Pollo Campero — Restaurant in Killeen

We went on 9/10/24. My friends and I wanted to try this new chicken restaurant. NOTE: please keep in mind that they literally just opened a few days before so I'm hoping these are just kinks that need to be worked out.

1st - it was extremely busy. We all ordered separately at the counter and because I never finish my food and have to take the rest home, I asked to make it to go. I truly believe that they prioritize orders, not in the order in which they're received but based on how it's being service. Like they focused on orders marked "for here", "drive thru", and "delivery" first. Because I was one of the first of my friends to order. Mine was "to go".. everyone else behind me (about 10 or so people) who were "for here" were able to sit down and their food was prepared and delivered BEFORE me, I'm standing at the counter waiting for my food and I notice a couple of cars leave the drive thru. I ended up standing there as good 20 min waiting and all the staff, instead of asking, they just looked then continued what they were doing. Until the manager who took my order finally asked where the order was and it was still another 7 min before I got my food. By the time I got to my friends, they were done eating so I didn't get to enjoy lunch with my friends. For that I am rating service 1.5⭐

2nd- I ordered the 4 piece chicken "all white" by I wanted half grilled and half fried so I could try both. I never specified that I wanted all breast but that's what I was given. That wasn't the only problem. After the first 25 min of waiting for my food when the manager checked, she said they were working on it. She had to ask twice. The second time they said they were waiting on grilled chicken. When she asked how long on the grilled, they time her another 18 min. So I've been here for 30ish minutes and my order specified grilled but instead of filling my order in the order that it was received, you filled everyone else's and not I'm supposed to wait ANOTHER 18 min. Absolutely not. So they gave me all fried. And the second manager said she gave me an extra breast for the inconvenience. Like that makes up for everything. 🤦🏾‍♀️

3rd- the food. For me it was not really the best I've ever had and I was raised eating fried chicken. I did find the flavor of the skin good. It was seasoned well. But the chicken was drier that white meat should be. It was also not battered well. A couple of the pieces were inconsistent where one side looks like KFC original recipe and one side was crispy. And a couple of pieces looked like my picture below there part of the skin was missing. I don't know how you manage to remove the skin while serving so this has me scratching my head. As a side, I got fried yucca and Cole slaw. I love that yucca is one of the opening for sides but for me (first of all, it was cold when I got it), there was no flavor, no salt, no seasoning. Apparently we're supposed to use their dipping sauce for the yucca. And y'all .. if you take BBQ sauce and mustard and mix it together... That's what that sauce tasted like. So nothing to write home about, in my opinion. I didn't actually eat the Cole slaw but it did look good.

4th- the atmosphere was a little congested. The building is a lot smaller than the TGI Fridays that was there before. To me, they could've used that extra space because the counter is small with 2 registers, then they stack the delivery orders on the edge and then they use these huge round trays to serve the tables and so they are putting plates on the trays in a small portion of the counter. It all looks messy. The floor in from of the counter and by the drink station needs a mat or something because it's extremely slippery. My friend almost slipped and fell twice. But I do like that you can sit outside to eat and there's big umbrellas to block the sun.

I didn't want to write this review and I wasn't planning to because they just opened but I also think it's important that Pollo Campero realize what they're doing and fix things that are not working. They definitely need a separate area for...

Pollo Campero is fairly new in Killeen, and we finally got around to giving it a try. We stopped for lunch on a Sunday early afternoon. They have a large, well-laid-out parking lot, and everything is new, so the place looks great. Everyone that worked there was friendly, although the cashier was hard to understand at times. The manager was very helpful and checked on us several times while we were eating.

We got the Empanada Trio to try. It comes with a side, and we chose the coleslaw. The empanadas were okay, but we wouldn’t get them again. We both liked the coleslaw. I got the Campero Chicken Sandwich meal with French fries. The sandwich had a large piece of chicken breast meat that I thought was very good. It doesn’t come with anything on it except pickles, so the sandwich tended to be dry. The manager suggested getting one of their sauces to go with it and I opted for ranch dressing. The sandwich with one side is $8 and does not come with a drink. It’s not my absolute favorite chicken sandwich (there are a lot of options out there), but overall, a pretty good sandwich, just don’t forget to add the sauce! My wife got the 2-piece meal with French fries. The chicken was disappointing small, almost like a large chicken wing! Again, the chicken was okay. The 2-piece meal was $7.50 and does not come with a drink. With today’s high prices, it’s hard to complain too much since both of our meals cost about as much as one meal at other fast-food restaurants.

We are glad that we stopped at Pollo Campero and gave it a try. This restaurant chain started in Guatemala and offers some unique side options and flavors, like sweet plantains or yuca fries. If you like chicken, then it is worth stopping in and giving Pollo...

When I saw a new restaurant was opening up in Killeen I was excited. Anyone that has lived in this area long enough knows that the first few months after a place opens up is the best time to go. Because after that everything gets Killeenified and joins the rest of the food in this area on the garbage pile.

Unfortunately Pollo Campero really embraced Killeen from the start and is already trash. My family and I are not one-and-done when it comes to restaurants. We give them the benefit of the doubt. Sadly, we've been to Pollo Campero twice since their Grand Opening and both times they forgot food or given us not what we ordered. To top it off, the food is mediocre. I'm not sure what niche this restaurant is supposed to fill. I recently went to Kansas and had a Chicken Sandwich from Casey's General Store that was better than Pollo Campero. Let me repeat that. A gas station chicken sandwich was better than Pollo Campero.

I'm big into chicken sandwiches, especially spice ones. I've had the chicken sandwich at every single restaurant in Killeen, Heights, Cove, Belton, and Temple. Compared to Whataburger, Sonic, Chick-Fil-A, McDonald's, Burger King, Golden Chick, Church's, etc, Pollo Campero sits at the bottom. The sauce is the best thing on this sandwich. The sauce. On a CHICKEN sandwich.

Normally I don't leave reviews but Pollo Campero is utterly disappointing. I give it 2 stars because it's at least better...