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    El Pollo Norteno

    3.9 (124 reviews)
    Open 10:00 am - 8:00 pm
    Updated 3 months ago

    Order El Pollo Norteno Takeout or Delivery

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    EL POLLO NORTENO ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Dogs allowed

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    Lucy S.

    In the the mood for some amazing fire grilled chicken look no further than El Pollo Norteno!!Delicious flavorfull chicken, they also have other meat options like carne asada and carnitas. Their potato salad is always a favorite, and they have a great lunch special that includes 2 pc chicken and 2 sides and a drink for $10 now that's a great deal! The service is awesome, the day I went the lady taking orders and working the register AND bringing out the food did such an amazing job and always with a smile on her face , she was so efficient..she deserves a raise! Small place but decent seating and love how they have a timeline on their wall of when all their stores opened and their locations. Cool place, cool people and great food!

    Sometimes I just need one taco and their crack wings
    Alexis B.

    I'll keep it short..... El pollo Norteno ALWAYS gets me right. Never had a dry piece of meat ever, from the tacos to the chicken. So much better than El pollo loco. Just wish they had later hours and wish we had one in Irvine, I'd be there on a weekly basis! Staff is great, food comes out promptly, super fresh, great salsa and sides. I don't have any complaints. I wish them success so we can have them in Lake forest for many years!

    3 piece-individual chicken plate
    Alex H.

    El Pollo Norteño in Lake Forest is hands down one of the top five delicious food spots around! The experience here is consistently quick and easy, making it a go-to for anyone looking for healthy meals. What I particularly love about this location is the freshness; every single time I visit, the food is perfectly prepared. The customer service is absolutely excellent, too. Every staff member I've encountered has been kind and helpful, always greeting me with a smile. They genuinely go out of their way to accommodate, making the dining experience even more enjoyable. Plus, this place is a fantastic way to get my protein fix without breaking the bank. The pricing is very affordable, which is a huge bonus. If you haven't tried El Pollo Norteño yet, you absolutely must! It's a hidden gem that never disappoints!

    dry chicken
    Gordon L.

    $29.00 for dry, burnt whole chicken. It seems like every time I go (once every other month), the price goes up. 23, 25. 27,29. I realize the cost of labor in California is a huge burden, but it gets to the point where it is not worth 30 bucks for a chicken. And after paying the $29.04, you end up with dried-up chicken because there aren't enough customers willing to pay 30 bucks for a chicken. This visit, 3/2//26, was my last; the whole chicken was smaller, dry, and burnt.

    Leeza D.

    I was in need of a whole chicken and this was convenient and a restaurant I always wanted to try. I walked in with all intentions of getting my chicken and going home and enjoying it. I asked the cashier how much for a chicken. I have to tell you, I got major sticker shock. So much so, that I did not buy my chicken. They have an extensive menu and prices overall were reasonable for other items. Therefore, I cannot comment on the food, but I can comment on the location. The restaurant has plenty of seating. Parking area is a bit small so there may be congestion during rush hour, but I went off peak and it was fine. Great branding and restaurant was clean and inviting. It is located on a convenient retail strip and ingress/egress was easy. Please come and visit the restaurant and create your own experience.

    Chicken torta
    Maritza S.

    I had the chicken torta and it was absolutely delicious. The torta bread was warm and toasty. It was filled with chicken, refried beans, lettuce and tomatoes. It was served with chips and a fried jalapeños. The jalapeño was spicy and I loved it How good was it? Well, I went in two days in a row. I may go back again next week!

    4 piece chicken plate
    Scott M.

    Came back again this time to try the family meal deal... Got the number 4 which is an entire chicken and 1 pound of carne asada with 2 sides (We got rice and beans) tortillas, sauces and spiced carrots... this is the way to go if you want to grab a meal everyone will enjoy on your way home E from work. Service was again great and the smell of the barbecue makes you so hungry..

    Rosalie L.

    One of the best chicken places! The flavor isn't just on top of the chicken but through out each piece. Prices are affordable and quality is consistent. Sometimes I daydream about how good it is. Service is quick and straight forward. There is seating inside and parking can be limited so I recommend parking in the next lot to the bowling alley.

    Half filled, tiny salsas apparently enough for 4 people
    Alice L.

