Cancel

Open app

Search

El Pollo Real

4.4 (46 reviews)
ModerateMexican
Open • 9:00 am - 8:00 pm
Updated 2 months ago

EL POLLO REAL · YELP ASSISTANT

Ask Yelp Assistant

El Pollo Real Photos

Business Info

EL POLLO REAL ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Moderate noise
Good for kids
Good for groups

You might also consider

Recommended Reviews - El Pollo Real

Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
Yelp app icon
Browse more easily on the app
Review Feed Illustration

Reviews With Photos

Half of chicken
KELLY M.

Came here for a dinner takeout. We order half of chicken with side of rice and bean soup. Let me say the chicken is delicious! I love how they made the chicken. We also order flautas which are fabulous. Crunchy and delicious. The salsa is not bad either. There are street park so you can run in to get the order.

The best in Chicago
Augie M.

Second to none, El Pollo Real is not only the best place to get Pollo Asado, it is also the best Mexican restaurant in Chicago. Right off 31st between Kedzie and Pulaski, you'll find this diamond in the rough. If it helps, follow your nose and you will not struggle to find with the delicious smells of the smoke. A few other notes: An order of Arrachera (skirt steak) with a side of beans and guacamole; half chicken with two sides; whole chicken with two sides: under $50 and feeds about 6-8 easily. For takeout, 25 minutes to prepare with cebollas (grilled onions) and salsa (hot sauce). **While you're waiting, I strongly recommend grabbing some pan dulce (Mexican pastries) to go from Bakery La Paris just down the road towards Pulaski. I might be screwing myself with this review, but it is too good not to share. I hope you do not find this review cynical, just trying to help others get out of their confront and immerse in our culture. Good chicken should never be ignored. Char Broil Chicken Pollo Asado Arrachera Carne Asada Grilled Jalapeno Guacamole and Chips Adobado Grilled Chicken

Seasoned grilled whole Pollo
Jose C.

El Pollo Real serves some of the best chicken in the city. You can get a whole seasoned chicken with 2 sides for only 14.99. That is a huge steal. Nowadays it's hard to feed a whole family for under $20. The seasoned chicken is of course well seasoned and grilled to perfection. I ordered rice and beans as my wife's and they give you tortillas. Some chicken rice and beans in your taco with their home made Salsa and that's all she wrote. The chicken is very juicy and they are vice welcoming in there. Can't wait to go back!

Pollo rostisado y adobado combo
Señorita Rodrigue Z.

Pollo real is located on 31st in Little Village, 2 blocks east of Pulaski Rd. On a busy work night, I can rely on Pollo Real to deliver me a delicious meal right to my home, extremely fast. I called at 8:15pm (3-25-15) and placed my order as I arrived home, my food was delivered at 8:37pm. Now thats fast delivery!! Of course, they deliver within the community but you can also dine in, they have plenty of space. They have different specials and today (wednesday) is buy a whole grilled marinated chicken and get a half chicken for free. If you order the combo, for 5.00 more, you will get huge rice and bean portion along with a pack of tortillas. The chicken is so juicy and is adobado meaning it has been marinated and spices have been added to the chicken before it is placed on the grill. If you dine in, parking is available via street parking. As of one month ago, credit cards are NO longer being accepted for deliveries. For dine in, credit cards are accepted.

Chicken!
Valeria G.

Wow! Just ordered for the first time from this place and it is absolutely amazing! So amazing, I want to come back and order again from this place to share with my friends. We ordered 2 boxes of chicken, rice, refried beans, and charros beans. It was reasonably priced, flavorful and just great! I can't rave enough on how delicious it all was. Wow!

Charcoal grilled chicken
Melissa C.

Oh my goodness this place really hit the spot. The chicken was packed with flavor, it was juicy and tender inside and the outside had a slight crisp to it. I must admit the white meat pieces were dry. I loved the salsas it came with and the rice and beans were good as well. Just thinking about this place makes me want to go back.

Do you think I could get a seat at the grill?
Chris C.

