El Pollo Norteno

It had been a while since I'd eaten here. OMG it hasn't changed! Absolutely delicious I had the chicken combo. My daughter got the half chicken half trip tip combo meal. She said hers was delicious too!! The salsa was a bit spicey but!! very good too! Try it you won't be disappointed !!

Pretty much anything you order here is delicious! Be careful in ordering the tri tip burrito. This dang thing is DELICIOUS! It’s a good size and I was able to eat the whole thing because it was so good. This place is very highly recommended!

I want to be vegetarian , but It is hard with the chicken from here. The skin is yummy and the chicken is juicy. It is a small location , at rush time the lines can get long. The staff has always been very nice to me. Yummy food here in Santa Maria that has been around for a while .

Just ordered a burrito mixto which is a mix of chicken and tri tip and I must say this is the best burrito I’ve ever had in my life!! Portion was great for the price I couldn’t even finish it but I didn’t throw it away cause I just couldn’t do it !! I really recommend this place to anyone in the Santa Maria area !!

Amazing place, combo #5 chicken and Tri-tip is my favorite, this is a must try, the place is a little outdated but clean. The guy at the register does not smile much but very helpful and respectful, got us some extra Napkins, very attentive, we stayed a little after they closed and no problem. The only problem is that it's too far from where I live Lol. Food tastes home made here. Even the Jamaica drink smells and tastes fresh and natural.

This place is so underrated. I went there for lunch. The tri-tip was super tender and flavorful. Grilled chicken is also amazing. I will definitely come back for more.

Wow! You want great grub fast and authentic and pretty cheap!? Go here! You get a plate with whatever kind of meat —chicken or tri-tip, beans, four tortillas as homemade chunky salsa—so fantastic! A wonderful real roadside dining experience...highly recommend. Nice people too.

I have memories of coming to this joint for the past 10 years and this place is consistently good as always. This is literally the only place I stop by in town as I'm going through the 101. Some of the best tri tip in town can be found here!

There is a lot to be said for a simple old school tri tip torta, love this place. The chicken is very good but sometime I just need Santa Maria TRI Tip.

Just good simple tasty food. Never had a bad meal here . I always get the combo plate with a side of rice.

Carlos P.

Amazing place, combo #5 chicken and Tri-tip is my favorite, this is a must try, the place is a little outdated but clean. The guy at the register does not smile much but very helpful and respectful, got us some extra Napkins, very attentive, we stayed a little after they closed and no problem. The only problem is that it's too far from where I live Lol. Food tastes home made here. Even the Jamaica drink smells and tastes fresh and natural.

Jungho Lee

This place is so underrated. I went there for lunch. The tri-tip was super tender and flavorful. Grilled chicken is also amazing. I will definitely come back for more.

David Post

Wow! You want great grub fast and authentic and pretty cheap!? Go here! You get a plate with whatever kind of meat —chicken or tri-tip, beans, four tortillas as homemade chunky salsa—so fantastic! A wonderful real roadside dining experience...highly recommend. Nice people too.

Devon Guerrero

I have memories of coming to this joint for the past 10 years and this place is consistently good as always. This is literally the only place I stop by in town as I'm going through the 101. Some of the best tri tip in town can be found here!

steve doolin

There is a lot to be said for a simple old school tri tip torta, love this place. The chicken is very good but sometime I just need Santa Maria TRI Tip.

Ordered a family meal to go. They made it very quick. Wasn’t too busy, maybe 2-3 tables around 3 pm

If you're looking for tasty Mexican food and service without any pretense, this is your spot. It's a straightforward, no-frills establishment, but they absolutely nail the essentials, an incredible value here.

Always a delight and plenty of years I'm business, a staple to SM community eats

Gerardo Vazquez

Always a delight and plenty of years I'm business, a staple to SM community eats

Jose Lopez

Ordered a family meal to go. They made it very quick. Wasn’t too busy, maybe 2-3 tables around 3 pm

Maya Zlotnik

If you're looking for tasty Mexican food and service without any pretense, this is your spot. It's a straightforward, no-frills establishment, but they absolutely nail the essentials, an incredible value here.

Berenice “Bere” M

Favorite place in sm. I try to come here every time I'm in town. Their salsa is the best. The chicken is juicy and tender. Tritip is amazing. I have great memories here.

El Pollo Norteno was a surprisingly good find. It was very inexpensive, but there was enough food even for the small servings. It has a basic feel, but we enjoyed the food. The chicken, Tri-Tip, beans, salsa and tortillas.

