Los Pollos Hermanos

This place was known for its outstanding friend chicken; moreover the quality of service you get is here unlike anywhere else. I recently stopped by here, on my way to an audit followup in ABQ. I saw signs for it everywhere I went and even asked a few people if it was worth it, and they all told me I had to try it. So I stopped by and ordered some food and a drink, and the creepy manager looking guy kept looking at me indirectly. I guess he figured I work for the government some how, and it was all kind of suspicious. Anyway, the food was outstanding and I had a great meal, although there was this older bald white guy waiting there impatiently, constantly eyeballing me, making it uncomfortable to eat. I heard ABQ had a lot of junkies, which is pretty sad, especially because of the effects drugs have on people: Heart disease, Malnutrition, and even cancer. Anyway, after my meal I grabbed a little something to go, for my buddies back in the IRS district office, figured they were getting hungry crunching numbers and auditing all day long, while I was out in the field busting some Bernekie guy for tax evasion.

I was always pretty sure this place was a mob front… But in Albuquerque?! That guy Gus who blew himself up was always at the Isleta location smiling like an idiot… Like he had a personal joke going on. And low and behold. The joke was on the Feds…
I’m not sure how good the chicken was but I understand that the junk they were producing ruined a lot of lives… Turns out that he secret recipe had nothing to do with chicken… And that is just plain false advertising… This is an issue I intend to take up with the BBB. Id give them one star. But I fear the ramifications.

Although Los Pollos Hermanos is no longer owned and managed by Gus Fring (RIP), the fried chicken here is still some of the best I’ve ever had. I don’t know what secret ingredient they put in there, but it must be crack cos that stuff is addictive! For a fast food joint, Los Pollos Hermanos is incredibly clean and the staff is always very nice and courteous. But that’s all thanks to Mr. Fring; he led his team well and was so nice, he wouldn’t have dared to hurt a fly.
Minus one star for the shady men who sit at the booths for hours, never ordering anything, but taking up much needed space. And the staff just lets them sit there! So weird.

Los Pollos Hermanos cooks the BEST chicken ever! I am saddened to hear that it has been almost 3 years since the owner, Gus, has passed away. I remember his spectacular service every time I visited this establishment. Regardless, LPH will continue to carry on as a top notch chicken restaurant!
Food Quality, Service, Location, Ambiance, Prices: A
During my visit, I was craving chicken, so I came to Los Pollos Hermanos! For the portion and amount of chicken you get, it is definitely a reasonable price! Plus there was something special about this fried chicken, always a kickin’ pizzazz to the flavors and spices! ;) The batter on the fried chicken was crispy perfection. The chicken meat itself was very tender, juicy, and savory! The side dishes of coleslaw, mac ‘n cheese, biscuits, etc. were also delicious and slightly salty but it was tolerable.
My friends, Walter and Jessie, recommended this place and boy were they spot on! They were definitely regulars here because they always head directly to the back store for friendly business exchanges :)
Service is always a great hit, especially the smiley female employees. I appreciate that Mr. Fring hires employees of all different backgrounds, even if they look like hitmans or ex-​convicts, yikes! Mad respects, brother! This restaurant is insanely, immaculately spotless. No specks of dirt, shoe marks, or filthy tables at all. I don’t even see flies or bugs inside– ever. Definitely recommend LPH if you are in the ABQ area!

Dear Gus,
As much as I hated you and really wanted to see you go, when you finally got half your face blown off (literally), it actually saddened me a little. Although, my first response when you walked out of the room was «WTF?!» and then I saw half your face was missing and my next response was «YES!» But then you were gone and it kinda hurt a little. So yea, you were missed… at least somewhat. And with the end of you, we got to say goodbye to Los Pollos Hermanos. I can almost hear Jesse now, «Yo Bitch, Chicken!»
RIP Gus & Los Pollos Hermanos
~Amy

