Towfighi’s Top 3: chicken

Nandos
4/5 Stars
1/4 peri chicken £3.95
Address: 255 Finchley Road, London NW3 6LU, O2 Centre
Distance from ASL: 8-minute tube ride on Jubilee line

Topping the list is Nando’s. Nando’s is a South African food chain that specializes in Portuguese peri-peri chicken. A quarter peri chicken costs the small price of £3.95. The chicken was perfectly cooked and although it was on the bone there was still plenty of chicken to eat and it didn’t feel overwhelmed by the bone. The chicken was tender and moist. It felt as if chewing was barely needed as the chicken just melted in my mouth.

As for the sauce, Nando’s had the best taste out of all the chicken as it was topped with a perfectly crisped skin and a delicious peri sauce. Nando’s also offers plenty of peri sauces on the side including lemon and herb, medium, garlic, hot and extra hot. These different sauces allow the customer to customize the chicken to however they want. The service was adequate. It wasn’t fast, but it wasn’t slow.

The only negative part about Nando’s was the quarter chicken was quite small and the price didn’t include any sides.

Besides that, the great tasting chicken, delicious sauce, and the small price all contribute to why Nando’s is the best chicken near ASL.

Chicken Shop
3/5 Stars
1/4 chicken £5.95
Address: 128 Allitsen Road, London NW8 7AU
Distance from ASL: 8-minute walk

Chicken Shop is located right off the St Johns Wood High Street and specializes in chicken and burgers. The chicken shop is a chain and its chicken is marinated rotisserie chicken. The chicken is cooked right in front of you which is a nice view while you are waiting for your food. As for the chicken, it is very moist and tender with an excellent flavored skin. The skin is perfectly crisped and has a great seasoning on it. The chicken is clearly fresh by its great taste and excellent texture. The service was very quick and the chicken came out within five minutes.

Sadly, the chicken is not all perfect. The dipping sauces on the side are smokey and hot and are better off in the bottle than on the chicken. The sauces do not match with the chicken at all and leave your mouth with a very unpleasant taste.

For just the chicken it costs £5.95. and for a side of french fries, it costs £3.75, both very overpriced. The chicken isn’t very big and for the expensive price of £5.95, you would expect a gourmet delicious chicken which isn’t the case at Chicken Shop. Although the chicken was good, the high prices are why Chicken Shop falls to number two on Towfighi’s top 3.

Chicken Cottage
1/5 Stars
1/4 peri chicken, fries and soda £4.49
Address: 239 Finchley Rd, London NW3 6LS
Distance from ASL: 8-minute tube ride on Jubilee line 

At the bottom of the list is Chicken Cottage located on Finchley Road. Chicken Cottage is a chain and is located all around England. Starting with the good, for the amount of food included in the package which was a 1 / 4 chicken, french fries and soda, it was the cheapest by far. The fries were thin and very crispy making them a very enjoyable side to eat. That is about it for the good side of Chicken Cottage as there were many poor parts.

To start with the chicken quality was the worst by far. Unlike the Chicken Shop and Nando’s, Chicken Cottage’s chicken was chewy and the chicken was falling off the bone. To match with the overcooked, tough to chew chicken, the sauce was tangy and sour which did not taste well. It was tangy and sour in a way that felt past its due date and it did not match with the chicken in the slightest. It felt as if Chicken Cottage threw a random sauce on the chicken and called it a peri sauce.

As Chicken Cottage is a fast food restaurant I expected the service to be quick. In fact, it was the exact opposite. It took over 10 minutes for the chicken to be prepared and served which was greatly disappointing and not acceptable. The bad service, overcooked chewy chicken and misplaced sauce all add up to why Chicken Cottage is last on the list.