Zankou Chicken — Restaurant in Montebello

So I have been going to Zankou Chicken for a while, and I was told that the family actually split up so some were different. I found out how different the locations are. There are two divisions of the Zankou Chicken business. I have been to locations from both, and I have learned that the biggest difference is not in which division, but in the location.

Here at the Montebello location, they did not have the cucumber salad and they do not automatically give you the garlic sauce, and to choose sides is a hassle.

So far the chicken at this location is SUPER SALTY, and not as tender, and felt kinda grainy. The rice feels over cooked and the tabula salad is terrible. The texture almost felt like I would have mouthfuls of straight cilantro with not enough lime juice. I’m astonished at how different this location was from the Sunset location or the Long Beach location which are both from different divisions, but are arguably just as good.

The vibe feels different and they seemed more rude here. The Long Beach location there are much nicer than this one. There were only two people working and they seemed annoyed with me. Themployees working, good food, great atmosphere, and they seem happier.

I didn’t want to say anything because I honestly felt like they either wouldn’t care or wouldn’t want to feel awkward about speaking up. I drove pretty far to this location and now I feel like I should have driven somewhere else.

Out of everything though, this location’s garlic sauce is still fire, and they provide warm pita bread which I really liked. It was in a bag, with condensation in it proving how freshly warmed it was.

My mom really liked it. They say that “comparison” is the thief of joy.” This might be the case. I might be wrong and just be annoyed because I wasn’t acknowledged right away when I came in. I don’t know. But if you do eat here and you’re not a fan, give the other aforementioned...

It's dirty there and smells bad inside where you eat. So we decided to eat outside. The tables were dirty out like no one ever cleans them. I most likely will not eat at this location again. Although I love zankou chicken in general. This is my first time having a bad experience. The menu at this location also looks different. So I asked the staff if it was a franchise. The gentleman at the counter stated that particular location was only only franchise so far. So perhaps that's why it's not in great shape because they don't have to follow the same stipulations. And I should say it was dusty more than dirty. Maybe not a lot of people go there so they don't clean up, idk. They should definitely wipe down the tables though. Also we we asked for separate trays for our meals they acted like we were going to keep the tray the staff was nice but I had to almost beg and promise I'd bring it back as soon as my group finished eating.

There's lots of parking but it's a very crowded parking lot with a lot of surrounding businesses.

The staff is nice but not super welcoming. They were a little standoff ish maybe they could tell we weren't free the area idk.

But they just need to clean more, alot more. And get rid of that smell inside near the beverage station and back...

If you like dry chicken, then you'll love this place. I've ordered from the Montebello Zankou (via delivery app) at least 3 times in so many months and each time the chicken has been very dry. I'm not sure if they're trying too hard to make the outer part of the chicken crispy, but it is causing the chicken to overcook each time. Unfortunately, I can't justify ordering from this location anymore. The other option for me is to order from the Zankou in Pasadena, but it is a bit more expensive because of the delivery distance. But at this point, I no longer mind paying extra. Keep in mind that all zankous restaurants are not run the same. The Montebello Zankou is definitely not run like the others because none of the other Zankous serve dry, overcooked chicken. Whatever family member ended up controlling the Montebello Zankou restaurant, they are definitely not living up to the standards of the other Zankou locations. If you've only eaten Zankou at the Montebello restaurant, I challenge you to try the chicken at another Zankou location. I'm confident you will immediately notice the difference in...