Super Pollo

Love this place. Order as much as you can at different times. They have a great menu and do the chicken right. Authentic soups and better burritos than you know where. …
So park in the back lot. Walk in the back door and then order. Busy at times, but always a place to sit. Friendly cashiers and plenty of good drinks to choose from. Prices are fair for the city we all call home so don’t expect an el cheapo lunch.
I’ve taken my kids lots of times and they’ve devoured everything.

If I could give this place more than five stars, I would. Great food, great service, and well priced for the portions. My 80 year old Granny who has traveled the world said the chicken was the best she’s had in her entire life! We both got the Peruvian combo, which had ¼ a chicken, a slab of thinly sliced beef, sausage, and two sides. Everything was very well seasoned and exceptionally tender and juicy. I’ll definitely be eating here again the next time I am in DC.

Yummy chicken! I am pretty hooked on this place! Not all the sides are as great as the children itself. Like the mashed potatoes and veggies could use some more flavor. But the children is pretty awesome!

I have been going there for about 3 years. In that time, I have only had one «say so» dinner. Otherwise, it is my first choice chicken dinner when in Arlington.

If you want the Best Peruvian food in the area, this is the place to go. I’ve enjoyed their chicken and sides too many times to mention. Enough said!!!

Saturday, 7:30 PM.
Quickie:
+ Food quality
+ Hygiene
* Customer service
+ Turnaround
+ Variety of sides
And then???
Super Pollo is a casual, quick spot for Peruvian chicken. It’s a worthy competitor to El Pollo Rico.
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Constructive comments:
*Option to compost
*Source ingredients
*Expand non-​fried options

this place is SO GOOD. I always go after Gold’s gym. About the same level as El Pollo Rico but better sides!

I think any time you dine from a place specializing in a particular «ethnic» cuisine, if the majority of fellow diners are of that particular «ethnicity», you clearly have a winner. After I walked in for takeout the other day and only heard Spanish being spoken and even the NFL game on the tv was being broadcasted in Spanish, I felt this was going to be authentic Peruvian chicken, and I was spot on with that inkling. While they offer, obviously, Peruvian chicken meals, they also have a ton of other Peruvian specialties like lomo saltado (which looks like carb-​induced heaven on a plate so I’ll surely return to try that). Unlike El Pollo Rico’s 3 side options (fries, rice, coleslaw), Super Pollo has a wide variety of options, including: rice, yucca, plantains, chickpeas, steamed veggies, fries, mashed potatoes, tomato and onion salad, beans, and spinach. Note: plantains and fried rice are $ 1 upcharge. I ordered a ¼ chicken with yucca and plantains. Also of note, the chicken is dark meat unless you request white meat, which is also extra but I’m not sure how much. My meal came to slightly less than $ 8.50 and while I did finish the chicken, the portions on the sides were so huge I, regretfully, was unable to polish them off. So the chicken– not dry at all, very flavorful with obvious cumin/​garlic/​onion/​pepper undertones. The skin could have been a bit more crisp but none the less, it was still tasty. The plantains are worth the extra $-very soft but not mushy, sweet. A couple small ones were too charred to eat, but as I said, I wasn’t able to finish them anyway so it was not a problem for me. They ran out of yucca so I had to wait about 5 minutes extra for it, but it was worth the insignificant extra wait. It was so crisp and served piping hot. Since I ate back home, I jazzed it up with some garlic peri-​peri sauce and it was delish! The chicken comes with the yellow mild sauce and spicer green cilantro sauce, of which I strongly prefer the milder sauce. I wish the sauce containers were larger but c’est la vie. I did wait some where between 5 and 10 minutes to place my order, however they were pretty busy at the time. I experienced friendly service from both my order taker and the woman working the register who called all the females «Mami». I was also easily able to park right next door, although I’m not sure if that was the parking spots for Super Pollo or for the next door ATM. I’d definitely return here again, and while I highly enjoyed the chicken, I think the lomo saltado is calling to me.

