Pollo Fritto

Ahh. Pollo Fritto. You were so good the first time I tried ya, but you let me down this week for dinner at Moveable Feast. So, averaging out the two visits, I give you 3-​stars.
The first time I tried your sandwich it was about a month back and it was just scrumptious! French roll toasted just right, juicy chicken and tasty slaw.
This week it was like I went to a different food truck. The bread was a cheap, stale bun, like you’d get from Safeway in a 10 pack for $ 2. And the glorious, juicy chicken from before was replaced with a dry and somewhat tasteless version of the one I remember.
All in all, it was a letdown, especially for $ 9. Not sure I would try it again, but the photos of the «good» sandwich sure are enticing.

I tried the chicken tenders with BBQ sauce. The chicken was cooked perfectly, very juicy and the batter was fried to a perfect crisp. Unfortunately it had no taste. I wish they would season it with salt and pepper, or at least have some salt packets available so people like me can add our own salt. I emailed them about it and they said they’ll consider adding some salt to their chicken and maybe put some salt packets out.
The BBQ dipping sauce is excellent.
Good value for the money. $ 5 for 3 or 4 chicken tenders.

This time, I did get the chicken tenders. I think I’ve decided that the chicken and breading are tasty, but they just don’t let the chicken rest enough before frying it. This makes sense because they have to get the chicken out to the customers quick, but it really needs time to get the breading stuck to the chicken. Even the chicken tenders had the same problem the sandwiches had: the breading just came right off.
HOWEVER, what really was amazing was THE COOKIE! HOLY MOLY! WHAT A COOKIE! At first I was miffed by the $ 3 price, and I was thinking «This better be a damn good cookie for $ 3». AND IT IS! It’s huge, it’s chewy, it’s full of chocolate, and it is FANTASTIC!
Next time you’re here, get the cookie. Split it if you have to, because it is pretty big. But get it!

This is what I like to call a «man food» truck… because seriously, I can’t tell you how many women I see walk up to this food truck when it’s parked at my office, see only fried chicken and no options for grilled and than walk away! There are always only men in line for this truck! But you know what, I’m a girl, and I LOVE me some Fried Chicken!
Pollo Fritto knows how to cook great fried chicken and they are not small pieces of fried chicken either! You should not leave this food truck hungry by any means and if you do, you should maybe go to a buffet, because damn, these portions are HUGE.
It’s a simple menu, Fried Chicken Sandwich or Fried Chicken Salad, oh and don’t forget dessert, a freshly baked Chocolate Chip Cookie, Yes folks, I said freshly baked!
The only thing I wish about this food truck is, they made their own original BBQ sauce for folks to put on their chicken sandwich because I know a pre-​bottled Masterpiece type sauce when I taste it. If they could come up with a BBQ sauce or even BBQ sauces, man oh man that would be AWESOME, but I know they aren’t a BBQ truck, I’m just say’in it would be cool!
These guys are awesome if your craving that good ‘ol Fried Chicken Sandwich!

Where: Brisbane farmer’s market. I was full of optimism, as I almost always am when trying a new place… but unfortunately, yesterday was a disappointment.
Pros:
Really nice guy. Good simple concept of fried chicken with cilantro-​slaw sandwiches. Fried chicken moist. Sandwich big.
Cons:
The bread. I mean really… it’s 2012 and we live in a mecca of great breads. Why choose a generic white roll that I could have bought in a 12-​pack at Safeway?
The slaw. He was out of the advertised extra-​special cilantro slaw. When asked about it, the reason given was, «It’s getting towards the end of the week and we’re low on groceries.» Really? You know you’ve got a late afternoon Thurs gig at the Brisbane farmers market, and you can’t go buy some cilantro — the primary ingredient of the featured item you sell in your truck?
Cost: $ 9. I ate the chicken out of the middle, couldn’t stand the roll, and the slaw was mediocre. Very NOT worth $ 9.
I don’t know if the cilantro-​slaw would have made me happy — but if that’s what he would say if reading this, and he doesn’t have it in-​stock to put on (as advertised) — how about making it a $ 7 sandwich for the customers standing there?
Like I said — he was a nice guy and that counts for a lot. I’m not trying to be mean here. But I wouldnt go back again unless I’d heard that he’d switched to some good/​crunchy rolls and had bought the necessary groceries to make the cilantro-​slaw.

