Pollo Tropical

"I waited a while to write this review because I'd rather not say anything while angry, but I have to say that out of all my years coming to this location since I was a kid in the 90s, this was the worst experience I've had, all because of the rude night manager on February 8, 2024. The only saving grace was that the food was good in the end. I tried to order a grilled chicken Cuban sandwich in the drive thru, and the guy taking my order simply took it down and ushered me off to the window. When I got my food, I saw that I had a regular Cuban, and I went inside to get it sorted. The manager came out, already on edge, as I explained that I wanted a grilled chicken Cuban and was ready to exchange and pay whatever difference in price. She rudely said that if I say Cuban, I'll get a Cuban, not a grilled chicken sandwich. Rude, but I decided to ignore her tone and try to be diplomatic and explain what I ordered. After some back and forth, she finally says that the grilled chicken Cuban is no longer a menu item item. Well, OK, I had no idea, but I wasn't informed by the employee at the drive thru, and I'm not gonna throw a fit, I'll just order something else, I thought. I ordered a chicken sandwich, and while the manager takes my order, she brusquely states, and I quote, "You know this is your fault, right?" The absolute gall of her. After I already acknowledged my mistake and misunderstanding (and to be honest, the drive thru employee probably should have said something way earlier, but I'm not upset at him), and not even raising my voice or trying to cause a scene, she talked to me like I'm some fool and inconvenience. I almost lost it and told her not to say anything disrespectful like that to me again. She didn't apologize, but backed off, rang up a free grilled sandwich, and took my untouched Cuban. Now here's the other problem: the chicken sandwich is cheaper than the Cuban and she didn't give me back any change. I had to ask another employee to get her, and when she returned, she was confused and thought I'd be OK with a cheaper free sandwich while she threw out my more expensive one. I had to clarify for her that, no, the sandwich wasn't free, I paid for a more expensive Cuban sandwich and was getting a cheaper grilled chicken instead, and she needed to refund me the difference. At that point, she says she can't give me change, and I'm thinking, what kind of manager can't open the till and ring up a refund for an order done not even 10 minutes ago? She offered me an extra item to make up the difference. Just to put the point on how I'm not just some Karen trying to hustle free food, I decided to get a cookie, since that was the closest thing pricewise that would total my original order and not mess up the counts for the manager that night. The reality is, I just wanted my 3 bucks back. The whole experience made me regret going out to eat that night. Owner, I'm not looking to ruin that manager's life, but please consider retraining her on basic etiquette and how to work the POS system. To recap, I was insulted for not being knowledgeable about the menu, and was just about robbed by the night manager because she apparently doesn't know how to refund the difference between two items. I really hope things change for the better."

"I specifically told them NO BEANS on my chicken bowl and guess what I received.. BEANS! It’s so disappointing when u drive home after a long day and find out this is not what you paid for. Some of us have health issues you should be concerned about. Don’t just take our money. If you can’t follow a simple order, you should hire better employees. One time I ordered chicken bowl & I got 5 small chicken pieces. What the F is that? I want my money back."

"The dining room has no character anymore. No soda fountain, no condiments bar. The wall to separate the line from the dining room looks like a DIY project from Home Depot. My wife's rice was overcooked and hard, my chicken breast was chewy. They also got rid of combos so everything is a la carte."

"We did a band lunch here!! Jose was amazing!! We ordered 39 bowls and everything was perfection!! Thank you Jose!!"

"I asked for white rice, black beans, ( Avocados $ 2.49 extra ) dark meat and thats it. I got a disgusting looking power bowl from taco bell from a pollo tropical. And then you wonder why ?. This is disgusting and the people working here were told twice to make sure my order is as I ordered. Hmmmm....!!!!!"