Charo Chicken

Better than El Pollo Loco… how prophetic. The day I wrote this quick tip, the chicken we got was dry & overcooked. Now, the store has been closed.
It was always expensive, but the chicken was always moist & tasty and the garlic/​lemon butter was the bomb… loved it.
Based upon the other reviews I see here our great experiences were an exception rather than the rule. Sad to see them go, but they should have made consistently better food, not just occasional.

closed!

The 3 stars is for the food, a 1 star for the service.
I love Charo Chicken, the chicken and sides are hands down way better then El Pollo Loco! The fresh salsa is also tastier, and less watery.
The service however isn’t all that great. Like I said, the service would get a 1 star. I think its the owners that work the cash register… they don’t seem too friendly??? Ordering here seems very mechanical, to the point, cold. I don’t get a smile, no friendly talk, nothing. Its like getting in to the elevator with other people, in complete silence, going up hundreds of floors.
I would return for the food, just wish the staff weren’t such stiffs.

So my boyfriend won’t eat beans. Today we went and ordered 2 chickcn burritos and the first one came with beans so he had them remake it, and they misunderstood what he asked for and it came back with beans again, the third burrito was correct, they gave us extra chips and were very nice about the situation (I mean seriously a burrito without beans? my boyfriend is a freak of nature) So they get my thumbs up for sure. We’ve been there a few time and the owner/​manager has always been nice. Also nice because they have pamphlets with great discounts and deals. Tasty and fresh! Yum!

Seems like a lot of people don’t know about this place. If you like El Pollo Loco you’ll definitely dig this chicken joint. 10 piece leg/​thigh for $ 7.99! What kind of crazy deal is that? The chicken’s always good. Their lemon garlic season butter whatever sauce is delicious. The unlimited pico de gallo, onions, and salsa makes this an even better deal than it is already. As a person who eats way too much chicken as it is, this is one place I probably won’t ever get sick of.
Note: review based solely on their 10pc leg/​thigh. It’s the only thing my friends and I order. I don’t think we’ve tried any other item on the menu besides a side of steamed veggies.

This is one of my family usual choices for dinner. I like their online order so usually would order online with a designated time for pick up and they have never once failed to deliver my order on time! On a busy day, there’s wait but I’m happy my food is ready to go! I wish all restaurants are as convenient as them!

I used to think better of this place until the last time i went there i got a case of the you know whats and I havent been back since. Their seasoning is what makes it taste better than other places. Don’t go there late otherwise you’ll end up like me.

3 ¾ stars. Better than El Pollo Loco in terms of service and seasoning.
I think that 3 ¾ stars may be too generous for a fast food chicken establishment. However, comparing it to other casual chicken places, this place is pretty tasty. So, 3 ¾ stars compared to other chicken places, but less if we’re talking about comparing it to fine dining, internationally-​known restaurants.
I’ve never tried Charo before and my boyfriend hasn’t had it in years. I ordered the whole chicken meal with Charo seasoned fries and black beans. The special Charo red spice seasoning is surprisingly tasty and that’s what they sprinkled on the chicken and the fries. The fries were lightly seasoned so it wasn’t too salty. However, they were steak-​style and a little mushy (versus crunchy). The green salsa was nicely spicy and flavorful. I asked for a larger container than the silly little plastic cups. I also got another container for lemons because I love my lemon juice!
They were short-​handed tonight and inundated with phone orders/​questions. So, it took probably 20 minutes to get my order done. However, when I picked up my order, the guy apologized and gave me a $ 5 off coupon for my next order. I didn’t actually mind so it was a pleasant surprise. I’ve waited that long for even a single order of churros from El Pollo Loco and they acted like I was doing them a favor by even going there! Just for their consideration about my wait, I would drive the extra distance to get chicken from here and give them extra star power.
Obviously, we had food leftover. For our meal size, it came with three bundles of three tortillas each. That seems pretty generous to me. They were out of corn for the fire-​grilled, in-​husk corn and that bummed me out.