El Pollo Loco

I go to other locations but i’ve been coming to this one periodically for years. I wouldn’t come back if I had the bad experiences others have had, but I haven’t. note I don’t come at peak lunch hours, i usually order a salad/​tostada of some kind, but no one at the register has been anything but nice to me & competent.
I will say it’s a busy location [on the way to the 710] & they do not have the personnel to wipe up every spill at the salsa bar nor clean every table immediately like they do in some locations.
the thing I want to complain about it the size of the tostadas have become miniscule!
they used to be so large it was an ordeal for me to finish & more than once i’ve taken ½ home for dinner but not anymore positively tiny! boo!
it’s a chain people — they hand you the receipt with rate your visit [tell us about us] so do!

It’s time for me to update my review. I don’t know what changed, but it has improved immensely! They have been consistent for the past few months that I have returned. Their customer service has also improved. Much much friendlier than I remember. Great job guys!

This place totally sucks. Today I waited more than 15 minutes for my food and when I got home I found out the order was wrong. Also the chicken was not well cooked. The cashier was also preparing people’s orders after handling the register. And the bathrooms were a mess, in the men’s the hand soap had leaked out and was all over the floor. Stay away from this place, asap I will call pollo loco corporate headquarters to make a formal complaint.

I stopped by to eat here today but quickly realized I shouldn’t have. My cashier’s name was Claudia and she just couldn’t help me with any of my orders. My wife wanted her order with bacon and Claudia just couldn’t add it. We tried to go with the alternative and order bacon separate, but she still couldn’t do it. Needless to say, we didn’t have our order with bacon. And when I asked about the Grande Chicken Avacado Taco, Claudia didn’t have any information as to what comes inside the taco besides the obvious… chicken… and avacado. The cooks preparing the food are almost at arms length and she couldn’t even ask them about our bacon and the taco. I wasn’t looking for «above and beyond.» I was just looking for someone who can, at the very least, do their job.

This location has the slowest drive thru service, manager looks inexperienced. Won’t be coming back.

Omg! This place sucks. I try placing an order and they don’t have to ingredients so I chose something different I’m going to have one ingredient. I asked for a raspberry ice tea and guess what they didn’t the any. I’m surprised they had chicken to sell.
They customer service sucks too. Rude ass person. Won’t be buying from there anymore. I wish I didn’t have to give they even one star. DON’T EAT THERE.

My husband and I came here on 3÷16÷2016 around 7:30pm. The food was ok we ordered the under 500 calories meal and a shrimp tostada (the shrimp was cold and salty) and I ordered my chicken on the side, (they placed the chicken on the whole plate) the wait time here to Order is pretty gnarly we waited 20 minutes but the cashier looked new and she was apologizing to the customers

Terrible terrible terrible customer service. I stood in line for 23 minutes while lots of folks after me walked out. You’ve been warned.

Came to Pollo Loco to buy POLLO and there was NO POLLO… wtf!!! Is there a shortage of POLLO!!! Not the first time either…

I ordered a Poblano Burrito during my lunch and when started eating it I noticed there was a long black hair in my burrito. Disgusting! I will never go back. I tried to call and let the manager know but no one answers the phone there. Horrible customer service by far

Wow I thought a drive thru is supposed to be fast?! Literally been waiting in line for 20 minutes and counting… wtf? Will never come back to this location there’s no reason why it should take so damn long to get «fast food». Horrible!!!

Super long wait in-​drive thru to get order. Friendly service otherwise. Accepted my coupon. Had $ 10 dinner for two (four pieces; 3 small sides; salad; churros; no drinks).

Bad customer service! Every time I’ve come here on my lunch break, the workers are always in a bad mood, with no smile and practically throw the food in your car just to get you to keep moving. Also their pollo bowl is a joke. Don’t get me wrong, it’s tasty, but it’s mostly beans and rice, you know the saying: «Where’s the beef?» Well in this scenario it’s «Where’s the chicken?»

This is the next best thing to eat other than burgers, well i dont know where to start with this place! Drove into the drive thru waited for about 20 min to get to the speaker to order… The guy on the other end of the speaker told me there is no more chicken!!! Huhh??? No more chicken? There will be a 30 minute wait for there new chicken to b ready!!! Horrible!

Service ahhhh I do not have words to describe this place. I love the food but not the services

Usually I don’t have a problem here other that they forget items in my bag when I go through the drive thru. Today at least 30 min wait, from 7pm to 7:33pm. Never have I waited anywhere this long in the drive thru. Maybe the need more employees.

