Irene Dasalla

It's probably close to 10 years since I last had El Pollo Inka. It brought back fond memories with my colleagues when we frequent this restaurant chain (at a different location) years ago. I ordered my usual items: plantains, arroz con pollo and lomo saltado which comes with a side of complimentary aguadito de pollo soup (chicken cilantro.soup). I forgot that it came with the soup so I cancelled the side order of the chicken cilantro soup. They served us with 2 dinner rolls with some butter. I remember how I used to love their bread. I used to put some butter and their cilantro sauce, and it was so good. I ended up disappointed because the bread, although it was warm, felt like it just came from a microwave, it tasted like it was a stale bread. It was hard and brittle, so after a bite, I stopped eating it.  The house soup was a little bit bland and lack the full flavor I was craving. The plantains were our favorite. We finished it. The arroz con pollo was just ok. The chicken was a bit dry, and the cilantro rice was delicious. The lomo saltado was delicious, the beef was tender and tasty. I don't know if it's just this particular location, but it seems to me that my experience this time is a downgrade from my experience before. I used to rave about this restaurant, but I don't think I can say the same at this time. I hope it gets better. They have salsa lessons for those who are interested. They converted part of the dining area to be the dance floor. They have a bar area as well. Food, drink, and dancing, what else can you ask for?

I’ve been coming to this restaurant for well over a decade and have always considered myself a loyal customer. It’s been our go-to spot for birthdays, celebrations, and special occasions. Unfortunately, my most recent visit was so disappointing that I’m seriously considering not returning. The meal started off poorly with the soup, which was served lukewarm and had nothing inside of it (it was literally just broth). This is usually my favorite part of the meal, especially paired with the rolls, but this time it was a complete letdown, especially after finding out that they no longer serve rolls anymore. We ordered our usual, Lomo Saltado, and the quality was nowhere near what we’ve come to expect over the years. The rice was soggy, and the portion of meat was minimal (at best), which I normally don’t mind since I’m not a big meat eater, but even the tomatoes were lacking. The dish lacked the flavor that made us love it in the first place. Our waitress maybe checked on our table once and we never got refills on our drinks, despite asking. Additionally, when we asked for a new green sauce bottle, she never returned and after we had all finished our food (except one), we finally flagged her down again and she gave us one that seemed like all they did was add water to our previous bottle. For a place that has been a family favorite for so long, this visit was truly disappointing.

Marco Sanchez

Horrible service. Walked in to dine in. There was no hostess. Finally was seated to our table. Ordered food and it came out one plate at a time. I had to get up and get my own ketchup. Next the waitress never came by to make sure check on us. I had to go to the bar and get refills.

Michael McKay

So we used to come to this restaurant when my wife and I were dating back in college. We had an event back to this area nearly 22 years later. So we remember how much we loved the food and the atmosphere. Well that isn’t the case anymore. The restaurant was not well maintained. It was dirty and dusty. The waiter we had was awful. We had to keep asking for service and we went at lunch time on a Saturday and it was very empty inside. Which should have been a red flag. And unusual that is for us. But we really wanted to get this place a chance because of the nostalgia. But once we got our food it was underwhelming and disappointing. Very little portions and not even worth price. Our drinks were so watered down. I was so unhappy with everything I will never make another trip to this place again. Nostalgia was ruined. Not worth the money. Then to top it all off when we left we saw that the restaurant had recently received a C score from the health department. So honestly hope we don’t end up with food poisoning after this visit. Foodies be cautious of this place.

Margie M

The quality of food has Seriously gone downhill. We were here about a year ago and the food was good except our Flan was served with Chocolate sauce drizzled over it, WHY who knows! Did NOT taste good, flavors Clashed BIG TIME!! Today we went and when we were served we noticed the plates were much smaller portion sizes did Not justify their prices! The sauce was much darker and had a vinegary taste. Quality of food went down, SO SAD!! This location USED TO be my Favorite restaurant, the flavors were amazing but NOT ANYMORE! I have been coming to this location on and off since 2000 and when i lived closer came here often. This experience has made me not want to come back. There’s a Peruvian restaurant less than 5 minutes from my home, guess I’ll be trying that place instead. Bye Pollo Inka…

Rob Orozco

Whenever we visit the south bay, we make it a point to visit the nearest El Pollo Inka. However, I’m not sure if each location has different portion sizes. For $44, we got two plates, but the portions are quite unsatisfactory. If these are lunch portions, they are still quite expensive. You can sense that the portions have shrunk since I started taking a medication similar to Ozempic (trizepatide, GLP) that suppresses appetite. Consequently, we were able to finish the entire plate. In the past, we could easily eat half and take the rest home as leftovers. Since my wife and I have reduced our appetite due to this medication, we almost ordered only one plate because the portions were always generous. So I know I’m not being unreasonable with the portions. We’re glad we didn’t skimp. We live near Six Flags and didn’t eat until we got home. I would have been even more disappointed if I had only gotten one plate. It’s quite disappointing. For reference, this plate is the size of a prep meal bowl. I get that things are ruff with prices on everything but if you are gonna charge more keep the same portions.

