Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant — Restaurant in Buena Park

After our enjoyable trip to the nearby theme park Six Flags, my family and I decided to treat ourselves to a chicken dinner at this restaurant.

As soon as we stepped into the restaurant, we were warmly greeted by Allison at the front desk. She informed us that we could expect a wait of about 25 minutes. For about 23, we sat in a cozy waiting area must past the reception. Our server, Martyn, a friendly older gentleman, promptly offered us waters.

Looking at the menu, there were a wide variety of chicken-related dishes. Before we could really look at the menu, Martyn swiftly brought us our waters and an order of biscuits, along with a selection of packaged butter and jam.

The biscuits were warm to the touch, with a delightful crisp on the outside and edges, while the inside was soft and slightly fluffy. They had a savory-salty flavor that complemented the sweet jam.

After delivering the biscuits, Martyn politely took our drink order while we browsed the menu in his absence. He promptly refilled our drinks and took our main orders. Two of us chose the classic fried chicken, while the other opted for the chicken-fried steak. Both entrees came with a selection of sides and either a soup or salad. Our combination included steamed cabbage with ham, corn, soup, salad, and rhubarb.

The salad arrived promptly. It was a simple side dish, with crisp and chilled leafy greens, cucumber slices, and cherry tomatoes. The ranch dressing had a tangy and creamy flavor.

After the salad came the chicken noodle soup. It was incredibly creamy, with a thick, gelatinous broth similar to that of a gravy sauce. The noodles were melt-in-your-mouth texture in the form of a ribbon, all with hints of celery and chives. Accompanying the soup was the rhubarb. It was very sweet and firm (possibly undercooked?), with a subtle, slightly tart flavor in a syrup-like liquid. Although there was a brief wait for the main course, it arrived soon enough.

The fried chicken was crispy and freshly warmed, juicy and neither excessively salty nor sweet. The accompanying mashed potatoes had a chunky texture and a peppery taste, complementing the chicken well.

The gravy had a funky yogurt-like light taste but an appetizing aroma.

The chicken fried steak had a granular texture, a light breading, and a soft, tender meat that allowed the breading to melt off in your mouth easily.

The corn, a simple yet delightful steamed side dish, and sort of served as a palate cleanser.

The cabbage was heavily steamed alongside ham pieces, giving it a slightly bitter taste.

All of these recipes (allegedly the originals) were reasonably tasty for their price and branding, but they weren’t exceptionally great. The food might have more of an appeal to nostalgia, but I would choose a standard restaurant over...

This has been my one of my favorite restaurants to come to but honestly things have changed a lot since I came here. I come from like an hour away just to come eat here because it has always been really good and I don’t mind paying the price. I came here and waited 20 minutes to be seated which is understandable but then our waiter came 20 minutes later after we had been seated and he gave us attitude his name was Phil. He came gave us attitude and honestly if felt like he was being racist with us but then he told us that we had to pay 8 dollars per extra plate we wanted! I think that this was atrocious and I was honestly really surprised because we have been coming here for over a year and when they told us that we had to pay for each extra plate I honestly got upset and asked to speak with the manager which his name was Alan. This manager said that this “policy” had been put a week or two ago and I really didn’t understand why so I asked him to explain why and he also gave us attitude and told us it was just the policy and he could do anything about it. I honestly don’t mind paying for the parking or any other extra service provided but paying 8 dollars for a plate is just unreasonable and absolutely ridiculous. If they really have the need to charge that much money they should actually charge money that is reasonable for example paying for a refill or extra sauces because I would understand that but 8 dollars for a empty plate I was just going to use to share the food between two people is just ridiculous. I honestly think that they should’ve thought it through before putting this new policy because I will not be visiting again not because of the price but because of the ridiculous way they want to charge me. I will not say my experience was horrible because there was this amazing guy who helped us and was just so so amazing! His name was Haysel and honestly he treated us with respect which is how someone should treat someone else. I really do thank this guy because if it wouldn’t have been for him we probably would’ve had our order messed up. I hope that they take this information given to them to account and use it wisely because this is my opinion is just a scam. The manager also said that many other places have done it but I have been to many places and trust me I have never had to deal with such ignorant people and behavior like him. He couldn’t even list names of restaurants he said supposedly had this policy in place. I know he was just trying to feed us lies and I will not buy it because I know how people like him can lie. I really hope they can do something about this policy because I don’t think I’ll be...

We haven't visited in years, so were excited for our favorite chicken dinner. Unfortunately, we were so disappointed. It appears that in the renovations of the restaurant, sadly they also renovated their recipes.

What used to be a delicious, affordable dinner, is no longer reasonably priced. The traditional chicken dinner was $26.50 and to add a beverage was an additional $5.00.

The service we received was subpar and it was difficult to get refills and condiments due to the lack of attention by the server.

The biscuits were dry and over done. They no longer serve jam packets, only one type was served in a small plastic sauce cup (I think more came in the old packets). It did not taste like boysenberry, so not sure what type it was. We were a party of 10, so we had a few plates of biscuits brought to the table. They were all over done and dry. Each plateful was served with only 2 jams, not nearly enough for the table. Server was MIA so couldn't ask for more.

The salad was fresh and the soup was still creamy and delicious. The rhubarb portion was much heartier than what they used to serve.

The chicken was extremely greasy and the breading was not the same. It was terribly bland. The chicken was still juicy though.

The mashed potatoes still tasted like real potatoes, but the serving size was much smaller. They were cold by the time they reached the table.

The cabbage was still good, but the corn was overcooked and had a strange flavor to it.

The chicken and dumplings had changed also. They are smaller dumplings with lots of dark meat now. The gravy was not as flavorful as before and more than half of the meal was left uneaten because they were so bad.

The chicken tender meal was lacking flavor and the tenders were flat and small. You get better tenders at Jack-in-the-Box.

We took our pie to go and haven't tried it, so hopeful that recipe hasn't changed.

We have decided that a visit to CDR is no longer on our list of must do's in Buena Park. The amazing chicken dinner that has been a favorite for over 30 years is no longer what is served and what you get now is definitely not worth the money, or time you...