Popeyes Famous Louisiana Chicken Takanini — Restaurant in Papakura

I just want to give a comment to try to counteract some of the 1 star reviews which I don't think have been fairly given, which have been about service.

It's hard to open a new restaurant, let alone the first franchise of a popular overseas brand. The marketing campaign did an amazing job to get people excited and I don't think they were prepared for that. I've gone three times to get this chicken because I'm from the US and love Popeyes. Not only because it tastes good but it brings back a lot of fond memories with my family.

Unfortunately, each time something came up but that is the risk I knew I was getting into trying to visit this place the first week it opened. Each time I showed up, the staff communicated very warmly and were very apologetic for turning me away. And let's face it, no company wants to do that! They literally were blocking motorway traffic from the drive-thru! So they needed to make these tough calls otherwise their food license could have been pulled.

Today when I went and unfortunately they lost power They were honest about the possible wait time for it to get fixed (1-2 hours) and then made the tough call to close for the night, which again, I'm sure they didn't want to do on their first Friday night being opened. They were kind enough to give each person in line some food for free of what they had left in stock to say sorry for it.

Now onto the food, I got two chicken tenders and they were just how I remembered it. It made me so happy to have a taste of home. Honestly, Popeyes is the first and last meal in the US whenever I visit. They were well seasoned and so juicy. I cannot wait until I can go back and have the order I was planning to make today.

It's luckily only a 15-20 minute drive from my house. But if you're traveling from further away, I'd suggest waiting a few weeks until the hype dies down, otherwise you're travelling at your own risk. For example, when I stopped by on Tuesday, they told me the wait time was 3 hours for those that were in line and advised me to try next week. Honestly, I'd say maybe wait a little longer because just before they made the call to turn us away (about 5:45) the line was starting to go...

Overall the food was great and the price was comparable or cheaper than many similar takeaways. The place was clean and the wait was much shorter than anticipated (no lines for the self-checkout, or drive-thru) our food was ready within 19 minutes of arriving. We ordered the deluxe chicken burgers with fries, potatoes and gravy, and mac and cheese. The burgers were the best! The pickled cucumbers (not pickles but definitely soaked cucumber slices) with ranch dressing were perfect. The chicken coating was crispy but easy to eat and locked in the juicy chicken flavour. Compared to this KFC chicken burgers are dry and bland. The fries were a hit with everyone, the seasoning really makes them stand out. They are coated in seasoning and perfectly crispy. McDonald’s skinny fries often go soggy within a few minutes but these stayed crispy the entire meal. We usually find that KFC fries are soggy because they are too thick and under cooked, Popeyes were incredible in comparison! We also got the buttermilk ranch sauce to dip them in fries and chicken pieces in. It is a great flavour and very “American”. The potatoes and gravy were okay- the gravy had a great spicy flavour, but the potatoes were oddly thick and bland (are they real potatoes or instant?). The mac and cheese was the least favourite of all. It had very little flavour (highly recommend adding salt to it, or spicing it up at home). The portion size for the small is VERY small. The photo of the container doesn’t do it justice but for nearly $5 it’s barely 4 bites. It has potential to be a great side but the container should be full and the flavour needs improvement.

Overall we will definitely be back but will be changing our order to try some new things!

☑️ deluxe chicken burger ☑️ fries ❌ mac and cheese ❌...

Dear KFC, we don’t need you anymore. Sincerely, everyone. Came here opening day, what a turn out. The smell of chicken coming from popeyes was different from other chicken places and smelled great. After a 2.5-hour wait, I finally got in, ready to splurge on food that will last me at least 4 days. Also, I came from Browns Bay, so a 50km drive will do that to you. chicken tenders 10/10 WOW. just WOW. huge tenders, coating wasn't greasy at all, just amazing crunch. The tender size is massive, too! Cannot fault these at all Original chicken sandwich 10/10 Once again, this is the go-to. Thought brioche style was going to be heavy, but it's not. One of these would do lunch just fine. Perfect. Fries 7.5/10 Was expecting more seasoning as it looks like there's a decent amount, but not mush seasoning taste. Little bit bigger cut than a French fry, but it's still nice. Mashed potato and gravy 8/10 It's completely different gravy than what I'm used to. Can't put my finger on what spices used, but it's really good. Use this with the chips. Boss. Original chicken 9.8/10 This makes KFC & Texas chicken look pathetic. Seriously. This is hard to beat. Crunchy coating and juicy moist chicken. Spice and herb in the coating is so good. There is Alot of wing pieces in my 8 peice bucket, though. Wings 9.0/10 Still great, if you're a wings lover, you destroy these. Bayou Buffalo sauce 7.6/10 Bit of heat, it's say it's hot on the menu. Nice with the chips. Maybe there's a Spicer sauce to have. Deluxe chicken sandwich 8.8/10 This was great, but really perfer the original. Sometimes less is better. Even manage to win a free shirt after buying my food on a wheel spin outside. I'll be repping popeyes from now on, popeyes just needs to open a restraunt on the...