Whenever we visit family in Chicago, we like to try new places. If I would make one wish, I think I would wish to be Peter Pan so I could never grow up and could spend my life finding more wonderful places to eat like El Pollo Real. Let me tell you I have been eating chicken for a long time and have had chicken prepared all sorts of ways. This may be the BEST chicken I have ever had. This chicken was amazing! We had done our typical research for locations on Yelp and this one sounded interesting so we loaded up the vehicles and made the drive to El Pollo Real. El Pollo Real is located on the south side of Chicago not far from Cicero. Some of you may be unsure of the south side but hey, you're going to eat amazing chicken not going to an art gallery. Not that there's anything wrong with an art gallery except that they don't serve the best chicken around. So we went with my wife, brother and his wife and my 10 year old nephew. One of best parts about going with a group of us is we order lots of food so we can all share and try everything. The other part about going with us is we order lots of food and usually have lots of leftovers. As we were getting closer you could smell the charcoal in the air. We parked on the street and went inside. They were quite busy with lots of take out orders going out. We elected to eat in. Their menu is pretty simple. They have seasoned or natural chicken or flank steak. All their meals come with tortillas, beans, rice and potatoes. They also had guacamole and chips. So we ordered 3 chickens (yes for 4 adults) some flank steak and guacamole and chips as we love that. While we waited for our food the smells in the restaurant made us even more hungry. From where you order you can look into their kitchen and see the pit of coals burning where they are grilling their chickens. When I die, I want to be buried right there.When our food came out, it actually came out with several severs. I think we ordered the whole coop. Our table was full of chickens, steak and food. We all started on the chicken. This chicken was so flavorful, so juicy. It was just perfect, The seasoned had a perfect blend of seasonings. It was not spicy but savory and smoky from the charcoal. The natural had just the great flavor from their charcoal. I noticed while I watched they grilling the chickens that they basted them with something. I wonder if could get a gallon of that to go? This food was so good. We did a lot of damage this evening and ate way more that we should of. It was that good. The kicker of the meal was their potatoes. They grill/smoke these whole potatoes that they serve with their meals. Crazy good. I made sure we didn't have any left over potatoes. Their beans were creamy and excellent but really were a side order to that chicken, We found out after we ordered that they have a special during the week that when you order a chicken dinner you get a half a chicken for free. So with some help from their deal we ended up with a nice bag of left overs that will probably be eaten as a late night snack. You have try this is place. If you like chicken, you will love El Pollo Real. If you don't like chicken you will love El Pollo Real. Easily the best chicken I have ever had!

See all

5 months ago

Service and food are amazing and everyone is so welcoming. The restaurant is also super clean.

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of Xena L.
81
96
101

1 year ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of Dina M.
1
34
14

6 months ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Helpful 2
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

6 years ago

Helpful 2
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

7 years ago

Helpful 5
Thanks 2
Love this 5
Oh no 0
Photo of ana p.
2
14
4

2 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

4 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 1
Love this 1
Oh no 1
Photo of Jose C.
3770
1576
6931

9 years ago

Helpful 3
Thanks 1
Love this 1
Oh no 0
Photo of Sam D.
0
21
0

6 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of John V.
99
10
48

9 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 0

12 years ago

Helpful 3
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 0

9 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

5 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

7 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

9 years ago

Helpful 2
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

4 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of Melissa C.
208
88
768

11 years ago

Helpful 6
Thanks 1
Love this 5
Oh no 0
Photo of Coy M.
1001
141
147

14 years ago

Helpful 4
Thanks 0
Love this 2
Oh no 0

15 years ago

Helpful 2
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

10 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 0

9 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 0
Photo of July H.
3
47
19

12 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

8 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

12 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of Sharon W.
46
14
13

9 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 2
Oh no 0

8 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

11 years ago

Helpful 2
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 0

9 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 0

7 years ago

The chicken is some of the best I've ever had, moist and delicious. Friendly staff, this place is worth the drive.

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

10 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of A. M.
6
10
9

13 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

9 years ago

Amazing food!! Highly recommended. Great place to take your family & enjoy some pollo! ‍‍‍

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

12 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 0

13 years ago

This place is good a little price on the weekend but if you come on Tuesday Wednesday or Thursday price is good

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

8 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 0

11 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

11 years ago

Very good chicken if you are looking to have a good chicken with yummy beans this is the place recommend the frijoles charros

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

10 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

Page 1 of 2

El Pollo Real Reviews in Other Languages

Ask the Community - El Pollo Real

You might also consider

Verify this business for free

People searched for Mexican 60,063 times last month within 15 miles of this business.