I’m disgusted and angry! They gave my mom burned chicken that she had bought for my 4 year old niece. You can be sure that I will make a call to their corporate office! I visit this location regularly and cannot comprehend why managers would allow their employees serve this to the customer! If you as an employees wouldn’t eat it don’t serve it to the customer! It’s very very disappointing!

I enjoy the chicken here.
I like the chicken that is fire grilled so that skin part is crisp and the meat is tender from oil has been drawn from the meat.
You can enjoy the chicken by itself or have it wrapped on corn or flour tortilla with salsa, onions, cilantro, and etc to have it like Mexican food.
I usually dine in but one time I went through drive-​in and the chicken I got was so dried up and the chicken felt like chewing on jerky.
The other times were satisfying so I guess they just slipped just this once.
I’m giving them overall good rating and I’m going back here again.
I hope they don’t slip up again.

*Warning* This is a long review. I like to be thorough.
HORRIBLE. This is the closest location to me; so I always forego the extra drive across town & cross my fingers that they can get it right for once. Nope.
I never go in the drive-​thru, because previous experiences have shown me that it’s a huge mistake. This location is on a very busy corner, so with traffic it is extremely hard to communicate with the worker on the other end.
My latest experience was this evening. I got to the parking lot (about 5 – 6 cars were in line for the drive-​thru, which I’d say is average for 7:30 pm) & I walked in. 1 person was in line ahead of me, 2 different people seemed to be waiting for their order & 2 – 3 tables already had their food. I order 2 burritos & 1 tostada salad, to-​go. Seems simple, right? The guy who took my order was nice & very friendly, gave me my receipt & I waited. At this time, about 4 other parties came in to order. All wanted some version of a chicken meal (2 piece, 8 piece, 20 piece) & they are told it would be a 30 minute wait. I personally would not wait (seeing how it’s «fast food»), but they agreed. Then I can hear one of the girls talking to the people in the food prep area.
Girl: «Tell them we’re out of chicken. No chicken.»
Other worker: «Let’s just close the drive-​thru»
Girl: «No, they told us we cant do that anymore. I could put up a sign, but people never read it»
Other worker: «We could put cones so they cant drive up»
What?! It’s El POLLO Loco. Chicken is what you do. It’s 7:30 pm on a Thursday. Expect a dinner rush, people.
About 5 minutes after I ordered, I noticed my salad waiting on the line. I knew it was mine because I asked for no salsa on top & no one else had ordered a salad in the dining area. So I watch it. 10 minutes pass by, I decide to order a drink while I waited, figuring my food would be close to ready by the time I reached the front of the line. Wrong again. I told the cashier «If that salad on the line is meant for me, i dont want it. It’s in a fried shell, it will be completely soggy & the lettuce will be wilted. Its been sitting there for 15 minutes.» He was understanding & told the cooks to make a new one to go with the 2 burritos. The only thing they did right, was give me the drink for free because they knew I had been waiting. Then hear one of the women who was initially waiting when I walked in «How long does it take to make 8 pieces of chicken? It’s 7:45, I ordered at 7:09» & showed her reciept. Knowing they messed up, they rushed her order out to her within 2 minutes & she left.
About 5 more minutes pass, with almost every other customer coming up to the counter with a complaint. They call my name & grab the same damn salad that has been sitting there for close to 20 minutes. I told him I didn’t want that one & the cashier backed me up by saying that they were supposed to make a new one. So I wait another 2 or 3 minutes. I’m not elaborating at all: THE SAME SALAD I REFUSED, THEY PUT BACK IN THE BAG. As if I am blind & can’t clearly see all of your actions. I tell him again, make a new one. So they give me another salad, but it’s not the one I ordered. It’s a completely different menu item. At this point, I ask for my money back.
I can tell the nice guy at the register felt bad. He calls what I’m assuming is the manager or lead over & tells him I want my money back because the salad has just been sitting there. I say «Can I just get my money back? I’m not going to take food that’s been sitting for so long.» The lead then argues with me over when it was made & tells me that the salad they tried giving me was fresh (he was referring to the salad that was not the item I ordered). So I told him I didn’t order that, I ordered the tostada salad. Again, an argument. He told me I obviously was confused on what I was ordering or the worker entered it wrong. So I said «Look, you’re in the customer service industry. So the customer is always right. If I say that’s not what I want & need a refund, you say ‘I apologize. Let me refund you’. Stop arguing with me». With attitude, he tells me «I’m not arguing». He obviously needs to review what arguing means. Because that’s exactly what he was doing. I get back my refund. Give them back their cup (which I just held, empty, the entire time) & I left.
I will never go back here again. I suggest you choose a different location. Save your time & avoid frustration.

1hr and ½ for a an 8 pice meal WOW!!! And they are mean rude. Well I’m boycotting this place.