El Pollo Rico

Small chicken parts, looked and tasted about 4 days old. It was also dry. The beans had a good flavor. The plate and portion sizes were excellent for a kids meal. My daughter had the burger and it was huge. I’m disappointed. First time and won’t be returning.

Tried again this morning. I really like the food, but they can’t seem to get their shit together in the mornings. If you are going to open for breakfast, then OPEN for breakfast!!! WTF! Please change your hours of operation or BE READY FOR SERVICE IN POSTED HOURS OF OPERATION

First time customer. The food, sides and sauces were great. That was the highlight
The parking lot and entrance were littered with debris and very unsightly The front doors had so many hand prints and smudges. It looked like it hadn’t been cleaned since the 90’s. The cashier had no enthusiasm and seemed as if she wanted to be somewhere else. Loud noises from the kitchen were distracting. Thank goodness the food was good but I will go across the street to their rival from now on

After a long day of tending to errands, we stopped by quickly at any random area looking for a place to eat since most restaurants were closed due to Easter. The interior was simple looking and for the most part looked like it was well kept. We ordered our food and I cannot comment on whether the server was friendly or not because we did not interact much, but it was overall pleasant. I opted for the Rico Bowl and got it within 5 minutes; It was quite good. My sister got a burger and several items which she said suited her taste (she says this to everything that is edible so. I cannot really comment on it). In short, I will come back if I can.

Ugh! Came here to pick up chicken only & was over charged for a different item. They couldn’t correct it & over charged me & everyone just shrugged their shoulders. Too busy having personal conversations that come in to loiter the establishment than to pay attention to a customer order or to learn how to correct an error.

Place smelled good, staff was quite friendly! Place looked clean and the food was prepared very quickly. My only complaint is that my cuesadea was quite greasy. However it tasted really pretty good! It cost me $ 8 flat. Would eat here again in a pinch.

Food was fine but service was horrible. That’s what I get for betraying my first love, El Pollo Regio, across the street.

Today I had the worst roasted I ever bought. In the past, I was a fan of Pollo Rico. Today’s chicken was so dry, it was nearly inedible. It tasted like it was roasted two days ago and left on the warmer. The skin was nicely seasoned but rubbery and gross. I order chips and queso, but they were out.
I hate wasting food and money. I decided to chop the chicken meat and make salad. Even with the addition of mayo, it was still too dry.
For less than a third the price, the warehouse clubs have better rotisserie chicken. Even HEB’s is far better. YUCK!
The good news, the beans weren’t awful. The flour tortillas were only slightly rubbery, and the rice wasn’t as dry as the chicken.

I have had the whole chicken with beans and rice before so I decided to try the quesadilla. I got chicken with guac, sour cream, and green salsa. I must say that I was impressed. There aren’t a lot of places in Austin to get good Mexican food on the go so I may frequent here more often. I do think $ 8 is a bit much with no drink included but it was filling without any sides.

Great service! Great Jamaica! Delicious authentic food! I love this place! The rice, beans, and tacos al pastor are the best. You can’t go wrong with that! I think this is my new favorite place. They also have a chips and salsa bar.
They did take some time to get me my food, but it just shows that it is not premade. Scrumptious and warm. You won’t regret coming here!

The war of the dueling Pollo on Ohlen. Showdown at noon.
I’m actually giving Regio the edge on the taste of their chicken alone. It’s just a little bit better. However, this place has some major benefits:
1. I’m not told often that they are out of chicken tacos. Seriously Regio, if you have whole chickens, you also have the makings of chicken tacos. I’ll wait.
2. A dining room. Yay for somewhere to wait instead of sketchily skulking in or around my car.
3. Chips and a huge salsa bar for dine in (or while you’re waiting) for free.
4. The green sauce I believe is on par with Regios, and they also have a red sauce that’s the best (and two other ones if you’re not as much into spicy)
5. Marinated onions and peppers and fresh pico.
Here are the downers:
1. The chicken is GOOD but not as good as Regio.
2. I can get a plate of tacos from Regio for the same price as two tacos from Rico.
The real deal is that due to the a) dining room b) fact that they’ve never told me they’re out of something they are actually not out of, and c) they’re slightly more convenient on the way home to turn into and park… they’re our pollo mainstay.

Very good Mexican style pollo and carne asada. Whole chicken meal comes with charro beans, Mexican rice, and corn tortillas. Chips and salsas are complimentary and very tasty.