This pollo place is clearly related to Super Chicken in Tyson’s and is superb.
Both the white and dark meat options are fantastic, and I think that the best time to go is on Sundays. They seem to have a lot of fresh food and in ample portion for what I guess is the after church crowd. If you are hungover, this stuff could help save you.
Like all pollo places, you can select a quarter, half, or whole chicken and you can specify if you want dark meat, white meat, or both. The chicken is moist and flavorful with a crispy skin on the outside that is covered in spices. They have really great sides such as white and fried rice, chickpeas, yucca, fries, salad, ect.
They have a parking lot behind the restaurant, so if there is no street parking available close by, be sure to sneak behind the bank where they have designated spots. Don’t fall victim to Arlington’s predatory towing tendencies.
This restaurant is always spotless and I have never waited in line for more than a few moments. Truly a 5 star casual dining experience.

What a great place! Feels like down home cooking (From Peru) ;) The Chicken is awesome, and the side of Spinach or green rice is great! The «Half Dark» special is my favorite! The place can get busy at lunch and dinner but the line moves quickly! You can even get a whole chicken to take home or one of their meal deals.

Kinda smoky when you enter.
Very authentic.
Friendly staff.
Super-​tender chicken.
Even my picky eater liked it.
Great value!

Every time I come in here, I feel like I’m cheating on El Pollo Rico, but I get over it once I smell the chicken! The wife loves this place more since they have salads, etc, so when she’s around, this is the chicken joint for us.
The yard bird here is strong, sizes are huge and the seating is plentiful. Great lunch spot with lots of parking in the back, so don’t pay for street parking!

Chicken is super moist! You have to get the green sauce to go with it. Ended up making fried rice at home the day after with the leftover chicken. So good!
You have to buy the whole chicken. I tried asking for just dark meat and they were just going to cut the dark meat off and charge me the full price if the chicken.

Meh. Chicken was seasoned okay and juicy but I don’t get the hype. Sides like plantain were sold out and the rest looked old and unappetizing. Service is unfriendly and there’s no vibe or character to the place. Feels like a sterile cafeteria.
3 stars for the reasonable pricing and wide array of sides (if stocked and fresh). Healthier than traditional fast food too. Just nothing spectacular or different than you throwing some extra spices on rotisserie chicken which would be a better value.

Finally tried this Arlington staple, heard good things and I wasn’t disappointed. The yuca was perfect and made my day! Just the right amount of crispy and yuca still tasted fresh and not too starchy like other ones I’ve tried. The chicken was also good and flavorful, not greasy or overcooked and I enjoyed it with the yellow sauce, the green sauce was a bit spicy for me but had a good flavor. Steamed vegetables were a bit over cooked, but had a unique combination with carrots and cauliflower and complemented the chicken well.
The prices are reasonable for the quantity of food, I would recommend half chicken over the ¼ chicken since it’s a lot more food for just $ 10. The parking lot is small, but there’s street parking as well.

What the hell… How have I been going to El Pollo Rico for the past year without knowing about the deliciousness of Super Pollo just down the street?! Super Pollo totally kills El Pollo Rico — you get to choose from a dozen or so sides, rather than being confined to El Pollo Rico’s limited options of coleslaw, rice, or fries. The chicken is just as moist and tasty, with similar mild and spicy sauces. I got the dark meat only, and it was delicious. For sides I opted for the spinach (which is sauteed in a sauce and is DELISH) and the fried rice (which has bits of chicken, green onion, and egg in it — yum!). I also tried a few plantains — soft and naturally sweet. For the price ($ 6.99 for ¼ chicken with 2 sides), this place is a steal! You can get a very hearty filling meal for under $ 10. Found my new go-​to peruvian chicken spot in Arlington!

