Great option to try, food is great, service ok and location well I wish I had one closer but overall pleasant experience.

If you are on a diet this is definitely the place to go because you will be able to eat good without going over your calories. And their salads are very good especially the Cilantro dressing

They make an awesome soup. It was my favorite soup from any restaurant, then I developed an allergy to chicken. But, this is still the best place for soup. Miss being able to eat here.

I love their chicken! Kind of like Peruvian, and churro's! Basic 2 piece chicken meal with broccoli (plain steamed, prfectly done) and rice is $9 with drink. Clean restaurant, fast service (they give you a pager for the 5 minutes it takes to fix your meal). Wish these were on the East coast!

I love el pollo loco. It's always a quality and mostly healthy alternative to other fast food. They are super cheap with their cilantro dressing, if you get a family size salad they will literally give you one when it's supposed to come with four. Lol

Fast, hot,.and affordable food locally where the staff are clean, prompt, and courteous. Always available without any mad rush of people to wait behind. Whole meal for under $10. It's our go to.

Best fire grilled chicken ever. Great salads. Fast prepared take home dinner. Healthy too. Highly recommend. Eat in or take out. Update 8/12/23. Review still the same. 3/2/2024. Review still the same. 8/17/24 Hasn't changed, prices just a bit higher.

Good food and fast. The drive threw is where I always go so I can't say anything about the inside, but I assume it would be the same.

Very nice people, extremely fast service, and most of all. The food is excellent. I have never had a problem with this fast food restaurant and we have permanently switched from other low quality processed meat places. No clue what others are saying. It might be a different one somewhere else like up in Turlock. I love this place!

Food is usually good and people are friendly

The food is always fresh & tasty. My only complaint is when I get guacamole & chips, Some times it's perfect, and other times it's way to spicy. Maybe you can have two separate batches of guacamole. One is regular, and the other is spicy.

They do grilled chicken to perfection. Get lots of it! Always fresh off the grill, flavorful, moist and delicious! Their salads are fresh and really complement the chicken. 😋😋

$5.00 Cesar combo is such a great tastey deal. Its not on the menu anymore, but they still have it for sale. The healthiest combo deal of all the fast food places. Their employees are a lot friendlier these days.

Since this place is relatively close to my job and it’s one of the few good restaurants in Merced, I tend to go often! Every time I go I am greeted with a friendly voice through the drive thru speaker and they are quick to get their orders out which makes it super convenient for my 30 minute lunches! Thank you EPL! Ps. their grande avocado bowls are amazing!

Chicken very good and moist. All the food was nice and hot as well. So often you get home and everything is lukewarm. A little pricey to substitute for a breast versus a thigh or drumstick though but still a great meal.

👍 If you're in to chicken & mashed potatoes (I don't understand you people who aren't 🤷‍♂️), this place will get the job done. 🤔 It's hard to describe, some places you really crave beforehand (like when you're really in the mood for Round Table or In N Out), but this is one of those places you appreciate more AFTER you finish eating. ✅ It seems like every time you finish a meal here you realize, 'that was really good, I should go there more often'. ⭐Keep up the good work EPL!

I've been going the Olive Ave location for over a year. Everything has been great. Nice people, good service and awesome food too. This place is a winner. Go get your chicken dinner!

Went in last Tuesday 2/24/3026 ordered on app, Food was Exceptional, especially the Chicken Burrito, the crispy chicken tacos were Great, food was done right on time, staff was Fantastic, Friendly & Attentive. Liked it so much, we went in again on Tuesday, 3/3/2026 again the food was EXCELLENT, Fresh & Great Tasting, the staff was Amazing & Quick. Had a minor issue, but I called & spoke with ANNETTE & her Customer Service Skills & caring about her guests is PHENOMENAL. Thank you, Annette for making us feel valued as customers. Now, your customers for life. Abel Mireles

Adryanna Sotelo

This is always my go to place, I have not had a bad experience.

Seferino Silva

The chicken is good but a bit on pricey side. Portions seem smaller these last few months.

