Charo Chicken — Restaurant in Huntington Beach

Ok so let's start off by saying this may not be what you expect. Spicy isn't spicy, the beans are flavored with pepper instead of a variety of chile, etc.

Now if you like your food to only look Mexican and taste 'Mericun, this is your place. My wife simply loves it. The clientele isn't 'Mericun, more along the lines of a blend of where's my surfboard and make way for my Prius kinda people, but you catch my drift. The only people that appeared to have any relationship to Mexico were on the other side of the counter. Never a good sign for pollo asado.

Bottom line is that i can live without it but... Did I mention my wife loves it?

The location is clean, the parking lot was clean. Inside the tables and chairs are comfortable enough but room is tight. Considering the number of people I saw vs the size of the place, it was well thought out. The salsa, soda and ordering lines aren't intermingled. As long as people use some common sense and don't wait for their order right in front of the salsa, you can move around easily after you place your order.

The employees are well organized. No one is bumping into someone else, the workload is set up clearly. I'm sure at lunch this place moves you along faster than most.

The food. I'm not a fan. The chicken isn't too bad. QC is lacking a bit. The pieces ranged from turning into jerky to 'if it had been removed 20 seconds earlier it would be undercooked'.

I know Moe the owner reads the reviews so I have no doubt the chicken QC will improve. Cooked the way it is, I would expect it to be a bit on the dry side normally. Great fresh, but if you microwave the leftovers...

I preferred the "spicy" flavor. A My wife loves the lemon garlic. Even if you aren't in love with it, you'll like it.

Stay away from the rice unless mushy rice is what you expect. The first time was ridiculous, this time was better but still it reminded me more of rice pudding than rice with a meal. It clearly is made this way on purpose, so the clientele likes it. I won't fault then for that.

The guacamole was very good. Personally, if cole slaw was made an Enemy of the State by Governor Moonbeam, I would probably be ok with it. So this isn't first-hand, but my wife loved it. I did mention she loves this place?

The pinto beans were prepared well but the pepper just seemed weird with pinto beans. My wife hates beans but she'd like the taste of these.

Anyway, try it out. You won't go wrong trying it once. You might love the taste and...

5 Stars 💯 I was enjoying my Mama Charo meal at Charo Chicken in Huntington Beach with their amazing delicious lemon garlic marinade with extra marinade wondering why people would even go to bland El Pollo Loco with almost no flavor (the chili lime chicken form 15+ years ago was AMAZING and probably one of the best chicken marinades I've ever had on chicken but the marinade has been gone for almost 20 years now 😥) and that's when I realized EPL is chok. Chok is soft white rice in lukewarm water. It has no taste. They feed it to small baby and very old people in Thailand. It is nourishment that everyone can digest. The world needs chok, just like the world needs chicken like EPL" 😆. So for those who aren't small babies or very old people requiring bland nourishment, I strongly recommend trying...

The lowest level of professionalism for a manager or shift manager ever. Was there with my family just 30 minutes ago on Sunday 09/25/2016. Had a little complaint about one of my meal sides was not smelling or tasting ok they were kind enough to replace it . They took the whole plate and returned it but there was 4 pieces of chicken when they returned it it was only 3. We tried to tell them the manager was all like we took what was on the plate and returned it the same way. I told the manager we are not lying about one piece of chicken. She (the manager)answered very rudely : ok do you want another piece we were like thanks if it is that way this is our last time here. Never again to...