El Pollo Loco

It’s el pollo loco! I do miss the manager specials they used to post. I’m a regular here

Very friendly service. Manager used to have side order specials posted on a white board but he has stopped the practice. Smoke fills the high ceiling and you come out smelling a little loco smoked.

Love their under 500 calorie lunches!
Great way to get in shape for the summer. Their double chicken salad fills you up without giving you that too stuffed feeling. Have never had a bad experience at this location! Staff is super friendly! Gloria, the cashier always greets you with a smile :) only bad experience was when it closed for a few days cause of the rain.

I asked the lady on the register to kindly give me a chicken that’s not burned like I had previously. She asked me if I wanted it juicy, I said anything but as long it’s not burned. Of course I got another burned and dried piece of breast. The wing was so juice-​less it looked like it had no meat on it. This is the last time I’ll be heading to an El Pollo Loco. Where’s Pollos Hermanos when you need them.

This is the best El Pollo Loco I have been to. The food is always hot and they give you lots of food for what you pay for. I don’t understand all these bad reviews. They actually fire grill the chicken here. The only thing is no drive thru at this location. But the thing about the manager having that blank stare is true, lol

Really tasty food! I had grilled chicken, red rice, mashed potatoes and gravy, and green salsa + lemon juice on a tortilla. This place is very clean and the workers are friendly. Also, there are free mints and wipes at the register :)

I accidentally ordered the wrong item off their menu, an ultimate chicken bowl, thinking it was a tostada bowl. When I received my food and realized my mistake, I asked if they would be able to throw it in a tostada for me (which costs less). The cashier got permission from the manager and they made me a whole new dish in a tostada. It was delicious and had a lot of chicken in it. I am very grateful for their kind service and will definitely be returning again!

Read the reviews, was surprised to see how friendly and efficient the staff was. Had a double chicken tostada salad. ¡Deliciosa!
Moral of the story. Don’t believe everything you read. My visit to this location was great.

When I’m in the mood for something convenient and seemingly healthy, this is where I come. My biggest issue with this location is their service; it’s lackluster most of the time, and very rarely is it friendly.
I’ve tried a few of their salads, which are decent, but they all have essentially the same ingredients, give or take the meat (chicken or shrimp) and whether or not it comes with avocado slices. I wouldn’t recommend their Pollo Bowl because it’s practically tasteless. Their family chicken meals are always good, plus they provide you with plates and utensils. My favorite side item is the macaroni and cheese. Their steamed broccoli smells pretty bad and the stems never look very clean. The salsa bar is unkempt, especially later in the day; the cilantro looks old, there are onion chunks scattered everywhere and sometimes there’s barely anything left.
If you come with high expectations, you will leave disappointed.

Not the best El Pollo Loco I’ve been to, but it suffices.
I’m usually here when my company caters for birthday parties. They’re usually on time and ready for pick up. The employees are willing to lend a helping hand while I bring 50 thighs and drumsticks to my car. When it comes to the catering aspect, I would’ve provided them with 4 stars.
As a customer, I think they deserve 2.5 stars. I order off their 500 calories and under menu. I’ve tried three of their items and they weren’t up to par with the other El Pollo Loco locations I visit. It’s either a bad presentation of the food or lack of ingredients/​non fresh ingredients.
Their stations are a bit messy too. There’s sometimes fries lying around the soda machine and the salsa bar doesn’t look too appealing.
I’d recommend you to order their usual, well known chicken, mac and cheese and all that jazz; but skip out on their «healthier options» menu, it’s a bit disappointing.

This place isn’t bad at all. The service is good and the food is good at certain times of the day. I came here with my girlfriend and after ordering and taking our food home, I noticed the food wasn’t as fresh as other locations and they forgot a few items. I only saw 2 employees working at this time. One in the back cooking and one at the register. This is the first time so it’s an honest mistake. But if it continues to happen, Unilocal will be the first to hear about it.

