Jollibee Filipino fried chicken surprises in London West End

We decided to visit Jollibee in Central London to get an idea of what has made this brand Philippines’ largest fast-food chain.

Located in the heart of Leicester Square is their four storey flagship restaurant that’s conveniently located a 2-minutes’ walk from Leicester Square station.

Describing themselves as “the home of Asia’s favourite fried chicken”, this Jollibee store only offers Halal chicken and sausage that’s prepped and cooked separately, with their beef being non-Halal.

Jollibee is Philippines’ largest fast-food chain

Founded in the Philippines in 1978 and said to have “a cult following amongst the Filipino diaspora”, Jollibee offers a variety of combos.

In addition to crispy fried chicken with a side of sweet spaghetti, there’s also chicken burgers, hot dogs, fries, and a selection of desserts.

6 Piece Chickenjoy – Served with 3x choice of dipping sauce

Of course, we had to start with a bucket full of their Filipino fried chicken!

Stonking Gravy!

All their bucket sizes come with three dipping sauces, with the following four to choose from: sriracha mayonnaise, sweet chilli, Asian ginger chilli, and gravy.

Both the quality, taste and cooking of the chicken took us completely by surprise.

We weren’t expecting the bread-crumb batter on the outside to be as crispy, let alone delivering a satisfying peppery heat, or as moist and juicy on the in, as it turned out.

Not only is this better than the vast majority of fast food chicken joints, but the gravy sauce we were recommended was exceptionally good, boasting good body and depth of flavour.

Double Jollibee Spicy Chicken Sandwich - Double two hand-breaded breast fillet, hot sriracha mayo, lettuce

Double Jollibee Spicy Chicken Sandwich - Double two hand-breaded breast fillet, hot sriracha mayo, lettuce

It was all about the pair of hand-breaded breast fillets in this Double Jollibee Chicken Sandwich

With that crispy exterior, and with beautifully moist and tender interior, this was made even better by the addition of the lightly tangy hot sriracha mayo.

Jollibee Chicken Sandwich – Double hand-breaded breast fillet, garlic mayo, lettuce

Jollibee’s plain ol’Chicken Sandwich didn’t really pale in comparison either, with the quality of the fillet breast topped with plenty of mayo showing consistency of product.

If we did have a complaint for both burgers, it was that the cold buns deserved to have been warmed through. Otherwise, another good’un.

Jolly Spaghetti – Topped with chopped hot dog pieces and melted cheese

Not only was Jollibee’s famous Jolly Spaghetti far better than expected, but the spaghetti was nice and chewy, having been adjudged al dente.

Enveloped in a mildly sweet tomato sauce that had a hint of piquancy to it, and topped with soft pieces of hot dog and melted cheese, this was a relatively light and rather tasty bowl.

Fries (Medium)

McDonald’s can go take a hike, because Jollibee’s fries were just as good, being ultra cripsy and quite delicious.

Sriracha Chicken – Fries topped with chicken strips, sriracha mayo, spring onion

With chicken this well executed, before being topped in a creamy sriracha mayo that was rich and zingy, all that was needed was some decent fries, and Jollibee’s thin and crispy variety were more than just that.

Peach Mango Pie

And to finish things off, this pie was uber crunchy on the outside, and filled with a fruity combination of a peach-cum-mango puree. Excellent!