Cheeks Chicken & Waffles — Restaurant in Manchester

As other reviewers have mentioned this once glorious chicken staple has fallen in terms of quality, cleanliness of the store, cost, and service.

The men frequently touch food without gloves and have noticeable grime underneath their nails.

This once vibrant establishment now serves mid greasy food, and inconsistent quality not to mention it takes way longer than it used to even for small orders.

Additionally, the other reviewers are 100% correct about fake positive reviews flooding their Google page, seemingly in response to any review with legitimate negative feedback. This manipulation undermines trust and reflects poorly on the current management's integrity and commitment to quality service. All the recent positive reviews are clearly by people who work there or who are related to the new ownership.

My favorite item, the tater tots have gone downhill in terms of flavor and freshness, they were clearly made in oil that had been sitting for far too long and no longer have the tasty seasoning blend on top that they used to. They were extremely dark, oily, and unappetizing. I've included a picture of the one I recieved today and what it used to look like.

Edit: Wow, now they're claiming IM a fake reviewer when it's clear as day they write fake reviews after any criticism. If they actually were running an honest business they wouldn't have to fake positive reviews and claim review images were faked. Anyone who's shopped here for years know the tater tots did not look like this before and weren't void of any seasoning. These new owners are super weird. Anyone who's ever worked in food service can tell these were cooked in old oil. I'll be uploading more photos of what my items looked like before vs now just on principle now because I have no clue why they're pretending it's the same when it's not. Just admit you make them differently now and move on? None of the items taste the same as before. Not one.

Another reviewer "Jester" mentioned having similar experience with the lack of gloves and they responded "we took strict action to correct it and it will not happen again" admitting this was an issue they had, yet they downplay the concern in the response to my review like this has never happened before. Interesting to...

Edit: Steve, the owner, responded to me and I've updated my review. I assumed the management was cheaping out by not hiring more than one cook, but I apparently caught them at a bad time (they went through 4 cooks in 9 days and Steve has been doing 15 hour days,which explained the wait time.) I was unnecessarily harsh, so I've removed those parts and focused more on the chicken. Steve seems like a great guy and the food was great, so I'll definitely be returning.

The chicken here was excellent. I ordered 5 boneless tenders and sweet potato fries. The tenders were big and juicy, cooked very well, the sauce was delicious (I got golden BBQ because they were out of Korean BBQ), and I got more than the 5 tenders I ordered. A crazy good value for $8.99. I also got the sweet potato fries, which are waffle style. They tasted great, but were soggy. I imagine that's because of the multiple tickets during lunch rush and only having one person cooking.

A friend highly recommended Cheeks, so I went on Friday night at 10pm and was told the wait would be at least 30 minutes, as the girl at the counter said there were a bunch of tickets from online and phone orders. I didn't have time to wait, so I tried again Saturday. I placed an online order at 1140a and it said it'd be ready at 12:10p. I got there at 12:10p and was told it'd be a little bit because they still had 7 tickets. I waited another 10-15 mins and got my food. I was really upset with the wait time, as it's just fried food, and couldn't imagine why management would only have 1 cook during Saturday rush. It was unimaginable to me, and was the catalyst for my initially negative review, but Steve clarified the situation.

For now, if you have time to wait, the chicken is definitely worth it. I will definitely be returning in the future. Best chicken I've had in the area. I'll be trying the sandwich, waffles, wings and nuggets in the future and...

If I could give this 0 stars I would. Decided to bring my kids in for lunch since we have always enjoyed the food from here. However, the atmosphere was absolutely horrific. The girl in the front was pleasant and extremely friendly towards us, however after our order was placed we heard loud and intimidating screaming from the chef swearing and calling names at her. This behavior instantly triggered my PTSD. They clearly didn't realize anyone was sitting in the dining area while this was happening. The owner I believe, came to apologize to us for the "drama" while this young girl ran off in tears. The incident of screaming occurred on multiple occasions which sent her off crying a few times. Then the Chef came to give us an "apology" and offer free waffles 🙄. At this point my appetite had already been ruined, and my anxiety was at an all time high from witnessing this terrible behavior and treatment of his coworker. The only person who deserved an apology was this teenage girl from this 40+ yr old man, who told us he refused to apologize to her. I've never been more disgusted or disheartened. I will never give this place my business again and will be sure to tell everyone I know my experiences here. Had this been my business I would have shut down for the day and fired him on the spot. A real shame because we've enjoyed their food but refuse to support this type of work environment and treatment of young women. Do better! To anyone reading, I highly suggest taking your business elsewhere.

*In response to the reply from the Owner, this happened at WALLINGFORD location, not Manchester for...