ZMILY FUNB0I

Food was delicious served hot and completely cooked yummy yup yup

Kim alicea

Excellent Service! Food was great, not extremely fond of the straight pinto beans but from the salsa's to the chicken, awesome! Service was very accommodating, even with my last minute requests. 😊

Florence Pena

Good deal, family package . I took my grand nieces and their father for lunch. Satisfies our hunger fo grill chickens and side dishes 😋

+1

Mireya Rodriguez

I ordered ahead of time through the app which offered me 15% off my entire order. I ordered 2 double chicken avocado salads for my mom and I. They had it ready under 9 minutes from when I placed the order to when I got to the store. There's Bilingual customer service( spanish & English ), Real friendly cashier named Gricelda. Fast efficient service in the drive through and walk in. Face masks are required. Very clean store, bathrooms are clean they do need toilet seat covers, toilet paper and paper towels because they had at least toilet paper everything else was out, when my mom when to use the restroom there was just enough toiletpaper for her because it was so busy. But I'm most impressed with their food, efficiency and service. Delicious meal for both my mom and I! Thank you good job guys! I just went back today, the food was good but the cashier who had no name badge was not friendly with anyone. She looked miserable, which is your having a bad day I get.. but switch places with someone. I was afraid to ask her to use my mobile app so I wouldn't bother her. Lately.. no one there had a friendly demeanor.. you can tell through the drive through they hate it. But at least the food is good. I'd rather go somewhere else if I want good service... for that cost. I spent over $40 for 2 people.

+11

Sound Wave

We have been there three times in three weeks. For some strange reason they keep forgetting one of our drinks. 🤷 A side from this the food is delicious.

Eloisa Contreras Jimenez

Very delicious super kind staff definitely recommend I am from out of town first time visiting any El Pollo Loco they did not disappoint!

Mr. Alamillo

What can I say? This place is more expensive than KFC, but for me the spicy guacamole sauce makes it worth it. Today I tried the double avaocado chicken bowl and red sauce tamal. At $3 a tamal I have to say I was a bit disappointed. The tamal was dry and not enough meat for the price. The masa had good flavor so that's a plus. The chicken bowl was delicious. The meat, beans, rice and avocado had great flavor. Highly recommend.

Lori Hazler

I must say it was surprising good. I have not eaten there in years, due to a bad meal with bad service, but as i said that was many years ago. I was with a friend who had a coupon and wanted to eat there and I'm so glad we did. The place was clean, the place smelled wonderfully delicious. We ordered the food to go and when we got back to the house and started eating it tasted even better than it smelled. I can't wait to go back and try some other items on their menu.

Stopped in for dinner after work They seemed to be short staffed and stressed. None of the workers were happy And none of them smiled or greeted me. The only positive thing was the food was great

One of the better Mexican fast food places. Very good chicken, I'd actually give the place a 5 stars if it's chicken weren't the smallest chickens, kfc and popeyes smallest pieces are at least a third bigger then here.

I got the new fire grilled double chicken nachos and they were very good. My only complaint is there was a significant lack lthe Queso Blanco cheese sauce on my nachos and I was very disappointed because the lil bit that I did taste was very good.

Food was very fresh hot and tasty. Price isn't that bad for fast food and mailer coupons. Service was awesome through drive thru.

Employess were friendly but i didnt like prep being done on front line by salsa bar. Also i ordered a chicken avacado burrito n i got more pico de gallo n cabage than i got chicken n avacado that was a little disappointing

Food was good. Not as great as I last remember but I'm sure we can thank covid for that. I love thecchicken without a doubt. You can taste the citrus glaze they put on the chicken whilevits being grilled up.

Better than the usual fast food, healthier than KFC. Ingredients are fresh and tasty. Prices are ridiculous high but I guess that's everywhere these days.

Very polite, very friendly and very accommodating you can't ask more forum a restaurant as they do an amazing job of being helpful and serving a good consistent product, I can honestly say if dining in or using their curbside pickup I have no complaints to make.

We just used the drive through so i dont know bout atmosphere but the service was great and the food.....mmmhhhh, it hit the spot! It wasnt very big servings but they was good!!!!

Great food and service. It was busy around dinner time but no considerable wait because of it. They have lots of coupons, highly suggest looking some up before your next visit.

Wasn't too happy with how they make their quesadillas, too much lettuce and not enough or any melted cheese. Felt like a flat burrito BUT it was delicious regardless. It just wasn't like a traditional quesadilla which is what I was hoping for.

