La Granja

Chicken is a no-brainer. Anybody can cook it at home, just apply heat. Right? But, when I want chicken and don't want to cook, my staple is La Granja.
I happened upon this restaurant out of pure curiosity. I had always been a PolloTropical fan, but that has changed.

First, the marinade/seasoning is spot on! The flavoring is delicious. Pops of that divine flavor can be tasted in the meat and the bones.

Secondly, it's not overcooked. It's my opinion that PT often overcooks their chicken. La Granja has done a better job of cooking a product that's really moist.

The black beans are tasty, but sometimes too watery. While I don't eat white rice often, I indulge when I'm here. They've seasoned the rice, it's moist and it works!

LaGranja has other interesting things on the menu, like stir fried shrimp or steak. Of course there is the chicken or seafood soups. I also saw a lot of customers eating the whole fried fish. All of it looks appetizing, but I'm not ready to forgo my beloved half chicken, black beans/rice and plantains, just yet!!

Chicken is over cooked.. the past few times I've came here it's been that way... besides that the sides are good.. location convenient close to the airport and casino and sits directly along 36 street..

You know what you're getting with la granja, a solid meal that's not going to wow you but fill the stomach. This time around I tried the lomo saltado which I preferred over the fish meal. I personally like to add some hot sauce to the meals, not only because I like a kick but the rice and beans here tend to be lacking on flavor a bit. With that said, if you're looking for quick and decently priced Latin American food this is your spot.

From a 2 star, they are now hopping to 2.5, in which my last 3 visits, the rotisserie chicken has been in better quality, not as perfect but they are trying. Everything else that comes with this meal, as the rice, beans, and fries tasted very good. Just don't understand why they serve plenty of rice and less beans, when it should be the other way around. Sodas are included and its self served through a soda dispenser. Drank all your soda? You could go get more, refills are free.

As i finished my meal, i stepped outside, and notice the outside seating. Not half bad. Under a big tent, and breeze flow at ease. Not much decorated and tables and chairs can be in better quality.

I strongly suggest to fix up the parking space, as limited space is paved, and more the rear space is on dirt.

I wish I can give no stars the cashier ( male) is very rude you have to speak Spanish for him to help you, it's unbecoming to be that nasty we in America it's very diverse and folks need to learn to deal with all Nationalities

I love this place ! When I do hungry and looking for something quick to eat but really good this is definitely my go to spot ! I always get the boneless chicken breast meal and it is always prepared fresh and delicious . I have no complaints about this place . The staff is always so friendly and patient . Definitely must come here .

I got the seafood rice- looks great on there display board waited like 20 mins for my food, after all the wait the seafood was spoiled, I asked to speak with the manager the staff tells me there was no manager on duty I wouldn't dare go back there again- also place looks really dirty no one had on a mask or gloves

This place is amazing when you barely have time they don't take more than 20 min to get the food ready the taste of the food is amazing every time I go I get the lomo saltado is super good 10/10

I eat here every so often and I can say this location has dry chicken but other then that service was excellent

I eat here about once a week so I finally decided to write a review (this is my first yelp review ever but I will do more) I normally order a half chicken with rice and plaintains, sauteed chicken with rice and plaintains or the seafood rice. The food tastes great, portions are good, and the price is reasonable. If I ever wanted to eat there the place is clean with plenty of tables. The customer service is excellent! There's plenty of BBQ sauce and extras you want for your food.
A few potential negatives which does not change my review because they don't move me but may move you. The parking lot is unpaved and set up weirdly where you have to basically go through two entrances. I never use it as I just park right outside on the street since I always do takeout. You cannot order yellow rice as a side which you are able to order at other locations. They do include it if you are getting seafood rice and I get white rice, not the main thing I am ordering so again, it doesn't move me. Everyone speaks Spanish and not everyone speaks English well. When you are ordering over the phone this may mean you getting passed along to someone else, which is fine, no one has ever messed up my order and that's over a dozen times (once I finally figured out I could order over the phone). When standing around waiting for your number to be called it will be called in Spanish first but if no one responds they will say it in English so no big deal. I personally hate waiting for take out food so I would look up the Spanish translation of my number to get out of there a few seconds faster. Again no big deal but now I order ahead (because I hate waiting not because they speak mostly Spanish in a Spanish restaurant)

And one last story. On 5/5/2019 I placed a call for seafood rice with yellow rice. They said to pick it up in 15 minutes, I never go when restaurants say to go, they all have a standard time they give and like I said I don't like to wait for take out food at the location. Unfortunately a really bad thunderstorm came through with torrential rain, flooded streets and power outages. My lights were off for 10 minutes. I finally decided to go out when the power came back on and the rain had slowed down. When I arrived about 1.5 hours after my order the power was out at the store and the great and friendly staff was sitting around a few tables. I was informed they were closed obviously due to the power being out, theirs wasn't returning until 10:45 pm and it was only about 7pm. Before leaving disappointed I asked if they had the order I made over the phone of my seafood rice and yes in fact they did it was sitting off to the side up front. They thought I wasn't coming due to the storm but it was still there. I paid the extremely friendly and thoughtful cashier with cash, received my change, got my BBQ sauce and made it back to enjoy my super delicious seafood rice! (Ok this is really long and probably the reason I don't write reviews.) I will be back again and again and again...