El Pollito

This place was the bomb but the Tunisian owner recently had a child and that combined with the fact he has another restaurant in Maryland he cares much more about, resulted in him leaving the daily operation of his store in the hands of two kids who were drunk off there a$$es on st pattys day. I asked the dude for a half chicken to go and he gives me a whole chicken with the remaining mashed potatoes and plantains. This was at 6 pm. I saw the writing on the wall right then and there. El pollito. May you rest in peace my little feathered friend.

Just tried calling this place and I was told they are out of business now… FYI

Alas, nothing but brown paper in the window. No more restaurant and
no chicken for dinner!

Their chicken sandwich could save the world.

After reading very good things about El Pollito on Unilocal,I gave it a try yesterday.
The chicken is undeniably good (two of the five stars). But the place lacks spirit, they served me on a wet plastic tray on top and bottom and I grossed out. (minus one star)
Fries are not good. Too thick and chewy, no crunch. Another missed star
Staff was gathered in the kitchen, unavailable on the floor (I was left alone in the restaurant) and that’s also why I would not give a service star.

Not much to say. The concept is simple and essentially the same as at other Peruvian chicken places. Chicken. Your choices are as follows: Quarter, half, whole? Light or dark? Sides? They also serve sandwiches and quesadillas.
I’ve been twice now. Once I got a quarter chicken, which, with two sides (beans – ok, yucca – delicious!) was plenty for lunch. Most recently I had the pollito sandwich. It doesn’t look like much – frankly, this is not a restaurant you go to for well-​presented food; you’re eating off plastic trays – but it tasted great! The caramelized onions pair well with their rotisserie chicken. I am particularly fond of their sauces. The green one could be spicier though.
Very good, reasonably priced, quick service. Good for groups.
Will I be back? Yes.
Would I make a trip to Crystal City just for this restaurant? No. but it is a bright spot in a bleak wasteland.

I really want to give it a higher rating, the chicken is just OK… the yucca, fried perfectly every time, and their plaintains are good too, but even though I am close distance from this place is not making me jump to get more chicken. I just returned from Lima a few weeks ago and I rather drive to Super Pollo or Crisp and Juicy for a flavor that feels more like home. Their Pollito sandwich is decent, but like I said nothing I wake up and crave for.

I came here for lunch one day after seeing reviews on Unilocal… delicious!!! I lived in the Andes for a while where the whole idea of pollo al carbon and pollo a la lena are from, and El Pollito is pretty legit.
Their chicken is tasty but my favorite part was their fried yuca! They have perrrfect fried yuca! Perfect crispiness.
4 stars just for the yuca!

I’ve been here multiple times now for lunch and dinner and still find the service to be inconsistent at best.
Just as Kelly K. stated, my food was cold and seemed undercooked on my previous visit. This was the case for both lunch and dinner.
However, when the food was warm, it was quite delicious, but this review gets two starts for inconsistency.

We ordered a whole chicken and some sides. The chicken was tasty, but that was primarily due to the skin. The flavor did not penetrate very far into the meat. The dark meat was better than the white (which is usually the case with chicken). As for the sides, well, they were pretty pedestrian, with the corn beating out the black beans — at least in our estimation. The green sauce did have some kick though.
Given the deliciousness of the skin, I’m sure we’ll give El Pollito another go sometime soon.

Place has gone down hill quick. Last two visits the food tasted like it had been sitting around too long. The guy serving the food was extremely rude. Serivce also continues to be slow!!! Will not be back.

Okay, so the ONLY reason this place gets a ⁴⁄₅ instead of a ⁵⁄₅ is because of the little place called El Pollo Rico that resides in Virginia Square.
This chicken comes close to El Pollo Rico but is spiced slightly differently and is just the slightest bit less juicy. This place does have sides galore though. Rice, beans, plantains, yucca, french fries. If getting your «side» action on is important, then this place may be the better choice over El Pollo Rico.
El Pollito does deliver, although its $ 5 bucks to get delivery, good if you’re feeling lazy and still want some phenomenal food.
Oh and I almost forgot. One other way they do outshine the competition is in their green hot sauce. This stuff is spicy and delicious! Takes it up a notch than the other places.

This place is way better than the overrated Pollo Rico! Don’t get me wrong Pollo Rico is good, but this place is AWESOMEEE! Their chicken is so tender, moist and flavorful that it left me saying «mmm mmm» and «this is soo good» almost every couple of minutes. Their best deal is chicken for 4 for 18.99 which includes 3 sides. You can get a scrumptious and filling meal for 5 bucks! Cheaper than a meal at Mcds!
Don’t get their rice b/​c it’s not cajun or dirty rice, it’s just plain white rice.