What to eat? Quite a question. How to feel? More difficult still… And it’s a mystery the phrases that keep recurring like a chorus, but «breakfast at Shoney’s for $ 2.99» is definitely one of them for me, because of how often I just need a cheap meal to keep up the flow. Well at Pollo loco, you can get two bean rice and cheese burritos for three dollars, and that’ll ease your hunger, perhaps even ease your mind, and it’ll keep you going. I can’t speak for the lives, health or taste of their chicken, as I haven’t had it, but it smells like heaven.
This particular Pollo Loco is in an older Lincoln Heights building that looks like it could have been a bank or a dance hall in previous times. It has very tall ceilings, and a decent size parking lot behind it. I’m glad I can count on those brc’s through these topsy turvy times, and the salsa bar with cilantro and lemon, under a spacious cap, but I think I should get back to packing my own lunch.
Churros in the south of France, por vida baby.

In a nutshell: Charbroiled chicken and Tex-​Mex located on North Broadway in Lincoln Heights.
Since Lincoln Heights offers many options for authentic Mexican food, I have to be specifically in the mood for El Pollo Loco. Depending on what you get, the food at El Pollo Loco is pretty decent, and depending on what time you show up, the chicken is pretty fresh.
Parking ⁴⁄₅
There is lot behind the restaurant here. Usually plenty of parking.
Ambience ⁴⁄₅
A surprisingly open space with high ceilings. There are two salsa stations, which are cleaned and replenished regularly.
Service ³⁄₅
Eh. Sometimes you get a cashier whose English is not great, and I’ve had to really spell out my order for them to understand.
Wait time ³⁄₅
Your order may take a while if you’re ordering anything other than just chicken.
Food ⁴⁄₅
I’ve never had a problem with their food here. I usually stick to the burritos and tacos al carbon. The other day they had a manager’s special of 5 taquitos for $ 4.99. Pretty sweet deal and the taquitos were super fresh with juicy chicken inside.
Overall ³⁄₅
Better than McDonald’s and most fast food in this area. Chicken is decent, but don’t expect a 5-​star dining experience. If you want real mexican cuisine, go elsewhere.

This is the Best pollo loco in the LA area, excellent service !! Great food and specially great portions. :)love it!!!

The chicken is fine. No large cups for salsa and the manager says I have to pay for the full price pollo bowl when I suggested I buy the plastic bowls. He sat at the tables eating his lunch, didn’t even bother to try to talk to me, just yelled across the dinning room.

It is what it is. Meh!

I’m glad to see some one stars so I know i’m not the only one. I“ve been to this location a bunch of times and I’ve never had a good experience. The employees here all all slow and incompetent. The manager just watches everything with a blank stare on his face and acts like he could give less than two shits about his customers. It takes the cashiers forever to ring up an order and it takes longer to get your food. If you’re getting something to go it will be half and hour at least (and that’s if nobody is ahead of you in line).

It’s ok!

I don’t think I will ever come here again. Andre who took my order wasn’t friendly or welcoming but completely rude. He had a major attitude problem and laugh at me for no reason.

This location, if I had my druthers, would get negative stars, no doubt. Period. Exclamation point!
I have been to this location before without any issues of qualms, but this past Wednesday, I must have stepped into the Slowville!
It all started when I got in line! I noticed that the two people in front of me took forever to order. At first, I thought that the people were ordering for their families, but raised my eyebrow when I saw that they were carrying single bag of food out.
Ok, i got to the register and told the gal behind the counter my order. *insert Run DMC lyric here*. But, I found myself having to repeat myself at least 3 – 4 times. I don’t think that she was hard of hearing, maybe she watched Finding Nemo too many times and adopted the «ADD”-ness of Dory. Whatevers.
So she finally repeated the order on the fourth time and I paid my bill. Upon receiving the receipt, I noticed that she didn’t charge me for the drink? I’m thinking, «This is not happening». So I notified her of the gaffe, she apologized and charged me for a drink (good thing she didn’t have to repeat that 3 – 4 times).
Wait…it gets better.
Upon receiving my food, the «manager» (or so he looked like one because of his short sleeved shirt and tie) screwed up on my order! I was missing a couple of things. A piece and a bag of tortillas.
Needless to say, I wasn’t too pleased with this whole experience. This place doesn’t even deserve my normal formatting.
I might go back to this place, but it would have to be if it’s the last place on earth that is open. I would rather pay an arm and a leg at Carnitas or drive a little bit further and get some King Taco (which I think is overrated, but that’s for another time).