Pollo Campero

This location went out of business and didn’t tell me!!! How dare they do this to us!!!

I really love this place and their food! The chicken is juicy and cooked perfectly, the yucca fries are delicious! So many healthier options at this place!

Love the food. Grilled chicken was great Def will be coming back. Also had the chicken sandwich

First of, it’s fast food chain. We try to stay away from fast food chains but decided to give this place a try on a boring-​nothing to do day. The chicken was decent at best. I expected a lot more flavor. I enjoyed the plantains but that’s only because I LOVE me some plantains.

I’m sitting here at my dining room table finishing the second half of the pulled chicken Fiesta Bowl I started in the Clear Lake City TX location last night. It’s hard to believe that the leftovers taste just about as good and individual as when I ate them fresh last night. I limit my eating out since I need to watch both my waist and my wallet, but these folks bring good value to what they serve as well as real food that is well-​prepared. The chicken tastes — and looks — real, the black beans are not rubbery, and the dressing is fresh. I have recently had to switch to gluten-​free, so I am trailing it to see how it fits into that change. I sure hope so because I love the flavors! The place is clean, folks are polite, attentive, and give good service, and that’s no small piece of the pie either. Nice job, Pollo Campero!

When I come to Texas, I try to make it a point to go out at least once to a Mexican and a BBQ place. However, after several hours of rolling around in the water within a helicopter as part of various survival scenarios, I was happy to stay at the hotel, nosh in the Lobby, and schmooze with folks. I did get a little hungry a few hours later and decided to walk to whatever was close, convenient, and safe regarding the possibility of being run over by a Texas driver.
Pollo Campero specializes in Latin Chicken and is a full cut above what I’ve known as fast food. I also enjoyed reading the Bulletin Board regarding their Community contributions and was impressed with the cleanliness of the indoor dining area and the professionalism of the persons who supported my order. I chose a quarter grilled citrus chicken, which I thought was really good. I had a choice of 2 sides and went with some nice spicy chipolte fries and a helping of quinoa. Corn bread nuggets were offered on the side. It was a very satisfying meal, although it was a little more than I could eat at the time.

I wanted to write a quick update since I went back to this spot today to grab a quick bite. I am happy to report that the dining room was in tip top shape. The service was excellent. Benisha took our order and was as sweet as can be!
We had the empanada trio and split an order of the citrus grilled chicken. YUM! The empanadas had hints of spicy chilis and packed the perfect punch. The chicken was juicy and had plenty of citrus marinade flavor that balanced well with the spice of the empanadas. We also split an order of chipotle fries and plantains that were freakin’ tasty. The plantains were almost as good as the ones my mom makes (this is a big compliment, folks!).
Overall, the experience was way better than the last time I visited. I’m happy I came back and am looking forward to having many more meals here.

The place was filthy. Every adjacent table was littered with people’s trash and the remnants of a leftover meal.
Horchata was just ok, and the guava was a glorified kool-​aide version.
Their roasted chicken for which the premise of this restaurant exists was a disappointment too. The only reason we came here, was because we had a coupon.
Will not be back, and suggest you exercise your other «pollo» options elsewhere.

The salad bowl is pretty good. Lots of flavor! My grandpa got the chicken with rice and beans bowl. Not so good. It looked too plain and it definitely was. The chicken was dry. Yucca fries were good!

I’ve been dreaming about this place after the Unilocal event last week, and had to come here again. As Eddie S. said, yes, I am hooked!
The last time we were here, we got the new two-​handed sandwiches, and no fries. This time, hubby got the sandwich and fries and I got the grilled chicken and fries. And it was just as good as last time! It was hot and fresh and really delicious. Seriously tasted like a restaurant meal. Plus, I can’t EVEN remember the last time I had hot fries at a fast food restaurant. And these fries? Holy guacamole, these were delicious; we both got the chipotle seasoned fries and I couldn’t believe the size of the small portion. I couldn’t even eat them all. heck, hubby couldn’t even eat them all… he left some. I know that doesn’t mean anything to y’all, but trust me, that is huge. My hubby loves his fries. Even crappy, cold ones *coughmostfastfoodplaces*
The grilled chicken was so juicy and delicious; I got the breast and wing, and the white meat was so juicy, and not dry at all, like white meat can be. Plus the flavor was out of this world; it says it’s citrus infused and I could definitely taste the flavor. No dry, bland chicken here! Hubby’s sandwich was just as good as before; crispy chicken, jalapeño candied bacon, chipotle mayo, and more, all on a fresh torta roll.
The customer service was just as good as the food; the people were awesome, and friendly. Almost like they didn’t mind working there. Such a refreshing change from most of the surly or indifferent fast food workers. You order at the counter and they give you a number coaster that looks like the kind you get at a restaurant and they bring the food out to you. On plates. Real plates. Hot fresh, flavorful food on real plates with friendly workers? Where am I? Oh, wait. Pollo Campero!
Oh and as an aside, they have yummy crushed ice. You know, like Sonic ice? The kind that’s awsome to eat after your drink is gone? Yeah. That kind!
I thought the price was fine. Especially for the quality of the food and the service! We didn’t spend any more money here than we do at Popeye’s or even Wendy’s. And we were both stuffed. Hubby rarely gets full when we eat fast food, and he definitely got full here. So, I think the price definitely reflects the quality. You get what you pay for, and here you get a LOT! Good food, good service, a clean restaurant with pleasant workers and clean restrooms? Isn’t that worth paying a little more for? It is to me, and I’m cheap!

