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Categories: Mexican, Latin American
Neighborhood: Mount PleasantColumbia Heights (Green, Yellow)
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What is there to say about Pollo Sabroso that hasn't been said already? The chicken is solid, much more flavorful than your average Costco/supermarket roast chicken, and incredibly cheap to boot (but I'm partial to Nando's spices myself). But it's not the chicken that keeps me visiting this place on a bi-weekly basis (increase this to an every-other-day basis if I actually lived in Mt. Pleasant), it's the incredible yellow rice and the spicy green sauce. I don't know what it is, but the rice is always perfectly fluffy and is cooked with slivers of carrots and peas. At less than $2 for a huge side, I could eat the rice and the complimentary sauce as a meal in itself.
Okay, apart from these staples I've also tried the fries (steak, yuck) and the yucca (not terrible...but not good) and have learn to stick with what I love. But at these prices, there's really no reason *not* to give other menu items a go (these range from sandwiches to gyros to...other American stuff I can't remember). There's also quite the expansive drink selection in the fridge (Mexican sodas too). Bonus points for nice guy who is always behind the counter.
I first went to this place three years ago when I first came to DC and lived literally next door to this place on Mt. Pleasant Street.
This joint offers decent grilled chicken and other grilled meat dishes. The marinade or dry rub for the chicken gives the meat good flavor, and the green picante sauce on the side is a nice complement to the meat. I also like the fried yuca, but they often seem to run out of this.
Go here if you're in Mt. Pleasant and looking for an affordable and filling lunch.
Doesn't stand up to the Peruvian chicken places in Arlington (chicken was overcooked, fries were undercooked and undersalted), but pretty good nonetheless. Hard to complain about getting that much food for 6 bucks, but there's nothing to get excited about here either, at least as far as the chicken is concerned. The menu here is ridiculous for a rotisserie chicken place. They have papusas, gyros, and all kinds of other weird stuff. Seriously doubt I'll try any of it though.
I just ate at Pollo Sabroso for the first time and have to say I really enjoyed it. The chicken was incredible! Well seasoned and fall off the bone tender. I am not going to nitpick the side items. Sure, the salad isn't exactly gourmet, the fries...just so so, but the green sauce makes up for it all. You could dip leather in that green sauce, and I would eat every bite. The place is cheap and delicious, and I will be eating there again soon.
First off Yelp, this is not Mexican food... It's Peruvian.
Now that that's out of the way... this is some of the better chicken I've had. The skin was nice and crisp, inside moist, and I love the green sauce it comes with.
I ordered the 1/4 white meat with yucca. A 1/4 of white chicken (an upcharge from dark) is a single piece of breast meat. The yucca is an upcharge, but when in Rome... It was still around $6 or 7 after tax.
The yucca was OK... maybe not fried long enough, or needed more salt. or I don't know. but OK.
It comes with a side "salad"... which is really more just a few spoonfuls of the worst lettuce you could find.
I was really amused by their "help" the day I visited... the owner's 10 year old son (really, 10 at the very most) was working the entire register. it was quite amazing to watch, he did an amazing job. He knew how to work the cash register and gave change faster than anyone I've ever seen... And answer the phone to take orders... and he bussed. really, it was quite a sight!
I like this place a lot. Im giving this place 4 stars because the chicken is tender and seasoned right. The rice is always nice and fluffy. In addition, since I dont like spicy things I prefer the white sauce over the green sauce anyday! Oh yea, I looove the plantains. And I would recommend this place to anyone else. Matter fact Im bout to go there now and hopefully see the 10 year old running the register again haha he is an old man inside of a young boys body...he cracks me up
You really couldn't ask for more when in comes to Peruvian chicken. The chicken is moist and well seasoned. The owner correctly recommended the Green sauce, which was awesome on the Black Beans and rice. Also a must-have is the Cachata: milk/cinnoman/vanilla goodness drink. Go get some Sabroso!
Pollo Sabroso:
IT MAY BE CHEAPER THAN RAW CHICKEN. And it's reallllly good chicken.
So good I am considering buying a whole chicken every monday and then
eating it in various dishes for the rest of the week. The chicken gets 5 stars. So do the sauces that come with it. The yucca, however, kinda sucks.
A middle schooler works the register at this Mt. Pleasant Peruvian chicken joint. He's speedy with the order taking and makes sure to load you up with green sauce and white sauce and plenty of napkins before sending you on your way.
If you take this chicken into an enclosed space (example: your car) the aroma of it will fill your nose.
