Thank you to our local Pollo Tropical location for hosting our family for a meal. All thoughts, opinions and photos are my own.
Our family loves to eat out, but we don’t always indulge ourselves. With a little one in tow, our family outings tend to be at family-centric restaurants that offer more of a quick service experience rather than culinary freshness or exotic flavors. Naturally, with a picky eater, I never thought about visiting Pollo Tropical. When we moved to a new neighborhood in Georgia, I noticed that there was a new location close to the house. And since I often tease Chase that his favorite restaurant to visit is anywhere he hasn’t been before, it seemed like a visit was in order for us. After all, many of our friends recommended the food, and told me that it was fresh, customizable and excellent for small kids.
We arrived to the nicely kept facade and entered the dining room. I noticed how airy it was, and the sauce bar centered in the room, along with kitschy artwork combining popular art and a cartoon chicken. When it came time to place our order, we stepped up to the front counter and made sure to order what the manager said were the most popular options on the menu.
Chase is a sauce nut, so he made a beeline for the sauce bar before I even had time to collect our drink cups. There were hot sauces like the Spicy Pollo Pollo, pineapple marmalades (someone pass me a straw!!), ketchup, fresh salsa and a creamy cilantro garlic which was extremely reminiscent of my favorite dip. We made sure to try a little of each, finding out favorites and what complimented our dishes. It should be noted that if you get a TropiChop, the sauce bar is essential; it flavors up the fresh meat and veggies with something extra (and vital, I think!)
Another cool thing about Pollo Tropical is the table service. Real silverware, tray delivered plates of food and friendly quick service attendants bring you what you need and check out you throughout your meal. You can see a sign behind Red that says “No Tipping Allowed” as well as the free Wifi (a girl’s gotta WERK), which are nice perks for such a casual-seeming restaurant.
As for the food itself, while the presentation might be a little plain, the flavors weren’t. The spices were indeed caribbean and fresh, while not overpowering, even for my sensitive pregnant palate. I highly recommend the TropiChops and the Pineapple Chicken wrap (dipped in Pineapple Rum sauce, of course). The waffle fries were very crispy since they were sliced so thin, almost taking on a chip like texture. The kids meals only have a few options (even Red enjoyed it) and if your kids are milk drinkers make sure to BYO, since they only offer sodas, teas and ice waters.
Thinking about trying the light caribbean flavors for yourself? Snag this coupon for a Buy-One-Get-One on a small Tropichop (It’s really enough for lunch… the large is huge!) and bring a friend with you. I was surprised how fresh, customizable and authentic the flavors were. We will definitely be back for round two!
Compliments of Pollo Tropical, take your family out to lunch by entering the Rafflecopter below to win 3 Pollo Tropical coupon packs (an estimated value of $50). Chow down on some TropiChops of your own! Must be 18+ to enter. Find a Pollo Tropical near you!
I love Pollo Tropical. I’m even more excited because there’s one close to my house now too. 🙂
I love trying new eating places, especially with my family because they’re the funniest food critics I know 🙂 This looks like a great spot!
This was Steve’s favorite fast food in south Florida and he was crazy excited when it came here. We like to do the drive-thru on a Sunday evening and get the full roast chicken family meal with plantains and other sides – plus several sauces, of course! Yum.
Oh, I totally forgot to talk about the plantains. They were cooked nicely, but they were missing a little cinnamon or other sweetness. Still good, though.
I do not know anything about Caribbean food BUT I must tell you that a pretty blue building is popping up about 8 miles from my house and it’s a Pollo Tropical!!!! I can’t wait to try it.
I was really surprised. That pineapple rum sauce was DELISH, but my husband, who likes spicy food said the pollo pollo sauce was great.
You had me at sauce bar!!!…thanks for the post ive been meaning to go to the one that just opened by me!
LOL… Chase said the same thing. He was seriously there before I finished at the register.
It’s because I’m so SAUCY