Unpretentious drive-through charcoal chicken in South Austin. We always get the whole chicken meal, comes with fresh tortillas, grilled onions, brand, and rice. The price is far more reasonable than fancy hipster Mexican chicken places north of the river, and the taste is just as good. They also do burgers and fries, but the chicken is what draws loyal fans. I can't believe some bitter yelpers are complaining about poor customer service. This ain't no five star restaurant, it's a cheap and greasy neighborhood take out spot. read more

No se que es lo que está pasando ahi pero cada vez que agarro comida de está ubicado es algo. Soy la misa que recibió moho en una torta y ahora en este dia sesupone que no saben cortar jitomate! Un gran jitomate que ni está partido en mi torta! Me encantan su comida pero ya que me están haciendo odiar los! read more

El Pollo Rico - Mexican Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Food from this location is not the best. The stassney location is definitely a better one to go to. Food is sloppily made and either undercooked or overcooked most of the time. Service is pretty good the cashiers are quick and pleasant. read more

DO NOT GET THEIR NACHOS I almost never leave a review but these were the worst nachos i've ever had. The cheese was on the bottom and it tasted like actual plastic, there's no flavor on the carne asada. The only thing good was the green sauce. They also made me sign for going through the drive thru. If i thought their other foot would be good I might go back but with the abundance of good food around this location I will never go back read more

Pretty greazy. The only person able to speak English here was a very young entitled guy that obviously couldn't care less about taking care of customers. The chips were awful; way way way too thick. Drink was very diluted. Chicken was over priced. Go to Sam's or Costco for a whole rotisserie chicken for under $5, every day. Green sauce has a good flavor but it is super spicy hot. Burns your tongue. They don't have any salsa that isn't super hot. Their borracho beans are good with cilantro but they shouldn't add pork. They've really gone up to unreasonable prices. Come on man!! read more

Good food but the past two times their kitchen was closed an hour before the restaurant was. Change your hours if you stop making food at certain time. We're still open but not making any food...Then Close. Pretty Simple Solution. Just drove to another location to see if it was company wide. Nope just Oltorf. read more

Chicken does not taste any good and it is too greasy. Rice is over cooked and the sweet plantains were half cooked

Good service, can't complain there--the baked potato with beef must've had 1 ounce of chopped meat on it. Seems excessive on the cut backs for the price. Disappointed that the time to not eat out is fast coming: this was the one meal I had today. I love the flavor of their meats (chicken/beef) and the green sauce. Just would have preferred to feel a little more sated for the investment. I hope it was a mistake and not the new norm. Everything is smaller and more expensive now I suppose. So who knows. read more

As some of you may or may not know, the hamburger special at most Mexican restaurants is damn tasty. There are several reasons for this: 1. They are usually hand made and not frozen patties (I'm pretty sure the one at Pollo Rico falls into this category since the patty was not totally uniform--it had character). b. They will usually be hot and fresh, since they are not often ordered (I had to pull forward and wait for my burger and fries today. The fries were screaming hot, the burger was fresh off the grill). iii. They will taste more like a homemade hamburger (see item 1.). All of these statements were true of the hamburger special at Pollo Rico. The burger was so big, it is still sitting here half eaten and they gave me so many fries, half of them are sitting here as well (they may find themselves in a homemade breakfast taco tomorrow...). They also gave me a HUGE pickled jalapeno (see photo). I was a little to scared to use it, but it was an interesting condiment to include. Oh, it was also a surprise cheeseburger, which was a pleasant surprise, since the menu clearly just said "hamburger special". I am trying to try all the new menu items, though of course, the whole chicken special with the rice, beans, and big ole onion is the bomb. I want to try the carne asada baked potato next time. Also, this Pollo Rico has in-house seating, most of the locations are drive through only. I will forever miss Al John's, the drive-thru and eat-in pizza place that used to be here, but if someone new had to move it, at least it was Pollo Rico. read more