Chicken and tri-tip platters served with pinto beans, fresh salsa, and tortillas.

Pretty good food. I was driving through Santa Maria and decide I want to try some tri-tip. The tri-tip was good and the chicken was done well. I should have asked for dark meat but I was serve to breast instead. I really do not like the breast, but this was some of the best chicken breast I've had. I would eat here again but ask for a leg and thigh instead

For me, this is better chicken than El Pollo Loco. The marinade that they put on their chicken is amazing! Not a whole lot of variety here, but if you're looking for something different than fried chicken, this is worth trying. Combo comes with tortillas, rice and beans.

Quite local Mexican grill place with a simple but effective menu. Lots of families eating here, and there are also video games and other quarter machine games to keep children young and old busy. Food was pretty good and not expensive. They bring it to your table after ordering at the counter.

I was visiting from out of town but dinner for my family. Got the family pack a was 16 pieces of chicken and bought an additional one pound of tri-tip chicken and tri-tip were delicious for she is one amazing salsa was very good beans and rice were also very good but we did order potato salad and it did not make it into our bag so we were charged $8 and didn't receive our product we didn't realize it till we got back to the hotel 5 miles away that's why four stars other than that the food is amazing I recommend it to anybody

If you want decent no frills grilled chicken and some tri tip that is a little chewy, then here you go ... You may want to take out due to the kind of dirty appearance of this establishment. I ate here 1/2 chicken and 1/4 order of tri tip with 1 drink < $20

The order was 5 slices of tri tip and a small order of beans and red chili tomatoe puree salsa. I also drank a soda, so the portion was decent and a one occasion meal.

1/2 hr to closing. Tritips slices were a little on the dry side. Portion was plentiful.

Good food!. Just bad customer service guy in front gave us aditud, mobling. Most of the tables were dirty

Food was great but service was no good at all. We Did not feel welcome by cashier, hopefully they can make it More welcoming

Got my plate to go and they forgot the rice, im usually not upset over this but i was busy and i live a but far and it irritated me that i didn't have rice.

My family has been eating here a long time but yesterday will be the last. We usually just get past their terrible customer service because the foods good but the prices have gone up and the portions have gotten smaller we ordered our meat rare and it was well done, such a disappointment , the bathrooms were gross and the tables hadn’t been wiped down.

Gone to the drive through around 7:30 ! Do not come here this man was so rude !! I call to ask for the manger and he started fighting with me . Tell me he don’t know anything. I ask him a few questions about the menu and he told me can you hurry up instead of answering my question rude !!!!

I give them food a 5 star but again the customer service is horrible. I called to make an order and the phone just rang rang and rang. I drove to the place there were three people in line . Fifteen minutes went by and the cashier no where to be found. They are understaffed but also the cashiers need an attitude adjustment they are probably one of the rudes people I know. I keep coming back for my elderly parents that love their food. Today I walked out I had enough.

I have not Tasted the food here but this review is not based off their food. It's based off Customer service I recieved from the cashier ordering for my mom. I was going to ask a question, And all of sudden he cuts me off by saying wait a min with a nasty/Bad attitude. This place is understaffed as well. Need more workers. Need more professionalism as a cashier/Employee. Better approach would of been Can you excuse me one a min I got to make order for a customer. Goodluck in the future

*sigh* Where to start. Honestly if you can pick a different mexican restaurant than this place I would highly recommend going elsewhere. Went for lunch this week and waited to talk to someone, anyone for 7 min. Mind you, ok so they are busy, NO literally no one else around. The cashier saw us standing there but continued to empty trash before wondering over to take our order. Was NOT professional at all. I felt like we were an inconvenience for him. How DARE I come to eat at his restaurant! Very dismissive, not helpful and just overall rude human interaction from start to finish. Should of turned around and walked our right then but I thought 🤔 maybe he's just having a bad day? We all have those right? Ok so got a chicken torta and the tri tip chicken combo,.... ugh I should of left when I had the chance. Hubby liked the Torta, but mine... not the business. Tri tip was dry and had NO flavor. I felt like I was eat beef jerky. The chicken was also flavorless and had little to no meat on it. I basically got poorly seasoned chicken bones. They serve your table with plastic eating utensils and meal was on paper Dixie plates and Styrofoam. Place looked like it hadn't been swept in a few days and tables weren't clean. There's no menu for the kiddo's so don't even ask him and NO they will bot make you a cheese quesadilla. HOW DARE YOU EVEN THINK OF ASKING SUCH SILLY QUESTIONS! 😆 I was bummed for sure. Hubby liked his torta at least? Idk how other people are getting better service than what I experienced. Maybe different cooks and staff working? Better people working? If so, could you let me know what days so I can try what other people are talking about? 😆 🤣 😂 It's not good. The man was miserable with existing and the place was nasty dirty. Owell, never again for me.

