Pollo Campero

The Chicken amazing… the sides like beans n yuca are horrible. The East Boston one is Awesome… and in the one in CHELSEA i always have to order food for my Girlfriend who doesnt speak Spanish… your a Major Food Chain. No english!!? Not even on drive thru!!? FOR that ill go to la Hacienda in east boston… O las Pupusas del Chino in Chelsea atleast there if i Have to Order for me n my girl in spanish Only ill get Authentic Spanish Food!

The chicken was delicious — moist and flavorful. However, the line was long and they seemed understaffed — we waited forever. AND the place was a mess!!! Noone was clearing tables, emptying garbage of refreshening the salsa bar. If my plan was to eat in, I would have been very disappointed!

I visited Pollo Campero for the second time in 6 years. Once I got there I was standing by the register thinking we had to order at the register. Then one of the workers there wearing red, in a very cold manner told us to sit down, that she’s gonna take our order. Didn’t even greet us nor gave us a warm welcome as we’re not regular customers from there.
Then she tried taking our order but we weren’t ready yet because we still didn’t decide what we wanted to eat yet, she had kind of a «whatever then» body language and left elsewhere. After that, another employee DIANA who wore a BLACK shirt, different from the rest that were wearing red, took our order with such an attitude, very passive aggressive and poor body language. It was like every question we asked her seemed stupid to her and seemed like she was annoyed at taking our order and gave us attitude like we did something to her. The customer service lacked a lot. I was not happy
Never again do I plan to visit that restaurant, not after that experience. I felt a like I was treated like I was a stupid person and like I wasn’t a worthy-​enough customer to receive the proper friendliness and hospitality.

Being as my family is from Central America this chain is close to my heart. Since it has opened in Chelsea, I’ve only been able to enjoy it once in a blue moon because if I got more than that I would die from chicken overdose
This place makes the absolute best spanish style fried chicken you are going to get anywhere around here. The chicken is always moist and delicious. The sides are kind of hit or miss for me. The fries are standard fare, the rice is decent, the beans can sometimes lack flavor, the yuca fries are my personal favorite here, the coleslaw is not great, and the plantains are pretty average. But again, the place is known mostly for the chicken.
Eating in is also an experience. For a fast food chicken spot this place will send a waitress to your table to take your order and bring it to you. You don’t see that kind of service at KFC or Popeyes. The staff is always friendly as well.
You also get a sauce bar to get a barrage of sauces for your meal. Everything from pico de gallo to ketchup.
Chicken so good we pick up boxes of it for our monthly Kung Fu movie night and there is never any left over.
Try some, you’ll love it!

Came here for the first time, I would have to say for being fast food this place is amazing! Very friendly and the food was delicious. Plus I got to have horchata which is something I miss from home. To eat I had the empanadas which were delicious. Also had the campero beans which had good flavor to them. Overall awesome experience!

After a long day of shopping at the mall, we decided that a pass through the fast food drive thru would be a great way to grab a quick meal.
We decided to stop in at Pollo Campero because we were in the mood for some delicious fried chicken and plantains. We were happy to say that we got exactly what we were expecting which was some great food.
The cost of each meal was comparable to other food chains and their plantains were incredible. The only issue we had with this restaurant was that it was difficult to hear the employee through the outdoor speaker. This made it difficult to order because everything sounded muffled. Beyond that the food was great and the service was pretty decent.
We will have to stop in at this restaurant again when in the Chelsea area.

I love the chicken here. But these girls at the counter are on a mission in charging me muchos dinero… Every time I come here they try to upgrade my order (without my permission) up-​selling their sides, I mean I understand every fast food restaurant does this but here it isn’t very transparent and more deceitful. These guys aren’t all that good with communication (which I can understand) but the rest has no excuses.
Once again Food and Service are Great and they deserve a 5 Star but unfortunately I had to give 1Star from my past experiences.

With the reggaeton blasting it felt like I was in Puerto Rico, food was good even though we stopped by when it was close to closing time. would def try this place again. Employee’s were awesome too they brought food to table and took it away when we were done.

Pro’s
Food
(Even though this is a branch chain Latin fast food restaurant, the food taste great. I agree with other reviewers who call this the Latin KFC)
Customer Service
(Seems like all cashiers are bilingual and they are very friendly. If you eat in, they bring you your food straight to your table)
Drinks
(Classic Latin Drinks [Jamaica, Tamarindo, etc] for which you can ask to try a sample for free)
Campero Sauce
(This sauce I can not put my finger on it but it taste great with the chicken tenders and yuca fries, its like a creamy ketchup with mayo and seasoning, I guess)
Con’s
Its a fast food restaurant at the end of the day.