El Pollo Rico - Hamburger Special - Mexican Near Me - Austin, Texas

I have had El Pollo Rico recommended to me many times before, but never really been up for it. Something about the "asada al carbon" on the sign... a Spanish title is par for the Mexican course, but the Spanish subtitle always kind of intimidated me, because it's like they're not even trying to communicate with non-hispanohablantes. But my friend and I were trying to work out a place to meet, and I said "any place that has good tacos around there?" And here we are. I ordered #13, the "taquitos" and since they're using accurate Spanish they really are just diminutive tacos, in a set of 5. The al pastor was magnificent. Well-seasoned, on fresh tortillas and there were 5 of them for $6. That's about the same as Taco Cabana's "street tacos" except they're made with higher-quality ingredients and an order gives you 5 instead of 3. I also was very happy to discover "the sauce". I speak of the creamy spicy green jalapeño sauce that I had never encountered before I was in Austin, but a few restaurants have. EPR's was not as creamy as Tacodeli's but the flavor was there, and any restaurant with "the sauce" is doing something thunderingly right in my book. So far, so good... nice restaurant, good al pastor, tasty sauce. But when I was treated to my lunch companion's leftovers... daaaang. The chicken is very good. I consider myself an excellent griller of chicken at home. I always marinate, always use charcoal, and take pride in my crack-level-addictive chicken... and this chicken was astoundingly, tremendously better than my char-grilled chicken on the best day. Great place for food. Not one to forget. read more

El Pollo Rico - Cinqo taquitos al pastor, and a Mexican Coca-Cola - Mexican Near Me - Austin, Texas

We were craving a late breakfast and The places we wanted to try were closed so we pulled I here because of the full parking lot. We ordered a whole chicken meal: grilled chicken with rice and bean. This is awesome grilled chicken, very tasty and very ethnic. And the staff are so friendly today. Y'all come and enjoy. read more

El Pollo Rico - While chicken meal - Mexican Near Me - Austin, Texas

I always get the Rico Bowl - everything was off. Starting with my order being taken, then the person working the window... it goes on... you get the idea. The rice was, I'll just... say "strange?" to be nice. I'm not going to bash them, but definitely go to the one on Stassney! NIGHT AND DAY!!!!! read more

El Pollo Rico - Mexican Near Me - Austin, Texas

Awesome place for a great meal with a great deal! The carne asada combo is delicious. My co-workers bought the chicken combo plates and they said it was really delicious! I will definitely come here for lunch another day on my out to lunch day from work. The best part is you can smell the good food when you drive by to it. Each meal comes with beans, rice, corn or flour tortillas. You get a lot food for one meal. Don't be afraid of the place because the outside appearance if you judge a book by it's will only keep you away. If you don't judge you will find a treasure of great meals for a great price! The beans awesome too!!! I didn't get to eat the rice because I was full. But even the rice looked delicious. read more

They close at 9:46, not 11pm as listed on Saturdays. The cook was nice enough to come out the back door after I was at the speaker for 3 minutes in total silence and tell me "we close it" and walk back in. Well.... read more

El Pollo Rico - the location of the restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Austin, Texas

Here's a hint. When you order, put on your handbrake and turn off the car. This is not in anyway fast food. I bought the MexMix... Chicken and what they consider fajita meat I guess. I received a glorified wing and some sort of a breast thing. The wing was tasty, yet the breast thingy was so dry. The fajita meat was just a lil off, but my dog loved it. Not impressed for $11 and change. I will say that the borracho beans are great, but I don't know any Hispanic that could eat the rice. Just my opinion. read more

Great place for authentic, like your dad & tíos outside bbqing, meat. Super delicious & satisfying. & the drive through makes it an easy go-to when you don't feel like cooking. read more

I've heard great things about this place and finally wanted to give it a try while in Austin. I ordered the carne asada with charro beans and plantains. The steak was very tender and flavorful. They definitely give you plenty of tortillas too but they are not homemade. The wife ordered chicken tostadas and she loved them. The chicken had a ton of flavor. You definitely get your money's worth as the food portions are not small. The green sauce is phenomenal and I could eat it by the spoonful! read more

El Pollo Rico - Mexican Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Wow, I'm pretty floored by this place. I ordered ONE #16 and two small sodas and the woman rang up 2 #16 and two small sodas. My card got changed and I asked her why it was so much. She said two soups and I told her I only ordered one. They hadn't even made the soups yet and she told me she couldn't refund my card. That can't be true. I tried to protest but I was in a rush. If the manager or owner is reading this please respond with your policy to employee error. read more

Delicious 1/2 chicken meal. didn't disappoint, everything was yummy. rice was a little bland, but the bean sauce fixed that up nice. Very satisfied thanks to the cook. the chicken was perfect note that Jamica was on menu but not available:( definitely will be back read more

All of the sodas dont have many of the drink all it was is gas it felt like it was mostly water in my drink if this was the only restaurant in town I wouldn't go I would rather eat at home read more

