Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken — Restaurant in Phoenix

We had high hopes.

When the server came to take our order, my wife asked about the fryers used to cook the chicken as she has to be sure there is no cross contamination with other ingredients containing gluten as she cannot consume gluten for medical reasons. The server responded everything they cook is cooked in peanut oil, so she probably shouldn’t eat anything they serve. This was our first clue the server did not know that Gus’s selling point is that their batter uses gluten-free rice flour. We asked to speak with the manager and she responded, “They’ll tell you the same thing I’m telling you,” which was quite disrespectful. I insisted. Who showed up? Another server, not the manager.

When I asked the second server what flour they use in the batter, she responded, “All-purpose flour.” I asked, “Then why does your website say that your batter uses seasoned, gluten-free rice flour? I want to speak with the manager now.”

When the manager finally arrived at our table, I explained he had two servers that were ignorant of the product he’s selling and they needed training. He claimed they had been through training, but I told him they were either “slow,” or didn’t pay attention, because one of them thought the batter comprised all-purpose flour and not gluten-free flour medically safe for my wife, nor how peanut oil figured into the picture. His response was, “I’m sorry you feel that way,” which was very condescending, and had nothing to do with how I felt, but everything to do with how the two servers performed.

Now for the food and its service. I ordered a beer, both light and dark meat, with collard greens, and mac & cheese, which is pretty typical fare for Southern food. My wife ordered wing, breast, potato salad and coleslaw. The beer came nice and cold. I asked for a glass and the server told me they don’t have any. Really? The food came in a timely manner, even though the restaurant was fairly full and they were processing takeout orders as well. The mac and cheese was just pasta with melted what appeared as melted American cheese poured over it, lacking any unique flavor. The collard green were just OK. They could have used a bit of vinegar, salt and seasoning. I enjoyed the flavor of their spicy batter, and they cooked both my chicken breast and thigh perfectly. This was why we came. They served the food on paper containers and the flatware is cheap plastic ware that comes in cellophane wrap. Everything is disposable, which is not environmentally conscious. When you spend $20 per head, real plates and stainless flatware would enhance the experience, and considering their industry, they should be able to afford it since their food cost is likely much less than the industry standard of 33%.

I have high hopes for Gus’s. Their chicken is some of the best I’ve tasted. It’s spicy, juicy, and cooked perfectly. If they could work on getting the FOH (front of the house) trained in customer service, and tweak the side dishes, Gus’s will be a tremendous success. I’m willing to give them a second try in a few week after they’ve been open a couple month and can train up the staff and work out...

Somehow Gus’s seems to rate 4.0 on Yelp and 4.5 on Google, somewhat surprising! I know, I know, this is our first visit, they’ve been around for a while, but if you’re familiar with my reviews, I usually tell it like I see it – in this case, how I taste it. We recently stopped in to vanquish our BBQ craving recently and tried out a restaurant of this cuisine we’d not tried before. I must say, it wasn’t bad, but I don’t think its ratings are justifiable. After trying their somewhat watery un-sweetened tea, we found it only the beginning of our ratings dismay. Their offering of Fried Green Tomatoes – thinly sliced, properly battered, with just the right amount of tasty seasoning – fabulously prepared and enjoyable, we were then disappointed by their side orders of Coleslaw, which was considerably watered down, and with the overuse of mayonnaise, and the serving of Beans was very, very, very reminiscent of Van Camp's canned Pork and Beans with a few added ingredients! Although I do love the fact that they (unlike many chicken joints) cook your order ‘to order’ (not coming from a display rack on the counter) and once in front of you, you must beware of burning your tongue, I did find some shortcomings! The batter is unique in that it is tight and crispy, which allows the meat within to sustain it’s incredible juiciness and tenderness as well as its natural flavor! We tried multiple options in our endeavor, from Dark and Light, to Legs, Thighs and Breast. My personal issue is that although the batter does an incredibly effective job, its consistency, flavor and overall apparent deficit of spices generate a relatively bland Yardbird, as well as not as unique and/or amazing as the rankings portend it to be. Don’t get me wrong, we may be back, but I do hope when people compare apples to apples and rate chicken to chicken, or anything else for that matter, that ratings can diminish and fake out the expectations of the reviewee and weaken the quality and veracity of the reviewer!...

We waited a long time for it to open closer to our neck of the woods. After several delays it’s finally open. We visit the downtown PHX and Mesa location FREQUENTLY, probably too much! BUT their chicken is so freaking good. It does have a kick to it and some days more than others so beware. I’m a whimp and suffer through it on its more spicy days because it’s that good. The chicken here today I will say was greasy. Never had greasy Gus’s, which is what I personally love about it. Maybe it’s the fresh new oil unlike the other locations I’m not sure if that’s a thing. I also found that the other locations chicken comes out a bit darker so maybe cooked a little longer? Well, grease or not, it still tasted amazing. Today was their first day open and their soft opening so patience required. Our server was very very very nice and explained it was her first day. While we had quite the mishap with our order, our table had A LOT of patience knowing it was their first day and going into it with an expectation to have patience and allow them some grace. They absolutely made things right. So in my book, that’s all that matters. Own it. Apologise and make it right. Anyway, GOOD, tasty fried chicken is hard to come by. But Gus’s always hits right. Sides and desserts are always good too. It’s always tough choosing which sides to get. The regular chess pie is my personal fave. Slightly warmed. My husband LOVES their coconut pie.

If you haven’t been, go! Their plates are inexpensive IMO. You always leave full.

PS: I personally wouldn’t say it’s “kid friendly”. Tables are close together and it’s not a big place. And unless your kids like a decent kick to their food, they won’t enjoy it except they could always eat a side of Mac and cheese. It’s delicious.

Also, unlike the Mesa and Downtown PHX location, they have the best parking, considering they’re in a large shopping center. I will say I think Mesa and Phoenix location is just...