Chicken little? Nahhh Chicken Biggun! Managed to stop by this place post workout and get a gigantic serving of food. The chicken here is absolutely tender and juicy (served half or full). Something I’m not used to since I always overcook my chicken and it becomes a dry piece of cardboard. The sides were also given generously as they just slapped on some rice and gravy.
There’s a mini patio to the right outside which is perfect for summertime chillen. Bright red chairs and umbrella, you can’t miss it. Inside the food is served in a cafeteria style assembly line, not appealing but super efficient when it is busy. The interior décor is very modern and fits with the vibe they’re trying to portray. I thought it would have more of a Spanish-​y feel because it has a Spanish word in the title (Pollo = Chicken). But I’m not angry.
Beware: if something looks dry, don’t get it because it is dry. I made that mistake with the Mac and cheese and I threw it out. The heat lamps don’t play.

For the price point, this place was absolutely amazing. Tucked away on the corner of Quincy and 5^th, Super Pollo is a fast and inexpensive way to get in a quick lunch. Although a bit quiet, the servers were really quick with their work –they can usually get through your order and have your food ready in under a minute. Although the line seems really long, particularly during busy hours, every time I looked up at the line while I was eating my food, it seemed as if though there were completely new faces, more people eagerly awaiting their lunch.
The typical lunch order that most people get is the ¼ chicken. For $ 6.99, you get ¼ of a chicken with 2 sides — enough to fill most people (all of my friends and me included). The sides were overall pretty good. I had the chick peas and plantains, and my friends had rice (white and fried), beans, and spinach.
The plantains were superb, but try to eat them while they’re still hot. The sweetness works really well with the juicyness that comes from being fresh off the heat and make for a great contrast to the chicken. The chickpeas were good, but they weren’t really anything special. They were the right temperature, tasted pretty consistent and normal, but could have used a bit more flavor. However, I don’t necessarily think that this is a bad thing — if it were over the top, then it would have clashed with the stronger flavor of the chicken (more details below). From what my friends told me, the white rice was pretty mediocre — a bit too wet and soggy and just didn’t go too well with the chickpeas.
But the chicken — the chicken is really what you come here for. Sure the sides are good, but who cares about any of that when the aroma of charcoal chicken, slowly rolling in the hot oven with just the right amount of seasoning and spices hits you right when you walk in. None of that frozen, reheated stuff — this chicken is fantastic. Being freshly cooked, there are a lot of savory juices trapped inside the meat, with no part of the chicken being dry at all. The skin added just the right amount of seasoning — enough so that the distinct flavor hits you with every bite, but not too much as to not overwhelm you or be too salty. The sauces that they provide also complement the chicken very, very well. The yellow sauce is a mayo/​mustardy combination, and the green sauce is some sort of mild chili spice. I don’t know how, but when you mix everything together and dip the chicken in (especially with the skin) the flavor is just amazing.
For what you pay, you really get a lot. ¼ of a chicken is definitely bigger than a normal burger you’d get from a similar fast-​food place. The server actually said that he’d bring me more plantains because I had the last serving and it wasn’t enough, but he never got around to it. It’s OK though — I left the place feeling pretty bloated already, and the lunch hours were still busy busy for them, so I left feeling satisfied anyways.
Great food for an affordable price. Sides could use a bit more work (not a problem though, because the chicken makes up for it), but the plantains and chickpeas are definitely a safe and great choice. Also, if you go M-​F, 3−5PM, I think it’s happy hour and you get the ¼ chicken deal for like $ 4.99 or something.

