El Pollo Ranchero

WORST pupusas in the area!
I’m very disappointed with this place. I ordered pupusas thinking that they were delicious here but they were all burned.
I don’t recommend anyone to buy pupusas here especially when they’re $ 1.95 each.

I love there pupusas! I go there every weekend & they are always so delicious! Only place I go to on Route 1 for pupusas!

Delicious and very well priced. Ordered 8 entrees/​items between the four of us.
My favorite were the flautas, very fluffy and crispy.
Also got the enchilada with beef, chicken chimichanga, pupulsas, and burrito.
Check came to $ 70! Will be back!

Ughhh so I went to this restaurant this evening and I knew going in I’d be disappointed. As soon as I walked in I noticed how dirty the floor was and how there was a dirty used napkin on the window sill. Whatever, I decided I would still give this place a chance. We sit and then get chips and salsa and they were stale and cold. The salsa didn’t taste fresh either. I was asked what I’d like to drink and I asked for a coke. The coke was off and I asked for another coke and then waitress asked if I wanted a can instead and I said yes. I poured my own drink and I still had the same issue! I figured it out! The cup must have not been washed properly as it still had a strong smell of dawn dish soap and it was causing a sweet taste in my drink. The food was ehhh. Anyway… I won’t be coming back.
BTW… The waitress we had wasn’t friendly.

Peruvian style rotisserie chicken is very good, but anything else is just OK for me. As far as chicken is concerned, you can get better tasting chicken for less elsewhere.

I have been here many time and am a huge fan of this place. They start off with complimentary chips and salsa. They chips are heavier than the norm with a crunch and mild salsa with notes of onion and spices. I ordered the Tipico #1 which comes with quarter Peruvian chicken, pupusa, yucca, beef empanada and beans and rice. The price is 9.99 are they they out of their mind to give you that much food for that price? Even people with hardy appetites will be taking home some of their menal.
There are dipping sauces on the table to put on your chicken. Not sure what the sauce is but it’s the ones that they provide to you at other Peruvian chicken places.
Their servers are attentive and food comes out pretty quick. They also accommodated my request for white meat and no pork on my pupusa. They have a big
Definitely worth trying!

We went a couple weekends ago and loved it. Huge portions and great Mexican food! We have been searching for a Mexican restaurant that we love. We’ve gotten sick of the typical chain restaurants. The man got a burrito which was enormous and the sauce that went with was phenomenal. I got the shrimp something cannot remember the name but it was an amazing sauce creamy and over rice. Check it out!

Love the taste of the food. The beans are so delicious! However, when I get Mexican food it’s kind of a given you get chips and salsa. This place makes you pay for them if you are not eating at the restaurant which I think is crazy. I mean what’s the difference? I think if it takes pleasing a customer especially in a simple way like that or loose a customer or bad Unilocal review over a simple fix what’s the harm?

Yum! Great Peruvian style rotisserie chicken that is moist and flavorful with a crisp skin. It is served with green and yellow sauces for dipping. The salsa and chips they serve are also very good and tastes homemade. A half chicken white meat meal with two sides was under $ 10. This place was open the day after the big blizzard in January 2016 when everywhere else along that stretch of Richmond Hwy was closed. They have excellent customer service and a good work ethic. I highly recommend this restaurant.

My favorite Peruvian chicken. The food is always fresh. The ceviche is good. Chips and salsa. The staff is very friendly

I’ve been coming here for years. It is my favorite place for rotisserie chicken, pupusas, and chips and salsa. It has a «dive bar» atmosphere but is locals and working people. Great food and a great price.

Love the customer service here ! And the food is authentic! Great flavor and good portions. I would say that the shrimp cocktail would be my favorite on the menu! Even though the place is kind of small, but a great place for Sunday gatherings with the family !

El Pollo Ranchero is a very nice space with good views. The empanadas were excellent as was the wine offerings. The ceviche was and fish entrée were drown in overpowering sauces that ruined the dishes. The server was well-​versed in the menu and very pleasant /​professional, but he was serving too many tables. This led to long waits for order-​taking, drinks and bill-​payment. Overall, it was not a bad experience, but the establishment most definitely has opportunties for improvement.

Visited for dinner. The food was good, the highlight was certainly the chicken.

I always order for to go… I must say the food is delicious… I always get the fried fish and chicken tamale even though the inside restaurant it looked kinda like a whole in the wall but don’t knock it til you try it.

It was ok pretty good. Not the best chicken I’ve had but it was pretty up there. The complimentary chips and salsa were a good starter. I ordered the quarter chicken white meat, cole slaw, and yucca. The yucca was perfect! The cole slaw was slightly sweet like I love it. And the chicken was very tasty as well. The sauces are on the table for you. The tres leches cake was pretty good and standard. Overall I’d come back to this place for a decent, somewhat healthy lunch. Oh and the price wasn’t bad either. Only 7.95 for the quarter chicken and two sides! Great customer service as well!