Wasn’t sure what to expect. We were looking for grilled chicken similar to what we get when we are in Merida, Yucatan at the Pollo Brujo chain. The place is like a latino version of KFC — BUT the grilled chicken was really good. Looks like everyone (and the place was packed) was eating the fried chicken, but we opted for the grilled. We had a side of black beans and rice, and fried plantains — they were nice.
If you are looking for some nice grilled chicken in an atmosphere of fast food, spanish music, and latino families, this is the place. Prices seemed fair, but not cheap.
Buen provecho!

To be honest, i was sold as soon as i laid eyes on their goofy chicken logo.
For years, i’d seen billboards for Pollo Campero on the sides of soccer fields, usually somewhere where they’d be hurling urine bags at Landon Donovan and Tim Howard. Don’t get me wrong, i’ve met tons of friendly Hondurans and Guatemalans following soccer around the world, but seriously, urine bags. Where was i going?
Oh yes, apparently Pollo Campero comes from one of these countries, and i’d heard that it was as eagerly anticipated here as the Sonic and the late, unlamented Krispy Kreme. So since a friend of mine lives in Chelsea, we figured we’d grab some beers, grab some chicken, and hang around his yuppy loft and watch the neighborhood gentrify (perhaps not the last part).
Anyway, it’s a fundamentally different bit of fried chicken than Popeyes, which is what i’m used to. The fried coating is finer, thinner, but still very flavorful and delicious. The chicken itself was not quite as plump and moist as Popeyes, or even KFC, and seemed to be of a discernibly lesser quality. That can be pretty variable though, so maybe i just had bad luck. The sides are decidedly different, and i liked the rice a lot. The beans were apparently pretty good too, and there’s a wide variety of condiments that i didn’t quite know how to properly use but were all pretty good.
Anyway, i’m not saying it’s worth a trip over the Tobin, but next time i’m in the neighborhood, i’ll be tempted anyway.

Truly worth the trek. A huge sign with a blazing chicken dominates the wall and leads one to believe one is about to enter a behomoth of an establishment. One would be wrong. Inside are tables for no more than 30, two cash registers, a small salad bar holding the assortment of condiments one can enjoy with your chicken. Giant racks of the most delicious chicken you can possibly imagine. A combo plate includes two drumsticks and a breast. The most tender morsels possible. Ultra crispy skin with tender delicious meat. Not overly fatty or with too much oil.
Grilled half chicken looks certainly worth ordering.
Tortillas soft and hot. Beans: carrots, onions, cilantro, tomatoes, bacon and celery. Not like any beans normally had, almost like a hearty soup. You could sub in fries but what a waste.
Clean, polite service and quick. There are tables outside to enjoy the juicy, crispy food served at this hidden joint.

I’ve been wanting to go here for sometime since I hear it’s great food. The food is GROSS!!! Family meal & added one xtra side almost $ 30 really, you should have paid me!
The food was not even warm and dried out. The chicken was so crisp that it had no meat, the plan. were burnt and a chemical taste to them, the fries were dried out, the tort. werent even completely cooked, & the bread where’s the rest of it.
SO GROSS!!! I’D RATHER EAT AT KFC!

Now I’m not the biggest fan of fast food or fried food in general but when I was driving through Chelsea and I saw Pollo Campero I was intrigued because I thought I read about how this South/​Central America fast food joint had migrated to the area.
I got a sampler of their fried chicken and it was absolutely delicious. Some parts of that chicken tasted just like a stick of butter which was fine with me. Their slogan is pretty witty too, it is something like «taste you can’t Campero!»

Well. I don’t know if I have anything different to say than all then other reviewers, but I do know I couldn’t wait till I got home with my family meal of a grilled chicken, yuca fries, plantains, and tortillas. The plan was to wait… be patient… you can make it home to share the yumminess with the boyfriend.
Yeah.
Not so much.
As I’m crossing the Tobin, I break out the yucca fries. OMG
I don’t think I’ve had anything better… I think to myself. Is it just because I’m starving? No. These things are like little crunchy pieces of heaven filled with mashed potato consistancy yucca. I think it helped that they were right out of the fryer.
Needless to say, we gobbled everything down.
Plus they have a Salsa bar!~

«Chicken so good make you wanna slap yo mamma, Don’t it Willy»
While waiting in line, we heard moans as well as * crunch* and Mmmmmm… Can’t wait… After waiting in a long line that’s goes out the front door, we were able to grab our 16 piece meal plus 8 extra pieces and 3 extra sides (with dessert) for a whopping $ 60 bones. This is fast food!!!
The chicken was prob the best fried chicken I ever had. They promise you crunchy, juicy and crispy and they were on the mark. This is some tasty chicken. I got some spicy rice with picco de gallo and green tomatillo salsa along with the yucca fries and maduros. You HAVE to get the Yucaa fries, best ever.
Our flan and tres leche were okay. Empty calories if you ask me but if you HAVE to get one, go for the tres leche.
I heard they’re open till 4am on weekends. I can definitely see a late night rendevouz here…

So apparently this place has been open for about 3 weeks now, but the excitement has not worn off yet. When we arrived at 8:30, there was a line from inside the restaurant coming out the door, and we sat in the drive thru line 10 cars deep.
We waited for about 30 minutes before we got our food, but it was worth the wait. We had the three piece fried chicken meal which was still crispy by the time we got it home. The meat was tender and the skin super flavorful. I also got the rice and beans on the side. I’ve had better rice (though it wasn’t bad) but the beans were really tasty. Just like my grandma makes them!
Way better than KFC. We’ll definitely be back.

