El Pollo Loco — Restaurant in Riverside

So I read a ton of negative reviews and decided to debunk which where true and or if they fixed the issues. So here are the things most people complained about

“Bad smell, rude staff, cost more,old and run down, wrong order, loud vibrating noises from ventilation,very smoky, slow service, chicken tasted old and was burned, interior very hot, dirty disgusting,”

For starters I decided to go to this location right at opening (10am) I arrived slightly early so investigated the outside, I smelled old grease almost immediately when turning into the parking lot, that was a bad sign, I wondered what I got myself Into. At exactly 10am I walked up and their was an older man and an employee waiting locked out, the manager on duty or the franchise owner opened the door for us about 5 minutes after 10.

To start with the biggest problem most people had was the rude staff, I believe they fixed the issue, when the manager opened the door he welcomed me in, the employee that was waiting aswell , gestured for me to go in first. The lady at the counter was very friendly taking my order , and when I received my food atleast 3 people thanked me from the kitchen. The staff in my experience was great.

Another mentioned problem was a horrible smell, like a sewer. I purposely set next to the bathroom and the inside did not smell bad at all, the only bad smell was old grease and you could only smell it outside. I even smelled the salsa bar and it smelled very fresh.

As far as the cost , I’ve read enough reviews to believe that they do charge more, but I didn’t test this theory myself, I paid $11.53 for a 5/p tapatio wings and a drink.

The build was a little older and could use some touch up, but I don’t hold that against the company, it’s very expensive in California, and restaurants naturally have a low profit margin, I’m not upset at the condition , it was more acceptable . That being said out of the two bathrooms , one was out of order, and the other was locked.

As far as my order it was correct, there wasn’t a lot of room for mistake given I was 1 of two customers , but it was correct, when a restaurant is busy of course there is room for error, after all it’s just humans in the kitchen , I believe it’s the customers responsibility to ensure they got their order, you don’t buy a car with out inspecting it, inspect your meal!

For the loud vibrating noise , yes there was a loud noise , and honestly I wouldn’t have noticed it if there wasn’t negative reviews on it, this is not a 5 star restaurant it’s a a fast food joint, I mean it’s called the crazy chicken not the delicate rooster .

The service wasn’t fast , but it wasn’t slow by any means, it took me about 8 minutes to receive my order.

The chicken was definitely fresh and cooked properly, it was decent , I liked it.

The interior was not hot at all the temperature was nice , I felt comfortable, and I’m a hot natured person. The establishment wasn’t clean but it wasn’t disgusting or dirty, it seemed like they where cleaning while I was enjoying my meal, so I assume maybe they do it in their slow times. So during lunch or dinner rush maybe it’s messy .

My over all experience was decent , everything was as more than mediocre. I personally wouldn’t make a trip here when there’s so many delicious options much closer to my house, but if I ended up here for any reason I wouldn’t be disappointed, I was over joyed when I saw they serve horchata, I’d say if you never been here give it a shot, and if you had a bad experience maybe try again , I feel like they are trying to take advice and improve themselves. Thanks for...

I walked into this El Pollo Loco, and the first thing that hit me was the absolutely disgusting smell. It was so bad that my stomach literally started hurting, and I had to step outside just to breathe. I ordered my food, but there was no way I could eat inside because the stench was unbearable. I don’t even know how people can stand it in there, let alone the workers. Maybe they’ve just gotten used to it, but that doesn’t make it okay. STAY AWAY!!

It smells so horrible that it feels completely unsanitary. The City of Riverside and County of Riverside need to inspect this location immediately because whatever is causing this awful stench needs to be addressed. This place should be remodeled or shut down entirely—it’s that bad.

El Pollo Loco as a corporation has plenty of money to fix this issue, but instead, they let this store rot while continuing to serve food inside of it. It’s clear they don’t want to spend a dime on remodeling, deep cleaning, or even figuring out where this awful smell is coming from. I’ve been to plenty of other El Pollo Loco locations, and none of them smell like this—so what’s the excuse here?

The management should be ashamed for allowing this to continue. They clearly need retraining on how to properly maintain sanitary conditions, but at this point, it might not even be their fault. This location is so old and neglected that a simple cleaning won’t cut it—it needs a complete tear-down and rebuild.

I will be filing a complaint with the City of Riverside for sanitary violations, and I hope something is done about this ASAP. Nobody should have to eat in a place that smells like something died in there. This location is an...

I placed a mobile order during my work break, really looking forward to having El Pollo Loco again. Sadly, the experience at this location left me feeling uneasy and disappointed.

I waited in what appeared to be the pickup area but was completely overlooked until I made the effort to get someone's attention. Two staff members—Claudia and another employee with ear gauges and tattoos—were dismissive and seemed in a hurry. I was essentially told my order was in a bag they pointed to. Staff stepped off immediately and didn't ask if I needed anything else.

Since they closed the Salsa bar, I requested salsas ,and a bit of extra cilantro and onions, the employee with gauges sighed in frustration, and Claudia added, “I’ll give you some time, but not next time” I replied that I hoped there would be a next time, to which the other employee with the earring plugs muttered, “I hope not.” They tossed in a very small amount, enough for a pinch and not close to enough for the multiple meals I had ordered.

I left after this and ignored the comment, In my car I then noticed that my drink cup was empty in the bag. I felt so uncomfortable that I chose to skip going back inside and grabbed a drink from McDonald's instead.

Maybe policies have changed, but the attitude and lack of basic courtesy were surprising. This is not the same restaurant that I remember when I was growing up, Unless there’s some serious improvement in basic customer service, I won’t be returning to this location and will not be ordering for my...