El Pollo Loco

I am so bummed this place is gone. What happened? I would like to give it 4 stars, but I had to take a star for closing in the blink of an eye. I feel like someone took my birthday away. my hope is that they closed it down to open El Pollo es Muy Loco en la Cabesa. Crazy Chickens beware… you could be next.

Awww… so sad that they closed.

GONE! IT’S GONE!
I was there one day and two days later Poof — Gone! Totally stripped down and bare!

Have to say that even though its not really «authentic», its definitely GOOD EATS!!!

This place is OK at best. The food is pretty cheap, yet is not very good. If I ran out of other options, maybe I would consider eating here. Otherwise, I’ll probably never be back.

it’s hard to beat el pollo loco when it comes to filling up as cheaply as possible. the dollar menu is pretty incredible — bean/​rice/​cheese burrito or two churros, and more! the best thing about el loco is that they have a kickass (and i rarely use «kickass») salsa bar with fresh cilantro. so you can really dress up that $ 1 burrito. they also have delicious sides — my favorite is the mac n cheese.
the only problem, it’s not the fastest of fast food.

Went here for the first time last night even though I’ve lived about 3 blocks away for the past year plus. The food was pretty darn good for fast food. The chicken tasted really good although not as good as Chicken Run. The corn cobette is never as good as I hope it will be anywhere I try to eat corn on the cob. One of these days I’ll learn that corn is only good fresh. The mac and cheese was actually really good. And OMG I love churros. Not the best churros I’ve had, but actually a step above an amusement park. Maybe a half step. The gf had the nachos and the $ 1 quesadillas. She said they were both really good for being fast food. She also loved the salsa bar. I can’t eat most mexican food so it’s great to be able to come to a place where she can eat the usual fare when she’s craving it and I can eat stuff that I’m not allergic to.
It is more expensive than Chicken Run, but I’m giving it 4 stars because its closer and is open an hour later.

Situation: Out of cash, Hung over, Feel like a burrito, Within or near the proximity of Pollo Loco.
«Well, looks like Pollo Loco is the place to go.»
This place seriously is like walking into a dimensional vortex where the Spanish Civil war went the wrong way, Chicago is part of Mexico and all the Denny’s in the United States have been replaced by cheap, dirty Mexican Fast Food Chains. It is a bit surreal.
The food isn’t bad, I actually love the Chicken Tacos here, but it is just too much to handle when busy. Children screaming, workers carrying buckets of grease out the front door and an explosion of tacky Menu graphics that no Graphic Designer concerned about his reputation would ever talk about.
I will admit, that when hung over and just plain out of options this place will do the job. The Chicken isn’t «Crazy» so to speak but it definitely hits home plate easier with some of their Salsas. The Horchata isn’t bad either, just make sure to send someone else in to get it.

Of all my Chicken reviews on Unilocal,EPL rings in at about the middle of the pack or just above. Extra star for variety I guess, as you can go strictly Flame Grilled Marinated Chicken, which is pretty good, or do a Mexican take on it via some tacos, burritos, nachos, etc., (that’s where it comes up short, imo).
I’d say just stick w. their marinated Flame Grilled Chicken, a nice side or two of Mashed w gravy, perhaps some baked beans or mac n cheese and you’re set.
Another bonus: all chicken entrees come with your choice of warm flour or corn tortillas on the side… in addition, they have a salsa, guac and pepper bar where you can take matters into your own hands and zip up your chicka in a fajita style sort of way.

For fast food, it’s ok. Sort of a Mexican take on KFC. The $ 1 menu is pretty good. The chicken leg I had was tasty. The burrito was just average.
Usually when I get fast food (which is rarely), it’s to fulfill some kind of weird craving, and then I am usually left with an emptiness in my stomach, or queasiness. No queasiness this time. But I felt like I might as well have spent an extra 2 dollars and gone to La Pasadita for tacos or El Cid for a burrito.

I must admit that I’m being a bit critical but here’s what i have to say:
–The price is GREAT and I definitely can’t complain about that (I’m all about saving $$).
–Clean interior that is brightly painted and pleasant.
–I would agree with the rest of the reviews on being better than KFC and Taco Bell.
–The chicken is delicious and is what they advertise as farm-​raised, no hormones.
–I should have had the chicken… but I have a Pollo Bowl. I wasn’t too keen on this dish because the guacamole had a horrible sour taste and just was not all that appetizing.
— Now, here’s the catch… There is a «salsa bar» where you can get as much cilantro (this won it an extra star) and try various salsas (from the mildest to the hottest). What killed me was that one group of people after another (I believe a very large family) was running their local business off Pollo Loco’s salsa bar. Yes, it’s that tasty but I had to ask if I could reach my arm in between the 3 cup-​filling salsa robbers. I mean, it was pretty hard core once they would walk out with bags of at least 25 cups of salsa each, then 5 more people would come in and do the same. They even had the nerve to have the two watch dogs at the corner of the salsa bar and ordering counter mention that the salsa bar needed to be refilled.
This made me feel quite out of place and take another star away from the business since they never said anything but continued to bring out one bowl after another. SO if you’re getting the idea to steal salsa from Pollo Loco after reading this review, PLEASE just ask the workers for a lot of salsa packets OR better yet, purchase it in bulk. The whole sneaky stealing is bothersome to other customers.
–Other than that, pretty decent for a cheap eat. Oh and the churros (2x$ 1), pretty yummy.

