Pollo Tropical (Chicken On The Grill) - Clifton, NJ

We were driving around the other day, looking for something quick and affordable to eat, when I remembered this grilled chicken place that I wanted to check out. It's located at the strip mall, just off Route 3 West in Clifton. When we arrived, we saw a poster on the window, promoting some new $4.99 combo. Sounds good to me! =)

The decor of Pollo Tropical is indeed very errmmm 'tropical'! Really nice though, with Jimmy Buffet music playing in the background and a tropical island theme all around. I didn't get a chance to take any photos becos there were just too many people there. Pollo Tropical is famous for their grilled fresh, never frozen, hormone-free chicken. Not only it is healthy (since most of the fat is 'grilled off'), but it's really affordable too. They are a semi self service restaurant, so tipping is optional. In fact, there are signs all over the restaurant telling you that you do not need to tip.

After placing our order at the counter, we headed over to the drinks fountain to get our drinks (refillable, of course) and also to pick up some sauces from the sauce counter. There were quite a lot of sauces to choose from, ranging from your regular ketchup to exotic sounding sauces like Guava BBQ and Pineapple Rum. Here is the complete list of sauces available.

• Cilantro Garlic - Fresh garlic and cilantro blended with tangy lime juice
  
• Fresh Salsa - Onions, tomatoes and cilantro
  
• Guava BBQ - BBQ sauce with a touch of exotic guava and a splash of hot sauce
  
• BBQ - Their classic BBQ sauce
  
• Curry Mustard - A blend of curry and mustard with mayo
  
• Mojo - A blend of garlic, onion, lime and olive oil
  
• Pineapple Rum - A blend of tropical pineapples with dark rum
  
• Salsa Fuego - Roasted jalapenos and tomatoes
  
• Spicy Amazon - Blend of special spices and chipotle peppers
  
• Spicy Hot Poyo-Poyo - Spicy island chilli peppers

After placing our order, we were given a number and we were told that the waiters will bring our order to us. We were quite pleased that we managed to find a table, since it was so packed that day. Before we could even take a few sips of our drink (regular soda - $1.60, large soda - $1.90), our food arrived. Very impressed with the speed and service.
We both ordered the 1/4 chicken combo with 2 sides ($4.95). We had a choice of either Traditional or Spicy Hot Poyo-Poyo chicken. We both went for the Traditional. I must say that it was a great choice. The chicken was oh so yummy! Reminded me of Nandos, only a hundred times better!! There were all kinds of sides to choose from too. Here is a list of their sides:

Signature Black or Red Beans

White or Brown Rice

Yellow Rice with Vegetables

Curly Fries

Caesar Salad

Boiled Yuca with Mojo

Balsamic Tomatoes

Kernel Corn

Mashed Potatoes

Coleslaw

Mac n Cheese

Our whole meal came to a total of only $14.43. Definitely worth the price, with the amount of good food that we got. At the bottom of the receipt, there was a note asking us to go to a website to answer a short survey about the service, food..etc at Pollo Tropical. The survey only took us less than 5 minutes and upon completion, we received a coupon for a FREE 1/4 chicken with two sides meal! Of course the coupon is valid only with the purchase of another item of equal value or more. That's not too bad. This means, the next time we eat at Pollo Tropical, we only have to pay $4.95 for two 1/4 chicken meal. Yay!!! =)

Pollo Tropical (Chicken On The Grill) - Clifton, NJ
374 State Rt 3
Clifton, NJ 07014-1900
Tel: (973) 745-0242
Web: http://www.pollotropical.com/