El Pollo Loco

It’s my own fault. I know better than to even pull in the parking lot.
The drive thru was slower than ever. The server is trying to make me leave without all my ordered food items, after handing me change with no receipt. I can’t tell what I paid for my items, and have no way of disputing the fact I ordered a large drink instead of the small they belatedly handed me. No fork. No napkins. I feel like driving back thru and throwing it at them. Never go here. Just don’t. You’ll thank me later.

Rating: 3.5 stars (A-​ok)
This review is for the weekday evening hours of drive-​thru for the reseda El Pollo Loco restaurant.
*Parking/​Drive-​Thru Space
As others have already mentioned, parking space for this store is limited, as there are adjacent stores (i.e. 7-​Eleven) that share the same parking spots. Hence, I usually resort to drive-​thru when I’m in the area. That being said, just make sure to navigate yourself through the slightly narrow drive-​thru lane, being careful not to hit the guard poles and store walls and you’ll be fine.
* Hit/​Miss Indoor Cleanliness
I’m open to the idea that I may have come in at a bad time, but thought that some of the tables/​floor (the one time I entered the store) wasn’t as clean relative to other comparable indoor eateries. Perhaps the store was understaffed that day or maybe this is the style of their management. Nonetheless, will update the review the next time a sit-​in dining experience is made.
* Hardworking Staff
Seems some people too resort to drive-​thru, so be aware that you’ll probably find some cars ahead of you. Try to be understanding and courteous with the speaker person taking the order, and maybe turn the engine off if the wait is long. Admittedly, I’ve had understanding, yet business savvy staff members sneak in a good-​sized chicken thigh/​breast (instead of wing/​breast) a few times I had to endure a long wait (coupled with good speaker manners of course).
If you’re in the area and looking for some quick Mexican fast food via drive-​thru, this is one of many possible local choices you can keep in mind.

The food was good and the pico de Gallo is awesome. I agree that the parking isn’t great in this strip mall and the service is not friendly. My mom loved her tostada and my nephew loved his a vacation burrito. I had the chicken salad. I love Pollo loco especially the pico.

Really bad service. There is a coupon to get free chips and guacamole when you sign up for their online rewards. But they never send you the coupon. I told the manager about this issue but she just decided to say that the coupon probably was expired. I didn’t get the free chips and I almost left without my senior discount. Their attitude towards wanting to save is really bad. It seems like they don’t want to give anything away for free or at a discounted price. And his top it all off my receipt says if you sign up for the rewards you will get the free chips so technically it is not expired. Sucks!!!

I’ve been to other locations throughout the Valley and I would have to say this wouldn’t be my first choice. First parking is terrible. Why would you build in a mall that only has a few parking spots for your customers. The second thing is the cleaningness of this location.
I’m sure that the guest count at this location is less than other locations because of its parking situation and other elements.
During my visit at lunch time there was no pico de gallo. This is lunch time. I would suggest that an employee or a manger do a walk-thru.Check out your Restaurant or your condition. Must be ready for your customers at lunch time. Must of all set your employees up for success, not failure.
So there where some issues during my visit. The food itself wasn’t bad, their just wasn’t any salsa or the right kind of condiments for all the food that I ordered. So definitely training issues. Must be post ready at all times.
Your salsa bar is one of your main attraction’s for your customers. It should be well stocked and most of all kept clean at all times. Unfortunately during my visit it wasn’t.Not good.
I say in the window that they now provide delivery.Hmmm.
2015 Unilocal Challenge.092/100

I’ve ate at several EPL’s throughout the LA area and this one is the best of them all
The crew is always helpful and have great attitudes.
As the chicken goes its always done to perfection and hot.
Keep up the great work!

I hate this location. The manager is horrible. When ever I go through the drive thru they ALWAYS forget something from my order. Never coming to this location.

Never eaten here and decided try a salad. Super disappointed, kale and lettuce are wilted, cold chicken, and received rude customer service in the drive thru. Paid $ 6.59 for a soggy salad. First and my last time eating there.

