Asad's Hot Chicken — Restaurant in Philadelphia

I had to try it because there's so much hype around this place in Philly right now.

First, it's not Nashville style hot chicken. That's okay. But set your expectations appropriately; no hot-red sweet and spicy oil baste like you'd get in Tennessee. The menu at Asad's is all variations on fried chicken tenders and fries. I thought it was a little overpriced when I was ordering, but I was wrong. The two slider meal could easily feed two people. I'm guessing they are 6-8oz tenders, compared to what's probably more like 3-4oz in your average fast food chicken sandwich.

The good: It's clear this is freshly breaded and fried. That's great. The chicken is juicy and plump. Real food, not precooked frozen garbage. Generous portions. And tenders were perfectly cooked, which is actually a big deal; most places overcook their chicken and then leave it to fry a little more. Fries were fine, nothing special.

The bad: The chicken breading is not crispy enough, it's cakey and dusty. Also, everything is under-seasoned/under-flavored (even the pickles). FYI: heat is NOT equal to seasoning. I went with "hot" level and it was perfect heat, but mostly just tasted like a lot of cayenne. Where was the onion powder or garlic powder flavor? Not there. Definitely needs more salt everywhere: in the marinade, in the breading, in the spice powder, etc. I'm pretty sure people love the loaded fries so much because they're covered in their special sauce...same "special" sauce as every other place, mostly just a spicy mayo (Asad's is a little less ketchupy than usual)...I'm sure it over-powers the chicken and gives it a little more flavor and salt. I'm not a loaded fry kinda guy, but I can imagine why Asad's version is so popular.

Bottom Line: High quality food, well prepared. But it doesn't live up to the hype. Still, I'd come back again in a heartbeat. It's good. Staff is friendly. Premises...

I went to this place last night only because all of the other places near me were closed. I placed an order which was ready pretty fast. When I arrived home there was no banana pudding in my bag. I immediately called the business and told the lady over the phone. I explained to her that I drove a ways to get there and I really wanted it. I was not going back out at 12 am to go get it. She said that I can come back tomorrow and get a free one too. Because they messed up and I felt la little more at ease with the fact that she was going to give me a free one. I arrived today and explained it to the guy who came over to help me. I even gave him my receipt. He looked like he didn’t even believe me. He had to look at the receipt, write on. Finally he gave me one. He explained that he wasn’t here the night before. But even so, I explained to him what happened. I’m sorry you shouldn’t open a business in an area where you don’t trust the customers. To make it even worse the banana pudding was not good at all. Yes one star for the food and terrible customer service. I will not be back to a business that doesn’t know how to treat customers when...

I’m honestly shocked. Asad’s Hot Chicken – this was at another location. I really like your food — the chicken, fries, and sauce are all very good. But the service was just terrible.

I came around 9 PM, maybe 9:25–9:30, and placed my order through the kiosk because no one was at the counter. The kiosk didn’t give me a receipt, so I was waiting for my name to be called. The cashier kept calling out an order number, but I couldn’t tell it was mine. Later I found out he was actually calling “166,” which was my order. But instead of helping clear things up, he was rude, confused my name with “kiosk,” and it took several minutes just to hand me the food — even after I showed proof of payment.

When I finally got my bag, I pointed out my name on the sticker, but the cashier still acted dismissive. As I walked out, he even shouted something after me. I was shocked. The food is good, but the service is absolutely unacceptable. If this doesn’t improve, you’ll keep getting...