Commitments and Contingencies - Additional Information (Details)		3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Nov. 06, 2018 USD ($)	Jun. 26, 2019 USD ($) lawsuit	Jun. 27, 2018 USD ($)	Jun. 26, 2019 USD ($) lawsuit agreement lease	Jun. 27, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 26, 2018 USD ($)
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Date of class action filed in court				On or about February 24, 2014
Number of lawsuits consolidated | lawsuit		2		2
Professional Fees	$ 1,391,702.50
Accrual associated with loss contingencies		$ 0		$ 0
Employment agreement expense		78,242	$ 400,000	$ 400,000	$ 800,000
Officers
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Number of at-will employment agreements | agreement				4
Property Lease Guarantee
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Number of leases assigned to franchisees | lease				5
Latest lease expiration year				2036
Contingent lease obligations, maximum exposure		2,200,000		$ 2,200,000
Contingent lease obligations, maximum exposure, if discounted at estimated pre-tax cost of debt		1,800,000		1,800,000
Chicken
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Purchase commitments, estimated obligations		$ 14,800,000		14,800,000
Impact Damages
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Value of damages awarded				4,356,600
Lost Opportunity Damages
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Value of damages awarded				4,481,206
Total Damages
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Value of damages awarded				$ 8,837,806
Daniel Turocy, et al. and Ron Huston et al v. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc., et al [Member]
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Accrual associated with loss contingencies						$ 20,000,000