For the Chicken Sandwich I would give Pollo Fritto 3.5 stars so I guess I could be classed as ”almost a fan”.
I’ve wanted to catch up with Pollo Fritto at the San Mateo Night Market for a number of weeks now but didn’t seem to have much luck as the first week they were a no show and then the next week they were scheduled to be there I was unable to eat solid food. Boooo!
The Sandwich is a very decent size (
) — A warm, chewy roll filled with lot’s of Cilantro Slaw and coated Chicken breast. I love Slaw but not much of a fan of Cilantro so I was pleased to find the Cilantro wasn’t too overpowering, it had a light amount of Vinegar which wasn’t too overpowering either.
As for the Chicken, it was also a decent size. Too many places skimp on the amount of meat and fill it out with salad ect but the Chicken was the perfect size for the roll and unlike other reviewers I didn’t find it being dry at all. I think maybe the time in which you visit makes a difference here as I ordered at around 30 minutes after service started and waited no longer than 2 minutes for it to be prepared so my guess is that they cook off a batch of Chicken right as they open and keep it warm to save them getting slammed during their ‘busy time’. This would also explain why I found it not to be as particularly warm.
One thing that I would like to see them offer is the choice of adding cheese to the sandwich. Where the Slaw /​Chicken combination is fine I just think cheese would make it that much better.
* TIP * Tastes even better with a touch of Heinz Salad Cream (like a cross between Mayonnaise & French dressing made in the UK). Seriously, paired with Fried Chicken = Best combination EVER!

When someone mentions fried chicken sandwich in the bay area, my 1^st thought is OMG Bakesale Betty?! While Pollo Fritto is a food truck mainly selling $ 9 fried chicken sandwiches, their signature sandwich does not rise to the occasion to beat Bakesale Betty’s sandwich also priced at $ 9.
Fried chicken sandwich:
Chicken piece, while large and foreboding which is A+ in my book, its a piece of chicken that looks like its been thinly sliced. This in turn gives less oomph and overall satisfaction. The chicken was also overly dry which hinders the happiness from munching on a crispy fried sandwich. It actually tasted better whenever I placed some of their BBQ sauce on it, but that’s like cheating on taste with your sandwich.
Cilantro slaw was good and plentiful, but it could use more vinegar to add to the taste since the slaw is so similar to Bakesale Betty’s non-​mayo based one. Bread was fresh baked and complements the fried chicken just fine.
Others mentioned delicious cookies, but perhaps next time. Specialty’s was next door with their excellent cookies when the truck came by South SF. Such difficult choices these days, tough first world problems.
Random things of note– their truck plays music with outside speakers (caterers take note), uses laminated numbered cards to pickup your order, and accepts credit cards.

What an absolutely delicious chicken sandwich! Try it, you’ll like it :)

When I looked online and saw that Pollo Fritto only had one item, I figured it must’ve been great. Do one thing and do it well, right? Well, that fried chicken was disappointing. I love cilantro, so I ordered the fried chicken sandwich with cilantro slaw for $ 9. The bread was warm, the slaw was really cabbage, red pickled onions, a little bit of cilantro, and jalapenos. When I was given my sandwich, the man made sure I had the soda I purchased. That was good customer service. Too bad the food didn’t stack up. The crust on the chicken was falling off the meat, and the sandwich was really dry. I love good fried chicken, but what Pollo Fritto served me didn’t satisfy. Maybe I caught them on an off day. They were running behind schedule, so maybe the food wasn’t as good as it normally is. Customer service bumped this review up to 3 stars.

