El Pollo Loco

First time here and the crew checked on us periodically until we figured what, of the great menu, we wanted.
½ chicken with rice and tortillas for me, giant chicken salad for her. Fresh, hot, we’ll seasoned-​great salsa bar selection too.
We’ll be back this is our new favorite chicken joint!

I originally tried El Pollo Loco in Tucson many years ago. I recently decided to visit while doing a bit of horse trading at the Bookmans next door. For not much, I got a drink plus a bean, cheese and rice burrito with a fire roasted chicken leg and a chicken taco that were tasty and filling.
The parking is ample it seems. While it’s not been dirty or messy, the décor is not very impressive. Not bad, not great but a-​ok.

I am quite surprised at all the low reviews here. There is lots of parking in the lot. I decided to stop here one day after visiting the great Bookmans. It is very fresh food, and not at all over priced. There is an entire little salsa bar that has cool to go cups with nice tight lids (a major plus). The food is excellent! no red meat just fish and chicken. Lots of fresh limes. Every one there were very pleasant and though i took it to go. I could of eaten there because it was nice and clean. They even had a drive thru. I thought it was great!

OK so I have been trying to stick to this whole New Years resolution thing which is not easy. But decided to give this place a shot since they offer a few healthy options. Big mistake!!! OK so first off the service was good, and the place was clean except for the area in front of the soda machine. It really needed to be wiped down big time.
I guess my biggest gripe had to be with the food. It was nasty! Flavorless beans, dry chicken that was closer to jerky and a tortilla that seemed to change colors at the bottom. Not sure why but did not remember paying for a color changing burrito.
Now I understand that this is just a take out place that is very similar to say a taco bell or Del taco, but the food is bad at these places as well. I have to say while the food is bad the service and free refills of horchata did make me at least feel they deserved the one star I gave them, but wish I could have gotten a refund. Sorry but the only person crazy here is me for thinking this place was going to be good.
Never again

Dirty! That about sums this place up. Walked into this place because I was in the area and I had not been to one of these in years. The food is okay, but once I had ordered my meal, I began to notice how dirty the place was. The floors had dirt stains on them and no one had mopped up. There was a small bucket sitting on the service counter that had a rag in it an some type of cleaning solution for wiping down the tables. The trash cans behind the counter were viewable and they were full and had trash laying on the floor around them, and the final things I noticed were the condiments bar and the drink area were dirty and had not been wiped up in quite awhile.
Stay away from this place!

Meh… That definitely describes it and especially compared to some other EPL locations I’ve been to. Not too friendly and the food wasn’t too hot along with an empty salsa bar.

I came here about a week ago when it was almost 10pm and a lot of places were closed, looking for a light meal to keep me from getting hungry later in the evening since I’m a night owl. I ordered a small bowl of soup which happened to be on sale for about $ 1.59, a chicken tamale to try for $ 1.29 I think, and a drumstick off their value (99 cent) menu. All three were delicious, hit the spot, and were the perfect amount of food for under $ 5 to tide me over. I was especially impressed with the flavor of the soup, though it was served way to hot and I had to wait a long time for it to cool down enough to eat.
I went there again a few nights later because I got a craving for more of that chicken tortilla soup, this time ordering the larger size, still on sale, about $ 3.69 for a pretty big container. I asked if they could not make it so hot this time, so it was my fault it cooled down to barely warm by the time I’d finished the $ 2.50 steak taco I got on the side. I only intended to eat half the soup but it was so good I couldn’t stop till I’d wiped out three fourths of it.
It’s handy having this place be so close to my motel. Now that the weather is turning chilly I’ll probably be back for more of that soup!
For the second time in one day I encountered a restroom that was out of TP, but here they responded quickly, with concern and apologies, with one of the clerks hurrying back immediately to remedy the problem, a far better reaction than I got at Stein Mart at Tempe Marketplace earlier in the day.