Sam's South Ealing — Restaurant in London

The witching hour had long passed, and London was breathing its final, quiet sigh before the grey hint of morning. It was in this strange, liminal space between night and day that our quest began. We had left the moonlit stillness of Gunnersbury Park, our path taking a surreal turn through the silent avenues of a graveyard. Past stone angels and sleeping sentinels we walked, my friend, my bromine, a shadow beside me, his stomach rumbling a tune so forlorn it could have been a B-side on a Smiths album. We weren't guided by starlight, but by a primal, desperate hunger that felt louder than the silence around us. We held the belief, like a cold stone in our pockets, that the best chicken was a South London prize. We were fools, walking through the land of the dead, about to be truly reborn.

Then, through the pre-dawn gloom, we saw it. Not a mirage, but an incandescent promise. A holy glow in the deep, dark blue of the almost-morning: Sam’s.

We pushed inside, two ghosts drawn to the light, and whispered our order like a prayer: two Spicy Box Meals. The holy trinity of the chicken shop experience: a chicken strip burger, three spicy wings, and chips, with two cans sweating with cold condensation.

There was no question of staying inside. This was a sacrament to be observed under the open sky. Our pews were a stretch of cold kerbstone on a silent South Ealing street. The world was asleep, leaving the stage entirely to us and our feast.

I opened the box, and the steam that escaped felt like the most wonderful thing in the world. First, the chips. Golden batons, dusted in a secret salt-and-spice mix that woke up every single taste bud, perfectly fluffy within and crisp without. They were the first note in a perfect symphony.

Then, the wings. My bro-fessor of fried foods and I locked eyes, a silent pact before we dove in. The coating didn't just crunch; it shattered. It was a seismic event of flavour, a craggy, seasoned crust giving way to the most succulent, tender chicken meat imaginable. The spice was a masterpiece – a complex, blooming heat that warmed us against the late-night chill.

But the burger… oh, the burger. It was the stuff of late-night legend. Nestled in a pillowy, toasted bun were two colossal chicken strips, their crunchy coating a perfect topographical map of deliciousness. Beneath them, a crisp bed of shredded lettuce and a generous, cool slick of pure, unadulterated mayonnaise. That was it. No distraction. The first bite was a lesson in perfect simplicity. The softness of the bun, the shattering crunch of the chicken, the clean, creamy comfort of the mayo – it was a sacred trio, a glorious contract between savoury and smooth.

Washed down with a can of drink that tasted like the elixir of life, it was a meal that justified the strange pilgrimage. I looked at my friend, my broski, his face illuminated by the glow of a nearby streetlamp, a picture of pure bliss.

"South London..." he said, his voice full of reverence as he stared into the empty box.

"South London who?" I replied.

The myth was shattered, right there on a kerb in W5. The long walk from Gunnersbury, the ghostly path through the cemetery… it was all worth it. We had journeyed through the darkness and found the...

I ordered a meal and the chips had brown/ black deep fried pieces all over. It almost looked like black pepper had been sprinkled all over the fries. I asked if the cooking oil had been cleaned because i also have worked in a restaurant and you can literally tell when the cooking oil has been changed regularly. The gentlemen claimed it was cleaned and angrily gave me another portion of fries, however, it was still the same. Unfiltered and overused cooking oil where you can visibly see the chunks of residue from previous cooking can lead to serious health issues. Especially when its stuck all over your fries. I used to come here everyweek for lunch....

Used to come here and the offers were really good. Thought I'd try it again. This offer, 2 for £7, was misleading. It appears you can choose any 2 on this poster, for £7. But, in actual fact, it's only the loaded rice and loaded fries for £7. So, how us it any 2 for £7? Loaded fries and rice are the only options in this deal, so you can either get 2 rice I'm presuming, 2 fries, or one of each. Misleading and not much of an offer, not many options. I got one fries and one rice. Both the rice and fries were absolutely smothered in mayonnaise to the point where you couldn't taste anything else. Really not...