El Pollo Loco

I ussually like Pollo Loco. However, just a few minutes ago, at the Lemon Grove store in California, I had what had to be the worse taco I’ve EVER had! The Loco Street Taco is horrible and I encourage everyone to stay clear of it. What was perhaps worse, when I returned the untouched second one and told the manager, she didn’t acknowleged me. She simply took it and threw it the trash! At least she put it where it belongs!

Worst El Pollo loco I have ever been to. I am considerate when it comes to waiting for fresh food but this was BS and it was not the first time.
Customer Service tip #1 if you greet your customer in the drive thru window to take the order and you need a minute then just say that. Don’t offer to take an order and then just leave your customer hanging.
After being greeted with the standard «how can I help you? I gave my order (2 items) and then she just bounced (literally crickets) I waited over five mins and politely asked if she got my order and she responded very rudely «Ma’am I need a sec»!!! This lovely drive thru attendant took her sweet time which lasted an additional five minutes. When she finally came back she had no idea what I ordered. They didn’t have what I wanted and I left without food. Never again will I drop by here. All you get is bad attitude and poor customer service.
No need to worry I proceeded to IN-​N-​OUT where I was politely greeted and my order was handled without any issues!

Writing this review solely because I just had a horrible experience at my local el pollo loco. The cashier was so rude and everyone there seemed like they were running around like chickens without a head (no pun intended). When I was waiting in line, another customer was asking for a bag to go and the cashier gave her a SMALL BAG the ones they use to wrap the tortillas! And then went on to ignore the guest as she continued to ask for a bigger bag. It wasn’t until another lady behind the counter gave her a bigger bag.
When it was my turn to order I ordered 2 double chicken tostadas. Which I called «tostada bowls» and the cashier so rudely went on to say «do you want the bowl or tostada?» I said «yeah the tostada salads that come in the tostada shaped like a bowl» and she replied with an attitude «Next time you order, learn how to order our items because when you say bowl I’m going to give you a black bowl! So next time don’t say bowl just say tostada!». In addition to those two tostada bowls I ordered TWO –2 piece Wednesday specials. When I got buzzed to go pick up my order I only received 2 tostada bowls and ONE Wednesday special. When I asked about my second Wednesday special they just said I had «ordered wrong».
And it doesn’t end there–
As I was waiting for them to finalize my order and pack it up another guest was standing in line waiting to be helped and NO ONE acknowledged her! The guy with the stretched ear lobes and with the headset was just standing around with his arms crossed at his chest and giving her his back. It wasn’t until she said «Excuse me? Are you open» and he replied with «Yeah, we just don’t have chicken ready right now. It’s not cooked yet» and he proceeded to say as he pointed to me «She’s been waiting for a long time too!» And I replied «no, actually I haven’t. It hasn’t been that long» because in reality I hadn’t been waiting for that long.
And then he returned to his previous standing pose– crossing his arms and just staring at the grill.

So it was 9:25 pm, they don’t close until 10pm. I went in to order chicken and they were out of chicken turned the grill off and would make anymore. If you are open until 10 you need to be cooking and serving until 10. 0 stars for the employees and management.

I left without my 3 piece combo after waiting 30 minutes and still 8 people in front of me.
They have a major production problem and it wasn’t due to a shortage of chicken.
When the across the street to KFC and was enjoying THEIR 3 piece combo in less than 4 minutes.

Getting in and out of here is a big pain in the azz. The food is good but it’s also pricey. I’ve been here a few times but after a while I just got sick of the location. The employees are hard working, helpful and the restaurant is pretty clean and pretty busy. I most likely will not be back unless I need a fix.

Dear el pollo loco I been coming to you guys for ever and ever never been disappointed with Serv or food
However today I decided to try the new salad double chiken avocado… To my surprise it didn’t look like the pic and it hardly had avocado and chiken ??? I was disappointed for the portion and to top it off my chiken was more like dry chiken the service was great but food I want to say two thumbs down thank u and sorry

Love the Crazy Chicken… but fix your sewer smell at the front door and I will up my stars.

The food is always tasty here, but it’s slow food, even in drive thru. Tonight I went inside because drive thru looked busy, i was shocked at food all over floors in the kitchen in plain site of all customers. The employees were busy, but no one smiled or made eye contact with customers. Part of working in the service industry is dealing with customers, these employees seemed to either not care, or not know. Like I said, food is good, but dirty restaurant and less than friendly employees take away from the experience.

