El Gran Pollo

Good Peruvian food. My family loves the chicken, it is really flavorful. As far as sides go we usually get the fried rice, plantains and green beans, all which are tasty. A couple of months ago my husband brought home the lomo saltado… I was a bit hesitant on it because it’s steak, peppers, onions and tomatoes stop French fries… Yes fries, served with rice. It was so damn good!!! It’s my go to every time I eat at El Gran Pollo! Overall I like the place. Small, family operated, food is freshly cooked and the portions are generous.

I saw the good reviews in here but I didn’t like the chicken I had last night. The chicken was dry and the side like the plantains were burn. I tried other restaurant much better than this place. Very disappointed.

Excellent Peruvian chicken! Service is great, and so is the food.

Pretty awesome Peruvian chicken place, with sadly underwhelming sides. But the chickens they serve here are up to par or even better at times compared to Sardi’s, which was my go-​to Peruvian chicken place when I used to live in College Park. They are a little skimpy on sides, and they actually charge extra for plantains and rice + beans (which are the only two sides I get with my chicken) so I am a little salty about that. But the price still can’t beat, you can get a filling meal for less than $ 10. I would also add in and say that many of their regular food items are not worth the try, it’s called El Gran POLLO for a reason. Stick with the chicken!

Gentleman at the counter was very friendly and explained to me the ingredients of a couple dishes I was interested in. I went with the ceviche mixto and its soooooo good! It also came with sweet potato and Peruvian corn. The corn I’m not so much a fan of but the sweetness of the sweet potato mixed with the citrus in the ceviche is perfect! I added a side a guac on my own when I got home and my meal was complete. The portion is huge and will last me a couple meals. I will definitely come again and try the many other delicious sounding dishes they have to offer.

Excellent Peruvian chicken. Fresh and seasoned right. The rice is so so good and the green beans are even better. I love the potatoes too. Honestly u can’t go wrong with anything here. It’s just so good. Def a go to for me.

great everything. Great dirty rice, excellent plantains, great green beans, and outstanding chicken with outstanding spicy green sauce. ¹⁰⁄₁₀ would eat again.

I’m not sure why this place has such good reviews… there are much better restaurants in the area. I came here with my sister and a friend and for awhile, we were completely unacknowledged by the staff. They finally took our orders and then rang us up. After waiting for about 10 minutes or so, my sister and I got our food but my friend didn’t so they had to go back and order again… (it was only a quesadilla, while we got lomo and pollo saltado so it shouldn’t have taken so long). The lomo saltado I had was pretty bland and flavorless. My sister said the same about her pollo saltado. I’d recommend going to pollo amigo, much friendlier, cheaper, and way better food.

⁵⁄₅ would eat here again!
I’m glad that Peruvian joints are growing in numbers in the area — the roasted chicken is so good at all of these places!
El Gran Pollo is no exception to quality, either. The staff were all very friendly, and helpful with people who had questions. They all seemed to be bilingual, which was great for a lot of customers.
The food was amazing. The rotisserie chicken was so tender, flavorful, and juicy. The green beans had the perfect amount of snap to them, and just the right flavor. And while I usually don’t have brown rice, the look of it appealed to me so I got it… And, well, not disappointed at all! I’d have it again from there — it had some bits of chicken or pork in it, and some red bell pepper pieces.
I have no complaints about this place, and heaps of praise.

I had to write a review for this place because their food is superior to any other Peruvian restaurant I have been too. I have a thing for Peruvian places like El Gran Pollo and I have to keep coming back to this one even though it is not the closest. The chicken and every side option is just so delicious. I get the quarter dark meat with 2 sides every time, and it is only about 8 dollars. They are quick too. There is not much else to say, the place is like fast food style so you order and take your tray to a table or booth. Very casual.

For my money, this is the best pollo a la brasa place in Baltimore — and that’s due to it being consistently good rather than inconsistently great.
Positives: the chicken is always hot, moist, and tasty. If you get your order «to go,» even if you’re eating here, the portions for sides can be enormous.
Neutrals: The sides are just pretty good. I generally go with yucca, plantain, or chaufa (Peruvian fried rice). All are better than okay, but not great. The sauce is above average, but they charge you an extra 25 cents for every additional container beyond the 2 you get with a quarter chicken. Also, they have a good selection of drinks — last time I had a piña colada Everfresh, and enjoyed it. A typical drink to accompany this meal would be an Inca Kola, which looks gold but tastes like bubble gum. The televisions (always on Spanish language channels) can be a little loud, but that’s normal.
Negatives: No recycling, and they use styrofoam for everything. Doesn’t compare particularly well to places around the Wheaton area.