Decent food. The chicken is quite good, the marinade gives it a good flavor. Definately tastes better than supermarket roasters. But this place is very expensive in regards to portion sides. You end up paying more for this healthier chicken vs. fried chicken or mom and pop roasted/​grilled chicken joints, like Chicken Run further down on Milwaukee Ave. near California. Food is just as good there. And a bit cheaper. This place has a salsa bar, which is a bit different.

You may ask yourself when you walk in here: Am I in a KFC or a Taco Bell? Thankfully you are in neither. This place screams: «I am a fast food joint» For those of you who do not care for fast food joints please do not run out. Give this place a chance. Yeah Yeah I know it is still a fast food joint so take it for what it is worth. It is not going to be a gourmet meal but it is not going to be crappy Taco Bell either.
Since I did not quite know what to make of this place upon my entry, I decided to play it safe and just get the original pollo bowl. Rice, beans, chicken, cilantro, onion, tomatoes all loaded up in a bowl. It was very simple and it was rather tasty. They had a salsa bar with about five or six different kinds of salsas if you wanted to liven your food up. I think it tasted pretty good without any additional salsa. I wish they would give you a couple extra tortillas though.
Overall this was a decent, quick and relatively inexpensive meal.

I used to work near this location and go here atleast once a week for lunch. OH DO I MISS IT SO!!! :(I loved thier 2-​piece chicken meal with mac and cheese and salad with creamy cilantro dressing. Comes with 2 tortillas — your choice of corn or flour, however I opted for corn. Love all the sides at the condiment bar as well; the different types of salsa and the yummy avocado. I wish there were more location for this fresh, cheap (less then $ 7 for the meal), and healthy eat.

Wow… I don’t know what everyone else is talking about, I think the chicken is delicious. Nicely marinated and flame-grilled…a flavor hard to come by in the dead of winter. The skin could be a little crispier but they’ll grill it longer for you if you’re willing to wait.
Make no mistake, it IS fast food, but most of the ingredients are really fresh and relatively healthy (as opposed to the McDonald’s across the street). There are the typical fast-​food staples: french fries, instant mashed potatoes with instant gravy (a la KFC), but there are even more healthy options. The salsa bar is great and the burritos are really tasty.
Kinda like Boston Market, Mexican-​style.

I love this place. Its fast and conveniently located by the Blue Line, for when I need to stop for something quick on my way home. The rotisserie chicken is very good, and they use it in all the burritos, tacos, etc. so it always tastes fresh.
They’ve almost always been very quick to get my order out, and the maybe two times that there has been a delay they’ve thrown in a free flan. Mmmm… flan.
I’ve also realized that I can get a whole meal for three dollars by ordering the «Loco Values»: a chicken leg, the loco nachos, and churros. Then I just load up at the salsa bar.
It’s not the absolute cleanest place, but what fast food place is?

The deal with this place is that, in logan square there is a shit load of mexican food, and fast food places. On this particular strip of logan square, you could either go to El pollo loco, Mcdonald’s, Puebla, or Café con Leche. El Pollo Loco, is probably your best bet if you are going to go the «healthier» route. Their chicken is at least really fire grilled there, in front of your face, and you see them cut it up. When you get a side order of fries, they put new fries in the deep frier…
At any other those other places… you dont really know whats going on in the kitchen… I mean… how is the meat in my torta? You dont really have to ask those questions at El pollo. I’d pay 4 dollars (or stars) extra, just to know that.

Where can you get a delicious $ 3 dinner, Pollo Loco. Jump to the «Crazy Chicken» for fun fresh mexican fast food. This joint has a fun salsa/​condiment bar and great churros. Try the $ 1 loco salad (great cilantro dressing) Pollo Loco is a great place to stop before heading across the street for a cheap $ 3 movie at the Logan Theater. I LOVE LOGAN Square!

Solid food, very tasty burritos and chicken. The salsas are quite flavorful as well. Also good for office events. Go to their website for catering information. I’m told there are better rotisserie chicken places in the city but I’m giving 4 stars for the catering aspect.
Love the condiments too!

The rotisserie chicken is pretty good and the burritos are huge and filled with artery clogging goodness. Everything else is horrible. The dining area is dirty and the smoke from the grill is overwhelming. The staff is really nice, but I always check my order before I leave and there is always something missing.
I would rather eat at a local taqueria than this place. At least it would have more character.