This El Pollo Loco is the worst one in San Diego there are several reasons first they don’t clean their lobby second they take forever to do your food order third they mess up your food order if you order specialty and I believe there against all white people because they always talk Spanish whenever I say something differently also they never have their air conditioning on so its so hot in the place

There was a tall kid at the register who looked new. He was polite& thorough. Great job guy. Buuuut the 6 or so people in «kitchen» messed up every order on top of our customizations we added. (no pico, and no white meat). They gave us the wrong kids meal all together. They either don’t care. Don’t understand how to read the tickets. Or both. Disappointed, I hope the management see’s this. Won’t be returning.

Drive thru service is extremely SLOW. Waited 30 minutes at drive thru and when I got to the window I didn’t even get greeted. The server stood there taking another order for about 3 minutes, drinks weren’t ready and food still took another 5 minutes. Terrible service…

Unfortunately, this particular location is one that I usually pass by during my days, so I’ve gone here a handful of times. I hate having to give a bad review, but honesty is key and I’m not going to pull any punches.
Here’s the thing: I think El Pollo Loco makes solid food. I don’t go there often, but their chicken is good and I can tell they’re really trying to revamp their brand. I love that they cook and prepare everything in front of you. It’s really appealing to see that in motion (just as it is at say, Waba Grill.)
However, all of that is really ruined when the first smell that hits your nostrils as you go through is the smell of sewage. Yes, sewage. It reeks. It’s really, really gross. I ask myself every time I go in, «Why the fuck does this El Pollo Loco smell like a Tijuana bathroom?»
I have no clue, but I know the staff in there has (unfortunately) gotten used to the smell so they might be oblivious at this point. It’s just not appealing at all to smell that and know that your food is being cooked nearby. I mean really, would you want to eat food out of your kitchen if it smelled like shit in there? Probably not.
For that reason alone, 1 star. It also doesn’t help that EVERY order here takes 10 – 15 minutes. No idea how it is using the drive-​thru, those clueless saps probably have no idea about the sewage smell either.
Sorry El Pollo Loco, but I can’t recommend this location when it smells like unwiped ass.

3.5 stars here.
Food is generally very good, love their seasoned chicken. Best to not order seafood or steak here (personal experience — not that good)
Service is inconsistent, depends on who takes your order.
Don’t know why they don’t have wings all of the time.
½ star ding for there salsa bar — always dirty looking area and salsa often has bubbles (sign of bad salsa).

This is my 3^rd time coming here. Also, the 3^rd time they’ve jacked up my drive-​thru order. Food is good but would better if I got what I actually ordered on the first go & customer service is not bad. However, attention to detail is sub-​par.
1^st visit… They mistakenly gave my order to a dine-​in guest. No sweat, mistakes happen but it was unsanitary for them to recall the guest to the counter, ask for the food back and attempt to give it to me. Disgusted by this action I requested a refund and received an apology and coupons.
2^nd visit… Ordered a Shrimp Avocado taco meal they had on promotion. Got home and it was chicken. :/​Drove back and they replaced it, spoke with the manager and received an apology and more coupons.
This visit prompting this review… ordered the Double Shrimp bowl came home and it’s Chicken. again.
I WANT SHRIMP! SHRIMP, NOT CHICKEN! And that is my review of their drive-​thru service and meal switching preparers.

So I came to this location about two months ago and ordered the works on a shrimp tostada. Got all the way home to Otay Mesa and the salad was missing ingredients that I had ordered and paid for. I called the location and the manager listed my order in a refund book and told me to come get my correct order whenever I was ready free of charge.
Well here it is two months later with no receipt and the manager STILL remembered me lol. Kuddos to them for honoring their agreement AND providing excellent customer service!!!

Ordered the new Carne Asada taco & it was really filling. Enough meat for two tacos. If your not a fan of Spicy food have them omit the Salsa cause it leaves a tingle on your tongue. Other than that you can’t go wrong.

Decent el pollo loco, although have found better. From a recent visit to another, have noticed that the quality of food at this location has been subpar.
Example: avocado salsa (where’s the avocado) looks like water with food coloring, and specs of avocado

Love this place.
The food always taste very fresh.
Price is not bad at all.
Their under 500 calories menu is the bomb!
Love their salads!!! So delicious! About to go get some more.
There burritos are so big! I usually get the shrimp burrito and they give you good enough for the price.

Came here for linner and enjoyed an 8 piece family meal. Service was excellent and restrooms were impressively clean. It got busy pretty quickly, but the staff is clearly used to it and everything went smoothly.
My only gripe is the parking lot kind of interferes with drive thru. I had to wait until the drive thru cars cleared out… and the line was long so it took a while. The entrance/​exit also only realistically allows for one car.
Food and service was great though. I would return.