Is Watford Popeyes chicken restaurant worth a visit?

Popeyes opened in High Street on July 19, bringing Louisiana-style burgers, wings, tenders, and more to the streets of Watford.

But the American chain faces tough competition in the town centre as multiple other options have also opened this year, including Wingstop which saw queues around the block in April.

With various eateries all vying for the same customers, does the newest chicken restaurant have what it takes to beat the rest?

Review

When I visited on a Friday afternoon, the fast food outlet was buzzing with many of the tables already occupied.

Popeyes has brought the taste of Louisiana to Watford High Street. (Image: Newsquest) Wanting to try an authentic taste of the American deep south, I ordered the Louisiana BBQ burger and chips with Cajun seasoning for a total of £9.98.

The burger comes with a large deep-fried chicken filet topped with smoked cheese, pickles and sauce inside a brioche bun.

Although most people are used to fast food not resembling the poster, my first thoughts on unwrapping the burger was that it looked squashed and frankly not particularly inviting.

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The Louisiana BBQ burger with Cajun fries. (Image: Newsquest) Overall, the chicken filet was pleasant with a much more natural texture than other fast food outlets, although the fried batter was quite greasy.

The tangy BBQ sauce and pickles were also well balanced by the cool mayonnaise, but the smoked cheese was barely present under all the other heavy flavours.

The soft brioche bun was sweet and complimented the other flavours, but did not look very inviting as it had the appearance of being sat on before it had arrived.

The fries were limp and barely warm when they arrived. (Image: Newsquest) I was interested to try the fries with Cajun seasoning, with their specific blend of paprika, cayenne pepper, black pepper and garlic powder, but they were barely warm by the time they arrived.

Their Cajun seasoning had a nice level of spice with a strong paprika flavour, but their temperature and limp texture meant they were not very satisfying overall.

Inside Popeyes in High Street. (Image: Newsquest)

Conclusion

Fast food is meant to be two things: fast and cheap. And that usually means you can forgive all manner of sins.

But when restaurants start asking customers to pay £10 for a burger and chips, the level of quality needs to improve to justify it.

I felt I could have had a better meal elsewhere for my tenner. (Image: Newsquest)  With lukewarm chips and a squashed, greasy burger, my visit to Popeyes was neither cheap nor satisfying.

There is no shortage of different eateries to try in Watford town centre and I left feeling I could have had a much better meal elsewhere for my tenner.