How do they think it’s ok to have someone who doesn’t speak a word of english take orders? She got everything wrong and forgot to put some of the things I ordered in the bag. When I went back around to have it fixed she wouldn’t open the window to talk to me since they closed that exact minute.

Cheap and easy for a quick meal. The staff are always nice to me. Probably cos of my Aussie accent. The food is always decent.

Just received my 12 piece meal and a Avocado burrito. I took one bite into my burrito and pulled out the longest piece of brown hair out of my mouth… I’m mortified!!! I haven’t eaten all day and now I don’t have the appetite to either… Disgusting!!! «Watch out for the Avocado Hair Bean Burrito» barf!!!

I placed a phone order and was asking for the amount cause the final price seemed high… the person on the phone gave me wrong info based by the receipt… the person delivering arrived and claimed to have no change… now my wife feeling obligated to hurry the transaction gave him a $ 5 TIP even tho he was 20 minutes behind schedule… i’ve worked in delivery… I know the tricks

Really great food! I’ve been eating here since I was a kid and every time I come back to LA to visit I eat here lol.

HORRIBLE service over the phone, don’t pay attention and had me repeating everything I said multiple times! Going to Winnetka instead.

I like El Pollo Loco and the one in this area use to be my local PL.
They pay attention to my order and its always a big one. The staff is always friendly no matter what time of day it is.
The food is always fresh and understand me when I say «may I please get my chicken juicy not burnt.» Boom! amazingly fresh and soo good!
I’ll make sure to still come by when I am in the area because I get exactly what I like here, good fresh chicken!

Bad customer service. I went thru the drive thru and ask for salsa. They gave me 2. I asked for more and they said they couldn’t give it to me. They told me to come inside and grab some myself. Defeats the purpose of a drive thru.

I have always loved El Pollo Loco. The sign outside was very inviting as it read «Come See Our New Look». Many of the restaurants have recently undergone some major remodeling which has added a new look to the interior.
This particular location was seriously filthy inside. I couldn’t believe the amount of food and trash on the floors as well as uncleaned tables. There were hardly any people dining at the time that I went in.
The kitchen and service counter seemed to be minimally staffed which led to nobody being able to go out and clean the tables or pick up spills from the floors. I asked for a towel to clean a table that I chose to sit at and cleaned it myself.
I placed an order for 3 pieces of chicken just to see how things were going behind the counter. My order was for 1 drumstick, 1 thigh and 1 breast. All of which were extremely dry. hmmmmm On a normal basis in other locations, the leg and thigh are usually moist and the breast can be borderline. A dry drumstick and thigh are signs of reheating which pulls out the balance of the moisture. The breast was not really edible without drowning it in salsa.
The red salsa was rather flavorful. The green salsa had some flavor profile but was slightly salty. The salsa bar was considerably smaller than most of the other locations and even lacked the regular Pico de Gallo.
Overall, I was not happy with the visit. Normally, I will walk out of a restaurant when I see it this filthy, but after seeing how clean the kitchen was, I decided to overlook the fact and just deal with it for the sake of checking out the consistency from one location to another.
I hope that something can be done by management to get this place up to shape.

Freddy, the guy that took my order showed me crazy good customer service. I’ve rarely seen anything like it. This whole restaurant was popping off during lunch and I believe it was because they have such a cool team working here. Thx guys, I’ll be back!

This is my local EPL and I love the new remodeling they have done. The staff are super nice and they already know me EXCEPT a shift supervisor or might a manager, Maria. She has the rudest face on all the time, no customer service at all. She has even rolled her eyes at me when i have asked for an extra bag or an extra container for salsa.
Other than that, the place is nice, clean and the chicken always good

I know, I know its a fast food joint. But I really have to write a review for this El Pollo Loco location, mostly for one reason. They gave me an addiction.
JALAPENO SAUCE PACKETS!!!
The chicken is always fresh with a nice crispy marinated skin. $ 9.99 for 10 pieces of legs and thighs… best deal ever.
I always giggle when I pull up to the drive thru and the automated lady asks if I want to try a tamale… over and over and over. Best broken record ever.