Too pricey. Not as good as home made. But the food is decent. I like chicken but you have to ask for light on beans and rice because that's what they give you if you don't ask is light chicken lol

Overall a decent place to eat for fast food. Chicken has never Been greasy or cold. They change their menu frequently so I always get to experience more of what they have to offer. Sometimes the young ladies running the drive thru window seem a bit cold and unhappy to be at work. Other than that no complaints

I ordered the double chicken tostada bowl looking thing. And it was very delicious. Everything was well cooked. And I loved the salsas they gave me. Will be coming back for more. They didn't give me my chips and I had a coupon for chips and Guacamole. They scanned the coupon but when Ieft with my order, they were missing 😑

The quality of the food is just as good as others and the service was friendly as you might expect, but the prices are noticeably higher than at others. I bought a double chicken tostada for upwards of $10 when it is usually around $7.50. If you get coupons in the mail and use them, you could get the classic one for $5 which is a decent price since it's about the same size. Next time, I'll be sure to come with a coupon.

Hate the app but love the food. Marinated chicken. Har the todtada bowl. Same as taco salad. I like a lot

Hot food and good. Would of gave a five star but my french toast sticks was burnt.i hope to have better ones when u go there again. Diego was nice she he took our order.

It's an ok option if you're looking for a fast food place that doesn't feel like such. Chicken is in most cases, over cooked and therefore dry however what else would you expect from a "fast food" joint?

The stars say it all it's a 3 average all around, having recently been to other Pollo Loco restaurants out of town I'll say that the service is decent to good you get some employees who will smile and some that won't I think overall the majority of them are pleasant the quality of the food is good, the cleanliness of the restaurant in the dining struggles in the evening from my experience of visiting in the afternoon and evening the bathroom cleanliness has improved a lot, This Merced location is an average all around but not a bad place to eat overall

First of all I hate giving mediocre or bad reviews. However this time I have to. Last month I visited the Merced El Pollo Loco for the first time. I got the Mexican Cesar Pollo bowl and a classic crunchy taco. Both were so good. So today after a doctor's appointment I decided to go again. This time I got two of the classic crunchy tacos. And when I got home I was highly disappointed. There was hardly any chicken and there was so much grease it was leaking out of the foil and into the bag. I couldn't use the napkins because of the grease. I realize that it was lunch time and the drive-thru was busy but that is no excuse for sloppy food. Not sure I will be back.

El Pollo Loco's food is usually fresh and tastes great BUT every time I find something I really like to eat there the restaurant changes their menu. Also, the Pollo Loco at this location ALWAYS gets my order wrong, even if I just ask for one thing different.

Went through Drive thru. Great food and service

The only thing I request is for the workers to give me a good amount of cilantro and onion for a family size and in separate bags. Now, they hardly give you more than a pinch, and it's barely any cilantro. If they are low or running out, I wish they would express that. They also give you more salsas than you request, which can be a waste. Sometimes, it does not feel welcoming when I order and pay. The food quality usually is always the same: good and hot.

I come here two to three times a month. Generally I love their chicken but lately it has been bony, dry, and shriveled pieces of chicken and it's happened several times the last couple months. Quality control has slipped. Hope they can fix it.

Typical Fast food restaurants. Food was decent, but if you want hot food then don't come here. I had to use the restroom while here and it was semi clean. Nothing that really grossed you out or made you want to hold it until later. Staff was friendly. It was busy, but besides that quick. The reason for 3 stars instead of 4 was the seating area was dirty, bathrooms needed some TLC, and some of the stuff we ordered you could tell it had been sitting awhile and wasn't hot anymore.

It's always clean. But the staff aren't very friendly, and the past couple times I've been the food just wasn't good. The chicken was bony, and dry. Pinto beans were hard and tasteless. It's unlikely I will eat there again.

Food was good but the restrooms were horrible. Also the demographic of people there was less desirable. One employee (with pink hair) reached in front of my wife as she was filling her drink to put a dirty rag that she was done using in a pitcher of nasty water next to the soda fountain. I don't think we will eat there again. Maybe just grab the drive thru if we address in a rush.

Robin Caudillo

The last few times I've been here the chicken is dried up and very small portions. Definitely not as good as it once was. Customer service was awful.

Dan Acevedo

Tasted like the food was old, couldn't even finish it.

Jessica Martinez

Food not worth it at all super expensive, my food at home taste way better in my opinion over priced basic food

Esmeralda Tapley

I ordered my favorite two pieces, but the chicken was dry.

I was disappointed in my Mexican Caesar salad. There was hardly any dressing on it and way too much rice. My husband's Original Pollo bowl had much less chicken than usual. Not a happy experience.

