El Pollo Loco — Restaurant in Reno

A very disappointing visit today. We braved the bad air to get lunch here because I was craving a crunchy taco. Big mistake. We were in at 10:30 a.m., and the store was not busy. Ordered one taco, one BRC burrito, and three sides of chips. Guy behind us ordered three 16 piece meals, and everything was shut down in order to accommodate him. We waited ten minutes for our small order and were offered a lame "sorry for the wait" from the server. Get home, take a bite of the taco, get a mouthful of lettuce and tough, greasy shell. Opened the taco and there were literally five tiny scraps of chicken, a tiny amount of cheese, and a handful of lettuce. I should have taken a picture. As it was, I ate the chips and gutted the taco because I couldn't choke down the shell. The burrito was watery and we threw half of it away. Going elsewhere for lunch today, and every day down the road from here. Normally much better food and service. So...

You try to believe El Pollo is healthy. OK. Fine. Its expensive in the land of fast food. At least recently, it has seemed the quality of customer service has improved which is meaningful. However, the last two visits, I have ordered two different burritos. The first one was so chemically hot and filled with spices it was completely uneatable. I almost kept it in case I got sick. I had to throw it out. Total waste of time, dinner and money. At the most recent visit, I tried again. This time I think it was the Chipotle Burrito. Again, too chemically hot to eat. I took it apart to see if it was filled with peppers but I couldn't find what was so hot. This burrito was not a preparation catastrophe like the first but it too ended up in the trash. Waste of money. No dinner. Yes, I like spicy food. Yes, I can tolerate spicy food. To me this wasn't spicy, it was caustic. Sorry, for...

I love El Pollo Loco. It's one of the only "fast food" places I will go. The chicken is consistently cooked and always delicious. I love the marinade they use. We usually get chicken meals, but this time I tried the new chicken avocado platter. It was very good. The tortillas were amazing, and were filled up with lots of chicken, cabbage, Pico de Gallo salsa and my favorite creamy Cilantro dressing. I topped with guac and hot salsa from the salsa bar. Enjoyed every bite. The staff is friendly and helpful, and the dining room is always clean with a combination of booths and chair seating. On our last visit we ordered on line and arrived within two minutes of expected ready time. Our order was prepaid and waiting on the counter for me when I got there. Looking forward...