Jollibee — Restaurant in Tacoma

I decided last minute to give it a try. I had never heard of them when they were going in, and decided to wait awhile to get their feet under them before giving them a try. Today was that day. I walked in at a little before noon, about 11:50. I was the 3rd person in line, because the people in front of me said, nah, not waiting any longer. Ok, no worries. I would finally place my order at 12:05. When I walked in there were 2 cashiers, but then only 1 and the couple she was working with was moved to the other cashier. There was a young man behind me who was on break, and he was muttering and stressing that it was taking so long, so I let him go ahead of me. I was surprised at how long it took, because this is not an expansive menu, and it really didn't seem that busy (customer wise) in there, so I was unclear why the order process seemed to take so long. The cashier was polite, and seemingly effective. I say it this way because she was neither friendly or rude. It would take my single to go order of 2 piece meal 8 mins , by an large this isn't the longest, but when you are fast food, look up menu style restaurant, that can be quite lengthy, especially after waiting 15 mins in line to order. Fortunately for me I was not a restrictive break schedule. They have a ton of staff, lots of cooks in the kitchen per se. there was a family that ordered ahead of me, that received their food immediately after me, which i thought odd, because they had been 2 orders ahead of me. While waiting for my order, people continued to step in, but the line pace seemed about the same as when I arrived, there was lots of confusion in the small space as to where the line was, since it was raining/cool outside, nobody wanted to wait 'out the door', so as myself and another gentlemen waited for our orders, in the designated customer waiting area, people would try to stand behind me. I shared repeatedly that I was not in line. The room is short, so there really is nowhere for the line to go. Alright, now for the food. I was told by someone when I mentioned this place that they said it was very popular. Ok, never heard of it, but cool. It's a chicken joint. I purchased the 2 piece. The chicken was tasty, moist, super crispy, but I hate it when they don't get that vein cooked, and the entire center of my chicken was blood red. Sorry, just grosses me out. The biscuit was fine when dipped in the gravy, fries are standard frozen/fried french fries, nothing special about them. The gravy is tasty, but not anything special, just a unique twist, and was relatively flavorless, and managed to add flavor to the very flavorless biscuit. I opted for the Peach Mango pie, funny enough I am not overly fond of either, but it was really quite tasty, and probably the best part of the meal. Total meal 12.11 Pretty average nowadays, let's face it everything is expensive, so with that said, the price is inline with other pricing from similar style restaurants. Actually I think Jack n the Box runs more expensive. So I can't recommend popping in for a quick bite on a mid week, but overall, if you are looking for a decent piece of chicken you probably won't be too disappointed. I mean the chicken was tasty, but here is the deal. If someone says, hey, going to lunch here, wanna go.....sure, happy to. But will i be sitting at home or work wondering about what I am going to grab for lunch or dinner and think 'ooooh, I want....." nope. well, maybe not, but I may in the near future go back at least once and try one of their chicken sandwiches, I have since, while writing this, been told that THAT is what they are really known for, I just chose the wrong item. Ok, well, that's fair, maybe , we will see. Also, despite the long review, I am neither discouraging or promoting them. I can't discourage them, they did nothing wrong really, it took awhile, but meh, if you haven't been, give them a try, maybe you will enjoy it more or have a...

Jollibee is a Filipino fast food chain that was founded in 1975. They are known for their “next level crispy” fried chicken, spaghetti, burgers and pies. It is the McDonald’s of the Philippines. There are over 5800 Jollibees worldwide. There are 95 Jollibees in the US. The state with the most is California.

“In 1975, Tony Tan Caktiong and his family opened a Magnolia ice cream parlor in Cubao, Quezon City. The outlet later began offering hot meals and sandwiches. When the food items became more popular than ice cream, the family decided to convert the ice cream parlor into a fast food restaurant, which became the first Jollibee outlet in 1978. Management consultant Manuel C. Lumba advised the family on the change in strategy. Jollibee was initially named "Jolibe", but changed its name to "Jollibee".”

On 5/15/24, I had the opportunity to visit Jollibee for the first time. I went to the Tacoma Mall location, which opened on October 29, 2023. This is Washington states second location. Their first location opened in the Tukwila Mall in 2010.

I was skeptical about Jollibee because I don’t particularly care for fast food. Also, I’ve been to the Philippines, I like Filipino food, and I’ve cooked Filipino dishes. Still, it’s such a worldwide phenomena that I wanted to check it out. I knew from having experienced hamburgers in Asia that I wasn’t likely to be happy with the Yumburgers. After studying the menu extensively prior to my visit, I ordered a 1 Piece Chickenjoy Meal, and both the Ube and Peach Mango Pie.