I'm not a chicken lover. In fact, I flatly refused to eat chicken until I was in my late 20's. I have grown to tolerate it over time, but not love it. So when Mister told me he was going to bring home a chicken dinner one night, I was less then enthusiastic, but he was excited so I went along with it. Oh. My. God. I LOVE this chicken. Get the whole chicken combo (that's what we get). It's amazing. MORE than enough for two people (although we really need to get extra tortillas). I have had it about five times now, and it's awesome every single time. That's all I have had from here and probably all I ever will have because I love it too much to try anything else. :) read more

Decided to check out El Pollo Rico on a recent Austin trip because El Taquito was slammed with people... I should have just roughed out the crowd. When I pulled up they were out of a lot of things so I opted for their cinco taquitos. When I paid my $7, the attendant practically threw the plate in my window ( gotta love that service!). The beef was dry and I noticed that compared with other photos that they were sheisty in the meat department. The green salsa was too hot to consume but I know of a lot of people who would love this. I'll try to make it back at an earlier time when there is more of a selection. read more

El Pollo Rico - Beef taquitos - Mexican Near Me - Austin, Texas

El POLLO DELICIOSO!!!!! This place is amazing. The chicken will bring you in and the price will bring you back. The whole charcoal grilled chicken with all of the sides, tortillas, beans, rice, a grilled onion, and limes for 16 bucks is an absolute steal. I have tried to buy all of these items at the store and I come out more expensive. The great thing about it is that you can get it from a drive thru. My girlfriend and I can each get 2 meals from the whole meal. If you don't have that many mouths to feed don't fret they also have a 1/2 chicken option. If you like chicken and haven't tried this place give it a go, I guarantee you will not be disappointed. I have also had one of the tortas when I was on lunch from work and they are also spot on but to be honest you would be doing yourself a disservice to not order the chicken. read more

Pollo Asado, roughly translates as Awesome Chicken! Don't even screw around and buy anything other than a whole chicken. It's what you want. It's what you need. Pros: - Drive Thru - Green Sauce - Roasted Onion - Did I mention the green sauce? - Not super cheap, but not expensive for a 2-person meal Cons: - What? Are you crazy? read more

The mex mix is the bomb diggity. Overall this place is always a solid choice. The chicken is great. Flavorful and chargrilled to perfection. The whole chicken meal is easily the best deal. The amount of food you get is fantastic (comes with rice, beans, tortillas and an whole roasted onion). I haven't ventured too deep into the menu because the chicken by itself and the mex mix (carne asada and chicken combo) are soooo good, I haven't felt the need to stray from them! As a bonus, the HEB receipts from the the riverside location have a coupon on the back for a whole chicken meal for just $11.69. read more

I've tried almost every item on the menu and my top picks are the Chicken flautas, Torta combo (with beef), Papa asada (also with beef), Pollo asado plate, and the Carne asada plate. In that order. And all of these come with the salsa verse (green sauce). Which is amazing. As far as the service goes, sure they could be speedier, but as for the reviews I've read about the staff being tools, I've never gotten mean-muggin' looks or unfriendly service. Oftentimes, I even get complimented on how cute my dog is. So I don't know what those people are talking about. My suggestion? Try it for yourself. If you get shitty service then, yelp about it. Surely you won't be disappointed with the food, I never have been! read more

DO NOT go to this pollo Rico location, the people who work there are worthless. It would honestly save you time to drive to the Stassney location. On top of that I was given a menu with coupons And was accused of taking one of the coupons off of the counter to use, which isn't allowed?! Seems like a bait and switch tactic and they were so rude I left. read more

I paid 9 bucks for a half chicken with rice n beans. And the chicken was super dry and very boney. There was hardly any meat on it. Big rip off!!! I know sometimes they can be good or so I've heard, i just dont know if thats currently the case anymore. My experience was pretty tasteless. read more

I eat here around two or three times a month. It's awesome. Granted, I am no rotisserie chicken connoisseur, it definitely beats HEB, or any other place in the area. For a super cheap price, you get a ton of chicken, plus rice and beans. They have other typical mexican dishes too, but why bother when you can get the chicken?! Everytime I've gotten it, the chicken has been moist and full of flavor. It's great anytime we have guests in town and don't feel like cooking, we just grab a chicken or two! As far as fast food drive thrus go, I have to say, Pollo Rico is the best. read more

Just straight up good grilled chicken. Enough said. Get a few pieces though because they're on the smaller side. The tacos are pretty decent as well. Give 'em a try. read more