What a great chicken sandwich! It was the first item we tried at the Los Gatos food truck event and the cilantro jalapeño slaw was perfectly balanced. The chicken was perfectly fried and very flavorful while staying very moist.
After being completely disappointed by ShackMobile’s dreadful lobster roll (see separate review for the blow-​by-​blow of that assault on our taste buds), we liked Pollo Fritto so much that we returned for more. Highly recommended.

Yum! This truck was the highlight of our recent visit to the Edgewood Eats food trucks in Palo Alto. Their fried chicken sandwich redeemed our evening after we had some disappointing food from other trucks. Husband said he would get the sandwich again for sure, even if it’s slightly pricey. Super good sourdough bread, nice crunch and flavor on the chicken, and a nice tangy slaw. They were also handing out samples of their fresh chocolate chip cookies which were awesome!

Initiation to POLLO FRITTO… A COMPLETE SUCCESS! It was ALL THAT AND A BAG of CHIPS!!!
My Mama would be SOOOO disappointed! But… Ssssshhhhh…(in my whispering voice) Don’t tell NOBODY but I confess… I’ll slap YOU before I slap my MAMA on this one!!! Chicken was S-​O-​O-​O-​O-​O-​O (Lickin’ all TEN Fingers) Good!
¡VIVO PARA EL POLLO FRITTO! (Got me speaking in tounges… LOL!!!) I must say that I never expected so much Flavor from a truck… let alone a truck serving fried chicken. Expectations were thoroughly and completely surpassed.
My initiation dish was the Pollo Fritto Salad:
I mean, from the fully flavorful seasoned Crispity-​Crunchity coating, to the perfectly cooked, juicier than juicy brontosaurus sized chucks of white meat. WHOOOOO! Be still my heart! I’m in LOVE!
And the slaw…(Choking back tears)…Let me just say that I am a gianormous whoose when it comes to heated spice and flavors with too much kick! But the slaw was so flavorful and refreshing, with just the right amount of kick to keep me from losing consciousness. The combination of the Crispity-​Crunch and the freshness of the slaw… a match made in Heaven!
ENCORE, POLLO FRITTO… ENCORE!!!
Sincerely,
Ms. Foodtruck Stalker
a.k.a.
Antoinette (#27)

I was going to give this truck 3 stars but then I bumped it up to 4 because I remembered they handed us a plate of fresh baked chocolate chip cookie to sample.
True story.
As for the fried chicken sandwich, $ 9 got me one of the best fried chicken breasts that I’ve ever had. Hints of salt and pepper and I’m sure a few special seasonings and a beautiful crust really set this on a whole ‘nother level far beyond your KFCs or your Popeyes.
Here’s the problem: The sandwich, aside from that, was boring. It had a homemade slaw slapped on top, and this came on a great, fresh hoagie roll. But that’s it. The slaw was good, but not great. No cheese, no bacon, nothing but slaw and bread and chicken. For $ 9, this didn’t really impress me, and the fact that the bread was almost double the size of the chicken was kind of lame.
I think with some work they could create much better sandwiches. Smaller loaves of bread, maybe some swiss and deli mustard, or swiss and bacon, or mushrooms and swiss, or chicken parm… I feel like they have a lot of options here that would be better than what they are doing thus far. Either way, I’ll keep my eye on them because they are indeed doing quite a few things right.
Oh and by the way, the cookie was booooomb.

NIce folks who run the truck. While you wait they bring out fresh made cookies. A tasty fried chicken sandwich with tasty slaw. Maybe a bit too much slaw as it was messy as hell. The trick they told me was to put just a bit og BBQ sauce to mis with the slaw on the sando. Dyo-​Mite!