A 1 Piece Chickenjoy Meal is not noted on the menu because they would prefer that you order a 2 Piece Chickenjoy Meal, but it is available. It consists of “a Chickenjoy fried chicken drumstick served with Jolly Spaghetti. Served with a side of gravy for dipping.”

I was served a chicken thigh, not a drumstick. Part of the appeal of Jollibee’s chicken is that the fried chicken coating is thick and crunchy. My chicken thigh was neither. I did appreciate that it was served HOT! A lot of people enjoy dipping the chicken into the brown gravy, which they claim enhances the experience. Many people rave about the gravy alone. I sampled the gravy by itself. I wasn’t impressed. It seemed similar to KFC’s. I tried dipping my chicken into the gravy, which didn’t improve item. I took two bites of the chicken and I was done.

Jolly Spaghetti is “Our one-of-a-kind spaghetti made with our signature sweet-style sauce loaded with ground beef and hotdog, and topped with melty cheese.” The spaghetti sauce is made with banana ketchup. Banana Ketchup is a condiment that came about due to a shortage of tomato ketchup during World War II. Banana Ketchup consists of bananas, vinegar, sugar, and red dye. The sauce is somewhat akin to a Bolognese sauce, but much sweeter. It kind of reminds me of a variation of Cincinnati Chili. Given that I don’t enjoy sweet entrées, I wasn’t expecting to like it, and I didn’t. Yet, it wasn’t as horrifically bad as I expected it to be. I would like to try homemade version of this dish.

I ordered two pies because Ube Pie is time- limited, and I like Ube. The Peach Mango Pie is always available, but I don’t live anywhere near a Jollibee. Each pie cost $2.99. Jollibee doesn’t have plastic knives, so I cut each pie in half with a plastic spoon to show you a cross section. I’ve never had a fast food fried pie before, so I don’t have anything to compare these with, but I’m told they are better than McDonald’s Apple pies. Pie is one of my favorite desserts. I didn’t love either pie, but both were far superior to the chicken, gravy and spaghetti. The Ube Pie didn’t have as much filling as the Peach Mango Pie, but it was pretty tasty. The Peach Mango was tasty too, though it was much sweeter.

I don’t see myself going out of my way to return to a Jollibee, but if I do, I plan to order the Adobo Rice, a seasonal Pie, and the...

so, this is my 2nd time. I went once after it had been opened about 6 mos ish. Wasn't overly impressed, but wanted to give it a try, they are still open after all so somebody likes it. so to (theoretically) combat the short entrance, and lack of 'line' space, they put in a roped/ split lane. With the basic lack of consideration people cannot figure out that this is a back and forth merge scenario. I walked in, large group at the register, group of 3 to the right, group of 2 to the left, i stepped in behind the group of 3. seeing as there was only 1 cashier, assumed the back and forth merge. apparently the group of 3 felt since they were on the right they should be next, and i gathered from the group of 2, that this was the 2nd group to step in front of them. Cashier was no help, just helping whoever walked up. I told the man the intent, and no worries, i knew he was next. we placed our to go orders, and there was no where to stand without being in the way of either the soda machine or the people eating. awkward, so waited outside. time to order in hand was reasonable, especially considering that the dining room was fairly full, and the large group ahead of me. Excellent. grabbed my food and returned to my office. This will be the last time, unless someone says hey, let's get or it is just randomly brought to me. considering i really don't eat out, or fast food often, that isn't the greatest or grandest statement, they certainly won't notice my absence, but the next time i have hankering for fast food, or chicken sammy for that matter it won't be here. there is literally nothing special about it. Their fries, so called famous crispy fries, are plain old frozen french fries, and crispy is not what i would call them. the chicken even with bacon and cheese is a nice piece of chicken, it's no pressed pink meat concoction for sure, but it, oddly, has almost zero flavor. Not even the grease, it's just meh, I ended up dipping it in ranch dressing to make it worth it. So, I have no advice other than, if you are looking for a decent chicken sandwich, and uncomfortable atmosphere, this place is nailing it. Personally, I will choose to make one at home, or go to Arbys, they have a really good chicken sandwich, and have added flavor. This is not a warning review, or even intended to be overly negative, it is just a surprisingly lack...