G K

*sigh* Where to start. Honestly if you can pick a different mexican restaurant than this place I would highly recommend going elsewhere. Went for lunch this week and waited to talk to someone, anyone for 7 min. Mind you, ok so they are busy, NO literally no one else around. The cashier saw us standing there but continued to empty trash before wondering over to take our order. Was NOT professional at all. I felt like we were an inconvenience for him. How DARE I come to eat at his restaurant! Very dismissive, not helpful and just overall rude human interaction from start to finish. Should of turned around and walked our right then but I thought 🤔 maybe he's just having a bad day? We all have those right? Ok so got a chicken torta and the tri tip chicken combo,.... ugh I should of left when I had the chance. Hubby liked the Torta, but mine... not the business. Tri tip was dry and had NO flavor. I felt like I was eat beef jerky. The chicken was also flavorless and had little to no meat on it. I basically got poorly seasoned chicken bones. They serve your table with plastic eating utensils and meal was on paper Dixie plates and Styrofoam. Place looked like it hadn't been swept in a few days and tables weren't clean. There's no menu for the kiddo's so don't even ask him and NO they will bot make you a cheese quesadilla. HOW DARE YOU EVEN THINK OF ASKING SUCH SILLY QUESTIONS! 😆 I was bummed for sure. Hubby liked his torta at least? Idk how other people are getting better service than what I experienced. Maybe different cooks and staff working? Better people working? If so, could you let me know what days so I can try what other people are talking about? 😆 🤣 😂 It's not good. The man was miserable with existing and the place was nasty dirty. Owell, never again for me.

The music shut off one time and I could hear people laughing and talking in the roof. I was told by a local homeless dude, that some of his friends live inside the roof of the the restaurant. That's crazy. I won't ever go in there again. Good thing I learned how to make their Salsa. Go check out the Roof from the parking lot behind them.

This place has gone very downhill. The chicken is no longer good it was dry and had no flavor. The beans had no salt and tasted like dirt. The fresh salsa was just mashed tomatoes, not even spicy. Nothing was good, the clerks do ignore you even if they are not busy. It's a shame after looking forward to eat here it was a disappointment

Did they change owners. The food is not very good and the chicken is dry. The guy at the counter is rude. If you order online they will not give you forks or napkins. I even tried to buy forks and napkins but he refused to sell them to us. O will not go back.

Very rude customer service. The guy at the cash register was very impatient and unprofessional. Didn't even order and walked out the door.

Bought a chicken Torta and when i got it i got up and asked the guy for a little bit of salsa for the Torta and the guy with a bad attitude tells me no you gotta pay $1.25 for it, it already comes with Jalapeños kinda rude can't even give you a little bit of salsa for your food Its like going to mcdonalds and buying a bigmac and saying no you gotta pay for the ketchup Plus the tables were not cleaned right The worst service ever dont recomend it

I typically dont leave such bad review but this place is Not good. Lack of flavor. The tri tip was chewy. The chicken was good but super small. The tortillas taste store bought. I definitely dont recommend. I have no idea how there's 4.3 stars.

Terrible experience from start to finish. The staff at this Mexican restaurant were rude for absolutely no reason. No greeting, no smile—just attitude from the moment we walked in. They were impatient, unprofessional, and seemed annoyed by even the simplest questions. It felt like we were bothering them just by ordering food. On top of that, they couldn’t understand basic requests, and our order came out completely wrong. No effort to fix the mistakes, no apology—just more attitude. It’s hard to enjoy a meal when the people serving it act like they don’t want you there. Definitely wouldn’t recommend. There are plenty of places with better food and staff who actually respect their customers.

