This is one of those places you might constantly pass while you're driving in Palatine, especially when you're going to Walmart across the street. I've literally passed this place for 6+ years and it wasn't until recently that my husband wanted to try it so in we went! The restaurant is very old school taqueria vibes. The staff is quick to take your order and there's always patrons coming in and out to either dine in or pick up their orders (there's also a drive thru). We got our food fairly fast abd it's nice that they give you a selection of salsas on your tray. I tried the steak quesadilla with pick de gallo and it was good! I also really enjoyed the rice and the beans are frijoles charros and not refried which is different than a lot of other local spots. My husband got the carne asada but his favorite thing has truly been the rice, beans, and cebollitas (bulb onions). He's gone back 5x just for that! Overall, this seems to be a place that will be on rotation now. Don't judge a book by its cover! read more

El Rey Del Pollo Asado - Steak Quesadilla Carne Asada - Mexican Near Me - Palatine, Illinois

Got the family chicken plate (1 whole chicken and 3 sides). The chicken was good wish it had more char from charcoal grilling. We got the rice, beans, and fries as sides and all were delicious. Love the Puerto Rican style beans they have. The menu can be found here: https://cardselite.com/el-rey-del-pollo-palatine-menu/ read more

El Rey Del Pollo Asado - Menu QR Code - Mexican Near Me - Palatine, Illinois

Authentic carne asada tacos! We stumbled on this place while in the area for an appointment and I'm so glad I followed my gut. The building looks like an old Wendy's maybe? Right off a busy street, and you wouldn't come here for the vibes- but the TACOS were EXCELLENT. 10/10 will be coming again read more

Soooo bad about the ambience, a lady brought all the time around the place her speaker, so the music was to loud , please can you be considered, the costumers don't need it for enjoying your food. I appreciate if your boss change it!!! read more

From the waiting to the grubby tables to the food, our experience here was grim. Also: If you know Spanish but don't look like you know it, get ready to hear some ugly things said by the counter staff. read more

I have been driving past this place for over 5 years now and always notice the flashy board . Me and my wife always make fun of the long name and always thought we would eat here. The day finally came when I decided to give this place a try. I picked a chicken burrito from drive through. Burrito comprised of just lettuce, onions, bell peppers and tons of meat with couple of sauces. Rice and beans come on the side. Since we have just meat in the burrito it makes it very dry after a while. Again is burrito is not bad but not for my liking. I like to have a complete burrito with rice , beans etc along with the meat. Very good Burrito for people who like a lot meat in the burrito. Will I buy it again ? Probably Not. read more

El Rey Del Pollo Asado - Drive Thru menu - Mexican Near Me - Palatine, Illinois

I can't believe I actually have never written a review for El Rey before. We love it and go here at least once a month for their roasted chicken. If you go here, get what they are known for: pollo asado (roasted chicken). It's insanely good. Also, I'm gluten free and I can eat the chicken without an issue. We also have gotten their tortas (sandwiches) which are also delicious for the gluten eating people you love. The sides to get are the frijoles, which are not like any other type of beans I've ever had. They are frijoles charros and are so incredibly delicious. Another side we like are the cebollitas, which are cooked green onions and are out of sight. The rice is just like any other type of rice, but my whole family loves that too so that's also what we order as a side. The chicken will come with a pack of corn tortillas, a couple extremely hot roasted jalapeños, and some salsas which are also on fire. We typically tell them we don't want the jalapeños or the salsas. Also if you speak Spanish, it will come in handy here. Highly recommend this place :) read more

Cheap and delicious. We have been ordering their steak burritos and tacos forever. Chicken is delicious but we always eat chicken at home. When we order out we prefer steak. But that's what us not great here .., the beans are perfect -with spinach and bacon inside it's not like anything I've had elsewhere. Today we had a special treat. The ladies at the counter must of mixed up our order and gave us the Cuban sandwich instead. Finding out at home it seemed pointless to drive all the way back so we ate it anyway and it was great. Don't underestimate this gem. Love this place! read more

Now this is a spot. Huge portions. Amazing taste. Delicious salsas. Not expensive at all. And the service is always great. They even have a drive thru. I will be coming back! read more

Chicken is always good, sides are ok. Like that it comes with the grilled onion and jalapeño.