    I want to preface by saying that the staff are generally nice and I come here once a week because I like their food. However, with how stingy they are, I will not be coming anymore. I purchase a family meal that should be enough for 3-4 people and every time, I have to mentally prepare myself for the opposition that I will face when I ask for salsa or onions/carrots. The lady in the front will only ever give me 1 bag of onions and carrots. If I ask for 1 more, I get opposition. 1 bag is good for 1 person, see picture. If I ask for salsa, she gives me 2 and if I ask for 1 more, I get opposition. I get that times are tough and I am all for purchasing things if I need. But when purchasing a family chicken meal that has "salsa" written as part of the combo meal, you would think they would at least give enough for 1/person. Also, the salsa is only ever filled halfway so it's barely enough for 1 person, see picture. I started purchasing salsa for $1.50 because I got tired of getting so much opposition for 1 extra salsa but now I am tired of the stinginess. God forbid I ask for some green salsa or pico or limes; I will never get it. With all other Mexican places giving unlimited salsa or at least not being stingy, I will take my business elsewhere. *This doesn't apply to the young guy who works the cashier. He is awesome and will give us enough. It is only the lady who is there 90% of the time.

    2Pcs (2 Sides)
    Harry P.

    Great food and step above el pollo loco, which is good as well. A little more expensive but only a couple dollars more. I like the burritos and 2 piece chicken plate. No complaints other than I would not consider this healthy food. Service is nice but parking can be tough during lunch time.

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    1 month ago

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    23 days ago

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    7 months ago

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    2 months ago

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    1 month ago

    Great nachos and tortas! You get free chips and salsa by signing up for their loyalty program.

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    5 months ago

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    1 year ago

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    1 month ago

    Great customer service and great food. This was my first time here but I will definitely be back

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    1 year ago

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    2 years ago

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    3 months ago

    BEST chicken burritos & Horchata. Quick with orders & friendly staff. Highly recommend El Pollo Norteno!

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    7 months ago

    Business owner information

    Photo of Alfonso C.

    Alfonso C.

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    2 months ago

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    4 months ago

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    8 months ago

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    6 months ago

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    1 year ago

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    1 year ago

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    8 months ago

    Carne asada was terrible! It had NO seasoning and tasted as if it was boiled . Chicken was salty . Birria is decent .

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    1 year ago

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    4 months ago

    Rico pollo. Excelente servicio. Es un lugar muy agradable pr tod la familia . Se los recomiendo

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    5 months ago

    Love this place their food is always fresh and tasty, the customer service is always great!

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    3 years ago

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    1 year ago

    Great spot. First time visit today. Prices were good. The chicken had great flavor.

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    2 years ago

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    Page 1 of 4

    El Pollo Norteno Reviews in Other Languages

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    La Casita Olvera - $1 Taco Tuesday  all day 11am-9pm

    La Casita Olvera

    4.0(549 reviews)
    4.3 mi
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    Happy Cinco de Mayo! This is the place where our family…read morereally wanted to be to get our delicious tacos, at an excellent price, plus it's taco Tuesday ! I still love the fish tacos here, everything is delicious especially the salsa bar when we get to do all the toppings ourselves! They mariachi singers today, Spanish songs are playing by different Mexican folk music-often rancheras (performers), setting a wonderful Cinco de Mayo vibe. They have a full service bar, or you could get a delicious Mexican coffee with a huge slice of flan like I do! - My dessert. :) Yumm

    Went in during a dead time between lunch and dinner. Evidently I was a burden because nobody felt…read morelike giving me a menu when I sat down, or ask if I wanted anything to drink. The blonde was nice but got side tracked. The male bartender (Hispanic guy with the earrings) looked at me 3-4 times but I guess he didn't realize that sitting at the bar means you might want something to drink. He was just carrying on with tedious tasks with no desire to make himself or his company money. In a time where people are going out less and less - it's an interesting choice to basically ignore patrons when they go in your establishment. Hard pass.

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    Chuponcito - BANANA LATTE

    Chuponcito

    4.8(795 reviews)
    3.0 mi
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    We've always seen this spot but had never tried it, so we decided to check it out on Mother's Day…read more They were BUSY, but still moved quickly to get the line down. The restaurant itself is pretty small inside, you order first, then they bring the food to your table. Even with how packed it was, the wait honestly wasn't bad at all. My wife, who's pregnant, saved us a table while I waited in line to order, and Fidel, who I'm assuming is the manager, was very nice and welcoming. He checked up on us a few times even though he wasn't our server, and was very personable asking about our baby. The food was AMAZING. I'm so glad we decided to stay. I had the carnitas Benedict, which was delicious and packed with flavor. My wife had the El Chupon burrito, which was also amazing. But the star of the show for us was their hot salsa, incredibly flavorful with the perfect amount of spice We'll definitely be back!