Ally Keen

Atmosphere was great. Everything else is the reason we won't return. I'm Peruvian. I've been to restaurants all over the place and know how good Peruvian food is made. El Pollo Inka is a staple in the South Bay. This location isn't holding up. My Lomo was mostly rice. Okay. I figured I would deal with it. Two pieces of tomatoes. Okay. Whatever. The flavor wasn't great so I figured it was just an off plate, so I tried eating my food. Once I started eating the onions I realized that they were more than just al dente. They were almost raw. At that point there was nothing saving that dish. I sent it back and asked for something else. At that point I regretted not visiting the one in Lawndale. The waitress said okay to the return, but then shortly after a man came by telling me I had already eaten most of my dish. I had tried eating about a third because I don't like sending food back and I was honestly trying to just deal with it. He said that he could just give me my onions on the side. The problem was the entire plate though. And Lomo needs to be cooked together to get all the flavors and juices right. I've never had issues like this at any other Pollo Inka and my family and I have been going to this chain since before I was even born. I was honestly so insulted. I told him we only were paying for our other dishes and I didn't want anything else brought to our table. Nothing to replace the Lomo. This is one of the few times I've sent back food in my life and this is the only time I've had to advocate for myself. If they were going to be that petty over how THEY messed up a meal, I didn't want them serving me another dish. We paid for the rest of our dishes but I will tell you, I will not return to this location. I was absolutely embarrassed on having to argue with the man about something they had messed up.

Lissett acuna

This place use to be a great place a couple years ago. It has now gone down hill. I was there today, and the service was horrible. The waitress was practically rushing us because they were about to close, and even say that they were locking the door soon. Also, the soup they served us before our meal, was rotten. It taste lake the rice had gone bad and they didn't even notice, now that's serious, I was about to feed that to .y kid! I am so glad I taste it first. Never again will I go to this place.

Bessy Romero

Food wasn't good but the worst here is the service. Wow, this people ignores you like nobody else!! 😂. We came at night, music starts at 9:30pm that was good (well if you like loud salsa music 🎶) watching people dancing was nice. But honestly, don't think we'll come back.

Keesha Ford

Damn!! This is definitely one of the times that I wished I would've read the reviews because believe me when I say the food here is AWFUL!! Well the lomo and pollo saltado is!! This is easily the worst I've eaten! In Life!! The beef they used was by far the cheapest cut of beef they could find- it was super thin, bland, chewy, and had plenty of gristle.. Ever Been Super hungry and took a big bite of food that tasted horrible and as the nasty taste fills your mouth, you wish you could spit it out but there's no napkins available so you swallow it but your throat won't let you so your stuck gagging on it like a toddler! This was my experience with their pollo saltado!!! The chicken was off textured and just gross and left me wondering whether or not it was that new lab created chicken?!?!! Both plates consisted of 50% of the cheapest fries they could find, 35% hard, thick sliced undercooked onions, 5% big soggy, mushy, over ripe tomatoes and 10% meat (my goodness I hope that chicken was real meat) I was super appalled at how bad they both tasted and the Aji could Not help!! Oh and even the bread was even bad- it definitely wasn't freshly baked, it tasted like it was made 2 days before yesterday!! I am guessing the El Pollo Inka in Redondo is better because that's the one that I used to frequent- but it's also been a minute so real talk, I may not even go there and find out!! I wish I could reclaim my time and my money from this dreadful (take out) dining experience!!! I am truly so traumatized that I wish I could reach down in my stomach and remove the few bites I took!! Avoid this place at all costs, they actually deserve less than the 2 stars they have!

+2

Marilyn Buenrostro

This was my first time here since we charged my dad's truck at the Tesla charging stations. We spotted the Peruvian place and decided to give it a shot. We've had Peruvian food before, just not here. It was honestly the worst experience. My sister and I both ordered the pollo saltado, and both our dishes were raw. The calamari tasted like it was frozen. My mom got the shrimp chaufa and said the rice tasted like the pan hadn't been washed. My dad ordered garlic shrimp, and it came with potatoes? Plus, the salad dressing was pretty bad. I definitely wouldn't recommend this place. The service was just okay; we only saw our server twice. But there was a guy who was always checking on tables, and he was more attentive than our server. I'm really hoping my sister and I don't get food poisoning from the raw chicken.