Sani’s chicken — Restaurant in Birmingham

Having tried this place before back when it was a food truck a few months ago I was unimpressed. When they were vending from a food truck I found that the chicken was dried out, potentially from being a little old, or soggy from the abundance of mild sauces. Having read the reviews, 1 which compared the food to a soggy sock, I would have to agree with them as the food truck Sani’s quality left lots of space for improvement.

Having tried the food again today with a fresh mindset now that they are a store I thought that the standards would have improved. Sadly I am again disappointed. The soggy sock saga continues. The burger fillet quality is no better than the ones at UK’s fried Chicken. Not to knock UK’s Fried Chicken as their burgers are 1/3 of the price so it can be expected. The only difference in the fillets is the lightly brush stroked on seasoning that was applied. My burger today was meant to be “Inferno” but apart from the middle part of the fillet there was little to no flavour at all. Only once I was half-way through the burger I got some resembelence of taste but due to the fact non of the seasoning was spread and instead soaked into a concentrated spot the flavour was overbearing and actually quite off putting.

The fries with the seasoning and sauce has vastly improved from the food truck era. Back then the fries was overly drenched in sauce which turned them into mush.

From todays dining experience they were a lot better. The chopped chicken as part of the loaded box was quite tasty.

When ordering my food I requested that 2 of the meals to not have any mayonnaise on them and 1 not to have any cheese. Both burgers had cheese on them and neither had any sauce on them at all. I assumed it was clear when someone requests “no mayo” that would mean “just no mayo” and not “no sauce at all”.

The burger boxes would massively benefit from being labelled as it was very confusing to which was which. This was hard to figure out even when biting into the burgers as the mentioned before the burger seasoning was only in the centre.

I do appreciate some of the posts on socials and on the store itself mentioning the unwanted litter and parking that customers are causing. As a local resident, over the last few months I have avoided the area around the opening time of the food truck due to the double and sometimes triple parking of customers. This is not the fault of the takeaway but it might indicate towards the mentality of people which enjoy such poor quality of food. I understand the hype of a place can glaze people judgement but I expected a lot better for the price.

Some comments I have for the business owners are

1. Actually spread the seasoning across the fillets

2. Use a better quality chicken supplier to warrant the price of the food.

3. I appreciate your efforts to keep the area clean and traffic free. I hope you actually follow through and report people which continue to cause issues...

Visited this place when it initially opened and I was disappointed- new business, they will have some problems of course. Fast forward a few months, I decided to visit again and wow they really upped their game. With the introduction of their loaded fries they have really taken feedback on board and created something special. I like my food spicy, so I always have the firecracker burger but I have had the less spicy burgers from here and they do not disappoint. There is not a bad word to say about this place in terms of the food however I must mention due to the size of the set up and the influx of orders, waiting times can sometimes be a bit ridiculous but it is understandable as to why. Definitely a happy and returning customer. Worth a try.

EDIT 27/3/2024 Visited at around 1am, stood waiting around 10-12 minutes for my order to even be taken whilst the member of staff responsible for taking orders was casually discussing business about selling a car with a customer although there was a few people waiting to take an order from (already off to a bad start as it was not exactly busy). Finally had my order taken, and was told 5-7 minutes which was fine. Came back to get my food, and whilst waiting for it to be served I observed the same member of staff completely disregarding health and safety issues- continuously handling his mobile phone, whilst having tongs in one hand and moving chicken pieces around, constantly touching his face and even at one point scratching the side/inside of his nose then picking up a slice of cheese to place on a burger! This is not on. There was no attempt to even clean his hands, no handwashing basin/sanitiser in sight. Didn’t even have the decency to use his arm (he had a jacket on) to relieve any itching he might have had on his face/nose area. A total lack of respect for working in a kitchen and no customer service at all. I am sorry I had to edit my review from a 5 star to a 1 star but this is one customer you have lost due to what I had witnessed today. Please fix this issue ASAP. I assume this is due to lack of training, lack of knowledge whilst working around food, lack of experience and a lack of leadership as what I saw was staff just not doing their job properly. No one knew exactly what was going on at any point and working in a kitchen environment especially, leadership and awareness is vital. I can pinpoint the member of staff privately if you wish, just leave me your contact details and I will happily...

There are moments in life when one stumbles upon an establishment so unrelentingly dreadful, so audaciously incompetent in its attempt to serve food, that it transcends mere disappointment and becomes... performance art. Such was my experience at Sani’s Chicken—a place where poultry goes not to be celebrated, but to be publicly humiliated. Let us begin with the ambience, shall we? Imagine, if you can, a kebab shop designed by someone whose only exposure to hospitality décor was a broken microwave in a bus station. Fluorescent lighting that buzzes like an irate wasp. Greasy laminated menus stuck to the wall with what I can only assume is congealed garlic mayo. And the aroma? Not the enticing sizzle of chicken kissed by flame, but the melancholy musk of despair, fryer oil, and spilled Tango.

I placed my order—a "signature" chicken burger meal—though one must question what signature Sani has affixed to this monstrosity. Perhaps it was forged. What arrived at my table (plastic, cracked, sticky) was a bun so soggy I feared it had recently wept. The chicken—if, indeed, it was chicken—was a leathery, overcooked puck encased in breadcrumbs so violently fried, one could sand a floor with it. The lettuce, limp. The sauce, indistinct. The chips? Lukewarm, undersalted, and suffering an identity crisis somewhere between “reheated” and “abandoned.”

Service was... spirited. A young man behind the counter, adorned in a branded hoodie and a look of existential exhaustion, handed me my meal with all the joy of a dentist presenting a root canal. When I dared to request napkins, I was met with a gesture so vague it may have been a shrug or possibly a seizure.

But perhaps the true tragedy of Sani’s Chicken is not the food, nor the ambience, nor the service. No, it is the fact that this place is popular. That people—honest, hungry people—queue up for the privilege of partaking in what can only be described as poultry-based punishment. It speaks not of community spirit, but culinary surrender. A failure of hope. A post-midnight cry for help...