My wife and I have made the Peruvian chicken and yucca rounds for several years and even dabble in the dark art ourselves thanks to a recipe passed along by a close Peruvian friend. Pros: I must say El Pollito had the moistest chicken we’ve ever had, flavor was good, the yucca was the best (from a texture standpoint) and the price a little cheaper from some of the local places in Columbia Heights. Cons: Both the chicken and yucca were a little too heavily salted for our taste. Also we’ve had better rice, but it wasn’t bad.
The owner was there and was interested in our take. After running through the pros and cons, he said he likes things salty, but certainly wants to get all the feedback he can to make any adjustments (that’s smart business!). ALso said he hopes to have a liquor license soon.

We have been on a bit of a Peruvian chicken bender lately and decided to try El Pollito because it is closer than some of the better-​known places. Overall, this place is excellent. The chicken was cooked perfectly, the fried yucca was amazing. It got 4 stars instead of 5 because the skin on the chicken was just a bit over-​salted. This is really picky though. If you are in the mood for Peruvian chicken, go here. I just wouldn’t drive further if you can go to Super Pollo or Pollo Rico, which are arguably better. If the three were on the same block, I would probably go to one of the others, but will definitely go back here in the future.

Move over Pollo Rico! Well sorta. I was excited to find that we had a new Peruvian chicken spot that’s actually very close to the house. The quality of the chicken was comparable to Pollo Rico which was a great surprise — If I had to choose I still say Pollo Rico’s chicken is tops. However, the cole slaw and fries were a lot better than Pollo Rico’s. This place has been jinxed for past owners — hopefully El Pollito will stick. The only complaint that I had is that the portions and size of the chicken were a bit on the small size and I was craving more.

Yucca was super fresh and delicious. The pulled chicken sandwich with cheese was on a buttery toasted sub roll with onions and provolone cheese and the white sauce. The only complaint is that I wished there was more chicken. There are no fountain drinks there so you have to buy canned soda, so there are no refills. The half chicken had very good spices, and I think it’s better than the one in Annandale. I’m glad there is a good Peruvian chicken place like this in Crystal City.

Holy poo! Looking for a restaurant to help cure those recession blues? Well, look no further than El Pollito! Is it pronounced «Po-​yito» or «Polito?» Damn! The curse of a college education and no more than 3 quarters of Spanish!!!
Anyway, we went here after extremely high recommendations from a friend and were totally not disappointed. The price of a whole chicken with three sides + yucca and plantains on the side: $ 17. That is not a joke. $ 17! 2 meals for a family of 2 ½.
The restaurant just opened several weeks ago and the management is bending over backwards to be accommodating (as has been mentioned by my fellow Unilocalers).
Glad El Pollito has brought some Peruvian flavor to the City Of Crystal. We are glad to have them here!

I have this recurring problem where the only thing in my fridge around dinner time is alcohol and string cheese. Since one cannot live on booze and cheese alone (at least not for any lengthy period of time) I decided to head out last night and try the new Peruvian chicken place near my apartment. Will Y. and David K. were right — this was the best chicken sandwich I’ve ever had. The chicken was so moist and juicy… I can’t wait to go back and try some of the other items on their menu. The sandwich came with a big pile of steak fries, which I normally hate because places under cook them, but here they were well cooked and crispy.
What made it even better and pushed it into the realm of the fifth star was when they refunded me some of my money. Apparently their supplier brought them the wrong bread and it was smaller than what they normally sell. I didn’t really think I was missing out on anything since it was still a good 6 – 8 inch roll filled with chicken but way to take care of your customers. If I still worked in Crystal City I’d probably be here once a week for lunch.

As promised, I went back today to sample the El Pollito sandwich. I can only describe it as divine. I do believe it is the BEST chicken sandwich I’ve ever enjoyed. The chicken is cut right off of the Peruvian chicken they usually sell off the spit. It is juicy, flavorful, tender and well seasoned. It’s served on a typical sub roll that is heated, but not toasted, which I appreciate since I don’t enjoy overly toasted, crispy bread with my sandwich. The chicken is paired with provolone, and the best part of the dish, the El Pollito «secret sauce». This is not the typical ketchup/​thousand island secret sauce. It is a strange cheesy sauce mixed with vegetables. The proprietor would not tell me what was in it, but did confirm cheese and vegetables. It really makes the meal.
I do believe the El Pollito sandwich should be considered one of the best dishes in DC. It certainly dominates the chicken sandwich category. Due to it’s hole in the wall location, it may not get the attention it deserves, but hopefully this review will serve to get the word out.
Viva El Pollito!!!