The Sydney Morning Herald logo
Advertisement

Just open: KFC's Parramatta concept eatery

Callan Boys
Callan Boys

Burger, wrap, or bowl? Staff at KFC's concept store.
Burger, wrap, or bowl? Staff at KFC's concept store. Supplied

You can get a Zinger in a bowl, there's no children's menu and a liquor license is on its way.

Welcome to the KFC of 2015. Located in the dining precinct of Parramatta's Church Street, the chain's new concept eatery is targeting office workers in an effort to increase their share of the urban market.

The outlet feels similar to franchises such as Grill'd, Mad Mex, and Guzman y Gomez. The menu is a mix of KFC classics and new creations while the interior includes potted plants on blonde wood tables and a bathroom door decorated with a collage of vintage Kentucky Fried posters (Colonel Sanders' "Tijuana Picnic" looks like it would have been a hoot).

The southern BBQ zinger at KFC's Parramatta concept store.
The southern BBQ zinger at KFC's Parramatta concept store. Supplied
Advertisement

The launch follows the 2014 opening of The Corner by McCafe, a McDonald's concept store selling tofu salads and single origin coffee.

While the Corner went out of its way to distance itself from the existing McDonald's brand (the golden arches logo is non-existent and staff wear chambray shirts), the new Parramatta store is KFC and proud of it.

"If you don't already like KFC, you're not going to like this concept," says Nikki Lawson, the chief marketing and development officer at KFC Australia, during the launch of the new store on Monday.

"It's just called KFC ... not KFC Urban or anything else."

The centre of the menu is a build-your-own model where you choose whether you want a burger, wrap or bowl (all $10). Customers select their chicken (original recipe, Zinger or grilled chicken breast) and then choose a "flavour". There are no combo or boxed meals.

Advertisement

The flavour choices include southern BBQ (barbecue sauce, cos lettuce, tomato, red onion and tasty cheese), jalapeno mayo (jalapeno mayonnaise, tasty cheese and coleslaw) and creamy aioli (aioli, cos lettuce, avocado and carrot).

Chicken for the wraps and bowls is diced in front of customers and mixed with seasoned rice, corn salsa and red quinoa.

The $7 "favourites" section of the menu lists three pieces of original recipe chicken, a large popcorn chicken, a fillet burger and a grilled BLT Twister. It also includes the Zinger burger, which is about one-third larger than the standard size from regular KFCs.

Chips and coleslaw are still available as sides but potato and gravy didn't make the cut.

A liquor licence is pending, which if approved will allow staff to serve beers such as Fat Yak, Peroni, Carlton Dry and Cascade Light. Bulmers cider will also be for sale.

Advertisement

If the Parramatta trial is successful, the company hopes to roll out the concept out across Australia.

And the verdict of this reporter? Well, if you're an existing KFC customer, and provided you're not too attached its potato and gravy, you'll dig the new store and menu. The Zinger still tastes like a Zinger AND it's bigger without heading into over-the-top double Zinger Stacker land. The wraps are nothing like the Twisters at KFC standard and edge toward burrito burliness. The salad bowls would probably be healthy if you ordered grilled chicken and held the mayo, but has anyone ever entered a KFC with kilojoule counting in mind?

Fast food is best when it doesn't pretend to be something it's not. Ultimately, even if the concept store menu was identical to the traditional one, the shakers of KFC's amazing chip salt on every table should be cause for celebration for any Colonel fan.

277B Church Street Parramatta, open daily 11am-9pm

Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox.

Sign up
Callan BoysCallan Boys is editor of SMH Good Food Guide, restaurant critic for Good Weekend and Good Food writer.

From our partners

Advertisement
Advertisement