We went today and ordered the chicken and tritip dinners. The chicken was fine but the tri tip was overcooked and very chewy to eat. We called the restaurant just to inform them, we weren't asking for a refund or anything else because we didn't want to drive across town, only to be spoken to very rudely by the worker on the phone. We told them the meat was dry and he immediately accused me of lying and calling me a liar. He was raising his voice and questioning me as if I was stupid. He ended up yelling at me and eventually hung up the phone. Completely rude service, definitely do NOT recommend

Used to be my favorite place to eat. Would always brag about how it was the best chicken place hands down . Been coming here since 1988. I've had the worst experience this year there website says they close at 830 the last couple of months they have there sign on that says open but I've been coming here at 8 they say they ran out of food . But poor employee ethics to milk the clock and push loyal customers away. Be loyal to your employer turn off the. Open light and close and for a Saturday to run out of food poor management it breaks my heart to see this place go down . This will be my last time giving a dime to this place. Who closes at 8 on a Saturday night runs out of food when there's taco stands taco trucks open till 10pm . Around the corner. Pollo norteno you lost your#1 customer and your best food critic ever. CHEF DANIEL

Went around 7:00 pm and restaurant was open we check online and it said the restaurant closes at 8:30 pm. The cashier was not welcoming at all he was extremely rude he told to hurry up and order. Which is not good customer service and should not be told to a customer. I didn’t his name but he was an older man with really separated teeth.

roberto bernal

Very rude customer service. The guy at the cash register was very impatient and unprofessional. Didn't even order and walked out the door.

Lalo Barajas

Bought a chicken Torta and when i got it i got up and asked the guy for a little bit of salsa for the Torta and the guy with a bad attitude tells me no you gotta pay $1.25 for it, it already comes with Jalapeños kinda rude can't even give you a little bit of salsa for your food Its like going to mcdonalds and buying a bigmac and saying no you gotta pay for the ketchup Plus the tables were not cleaned right The worst service ever dont recomend it

Josue Gonzalez

The music shut off one time and I could hear people laughing and talking in the roof. I was told by a local homeless dude, that some of his friends live inside the roof of the the restaurant. That's crazy. I won't ever go in there again. Good thing I learned how to make their Salsa. Go check out the Roof from the parking lot behind them.

Duane Morss

Did they change owners. The food is not very good and the chicken is dry. The guy at the counter is rude. If you order online they will not give you forks or napkins. I even tried to buy forks and napkins but he refused to sell them to us. O will not go back.

Sandy Ruiz

This place has gone very downhill. The chicken is no longer good it was dry and had no flavor. The beans had no salt and tasted like dirt. The fresh salsa was just mashed tomatoes, not even spicy. Nothing was good, the clerks do ignore you even if they are not busy. It's a shame after looking forward to eat here it was a disappointment

Joshua Estrada-Delaney

I typically dont leave such bad review but this place is Not good. Lack of flavor. The tri tip was chewy. The chicken was good but super small. The tortillas taste store bought. I definitely dont recommend. I have no idea how there's 4.3 stars.

Karen Springer

Terrible experience from start to finish. The staff at this Mexican restaurant were rude for absolutely no reason. No greeting, no smile—just attitude from the moment we walked in. They were impatient, unprofessional, and seemed annoyed by even the simplest questions. It felt like we were bothering them just by ordering food. On top of that, they couldn’t understand basic requests, and our order came out completely wrong. No effort to fix the mistakes, no apology—just more attitude. It’s hard to enjoy a meal when the people serving it act like they don’t want you there. Definitely wouldn’t recommend. There are plenty of places with better food and staff who actually respect their customers.

Destiny Franco

Went around 7:00 pm and restaurant was open we check online and it said the restaurant closes at 8:30 pm. The cashier was not welcoming at all he was extremely rude he told to hurry up and order. Which is not good customer service and should not be told to a customer. I didn’t his name but he was an older man with really separated teeth.

Andrea Calderon

We went today and ordered the chicken and tritip dinners. The chicken was fine but the tri tip was overcooked and very chewy to eat. We called the restaurant just to inform them, we weren't asking for a refund or anything else because we didn't want to drive across town, only to be spoken to very rudely by the worker on the phone. We told them the meat was dry and he immediately accused me of lying and calling me a liar. He was raising his voice and questioning me as if I was stupid. He ended up yelling at me and eventually hung up the phone. Completely rude service, definitely do NOT recommend

daniel milian

Used to be my favorite place to eat. Would always brag about how it was the best chicken place hands down . Been coming here since 1988. I've had the worst experience this year there website says they close at 830 the last couple of months they have there sign on that says open but I've been coming here at 8 they say they ran out of food . But poor employee ethics to milk the clock and push loyal customers away. Be loyal to your employer turn off the. Open light and close and for a Saturday to run out of food poor management it breaks my heart to see this place go down . This will be my last time giving a dime to this place. Who closes at 8 on a Saturday night runs out of food when there's taco stands taco trucks open till 10pm . Around the corner. Pollo norteno you lost your#1 customer and your best food critic ever. CHEF DANIEL