El Pollo Loco

From San Diego and traveling through and used Unilocal to find this El Polo Local. Saw the reviews and was nervous but went for it anyway. Great front line staff, the place is super clean and organized. Hands down the best chicken I have had at an el polo loco in some time. Chicken was tender and amazing! Great out front parking and clean bathrooms.

I arrived at 9:17 and they were cleaning. I asked for a burrito without cheese. I get home and it has cheese. I would avoid this place after 9 pm.

Not thrilled with my visit to El Pollo Loco today. I ordered my food and asked for a side of sour cream. When my food was ready there was no sour cream. Then they charged me 96 cents for a tiny side of it. Wtf. Sour cream should be free just like their salsa. I could’ve bought a tub at Ralph’s for $ 1.29. Ridiculous.

Super bummed that these guys carry Nestle brand bottle water. A company that thinks water should be privatized and is not a human right.

I ordered my lunch from SB menus at 10:43am. I got some tacos, taquitos and two loco salads for me and a friend. I get my lunch at 12:00 noon and figured there’d be plenty of enough time to get the food before my lunch.
At 11:38am I got a text to my cell phone saying, «Deliveries for El Pollo Loco — Goleta are running a little late. We will be there soon! We apologize for the inconvenience.» I texted back and asked how long until they’d be here. No response. I texted again at 11:55am asking if they were on their way or if I needed to get food elsewhere for lunch. They responded by sending me a link to a survey response system to tell them about my experience.
At 12:10pm, the delivery guy dropped off the food and there was a huge bag of catering sized salsas and salad dressing. I asked him what they were and he said that I asked for 3 sides of dressing and 2 containers of salsa. They gave me 3 party sizedd containers of salad dressing and 2 large containers of salsa. Each container cost me $ 5.50. They brought $ 27.50 worth of salsa and dressing. I was extremely frustrated. You can see in my picture how ridiculous the size of the containers were. In the back ground there’s a medium sized drink.
My total bill was $ 60.24 for two people. I could have gone to fish enterprise for lobster for that price. They refused to refund me. I will NEVER EVER use this service again. I will NEVER recommend using this service. That is totally ridiculous.

What’s with the bad reviews? Stopped at this Pollo Loco during a soccer tournament with the family (August 2014). Got two chicken tortilla rolls, a brc burrito, and two chicken tacos al carbon. Everything was great! My absolute favorite part was the salsa bar– the avocado salsa was the best at this pollo loco than at any other location I’ve had it from! Place was clean, the indian guy got my order right and was nice, even the cook thanked me and said goodbye. What’s everyone complaining about? Great location!

Pretty poorly run. The chicken is flavored, but very dry. The service is slow. The peple behind the counter are lost. I also encountered being served out of order. I walked in before a group of people, but they we’re given their orders first. I’m not talking about one customer, but at least 3, if not more.

Stay clear this place has rude service via the owners and I have witnessed them treat employees badly. Never again will I visit here again. FOOD… Try Santa Barbara Chiken Ranch in the vons shopping center you won’t be treated rudely!

It was kind of dirty inside. I tried to order chicken wings, however they were out of wings. They did not seem like they wanted to cook any, I would have waited. I just cancelled instead of choosing something else. Went down the strip to get some fish instead.

Quick service, polite people, and a reliable menu.
I enjoy eating El Pollo Loco’s freshly prepared food any time i go there. They are by far one of my favorite restaurants in the area!

Eek indeed. El Pollo Loco is a chain that serves the same food as Pollofino and SB Chicken Ranch, except in the case of El Pollo Loco, they sucked all the flavors out to appeal to a broader population. The salsas were fresh and the corn cake was good. The chicken was dry, bland, and served lukewarm. The sides were also bland, especially the beans, which tasted like they were boiled in water with minimal seasoning. You can do so much better by going to Pollofino to experience juicy and uniquely seasoned chicken.

My friend loves eating here so I’ve been here a couple times. The indian guy or cashier is bound to fuck up at least one person in your party’s order or take FOREVER. IMO, the chicken is more often then not, annoyingly room temp for the amount of time they take putting it together… maybe the AC is blasting so it cools down the food faster.
Otherwise, food is cheap, restaurant is decently clean.

First thing first, disappointed. We don’t have El Pollo Loco in Lompoc so I buy here. Usually I have my family with me so we dine here but the last time I was here I have to order it to go. The indian guy at the cashier offered me their good deal, I say why not! WRONG! They gave me their old chicken, dry chicken. Of course I cannot see it or check it because its in the container, and I put my trust on them. I was not happy at all. Plus, the container for the salsa or condiments are way too small. They are only good if you will eat there. They should have a big container where you just have to use 2 or 3 of them. Plus, the BBQ beans were old, too. Their coleslaw was dry, can’t even taste the dressing they have there.
Well, they messed with the wrong person. Once I lost my respect to them, I don’t come back. They are not the only chicken store that I like in Goleta, I like Santa Barbara Ranch, too. You should try them (SBR), for sure you won’t be coming back at El Pollo Loco.
Can you imagine what else can we find at this store?!
Don’t buy your chicken here!

The boyfriend took me here for a late dinner yesterday night and I had a decent experience. It was my first time eating El Pollo Loco even though I’ve passed by many whenever I’m in Santa Barbara. He said it’s a healthier alternative to Kentucky Fried Chicken (which was our original destination). We ordered a 10 piece meal with 2 sides and it wasn’t too expensive. The mac n cheese and mashed potatoes were pretty good. The service was alright, but can’t complain since we went at almost closing time. I’d come here again if I was craving some fast/​cheap chicken dinner.