Verify this business

La Mejikana - Taco de Lomito

La Mejikana

4.3(454 reviews)
3.1 mi•Pilsen
•$$

We have eaten here inside once. Loud music but great music. If you want a calm night - they are…read moregreat with takeout and delivery. Fast service as well! Our go to is quesabirria or regular birria soup for delivery but tonight we ordered Chicharrón de ribeye (no pork since we are Muslim but be cautious with beans they add to this has bacon in it) - incredible dish with cheese and tortillas Grilled chicken salad with La Mejikana dressing (my new go to - AMAZING fresh and filling salad) Wings - great a little spicy and not greasy at all

It was not stated anywhere else on their digital menu that they their tacos come individually;…read morecompared to their three taco plate option, but thanks to checking the yelp menu first I was able to make my choice for 2 birra tacos! (inquire about the 4% service charge added) No rice or beans with any of my parties' dishes, not sure if that is an option. Time to be seated was less than five minutes for a party of four around 2:20 PM on a Sunday; busier times or days enforce their 90 minute time limit policy per table. The food was well seasoned, wish I tasted it a little more on the meat itself, yet all the vegetables tasted crisp and fresh. If you are looking to have intimate conversations be prepared to speak a lot louder, the DJ booth by the front keeps it pretty lively, but difficult to hold conversations across the table. Open authentic Mexican soda is always refreshing, and if you're looking for a place that has soft serve margaritas this is one of them. If you notice and unusual wait time or slow service please make your choice accordingly as I started to notice it was a case by case basis like some of the previous reviews had mentioned.

Photos
La Mejikana - Interior of Buisness

Interior of Buisness

La Mejikana - Fish taco

Fish taco

La Mejikana - Chicharron de Ribeye

See all

Chicharron de Ribeye

Barrio - Quesabirria tacos

Barrio

4.1(1.4k reviews)
5.9 mi•Near North Side
•$$

Barrio - Chicago Strawberry mint margs + Saturday happy…read morehour = YESSS Chips + dip trio with queso, salsa & guac = all 3 were delicious Steak + shrimp tacos = so flavorful & a must try Cornbread skillet = surprisingly SOOO good, so glad we got it 5/5 Loved the fun patio vibes, nice service, clean bathrooms + such a good Chicago happy hour spot! Happy hour is EVERY DAY 4-6pm Check out the full review on IG: @ratedbyaleena_

This place happens to open late as we were able to grab a light dinner after a festival. We arrived…read morea bit over an hour before closing and got seated at a high top. We got the mixed shrimp and steak fajita as the fajita Friday would give us a $5 discount. The fajita gives you a great fire show! However, if we didn't catch the server prepare the first few seconds, we would've missed it, so a heads up would've been appreciated. It felt a bit rushed. The steak and shrimp were solid but for $33 before tax and tip, it is a bit steep. However, the amount of food is good enough for 2 people for a light satisfying meal. I docked off a few stars because while the food is good, service really needs improvement. We had no utensils for 15 minutes. We had to flag the server a few times, nowhere to be found. They didn't even end up discounting the $5 and with how hard it is to get attention from a server, I had to force to leave no tip in the end to make up for the difference, in addition to the very poor service. For near closing when it's not busy, it's not acceptable to not be attended to during the dining service especially we had to leave the food cold waiting for utensils to even start eating.

Photos
Barrio - Interior views

Interior views

Barrio - Chicken fajitas

Chicken fajitas

Barrio - Margarita time!

See all

Margarita time!

Sabroso! Mexican Grill - Enchiladas

Sabroso! Mexican Grill

4.7(554 reviews)
4.8 mi•Ukrainian Village, West Town
•$$

Over the weekend we had our daughters quince and we used Sabroso as our caters. I ended up finding…read moreSabor last minute after our caterer back out. Our family fell in love with the food at the restaurant and was very certain we had found our caterers for the big day. Working with Sabor has been a great experience. They did such amazing job the day of and of course everyone loved the food. They met our expectations and beyond. They helped even with clean up and cake cutting which was a last minute asked and truly appreciated. I definitely recommend and appreciate all they did. Thank you so much Vincent, Karina, and the catering team!

