Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen — Restaurant in San Diego

It's been 5 years or so since I visited a Popeye's. Today I was reminded why it's been so long. To begin with, the drive-thru was probably the slowest I've ever been in. This may have something to do with the fact that they ran out of their popular chicken sandwiches and customers were frustrated and having to make another choice, or it could be because they require you to sign the receipt if you use a debit card. I chose the seven piece spicy chicken tender combo, which was not spicy and it was barely chicken. These tenders are cut about a half an inch thick and are breaded to make them appear three times larger than they really are. The result is barely any chicken and tons of breading. The fillets actually reminded me of squid (which I like) in their shape and consistency, but not chicken. As a side I picked coleslaw, which I knew would be a good window into quality. The coleslaw was just as bad as the chicken if not worse. It had a chemical taste and smell to it which I couldn't put my finger on (is it the cabbage? Is it the sauce?), and I couldn't eat any more than three bites. Needless to say I doubt I'll be back in five years to try it again. There's a reason why Popeyes isn't more successful. In this trip I found 4 reasons. The good news for them is the only way to go from here is up; it's doubtful they could be much worse. I really was hoping that this visit would have turned out differently, but...

This locations keeps messing up my orders when I go to the drive thru. Before I left I asked them if all my orders are in the bag and he replied so I didn't bother to look. But when I got home that takes 15 mins one way to find out I am missing my tenders. So I called and supposedly talked to a manager (Prince) who then transferred me to another manager (Karen) and stated I can come back and they'll give my missing item. That would be fine with me if I lived 5 mins away but I was going to feed my autistic son the missing item because he is hungry and will save time in cooking food at home. There answer is so ridiculous and said they are willing to throw me a leg thigh for the inconvenience and trouble and go back again for the missing order If not they'll just refund me. I don't understand what happen to the customer service of this location and how they got so petty and not make customers happy for their troubles. BTW, they told me to call again tomorrow to speak to another manager named (Mariana) and reason out to her again, this is so outrageous. Also, I don't think they were being honest with their names because it took sometime for them to answer me when I asked for their names. I seriously would rather them keep the money as I'm not about to beg for my food that I paid for, rather just go to a competitor IE: Jolibee, at least they get my orders correct...

A very average experience. Some ups, some downs. If your looking for Popeyes chicken you get what you ask for but little else.

This location currently has a shortage of items and has a sign up referencing being out of items, but two different emoyees had no idea what those items they were out of were and didn't know a sign was posted.

The Food: first of the new strawberry Biscuits are amazing, get like 6. Chicken strips are mostly breading and very little actual chicken. Mashed potatoes are always amazing as is the Mac and cheese.

Value: 5 mostly breading chicken strips and 2 smallish sides is not worth $20

Service: it's OK. I arrived they took my order, I was given food nothing stand out.

Atmosphere: I actually really liked the design of the dining area. The bathroom area has a hall mirror which is handy. The down side is access. There is needless extra curbes blocking partial access and it sits above the street so only 1 or two ways in to access the shopping center. The worst aspect is not even them though, there is a really trashy McDonald's right next door and it looks so bad I feel it impacts the quality of eating at this location, so I took mine to go.

Evaluation; If you agree with paying that much or have a real itch for Popeyes like I did...