Compadre Grilled Chicken

Compadres Chicken has been a staple in the Escondido area for over a decade. They only recently finally opened a restaurant in San Marcos and it is WAY better than any Pollo Loco/​Latino chicken place you’ll ever taste. Before it used to feel cramped and lil hot from the chicken cooking but now they expanded the dining area making it more roomy with lots of places to sit down at. It is a family owned business which also does catering (they catered my birthday couple years ago). Being Mexican myself I feel comfortable being here and glad to see fellow Mexicans running a business. The 2pc. Combo with Horchata is a real satisfying meal!

Place is very good! Love how they have Combo plate and at a good price, you can tell every thing is fresh and the place is very clean, Staff is very helpful and know the menu. You can take-​out or din-​in, what every you want!

Been going here for a few years. Always good and fresh food. Grilled chicken is a must. Tortillas are fresh and everything is made to order. Keep that in mind because it does take a little longer, but well worth the wait.

Wow! I’ve been told to check this place out and boy I should come here a long time ago! Best grilled chicken! Best tortillas! Rice is super fluffy and soft… Yes indeed! ‘Point ok huhkiu zzdzès.

Good mexican chicken :) hidden little spot. A little extra but makes me happy with the restrooms are clean.

Great Chicken we alway’s have to pre order or else we have to wait more. Then 30 minutes for chicken they are always so busy because it is so delicious well worth the wait so if you’re in a hurry highly recommended to call in your order. Every time my sister and brother-​in-​law come from La Puente we have to get chicken from there they are in love with it especially the green salsa.

Do not let the location or looks of this place fool you. This is, by far, some of the best wood grilled chicken in the area.
My wife had the chicken and loved it. I ordered the BBQ ribs. The meat fell off the bones. The refrained beans and rice were great. Not overly spicy but great flavor. The flour tortillas were made fresh.
This place would have gotten a five for the food but had to knock it down on decour.

Been here a few times but never checked in or left a review?! This place is freaking delicious and reasonable priced. Not sure what they marinade and season their chicken with but I need to find out! Gotta love their grilled onions and peppers.

This place is delicious! Wow. We tried their chicken and their pork ribs and the flavor here is amazing. The chicken is moist and has such great flavor. The ribs are meaty, tender and fall of the bone. You could just eat your ribs with a fork. They grill over misquete wood and it adds a great flavor. The salad is also very fresh. The french fries are crispy and salted perfectly. But the best thing here is the green sauce. It’s the best green sauce I’ve ever had. The place is clean, the service is great and everyone here is very nice.

A good go to on lunch break, although their menu doesn’t have a huge variety the food they put out is always fresh and delicious. Be prepared to wait a little for your food, I’ve had to every time.

Best grilled chicken in town! And don’t forget to try their green sauce. Vegtables salad is fresh and tasty.
Clean place (extended), so now they more room for dine in services. Clean bathroom also.
Polite staff.

blows el pollo loco out of the water. this has become a weekly destination for my coworkers and I. food is great and the prices are even better

Warning: this review is only for food! 4.5 stars actually.
Their flame roasted chicken is terrific as is their green salsa and it’s all very affordable. For example one can have a 4 piece chicken only plate (½ a chicken) that come with a small iceberg salad and roasted onions and peppers for less than $ 6 or the same with rice, beans, and tortillas for less than $ 8. That would never be possible at the chain with a similar concept.
If I included their interior in my review they would loose a star. Another Unilocaler described the interior as «beat up» which made me chuckle aloud, but their interior is lacking. They do have a faux fireplace with an LCD screen viewing a flame image. They have two LCD TVs showing sports. They also have an interior dining place that they seem to be renovating and using for storage (see pic).
Good thing I came for good food and not atmosphere.

Awesome food and excellent service. This is my go to place for chicken, rice and beans. The green salsa is excellent and the red salsa has a great kick to it. The service has always been good. The location is a little beat up but the food makes up for it.

Pretty much the best grilled chicken you’ve ever had! They’re mesquite grilled. Prices are great. They don’t have much of a variety, but they do have a carne asada plate and a ribs plate, but you go there for the chicken. They’re currently expanding so there’s more room for big groups.

I really like this place. The food is very good, prices are great. I like that they are consistent, you know you’re getting a good meal each time. They get 4 stars because their service is inconsistent, or worse, they are consistently slow. They seem a little bit disorganized sometimes and it takes way too long to get your food.

This place does pretty much one thing — amazing grilled chilcken. You see the pollos right when you walk into the place. There always seems to be people there and it smells heavenly. The chicken is tasty and the beans/​rice are great. The side salad is nothing special but that is not why you are there, right?!
My husband liked the horchata and I was glad they had the elusive Mr. Pibb. The front desk guy who took our order gave us a complimentary tiny bowl of rice and beans while we waited — I had asked for it and would have been happy to pay but he just gave it to us for free. Super sweet.
The service is overall friendly (even the cooks /​prep people were nice). Lots of families! So, if you had a toddler with you (like I did) you don’t feel bad when he begins using his «outside» voice.
The actual place itself is nothing special — a few tables and chairs with mostly people waiting for their take out. You can call in and they will have it ready but it seemed like most of us just put in our order in person and waited. It was not a bad wait!
One plan that worked for us was going to the little park near by (Nob Hill or Knolll Hill or something like that) and then about 30 minutes before we are ready to leave, call in our order (a family style plate with a bunch of different chicken parts) to go. For us, it’s a perfect Saturday afternoon /​evening.
It’s right next to the Baskin & Robbins across from the Kohls/​Walmart mall.

The price! 6 bucks for 2 piece chicken… MEAL… so worth it, I was full! Don’t even hesitate. This is a staple!

The prices are unreal. Extremely reasonable. The food was just ok. Someone posted its better than El Pollo Loco. Hmmm, it wasn’t that flavorful. Granted its BIGGER chicken than EPL, and they offer salad and better beans and rice, but the wait it took to get my food was super long. I’m giving it 3 generous stars because it took 20 minutes for my food at 6:00 pm. peak time for dinner! If there’s a next time I’ll call ahead.

Do not judge a book by its cover! Yeah, this place is a little hole-​in-​the wall in San Marcos (They are in the Costco neighborhood, sort of speak), but it serves some incredibly delicious chicken that seems to have been marinaded and then cooked over wood burning grill. The parking is less than desirable for the little strip mall it is in, but the food «Rocks.»
The two pcs ($ 5) or 3pcs ($ 6.50) combos is the best deal that I like. The dipping sauce is unique in that it is not too spicy, I can’t remember if it is the red or green, but ask ‘em and they will tell ya!
My go to spot when I am in the area and when I don’t want Chipotle’s but something other. Oh, did I mention it is super-​cheap and they have your dish to you in super-​man fast time. At least the 3 times that I have been there. Go during lunch if you can cuz at night it can get crowded, but still worth it.
They have 3 locations, one in Oceanside and Escondido. I have only been to the San Marcos location.