First off, thanks to everyone who alerted me about the opening of Pollo Campero. I’ve been to the one in NY and also Central America, and damn this stuff is good!
You know why this place is so good? Because they put crack in their chicken. Ok, they probably don’t but whatever they put in it, it’s as addicting as crack, not that I’ve ever tried the latter. I’ll stick to my Pollo Campero fried chicken.
The chicken is so moist and the flavor of the outside will rock your tastebuds. The chicken is really moist and the outside has a well seasoned flavor to it; it’s such a different taste than KFC. Let me just say this. I had takeout and the scent of the chicken overpowered my car so much that I ended up having to pull into some random strip mall to devour the stuff. As Julie R. mentioned, you really do want to eat this chicken right down to the bone.
There’s other things besides chicken, such as sweet plantains, rice bowls beans, etc. They served cole slaw, which looked absolutely amazing. There’s also flan and tres leches for dessert. There’s also a condiment bar with different salsas to place on your food.
The reason I had to knock it down one star is because of the wait. The boy and I waited for 1 hour and 15 minutes to get some chicken. We got there at 2:30 pm. By all means, don’t go there if you are in a rush. Despite the line, the people around us were so nice and friendly and chatted us up a bit. Once we got to the cashiers, though, it was a totally different story. Maybe it’s because the place is new and they’re still in training, but the cashiers were like chickens with their heads cut off (pun maybe intended). They didn’t seem to know what they were doing and ended up holding up the line.
I’ve got to see the drive-​through was not much better. The line went around the block. I’ve never seen so many cars lined up for drive-​through, not even remotely close. One car even blew out their engine right before they placed their order. They had to lift the car and move out to the parking lot. We’re not sure if they went to get their chicken order or not while people were working on the car, but I know I certainly would. Priorities, man!
Tip — we found out through the guy in front of us that going on non-​weekend days is faster and that the crowd should die down in a couple months. If you mind waiting, I’d say go then.

I heard about this place opening up with the long lines and thought for fried chicken? Then I read up on it and found out it was based out of Guatemala. So I asked my out of state best friend who has traveled to Guatemala a few times and she said that was all we ate when they were there and said I needed to go try it soon! With that being said I made a couple trips in a few days. The first time I only waited in line for a couple minutes then went right through the drive through. I loved it and approved and told my boyfriend we would go soon together. Today we went and we waited in line 20 minutes for the drive through. There was no way to get a table in the place, the line was to the door and it was packed at 11:30am on a weekday. So we got the food and pulled over on some random street in Chelsea and feasted.
I thought the chicken was great. I got the special with a leg, thigh, side (plantains), and a drink for $ 5.79. He got a 3 piece chicken with coleslaw and a drink for $ 6.79. The chicken was super crispy, slightly spicy and so juicy. It’s the kind you could eat right down to the bones then wish you had more when your done. I love the plantains. I got them the first time I went in and again. They are nicely browned and sweetened. The side portions are generous. The side of coleslaw was yummy too. They even throw in bread or 3 small tortillas in the combo. For drinks I tried the Jamaica Latin juice. It was light, fruity and not too sweet. The man had the Tamarindo which was even lighter but enough flavor to feel refreshing.
The girls running the drive through were very efficient. They will greet you in Spanish then switch to English if you prefer. When we got our bag it was stocked with everything from our food to ketchup and sour cream we didn’t even ask for.
For dessert I got a tres leches cake. I’ve never had it before. It’s made with three different kinds of milk, topped with whipped crème. It was sooo good! Try it out.
If your going to make the trip expect some time to wait in line or in the drive through or try going off hours till the excitement winds down.

i was very excited to find out that Boston was finally getting our own Pollo Campero, a really popular Latin American fried chicken place. It’s less because I like fast food or fried chicken– what I loved was seeing how many people loved it. The chain is based in Guatemala and has an awesome chicken in a cowboy hat as a logo.
I went to Chelsea on a Friday night with a friend in the food business and was floored to see a line 30 people long. This was at 10 pm– –and it closes at 4 am on weekends. And there were 2 – 3 cops on detail for the drive-​through. It didn’t take too long for us to get through the line (maybe 20 minutes) .
I ordered a chicken strip meal with a side of Yuca and a side of plaintains. The chicken was pretty good and nicely spiced. There was a large «salsa bar» that made the meal more interesting. I also ordered a «jamaican’ drink– which was a fruity tea-​based drink that seemed tropical.
The place is clean, but has only been open a week. Can’t wait to go back.