Just Chik'n — Restaurant in Town of Henrietta

You know, I am really committed to supporting small business. I owned a small business and I also worked in the restaurant industry (cooking and baking). And, I know that I have very high standards when it comes to food. Maybe I expect more out of a restaurant and its food than the average customer because I am fortunate enough to be able to cook almost anything myself and when I purchase food, I sort of expect it to be as good or better than what I can make at home.

So, if your restaurant is named "Just Chik'n" and that's what you specialize in, I expect it to be some amazingly different and delicious chicken that is worth a special trip. And, I feel that, unfortunately, Just Chik'n fell very short of my expectations.

I was fortunate enough to take part in a Yelp Elite event, where this business gifted Yelp Elite reviewers with a free sampling of their food. I chose the 1/4 chicken, yucca fries and aji amarillo sauce. In order to help support the business, I also ordered a chicken sandwich.

The 1/4 chicken was tiny (although I didn't expect anything big) and very over-cooked. It was dark meat, which is normally juicier than white meat, but still, it was dry. But, it really didn't taste like much. The yucca fries were okay, but basically flavorless starch. That's not their fault, that's just how yucca is. The aji amarillo sauce was tasty, although it basically tasted like a garlic aioli. I thought there would be some spiciness to it or a little more of the aji flavor. Considering the fact that the chicken really didn't taste like much, you might be better off buying a whole roasted chicken from Wegmans for $6 instead of their half chicken for $6.29

The chicken sandwich was very disappointing. It was a small piece of fried chicken on a bun that wasn't that fresh, with two pickle slices. I don't know if you can tell how small that chicken is from my photo, but it was basically the size of my palm. It was a little on the dry side and didn't really have much flavor at all. I'd certainly rather support a small business than a chain, but I have to say that you can get a much larger chicken sandwich (with a little more flavor), for the same price or less, any day of the week at Popeye's, KFC or BK or Wendy's.

Again, looking at some of the positive reviews for Just Chik'n, maybe my standards for dining out are just different than others. I just expected Peruvian chicken to be something unusual and worth making a trip to get. And, it wasn't. Even though I don't see myself returning to this business, since others seem to like it, I hope that...

First time I ate here I got the spicy chicken sandwich. The chicken patty was good with the perfect amount of spice. My son got the chicken pieces which we thought were good. My wife got the Machu Bowl which she said was fantastic. The customer service during this visit was good too. We were greeted upon entering, asked how we liked the food multiple times and told "thank you" upon leaving by 2 younger guys. Give them a raise!

Second time I ate here I got the Machu Bowl. I've never been to Peru so I didn't have an expectation so I enjoyed what I had. It was a huge serving and once I mixed in the Aji Verde sauce, it became flavorful and will be worth getting again.

Now for the cons from both experiences. If the Just Chik'n owners are reading this, take this as constructive criticism. The bun for the chicken sandwich is the lowest quality bun I've ever had. It just fell apart and I had to eat the sandwich with a knife and fork and I didn't even put sauce on it. I won't be getting a sandwich here again unless the buns are improved. The french fries need WAYY less salt. We literally couldn't eat them and threw away 2 servings of fries. I'd rather them come with no salt at all and I just salt them myself. The customer service was lacking at my second visit. They never greeted me, never said thank you and didn't say bye and both girls looked incredibly grumpy and I felt like I was bothering them and even debated leaving without even ordering. They made it obvious they hated their job. If your cash register is going to expect a tip, which I gladly give, I expect to be at least greeted when I walk in the door.

It's rare I judge a place by just 1-2 visits so I'm giving them 5 stars until I try the place 1 or...

Original review: I phoned in an order for the whole chicken dinner and came to pick it up in 30 minutes, as asked. The counter person took my payment. After about 10 more minutes of waiting, he told me that they didn't have any whole chickens and would I be ok with a half chicken? I said I'd take two half chickens, with all of the sides I had paid for. After another few minutes, he came out and said they only had one half chicken left. At that point, I just asked for a refund. He apparently didn't know how to do a refund to a credit card, so he asked if cash would be ok.

These people seriously need to get their act together! It'll be a long time before I try them again.

Updated 2/15: We took the owner up on his offer to come in and get the same meal for free. He was very apologetic and very gracious, and had the order waiting for me when I came in. The chicken and the sides were very good. The chicken was spicier than Wegman's Peruvian marinade and spicier than the chicken that we had had in Peru on a vacation in 2019. The vegetable salad and the rice were especially good, and all of the sides were very generous. We had the fries and salad with dinner and set the rice aside for dinner the next evening. My original rating was a 1, and my new rating is a reflection of their prompt response to my original review and the excellent dinner. Hoping that my first experience was an aberration, I would definitely try Just Chik'n again, and would recommend...