The chicken is delicious, to be sure, but my salad was brown and wilted. I like salad so this was a disappointment. And the yucca? Dry, and edible only after a good soaking in the white sauce. Sad, because I love yucca.
I'll be back for the chicken, but next time I'll order it with plantains or rice.
I'm on a budget these days, so I'm on the prowl for bargain restaurants. I finally made it to this place after months of missed opportunities. It definitely lived up to its Yelp ratings.
I speak to little besides their roast chicken (which is definitely 5 star). The plaintains were delicious too. Big portions and cheap sides.
The fact that I had a huge delicious dinner for $9 warrants 5 stars. Their cans of soda are only 86 cents! (I thought this was craziness)
It is by far the best roast chicken I have had in DC. Cash only though!
Sick of burritos? Come get some real food. The chicken is fast and delicious, and the other menu items are also pretty dang good. The prices are fair and you will be stuffed by the end of the meal. I'd recommend getting the yucca over the fries, which tend to be more toward the extremes: either soggy or a crusty baton.
(The salad they give you isn't very good, and I've never seen anyone eat it, so I'm just eliminating it from affecting my star-rating because it's almost a non-issue)
Cash-only.
This place has the best Peruvian charbroiled chicken I have every had. They have great combination plates which includes their chicken, grilled sausage and steaks. Their combination plates are great, although they do cost considerably more.
El Pollo Sabroso serves incredible sub sandwiches as well. I have had the charbroiled chicken sub and it is fantastic.
For their sides, I recommend the plantains or the yucca. They are both so delicious and tasty.
If you really want to have an even better experience with their chicken, buy a whole one uncut and take it with you. If it sits for 10 minutes, the juices pull back into the bird, and man, what a juicy delicious experience you will have. 5.0 stars:-)!!
Ahhh, El Pollo Sabroso, affectionately known as "The Chicken Place in Mt. Pleasant." And by God is it a chicken place. So delicious and moist and flavorful. In my youth, I made the mistake of ordering a burger here. That was wrong of me, and I have learned.
Now, I only order the quarter chicken. I recommend taking a friend. One of you should get the quarter chicken with rice. The other should get the chicken with plantains. Then you share your rice and plantains. So perfect and so cheap. Only $5.28! And it's so much food.
And the people who work there are really nice.
YUM. That is all.
Wait, no, let me expand. So the sides are nothing to write home about (not bad, but not special), but the chicken here makes up for anything the sides lack. Do you like moist, flavorful, juicy chicken at a decent price? Of course you do. Here's your chicken joint. You won't want to walk home by the time you're done, but that's ok. Really.
DELICIOUS. Granted, I was annoyed that they didn't include my $2 worth of extra spicy verde sauce; however, I can't hold it against the 8-year old kid for trying to get my order straight!
Because it was cash-only I was a bit limited on what I could order. But the prices were incredibly reasonable and the portions were large.
I came here during a break in the Giants/Packers game and needless to say was in a huge rush. Parking was a bit of a pain, however once we got in we placed our order and within 10 minutes we were presented with our neatly packaged pile of styrofoam containers.
Once parked back in front of my TV I was pleasantly surprised by spicy green sauce, the juicy chicken, and perfectly sweet plantains. The side of avocados we ordered were ripe and soft, while the rice was dense and chewy. Aside from the salad (I do not like iceberg lettuce or thousand island dressing), I was in heaven.
In all I couldn't eat this kind of food every day for every meal, but man I will be coming back on the 42 bus, quite frequently.
Gods, the chicken here is good. I almost never cook or consume chicken anymore, for a variety of reasons - all the sanitation and ethical issues in mass production, the mealy flavor as compared to beef or lamb which are heartier. But all that flies straight out the window with Pollo Sabroso. This stuff is tasty, so tasty that I've not been able to force myself to order anything else in the little fast food joint - subs, grilled beef steak, chorizo - for 4 years. Just Peruvian roast chicken. Good grief you say, that's pathetic. It really is.
But I just keep coming back to this place with the gritty pale cobalt blue decor - for the chicken. It's served with a salsa verde (you can order a tub of it for $3 and slather it on everything else in your guilty culinary closet) and a side. I used to love the plantains but have been finally converted over to yucca. The horchata and tamarind juice is just OK; I haven't acquired a taste for either yet and would recommend the Del Fructa guava juice. This particular brand hasn't quite been seized by capitalism yet and serves serious guava juice with 450% of the daily recommended serving of vitamin C. Awesome.
