El Pollo Pio Pio

Bomb chicken! They use a nice seasoning and grill it, sooo bomb! Can’t beat $ 25 for 2 chickens 4 sides salsa and tortillas

Amazing! If you like El Pollo Loco then you will love this place. Don’t let the exterior fool you. Family owned and a true gem. I got the whole chicken, rice, beans coleslaw and tortillas. $ 17 out the door. Handmade tortillas!!! Salsa was amazing, rice was not dry and full of flavor and the chicken reminded me of Dino’s (without the fries of course). I will never go back to El Pollo Loco now that I have discovered this place. The only con is the parking situation– there is none.

Was driving through Sunland and realized I hadn’t eaten lunch yet. Since I’m a El Pollo Loco fan, I decided to give this place a shot. Since I was in a hurry, I ordered a chicken burrito and some chicken tacos.
I ate the taco first and was impressed by the fresh moist chicken. Often times, the chicken is chopped up and dries out but I noticed they used fresh chicken off the grill. My burrito was equally good.
I believe this is a family-​owned operation and everyone was smiling, respectful, and polite. Highly recommend.

Simply the best. Corn tortillas are soft, thick and tasty. Chicken has this smoky, perfect char taste and texture. Beans, cole slaw all good. And the salsa is fantastic. All for a reasonable price. My family are repeat customers!

Wow. I can attest that this place is equally as delicious as Dino’s Chicken and Burgers. This small (I would assume) family owned restaurant is a hidden gem.
I came here before leaving to a youth retreat and was super hungry. For about 7 of us, we ordered a family sized meal and the total came to be about $ 50 leaving us both full and satisfied. The chicken was on point and the coleslaw was above average. But the thing that I think makes this place is the salsa. muy deliciosa~
Also, the owners (I think) are super nice! We ran out of tortillas so we asked for more and they gave it to us free of charge. Also, they don’t accept credit/​debit cards for small items like water so they just gave it to us as well.
Keep this an option if you’re ever in this area!

It’s hard for us to find a lot of great food options in the Sunland/​Tujunga area. Glad we found this place! It’s located on Foothill along with a bunch of small mom and pop shops. Service is great and I’ve never had to deal with lines when I’ve gone here. Also, there is no parking lot so you have to find street parking which I’ve never found to be a problem when I’ve gone.
Food is really good. So far we’ve only got the whole chicken meal and the carne asada plate. Both are very good. Chicken has a great smoky flavor and the tortillas are awesome as other people have said. The carne asada burrito was surprisingly good. We almost like it better than the chicken sometimes.
Overall all I’d definitely recommend this place to satisfy your Mexican/​grilled chicken cravings!

We love this place! This place has arguably the best chicken in LA and the cole slaw and rice are to die for. The place is a quaint mom and pop shop that automatically makes us feel as if we were at home. We absolutely recommend it. We used to live in the area and would go there often. Now that we moved away, we make it a point to go there because there simply isn’t another place like it.

Are you for real… wow one whole chicken two great sides and 8 dynamite corn tortillas for $ 15? And if you are really smart and hungry double down and get two for $ 25? This place is a true find and I’m so sorry it took me so long to find them. They have the best chicken… I said the BEST GRILLED CHICKEN anywhere within 10 miles radius!
Support your local restaurants!

This place was great i will comeback for sure food was delicious the chicken was great excellent taste very clean the lady was kind with us and i do recommend this restaurant

Where do I start from? The aroma of the chicken being smoked fills up the entire street and makes you want to go inside. Been here a couple of times and always get the chicken burrito. It’s loaded with grilled chicken, rice, beans, onions, cilantro, and salsa on the side. It’s absolutely delicious and satisfying. Oh and all this is for $ 5 tax included.

The mesquite aroma from the barbecue grill sitting outside the entrance is what hits you first and it fills the small restaurant until one acclimates to the smell. Woody and smoky, it took a while for my kids to get used to it.
The best thing about Pio Pio were the handmade tortillas. Made everything taste better.
We ordered ½ chicken and 2 sides and 3 taco plate with 2 sides to feed a family of 4 (we have 2 young girls).
I expected a little more flavor from the chicken given the ratings for this place, but what came through each bite was a mesquite grilled taste. If you like that smokiness, then you’re home. If not, then look elsewhere. The chicken was juicy and freshly hot. Otherwise, I didn’t think it was all that special. The sides of rice and beans were bland.
Surprisingly for a chicken place, the al pastor taco was quite good.
Will drop in again if in the area and it’s meal time, but I wouldn’t make a special trip just for the food.
Steady stream of locals and workers at lunch time.

Extremely slow to take your order. Pretty busy location but worst customer service. Definitely not coming again.

Great tasting and fresh chicken. Grilled on the BBQ pit right outside the door. Sitting area is limited inside but there are about 5 or 6 tables. If you need a large order, place it ahead of time. Chicken here is amazing.