Chicken. It isn’t hard to mess up, but it’s quite a challenge to make it great. Super Pollo has met that challenge. Tucked behind the Mercedes dealership and near the new Residence Inn, Super Pollo is unassuming on first glance, but once you enter, you’ll be transported to a paradise that is an absolute assault of delicious aromas upon your nose and carries the promise of all the chicken you can handle.
Onto the food.
I visited on a Friday around 11:30 am, so that would be just before the lunch rush. My brother and I both ordered the Dark Meat Special, which is ½ a chicken (dark meat so legs and thighs) plus two regular sides for $ 8.50 – an absolute value in this area! For my sides, I opted for the spinach and yucca fries. My brother also got yucca and the fried rice (green rice).
Now, the chicken. Oh heavenly chicken (is that blasphemous? oh well), smothered with a delicious blend of herbs and spices. The meat falls off the bone and the skin has a slight crisp – don’t feel guilty. eat it all up. Super Pollo has an open floor plan, so if you’re opting to stay in, you might try to go the fork and knife route for the appearance of class and manners. Don’t. Dig into that meat, ravenously claw it off the bone like the animal I know you are, and delight in the tender, juicy chicken that’s been grilled and seasoned to perfection. Want even more? Layer on some of the green, cilantro sauce – spicy and has a garlicky bite. It’s positively sinful. Needless to say, the chicken here absolutely is A+, and ½ a chicken for lunch was way more than enough for me. ¼ of a chicken might have been a more gut-​friendly choice, but my taste buds were cheering the entire time.
The sides were also good, but not nearly as impressive. The creamed spinach was spiced and perhaps was mixed with tomato? There was a slight acidity to it, and it provided a nice textural and taste counter to the chicken. The yucca fries were crisp, seasoned, and served with a tart/​creamy sauce, but I found them a bit on the cool side when served. The fried rice, though, got two thumbs up from both me and my brother. The rice was well-​seasoned, slightly spicy, and a great accompaniment to the main star, the chicken.
Overall, Super Pollo is a solid lunch or dinner choice if you’re looking for a no-​frills, value meal in the Ballston neighborhood. Definitely recommend it to all those looking for a great Peruvian chicken experience.
Final tips:
— The place does get busy during the weekday lunch rush. Try coming a bit early or late to avoid the inevitable lines. The lines do move along pretty speedily, though!
— Fried rice is an extra dollar as a side dish.
— The dark meat special for $ 8.50 wasn’t actually advertised on the menu but was posted on a flyer at the counter. Definitely check out the posted flyers for deals.

A tough judgement call… but the winner takes all in my opinion.
In these parts of the the DMV –the Arlington/​Clarendon VA area, El Pollo Rico seems to dominate the competition when it calls for finding great Peruvian chicken… UNTILLLLL Super Pollo came along! This place is the real deal… at a good deal. The chicken is flavorful, moist and just as good in comparison. One bite of their chicken and you can taste the alchemy of onion, garlic, cumin, cilantro, yellow Aji, Chile powder and spanish pepper kick off a party in your mouth! Also, another thing I would give Super Pollo the one-​up on the competition is the fact that they offer the best sides to choose from and number of other Peruvian dishes… besides just that tasty *charbroiled-​chicken* all DMV Washingtonians have come to love. You name it, they have the sides: rice, beans, salads, mixed vegetables, spinach, fried rice, lentils, yucca, mash potatoes & gravy… etc! Also, they prepare and serve really good Peruvian dishes like the: Lomo Saltado (Kicks A*!), Carne Asada (Excelente!), Fried Tilapia (Arriba…Thumbs Up) and… great deserts like 3 Leches Cake, Flan and Rice Pudding too. This is what sets this place apart from most of the similar style Peruvian restaurants around the Arlington/​Clarendon area.
Sorry El Pollo Rico. Yes, you are the popular choice in the Arlington/​Clarendon area. Your chicken is slightly better… more crispier-​skin like I like it… however being stuck with just french fries and coleslaw as your only options to compliment a dish gets old very quick! Super Pollo definitely adds some «spice to my lunch life» in comparison.
In all, I rate Super Pollo 4 ½ stars! Great food and most of all… flavorful, well-​seasoned chicken. Having a smörgåsbord of sides to chooses from both healthy and bad… always is a plus in my playbook… and tummy too!