Nothing says Christmas more than El Pollo Rico. And since Din Ho Chinese BBQ had a line out the door and down the sidewalk, why not try this place? Hell, it’s open. And empty.
Mex Mix plate was good.
Corn tortillas were good
Beans and rice were good.
The ½ grilled onion was the real show stopper ;-)
4-​stars for being open on Christmas.
3-​stars for being open tomorrow.
It was ok.
See ya next Christmas. Maybe. Or not :-/

It’d been years since I’ve eaten at an El Pollo Rico, but today I stopped in at this location to pick up lunch for the family. The interior was roomier and cleaner than the other one I’d been to that was on North Lamar. And it the time it took to process my order and put together my order would’ve made Jimmy John himself jealous. I mean freakishly fast!
The whole chicken dinner comes with a side of rice, a side of beans, and some corn tortillas that tasted freshly made. It also came with a couple small cups of salsa which were very good, though there was a larger variety of fresh salsa by the entrance. I didn’t grab any extra salsa since I didn’t see any to-​go cups there. But the food was great regardless and there ended up being enough for a second meal. Tasty, convenient, and affordable — can’t ask for much more.

Its on the way home, so its easy. I used to prefer the place across the street, but this one is so much easier to get in and out of, so it has become my go to.
They have all your normal El Pollo «name here» foods, + a baked potato with carne asada in it.
Nothing has been bad, its all quite delicious. Occasionally the people behind the counter have attitudes, but it doesn’t bother me too much. I am here to get some tacos or a chicken and head on out.
Their salsa bar is kind of fun, I like the red sauces here, the green one is great too, but can be a little to full of burn later.
The menu is extensive and they have lots and lots, but I keep going back for the chicken and carna asada. The Mex Mix plate is just about perfect. Its half a chicken and some carne asada with tortillas, onions, and pico. Of course rice and baracho beans in there too.
Should you come here? Yes you should try it out.
What should you order? Chicken or Beef tacos.

I don’t like to give bad reviews but felt obligated on this one. I Should have followed my instinct and left before ordering! This was horrible! Chicken must have been leftover from day/​days before, and there was some gritty substance on the second piece I ate which my first thought was that it fell on the floor and they served it anyway. The reason that this was the first thing that popped into my head was because of the overall atmosphere. It felt like the place was on a shoestring budget and cut lots of corners, and the employees gave the impression that they did not care at all, and could not even assist with the menu. There were visual code violations with food sitting out on the counter behind the register, flan that should be in refrigerator (there when we came in and still there when we left, 30 minutes). Not a clean environment, could not finish meal after grit and the thought of what the kitchen must look like. This is a scary restaurant!

After this place opened— I was curious what kind of food they served (quality, price, service). Finally I stopped in.
Like the rest of the surrounding area, it is helpful if you at least know some spanish. The people working the counters are friendly and will provide catering service. But they have problems clearly comprehending English. Still they are very friendly and courteous. They will work hard to get your order right.
Your order is custom made. You go to your table and wait for it to be brought to you. Although this place is now a ‘fast food resturant’ in it’s previous incarnation it used to be an IHOP — and the structure loopks strange with several of the tables taken out — and the customer seating area still physically here. These people want you to seat yourself after you place your own order. It took me a while to figure this out!
When my order finally came, the portion size was HUGE. I had only ordered one quesadilla – just wanting a quick snack. But I was stuffed. I can’t imagine how full I would feel if I ordered any of the complete meals on the menu. WOW! I was stuffed and happy after my snack.
I tasted at least three different cheeses in my order – definently authentic mexican food. I definently see why the food is priced as it is even though it comes out to you on a styrofoam plate. And you use plastic utensills to eat it. This was well worth the cost.
The only bad thing about this place is that the exterior looks more ‘upscale’ which when compared to the long-​standing mexicn grill ‘shack’ immediately next door or the surrounding area. I was one of the very few people inside the dinning room – which even in the reconfiguration, was set up to seat many more people than was currently seating. It was not a busy night at all. If I wanted to (and had room!) I could have gone back and ordered another quesadilla because they were not busy at all.
Unless you’re familar with the product brand or consider the pricing a necessary trade off for food quality, you’re not going to eat at this place. It’s in a part of Austin where people don’t have a lot extra money to eat out. I hope they are able to stick around.