Everyone there seemed inexperienced and did not feel welcomed there. Took a while before we got our food and ended up finding bone in my chicken salad. Seems like they can never train their staff properly since every time ive gone the past 5 years they mess up my order.

Have come here a few times and ordered the same meal. Charged different prices each time, but received the exact same thing. No combo order or any additions to the order, just random price change.

Got a good deal using the app. Unfortunately they forgot some of my order! Also two of my sides were only half way filled. I live 25 minutes away or I would've gone back right away to get the rest of my order.. Nonetheless everything that was there was really delicious.

Ja/Salit Singson

The presentation has been unacceptable!! Three times our orders was messed up! Shredded chicken tacos drenched with cheese — lots of toppings ! They even missed my side order of chips which was paid! Won’t recommend this place - they should be honest with orders- even if we don’t check!

Teresa Rodriguez

My chicken was raw and cold my mash had very little mash and they didn't have the condiments we ask for, they usually are good I don't know what happened

Shelly Annette

First of all i recieved the wrong ordor. I ordered the double alvacado chicken fit bowl. Trying to watch my calorie intake i ordored something lite, i recieved the double chicken alvacado bowl which is loaded with rice and pinto beans. I am so unhappy with my first visit to el pollo loco in merced. Also their was a weired taste, not sure if it was the rice or beans. Id perfer to just go to taco bell they have lower calorie options and zero calorie drinks.

I keep giving this location a chance But they need better customer service and not run out of soda/ingredients. Mostly the customer service and the consistency of food served....

Bad customer service. Their card terminals dont work and they have no idea how to fix it. To make matters worst instead of letting you know or at least apologizing or offering options they go get on the phone. And help the person behind you (with out even asking). We left because we didn't have cash.

Found a hair in my salad, it sucks because I was barely starting to eat it ( I tore it apart )

I just to buy at Pollo Loco in Merced. It says closes at 11pm. My mother needed to use the restroom. She's 80 years. Right now it is just 10:10PM. PLEASE CONSIDER YOUR COSTUMERS. WE PROVIDE YOU BUSINESS. THANK YOU.

Don't get me wrong but I love this place and their food but theirs one lady that has HORRIBLE customer service. Her name is ALEXIA, when she was taking our order she wasn't having it, and she rolled her eyes. When she gaves us our 2 cups she didn't hand us the cups she threw them slightly. I would never want this lady to be at my restuarant if I had one. I would automatically FIRE her for her bad Customer service towards the customers. HER NAME IS ALEXIA.

I just tried the new birria tacos. Barely any meat or cheese. Very little consume. And no sauces for the chips. The owner obviously doesn't care about customers coming back. 0 stars if I could. And I was overcharged.

If it is possible to give zero, I would have done that but not for the company or the food. They have a lot of good food but the reason am giving 1 star is because of how so rude a staff by name Veronica was to me. She attended me on 4/26/2019 between 9:00pm - 9:35pm and being so careless didn't give me all my order. I lived like 12mins away from the restaurant and I have to go back because of incomplete order from this rude staff Veronica. When I got there to complain about that, Veronica started giving me an attitude, she was careless of her mistake, didn't even apologize. Before this incident, I have some friends that have complained about Veronica being rude to them, I think is time for whomever that is in-charge in hiring staff here to call Veronica to order because with her attitude to customers, this location will be loosing a lot of incredible customers. In other words, she really needs to learn customer service so as to serve the customers well.

Rude. Orders nearly $70 in food and I've never felt so rushed and unappreciated anywhere I've ever eaten before. No Keto tacos/burritos as well. I felt scolded and like I should have apologized for even asking for something that's normally on the menu with the reaction I received.

When you recommend your friend To go here and orders a keto bowl (And other food) but gets a regular bowl instead.. instead of fixing the problem, y’all print out the complain and just post it in y’alls office.. never got an apology. Unprofessional.

Ordered the new shredded beef crispy tacos and to my disappointment they were burnt and cracked. They looked nothing like what they been advertising on their T V commercial. This was the first out of many visits an epic fail.

Gave me the wrong keto bowl. The drive thru lady was rude when she had to repeat herself because she didn’t hear my response the first time. The Chicken in the bowl was a bit too hard, salsas on the family pack weren’t so fresh. Bad start to a new year...

