It seems like it’s “new chicken sandwich” season at all the major fast food chains, and KFC is the latest chain to come out with a new sandwich. What’s new about this chicken sandwich? We are not sure to be honest. According to the website it is “an extra crispy filet with premium pickles, mayo, on a brioche-style bun”: a description which can be used to describe basically any chain’s sandwich. The spicy variety includes an additional spicy sauce. Although the ads said that the sandwich will only cost you $3.99, the price in all the KFCs near us was $4.99 plus tax.
Spicy
Sasha
This chicken sandwich was average: there was nothing noteworthy about it. I was very impressed with the chicken in the sandwich: it was actually very good, I wished it wasn’t on a sandwich, but that I was just eating it as is. The sauce has a subtle kick to it, but it is not really “spicy.” Though I have to say that it is definitely on the spicier side for fast food sandwiches, the sauce is definitely spicier than the McDonald’s sauce. Part of the problem with the sandwiches was that the spice comes from the sauce; it isn’t evenly distributed throughout the sandwich, so some bites are spicy while others are just plain. I won’t comment on the lack of anything but chicken and pickles on the sandwich. Overall, I would rate this sandwich a seven out of 10, and would probably stick to tenders at KFC.
John
This sandwich was great: the chicken was impressive, the sauce added a unique touch, and the pickles were on point as always. However, I definitely wish that KFC did something with the spicy sandwich other than adding the spicy sauce to it. Maybe they could have done something like Wendy’s, where they changed the breading to a different spice mix that added a bit of heat to the dish. The chicken was definitely juicy though, quite possibly the highest quality I have ever had in a chicken sandwich from a fast food restaurant! All of these characteristics make me give this a 7.5 out of 10.
Regular
John
My general pattern is to rate the regular sandwich slightly lower than the spicy sandwich, but that’s not the case for the KFC sandwich duo. Instead, I think that the spicy sandwich tasted very slightly worse than the regular chicken sandwich, and I think that this is mainly because they just splashed on the spicy sauce on the regular chicken sandwich, which messes up the flavor profile of the original sandwich. In this version, the chicken and pickle flavors really pop out and are the star of the show, exactly how a chicken sandwich should be. I really do like their choice of pickle as one of the main toppings on the chicken sandwich, it meshes really well with their juicy chicken. This sandwich gets an 8 out of 10 from me!
Sasha
The chicken in this sandwich was as good as it was in the spicy, but without the spicy sauce, this tasted more like a pickle sandwich than a chicken sandwich. Although I have to admit that the pickles that KFC uses are very good, they ended up being so overwhelming they overpowered the chicken. The mayo on this sandwich became basically a liquid, which made it a mess to eat and there was no mayo flavor left actually in the sandwich. Overall, I would rate it a 6.5 and would not get this sandwich again.
Overall, KFC did not impress us with their new sandwiches. Although we have nothing bad to say about them, there is nothing good to say about them either: they truly are average chicken sandwiches. We would love to see KFC work on a different breading for the spicy sandwich, and maybe put some more vegetables on them, or at least give us the option to add them.