El POLLO DELICIOSO!!!
This place is amazing. The chicken will bring you in and the price will bring you back.
The whole charcoal grilled chicken with all of the sides, tortillas, beans, rice, a grilled onion, and limes for 16 bucks is an absolute steal. I have tried to buy all of these items at the store and I come out more expensive. My girlfriend and I can each get 2 meals from the whole meal. If you don’t have that many mouths to feed don’t fret they also have a ½ chicken option.
If you like chicken and haven’t tried this place give it a go, I guarantee you will not be disappointed.
I have also had one of the tortas when I was on lunch from work and they are also spot on. If you want the chicken meal in a nice neat lunch package go with the Rico Bowl. It is rice, beans, pico de gallo, sour cream, and your choice of beef, chicken, or pastor. I never finish a whole one but they are only $ 7.

Disappointed at best. Expensive for what you get. Food was not fresh at 7pm. Try pollo regio 200ft away!

This is like the Taco Bell of Grilled Chicken places. The food is bland and the service is less than stellar. We ate here because it recently opened hoping for some great pollo. What we got was tiny fatty portions of chicken with bland beans and out of the box rice.
Aside from having to wait for the teenager to help us, we also had to remind them that we bought drinks. Never going to eat here again after seeing flies buzzing around the garbage bins inside.
If you want really good grilled pollo go across the street to El Pollo Regio.

Food is not bad chicken sometimes is juice and fresh sometimes is hard and dry
They keep changing way to serve when they first open they use to serve chips by the salsa bar not any more
I can to the line and ask the cashier for those changes and she said yeah we are not serving chips anymore mm I said well I been to other locations and they still serving chips and then she said well we give chips only to those who ask for hahahaahah well I look at her and I said can I ask for it she said ok. Chips were inside the hot box were the chicken is so by the way she is the only one ride server in that place the rest is very nice
They reduce the portions from the whole grill onion to half :(that’s bad
I may have to try pollo regio next time

Hey. If your close to this location, try it for a quick lunch. I had a chicken burrito and it was really good. They have a salsa bar for chips and your meal. I cant wait to go back with the lunch bunch at work. Many options but the focus is Mexican style grilled chicken. Ehmm, Pollo. Give a shot folks.

We got the Chicken, Beans, Rice. It was very good! Kind of tasted like we were back home in Laredo (in a good way. lol). We will be going back. I think the A/​C was out but this Mexican pulled through.

That was a tasty chicken. Too bad I gave half of it away to my mom and sister. Horchata was mediocre. Al pastor was bland and flavorless. Can anyone get this meat right? Always go for chicken at Chicken places. I see why men should still order for women. (J/​k!)
P. S. Please fix the speakers.

Strange place. Not sure how I feel about it.
Clearly lots of new opening bugs to work out.
Only half full of tables. Menus on tv screens that keep changing milking it hard to order.
Counter girl didn’t speak any English.
Food prep time slow.
Aqua fresca really tasty.
Gordita t so so

There’s so much to say… I don’t even know where to begin. For the longest time I’ve espoused Pollo Regio’s virtues. Juicy chicken! Great green sauce! Cheap Cheap! And I’ve found over the past four years those things have become untrue. In swoops Pollo Rico (pun intended) to cut Regio off at the knees. I wish I was creative enough to write some epic rap battle but you’re going to have to settle for the facts about Rico V. Regio.
Regio: Whole chicken meal has gone from $ 13 to $ 16*
Rico: Still $ 14
Regio: Has virtually abandoned red salsa. Or at least, they never give it out anymore, even when I specifically request it. Frustrating.
Rico: Gives you both red and green
Regio: Famous for their green salsa. Now it’s inconsistent flavor means you’re either disappointed or on fire.
Rico: Like buttah. Spicy, savory, fantastic
Regio: Giving out lemons
Rico: Still handing out limes
Regio: Questionable walk up window
Rico: Nice indoor restaurant
Regio: 75% of the time, chicken is dry where it used to be succulent
Rico: Dripping with juice, hot and well seasoned
Rico: Free chips and salsa bar
Rico: Free cold cucumbers served with lime, mexican style
Rico: Friendly service
Rico: Active facebook page
Rico: Parking lot that won’t result in a 7 way crash
Did I mention they are across the street from each other? RIP Regio. It was real.
* I have yet to try the other items on Rico’s menu but I’m going to assume that they’re the same quality or higher than Regios. This review is only for the Pollo Entero meals *