El Pollo Loco

Reviews

• RP

  Ross Pearson

  1 day ago
  1.0
  Being a native of California, I was beyond excited to hear that El Pollo Loco had opened up a location in Albuquerque, but then reality set in, The wait was about 35 minutes long in the Drive Thru, when I finally placed my order for three double chicken bowls, the woman taking my order didn’t offer any additional sides like Cilantro dressing, hot or mild salsa etc, when I pulled up to the window I was immediately handed my food, when I got home, I didn’t have any utensils, napkins or anything, just three bowls, The chicken in the bowls were very dry, the pico didn’t appear to be fresh and the food overall was not even mediocre, this is the worst El Pollo Loco that I’ve ever been to and I will not be returning.. That’s 35 dollars down the drain..
• AG

  Andrea Garcia

  Nov 18, 2025
  1.0
  My family and I went on Saturday night (11/15), and we were turned away from eating in the dining room. Mind you, the establishment closes at 10:00 pm and we were there at 8:30 pm. Also, the workers were extremely rude. One of the workers was smoking a cigarette as he went in and out of the restaurant, to get their red metal chairs, to create barriers to prevent customers from parking in the parking lot and going into the restaurant. Such an awful experience! My family and I ended up leaving and going to a different restaurant. The customer service was terrible and I didn’t want someone who had just been smoking touching my food without washing his hands. This is a such shame, because so many people have been so excited to have El Pollo Loco in Albuquerque. It’s unfortunate, how lazy and unprofessional employees are ruining it for everyone.
• AB

  Anthony Brown

  Nov 15, 2025
  1.0
  Came to try El Pollo Loco and was disappointed! Both our burrito and quesadilla were disgusting. First bites into them both myself and wife spit it out nothing but fat and muscle. Waited 30 plus minutes for the food and didn’t even eat it. We went to get a refund and the manager didn’t say anything just glared and had the cashier refund us, she was nice and said nobody should want fat or muscle in their food. My only question is why is the manager glaring at customers who ask for a refund because they took a bite out of their meal and it’s full of untrimmed chicken I’d like to see him take a bite out of those meals and not loose appetite and spit it out. If you ask me the cashier who acted more professionally should be in charge. Won’t be returning this place makes chipotle look like 10/10
• RR

  RaeAnna Riggs

  Nov 10, 2025
  5.0
  Short version: First of all, yes they're good. Second, yes there's currently a 30-40min maximum wait at peak business times. This is their soft opening, their grand opening is the 21st I've heard. Longer vers: I didn't grow up with EPL but I got exposed to it in Denver a few years ago and really enjoyed it! I was happy when about a year ago I heard about them looking for space to put the first one in NM/Abq. Little did I know it'd be right down the street from my work! So for about a year now I've watched the building being built &when it was announced I've been excitedly watching it be transformed into EPL for several months. I'm GF due to allergies so it helps they have alot of gluten-friendly options. I ordered my food via the kiosk inside at 1:32pm, &received my order at 2:06pm. I was giving them grace since it's the soft opening &they're getting the hang of things while alot of people are coming to try it mostly for the first time. So please be kind to the staff for the first month or so while they deal with learning their roles as well as getting the hang of the business. Honestly if you can, just wait a month before you go if you're too impatient to wait in line (inside or drive-thru). Don't make their jobs harder than it already is. My coworker &I parked over by the donut shop (that closes by like noon) &walked over to EPL cause there was limited parking. We knew the parking would be an issue from the get-go, yet another developer underestimating people being excited for new food options here (like a certain other chicken place). Anyway, if you like a healthier fast food option a la Chipotle but cheaper in price but still good quality, go here. Will be going again for lunch sometime soon 😊 Edit: I got the double chicken bowl, extra rice, no beans, no avo, corn tortillas, side of the creamy cilantro sauce, &horchata.
• DJ

  Double J

  Nov 9, 2025
  1.0
  The service here is extremely slow. I understand it was a new opening, but the staff did not appear to be working with any urgency. It took a little over two and a half hours to receive an eight piece chicken order. The manager was micromanaging the employees rather than helping move the process along. The workflow seemed disorganized. For example, customers would finally receive their food and then be asked if they wanted salsa. Since this is El Pollo Loco, many customers expected salsa to be included. This added more time while the employee searched for salsa, found a bag, and repackaged items. There were only two self service registers, and older customers were left struggling to figure them out with no help, making the ordering process drag on and on. When my food finally came out, it tasted great. However, part of my order was missing even after the micromanaging manager had checked it. At that point I wasn’t gonna stay and wait to for what I assumed would be another long stretch to have it corrected. The food itself was delicious, but the lack of urgency and poor organization made the experience frustrating from start to finish. If I could give this negative stars for their service, I would.

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