You might recall seeing scores of people queuing the length of Piccadilly Gardens last month. It was cold and drizzling, but they only had one thing on their mind – Popeyes’ viral chicken sandwich.
The smash hit special, which sees a succulent piece of fried chicken wedged between a brioche bun and joined by mayo and pickles, was launched by the Louisiana-born chicken brand in 2019 and sold out in record time. Even the brand’s celebrity clientele, which includes the likes of the Kardashians and Nicki Minaj, struggled to get their hands on it.
Naturally, the opening of the fast-food Louisiana juggernaut’s first Manchester branch on Piccadilly Gardens was going to be met with fanfare then, especially as the first three people in the queue bagged free chicken sandwiches for a year. And its famed ‘biscuits’ – akin to our savoury scones – and cajun spiced gravy had plenty of people talking too.
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Hype aside, it’s the comparisons to another famous chicken brand that outlasts those early morning queues. KFC might have twenty years on Popeyes, but their storylines certainly overlap – both originate from Southern states in America and both claim to serve some of the best fried chicken around.
If you feel a comparison coming on – you would be correct. We headed to Manchester city centre to answer the all important questions – whose chicken sandwich is better, which meal was better value, and would the Colonel’s ‘finger lickin’ good’ chicken defeat the viral sensation that is Popeyes?
Before we start, let’s lay out what we bought. To keep it fair, we ordered one chicken sandwich meal – or burger meal in KFC’s case – with a three-piece bag of chicken tenders (boneless). We also picked up a couple of dips and a pot of gravy for those all-important sandwich dunks.
Service:
Now when I say fast food, I really mean it. Both KFC and Popeyes were so fast that I was still faffing about with my receipts. In fact, I was so flustered that when I went to collect my KFC order I haphazardly handed over my Popeyes receipt instead – an embarrassing moment for all parties concerned.
I was astounded that Popeyes came in under three minutes at 2 minutes and 57 seconds (yes we timed it), but it was blown out of the water by KFC’s lightning fast 1 minute and 48 seconds. That said, it was way past lunch hour and Popeyes’ Piccadilly branch was rammed – you couldn’t swing a cat around that’s for sure – nor should you. By comparison, KFC’s Deansgate branch was much quieter, so the slight time lag is easily explained.
Back on Popeyes for a second. They accidentally only gave us two chicken tenders in our three pack. When I explained though, they were very apologetic and got me a single tender in under two minutes – it’s perhaps the only downside of being so popular right now.
The Chicken Sandwich / Burger and tenders:
Goods in hand we popped ourselves down on a bench on the outskirts of the Gardens just beyond the long concrete wall dubbed Manchester’s ‘Berlin Wall’ for our Popeyes’ Piccadilly picnic. It was blowing a gale, with cardboard boxes and paper bags flying about the place, and we were quickly surrounded by pigeons, so no, it wasn’t glamorous, but thank goodness the chicken was so good.
At its best a fried chicken should aim for that sweet spot between, juicy, salty and crunchy. Popeyes makes a big deal of that all important bite too. Sinking my teeth into the chicken was heaven and I quickly forgot about the over-zealous pigeon eying up my food. The feathering of the coating is really something special too.
The chicken within is not uniform, it spills out from the pillowy soft brioche bun but I enjoyed the rustic look and frankly, who cares what it looks like when it tastes so good. The batter stayed intact too, while the mayo and fresh pickles added a bit of moisture and texture contrast.
Moving over to our next picnic location on Deansgate for KFC’s fillet burger and we’re still being pursued by pigeons, but we persisted. KFC’s Fillet Burger comes with a chicken fillet, lettuce, mayonnaise and a sesame seed bun.
At first glance, the distribution is a bit off, the majority of the lettuce is pushed to one side of the bun so I do a bit of rearranging and get stuck in. My first bite is a bit underwhelming. Sure, the chicken is nicely coated, but it gets totally lost in the bun and lettuce.
With every bite I feel a little bit more depressed. I’m not mad, I’m just a bit disappointed. I was expecting a punchy flavour but it underwhelms, despite the Colonel’s special secret combo of herbs and spices.
KFC redeemed itself with its tenders. They’re a tad anaemic in terms of colour, but juicy and succulent. Yes, they are finger lickin’ good. I just wish they didn’t get quite so soggy – but perhaps I should have eaten them more quickly.
It’s a close call but I think Popeyes still comes out on top. The juices stay put, meaning the coating doesn’t get too wet and claggy.
The Fries:
Tried every which way – on their own, dunked in a pot of gravy and swirled around brightly coloured dips, both Popeyes and KFC’s chips are winners in my eyes. Popeyes seasoning is slightly better distributed so you get a good coating of cajun spices with every bite.
I can’t quite work out what they remind me of and then a lightbulb moment strikes. They’re a little bit like bowling alley curly fries, not in terms of shape but taste – and I mean that in a good way.
KFC actually slipped me two bags of chips, despite only ordering only one meal deal. Maybe they chucked in another bag when they realised my not-so-secret comparison – or I just need to read my receipt properly. Either way, they’re decent, but some have very little seasoning, which means some lack flavour.
Gravy and Dips:
The tricky thing with their gravy pots is that they really just have quite different offerings. Popeyes is cajun-spiced, a Louisiana classic, and is smooth and lustrous – almost too pretty to slurp. It proves to be the perfect accompaniment to the tenders and has a really nice warmth to it.
You may not know this but often KFC’s gravy is made with the leftover juices and chicken scraps at the bottom of the chicken fryer – a substance the brand refers to as ‘crackling’. And I must say, it is cracking. KFC’s is lighter and thinner overall but both theirs and Popeyes are packed full of flavour – yes it’s a draw on this one.
I’ll be honest, we were a little conservative with our dip selection, which Popeyes’ fans may be dismayed to hear, given their wide selection of sauces – from ranch and hot honey to mango habanero and Mardis Gras mustard, it really is quite impressive. This time we go for the bold BBQ and Ranch, both solid accompaniments.
KFC has a slightly different line-up but we opted for their smokey BBQ and Supercharged Mayo. The latter is a pleasant surprise. A creamy blend of smoky chipotle, a yolk-only American mayonnaise and spices, it really levels up the tenders and fries. The treacle-coloured BBQ sauce is also a good shout for when you want to balance the flavours.
How much did they cost?
Broken down, Popeyes’ Chicken Sandwich meal came with fries and a Diet Coke and came to £7.99, while the three-piece bag of tenders with ranch dip came to £4.99. Cajun Gravy set us back £1.50, and Bold BBQ was 75p. With VAT it came to £15.23.
Only slightly more expensive, KFC’s Fillet Burger meal with fries, (two portions in our case), a drink and regular gravy came to £9.38. The boneless chicken with dip came to £5.99 and the Supercharger dip came to 40p. It’s worth noting that you can get a number of different deals when you’re not ordering specific items like we did.
The Verdict:
Look, here’s the thing – you do something long enough and you get complacent. That’s a little bit like how it felt eating the KFC. It was absolutely fine. Had I not been comparing it to Popeyes, it probably would have been a nice mid-week treat – but when held up to the light alongside its competitor it left me feeling like I should probably just have thrown it to the pigeons.
Popeyes is like that new person at work. Eager to please and very enthusiastic. It just felt slicker and more up for the challenge really. I’ll be having sweet dreams about that crispy chicken sandwhich for a long time – minus the pigeons and mini tornado in Piccadilly Gardens.
Popeyes: 8.5/10
KFC: 6/10
