El Pollo Inka — Restaurant in Lawndale

Sad day for ceviche. Fish mushy, as if kept soaking for much longer than permissible. Forget about fresh, just think frozen. One thing Peruvians love and treasure is quality ceviches. Most are prepared with fresh catch soon after caught, giving the dish a totally fresh and tasty quality, and the fish used must be of a firm nature so it will not turn into mush. Stay away from the Fried Calamari plate that costs almost $14. This is such a terrible production of such promising dish, that I immediately wanted to return it. First of all they get their calamari in boxes, mostly rings, no tentacles or other parts, which are also considered part of the dish. Then these little rings are coated in an overwhelming manner with their mix of flour and spices?, and what arrives to the table is an over fried plate of calamari rings, with bits and pieces that have nothing to do in that plate, except to show the lack of sophistication and preparation of such a tasty dish. I did not return it because, frankly, I prefer not to antagonize the kitchen staff just in case. Anticuchos, another staple of Peruvian Cuisine, cow heart marinated with precision and cooked on a live fire, served with grilled potato and a dipping sauce, which in theory should be very tasty and special. Some places include Salsa Criolla, which is another way of saying, onions cut large and thin, with a seasoning well loved in Peru. As simple as it sounds, this salsa is really good when done right. This Anticucho is a failure all around. Lacks the marinade that gives it that particular flavor, the sauce that came was tomato and onion, like a fresh salsa, and eating this plate that cost around $9, I realized too late that 3 out of 3, is not a place to rave about, but don't let me rain in their parade for business was, is, and most likely will be booming for a long time to come. People were lining up on a Wednesday at around 12 PM, and the place was filled to capacity. So don't, under any circumstances, feel bad for them. Instead, feel bad for the innocent and unaware souls that went there to have a traditional ceviche, only to be served a mushy, uneventful dish that most certainly would be scorned in their home country. Also we ordered 2 Chicken dinners to go, which consisted of their rotisserie chicken, rice, fried, salad, and plenty of their green sauce. How can you mess up a chicken, really, so this one passed the test. All the other dishes deserve the lowest rating, but being fair and all, I must admit that no acid indigestion came to visit hours later, so that is a good...

Its an OK restaurant, but the hostess last night with the puffy black/dark blue jacket was pretty rude. I was sat near the registers, and she was pretty rude to everyone who came in for pickup orders. One gentleman had an order they forgot something with, and when he tried to ask for what was missing (very politely), she said (in a very condescending tone) "You will have to wait." She then went turned around to the counter on the wall where all of the pickup bags were, pulled her drink out from under the counter and her phone out, and sipped her drink and scrolled for a second, then turned around and started to talk to the person behind the gentlemen waiting for the rest of the order. She was rude to that gentleman as well, and when she finally got back to the guy waiting, she turns around and grabs his other bag - it was right there the whole time, right next to where the other bag was. Then the other guy who was second in line was up, and she turned around and was just sitting there. Then she looks, of course that guy's order was there and ready too, she was just holding it up for no reason, and when she handed him the bag, she very rudely said "You need to confirm the order now." When he said "Can you verify the order?" she said "Thats not your job, just swipe." He said "The swipe is to verify the order in the app." and she did a disgusted look/guaff and said very condescendingly "No, you need to confirm." It was pretty obvious thats what he was trying to do, and she was just being bossy and difficult intentionally. This was the same behavior she had for the 2 women who had come in shortly before the first guy I mentioned, as well as the girl who picked up after the second guy. It wad just weird, I'm guessing they were all Doordash or Uber, and she was just taking about anger on them and enjoying making it difficult for them. I didn't see or hear her be reasonable, kind, or helpful a single time the whole time we ate. Everyone else was kind, the ambience is otherwise good, and the food is so-so. Won't be coming back though, hope those drivers/customers won't have to put up with such attitudes anymore - I mean, they're just working. I was surprised not a single one let her get to them, I would have walked out honestly, just not the kind of behavior you expect from an adult, let alone a professional - and let alone someone employed as a hostess I don't mean to be rude or overly critical, but it really made our experience negative, there wasn't really a reasonable way to ignore it either where...

Very bad visit. First, they sat us down, took our drink orders, I asked for a water with lemon and never got the lemons even after I reminded the server. Then, we get a bowl of soup but we had no utensils. I asked for some from the server as she walked away, guess she didn't hear me. By the time someone walked by that I could flag down for utensils our soups were cold. My husband ordered his food last. By the time he ordered he had asked the server to put in the kids and my order. He got his plate first! The kids had a 1/2 chicken and fries to share and they had to wait to get it. How do we wait for chicken that they are constantly cooking? I asked for a lomo saltado. By the time I got my food everyone at the table was done. The server just kept telling me "It's coming. It's coming" everytime she walked past. My food was "hot" for a few minutes and turned cold rather quickly. It was more onion than anything else and the rice was COLD! My husband asked for a chicha and was brought a coke, had to send it back. We got the check, figured we'd pay upfront so we go. The girl working in the front was too busy talking to a guy that went to pick food up for delivery and another server that she never acknowledged me. She only spoke to me to give me my total and never said anything else to me. This place is awful!!! If I could give it zero stars I would. We regret this decision and will be taking our business elsewhere...