Fantastic polla asado! Truly lives up to its name! Generous portions of beans and rice. Also comes with a dozen tortillas!! All mouth-watering goodness. ;-) read more

Service suck. We ordered pico de gallo, didn't get it. I hope we didn't get charged. Food was okay.. Oh well...Dark Chicken read more

El Rey Del Pollo Asado - Ordered cebullita instead of rice but they give us rice instead.... Chicken was dry and Tasted old . - Mexican Near Me - Palatine, Illinois

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When I heard there was a new pollo asado place opening in the Northwest Suburbs, I was extremely excited as I've had tried many preparations of chicken that are marinated well and slow cooked for super juicy and soft meat. These have been broiled, char broiled, roasted, or smoked to create delicious flavors. El Rey Del Pollo Asado specializes in this type of preparation and offers meals at a fairly decent price (comparable to KFC or Popeyes). The chicken is fairly priced although the 1 or 1.5 chicken portions are not as big as you'd expect as each chicken piece is cut up into smaller portions. The meat itself was a bit overcooked (not quite tough, but not tender) and could've used more spices and marination. The skin that others talked about was somewhat between slightly crispy and chewy -- fairly good if you consider this a fast food restaurant but nowhere near the best I've had, even among other fast or fast casual restaurants that specialize in chicken. As Patty said, there's really nothing to say about the sides. They seem like an afterthought with preparations, textures, and flavors that don't stand out -- and in fact, are probably a detriment to the entire dining experience when you remember how mediocre they are. The salsas were alright, not the most complex flavors I've ever had but gives the chicken some variety in flavor. I wish they were presented in a bit more attractive of a manner and prepared in smaller portions -- but given the price of the food, I can understand why it's presented in the way it is. Overall, good if you'd like to try something a little different at a reasonable price. But doesn't really stand out as a superb version of pollo asado. read more

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Best chicken ever. Grilled to perfection with onions potatoes and rice. Great flavor. Will definitely be back. read more

Came here for dinner and got the whole chicken meal. It comes with 3 sides and we chose fries, pico de gallo, and rice. There's a nice salsa bar where you can sample with varying degrees of heat. The chicken was juicy and very flavorful. We wrapped the chicken in a corn tortilla and topped it with pico de gallo and salsa. Very satisfying meal. The price was great. We had a meal for 2 under $20. There was still chicken leftover to take home. Definitely will come back! read more

El Rey Del Pollo Asado - Whole chicken meal - Mexican Near Me - Palatine, Illinois

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This place is amazing. What a gem!! I came here and ordered some meal special and I got two beef tacos with rice and beans for 6 and change including a drink, not only it was cheap but food was amazing, tasty and on point. Tacos were full with beef so is not like you get ripped off. Lavatory is super clean, place is well clean. This place also has a drive in so you can place your order. I must say i will continue to come. Amazing and I highly recommend. Lastly they have over 5 kinds of salsa ls home made and they are fabulous. read more

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El Rey Del Pollo Asado makes delicious grilled chicken! It's tender, moist and flavorful. The chicken comes with grilled green onions and jalapeños. The onions are delicious. The peppers are spicy. There are a number of sides and salsas to select from. I highly recommend giving them a try! read more

Went here on Friday 7/7 for dinner. There were a few other patrons in the area, but we were able to give our orders right away. We tried a steak taco, spicy pork taco, and a chicken taco. We also ordered horchata, rice, and mac'n'cheese. Out of the three tacos, the spicy pork was our favorite! Great flavor and texture. The chicken came in second, also tasty and flavorful. We didn't care for the steak taco at all. There were so many pieces of hard gristle in there, and not much flavor at all. For $1.79/taco, I'd go back for more of the spicy pork ones! I love that they come with onion and cilantro. The horchata was great as well, exactly what I'd expect. The rice was yummy and seasoned well. The mac'n'cheese was a little too thin, but still creamy. It had zero cheese flavor to it whatsoever though. I ended up mixing mine with some of the salsa. :) Choosing your salsas on your own was fun! I was happy to try a very tiny taste and then choose from there. I'd be back to try out more items! For 6 tacos, a horchata, rice and a mac'n'cheese, our total was right at $20. read more

El Rey Del Pollo Asado - Sides of rice (very good!) and mac'n'cheese (a little too thin and no flavor at all) - Mexican Near Me - Palatine, Illinois

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This place has been established in Palatine for a little while now and the quality remains just as great as when they opened. The chicken is the best! Their tortas al pastor are also a good eat. Definitely recommend! read more

Amazing people amazing food and very worth getting catered. We got ten chickens came with rice and beans and it was the hit of the party. Thank you guys. read more

