Chick N Roll (Portsmouth) — Restaurant in Portsmouth

When I arrived today (Tue 1/16/24 @ 2:40 pm), I let the guy know that I had never been there before but was excited to try it out. I was directed to grab a menu or two depending on what kind of food I wanted and since I was going to eat in, to have a seat and somebody would be with me. (You know... exactly the way restaurants usually work.) I did exactly that. Read through the menu and decided what I wanted and patiently waited. And waited. And waited some more. The dude at the counter finally came back out and brought out a to-go order for the people that arrived and ordered after me. They departed and I thought, "okay... finally he will come take my order."

Instead, he just looked at me. I looked at him. I asked if someone was going to be with me and he said I had to order up at the counter. Had he been apologetic or acknowledged my long wait or anything I would have rolled with it. I know places are short staffed. Instead, he just made me feel like it was my fault.

I really wanted to try the food and still considered placing an order, but I realized that I was so annoyed and beyond hungry that the experience was already ruined no matter how the food might taste. I left... still hungry and incredibly frustrated. It wasn't busy at all. Upon leaving, I noticed there were at least two more people working in the back so there's really no excuse. If you were on top of your guests you would clearly know this newbie hadn't ordered and to check on him.

I love to support local businesses and I was really excited to try this unique menu, but there's clearly some things you still...

I was not there long enough and picked up a to go order so hard to accurately rate the atmosphere other than to say the decor was nice, it appeared very clean, and was spacious. It is a space that I anticipate dining in at a later date.

CNR is conveniently located in the front part of the plaza where the Food Lion is off Portsmouth Blvd. so there is plenty of parking. You can easily place your order online & pick up as well.

Now about the food...I can only speak about limited items because I can't get away from eating that Katsu Chicken sandwich. All I can say is don't ever change anything about it. The recipe is fine as is from the cook time on the chicken to how you wrap the sandwich in the paper so all the toppings & sauce aren't dripping down my arm. The chicken bites/nuggets are pretty good too, even if you're a next day grab a piece of cold chicken person. Fries come seasoned, I like the crisp cook, yet still left with plump potato; I don't even have to use ketchup. Although I've been 3x I can't tell you about any other menu items because that sandwich has me hooked...not a bad problem to have😋 You should give their menu a try, I can imagine the sushi rolls & other sandwiches are great too. I haven't tried the wings yet either but the door stayed swinging & orders kept coming everytime I was there. The dining area was pretty busy my last visit & it was a weekday so we can't all be wrong. Trust, your taste buds...

Going to judge this place as if I were walking in blind. The reviews for this establishment were so high that we went in expecting to have the best meal we’ve had in years. It, sadly, wasn’t that. Were we satisfied with our meal for the price? Yes. Were these the best wings we’ve had in Hampton roads? No. Was it the best sushi? Also no. But it, overall, was good.

The wings were well fried but not true Korean-style double fried. Maybe somewhere in the middle. So far only Bon Chon in downtown Norfolk has met that expectation.

The crisp (note, not “crispy”) California rolls were not what we were expecting. We assumed that they were fried rolls; but that’s on us for not reading the entire description. It’s just a California roll with maybe eel sauce and crisps scattered on top. They weren’t bad; but definitely not what we would have ordered had we actually paid attention to the description on the menu.

Overall, the prices here are good and very inline with the quality and service (which was excellent.) Not the “blow us away” quality some of the other reviewers on Google are giving it (I’m not sure what standards these other reviewers have.) But pretty good. Good enough not to knock a star off; but only just; I blame the...