Il Pollo

Pretty dissatisfied with the last two visits here. I’m sure the food has changed over the past year or so. My southern belle burger today was so sloppy, it just fell apart. The bread seemed to break apart easily, there was so much Mayo and liquid is was far too rich and soggy, the other ingredients were all mushy. I could oly eat half the burger as I needed a spoon for the rest. The chips were also way overcooked to the point that half of the small box supplied were inedible. As they were just dry crunchy sticks with no sight of potato. $17 wasted.

Il Pollo in Five Dock has the tag line “more than chicken” and that is certainly the case. They do do chicken and they do it very well, however there is more to this joint than just the chicken. This store is part owned by Rob, who we met on our visit and his Moroccan background is the inspiration behind his passion for food. Food is a way of life, he explained. His passion and enthusiasm are second to none. He loves his food, and local community, and the feeling is mutual. Rob is an ideas man and not only does he have great ideas, he has the passion to follow through. His range of burgers are reflective of this, we shared the range including Ollo, Pollo, New Yorker, Casablanca, Southern Belle, BLAT. They were all very good, but the Casablanca lamb burger was our favourite. The chilli sauce here is unreal, made with their own recipe. They also do Chilli-naise chips, which I think may be unique to Il Pollo. Chips smothered in mayo and topped with the Il Pollo chilli sauce, so good you will not want to share. This will now be on our mind as a constant for a cheat meal. For something quick and exremely tasty, the Empanadas are highly recommended (Spicy chicken and chorizo; Spicy beef and mushroom; Chicken and mushroom; Beef and mushroom) Then there is the chicken, so juicy and tender. With a range to choose from; Marinated chicken with smoky BBQ and chilli (new dish), Marinated Portuguese style chicken or Smoky BBQ chicken ribs will have you finger lickin. We were lucky to take some spare home and enjoyed it just as much the next day. They also have a salad bar for a healthy option. If you are clean eating, these salads are great to combo with some chicken. The salad line up includes Greek salad, Brown rice and quinoa salad with vinaigrette, Tabbouleh and a few other choices. If you’re in Five Dock or Birkenhead stop by for a feed, there are plenty of great options and the food is quality. If Rob is around, say g'day and have a chat.

This place has amazing burgers (only reason why it’s a 3 star not a 1 star rating). I’ve lived in a couple of Southern states before moving to Australia and it is no fad when they say they are serving authentic southern fried buttermilk chicken. The chicken is well cooked, the texture is perfect and the taste is on point. Which in turn makes the burgers a great choice cause the bun is perfect, the sauce and spices are ideal for a southern burger and the patty is the real southern thing. The chips were okay but maybe a little bit too much chicken salt. Everything else was horrible. The empanadas do not taste like empanadas (don’t let the way they look fool you). The “Louisiana style” fried wings aren’t anything like the photo (as shown in attached photos) — there is no Louisiana in them. Just fried chicken with what tastes like a mixture of chilli and buffalo sauces. It’s not even dunked in the sauce as displayed in the photo, the sauce was merely drizzled over it. I don’t like being mislead in restaurants. You’re out here waiting for something you craved of an ad or photo and you get something completely different. On top of all that, there were coupons on display and when we went to claim one they told us the offer doesn’t apply (even though the offer clearly says until June 2020). After a few questions about the matter they ended up calling the manager or owner (on a 3+ minute phone call) who finally said it’s ok if we claim the offer. Unprofessional much? The people that work there are nice though. Too anxious when it comes to questions but nice.