I ordered via the drive-thru yesterday. Got 2 chicken tacos and 1 chicken burrito. Fantastic food. Quick and efficient service. My order came with 3 sauces (2 spicy red sauces, and 1 mild green sauce). Like other reviewers, I did find the dishes PILED with meat (not complaining), but that does make the dishes a bit dry. The included sauces and lime helped with making the dishes juicier. The burrito came with rice and beans. The rice was as expected. But the beans BLEW MY MIND. Never had beans like that (and I normally never even touch the beans that come on the side). But these beans were like a stew. Not quite sure how to explain it, but they were in a juicy and flavorful sauce. Really yummy. I would totally order that on it's own. The sign says #2, but they are #1 in my book. Overall, very happy. You have a loyal customer for life. read more

Never going back. Tons of Bone pieces in 2 chicken tacos was basically all the meat in it. Never had anything like this in my life. Disgusted! Top of it ask for extra salsa cause they barely give any. Way to exspensive price for terrible food. read more

El Rey Del Pollo Asado - This is all chicken bones from 2 Chicken tacos! YES, only 2 tacos. Disgusting chewing on bones Never going back. - Mexican Near Me - Palatine, Illinois

I attended the ribbon cutting to celebrate there opening. This has been converted from an old KFC ( for the better I would say). They had many of their items to taste. I have to say the food was outstanding and the choices were many. I particularly liked the carne asana tacos and the pollo tacos. The grilled onions were very sweet and tender. After that, I took a Family Order back home for dinner. It included a whole cut up chicken and three sides ( I took the beans, macaroni and cheese and the grilled onions). All the food had a great flavor by themselves and when dipped in the different salsas increased the intensity without being just hot. I didn't pay attention to the menu because it came with the grilled onions and grilled jalapeños so I didn't need to order a side of grilled onions. I can't wait to go back and try the Carne Asada dinner and some of the different tortas. They have just pick up some new customers and some of my friends that I already told about the new place in town. The staff was very informative and friendly. read more

Love this place. We order for lunch once a week and it's awesome. We usually get the family deals. I plan on ordering today as a matter of fact. read more

El Rey Del Pollo Asado - Mexican Near Me - Palatine, Illinois

The food is a different story, it's good. The employees at the front counter don't wear a mask. We are in the middle of a pandemic! When I asked the employee if the mask on her chin works, she just rolled her eyes and ignored me, also one of the cooks walked to the front and put his mask on, so they're not wearing it while cooking. I'm not coming back read more

This place is amazing. You can tell it's going to be awesome based off of the bad ass metal chicken you are greeted by on the inside. The chicken comes out juicy and full of flavor each time. We've eaten here several times and haven't experienced the dry chicken like some have written. The grilled green onions that come with it are delicious. The sides are solid, too. (Big fan of the rice and fries). The sauce bar options are all great too. I really can't say anything negative about the place! read more

I have been meaning to try this place for a while and finally got around to it. I am glad I did. The chicken is wonderful: juicy, tasty, tender. With the family meal, you get some grilled onions and jalapenos. You also get 3 sides. The pico de gallo and rice were also really good. The mac and cheese wasn't that great - kind of drowning in cheese sauce. I liked getting the corn tortillas and salsa with the chicken as well. I made a couple tacos besides just eating the chicken by itself. Definitely worth a visit if you are in the Palatine area. read more

Updated Review: unfortunately for the past few months we have had a really difficult time getting through on their phone line to place a call ahead order. It has made it very difficult with the COVID restrictions to eat at this restaurant. And we went from eating here once a week to now only once in a while when we can get through on the phone line. Very disappointing. This place has amazing chicken that you can buy family style and an awesome chicken quesadilla lunch special! Super affordable and absolutely delicious! We come here almost once a week! read more

Good chicken I love the food everything is great ! Love the carne asada good stuff and they fast and they have delicious tacos

If you live on the borderline of Palatine and Arlington Heights and craving authentic Mexican food and looking for a takeout/drive-thru place during the covid season, this is the place to go!! Don't miss this place when you are driving on Dundee Rd. My sister and I were craving Mexican food and we went to a restaurant in Deer Park, but they closed their outdoor seating due to the rain. I'm so glad I found this place! It's friendly service with generous portions of their meat. Their food is made fresh and they provide sauces with your tacos. We ordered 3 steak tacos and 2 al pastor tacos. I recommend getting their al pastor tacos more than their steak tacos. Their al pastor tacos are tastier. You'll have to pay a little more for it, but it's worth it! It comes with cilantro and onions, but we also asked for lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese. They gave it to us for no extra charge! The total came out to be $11 which is a bargain!! They load the ingredients very well in each taco and I was full with 2 tacos. My sister was more hungry than I was and her 3 tacos made her full and satisfied. I know this place is called "The King of BBQ Chicken" and yet we have not ordered chicken here...but we will go back to try it and their other options on their menu including their carne asada! read more

