Pollo Tropical

Can i say freaking awesome!!! Wouldn’t say it’s the best place for my kids but maybe bc they where ready for chuckecheese. Food is fresh and just amazing to say the least

Quick counter service, accurate order filling, table-​side delivery — all consistent visit after visit.
The temperature and flavor of the food hits all the right marks, again with consistency. Portion sizes don’t change from time to time so you can count on the good value each time.
The menu packs a lot of choices and they add new recipes/​dishes/​sides from time to time.
I have two complaints, though: while they fastidiously wipe down the dining area’s table tops, they completely ignore the salt and pepper shakers. Guests eating chicken and ribs with their fingers and then using the shakers leave all kinds of unsightly food stains and stuff on them. I would love to see them incorporate a shaker wipe-​down every time they clean a vacated table.
Second, the flan on my most recent visit was inedible. If I’d been blindfolded and given a forkful of it, I doubt I could have correctly identified what it was. I didn’t finish it. I am a flan snob, and I have enjoyed theirs before. But, something happened to this one.
The employees are friendly, helpful, and always busy busing tables, cleaning, and restocking condiments.
They got rid of the video monitors over the sauce bar. Now, they just have posters there. Doesn’t make a difference really — but, I just want them to know I noticed the change. =)

We ised to love this place unfortunately the place has down in quality, specifically under cook chicken.
Not worth spending your time and money

It’s really tough to try to rate restaurants evenly across a large spectrum of formats and price points. As a quick service restaurant, El Pollo Tropical sits somewhere between your mega-​nationwide chains and your Willy’s /​Five Guys newcomers.
A few things you get differently (better) from this place and the lower run of fast food:
1. Food is brought to your table with the «take a number» method
2. You get actual stainless steel silverware
3. They have a few premium non-​alcoholic beverages available
4. The food has more of a homey feeling that you expect – particularly the grilled/​roasted chicken itself
However, the secret to a good QSR is at least being able to make you feel like it isn’t cheap food. Chipotle, Willy’s, Five Guys, and others do a good job of this. Pollo Tropical still feels somewhat cheap. The chicken tends to be significantly overcooked, and the rice & beans feel somewhat bland and lifeless.
I don’t scoff at going to Pollo Tropical, but sometimes one does wonder why not just pick up a rotisserie chicken from the local grocery store for half the price?

We both thought it was reallllllly good… especially the pork and the fried plaintain! We also loved the pineapple rum salsa

I was pleasantly surprised with how good my lunch was! I have never eaten at Pollo before so I went the safe route and got a boneless chicken breast with 2 sides, yellow rice & mashed potatoes. With a drink it was $ 10 which isn’t bad considering my meal is definitely a step or several above fast food. The chicken was seasoned well and juicy, not too dry. Mashed potatoes were delectable. Rice was kind of bland, maybe needed a little salt. The drive through moved quickly even during rush lunch hour.

JUST THE WINGS MA’AM!
I need a quick fix because I am hungry yet in unfamiliar territory. I don’t have time for a «sit-​down» meal and need to grab something quick. I notice Pollo Tropical and decide to make a quick stop at the drive-​thru for an order of their grilled chicken wings.
Service was quick and efficient. The wings had a nice char and were perfectly cooked. However, they were a bit salty. This was my initial impression of the wings I had tried at the Alpharetta location and why I know longer eat at this restaurant. I would love to see them take a lighter approach when it comes to seasoning their chicken.
They are okay if you don’t mind extra salt in your food.

The food is always good, sometimes they mix up the sizes of the tropichops but overall great quality every time. Love the wine and beer in a fast food establishment!

I pass this place all the time but have never come here… until today. The chicken was cooked perfectly tender and the sauces and spices were delicious. The first thing I think of when I take a bite is Tropical and the dining area wasn’t bad either. I would definitely come here again.

Not impressed at all. The first time I went, they messed up my order. I got the special shrimp tropi-​chop, and it made me sick afterwards. Tried it again a few months later and had an even worse experience. Not much sounds appealing, and when I asked about their shrimp dishes, I was told that they didn’t serve shrimp anymore. Guess I wasn’t the only one that got sick.
Went there tonight, and the new cashier got almost the whole order wrong. We asked for the meal to go, but they brought it out. And I was given a small size instead of a regular, but she didn’t even ask. My boyfriend’s meal was also screwed up. We got the meal refunded and left. Won’t go back.

