Rooster Shack — Restaurant in Ontario

A new hidden treasure in Kingston! I don't think I can go back to a chain fried chicken restaurant again after going to the Rooster Shack. Things to love:

The chicken is crispy, perfectly fried, and tremendously tender. Extremely fresh tasting. It seems that it is almost always made to order. It has a coating similar to Popeyes, and comes in regular and spicy flavours (and the spicy is not terribly spicy). No herbs and spices like KFC, but the next point makes up for it. Dipping sauces! These are really, REALLY, next level. They are made in-house, and easily the best I've tried. Highly recommend the chipotle and sriracha. Extremely tangy and flavourful. The kind of sauce I don't throw out after the meal. VALUE. This place is hands down, the best value in fried chicken, period. There are lunch and daily specials that are genuinely good. The regular prices are also extremely reasonable. Why get nuggets at McDonald's when you can get them at about the same price here with 5X the quality. Weird but high quality menu items. The butter chicken is shockingly delicious! Friendly staff. The front of counter woman was super friendly and helpful.

A few very minor cons:

Since everything is made to order, it can take awhile. Highly recommend that you order ahead, as it seems to usually take about 10m per order, assuming they aren't backed up. Also, don't order from the delivery services. The prices are a fair bit higher. The sides aren't great. None of them are made in-house. They're not terrible either, but the chicken is the star. Apparently they are eventually moving to in-house sides soon-ish, and that would take them to the next level.

Recommended items: nuggets, tenders, dipping sauces, butter chicken, chicken sandwiches.

Overall: 4 stars for quality because of the sides, but value tips them into 5...

I ordered chicken tenders and fries, with a side order of mozzarella sticks. I added a side order of mozzarella sticks ( even paid the charge for them). When my order arrives, no fries. I called to advise that my fries were missing. I was told that I paid for the mozzarella sticks but in doing so I lose my order of fries, because it all “ fits in the box”. So now I’ve paid for the mozzarella sticks, but lose my original order of tenders, fries and sticks.

I was also disappointed in the portion size of the chicken tenders. It was a thin slice of chicken in batter. I did order at 913 pm, so it’s possible that’s all that was leftover from being cooked prior. I wouldn’t have been so disappointed if I hadn’t paid so much for the order.

Now I’m having to order from another restaurant after being “ out of luck” from this...

Edit: I have since revisited a few times and these guys really deliver some good fried chicken product. It might take a few minutes but their fried chicken is very tasty. I regret my first impressions and have adjusted my rating.

Decided to stop in after seeing a Tuesday special for two pieces of chicken.

The cashier seemed flustered that I asked for the special, told me how much it would cost and that it would take 15 minutes...

I have worked in the restaurant industry for a long time. But 15 minutes to cook two pieces of fried dark meat?

Am I missing something? This is the daily special. Disappointed as I heard great things but this just didn't make any sense to me and it seemed like I was being persuaded to simply not order instead of having the special. At least that's how the process felt...