Had the whole chicken family meal to go. I liked it lot, reminded me of the grilled chicken places in California. I'll be back, it is on the way home from work. really want to try some of the other sides read more

I loved this place! I got a steak burrito meal. The beans are SO good. They're actually flavorful and not just mush. I was really impressed. The burrito was great. It was big enough for two meals for me. The drive thru wait was really long but it was worth it. They were also apologetic and super nice. There are a few authentic Mexican places around but I'm lazy and need the drive thru. I'll definitely be back. read more

Beware! Stay away! They steal your money by putting tip even though we used the drive through! No recomiendo este lugar. Roban dinero. Se pusieron tip cuando pasamos por el drive through aunque en el recibo Nunca escribimos tip.. hablamos con la manager Lourdes (Lula) N. y se niega a creer q uno de sus empleados haya sido aunque Ella mismo tiene la prueba en sus manos ya que el total no estaba sumado lo q uno de sus empleados sacaron de tip. Que pena q entre latinos nos roben. Espero no le suceda a nadie mas. Tegan cuidado y siempre esten al tanto de sus transacciones en el banco.. asi fue como nos dimos cuenta. read more

2/2022 Never been in here. My daughter bought carry out for us. WOW! This was amazing. The chicken was cooked to perfection. Practically fell off the bones. Tortillas were great! Rice and beans. All yummy! Wanted to go in forever, the the flames on the restaurant outside always made me think it was spicy. I guess it means grilled. Oops! My bad all these years! No matter what though. We will be back! read more

This place is amazing. You definitely get your dollars worth here. I ordered the 12 pcs chx special and you practically get everything you need for an entire meal. I was given 3 sides, tortillas, salads, cebollitas, etc. This chicken was so good it reminded me if El Pollo Loco on Alvarado Street. Y'all Californians know what I'm talking about. read more

I didn't get the chicken. I know.....this is a chicken place. But the steak burrito was great. The beans seemed homemade and combined with the rice were excellent. I like the salsa buffet bar they have but i wish each sauce was labeled with a name and its "spicyness". The place does have a funky outhouse smell by where you place your order. They should fix that because it is very unappetizing. But once you get away from the front counter it is fine. read more

I had the tacos Al pastor and carne asada. Both tasty but the pork was a bit better. I also ate some of the grilled chicken and I must say that was the star of the meal. Chicken was tender and delicious. Prices are very affordable and everything was fresh at lunch time when I was there. I will eat there again when I'm in the neighborhood. read more

New restaurant in the neighborhood by my work so of course I have to try it. I stopped by very quickly before starting my shift. I walked in but didn't get to really focus much on the look of the restaurant. I walked right up to the counter and placed my order. I had looked at the reviews from their other location and I was convinced that I had to try the chicken. I ordered the two piece chicken special with rice and beans and it came with a drink. My order was taken and packaged very quickly. I have to say the restaurant smelled delicious and the same smell followed me to my car. I couldn't wait to get to work and eat my food. I open my white styrofoam box to find 2 delicious looking pieces of chicken, a leg and thigh, a nice portion of rice and a separate container of beans. Not refried beans but whole beans in a spicy soupy like broth. The chicken was served with cebollitas asadas and tortillas. It was absolutely a fabulous meal. The chicken was cooked to perfection, not dry but juicy and full of flavor. The beans were so good I wished I had a bigger portion of them. The rice was just ok but the chicken was delicious!!! With this being down the street from my work, I can see myself being a regular here. Not only for eating while on lunch or to bring home to my family for dinner. If you chicken and happen to be in the area, come try this delicious pollo asado. You won't be disappointed. I will check the full menu next time I'm there. Oh and they have a drive thru which is extremely convenient. read more

Loved the grilled chicken. I chose white meat, and it was cooked to perfection. Normally, once you get past the flavor-coated outside, the chicken inside is bland .. not here! El Rey manages to get flavor in all the way to the last bite. The sides of rice and beans were equally flavorful, as was the staff. Will come again! read more

Flavorful chicken for the whole fam at a price you can't beat. You get a whole chicken with 3 sides more options than any other chicken place. This is our go to for a quick yummy meal. read more