El Jannah Chicken Mitcham — Restaurant in Melbourne

We had a really negative experience with the store manager ##### at Mitcham. My two children and I were looking forward to sharing what used to be on the menu as a "platter" (I think that's what it was called), which would have been two flatbreads, chips, tabouleh and sauces, ketchup and aioli. This was no longer on the menu so we had to choose different options of burgers and wraps. So we purchased food and drinks which amounted to $56. When it came to the table there was no sauce like we had come to expect with our usual order so I asked if we could have some. I was told that we would have to pay additionally. I asked not to have to pay for something that we usually get complimentary when we have visited before and was told to speak to the manager, #####. He told me that he would not give us ketchup and aioli unless we paid for it, this resulted in a stand-off where I was not willing to pay for it and he was not willing to compromise. The result was that he would take our food off the table from in front of my children and provide me with a refund of the $56.30. I asked again for him to reconsider and I would make sure I include sauces with my order next time. He would not. As he processed the payment he said to me, "I can't believe you are doing this to your kids". This comment was designed to embarrass me further than I already felt about the whole process. He really didn't need to say that. I had to explain to my children that El Jannah is now a large organisation and it should have been a formality to request some sauce to accompany our meal, which is why I didn’t just accept having to pay for it. We cannot afford to eat out regularly so we were already paying more than we would normally have paid when buying two chicken platters (no longer on the menu). I wasn't prepared to compromise my principles because ##### couldn't see the bigger picture and couldn’t just give us some sauce. I actually couldn't believe he would go through with taking the food off of our table, I was...

Well after hearing the hype and seeing the online reviews thought I better finally try this place.... what the hell is going on with the world when this place can get 4 or 5 stars.....???? I love charcoal chicken, have for nearly 50 years! This was very dissapointing. The only way you could think this was great is if you have never had charcoal chicken before... or your local charcoal chicken is terrible. There most comparable thing I can say is this is a porer version of nandos. I will say the chicken burger was the only item worth getting. I'm a larger eater and the chicken was very small, dry and fairly flavourless, the chips were a tiny amount, and the chicken wings wernt great... I guess they were passable but I'd take wicked wings over them anyday, I had to purchase all of the items you see in the photo just to be full.... The service was quite slow,i don't think it was necessarily the workers faults... more the way orders are done, or there not being enough staff. Luckily I got in just before the lunch crowd came in as it took longer than I expected and I was the only one getting takeaway at the time. I can completely see why at busy times people were complaining about orders taking too long or being delivered cold, honestly I wouldn't even bother ordering online or at peak times. The staff member was friendly though and helpful when I came to ordering as I told him it was my first time and wanted to try a variety of things. Generally I'd say it was all over priced and sub par quality though again il mention the chicken burger was good. Do yourself a favour just go to your local charcoal chicken, the do it bigger, better, tastier, faster and cheaper! Oh and the garlic sauce is good... it's just your typical garlic sauce with chunky little bits of garlic in it... if that's your main selling point... your franchise may...

Update:

I have ordered several times since my original order. I have left the original review below as it was true at the time, but wanted to re-review to add my recent experiences. The number of times I have ordered since the first have been excellent! I gave them another try because the food genuinely tasted great, clearly someone was having an off day the first time around.

The food is fresh, tasty, in decent portions and delivered fairly promptly for such a busy store.

I have to add that their pickles are out of this world! So crunchy and tart, with just a hint of sweetness. Definitely worth adding to your order.

original review below, since superseded by more recent great experiences

Ordered via Ubereats. Half a chicken, chips and pickles. The order was placed and the restaurant accepted. The driver arrived at the restaurant at 6:30pm, around 8 minutes after the order was accepted. At the time, the status of the order showed as "finishing up". 30 minutes later, at 7pm, the driver finally left with my order and drove straight here. The chips were stone cold and the chicken barely warm. The pickles were nice and cold, though!

I ordered a half chicken - to my mind, that's a full leg and one full breast with wing attached. The photo shows what I received. One full leg, and about a quarter of a breast with part of the wing attached and a hefty section of the spine still attached (the bit at the bottom of the 'breast' piece). Total rip off!

El Jannah needs to do better. I've worked in food service for over 30 years and I would have been embarrassed to send this order to a customer. El Jannah should be...