in the other day and asked for bean juice and the employees harshly declined my request. You would think that since they have beans, they would have bean juice. Maybe they have dry beans, I'm not sure. Ruined my whole day honestly. Was really looking forward to the byproduct of their beans. Guess I'll have to juice some beans myself. read more

I work across the street and I always come in for a bean and tomato burrito and the last 3 times I've asked for the bean juice, which by the way, is a bi product of the beans, and they have refused to give it to me time after time. I have offered to pay and they just keep cursing at me in Spanish. They need a serious talking to. I'm pissed. read more

The toilet doesn't work. I've been waiting for 10 minutes already. and the order will cool down... read more

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

The Manager Alex is the only reason why this location is still in business. He made up for what would have been a 1 star review... When I walked in, there was no one at the cash register taking orders. Then, after about 5 minutes of waiting, a young heavy set girl with purple hair showed up, and she was completely clueless. I had to repeat my simple order three times for her to understand. She seemed to be spaced out and thinking about something else. Then, after I ordered, I saw her go outside on her break with a large soda in her hand, while pacing back and forth in front of the front door. She just seemed odd... After waiting for nearly 30 minutes for my order when there was practically no one inside of the restaurant, the young man with earrings forgot to pack the order to go. Also, when I asked him for some hot sauce packets, he had no idea what I was talking about. He also seemed to be rather clueless as well, and he was working at a snail's pace in Super slow motion with a confused look on his face. The Birria was surprisingly good, however the consumé was too watered down. The Birria Burrito and Birria Taco were both sufficiently good tasting, but the service was atrocious... The Manager Alex was kind enough to pack everything to go and to ask how everything was going. He went above and beyond the call of duty by asking if there was anything else that I needed in order to salvage the experience and make sure that I would come back. For that, he deserves a raise! read more

Clean, modern location. Good service with a pleasant, inviting ambiance to eat in. Love the food and it tastes like home made. The new birria burrito and dipping sauce are mouth watering tasty. I just really wish they would bring back the salsa bar, it's been absent ever since Covid. read more

El Pollo Loco - Beef birria burrito with consommé dipping sauce - Mexican Near Me - San Diego, California

I work across the street as a chef... that really doesn't matter but I go here to get a BRC with a side of the juice from the beans. The last 5 times the " manager" says it's not possible. I have offered to pay for it even though it a bi product from the beans. I over heard him today in the drive through speaking in Spanish sayin I'm always here don't give it to him" I don't know what their deal is I offer to pay and 5 times he has lied to me telling me it's not possible. Every other el pollo loco in San Diego has no issues with this. This guy's attitude is garbage and he needs a talking too. read more

Yes its fast food and even better if you have coupons to save a few bucks but for what its worth I've never been dissatisfied eating at El Pollo Loco. Get either 2 or 3 chicken piece combo with 2 sides (Mashed potatoes or salad or beans or corn... always changes what I choose), but with the flour tortillas included and mixing the meat and sides up together...everything just tastes so good that I come back. I prefer this chicken over KFC/Popeyes anyday. So yeah, I'll be back. read more

This is by far the best el pollo loco store in San Diego. They give pretty good size portion of Shredded Chicken Nachos. The location is nice which is in Del Mar Highland town center. The inside is very clean and smells really good too. Service is good; friendly attendant. read more

El Pollo Loco - Shredded Chicken Nachos - Mexican Near Me - San Diego, California

I ordered the chicken tortilla soup and ordered it with Carlos. I told him if maybe he could give me a little less broth and more of whatever else comes in the soup and he made it himself, understanding exactly what I wanted. (There was so much chicken in the soup, I am having leftovers today. I ordered the large size). He was so helpful, wanted to know if the soup was good and I said it was the best chicken tortilla soup I have ever had from a take out place. The other food is delicious too, because of the flame-broiled chicken that starts out as being very healthy. Thank you, again, Carlos, for delivering! (:-) read more

Have not been to this business for a while - but their TV Ads look so yummy and tempting - I thought I'd give it a go.... It was very quiet when I walked in but it was around 3pm. I ordered a 2 piece with 2 sides for sit down - just under $12. The plate looked miserable and sparse and it tasted just like that. The sides were hot but the chicken was cold. I ate it anyway and the meal was very disappointing. I told the cashier and he did offer me another 2 pieces but the damage was done I didn't want to put myself through eating that again. The housekeeping was fair although the trash area was dirty plus the glass doors had plenty finger marks all over. Sorry but I'll rather pay abit more and get a more tastier and filling meal. read more

Wow, that was the worst chicken ever. Ordered 12 pc family meal dark meat on their app. Chicken was so dry and over cooked, it was like jerky instead of juicy and soft like they advertised. Shame on you El Pollo loco for selling chicken like this you yourself will not eat let alone give it to your family. read more