Yucca Yucca Yucca what I need.
I’ve seen Yucca in the supermarket and I’ve never been able to fry yucca at home like they prepare it at El Pollo Ranchero.
I mean, It’s a root correct? How do you make a root taste so good?
The chicken smells great, the other sides look delish, but come on… when have you been so attracted to a root.
But think of all the great things about roots.
There is a great music group called the Roots.
The movie Roots is a classic.
In music, you tend to come back to the root note.
In technology root is part if data analysis framework.
That sums me up all together.
An initially unappealing looking thing that is deep, yet integral in the base of understanding and artistically prevalent in everything.
BOOM!
And then you add ketchup to a root and kapowboom, life explosion on a whole new level.
Did I go to far with the yucca thing?
No. I didn’t go far enough.
If Yucca was a woman, I’d marry her.
If Yucca was a man, he’d be my brother.
That is in no way saying I want to marry my sibling, but, wait, this is harder to get out of now.
Well El Pollo Ranchero produces some of the best tasting Yucca fries I’ve had.
I feel strange now, probably because you are finding this whole review weird or laughing at it. But you know what… who cares. I am going to get Yucca fries from El Pollo Ranchero later… and you probably wont. So there.
Laugh all you want.

Ordered Tipico #1 and #3, so much food for the money. We will definitely go back for the pupusas, we ordered the cheese and herb and a pork one, they were great. As others have mentioned it’s not Peruvian chicken, but rotisserie. Unfortunately we got white meat, for my boyfriend, which was slightly dry. The yellow and green sauce were good and come in bottles on the table, so you can eat all you like. The service was very nice and attentive. the steak was tender and the homemade cheese delicious. If we’re back in the area we’ll have to try the black beans and the fajita burritos.

So I came here because the reviews all said «BEST Peruvian style chicken in Northern Virginia. Other then the fact that it is el salvador in style chicken the reviews were correct! This little restaurant is in an old bank building. It is quiet and unassuming.
I ordered the «Tipico #1» which consistent of a border rotisserie chicken, a pupusa, an empanada, yucca and the typical rice and beans. The chicken was moist and juicy with that crispy, well-​seasoned skin that you would expect. The pupusa is served under the chicken so juices from the chicken permeate into it. Yet it somehow manages to stay crispy. The cheese inside is gooey and delicious. The empanada is simple with a plain ground beef filling and a light crispy shell. Then you might into it find seasoning dance in your mouth. Then we move to the yucca, which frankly to me is usually yuck-​a! But I always try it. Boy am I glad I did! I don’t know how they do it, but it is so crispy and light and how season that it is delicious! I don’t eat rice so I can’t tell you how it is. The one negative, the brands are thin, yummy tasting but you need a spoon to eat them.
New go to spot. Will recommend to all.

I came for the rotisserie chicken and left disappointed. This place had 4 stars on Unilocal,there is a big chicken on the sign, and it had every indication of being another quality Peruvian style chicken place. It was not.
When you walk into a good Peruvian /​rotisserie chicken place you are always greeted by a large rack of fresh birds going around the rotisserie. They have to do that to keep up with the demand. When I did not see any chicken being cooked upon entering I was skeptical, but I tried it anyway.
The chicken was mostly dry and pretty bland. It was not bad chicken, by any means, but was not that finger looking good herb rub which places like Sardi’s put on and you just can’t get enough of. It was not as good as the pre-​cooked rotisserie chickens you can get in the supermarket. Average at best.
All of the sauces were bland. One of my favorite sauces at most chicken places is the green sauce! It is usually a thick very flavorful spicy sauce. Their green sauce (pictured) was very watery with no flavor to speak of, other than heat. It was spicy, just not a lot to it. The yellow sauce tasted like mayo, with no other strong flavors coming out. The salsa that came with the free chips was of the very watery variety that you’d be hard pressed to get onto a chip when you dip it.
My sides of green beans and black means were flavorful and cooked perfect. For the chicken, this should be a 2 star review («Meh») but I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt with 3 stars that the other menu items are worthy.
Based on other food I saw going around, it looked good. And I’d like to come try the carne asada some time. It is a nice small dining room that looks like a great place to go for happy hour.
It wasn’t bad. Service was fast and friendly. But I came for the chicken and was not impressed. I think they should change the name to «El Ranchero»…get the Pollo off the sign.
Price was very fair. Had ½ chicken with two sides and a drink for $ 10.