Great cheap eats. I had dark ¼ chicken with black beans and yuca with a Diet Inca to wash it down. Chicken is delicious and sides excellent and generous amounts! I couldn’t eat ½ the yuca. Maybe best black beans I’ve had. For a buck or two more than Ratdonalds, why aren’t u eating here?

I don’t understand the high ratings. I ordered the short ribs (because when there’s an option to get short ribs, I’m getting short ribs). It was VERY salty. So I took a bite of the beans to counteract teh saltiness. They were far too salty, too. So I thought, «OK, I’ll take a bite of rice, that’ll help.» THE FRIGGIN RICE WAS OVERLY SALTY!
If I wanted a salt lick, I didn’t need to go here for that.
The only reason it didn’t get 1 star is because the service was good and while WAY oversalted, the ribs were cooked well and were tender.

Great place. My family and I get carry out every so often. Super flavorful and delicious. Restaurant is clean and service is really good.

I love the chicken here, succulent and flavorful. Even the white meat is juicy; they cook the chickens on a rottiserie over charcoal. Incredibly flavorful!
The sides are tasty. I love a big pile of green beans and the plantains have s nice finish of sweet. The little containers of verde sauce add a nice, complex heat. I wish the owner would pay more attention to the dining in experience. Eating with plastic forks out of plastic containers isn’t pleasant.
We did have one bad experience during our last visit Saturday night. When we came in, the TV was blasting — a loud American sitcom complete with someone going into labor. Yelling. While we tried to eat. I went to the cashier and asked her politely to turn it down. She responded with some serious attitude that I didn’t appreciate. She also complained in Spanish to another worker about the fact that I hadn’t specified that we were eating there rather than having carry out. That meant she had to go all the way to the other end of the counter for the tray! How terrible for her…

One word: YUM!
Everything from the chicken down to the sides is just absolutely delicious! Nothing beats their unique charbroiled flavor. The prices are reasonable but still on the higher end. Still, I would highly recommend trying out this place if you haven’t already done so!

El Gran Pollo is life. Holy cow. The food is amazing, the portions are HUGE, and the prices are great. Everything is fresh, the people are so kind, and the restaurant is really clean. It’s good. really, really good. I have worked across the street for months and just discovered this place-​how??? Looks like I have a new lunch spot! Yum!

Place is yummy. When it comes to their prices, they are kind of pricey in my opinion. Food. I ordered charbroiled chicken, white rice and plantains. Everything was cooked very well. My main complaint is the line was long and the cashier took forever to ring people up and the employees kept trying to get her attention

The chicken tastes really flavorful and juicy when fresh out of their oven. The sides taste okay; to me, the green beans, although prepared perfectly, could benefit from a little more salt and pepper, and the plantains are sometimes not cooked all the way because they’re cut unevenly into large chunks.
The prices aren’t too bad either. If you’re looking for a quick, healthy, well-​balanced meal, I definitely say stop by.

I just moved out to Baltimore, and was craving some Peruvian chicken. I searched and found this gem on Unilocal,and decided to give it a try. I was a little worried that I wouldn’t find quality Peruvian food in Baltimore. I come from San Francisco, and have had a good share of delicious Peruvian cuisine, whether it’s rotisserie chicken from Limon, or tapas-​style cuisine from La Mar or Piqueos. That’s why I am ecstatic in having found El Gran Pollo.
The place has many positives working in its favor. First, is its LOCATION. It’s conveniently located in a strip mall with plentiful parking and little traffic on the corner of Loch Raven and Taylor. This works very well for me since I live in the area.
Most important is the FOOD. They have a fine offering of traditional Peruvian eats (e.g. rotisserie chicken, yuca, platanos, black beans), and some non-​traditional foods that I would expect to find in a Mexican taqueria (burritos). I have always gone for the rotisserie chicken, and boy is it delicious. The chicken is moist and comes marinated in what I can only describe as Peruvian goodness (probably a mix of lemon or lime, herbs, spices). You have several options to order chicken (¼ dark or white, ½ dark or white, or whole). Chicken orders include 2 sides, and you have an assortment to choose from (fried yuca, green beans, mixed vegetables, black beans, potatoes, pinto beans). Platanos are also available for 50 cents more.
The last 2 times I’ve gone there, I ordered a half chicken with 2 sides, and that was enough to last me 2 meals. That leads to my second positive about the food here, and that’s PORTION SIZE. The portions of chicken are hefty. They sure don’t skimp on the chicken, and like I said, a ½ order is enough to last you 2 meals unless you’re very hungry.
My final positive about this place is COST. A ¼ order of chicken with 2 sides runs you about $ 6.95 plus tax. A ½ order is $ 9.95 plus tax. That is very reasonable in my opinion, and gives you a lot of bang for your buck.
The staff there are also very friendly, and I even met the owner in my first time there. He was very outgoing and excited that I moved here from California. This will definitely be a regular eating spot for me.