Somewhat easy access's off the freeway with plenty of inside and outdoor patio seating. I really enjoy the outdoor seating, plenty of room and always nice weather. Food is made quickly and is relatively healthy depending which items you order. Service could be a bit more friendly, but they are working hard on getting orders out quickly. Bathrooms are also roomy and clean. Great place to stop fir a quick bite and hit the restrooms. I will be back. read more

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Just tried El Pollo Loco near my home here in Carmel Valley, excited to try their Dinner and Dessert for 2. We ordered the version with the Family Loco Salad. The young man at the register was wonderful, kind and attentive. We place our order, handed our buzzer and wait. I tell the young man my wife wants the corn and I want the black beans. When I go to the counter, the meal is not exactly ready and I am handed 1 plate with the chicken and the two sides on the same plate and the churros in a bag. I look at woman putting these items onto my tray and and I ask,. "Where's the 2nd plate?" She looks at me like I am an idiot and says, you want a 2nd plate? Well, I guess so since it is Dinner and Dessert for 2!! She grans a small plate, puts it under the plate with the food and because she flopped the plate with the food onto the smaller plate, it tilts and the beans start to pour off. So, I bring the food to our table and we have to split the mass into two plates. My wife takes the thigh and leg and I am left with the breast and the mini-wing. The breast is sooooooo dry that when I try to use my plastic fork and knife to cut into the breast, the fork tine breaks. The breast was the driest piece of chicken I have ever had. In the photo, you can see the grains of chicken meat because it is so dry. Even the mini-wing was moister! On the positive side, . . . . . . .the beans were good, the corn was good and the churros were very good. read more

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DO NOT purchase beverages at this location. The iced tea has turned into a science project, and the soda dispenser doesn't work properly. I first tried Minute Maid fruit punch as a back-up, but the water to syrup ratio was overly dilute. The resulting mix was pale pink and tasteless. Next up, the Vitamin Water, which dispensed only the syrup. Due to bariatric surgery, I am unable to consume carbonated water. I took time to show the manager the precise problems. However, when I returned to the counter for a refund, the cashier gaslight me, saying everything was working, "fine." Thanks for nothing El Pollo Cheapo. read more

I used to go here a lot but stopped going after something really strange started happening. Sometimes, particularly towards the end of the evening, instead of using gloves the cooks here use some sort of scented hand sanitizer and your burrito or food comes out smelling like Old Spice. Not exaggerating. This doesn't happen as often in the morning/lunch hours and is not as much an issue with the 3 piece chicken meals, but I would definitely avoid the place later in the day. read more

Always fresh and tasty chicken and sides. The store is very clean and everyone is very nice and friendly read more

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We've been coming here for many years however today left a terrible taste in me and my families mouth. We drove to drive thru and ordered like we normally do but we were greeted with a very rude lady by the name of Lucero. We've seen her a few times and she's always been very rude but today was review worthy. We truly were so so nice as we always are and just ordered 2 pollo bowls. 5:19pm to be exact. We get to the window and Lucero opens and has her hand out waiting for us to pay. I said hello and gave her my card. She closed the window I mean slammed it whilst looking at me and rolling her eyes lol. My husband and I and the kids thought it was by accident. Fear not, it was not by accident. She opened the window with no sound and an evil look on her face and handed my card back. She proceeds to slam the drive thru door again to the point where we thought she was going to break it. A few minutes go by and she opens the door with our bag of food and basically throws it to me and she looks at me dead straight in the face rolls her eyes and slammed the door with both of her hands so so hard as if she was so offended. Im completely upset and we ended up throwing our food away because I felt so offended I suppose. Basically this ruined our afternoon and we will never ever be coming here again.. In closing, Everyone else is splendid here truly. This is only for Lucero. My message to Lucero is there are millions of people in the United States that would be willing to work at your job and not mistreat your customers the way you do. read more

We are frequent costumers of this place, but tonight the chicken was so juicy and delicious!! Between me and my 2 sons we had 24 pcs of chicken, it was just that good! As always, Carlos took great care of us. Very attentive and very professional. We'll be back soon! read more

The chicken, rice, beans and tortillas tasted good. Coleslaw on the other hand was old. Very disappointed with the drive-thru service though. Used a coupon for $20 family meal. Told them that when I ordered, and handed them my coupon and card at the window when I paid. I thought it was odd she told me "$23" total, gave me back the receipt and coupon, and never gave me a receipt. When I asked for a receipt she hesitated, printed one, handed to me and quickly left the window. So it turns out I was charged full price of almost $27. Now I have to drive around to the other side of the store, park and come in to get a refund. First person I talked to decided to inspect my coupon and asked me if I let them know about a coupon when I ordered. After finding nothing wrong with my coupon or order she handed me off to a supervisor who gave me $5 cash from the register for the $5 coupon. I asked her about the tax that she owed me she gave an explanation that did not make sense and walked off. This experience left a bad taste in my mouth. I am left feeling I have to double check charges on my card and had to deal with the hassle of getting a refund and convincing staff that it was not my fault. Way too much trouble for dinner. read more

Came here with my SO, first time for her and my first time coming back in a couple years. Food was great and service was even better. Shout out to Alex for helping us pick the right things to order. Will be back soon. read more

Great food, fast service, friendly employees and very clean every time I go to this location.

