Don Pollo

Ordered the half chicken, side of rice and beans and side of fried plantains.
Like almost every pollo establishment, limited menu = good food. Actually, this restaurant has a larger selection of sides than most (12, I believe).
You can buy additional sauce, but I found the amount that came with my meal was more than enough.

The line moves quickly, even during the lunch rush. Great selection of drinks, their chicken is always crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside, and their steak is unbelievable. The sides are all soft and kid friendly and the prices can’t be beat. There is parking in the public lot behind the actual restaurant, as well as street parking in the front and on either side. This place is wheelchair accessible and there is enough room for a large wheelchair to sit at multiple of the tables. The ambience is noisy, but not overwhelming. There are also 2 TVs which play football (aka soccer). But there is no captioning on them :(

This is a small Peruvian chicken place that is perfect for a quick lunch/​dinner. The chicken meals are a solid deal for meals under $ 10, and I also appreciate the wide variety in sides. I got a ¼ dark meat with generous portions of potato salad and macaroni salad and enjoyed everything. I only wish that additional sauce for the chicken were free, as the tiny containers that you get don’t seem like enough to me.
There’s a metered parking lot right behind the restaurants with plenty of spots.

Best Peruvian chicken in DC area. The only place to go for this specialty — I know people who come from Annapolis and Gaithersburg just for the chicken from this institution.

Cute little restaurant in Bethesda. Ordered ¼ dark with a side of black beans and rice and plantains… very tasty! Good food, great price, and friendly workers who taught me how to order my food in spanish!

I often refer to Don Pollo as the best cheap food in the neighborhood. You can buy a delicious, fresh, (relatively) healthy meal for a family of 6 for under $ 40. With the variety of sides to choose from, there’s something for everyone (even picky eaters). We always get take-​out, and the service is always fast and friendly.

It’s always a good sign when a restaurant has no/​very very few empty tables for lunch on a weekday! This is a great, healthy (if you so desire, there are plenty of decadent side-​options), filling lunch for under $ 10– a steal in Bethesda.
I just came back from my first visit here ever. I can’t believe I haven’t tried this place sooner since I’ve been working at an office down the street for over two years now. The chicken is juicy, the fried yuca is delicious, and I absolutely loved the green beans. They have healthier options on the menu such as house salad and different types of pico. But they also have fried yuca, fried plantains, mac & cheese, arroz chaufa, etc.
I’d also like to note that my food came out within 3 minutes.

My favorite place to eat when I am in the area for work. The chicken, beans/​rice, and plantains are my «go to» and «must have» dish. Incredibly delicious!

Chicken was delicious and fresh. Restaurant was clean. Service could have been a little better.

My Order Everytime: Quarter Dark Chicken, rice and beans, and mashed potatoes — and a bottle of Jarritos Mandarin soda. Been going here quite often as I recently started making stops in bethesda. The food has been great every time but the service sort of changes depending on who is there. I recommend the food, but as takeaway. The atmosphere when they are busy is quite annoying and when they are not busy, it’s like a deserted restaurant.

Solid pollo joint.

Chicken good but kind of dry, good plantains, okay corn and mac & cheese, very fast service. Plenty of seating.

Had dinner here today and left satisfied.
Chicken — not as flavorful as I’m used to and parts of the chicken were dry (not too much, but still). The green hot sauce was tasty, as it always is at Peruvian places. I didn’t try the white/​cream sauce.
*Drawback: I asked for an extra green sauce when my order was ready and they said it was 35 cents. Grr
Plantains — sweet and tasty
Coleslaw — crunchy, fresh tasting, and not too much mayo

The sides were piled high which generally worries me as they are trying to hide something or fill you up on the sides. The chicken which is the main course/​reason for coming was good but not great. The chicken did not have that much flavor compared to other rotisserie chicken places which I have had. The side sauces were good. Had the plantains and yucca. The yucca was the same as every other rotisserie chicken place and the plantains were very good (not too mushy & not too much sugar). I generally can eat ½ chicken with the sides but this was way too much food for one sitting. At least I got lunch for tomorrow!

This is my 2^nd visit. Pollo is delicious, the place looks nice and clean, people is efficient and friendly. I’ll definitely come back and refer to friends.

Just regular chicken, have had better. Poor fries, Mac & Cheese is ok. Reasonable price, worth to be there at least once. But nothing special

The chicken is a-​okay. However, it was a little bland and not as fresh tasting … I’m writing this after many trips here. The potato salad is good and so are the mashed potatoes but some of the other sides are hit and miss (such as mac & cheese). I would say that if you’re in the mood for chicken and need a quick bite to eat, this is your place to go.

I’m a regular here. My roommate and I go for the fiesta for 4 which is an entire chicken and 4 sides for an amazing price, enough for a couple meals. The best sides are the plantains, which always come out perfect, the rice and beans and the fried yucca.

For as long as I’ve lived in DC, La Brasa in Rockville has been my go-​to chicken place. And yes, it is the best that I’ve sampled to date (added points in that it’s actually a restaurant with a menu).
But finding Don Pollo was a lovely surprise — it’s really cheap, really tasty, and much closer to my house. The menu is fairly straightforward– there is chicken, and there are sides (plantain, fries, black beans & rice, pico de gallo, black bean pico de gallo, yuca, etc); all of this to say, DP is not a good place to bring your vegetarian friends.
For me, ¼ chicken and two sides is more food than I could ever finish — the chicken is perfectly juicy, and really flavorful, served with small packets of sauce — a tongue-​burning coriander salsa, and a less tongue-​burning, but still sharp, chipotle mayo.
True, this is not a place to bring a date (it has slightly better ambiance than Moby Dick next door; at Don Pollo the décor is mainly slightly too-​loud music and two competing television screens — one showing soccer, and one a telenovela, but on a lovely summer evening, you can enjoy your chicken at their outdoor tables). But, when dinner for 2 comes to $ 18, and you have leftovers, and you’ve had some really good food, who needs ambiance?

Let me preface this with: I’m comparing this Don Pollo to the one in Rockville off of Veirs Mill. And though they stand as separate restaurants… I will not call them equal.
The chicken is just not as good. The chicken wasn’t as fresh. Yeah, there is more space and all, but Don Pollo is all about the chicken and it just didn’t live up to my expectations. The corn pico that I ordered literally had no seasoning or sauce on it. I might as well opened a can of corn and forked it into my mouth.
They got my chicken order wrong and gave me dark meat instead of white meat. When, I brought this up, they quickly gave me a piece of white meat and let me keep both pieces. Which was really nice.
The customer service was good. The chicken was just not what I am used to with Don Pollo. Maybe I came in at the wrong time…
I will tell you though, the mashed potatoes were AMAZING. I could have had a plate of those for dinner. This will definitely be my mashed potato spot. Who need a mashed potato spot? Well, just taste their mashed potatoes, then you’ll understand why you need a MP spot. :)