    They need a way better seating policy. absolutely unacceptable. We were waiting in line, ordered…read moreour food, and someone had put their stuff down to "reserve" the table, when it is completely packed. And they hadn't ordered yet. It should not be like that. There should be proper seating, where ONCE you order, you go find your table. If you don't get a table then you wait your turn. We ask the staff if we can put personal items to reserve a table and she said yes??? What sort of service is that ?!? They should have a host. Or someone guiding it. The food is rather great but what an unpleasant experience. The manager needs to fix this, cause this isn't a cafe. It's a restaurant.

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    Tacos De Birria Estilo Guadalajara - The  best tacos

    Tacos De Birria Estilo Guadalajara

    4.6(656 reviews)
    1.1 mi
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    Outdoor seating
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    Hidden spot located in a church! Parking can suck - I would get here a little earlier for lunch to…read moreavoid the mess that is parking. There's limited spots and some spots are reserved for clergy, daycare, etc. Tacos are a bit on the pricey side, but they're honestly some of the best tacos in the OC. There's a punch card available where you get $10 off after 8 visits. Best Tacos: - Questaco w/ Birria - birria is super flavorful (beef) and perfect with that green salsa and the consume. The cheese is melty and the tacos perfectly crispy. - Fish Taco - Classic fish taco that's perfectly battered and fried with great flavor. Overall, since our first visit, it's become our go to taco spot and we can never go wrong with it. Covered seating + outdoor seating available. Bathroom available via the room onto your left if you're sitting in the covered seating area. On our first trip we walked alllllll the way down the church just to wash our hands since we sat outside, lol. So don't be foolish like us!

    We felt like having tacos on a Tuesday evening and found this place on Yelp. It's the type of…read morerestaurant where you would not notice it when driving by. But good thing for the Yelp platform and the Internet. It had just sprinkled recently and so all the outdoor tables were wet. We were so glad that they also have covered semi indoor seating. Parking was plentiful since we came in the evening and it looks like this is the parking lot for a school also during the day. We ordered at the register and were helped by a couple different staff members. One gentleman took over since it seemed like he was able to explain things better about the menu. I ended up getting a fish taco and a shrimp taco. I should've asked, but didn't realize that the tacos were fried. I was a little surprised because most fish tacos I've eaten are usually served on a tortilla that is not fried. It was a little too greasy for my liking but still tasty! We also ordered birria taquitos to share, which were fried obviously. My family also ordered Carne Asada tacos and birria quesotacos. It didn't seem like there were any taco Tuesday specials for the dishes we ordered. The total amount seemed pretty expensive. Maybe I'll come back to try the ceviche. There are accessible restrooms, which was great since our hands were very greasy afterwards and the small thin napkins weren't sufficient. From the inside dining area, we saw a dance class taking place in the main church assembly room (I think that's what it was). it appeared to be a hula or Polynesian dance class.

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    Lupe's Mexican Eatery - Two Taco Combo

    Lupe's Mexican Eatery

    4.0(511 reviews)
    1.9 mi
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    Alitzel was very helpful Food is delicious…read more Thanks for the service Great customer service

