EVERYONE has those food places they pass all the time and think “I’ll have to try that some time!”, but never actually make the effort to visit.
With such a wealth of eating options in Glasgow I have quite a long list of spots I relate that experience to.
But life is too short not to do the things you want – so this week I finally tried the popular Haghill-based Black Rooster Piri Piri, which always seems to be full.
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The chain fast-food restaurant has had a few stores across Scotland for a few years now. Its sleek, grey and black exterior design is appealing, setting it apart from the standard reds, oranges and cartoon chickens of most piri-piri joints.
A simple menu of chicken presented in all the standard chicken-y ways – burger, plain, wrap, what have you – would influence guests into thinking that Black Rooster must be very good at the one thing it does.
I ordered butterfly chicken in a mild sauce, and curly fries as a side. Curly fries bring me joy regardless of their quality, really, because they remind me of pre-Jamie-Oliver school meals. The meal arrived in 45 minutes which wasn’t terrible, but I may have expected it a little quicker on a quiet Tuesday night.
Opening up the meal it became apparent that all the components were just shy of lukewarm. Nothing a warm oven can’t solve, though.
I wasn’t expecting bells and whistles. It’s fast food, after all. But if chicken is your thing there should be a certain something about it that makes me get why chicken is your thing.
The piri-piri sauce on the butterfly chicken was delicious. Tangy, sweet, bitter, with the perfect amount of chilli-infused bite. However, the chicken butterfly itself wasn’t what I anticipated. While some parts were moist, others were dry and chewy. I wasn’t convinced. I can’t fault the piri-piri curly fries as they give me such a pure nostalgic buzz.
Black Rooster is probably best eaten late at night after several drinks, but if you’re looking for a reasonably priced spicy saucy kick it might be worth your time.
Three stars.
£10.80 for chicken butterfly and fries.
45 minute wait from ordering.
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