What To Order (And What To Skip) At El Pollo Loco

El Pollo Loco originated in Mexico in 1975, and by 1980, founder Pancho Ochoa opened the Los Angeles store — the premier U.S. location. Now there are close to 500 locations. The company is widely known for its chicken; it is cooked over a low, open flame for an hour, giving it a smoky flavor that beats most fast-food poultry — it’s among the best chain restaurants with superior grilled chicken for exactly that reason. 

I’ve eaten at El Pollo Loco a handful of times, enough to know I like the basics like beans, rice, and chicken, but not enough that I’ve tried a lot of the menu items. So, with my curiosity and hunger to guide me, I ventured to the chain eatery to try 14 items to determine which foods I recommend and would buy again, and which ones I think are better avoided. I made my choices based on the overall flavor profile, texture, the dish’s execution, and value (which is based on price and how much food you receive). I mention prices occasionally when it is relevant to why I thought it was a buy or skip.

Prices are as of the date of publication and may vary based on region.

There are three tostadas, but I figured I’d stick with the basics, so I got the classic. This includes citrus-marinated fire-grilled chicken, rice, pinto beans, lettuce, sour cream, jack cheese, and salsa fresca. It’s served in the tostada shell and comes with Creamy Cilantro Dressing that you can add on yourself. I thought this had many elements and textures that made it enticing to keep eating. 

The Creamy Cilantro Dressing is excellent and truly hits on the herby cilantro and creamy notes. I like that you can snap off pieces of tostada to eat with the other elements. The rice and beans are fully seasoned and have the perfect texture; the rice is neither too firm nor too mushy. Similarly, the beans are cooked just right, so they have some texture as you bite into them. It may seem like a lot is going on, but it works because a lot of the items are basics done well — beans, rice, chicken, sour cream. It’s elevated by the fire-grilled chicken and the dressing’s herbaceousness. If you’re in the mood for a jazzed-up salad in a bowl made of one big tortilla chip, get the Classic Chicken Tostada.

In the mood for Caesar salad? Ah, well, El Pollo Loco has an option for you. The Mexican Caesar Double Pollo Salad has everything (and more) you need to feel satiated. This filling salad comes with double the amount of chopped fire-grilled chicken (compared to other El Pollo Loco chicken dishes), a super greens blend with romaine lettuce, cotija cheese, avocado, salsa fresca, tortilla strips, and the Mexican Caesar dressing. 

Now, I’ll admit I didn’t get the Mexican Caesar dressing, but instead, they gave me Creamy Cilantro Dressing by accident. I didn’t notice in the hubbub of my 14 items. So, while I wonder what that would taste like, the essentials are all a hit (chicken, beans, rice). This time, we have some cotija, which adds a mild tangy punch. The tortilla strips offer crunch, while the avocado brings a rich, creamy touch. I tossed the salad by pouring my dressing, closing the lid, and giving it a fair shake. This filled me up, thanks to all the chicken protein, and it tastes adequate — no complaints from me. 

The $13.99 price tag may be higher than some other fast food salads, but the double chicken and presentation are quite enticing. It looks more like a restaurant-quality salad than fast food. I’d say this is worth the purchase, but I prefer some of the other items I tried a bit more, in terms of value and flavor.

The Creamy Chipotle Quesadilla tastes good, so I can’t fault it for that — it’s a big reason why El Pollo Loco is one of the chain restaurants with the best quesadillas. It has flavorful chicken, melty jack cheese, and creamy chipotle sauce, which brings out the most flavor. It comes with a pretty small container of guacamole; it helps add more creaminess, sure, but it’s just so little. 

The flavors are solid, but the execution needs work. Here, we see cubed chicken placed sporadically throughout the dish. This creates a lumpy quesadilla with plenty of chicken-free pockets. It feels haphazard as you bite into it. The meat pieces seem large, and then there’s less of it throughout the quesadilla. This would be much better with a shredded chicken offering instead. Compared to other sit-down chain restaurant quesadillas, it’s a solid price, but it simply didn’t hit the spot and was difficult to eat. Try making your own shredded chicken quesadilla instead.

The flavors, textures, and value of the Queso Crunch Double Chicken Burrito Bowl are worth purchasing. Like the Caesar salad, we get double the portion of meat. Then there are pinto beans, seasoned rice, jack cheese, and a scrumptious queso blanco that makes every bite a delight. This dish is also loaded with guac, salsa fresca, cilantro, and tortilla strips (that you can add on yourself) for extra crunch. 