I love the bowls! I am amazed at the selections of various latin foods and healthy choices. The last time we were looking for a fast meal on a Sunday night (all other places were closing), we got a meal from here. My fiancé chose the rotisserie chicken and yucca frita combo and I ordered the bowl… YUM!

We came here when they first opened and weren’t very impressed. Noticed the new branding and new menu, so tried it again. We loved it! Especially liked the pulled chicken bowl.

The second to last time I went here, my food order got lost and I went hungry. I went back yesterday, only to drive home an hour later with food poisoning.
This place has yet to get it’s act together, changing menus every month or so. Service is sometimes inexplicably slow. one time they lost my order completely, and despite me letting them know half a dozen times, they still wouldn’t just make the order – they kept insisting it was on its way out. It never came. After 45 minutes. I left with my money and went across the street to get a burrito.
Yesterday, I went back and they have a new menu again. This time I got a sandwich and it was delivered to me right when I sat down — before the third person in my party even placed his order. The chicken’s consistency felt a bit undercooked but it was smothered in some yellow sauce, so I couldn’t be sure. Well, an hour later I got vomiting and diarrhea at work, and had to go home sick.
If you want the best Peruvian chicken in this area, drive a mile down Texas to King Chicken on West Nasa Road One. The food takes some time to come out, but it’s fresh and won’t give you food poisoning.

The chicken bowl was delicious, prepared quickly and inexpensive. The hibiscus iced tea was great but probably because it was sweetened and high calorie, so I don’t know if I’d get it again. I appreciated that they posted the calorie content for some of their items (I think it was a list of 500 calories and under meals). The employee who was working at the cashier was welcoming and helpful.

«Show me on the doll where they touched you» *points to happy stomach* There.
One of my unfortunate legal peers absolutely loves this chain and repeatedly checks in on facebook and raves about the food. I have had a lot of Pollo Campero advertising thrown at my newsfeed but never actually had any good reason to mosey on in and eat here — until Plan A for lunch was force majeured into submission since Outback no longer is open for lunch on the weekdays (big mistake Outback, nobody gets between me and my precious cheese fries, this will not be forgotten) and Plan B needed to be settled. I quickly pulled up the menu on my iPhone and it seemed highly likely that everyone could be happy here. So across the street it was.
It looks brand new but apparently it has been open for a while. So it is very clean, even out in the parking lot/​patio and inside it is spotless. That’s definitely a good sign. The cashier (who I think was the manager, or someone relatively senior in the operation) was super friendly and peppy about the menu and ensuring he had taken down our orders correctly. Customer service was already at an A+ having just ordered. Feeling good about the place. The music going had a pretty interesting mix from Latin to annoying top 40 to more acceptable music, as it felt like the sound was sensibly increased during Jamiroquai, but that might be because that is one of the few tracks I was not actively trying to push out of my head, you just accept the Jamiroquai into you: it’s prison rules applied to your ears as far as tracks from Travelling Without Moving are concerned.
It was only a few quick minutes until the food arrived. Just prior to that the napkins and forks were hand delivered to the table. The big guy (4u) I think was the manager served up the food. You can always tell when you are really going to like someone and think well of them. This guy had the blessing to go through life as a bigger guy, so he just understands things. One of my dining companions ordered the Traditional (fried) chicken and the wing came out looking small. The guy recognized it and profusely apologized and made it up by bringing another piece of chicken to round it out as a proper meal, to ensure he made happy customers. That was A+++ customer service. As often as I dine out I have never seen that level of dedication to good service before, not even at Hugo’s.
Then my dining companion who had declined tortillas at the register when ordering, asked the guy if he could get some tortillas now that the meal was underway. The guy obliged and quickly returned to the table with the corn tortillas. When the guy asked if we needed anything else there wasn’t even a hint of sass or frustration, he genuinely wanted to go above and beyond. So my other dining companion asked where the ketchup was and instead of frustratingly pointing, he just went over and brought it back to the table for my dining companion. Dang son, that is impressive.
Now that we have addressed the fantastic customer service and cleanliness of the place, let’s get into the food.
I ordered the grilled chicken ensalada. The grilled chicken comes in thick cubes, like they are big pieces. The chicken itself is high quality, it is nothing like fast food quality, it is real food. The pico de gallo adds some nice color and flavor to the mix, there was plenty of it, just like there were truckloads of black beans in there. The salad is a huge, enormous thing. Like the equivalent Cyclone Anayas salad is big, but if you’ve had three margaritas, you can finish it easily. I skipped breakfast and was starving, and I still only wiped out half of this salad. This thing is a monstrosity, it is literally two meals for you even if you have a big appetite like me. The lettuce quality had a few «bad» pieces but since the salad was so huge, it was very easy to pick them out and put them in the time out corner — nothing like that has ever happened at Cyclone Anayas, but it would totally be noticeable and unforgiveable if that ever happened here — with the size of the salad and the good, good chicken I can definitely let it slide. And the tomato lime vinaigrette is pleasing especially paired with the manchego cheese. You get two large tubs but one coats the entire salad just fine. All in all, a cut above a Panera.
I also got small tastes of the Peruvian quinoa salad, tortilla chips & salsa, and flour tortilla in addition to my meal. The quinoa salad is heavy on the black beans. But it’s very tasty, I would order that as a side next time. The tortilla chips & salsa were even better though. The salsa is one of the best (besides Cyclone Anayas) I have had out at a restaurant instead of my specialty DIY ghost pepper «Winchester Death» concoction at home. It is mildly spicy yet pleasing, especially to dip some chicken into, that is perfecto. The flour tortilla was the bestest tortilla I have had in a long time. DO NOT DECLINE THE TORTILLAS AT THE REGISTER, YOU WILL REGRET I

