Ottawa Foodies

7

And this is why I usually order 4 or 8 pieces of chicken, without sides. And I also usually phone in my order in advance.

Also, next time ask for the green chutney. yum.

3

3

I’ve tried it, and I didn’t love it. After a long wait, 35 minutes for a two piece meal (thinking it would be 10 minutes tops). I didn’t receive any apology (ie: “sorry for the wait”, nor did they tell me it would take so long). Wait aside, I didn’t find the food that memorable. The fries were an unseasoned or under -seasoned (freezer variety). Meh. Hot sauce wasn’t good for me, just plain old heat with no real or deep flavour.

The chicken: was alright, it was good, but I didn’t find it thaaaat juicy, or crispy or anything. For me it was just fried chicken, that was not so greasy . Ok. Again, I didn’t love it. They charged me an extra 2 bucks for white meat; ok no big deal, that’s a normal thing to do. All in all, for $10.10 I was underwhelmed. I won’t go out of my way for Zaki. Don’t think I’ll be back anytime soon. The garlic sauce was good though, I would bet it was mayonnaise based as opposed to the oil and garlic base of a shawarma sauce.

Another thing I noticed was that the menu states the combo comes with a biscuit. What you get is a dinner roll, not a biscuit. It was a decent quality roll but its clearly incorrect calling it a buscuit. I was expecting somthing else.

4

2

Been waiting 30 minutes for my two peice chicken meal.. This better be good, not impressed so far.

2

So...I tried to stop in for lunch yesterday, and I was informed that they were out of all chicken. Apparently they sold out on Sunday, and the new batch had to marinate for 18 hours, so there would be no chicken until 7:30 that evening.

If you're coming from far away, you might want to call ahead to make sure they are able to fill your chicken order. Although this kind of thing (I guess?) happens when you do things the "right" way, it can lead to disappointment.

2

We popped in on Sunday, boy am I glad we did. The chicken was moist as ever, we did two spicy, two normal. And a set of 3 chicken strips. The flavoring on the normal changed, I like it more now, there's more seasoning.

Though the chef said he hadn't changed anything recently, but I haven't been for some time.

The spicy is now done in a Louisana sauce, which is better than the Franks which was vinegary. I think I'm at the point now to enjoy their chicken without the spicy sauce.

BUT!! I'll for sure get it with the green chutney, they only give it out with some other dishes. So you have to ask. It's SUPERB. Unlike any other green chutney I've had. My experience has been around couriander and in some cases couriander/coconut chutneys. But this is tangy, has some heat, and zesty garlic.

They also changed the red sauce, originally I didn't like it, it was off. But she mentioned she went back to her original recipe, and its very good.

Service was great, these guys are genuine and friendly.

I noticed the chicken strips when being prepared started as real cuts of fresh raw chicken breast, not from frozen!!

@Tree Pug, the garlic did kinda taste a wee bit different. But I wasn't sure, with everything being different, save for the fries and the buns. I was starting to think I might be losing it!

I stopped in yesterday and ate some delicious chicken. I have been here twice now and I have a couple of questions for the regulars:

Do you find the chicken salty? My girlfriend's chicken strips were really salty.

Did they change the garlic sauce recently? I do not remember it being so addictively good I even ate the fries using them as a garlicky goodness delivery system.

4

I decided to stop by to see if things have indeed gone downhill (I was also suffering from a broasted chicken craving). I am delighted to report that the quality of my chicken matched the quality of my first visit.

I admit that I carried my 4 piece combo home, in the digusting heat, with a pit stop at the grocery store, so I blame only myself for the sogginess of the fries.

The chicken pieces were very large! I got a breast, thigh, drumstick, and wings, all meaty, juicy, and tasty. I'll be back!

2

I had the broasted chicken here twice back in early June and it was delicious. Yesterday..not so much. The chicken piecs were small with gray-ish and very sparse meat. The skin/coating was a very light golden colour, not the deep golden brown of my previous visits. Perhaps they have changed chicken suppliers, but I hope they go back to the plump, juicy and crispy chicken they started out serving.

3

Wanted to try something other than the broasted chicken.

The chef/cook leans out of the kitchen window and suggests the 1/2 chicken plate. 'OK' I said.

Oh man ... what a plate !

A 1/2 tandoori style chicken .... leg/thigh piece with a breast/wing piece. Large, tender and tasty.

Rice was fluffy and lightly seasoned. Salad was a nice mix and ultra fresh.

Although the wholewheat mid-east style naan was OK. The rice was enough carbs for this meal.

NEXT TIME ... The Lamb Chops. Chef says, 'Takes 15-18 minutes to prepare and don't preorder .. best when served fresh.'

5

This chicken is amazing like everyone said: plump, juicy, crispy, incredibly non-greasy, and lightly seasoned. The seasoning is very mild, which allows you to enjoy the chicken flavour but it might be too mild for some. I tried one of them tossed in hot sauce, and it was nice to have variety but I prefer them plain.

Fries were seasoned and boring. I ate a few of them and left the rest. I took one bite of the unnecessary bun to see how it was -- not too bad. Go for the chicken. ;-)

I'd like to get a 4-piece meal with salad instead of fries/bun. That would be awesome.