COSTA MESA, Calif., May 26, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- El Pollo Loco (Nasdaq:LOCO), the nation's leading fire-grilled chicken chain, announced the launch of four new Hand-Carved Chicken Salads just in time for summer. The limited time only salads feature fresh, fire-grilled and sliced chicken atop four new premium salad combinations. The Southwest Bacon, Mango Avocado, Mexican Caesar and Avocado Café Salads are available at all El Pollo Loco locations.

El Pollo Loco's New Hand-Carved Chicken Salads

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"As a part of El Pollo Loco's dedication to menu innovation and development, our Grill Masters have been obsessively devoted to creating new crave-worthy salads that our guests will love," said Ed Valle, Chief Marketing Officer at El Pollo Loco. "We are very excited about these four new hand-carved chicken salads that combine our famous fire-grilled chicken that's sliced right off the grill with rich, gourmet greens, hand-sliced ripened Hass avocados and other fresh ingredients in one salad. We've created crazy delicious salads that we are confident our guests will enjoy."

The new, limited time only Hand-Carved Chicken Salads include the following:

• Southwest Bacon: Whole sliced chicken breast, bacon, gourmet greens, cheese, pico de gallo, crispy onion strings, corn, barbecue ranch dressing
• Mango Avocado: Whole sliced chicken breast, avocado, gourmet greens, mango salsa, cotija cheese, pepitas, roasted red peppers, citrus vinaigrette dressing
• Mexican Caesar: Whole sliced chicken breast, avocado, romaine blend, cotija cheese, pepitas, creamy cilantro dressing
• Avocado Cafe: Whole sliced chicken breast, avocado, gourmet greens, grape tomatoes, olives, tortilla strips, cotija cheese, roasted red peppers, creamy cilantro dressing

El Pollo Loco goes to crazy lengths to create Mexican-inspired entrees that are made with the freshest ingredients. The Company's signature chicken is citrus-marinated with an authentic Mexican recipe, fire-grilled over an open flame and hand-carved for the new salad items. It's Crazy You Can Taste.

About El Pollo Loco

El Pollo Loco (Nasdaq:LOCO) is the nation's leading fire-grilled chicken restaurant chain renowned for its masterfully citrus-marinated and fire-grilled chicken and handcrafted entrees using fresh ingredients inspired by authentic Mexican recipes. With more than 415 company-owned and franchised restaurants in Arizona, California, Nevada, Texas and Utah, El Pollo Loco is expanding its presence in key markets like Houston and Dallas through a combination of company and existing and new franchisee development. Some say the lengths we go to create fresh, delicious food are crazy. We say it's Crazy You Can Taste. Visit us on our website at ElPolloLoco.com.

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CONTACT: Media Contact:

         Christine Beggan, ICR

         LOCO@icrinc.com

         203.682.8200

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