Good healthy fast food. Got a tropi-​chop with brown rice, chicken, veggies!!! Soooo good just stay away from high fat and calorie sauces! Great option for healthy fast food

Just finished an evening of shopping and say this place that reminds me of El Pollo Loco in California. If you haven’t been you have to!
Had the full chicken dinner with black beans, yellow rice, Brown rice, Mac and cheese and plantains.
We enjoyed the food but the chicken was not a flavorful as El Pollos. It wasn’t dry but just lacked that zing you would expect from a Caribbean themed eatery. The citrus spices/​seasoning could have been stronger. Perhaps this was just a bad batch… it happens. Mac and cheese was serviceable as was the rice varieties.
Nothing super special but fit the bill for somewhat healthy fast food.
Staff was friendly and restaurant was sorta clean give it was near the end of the night for inside dining… the self serve sauce are and food prep are could have been cleaner… lots of spilled food on the counter between the serving aluminum bins.
They close the dining room at 10pm. Make sure you get there before 10… I saw a few sets of people try to get in but the doors were locked… drive through is open until midnight

My ½ chicken dinner was finger-​licking good! Served with red beans and yellow rice and a side order of plantains… YUMMY!

Food is okay. But way overpriced. $ 6 for a very small chicken Caesar wrap and maybe ¼ cup of Mac n cheese. Not worth the price.

I had the grill chicken sandwich which was delicious even if it had a little too much sauce on it. Serve yourself soda machine. Food service was fast.

Been here several times, and really like it. I have only ordered two different menu items though, so I can speak for the quality of all the items on the menu.
Location is on very busy Barrett Pkwy. A little bit difficult to get into from the highway, plus there isn’t a great parking lot for this place. Even harder to get out of the location, but the food makes the difficulty worth it.
I almost always get the Quesadilla Salad here. It comes with quality lettuce, black beans, a touch of cheese, tortilla strips, plus a lot of chicken. Its a great salad even without the chicken, but the chicken puts this over the top, and is much better than grilled chicken salads at places such as Chick Fil-​a, Zaxby’s, and even better than the salad bowl with chicken at nearby Chipotle. Its just that good. They give you some kind of chipotle dressing with the salad, but I opt for the cilantro garlic lime over on the bar. That dressing puts this salad in the stratusphere of good «fast food» salads.
The grilled chicken is also really good here. I have had the eight wing deal, quarter, and half size orders. Plenty of choices for side items, but I usually go with a small caesar salad, plus mac and cheese (which is okay).
I don’t go there enough. I need to more often. This place flies under the radar compared to other chains that litter the Barrett area. I dare anyone to find a better salad than the Quesadilla.

I was deciding on McDonald’s or a restaurant that had 1 dollar symbol on its price range. I discovered Pollo Tropical and it was the best $ 6.24 I have ever spent. So satisfying and filling and I was so happy. Thanks for being a secret gem of a restaurant!

Another good lunch spot with a decent variety of choices. I found the ¼ chicken with two sides to be tasty, and satisfying.
One of my sides was the basalmic tomatoes, which is not something usually found in fast (ish) food restaurants. Very nice. If you like tomatoes, go for that.
Food came out fairly quickly. Spacious seating area.

Probably not a good idea to try this place for the first time on the heels of a Cuban/​Peruvian feast filled trip to Miami. Can you say Biased??? I sent the yucca back, picked at the green beans, dissected my yellow rice and treated the chicken like a cadaver specimen. NOT FAIR… and I realize that which is why I rated Pollo Tropical the way I did and I promise to give it another try in a few weeks.
My preliminary assessment is that it was pretty good. Black beans were my favorite; runners up are sweet plantains and yellow rice (which would be much better without the big hunks of broccoli stalk). Least favorite is the boiled yucca w garlic sauce on the side-​it was very gummy.
Customer service was excellent. We dined in and the servers made sure we had everything we needed.
My coworkers enjoyed their meals a lot… but then again they had Taco Bell yesterday!

This place is great and reasonably priced. On top of the already reasonable prices they always send coupons in the mail. I enjoyed the build a bowl with grilled chicken. I found the small bowl to be plenty for me. We also ordered plantains, and guava cheesecake. Very tasty indeed. Its nice to have a different variety of food other than the ordinary bugers and wing joints around.
The sauce bar is nice even though I didn’t like the garlic cilantro sauce. it was just mayo, but the pineapple rum dip went perfect with the plantains.
I had no idea they have sangria. Next time I will definitely have to try it.