Ah Los Pollos Hermanos how back in the day you ruled the ABQ fried chicken scene.
I used to be a loyal customer here but the new ownership has really led this place down the tubes.
Many a day I’d come in here to get a bite to eat. The food was always top notch.
KFC didn’t have anything over LPH’s seasoning. 11 herbs and spices ha, they must use 13 here. The chicken was always crispy moist and tender. I miss the great lunch specials too.
Now days its hit & miss the new ownership just doesn’t know how to maintain the consistency that the previous owner did. Often overcooking or undercooking the chicken. I recently got sick after eating some undercooked chicken from this location. When I called and complained the next day all I got was attitude and excuses. Also there is an unsavory element that has begun to consolidate around this location. Beware!
I was personal friends with the old owned Gus and while we had our differences he was always cordial and professional in his restaurant business. A self made man with a vision of being a national chain like McDonalds. He always made sure your meal was to your liking or he’d make it right not like the current ownership.
I found this at the grocery store and cant wait to try it.
Also saw this
So Screw this place its DIY Chicken from here on out because cooking is fun and rewarding.
NEVER to return!

I had heard so much about this place, about how California has In N Out, New York has Shake Shack, New Mexico has Los Pollos Hermanos. I heard that owner was so nice, he wouldn’t hurt a fly.
So I figured I’d try it when I ended up in Santa Fe; Albuquerque (fondly referred to as ABQ) was only one hour away. So I drove in between business meetings, mentally salivating over crispy freshly fried, juicy chicken, thinking of new adjectives to describe the future best meal I would have.
Why didn’t anyone tell me this place wasn’t real? I feel broken, badly…

For a guy who doesn’t even like fried chicken, Los Pollos Hermanos has won me over.
On a recent trip to Albuquerque for work, a buddy and I needed lunch. He works in the area and knew the owner from some of his charity work. The owner, Gus, treated us like royalty. He gave us the grand tour of the cooking area which was quite modern for a fast food establishment. What was really impressive about the owner was how down to earth he was. That guy owns numerous restaurant locations, and makes a fortune, but still drives an old Volvo. It’s nice meeting such nice upstanding citizens.
Besides the great owner, the chicken was absolutely amazing. I don’t know how they cook or season that chicken, but it was tender, juicy and amazingly flavorful. The sides weren’t really anything special, but that chicken. Yum. I am seriously considering flying in just to eat this chicken again.
I am quite hopeful that my request to open a franchise in Louisiana is successful. If you find yourself in the Albuquerque area, check out Los Pollos Hermanos. You will not be disappointed.

Gus Fring was a dear friend who worked behind the counter at Los Pollos Hermanos. There was a time I stopped by with my buddy Jesse Pinkman and we ordered the regular double breast, double mash. The three of us got to talking about things going on in our lives. Gus was calm, cool and collected and seemed to know the answer to everything. Jesse on the other hand was a little more intense and was trying to convince me that I was a blowfish or something.
I was bitching and complaining about how hard we work for those we love but they don’t seem to appreciate all those hours we spend cooking in the lab. Gus gave me some very sage advice: «When you have children, you always have family. They will always be your priority, your responsibility. And a man, a man provides. And he does it even when he’s not appreciated or respected or even loved. He simply bears up and he does it. Because he’s a man.»
I was waiting to hear more but Jesse got a call from some guy named Walter that seemed to agitate him so we had to bounce. That was the last time I saw Gus. Sadly he was a victim of terrorism during a visit to his friend Tio Salamanca at the old folks home. I don’t believe all those stories about him being a crystal methamphetamine distributor.
Los Pollos Hermanos — come for the chicken, stay for the company!

I’ve always loved LPH. But ever since Mr. Fring passed so suddenly, service has not been the best.
He used to take my orders and personally hand them to me, always with a smile. And there’s always a few extra pieces in there. Not this time though. Of all things, they forgot to put any of the famous Madrigal sauces in there. Not a single one, not even Franch. Is it my fault that I forgot to check?! At least the guy put paper cups for drinks as I requested.
Chicken is always finger-​lickin’ good, though. Sorry KFC. Crunchy on outside, and never dry on the inside.
They say Mr. Fring was a bad guy. I don’t care, he made good chicken and he never messed anything up. He was always good to us regulars, that’s for sure. The chicken business will never be the same again without him.
Once I thought I saw Mr. Fring on TV and thought he was alive. It’s just a guy named Major Tom Neville. Maybe it’s his half-​brother. Oh well.