Damn good taco. Friendly staff. Good tunes. Fast food is not a good description of this joint.

Annoyingly yummy for expensive fast food.
I want to dislike Pollo Campero because I hate fast food and how awful it is for you. But it’s got great flavor and yummy food…
The grilled chicken is delicious, the empanadas are delicious, the plantains are delicious… okay, you get the picture. They have fresh mango for the kids, yummy sides, a feeling of freshness to ease the fried food. The drinks are super yummy (guava, horchata)!
The staff is hit or miss — they are always friendly to kids, but I’ve had some of the nicest people in there as well as some very mean/​weird ones.
The prices are ridiculous though. Don’t be fooled by the fast food front — it’s pricey and gets to $ 20+ for 2 – 3 people quickly; and not that filling. I like stopping in, but my body and wallet rebel against my tongue. It’s still fast food and still pricey.

I like everything about this haven for fresh food. The Manager here is the best and if you want a casual sit down meal try it.
I dont like tamarindo or chipolte, but the tamarindo/​chipolte salsa mix is very very good– I might use it instead of ketchup in the future.
Quality is not sacrificed here. Yes it is about 20% more than Taco Cabana, but you can taste it.
They will customize catering if you ask.
The guy that said it was like Taco Bell is a moron, no comparison.

I am a latino food junkie. I’m over mexican after living in houston for a few years, Pollo Campero is a fresh twist. I ordered the grilled chicken with the cucumber and tomato mint salad and the yucca fries. My boyfriend ordered the cubana pork empanadas. Both dishes were great. The chicken was moist and well seasoned. The cucumber and mint salad was almost asian inspired, with a vinegar mint bath. I had a delicious Horchata chicha with my dinner. My whole meal came out to $ 10, a little pricey considering the small piece of chicken I got (see pic) – but the quality was far superior to that of Taco Cabana or KFC.
PC also serves beer – they had bud light and a guatemalan beer when i was there (in bottles). They also had a lot of desserts, including tres leches, but we didn’t try any of them.
Also, they have a drive-​thru!
To the poster who complained about platanos maduros (ripe plantains), that is just your personal taste – this is a common dish in many many latin american countries, and many people like them! i wouldn’t knock the restaurant on a dish just because it didn’t suit your personal taste.
to sum it up – they’d get 5 stars if they knocked down their prices 20−25%! worth it if you want a fast, quality meal, with lots of choices! don’t go if you’re famished, though.

If you tried Pollo Campero at either of their Houston locations a few years ago, get ready because this is NOT that Pollo Campero! It is back totally revamped and better than ever.
First things first: this is also not just a fried chicken establishment anymore, and thank goodness for that. Lord knows this town needs another Popeye’s, Church’s, or KFC like it needs a kick in the head! You can still get the signature Pollo Campero fried chicken, but they now also offer Peruvian Grilled Citrus chicken and crispy seasoned strips. And the sides include things like plantains, corn and manchego cheese salad (YUM!!), yuca fries, and mango coleslaw. There’s also some aguas frescas to go along with everything, and even Sangria if you want to get a little crazy. I had the guava, which was a bit sweet but still very yummy. They also have horchata and mango flavors.
Other new things on the menu include salads, sandwiches, carne asada tacos, and soups (definitely trying to Manchego Cheese and Cilantro next time). Overall, the food at Pollo Campero now leans more towards Central and South American cuisine which, to me, is a very good thing. I’m a huge fan of plantains, and you should give them a try if you’ve never had them. They’re like a sweeter, more dense version of a banana. And here they’re served with sour cream… soooo good!
The interior is also revamped and much nicer. It gets a bit crowded right now at lunch and on weekends because it’s still new. But my mom and I got there around 11:30 on a recent Sunday with no problem. The service was fast and super friendly, and everything is served on re-​usable plates with real silverware. This is a much appreciated and eco-​friendly touch from my point of view.
This will definitely be my new favorite pre-​shopping lunch destination in the area!