This is such a satisfying menu item, and it’s packed with bold flavors that made me want to keep munching. The queso is the star of this dish, as you might expect from the name. The chunks of chicken are filling and flavorful, but unlike the Caesar, we swap the lettuce for rice and beans. This was one of my favorites out of everything I tried. It’s clearly meant to be a direct competitor to Chipotle and comes at a way better price of $12.49. My nearest Chipotle chicken bowl costs $10.65, but once you add guac ($2.95), queso blanco ($2.95), and a second portion of chicken ($4.05), the bowl is over $20.

If I had to recommend one thing for a budget-conscious consumer, the Original Pollo Bowl is a must-try. For $5.49, you get a heavy bowl loaded with chicken, beans, rice, onion, salsa fresca, and cilantro. This is not only affordable, but it can thoroughly fill you up thanks to its 41 grams of protein. It doesn’t have any fancy sauces or sides of guac, but all the individual elements are flavorful, as I have noted previously, and they come together in simplicity at its finest in this dish. 

The bowl may be small in appearance, but it has a lot packed in there. Rather than fluffing it with rice, it is stuffed and packed down densely with food. For 2026 pricing, it doesn’t really get too much better than this. Admittedly, chicken, rice, and beans aren’t the most expensive foods to make, but you save yourself a lot of time making them from scratch. It’s always nice to have economical, hardy, satisfying fast food options that go beyond a sad, wimpy burger and greasy old fries.

I have to say that the Shredded Chicken Nachos seemed a little bare-bones. This dish has fantastic shredded chicken, which is a stand-out that bursts with tomato-y flavor. There’s also queso blanco, guacamole, pinto beans, sour cream, and pico de gallo all on a bed of tortilla chips. There are a lot of chips and not as much filling. On the plus side, this chicken is excellent, and I didn’t have it in any other meal from my taste test. It reminds me very much of the chicken tinga that my mother-in-law makes. I even said so to my husband.

Clearly, the chicken is great. As for the nachos themselves, the execution and value didn’t line up to make this something I would recommend to the masses. If anything, lay out some tortilla chips on the plate, dump the Original Pollo Bowl on top, and have that as nachos for half the price. Or get the Queso Crunch Double Chicken Burrito Bowl for a slightly higher cost. Alternatively, the nachos are the same price as the tostada, and that felt a lot heartier — it has more protein, too. All that said, I’d recommend several other options from this list instead. If you want this specific chicken, ask if you could add it to a different order instead of the standard chicken.

I love BRC burritos, and I haven’t seen one priced at $4.99 in quite a while. I’ll preface that I’m based in San Diego, but I haven’t been to every Mexican restaurant or hole-in-the-wall eatery, so don’t come at me if you know a place that sells it for cheap. At many mom-and-pop small shops, a BRC or even a bean and cheese is at the $6 and up mark. 

The price alone makes the El Pollo Loco item a resounding “buy,” but then it’s backed by the flavorful beans and rice. It could use a little more cheese, but overall, this is a steal. It’s not an enormous burrito, but it will keep any hunger pangs at bay. The beans and rice are particularly filling. You can’t go wrong with this order, and it’s only made better with salsa if you choose to pour some on. The beans are whole, though, so if you prefer something refried, you’ll have to go elsewhere.

If you require something more filling than a bean, rice, and cheese burrito, then opt for the Queso Guacamole Chicken Burrito. This has just about everything you need for a satisfying meal: shredded chicken, rice, beans, onions, salsa fressca, queso sauce, and guac. The price is pretty in line with other offerings near me for more specialty burritos (if not slightly cheaper). All the elements are tasty on their own and work agreeably together. 

You have to actually chew the chicken and bean pieces, so it feels a bit more satisfying that way, too — compared to a refried bean situation. I like the queso and shredded chicken aspect, which sets it apart for me. The shredded chicken has a better chance of mixing evenly with the other elements, unlike the larger cubed chicken chunks in other El Pollo Loco dishes. The burrito is a bit wet from the salsa and queso, so eat this right away to ensure freshness and the best texture before it gets too soggy.

I live in Southern California, so I have a lot of taco options near me, and unfortunately, this El Pollo Loco one doesn’t really hit it for me. You can absolutely add salsa, which I would typically do, but for the purpose of this article, I kept things pretty plain. And, as such, it felt bland and dry. Many of the other dishes included some sort of cheese or sauce for moisture. I know, typically a street taco is just the tortilla and meat, so I get that, but I can safely say it isn’t El Pollo Loco’s best offering. 

Oftentimes, a street taco comes with at least some lime wedges for flavor and moisture. And my husband agrees with me on this skippable item. Plus, there are other places near me that sell a similar street taco product at a better price point. This is a clear skip for me, but if you’re somewhere without tacos or an abundance of taco options, it could be an acceptable option.

