We waited over 30 minutes for 2 relatively simple meals, I got a 1/4 chicken and my wife got a bowl. There were maybe 5 people inside also waiting as long, but it was far from crowded. They seemed to have enough staff, which isn't common, but perhaps the staff was new and just not acclimated to the demands of a fast food restaurant. But 30 minutes is way too long for what did end up being extremely delicious food.
When we walked up, another customer who was leaving told us "Good luck!" We probably should have heeded his warning. I love Pollo Tropical but this location needs some work. The service is very slow, which is understandable if you're understaffed but there were a ton of people working. I tried to order a new tropichop bowl they have that has avocado on it but when I asked for all the toppings, I was told I couldn't get them on that bowl, which makes no sense. The avocado bowl costs more so why can't you add the free toppings? I was told I could order a regular bowl and then add avocado but the difference in price that way was like $3. If the toppings are included on a regular bowl and I'm paying more for a bowl with avocado, why can't I get the toppings that are free on the cheaper bowl? Also, we ordered a seasonal salad that has avocado and when we got back to work, the salad had no avocado and no dressing. It was basically dry lettuce and some chicken breast. If the key ingredient on this particular salad is avocado, how do you forget the avocado? I know, we should have checked our food before we left but we waited so long for it that we were in a hurry to get back to work on time. There are so many other places to eat in Brandon, so we won't be back here.
This was my first visit ever to this chain. I heard great things about Pollo Tropical food! The Brandon location did not meet that expectation. There was trash left on tables and floor.Under my chair was a chicken bone and our table was sticky.The service was awful. The employee helping us was annoyed that I had to keep changing my order (three times) because they were out of many food items. He should have said something after the first time.I ordered the half chicken and a side of yellow rice and veggies. The rice was hard and crusty and the veggies were peas and square carrots. Not exactly what I was expecting! The chicken was dry. Service was also very slow and we were the only ones in there. That should have been our first clue to walk out! We did not.My daughter said this wasn't her experience at the Franchise location in Orlando, FL. The food was so wonderful that she wanted me to experience the same delicious food too! We went to the closest location in Brandon. Thinking it would be the same. It was not!
We went to this Pollo Tropical 2 days ago. First, we went inside and were told they were only taking orders through the drive through because they were short staffed. So we went through the drive through and placed our orders for 2 large TropiChops. Mine was chicken and my wife's was pork. I ordered and paid for the extra of the avocado. We took them home to have for dinner. Upon opening, mine did not have the avocado that I did pay for and my wife's had a couple of hunks of pork that were not even shredded.Our previous visits there had been good experiences so I tried to contact both the store location and corporate by phone. Two calls over two days to the store, with one message asking for the manager to call back went unanswered. Telephone to corporate left me on hold for about 15 minutes so I ended up hanging up on that. I then sent a message to Corporate asking for a call back after explaining what happened. I also filled out the survey asking for a call back. Nothing and all the had to do was return my calls and messages to talk about it.It is not about the money but more about the lack of quality, service and most importantly disregard for me as a customer. That, in my view, is so telling about any business!
Service is horrible. Management needs a complete change. Food wasn’t bad but the Mac n cheese wasn’t worth a penny. (Chicken was good, rice and beans is usually better) if you’re not looking to deal with a bunch of knuckle heads don’t come to this location. Cleanliness was .5 stars wouldn’t even give it a one. I’ve seen this location do better.
Steak was surprisingly good shrimp was ok and wasn't the best chicken the portions are small for the price.The restraunt could do better emptying trash cans as they were all over filled and some tables were in need of wiping
This is the worse pollo tropical location Service it’s horrible! they always missing something or mess up the order they even get mad if you ask for sauce. Looks like they always out or don’t want to give you any, when it used to be all you wanted before covid I had a horrible experience with Angelina the red hair girl she is so rude even her coworkers complain about her.
They are extremely SLOW with taking orders and seem bothered. When we got home we discovered the chicken given to us was not fully cooked, so we had to put in the air fryer to continue cooking. The rice was salty and the beans were watery. Everything I asked to order they were out of… No beef empanadas, not yuca, no sauce! Oh and I was also given the wrong alcoholic drink to top it off. I would NEVER go back to this location. TRASH FOOD. TRASH SERVICE.
Very disappointed with the service at this location in Brandon. I gave 1 star just because the food was really good but the service was awful. First, the order online was late for 40 mins and then I waited inside the location looking at all employees laughing and talking on top of the food without mask. They were using gloves Yes, but NO mask. There were about 10 people talking, laughing, walking around and it seemed that nothing was moving because the line was long. I just wanted to try this food but no thanks, no more...
Ordered the Tropi-Tuesday (Regular Tropichop for $5 on Tuesdays) through the iPhone app and went to the restaurant to pickup the order. It took about 5 minutes beyond the expected availability time, but the food was very good when I got it home, so I have no complaints, and it was a very good value overall. Will definitely order more items in the future. 2022-03-08