PDQ Chicken — Restaurant in Orlando

Orlando, FL. Update: Going to five stars for the well-priced Mediterranean Salad, the quiet dining room, their community involvement and their cookies.

So if you’re choosing between Canes, Chick-fil-A and PDQ in this area, here’s what’s different about PDQ: Lighter, saltier buttermilk breading than Canes; different sauces (Nashville Hot; Korean BBQ which is like garlicky teriyaki sauce; sweet garlic sauce; Ranch dressing, and more); a GREAT grilled chicken Mediterranean salad at a better price than anywhere; a quieter dining room; you refill your drinks at two Coke mix-your-own-soda machines or at dispensers of Joffrey’s iced tea, unlike at Chick-fil-A. Plus awesome cookies: chocolate chunk, red velvet, oatmeal cranberry.

FYI, this restaurant chain was founded in Tampa and has spread to the Carolina’s and New Jersey by the founder of Outback Steakhouse and the CEO of MVP Holdings. They give tons to local charities.

The Mediterranean Salad here is great for the price and it has hummus, chunks of tender marinated grilled chicken, halves of grape tomatoes, pepperoncini slices, Kalamata olives, feta cheese and a dusting of paprika! Since I dined in, my salad was in a white oblong bowl and was delivered to my table by the manager.

Steve got the chicken tenders meal. That was okay. But my salad earned the five stars.

The dining room was pretty much vacant this afternoon. Because I’m an introvert, I think it’s great here. It would be great for online work or even reading in a corner because no one else was here eating except one other person for about half an hour. Hopefully it gets busier at night.

The manager, Matt, took our orders. Steve and I agreed he had a flat affect. He asked if I was a member of their rewards program and when I said no he did not do an upsell. I used to work at Chick-fil-A so the lack of greeting and lack of an upsell, especially with the restaurant empty, was surprising. I mean, even at TJMaxx, if you say you’re not part of the rewards program they’ll politely and quickly inform you what that’s about. Maybe there needs to be a better script for the team members.

At CFA we used to have incentives for upsells. A team member who upsold the most to the shake flavor of the month would win a CFA cow ornament. Stuff like that. It was fun.

People don’t have time to read the whole menu. Plus, they expect you to tell what the rewards program is about. Upselling works.

Original review from December, 2024: Crispy wasn’t crispy; 5 stars for Bradley’s great people skills; the other person said all the polite scripted words but with half-closed eyes; clientele were mainly high schoolers; better than Canes because you can get chicken tenders only without carbs if needed; the garlic sauce was notably sweet.

I got the spicy tenders crispy style versus grilled. At first taste I thought the breading might have a touch of Shake-n-Bake in it plus loads of cayenne and garlic. After 5 seconds the spice affected my whole mouth and throat so it’s spicy.

I didn’t read up on the sauces beforehand. I asked the person from whom I ordered which is the most popular. They led off with garlic sauce. I love Pollo Tropical’s garlic sauce (garlic sauce is a SoFlo thing) but this didn’t have cilantro in it and it was sweet.

Great chicken quality! But for three tenders it was $7.98, no...

So this was our first tome going to PDQ we went during break time. We went ahead and gave them our order via drive-trhu. The services were good and the staff was friendly, HOWEVER, After receiving our food and milkshakes; I found in my milkshake already half way home while I was drinking it, a piece of GLASS. YES YOU READ THAT CORRECTLY. I FOUND A PIECE OF GLASS IN MY MILK SHAKE. I was very terrified after seeing that in my shake to a point where my appetite was gone. I went back to PDQ and I did get a full refund which was of course mandatory at that point. Then was offered another shake, which I turned down after what just happened. All I’m saying is Whoever is in charge of preparing/cooking the food and making the drinks NEEDS to be either fired or spoken to because thats literally being CARELESS on the job! PLEASE MAKE SURE THINGS ARE SANITARY AND NOT BROKEN AFTER TODAY. I have worked in fast food before and I know what would happen if a customer came up to me and stated they found a piece of glass in their food. I cannot believe this was my first experience, i know I'm not going there for a long...

I recently visited the PDQ in Lake Nona, and I have to say, it exceeded my expectations in every way. First off, the spicy tenders are absolutely amazing—crispy, perfectly seasoned, and packed with just the right amount of heat. I couldn’t get enough of them!

The food overall was fantastic. From the chicken to the sides, everything was fresh, hot, and flavorful. It's clear that quality ingredients are a top priority here.

The atmosphere at the Lake Nona location is welcoming and modern, with a clean and comfortable dining space. Whether you're grabbing a quick meal or sitting down to enjoy your food, it has a laid-back vibe that makes you want to stay a little longer.

Service was another highlight. The staff were friendly, attentive, and quick to assist. The whole experience was smooth and efficient, which is always appreciated.

If you’re in the area, I highly recommend checking out this PDQ location—especially if you're a fan of spicy tenders. It's a great spot for a delicious meal with excellent service and an...