KFC Taupo — Restaurant in North Island

I typically don't leave reviews, especially for fast-food places, but I couldn't hold back this time. The most dreadful and disappointing experience at KFC in my life. I've traveled extensively, tasted KFC in various, sometimes less-than-ideal locations worldwide, but one thing remained constant: the taste of KFC chicken.

I've encountered deviations from the original recipes, but KFC Taupo shocked me in the worst way possible. We ordered the Summer Bucket, expecting the usual KFC chicken as advertised – crispy, seasoned with the signature spices. What we got resembled something from the worst roadside cafe on the outskirts of Bangkok.

The chicken was repulsively bland, lacking any hint of the advertised flavor. No crunch, just a coating of salt. It felt like they rolled the chicken in flour and salt, then tossed it in a pan with minimal oil. Horrible. We anticipated the consistent taste and crunch of KFC chicken but ended up with a bucket of rejects. Terrible chicken and a terrible evening.

The service was fast and reasonably friendly, but what they served us doesn't deserve to be called KFC chicken. Strongly...

Was there late on Good Friday night. Stopover before heading to Ohope. Staff were excellent. Working at top speed nonstop and tirelessly. Very pleasant. And the Manager....one of the best I have ever come across. Professional and right up there. Corporate material. Couple of Mothers were understandably extremely tired and stressed with their children being hungry. Easter queues were long and every second person was placing orders for the KFC Buckets. All large orders so delays were inevitable. The ladies were verbally very abusive. Totally unacceptable. Manager handled them brilliantly. Staff kept on serving. A+++ all the way for KFC Taupo. Had that been Wellington (where we come from), those ladies (children hungry or not) would have been shown the door. Absolutely no way would they have been served after the abuse and foul language they meted out to the staff. Know this for a fact. Our friend is an ex KFC Manager. He told us he had thrown people out of his store who didnt treat his staff right. Taupo Manager call the police next time. Better that then risk of an...

Everyone is familiar with KFC. Their range, their restaurants, their taste.

The only differences between the stores is cleanliness, food quality, and staff attitude.

I'm happy to say that the Taupo KFC delivers pretty darn well.

The food quality was fantastic. The chicken freshly cooked and hot; the potato and gravy a good mix between the two; the burger fresh and tasty; the chips fresh and well seasoned. I couldn't fault it.

The staff were friendly, and served with a smile.

The only slight let down was cleanliness. To be fair, the restaurant was fairly busy at the time of my visit, and tables were cleared promptly after the patrons left. However, the floor had a notable amount of debris, and the toilets were looking fairly ignored...

I think that this was due to the restaurant prioritising good food, over some other tasks to deal with the available staff they have. However, it may be worthwhile appointing a little more time to clean-up.

All in all I was impressed with this restaurant. It is easily the best kept KFC I have visited in New Zealand in recent...