Birchwood chicken shop that has queues out the door: review

Roast - which also has branches in Preston and Birkenhead - can be found at Birchwood Shopping Centre, and is often found to be having queues out of the door by lunchtime.

I bobbed down there to see what all of the fuss was about.

The variety of food available at Roast is immense (Image: Tom Bedworth, Newsquest)

Firstly, I cannot stress enough the sheer volume of chicken in this shop - that seems obvious for a place that specialises in chicken, but my word... it was an oppressive volume of chicken.

Fried chicken, breaded chicken, chicken wings, chicken chunks, popcorn chicken, salt and pepper chicken, salt and chilli chicken, plain chicken, roast chicken, half chickens... it was unfathomable.

So there's the first thing - if you like chicken, you'll love Roast.

But Roast isn't a one-trick pony, either.

Although lots of their menu is eerily similar to a well-known fast food chain that shall remain nameless (but it rhymes with 'Hentucky Cried Bicken') they also serve curries, pastries and pies, baguettes, and full roast dinners.

I picked up a 'boneless box' and a 'salt and pepper box' - both charged at £4.99 each, which included a drink (I went for Apple Tango, if you must know).

The boneless box included chicken strips - which I could choose to be plain, salt and pepper, or salt and chilli - popcorn chicken, chicken chunks, chips and gravy.

If you plump for the salt and pepper box, you're served with salt and pepper spring rolls, chicken wings, chicken chunks, shu mai, and chips.

All in all, for £4.99 each, it's easily good value for money.

But how did it taste?

With places like Roast, you'll often find that the chips are just there to make up the space - it's rare that a non-high street fast food shop serves good chips.

Roast is different. Okay, they aren't going to be known for chips, but they're not bad at all.

Every piece of chicken was excellent, and it seemed like 'real' chicken, rather than reformed chicken that you often find in chicken nuggets.

The spring rolls were pretty tasty, too.

Nestled beneath mounds of seasoned chips is salt and pepper chicken, popcorn chicken, gravy, and spring rolls (Image: Tom Bedworth, Newsquest)

I'd happily go back to Roast, and if you're in the area then I'd recommend popping in - just be prepared to queue, because I vastly underestimated the popularity of this chicken shop.

Roast is, dare I say it... 'finger licking good.'