El Pollo Loco — Restaurant in California

I've had friends tell us of their bad experiences at this location, but we went against our better judgement and decided to give them a try since it had been years since we had last had this chicken. *I think we had stopped going because we had gotten dry, overcooked chicken and were really disappointed. But again, going against our better judgement, we decided to give them a try again.

Our first thought was - WOW! Their prices has gone up a lot since the last time we had gone 😲 - Then we made the terrible mistake of being fooled by the promotion that flashed on their order screens - it appears that ordering with a person is a thing of the past. The promo said that if you signed up for their app, you would get a free burrito with your first order - so, I signed up - which felt like it took me 15 minutes.

I then started my order but couldn't find out how to add the free burrito. I asked the girls behind the counter who had no idea about the promo. So first they asked a Manager - who didn't know - then supposedly they asked the owner. We were told that the free burrito would appear after 24-hours of placing your order. *Didn't see that anywhere in the fine print - copy attached for you to see - you be the Judge.

So whatever - we passed on ordering $30 worth of chicken, decided to go somewhere else, and I deleted the app that I had just signed up for.

Moral of the Story - don't be fooled by the false ad on the virtual order taker - no need to waste your time to sign up for the App. It's not worth it!! And unless you have a coupon, I'd say pass on Pollo Loco - otherwise you'll be spending $30 to $40 for a...

I am a frequent customer at El Pollo restaurants. This was the first time at this specific location and I am extremely disappointed at the way I was treated from the time I placed my order to the time I left. The time frame was not too busy, and yet the manager seemed overwhelmed when taking my simple order. He was not polite nor pleasant. When my order finally came out, it was incorrect. I took the food to the counter and explained very nicely to the woman at the counter how it wasn't correct. She then proceeded to tell me that was indeed how it was supposed to be made. I then told her politely - every other El Pollo makes it differently than this store and never have issues. She then proceeded to tell me I was wrong and was about to point to the board where she could show me the ingredients - I told her, she couldn't because it is technically not on the menu board and only in the system. She then just told me that's how it's made there and for next time for me to tell them in advance. My hungry son who specifically wanted his simple Tortilla Rolls from El Pollo today, did not get his food he wanted after being sick a few days. Instead, we ended up leaving to get food elsewhere because clearly this El Pollo couldn't get it right. This ruined our day. I don't expect grand service, but I don't expect to be treated so...

One year later I decided to write another review... They never get the order right. And we order pretty often since the kids like it. Every time I order for myself I select "No avocado" since I'm allergic. I get everything smeared in guacamole so I can't even scrape it off and continue eating - but there's also "special" sticker on my order!! I don't complain to the store since I'm already at home serving my kids dinner when I discover the "guac attack". Why do you even have options if you don't respect them, people have allergies... Overstuffed poblano quesadilla would be the bomb if only I could eat it, but since I'm allergic I can't trust my order is right even though it has a sticker. Pollo loco could be an amazing and healthy option if they could just get the orders right.

Food is okay, usually the chicken is very tough and dry, but smothered in sauces you don't feel it. It looks like they can't follow the order and it's either missing something or they didn't customize it like you asked. It's just quick, easy and relatively healthy option...