I don’t think I’ve had such a loaded soup from a fast food joint. This soup bowl felt heavy and thoroughly loaded with shredded chicken, roasted corn, carrots, roasted poblano peppers, celery, and red bell pepper. Then it also comes with cotija cheese, which brings a striking, mildly tangy creaminess, crunchy pieces of tortilla strips, and fresh cilantro. The shredded chicken works really well here, ensuring every piece is nice and moist from the broth. 

For $5.99, it feels like a sufficient value, too. Canned soup is around half the price, yes, but El Pollo Loco’s is fresher and has flame-grilled chicken for more flavor. Then there are the other veggies and flavors that help it stand out. It’s almost like you went to someone’s house and brought leftovers home to eat in the little container. Canned soup doesn’t exactly bring the same experience or flavor.

This meal — well, the 3-piece meal — is the go-to order of Chef Colin Smith, an alum of “Beat Bobby Flay” on Food Network. So there’s a fair reason to get it, and why El Pollo Loco is one of the top taco chains that chefs actually eat at. You can select from leg and thigh or breast and wing; I opted for the 2-piece breast and wing meal, which also includes two small sides and tortillas. 

You may choose between rice, corn, broccoli, coleslaw, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes with gravy, pinto beans, or the loco salad. I went with rice and beans, but I’d be interested in trying other items next time. This is a pretty basic meal, but it’s made well, flavorful, and filling when you don’t want something like burgers or pizza. You still get a fast meal, but it has a homemade taste that makes it well worth buying. You can make your own little burritos with the chicken, rice, beans, and tortillas. Try incorporating any side salsa for added flavor and dimension.

I like flan. My mother-in-law makes an excellent one. Even so, it isn’t my favorite dessert on earth. So, this El Pollo Loco caramel flan felt a little lackluster. It comes in a small container, so it doesn’t feel like a fresh homemade version; it seems more like something you’d pick up in a grocery store. 

Plus, you’re missing the whole flip-it-over aspect where you get all the richness of the caramel sauce. Instead, you’re just scooping it out with a spoon from the little plastic container. The image on the website shows it served the correct way, which is upside down — the brown bottom faces the top, and the sauce falls onto the plate. They didn’t give me a plate, so I don’t know how to eat this except straight from the packaging. It tasted fine, but I would never venture out of my way to El Pollo Loco just to pick one up. I would skip this altogether.

I was surprised that the mac and cheese was quite flavorful. The pasta is nicely cooked, where it retains some structure, but it’s neither too al dente nor overcooked. The cheese sauce is prevalent, so it gets into the nooks and crannies and doesn’t leave any pasta bare or untouched. It’s neither too thick nor too runny. It’s definitely Velveeta-adjacent, but it brings comfort into every bite. 

I like the layer of cheese crust I found inside, which adds flavor and textural dimension. You can buy this in a small or large size on its own, or request it as your choice of side for the chicken meal. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it’s a good product. I can safely suggest it as an item to buy from El Pollo Loco. However, I wouldn’t make a trip to the chain just to get it, if that makes sense. Get it because you’re already going and have a few other menu items to try.

Out of all the items, the churros were the most unfavorable. If I were ranking the 14 items, this would be dead last. They are incredibly oily. As I ripped off a piece, I could see the oil squeezing out from the churros, leaving an oil slick on my fingers. Not only that, but the flavor is severely lacking. The cinnamon sugar is barely there, and at first glance, it appeared like there was none at all. It looks nothing like the image on the website.

I could taste a smidge, but it doesn’t offer the pleasant sweet and spiced notes that cinnamon sugar should. The mini cinnamon churros from Del Taco are way, way better; they ranked sixth when I tried a whopping 19 menu items. I’m not sure if I got a bad batch from El Pollo Loco, but I wouldn’t eat these again even if you gave them to me for free. These are a hard skip.

I ordered all items in one visit. I took photos of each item and then started eating bites of each, one after another. I brought my husband as a sounding board, but all thoughts and buy/avoids are my own opinion — he had a couple of his own insights (like the soup was a skip). If I liked the flavors, textures, presentation, and thought the overall price for what you got was good, I deemed it worth purchasing. Salsas are optional, so while it may very well make something taste better, I didn’t add it, so I could stick to tasting just the core flavors. I only added the dressing, as it was part of two dishes. 

Value isn’t a factor for every item, so I only noted when it played a role. I mentioned specific prices only when I was making a relevant comparison. If it had any issues or wasn’t a satisfactory deal, I said it was a skip. I noticed the website pricing for some items differed from what I paid in person, so keep that in mind if you head into the restaurant.