Every time you visit Meadowhall there’s often new openings just waiting to be discovered.
Hopefully, you find news of many of them through of What’s On section. In terms of their food offering, in recent months, we’ve seen The Real Greek and Thaikhun commence business in the Sheffield shopping centre’s foodhall. Winding back a little further, at the end of 2023, Popeyes launched to much fanfare (courtesy of a Mardi Gras-style band).
Their aim? To take on the big name chicken fast food giants KFC and Nando’s. Like myself, you quite possibly hadn’t heard of Popeyes until perhaps a year or so back.
The American chicken brand has been expanding their operation across the UK. In Yorkshire, we’ve seen them open in Barnsley, Rotherham and Leeds, alongside their recent Meadowhall venture.
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On the menu, diners will find the Popeyes calling card in the shape of their chicken sandwich. Alongside that, there’s Louisiana chicken, chicken tenders, hot wings and Popeyes’ original southern biscuits.
Of course, during our visit, we had to give the famous chicken sandwich a test. You can order at the counter although the diner’s set up feels geared more towards using the self-service machines – a venture of most fast food joints now. I did this, it was all pretty straightforward to operate and allowed for amendments (being as fussy as I am) here and there.
What I would say to anyone visiting for the first time is to make sure to order it to your table. As during our experience, I didn’t and I was left hanging about like a spare part, in a pretty cramped area, waiting for my order as a rush came in ahead of Girls Aloud performing the neighbouring Sheffield Utilita Arena.
Once I eventually sat down, the size of the burger certainly caught the eye and helped understand the price. The sandwich was filled with a rather meaty chicken fillet which, for fast food, was very crispy at the bite. It is understandable why the Popeyes team want to make a song and dance about them.
And, as I mentioned, clearly word of mouth is spreading fast as the unit was packed out with more Popeyes scheduled to open across the UK in the coming months. It looks like they are here to stay.
As a little sidenote, admission here, I’m not a massive fan of KFC’s gravy (sorry, colonel) and I found the Popeyes gravy more akin to the one on the menu at Jollibee which I do like. It was ideal for dipping our chicken and chips.
On that controversial bombshell, perhaps it is wise I take my leave.
The bill
- Deluxe chicken sandwich meal – £9.25
- Chicken sandwich meal with chicken tenders – £12.74
- Side of gravy – £1.50
Total: £23.49
Popeyes, Meadowhall, Sheffield S9 1EP. You can find out more by visiting the Popeyes website.
You can find the latest food and drink news in Yorkshire and nearby by visiting our What’s On homepage. There you can also find days out guides for things to do across the region.
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