Popeyes on Bury New Road - I waited for an hour for fried chicken

Perhaps that’s why the first person at the drive-thru at the new Popeyes on Bury New Road arrived 25 hours before the restaurant opened last Friday.

Or it could be something to do with them getting free chicken sandwiches for a year but, still, that’s a long time to wait. (He actually said he would give a lot of it to homeless people so a noble reason to queue, well done to him.)

It was last Sunday afternoon when we decided to visit the two-day-old Salford branch, which brings a splash of orange and a taste of New Orleans to the road heading into Manchester city centre.

Unsurprisingly, there was already a queue of traffic with drivers waiting patiently to use the drive-thru and hungry souls waiting at the door.

But I had nowhere in particular to be and so we eventually got onto the car park, easily found a space and joined the back of the queue.

The sun was shining, music played through the speakers and the smell of fried chicken wafted through the air.

Having never been to Popeyes before, I was intrigued to discover what all the fuss was about.

A helpful chap greeted us at the door and said the easiest way to order was to find a table, of which there were several available, and use the QR code on the table to place the order using your phone.

We tried to do that but, for some reason, it didn’t go through so ended up placing the order on the screen.

And then we just had to wait for the feast to be delivered to the table. And, wait, we did. From joining the queue in the car to the food landing on the table was an hour.

It felt like when all the fast food joints had reopened after lockdown and everyone swarmed to Maccies desperate for a Big Mac.

I opted for a spicy deluxe chicken sandwich - fried chicken breast, cheddar cheese, lettuce, pickles and spicy mayo in a brioche bun.

And it was very nice indeed – freshly made, tasty, a nice big chunk of what seemed to be decent quality chicken in a fresh bun with a decent kick to it.

The French fries were seasoned with Cajun (for an extra cost) which were lovely dunked in the pot of flavoursome gravy (also Cajun) that could have done with being a tad fuller.

My two children, aged two and six, absolutely demolished the 2 Tender Kids Meal, which came with two chunky pieces of chicken breast fillet, regular fries and a drink.

They didn’t even notice that there wasn’t a toy with the meal.

All the drinks are self-service and refillable which is always a winner. Eating all that grub is thirsty work.

For two adult meals with a few extras and two kids’ meals, the bill came in at around £35.

So not the cheapest fast food, and not fast either. But with my hankering for fried chicken satisfied, I’m glad we paid a visit and the hour did whizz by.

When I drove past last night, just before 6pm, the queue of cars was still snaking out onto Bury New Road. 

If you’re planning a visit anytime soon, be prepared to wait or leave it until the novelty wears off.

Popeyes UK Bury New Road is now open at 288-292 Bury New Road, Salford, M7 2YJ.

Have you been to Popeyes? Let us know what you think in the comments.