The food is delicious. Great tacos! However they are always out of everything. Twice now I've gone and they were out of queso. They said it's homemade , so it will take at least 10 minutes before it's ready. So not sure how that works. Like do you have to call ahead to order it? Today I went and they were out, so instead I ordered a taco and they said they were out of chicken as well. So confused why they're open if they don't have anything on the menu. read more

Eh. I've never been to this location, as I usually go to the stassney location, but this one is very near my job so I went on my lunch break. Ordered 3 barbacoa, two pastor and one chicken - the pastor was decent and very flavorful but the barbacoa was so fatty that I gagged after biting into it. Huge strips of pure fat and fatty pieces - they took up like have the tacos. I also get their breakfast tacos sometimes and it's the same story - while the bacon and egg is tasty, the bacon pieces they use are sometimes all fat, to the point where I can't eat it without picking those pieces out because I will be sick. I wish the staff would take more care to trim the meats they use - a small amount of fat is okay but no one wants to bite into a huge slimy mouthful of fat. I'll stick to the stassney location - from what I can tell, it's far superior to this one. read more

Probably the best beef fajita taco I have eaten at these Pollo...Regio, Rico....El Rey de Pollo restaurants.

3 taco plate pollo y carne asada with refried beans and rice, added cheese and avocado to each taco for .25 cents each. Melon Agua fresca. They refused to sub charro beans for refried beans, ended up getting a less expensive meal just to avoid charros. I liked the refried beans and the rice but its my fault for not clearly getting the answer to what is on the taco besides the meat! My carne asada taco was so full of tiny bits of chopped union that fused with the cheese it was unsalvageable! The chicken taco didn't have all the onions but it wasn't that great. 3 stars for the refried beans and rice but the tacos won't make me rush back. read more

El Pollo Rico - Mexican Near Me - Austin, Texas

Good chicken. But really shocked to find they started charging for extra salsa. 3 for a dollar. Which kinda peeved me since she failed to say that until after she ran my card. I get it. Prices are going up. But the salsa cups are small to begin with. Salsa is not like a bbq packet at mcds. I drench my food in it. Like jerry seinfeld says it should be a condiment on the table...Right next to salt and pepper. read more

I am currently dieting and The order taker was able to adjust my carne asada order so there weren't any rice and beans, and I got a salad with it instead. The steak was really good, I had trouble trying to slow down and really chew through it! The salad came with the guacamole and sour cream I ordered and I dipped my steak with that. I really liked it. read more

I get the family meal which is good for half a week or so. The family meal includes a whole chicken with an onion, tortillas, charro beans and rice along with red and green salsas. But the best thing is the creamy green sauce. You can make a chicken taco with onion and green sauce. I do recommend eating their chicken that way. If you do order the family meal, make sure you order extra beans and rice. The beans and rice which is included in the meal is not enough. This location has a drive thru although it does need a little technology update. The inside of the restaurant is bit of a dive but there is a salsa bar inside. Lo and behold, a big gallon of the green sauce. read more

Went again cause it's close. Get home and no salsa called and they said if there's a jalapeno inside you dont get salsa . How the hell do I know which ones yall put a jalapeno in . So I should ask does a jalapeno come in it ? Ridiculous . Salsa should come with everything . This place thinks it's salsa is gold ! Other places have to go cups next to salsa and don't care what you take . Your better off going to any Mexican restaurant read more

Ate from here for the first time today loved it. The beef was savory without being greasy and it filled me up without being heavy. Very light and fresh fare. Will go back often! read more

El Pollo Rico - Cinco Tacos - Mexican Near Me - Austin, Texas

I wanted some Mexican food to take home so I stopped at the drive thru and ordered the grilled chicken & beef combo dinner. Price was good - just over $10 including tax. Everything was good. Green sauce is very spicy - red is mild. You get a lot of food - chicken breast quarter, some strips of grilled fajita meat, rice, charro beans, corn tortillas, grilled onion, red & green salsa & 1/2 lime. The beef was slightly overcooked - but that's par for 95% of the Mexican restaurants out there. I have not ever had better grilled chicken. It's marinated & seasoned just right. Their rice & beans are also very good. Prices are fair for most meals. However, I think $15+ for a whole chicken dinner is excessive. You can buy a whole rotisserie chicken from the grocery store for under $6. Even though it comes with the sides - that's pretty high because the chicken pieces are not that big. Great choice if you want a quick dinner to take home. I've never dined inside so I can't speak for their sit down service. read more