    Lupe's Mexican Eatery has a surprisingly fulfilling array of appetizers, plates, and drinks, though…read morethe main draw for me are their stuffed and voluminous burritos. I've tried several of the burritos here for their size, flavour, and variety of ingredients, most memorably the Lupe's, Hot Cheetos, California and birria burritos. The Lupe's is stacked with steak and bacon, grilled onion and cilantro, jack cheddar cheese and Chipotle sauce AND guac, so you'll love it as the mash of distinct savoury flavours it is if you love each of those ingredients. It's filling and fills you with both strength and fatigue to prep for or recover from a day of hard work. 5.7/10. Hot Cheetos burritos are something you occasionally see around for some reason, and the one's here are solid, though I prefer the version available at Primo's by a solid margin. Lupe's Cheeto's burritos do have an interesting compressive texture that I strangely somewhat enjoy. 4.4/10. The California burrito is a standard and very solid rendition of a classic. I would put the Lupe's version at above average in quality as they're definitely not mediocre or disappointing. 5.3/10. The birria burrito is just as packed and filling as the other burritos, but tastes and feels significantly more fresh as it consists of a juicy but light birria steak, red beans, and LOTS of chopped cilantro and diced onions. In fact, it primarily tastes of the leafy green, so definitely avoid it if you're not a fan. I enjoy it, though it definitely feels lighter and less satisfying to eat than its less healthy, heavier siblings, and suffers from its birria juices settling at the bottom of the burrito to be largely untasted throughout the eating experience, possibly as there isn't enough of it provided. 4/10. This spot also has a good salsa bar with particularly tasty sauces. My favorites are the classic verde and another, pale green sauce with a creamy flavour, both of which go well with all meals to varying effect. I like how the tortilla chips feel a bit cakey- it's slightly hard to describe, but they're not excessively salty either and fun to eat as a receptacle for the delicious sauces here. A solid spot with a nice, comfortable and fun, kitsch decorated interior, solid burritos and a solid selection of menu items at fairly standard prices.

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    Xclusive Mexican Kitchen - Taco Sampler

    Xclusive Mexican Kitchen

    4.6(576 reviews)
    2.0 mi
    $$

    I come here every month or so with my wife and kids. The food and margaritas are delicious. The…read moreservice is great, they are very friendly and there's no hesitation to fix any mistakes. My favorite Mexican food in Orange County. I love this place!

    This place is a gem…read more.. I decided to order something different today since we have been here a few times now. CALAMARI FRITO (always a must): -- super tender and lightly coated w/batter -- chipotle type sauce and green cilantro sauce both delectable for this RATING = A+ ALBONDIGAS SOUP: -- white broth -- veggies and the best meatballs by appearance and taste maybe ever -- wife big fan, I only got tiny taste -- a bit spicier than norm for sure RATING = A+ TACO SAMPLER: -- wife big fan, especially the carnitas -- she wanted street tacos since our local pop-up got shut down a while back -- asada very solid too RATING = A PRIME SKIRT STEAK SKILLET: -- corn tortillas -- white cheese and sauteed onions in the bottom -- delicious medium cooked skirt steak above that -- guacamole on top -- rice and refried beans on the side -- yum city from A to Z -- delicious steak -- I made mini tacos with some and forked in on the rest RATING = A+ Friendly efficient staff. Leaving the door open on a cool night only worked because I blocked the wind from the wife with my body and marginal cool night at our early bird dinner hour.

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    Avila's El Ranchito

    Avila's El Ranchito

    3.6(898 reviews)
    0.8 mi
    $$

    This is my favorite location because of the ambience and the decor! It's super cool and so much fun…read moreinside! The staff is very friendly and our hostess and waiter are very helpful and quick to get a seated and our food came quickly. It's just a fun environment to be at and great for a date night! We went for a Valentines dinner but the night before Valentine's Day. The chips and salsa are really good and those are complementary. Normally, I would get the tableside guacamole, which is really good, but I didn't want to fill up too much so I could eat dinner. They also had a special valentines drink. I got it as a mocktail style and it was so delicious that I want to make it at home because this was just a specialty drink that they had. So me and my husband both ordered fajitas he ordered the steak and I ordered the chicken. The rice and beans were incredible! But I have to say unfortunately my chicken was did not taste very good. It was just kind of dry and not juicy and flavorful. And way too many bell peppers. I love bell peppers, but it was overloaded. But the portions are big and the price is competitive for the area and for this type of food and the amount. Will I come back here again absolutely but maybe I'll try something else like the soup! The soup looked really yummy

    Year 3 of coming to Avila's for a work Christmas party and they are still treating us like royalty!…read moreYou're always welcomed with a smile here and the food is still so delicious. Our entire party of 25 was going ham on the guacamole because it's just so good (and so is the salsa)! Several people in the group enjoyed margaritas - this time I went with a hibiscus tea and it was so refreshing! I really enjoyed it! As always, I got my favorite, a shredded beef hard taco and a cheese enchilada and it was a comfort meal for me. We hosted our annual white elephant gift exchange and had a great time here. Appreciate Avila's for always doing a wonderful job!

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    El Pollo Norteno - mexican - Updated May 2026

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