Once again my order is wrong. I ordered chips and guac, 2 chicken tacos al carbon without onions. I recieved 3 tacos with everything and some chips. The salsa looked sketchy, as if it should have been pulled I did not eat. I refused to drive back it was Friday night and I was extremely tired. I have just shrugged this off in the past but this was a small order. Plus she repeated my order back to me correctly. I am going to give you guys a break for awhile.

This place have gone down over the years. Poor customer service. Food is over cook and burnt. Staff are rude and they don't clean the lobby. They dare to ask for my receipt to use their disgusting bathroom.

No one in the kitchen wear gloves except the two individuals who were cutting veggies. All the others in the kitchen were not seen washing their hands after handling money and the register then going to the kitchen to help. Also every one of them who were wearing a mask would touch their mask non stop and then go right to handling food. This is quite disturbing had to walk out. Prices going up. Pay is going up. shouldn't the quality of service go up as well?

I came in with my family 8/12/18 at 6pm.we decided to come dine in and not only was their alot of flies flying around everywheir but the tables were very dirty and their was alot of garbage on the floor, it looked like they havent cleaned the ground in 2days. Very disapointed in this pollo loco. typical laziness these days

Rude.. at drive thru and got a bag of chips more like a bag of greasy broken crumbs and my chicken taco no chicken and tortilla was all tore up just horrible it use to be good at one time..called to speak to supervisor was no help wanted me to drive all the way back to bring my food to get it replaced and only one thing replaced not the hole order really bad management .. No need for rudeness El pollo loco you can keep your chicken cause i wont be back..

All of there food tasted like cleaning supplies. The chicken, tacos and even the salsa! I order late night and by the time I got home it was too late to call. I called them the next day and all they could offer is 25% of my order. I asked to speak to the manager and the lady on the phone said she was the manager. Classic.

9-23-18 Horrible service today. I had a promotional coupon for a 12 piece family meal. I ordered the mixed meal, 3 sides and when I got to the window (drive through) I was told the coupon wasn't valid. The coupon clearly stated that it was good through today. When I redeemed the coupon, it removed it from other promotions. When I questioned the coupon, I was told I could then use the leg/thigh coupon, and if I still wanted mixed, I'd have to pay the regular price. I spoke to a supervisor who basically told me the same thing. I will NOT return to El Pollo Loco if this is how you treat your customers. You have just lost a very loyal customer.

Chicken was hard and dry. We waited a bit for our meal and it was the dinner rush, so not sure why we didn't get fresh food. It wasn't even like it was overcooked, but seemed as if it was sitting around for a bit under a warmer and dried out. Very disappointing.

Was excited to try this place again but got home and the food didn’t taste fresh or have much flavor. Seems like it was sitting out for hours then got re heated. Me and a family member had a bad stomach after eating too

Ordered online and I got a family meal for $27 and my bank account read it got charged twice! So there was almost $60 off my bank acct for a freaking meal. Called the general manager and took all the info but never called back and it's been 3 days. Very professional! Thanks for stealing my money!!

Tereza Marešková

There were only two of us in the restaurant. Our order was missing almost half of what we ordered, so we had to ask the stuff to give us these things. Moreover, instead of a bowl with (only) shrimp, I got a bowl with chicken and shrimp and other ingredients that didn't match the order. I wasn't sure if I had made a mistake, so I let this mistake go. But about halfway through the meal, I found a bug at the bottom of the bowl. The waiter refunded the money for this inconvenience and apologized, which I take as a plus. Otherwise, I don't rate it well - our order wasn't complicated, and we made it through a terminal, so the understanding should have been clear, but it still wasn't. And a bug in your food is something you simply don't want to have. If I had to rate the taste, it was pretty average, not exciting, but not offensive either.

Patty K

$68.00 for eight tiny chicken legs and some other unidentifiable pieces. Not one breast! 2 Cole slaws that tasted old, .rice and beans. This is the second time I have been ripped off by this place.. NEVER AGAIN !!!

Myra Smith

Ordered a pollo bowl of chicken only because I cannot have carbs. The lady taking my order was rude as if she didn't understand what I was asking for. A pollo bowl with only chicken, cilantro, onions and salsa. What she handed to me looked like a dog ate half of my meal and regurgitated on it and that's my meal. I paid full price for a pollo bowl!! WILL NOT BE RETURNING TO THIS LOCATION EVER.