I LOVE FRIED CHICKEN so this caught my eye right away. I ordered the fried chicken sandwich which came with cilantro coleslaw on sourdough. OMG… so good! The fried chicken was crispy and flavorful, and the white meat was moist. The coleslaw was crunchy and had a very light vinaigrette which kept it simple. And the sourdough bread was really fresh and soft.
The ingredients are simple, but works so well together. Pollo Fritto hit the nail on the head with this one! Service was laggy, but I’ll let that go because the fried chicken made up for it.

Pollo Fritto rolled into the San Carlos Aviation museum’s food truck Wednesday in face of stiff competition — the reigning king of chicken sandwiches — 3 sum eats was there… so it seems.
Fear not! Pollo fritto had a hefty line at peak lunch time. When we got there, they had to refry a batch! We waited around 20 minutes for batch 2, and oh baby it was worth the wait.
Fried chicken sandwich with cilantro slaw and a slight jalepeno kick to it. The fried chicken was juicy, crispy and really flavorful! I’m not sure what they season it with but I was ready to forgo the bun and trimmings and just have the chicken. The slaw worked well with the chicken with just the right amount of tang to it. I don’t even like slaw and I inhaled it.
On a hot day they were serving frozen lemonade. Just perfect to wash it all down. Come back! Come back!

I’ve been to Pollo Fritto in Redwood City every Tuesday for the past four weeks, and it’s gotten better everytime. Today they gave me the option of bread choice as they were trying sourdough torpedo type rolls, as opposed to their usual bread choice.
I chose the torpedo roll with light slaw, and it was the best sandwich I’ve had there yet. The key is to get there early, because it gets packed! Anyways, it’s been great everytime, and I hope they keep the new rolls!

First time diner. Anything that has Fried Chicken in the name is a must try. My order was for the Fried Chicken sandwich with cilantro slaw. i waited for my order due to the long time so my chicken was super fresh coming right out of the fryer! Like the other reviewers when you combine everything together the bread and chicken get a little soggy. The chicken itself is good, as well as the slaw; and adding Sriracha makes for a great flavor enhancer. While I do not mind soggy bread, I do agree that it reduced the experience half way through the sandwich. (aka fell apart) but that’s ok.
Portion is huge so you will not go hungry. Makes we want to try the chicken fingers or chicken salad. Next report

I have been craving Bakesale Betty since leaving Berkeley, so when the Pollo Fritto truck showed up at the
Parking Lot near Hitachi I HAD to try their fried chicken sandwich with cilantro slaw on freshly baked sourdough bread. The first couple bites were really good, but because there was a little too much dressing on the slaw, the batter on the chicken got soggy. Also, when I put the sandwich down… my bread got soggy. I hate soggy bread, so the only way to eat this huge sandwich was to hold it up the entire time and not put it back down on the paper tray…
Bakesale Betty is still much better (crispier fried chicken and lighter and better dressing on the cole slaw), but if I am craving a fried chicken sandwich in SF/​Brisbane, I will go to Polo Fritto again.

How can you say no when someone wants you to try a sample of their fresh baked chocolate chip cookies? This drew me in to the new truck on the block. After trying their cookies, which were warm and chewy, just the way I like them, I decided to give Pollo Fritto a try. I ordered their fried chicken sandwich with cilantro slaw and a chicken salad to share with my partner. I have to say, their chicken is nicely done, not dry and not tough. Had a nice crust and taste to it. However, the difference between the two was really one was in a roll and the other had slices of bread on the side. I was hoping for a nice mixed greens salad with the chicken salad, but instead it was on their cilantro slaw. Don’t get me wrong, the flavors of the slaw were good, a little more dressing than I like, but it was a good mix of slaw.
The guys have a good number system down when you order, and are pretty cool. They were on top of it service wise which makes them A-​Ok in my book. I’ll probably try these guys out again, maybe for either the sandwich or just some chicken fingers if I’m going low carb. If they switch to a salad with lettuce, I’ll probably go for that too. Definitely have to go back for the fresh baked cookies. Hmmm, wonder what a cookie and chicken combo would be like. Yeah, you heard it here first.