Four of us (two adults and two kids) visited Sabroso! Mexican Grill for the first time during a…read moretrip to Chicago. I must admit that I had low expectations because quite frankly, I have not enjoyed Mexican food outside of Mexico or California. However, we were hungry, and it was near where we were staying, so I decided we should check it out, and I am so glad we did! The food was great. Both adults and the VERY picky children in our group all enjoyed our meals. I ordered the green chicken enchiladas and the other adult ordered a chile relleno combo, which I also got to try. Everything was delicious and devoured by all! We were so full but the owner talked us into the chocoflan, and we did not regret trying it. It was soooo good! Speaking of the owner, the service was great. We really enjoyed how he and the rest of the staff were very courteous. It is a small establishment, and it gets a good amount of people, so I assume that there are waits during peak hours. I highly recommend Sabroso! And we plan to return the next time we are in the area.

Photos
Sabroso! Mexican Grill - Interior din6

Interior din6

Sabroso! Mexican Grill - Enchiladas

Enchiladas

Sabroso! Mexican Grill - CHICKEN TAQUITOS

See all

CHICKEN TAQUITOS

5 Rabanitos - Chilaquiles verdes

5 Rabanitos

4.2(855 reviews)
3.0 mi•Pilsen
•$$

The chef who owns this restaurant trained with Rick Bayless for 19 years and it really comes out in…read morehis cooking. All of the food was absolutely delicious. We came later on a Monday night so we did not have to wait to get a seat although it was still pretty busy. The place is decorated nicely. Well on a block with many other Mexican businesses. Located right off the pink line it is very easy to get to and also noted to be near the Mexican art Institute. The chicken mole enchiladas were delicious. Spicy and bitterness of the chocolate balanced super well. rice was also cooked perfectly. The shredded beef dish was short rib and mashed potatoes. They were meant to be assembled into a homemade tortilla - a very interesting concept. The homemade tortillas were so warm and fluffy. I have never had such good tortillas. I took a tamale plate home. It was large and had a good portion of shredded pork. Super flavorful, but also I felt the texture might've been firmer than I would've expected.

I was introduced to the place by a Mexicans from Chicago and it's such a hidden gem. She suggested…read morethe we try the sopes and i don't regret it at all. I got the chicken tinga and carne asada and it was really good. We had the verde ceviche (not pictured) and it was a table fav. We also got the elotes which were good but nothing special. It was my first time have queso fundido and i really like its. The staff was really friendly and the place is so cute. Most places are going for a minimalist look not but the bright blue, green, and yellow works really well today as well as the various artwork!

Photos
5 Rabanitos - Interior

Interior

5 Rabanitos - Chips & Guac

Chips & Guac

5 Rabanitos - This bright mural on the side of 5 Rabanitos drew us is for refreshing Micheladas!

See all

This bright mural on the side of 5 Rabanitos drew us is for refreshing Micheladas!

Frontera Grill - Trio Ceviche

Frontera Grill

3.9(2.8k reviews)
5.9 mi•Near North Side
•$$

The vibes were really nice for casual Mexican food. Dim lighting, candles on the table, and a cozy…read moreatmosphere. 8/10. The Chicken Taquitos (8.5/10) were perfectly crispy with tender, smoky chicken inside paired with fresh guac. The Corn-Masa Quesadillas (8/10) were more like crispy cheese-filled turnovers. The cheese pull was crazy, and the tomatillo salsa added a nice tangy kick. The Enchiladas de Birria (8/10) had tender, savory birria with a nice crunch from the cabbage and radish. The chile-sesame salsa added a great depth of flavor. The Barbacoa (7/10) was tender. I wasn't a fan of the salsa borracha, but the consome was delicious with a nice kick. The Fried Sweet Plantains (8/10) were soft and caramelized. The crema and cheese were a great addition. Overall, a solid spot for Mexican food when you want something a little nicer than a casual taco spot.

It's a terrific still solid stalwart of restaurants in Chicago's legendary portfolio of amazing…read moredining experiences. Creative authentic Mexican specialties and delicious specials. The service is impeccable warm and welcoming! The restaurant interior and adjoining dining experiences are beautifully art directed from Rick Bayles's brilliant eye for art culture and food. The mole is lendary and the branzino was delicious. Beautiful food great full bar and drinks.

Photos
Frontera Grill - Back room, additional eating area at the bar

Back room, additional eating area at the bar

Frontera Grill - Duck carnitas

Duck carnitas

Frontera Grill - Pork shank

See all

Pork shank

El Pollo Real - mexican - Updated November 2026

Loading...
Loading...
Loading...