For a while, I tried to have Peruvian chicken whenever I could get access; a lot of restaurants are in the suburbs and not metro accessible, so this became a serious research project. Out of 3 other places, this has still got the best FLAVOR. They've opened another store about 3 blocks away from the original one, closer to the Columbia Heights metro. Time to celebrate!
Three stars bec/ they serve consistently fabulous chicken that makes me abandon all my principles, but also bec/ I haven't been able to move past the chicken (too much of a good thing, maybe I can revise upward later). Three stars bec/ if they still need to clean up; if they branded the stuff and franchised the business, Chicken Out, Boston Chicken, and the like would be dead in the water.
GREAT CHICKEN!
This is the best Peruvian chicken I've had in D.C. so far. The chicken is always delicious and I haven't been disappointed in the sides. Even the sauces are delicious! I usually go to Pollo Granjero because it is so close to my house, but if I wasn't so lazy, I'd only go to El Pollo Sabroso.
Oh, and I ditto the reviewer that recommended the del frutas drinks! The papaya and pear juices were excellent.
Yummmm. This is a godsend for people like me (meaning summer interns with little to no money.) I had slight misgivings as I walked in and saw what appeared to be a 10-year old at the counter, but I forged ahead and ordered a quarter chicken with a side of plantains, which was just over $5. My concerns vanished as I ate my meal; the chicken was fantastically juicy, the plantains were plentiful and delicious, and the green sauce is sooooooo good and spicy and I kinda want to put it on everything I eat for the rest of my life. I intend to come back here frequently. Just remember to bring cash - no credit cards.
Very tasty chicken, quick service, large portions, and low prices. Don't come here expecting great ambiance.
I am so fortunate to have a place like this close by...Peruvian chicken is like fast food, but for cool people. It's cheap, but oh so tasty, and you don't feel like death after indulging. I've been to a few Peruvian chicken places around here, and this one is my favorite. I predict many after-work stops here on the way home to my apartment.
As others have noted, this place is unique for their large menu, but the roasted chicken is definitely the reason you should come here. The best thing to do is find another Peruvian chicken fan to bring with you, and then split a whole chicken. With that, you also get a side, and 2 salads, and it only costs about $13. They have a number of sides to choose from, but you must get yucca. Peruvian chicken without yucca to me seems like a burger without French fries. You can do it, but it just doesn't feel right. Make sure you get them to give you lots of sauce on the side. Both the green (spicy) and white (sweet) are perfect for pouring on the chicken, and for dipping your yucca. You can even get larger containers of them if you spend a little more, which I might definitely do next time I go there.
They have a decent sit-down area to eat, but it's the perfect food to take home, and revel in the messiness without any cares. I'll have to go back and try some of their other offerings, but it's going to take some strength to resist the temptation and just order the chicken every time...
The Best! The best chicken in DC. They have a slightly crisped skin, the best seasoning, and moist chicken. They also have the best green sauce anywhere as well as delicious white sauce. I have only tried they're chicken and a "head" taco which was good, but if you go GET THE CHICKEN. By far my favorite cheap eats place in DC.
I got their half chicken plate which came with a salad and yucca. The chicken is fantastic, well seasoned and moist. The yucca was okay, a little too dry, but going back to the chicken...the chicken was good. And the price was right, about $8.00 for the plate.
I'm just about to walk over and grab four chicken tacos at El Pollo Sabroso. The tacos are really underrated. Not as good as tacqueria distrito federal, but pretty darned good. And as with their chicken, they have a some deliciously spicy green sauce to pour over the tacos. Plantains aren't bad either.
"Mexican torte" is very inexpensive and filling and http://fantastic.it has lots of fajita meat and avocado.
the chicken is delicious....
Great charbroiled chicken, definitely the thing to get on this menu. If you're thinking of a papusa, do yourself a favor and hit up one of the papuserias down the street.
Their verde sauce is better than at some of the other chicken places in AM as it keeps the flavor without the unnecessary heat.
the chicken IS sabroso! i usually get the 1/2 or whole chicken with sides. the chicken is juicy and tender.
the rice is actually a bit bland but not too bad. the fried yucca is a highlight. plantains are pretty good too. portions of side dishes are generous.
Neighborhood: Columbia Heights
Category: Latin American
Neighborhood: Columbia Heights
Category: Latin American
Washington, DC
Category: Chicken Wings
Neighborhood: Adams Morgan
Category: Mexican
Neighborhood: Columbia Heights
Category: Latin American
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