GG's Chicken Shop — Restaurant in Lake View Township

Living one block from this place, I have been excited for the past year + to welcome it to the neighborhood with my support and money. Quite a bit dissapointed. Although the staff was generally pleasant and good at what they did. The food was nothing special. I did not find it to be any better than the sandwiches and sides at other fast food chicken places, so definitely over hyped for me. Atmosphere was clean and friendly. Got a chicken burger and side of elotes for my wife and a chicken sandwich and a side of Mac n Cheese for myself. No drinks as we took the food home to eat. Total price was over $43.00!!!!! That's a crazy steep price for what is essentially fast food sandwiches and sides....even in this neighborhood. While waiting for my food, I asked a guy that was eating the rotisserie chicken how it was. He responded "nothing special" and that he could get almost two full rotisserie chickens from Costco for the same price as 1/2 a rotisserie chicken here and Costco's was better, in his opinion. Additionally, they charge you a "benefits surcharge" and that charge is also taxed. Upon asking what this was for, I was promptly told it was so the employees could have health insurance...it was a completely scripted answer. I explained that I do not want to be charged this, it is the owners' responsibility to supply health care coverage through profits, not an additional surcharge to customers that are unaware this is even happening. No where did I see anything posted that this surcharge would be added to my bill. So strike one is the price...I feel way overpriced for what one gets. Strike two - for my pallet, the chicken sandwhich was no better than what you would get at KFC, Chik-Filet or Popeyes. Strike three is this surcharge for health insurance that appears to be mandatory but is not posted anywhere that I could clearly see and opt out of...this seems sleazy to me. Sorry GG's, welcome to the neighborhood, but my family will...

Got to check this place out on day two. First of all, they did a bang up job with the space, which used to be Southport Lanes (RIP). They rehabbed and renovated down to the studs and it shows.

Service was good — the lunch rush felt like a pre-Covid spot in the Loop, but GG’s was staffed appropriately to handle it. The cashier was friendly and got my order right, and considering how busy it was, I only had to wait 10-ish minutes for food to come out.

The food itself was good but not great. My wife and I each got a chicken sandwich and shared a side of the “Crispy Brussels Sprouts.” The sprouts were well seasoned and came with a mildly sweet glaze, but they were not crispy and many of them still had some bite from being ever so slightly undercooked.

The sandwiches were good and well thought out. No corners were cut making them. Perfect amount of sauce, good bun::chicken ratio, and the right amount of toppings (not too much that they just slide off). The fry on the chicken could have been crispier but that wasn’t a deal breaker.

All that said, I left feeling underwhelmed. Our sandwiches and one side cost $37(!) — for lunch! That’s steep, even in this neighborhood, and unfortunately the food didn’t keep up with the expense.

The rotisserie options looked good and slightly more cost effective, so we’ll definitely be back...

First impressions are everything, and our experience ordering with the cashier was less than stellar. My partner asked what kind of sauces they had and the cashier told him to look at the board above his head - rather than just telling him the four sauce options. It's a really, really small thing that makes a difference and left a sour taste in our mouths before we even tried the food.

I also watched him respond to a customer who asked how big a quarter chicken was by pointing to the large rotisserie chickens and saying "a quarter of that." Not exactly helpful (nor accurate...).

As for the food, wasn't great, wasn't terrible. Just kind of so-so. The portion size for the quarter chicken was very small and the chicken itself was average. The Brussels Sprouts and the dinner roll were probably the highlights, or the Mac & Cheese.

Will we go back? Yes, as there are other things on the menu that seem to be worth trying. However, there is some fine-tuning on the service elements that need to...