As a resident of Sunland/​Tujunga there are a lot of small places to get good grub. We have maybe 7 – 8 Mexican food restaurants or taco trucks. This joint hands down is the BEST! It doesn’t matter what you get its all amazing. Tacos with homemade corn tortillas that melt in your mouth for $ 1.25 always leaves you thinking why you bought so few. Grilled chicken burrito should be wrapped in gold foil and presented on a silver platter. It’s only $ 5.00 for that piece of heaven! The second you get out of your car to walk to the restaurant you’re hit with this mesmerizing barbecue aroma that makes your mouth water. You already know you made the right choice. Another thing I find just as good as the food is the people who run the place. Genuine humble people who are so happy to feed you. Always leave with a smile always come back begging for more. Only come here if you want THE BEST!!! Now excuse me while I get some more tacos
You’re probably thinking, what about the salsa, right?
Stop thinking, you couldn’t find better tasting salsa if you spent the rest of your life dedicated to doing so.

Ditch the El pollo loco, KFC and Church’s chicken. This place is THE place to go.
Pro:
Delicious, fresh off the grill chicken
Great sides like coleslaw with bits of pineapple, baked beans and rice
Great hot sauce (like the salsa kind not buffalo wings sauce)
Homemade feel
Filling
Cons:
Once we ordered food for 20 people last minute and it took a little bit of time. But it’s understandable.
If you want to do larger orders, just call them up the day before. For example, I was hosting a dinner party at my place and wanted some chicken. I just called them the day before and they had it ready to go when I came to pick it up.
Also, I hear they deliver as well.

Looks can be deceiving, although it’s not a bad looking place, just small and not very decorative or noticeable, its the food that truly stands out. Every time I order, its fresh off the grill and absolutely delicious. I was very suprised, having eaten at pretty much every Mexican restaurant within a 20 mile radius.
I’ve tried the place across from them, not bad but not as good and overpriced, same goes for Pena’s which is a little further up near Sunland, food is OK but prices are rediculous, Pio Pio is above par in regards to both the food and price. Simple awesome, try the papussas, so yummy.
Without a doubt a favorite for me.

I was in the area getting my car repaired (see my review of Arbi’s Auto Repair) and was famished. There isn’t much going on in the neighborhood, so I stopped a teen walking down the street who looked like he may be a local. I asked him where a good place to eat was and he told me to «If you like Mexican food, then for sure, go to Pio Pio.» So we headed down there.
It was a little mom ‘n’ pop place that didn’t have a lot of options. I went to the guy in the window and asked him what his favorite was. He said the 2 or 3-​piece chicken plate and the carne asada tacos. My sister got the tacos and I got the chicken plate. Heaven! The flavors were perfect and the meat was really fresh! They made this homemade hot sauce there, that they really should bottle and sell. I’ve never tasted anything like that, but I’m craving it already. I would even venture to say that it was the best Mexican food I’ve tasted outside of Mexico!
My sister and I labeled this as a «hidden gem.» The food was outstanding, the people were nice, I would definitely recommend not passing this place up. Go, check it out!

I don’t understand what everyone thinks is so great about this place?
I was expecting to be mind blown but I left a little disappointed. The chicken was okay. Nothing extraordinary.
First off, they got my order wrong. I order a family deal in addition to a burrito but I added guac and cheese (for an extra charge) and but with no onion or cilantro. I called in and when I went to pick up I asked the gentlemen at the front if they made sure to add it to the burrito because most places always get the order wrong. He asked some lady and she said yes. I took their word for it cause I’m not going to sit there and open the burrito to check.
I get home, and guess what burrito was all wrong. No guac or cheese. I called to let them no and they said the guac had onion so that’s why they didn’t add it.
It’s extremely frustrating when I had asked and they told me it the order was correct. Not a big deal if I dined there but I was already home. If they were unsure about my request of no onion but saw that I added guac they should have asked the customer. They shouldn’t have made the decision themselves. Especially with a to-​go order.

Our office recently discovered this hole in a wall and we are hooked. The chicken here is the best we’ve had. We have some picky eaters and they’ve been loving the chicken from El Pollo Pio Pio. I like to eat, as you may know from reading my reviews, and the food here is great. I once made the mistake of ordering the half chicken plate with 2 lengua tacos and it was enough food to feed 2 – 3 people. I have been ordering the 2 taco 2 piece chicken plate with two sides and it’s still a lot of food but I manage to go through it. I have only ordered the rice and the coleslaw as sides and they taste pretty good. The owners/​employees are all very nice. It seems like it’s a family joint and they have been busy every time we have gone. I highly recommend this place!

Why did I cross the street? To eat the chicken, of course. Having passed by on Foothill tons of times, I’d seen the big black BBQ grill in front of El Pollo Pio Pio with smoke rising skywards but had never stopped in. Today, while running errands, I Unilocaled it, saw the great reviews and popped in for a late lunch.
Chicken: 4.75÷5. The skin is crispy and very flavorful. The marinade rocks! The chicken breast that I had was a trifle dry but the wing was perfect.
Rice: ⁵⁄₅. Slightly creamier than rice I am used to but absolutely delicious.
Beans: 4.5÷5. Very good re-​fried beans, flavorful.
Tortillas: 4.75÷5: Hand-​made and perfectly warmed.
Salsa: ⁵⁄₅. LOVE their salsa.
Service: ⁵⁄₅. Very friendly, hospitable and warm.
Price: ⁵⁄₅. Very reasonable! $ 5 for two pieces of chicken, rice, beans, tortillas and salsa.
There are lots of soft drink options, including Jarritos, sodas, etc.
Parking: lots of parking available right on the street.
So, next time you’re cruising Foothill, do NOT go to KFC or El Pollo Loco. Go to El Pollo Pio Pio!