My review is probably a bit tainted by the overall weird dating experience I had here, but here it goes…
So I met this guy Todd on
. For some reason, he wanted to meet up at Los Pollos Hermanos. It’s weird because I know he makes a TON of money in whatever he does (he refuses to tell me for some reason). Anyway, we go to Los Pollos and Todd keeps going on and on about his neo-​nazi uncle and this girl he had a crush on named Lydia and this guy named Mr. White who was his mentor or something. It was weird.
And he refused to let me use stevia in my iced tea. Odd. What a control freak!

A few years ago, after hanging out with my vegan friend, Gabe, I noticed that he had a «Los Pollos Hermanos» napkin on his coffee table.
Thinking this place was a «fried chikin» place that serves fake meat, I was misguided. It was just like any other fried chicken place, except with a lot of serious looking bald men staring at each other. There was this one guy with blue eyes that came by that I thought was pretty cute, but he looked like a druggie.
The manager was super nice though, and gave me free french fries for not having any vegan options.
But seriously, what the hell was my vegan friend doing at this place?! I was definitely blindsided. I stopped talking to him afterwards.

Meh, not that great. Seems like a Pollo Loco knock-​off.
I thought it was hilarious though, when I was there some German business men in suits there having what they thought was an «authentic» American lunch there. You could tell they were so thrilled about that. I speak German at home and overheard part of their conversation, the one thing that came up that I remembered was them talking about expanding their businesses, not sure what it was. It kinda seemed like they thought they already owned the place after having lunch there once, hahahah. Germans are so cocky sometimes.

This place place USED to be top notch. I had never been to such a great fried chicken place. The management was very hands on and professional. The former manager Gus would always come out to say hi to patrons and you could always see him talking with customers in the booths (but sometimes the conversations were a bit serious for a lunch time chat).
Sigh, I never had such damn good fried chicken. And the biscuits — someone call the cops! Shit was so good it should have been illegal — it was like I was on drugs.
But since Gus left the place has taken a nose dive. Now it’s a step above KFC and one below Popeye’s. Whoever is eating at Gus’s new place better consider themselves lucky — cause that shit was sidesplitting good.

Best fried chicken west of the Mississippi!
Big props to the guy who runs this corporation, Gus. He’s very hands on and you can see him in many locations, but especially this one. He is very good at controlling everything from the top to the bottom — this is a well-​run organization, err business.
Some people say they don’t feel safe here, and I understand, there seem to sometimes be Mexican drug cartel members coming in, but you can’t really stop them or it’s discrimination. They don’t hurt anybody. Just live and let live, folks.

I like Los Pollos Hermanos because it’s convenient and fast, even for a fast food restaurant. First off, there is plenty of parking out front. The staff is extremely well managed and even stop by tables to ensure that your soda is refilled.
The chicken is nice and tender with a great blend of spices. The fries are maybe not the greatest though, so minus one star. However, if you are looking for some excellent fried chicken, you can do a lot worse than this place!
My only complaint is that there are sometimes people who just seem to be sitting in the restaurant, not really eating or anything. I mean, it’s fried chicken so if you see someone just sitting, not eating, it’s kind of weird. I mean, sometimes I’ll see people there before I get in and they’ll still be sitting there after I leave. Kind of weird but they don’t seem to be bothering anyone.
Incidentally, I think there has been a recent change in management. But it hasn’t changed my overall enthusiasm for this place.

This was my fried chicken joint whenever I was in the area, but I haven’t been back recently because I suspect there has been a change in management.
What’s better than KFC, Church’s, and Popeye’s? El Pollos Hermanos! They give you a big bucket of chicken you can share with your loved ones, along with a drink. The service is always super friendly. I used to be a regular when the old manager worked here (guy in glasses with a button up and tie), and he always gave me extra sauce when I ordered. But the new staff do not recognize me anymore and I no longer get these extra perks. :(

alright chicken
Got a souvenir bit blue not sure why

I found a bullet in my bucket of chicken, I was mortified. The manager was apologetic, and returned my money, but he creeped me the hell out.
Also, I swear some old bald guy followed me home.

The fried chicken is okay, not the BOMB.
I think it was better two years ago under the old management. Not sure what exactly happened to him. Place was nice always clean with an attentive staff.
Now its just meh.