I was used to going to this chain in Salinas when living there because of the delicious chicken. It had a unique flavor that brought me back again and again. This place is a copycat with the same great flavors. Was so good to see a familiar place. I almost felt like I was back home once again. Staff were all very friendly toward me. I was impressed by how hard everyone worked here. All workers were constantly moving. Cleaning, filling condiments, cleaning floors, wiping tables. Such busy little bees. Great place. read more

When I worked at a nearby hotel this El pollo loco always had my back. I was offered a free meal during my shift at the Doubletree but I rarely ate what they served because it was gross and really bad for us, so I relied on this El Pollo Loco for strength to get through my day. I swear this is the best El Pollo Loco in the world. The salsa they make is TOP NOTCH every day. The pollo bowls are generously topped with avocado, and the crew there are the sweetest. They keep a few coupons on hand and are happy to help you save a buck. The quality of their establishment exceeds everyone's expectations in a posh neighborhood full of snooty brats. Shout out to Sabrina at the counter. People from around the world are there on my recommendation and said they couldn't believe it was " fast food"! read more

I ordered El Pollo Loco for delivery for lunch and it was pretty underwhelming. The chicken was just okay, nothing special The mashed potatoes and gravy were bland. The macaroni and cheese was subpar at best. The chips tasted stale and unsalted. The house salsa just tasted wrong. Overall not a great meal and I don't have any intention on ordering again. read more

El Pollo Loco - 4 piece chicken meal - Mexican Near Me - San Diego, California

I have been coming to this location for over 5 years. There is some variability in quality from one day to the next, but most of the time, the food comes out fresh, tasty, is filling and not too heavy. The pricing has always been affordable providing good value, and when they are offering promotions, which happens regularly, there may not be a better deal in town in this part of San Diego. I will continue to be a faithful, satisfied repeat customer as I have never been disappointed. For a fast food restaurant with high employee turnover, I am pretty impressed with the vast majority of the staff members hired as being overwhelmingly nice, respectful and fast. If you find yourself upset with the staff here, chances are there may be a "you problem"; chill-out, try to extend some grace, let the staff know respectfully of your concern and they will make it right. read more

Del Mar Heights has high expectations and fast food franchises are not immune to these pressures. Much like McDonalds, this El Pollo Loco is one of the nicer ones you'll ever see.. Nice patio furniture and a very clean insides make this another good affordable dining option for those working in the salt mines nearby. - Workers are polite and can fully understand what you're ordering. - Clean! Even their salsa bar. read more

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

One of my favorite classier-than-fast-food chain restaurants, it's unfortunate that the quality of food can vary significantly at different El Pollo Loco locations. That said, this Carmel Valley location easily outshines the many other EPL locations throughout San Diego County. No matter what hour I go, even during the less busy times, I always seem to get crispy-skinned, juicy chicken right off the grill. Other locations will sneak in dried, burnt chicken that has been sitting on the hot grill for hours, but on a recent Friday, I got a chicken meal after 8:30 p.m. that had the quality I would normally expect only during peak lunch hours. As at all EPL locations, my two-piece chicken meal -- a steal at just under $5 pre-tax -- came with two sides, so I chose the loco salad and mashed potatoes (two of the lightest sides, calorie-wise). But this location's side salad was surprisingly hefty with fresh romaine and iceberg lettuces, tiny tortilla strips, Mexican cheese, cilantro, pico de gallo and EPL's wonderful creamy cilantro dressing. The potatoes, though not as delicious as Kentucky Fried Chicken, felt less artificial than KFC in its breadth without weighing me down. The meals come with tortillas -- flour or corn -- and endless access to a fresh salsa bar. The trick here is to ask the workers to hook you up with a larger container normally saved for catered orders or else fill up a half-dozen tiny cups with fresh house salsa, pico de gallo, and/or spicy avocado sauce. The Carmel Valley location also offers good churros (priced at $1.19 for two) that are not dried out and overly crunchy as at most other EPL locations. I've had less success with some of the other EPL menu items at this location, but the juicy flame-grilled Mexican chicken is the star here, and really why would you order anything but chicken here? read more

El Pollo Loco - 2-piece flame-broiled leg-and-thigh meal with yummy creamy coleslaw and ultra fattening but delicious mac n cheese and tortillas - Mexican Near Me - San Diego, California

I've heard of going above and beyond, but this place is becoming a real asset to our community. Not only was my family meal and all the salsas packaged with care, I also noticed the side of beans was individually wrapped so it could not leak onto my car seat while transporting home. *Kayden was just outstanding at the window and when I mentioned that a bird's nest had fallen into the driveway, he said *Carlos and he would check right into it and was very serious about it. I really feel the maturity that he (and the rest of the crew) showed is above and beyond. BTW dinner was great! *Alex is really breathing new life into a longstanding restaurant that we have relied upon for years!!! read more