Project Pollo Restaurant in Austin – Detailed Review
Eat more chicken or not? Move over Chick-Fila-A and Popeyes, there is a new all vegan, all delicious, chickenless chicken joint here at the 512 that will surely ruffle your feathers. If you are ever looking for things to do in Austin, make sure visiting Project Pollo is at the top of the bucket list!
Project Pollo began their debut scattered around the San Antonio area, and recently opened a new location down in East Austin next to The Soup Peddler. I got the chance to personally go down to try out the all-vegan food joint myself, with the goal to figure out if this place was truly worth the hype. (Spoiler alert, it was.
Project Polo Menu
Moving onto their main entrée menu, Project Pollo offers several different Signature dishes, doused in their different house-made sauces. I asked to sample every single sauce on the menu so you didn’t have to – Here are my personal sauce rankings from favorite to still good but not the best: Spicy Garlic Buffalo, Garlic Parm, Ranch, Chipotle Ranch, and their Pollo Sauce which is just a mayo-based that is both smoky and sweet.
For Signature dishes, I opted in to try their Spicy Project, Buffalo Chicken Strips, and the Chipotle Chicken Wrap.
Pro Tip: If you are looking for a more simple option, you can always order their Original Project: House Breaded Chicken Topped With House Aioli and Dill Pickles with proceeds from every purchase going to saving animals!
Project Pollo’s Signature Spice
The Spicy Project is the perfect vegan substitute for the spicy chicken sandwich of your dreams. The sandwich includes Project Pollo’s Signature Breaded Chicken Covered in the Spicy Garlic Buffalo Sauce, House Ranch, and served with a Pickled Jalapeño. This bad boy is perfect for a day by the lake with a cooler full of beer and a speaker blasting 2000 classics.
The Buffalo Chicken Strips order includes 4 freshly breaded Chicken strips tossed in PP’s signature Spicy Garlic Buffalo Sauce and served with House Ranch, and I got them on top of the house Papas. These strips were my personal favorite out of everything I tried – they are perfectly crispy and the soy-protein flavor of the Chicken is quite simply immaculate. I would just get them to ask for even more buffalo sauce next time to add more of a kick.
Lastly, the greenie of the group – The Chipotle Chicken Wrap: Crispy Chicken Smothered in Credo Cashew Queso, Chipotle Ranch, Shredded Lettuce, Pico De Gallo, and a Whole Wheat Tortilla. Can testify it tastes exactly how you expect it to (kind of like an upgraded version of a Taco Bell burrito, but without the greasiness and need to instantly use the bathroom) and tastes good reheated as leftovers!
Not Just Chicken
The menu offers a variety of different choices, so if the breaded chicken isn’t your vibe you can always opt-in for one of their non – chicken-based menu options, such as their loaded Mac and Cheese smothered in Credo Cashew Queso or their Signature Loaded Papas topped w/ Pico, Grilled Jalapeno, Chipotle Ranch and cashew queso as well.
As someone who is an avid fry-freak, of course, I tried the loaded fries, and let me tell you – they are loaded and they are perfect. The Pico balances out the mixture of the cashew and buffalo pretty nicely, and the fries are the perfect thickness to salty ratio. Would certainly get it again.
If you are still feeling like something sweet to cap the night off, Project Pollo also offers some cookies from Southern Roots Bakery, a black-owned family-run vegan bakery. My personal favorite is the Sugar Cookie.
I was happily satisfied and content with the offers at Project Pollo – if you are looking for the best restaurants in Texas this fast foodie joint certainly deserves a spot in the ranks. This employee-owned, 100% plant-based Texas food in the words of PP themselves “Never Skips Steps, and is Never Mediocre”.
