Sydney's cult chicken chain hits Melbourne. Here's our verdict

On a recent Monday night, I went to a flash new restaurant in the CBD, spent $400 on a round of cocktails and a dinner that was bafflingly average, went home and pondered the point of all these new projects that are themed and expensive and utterly predictable.

The following night, I drove to Preston to eat at El Jannah, the cult charcoal chicken chain that began in Sydney in 1998 and only recently entered the Melbourne market. The Preston location, which rises from High Street like a neon green beacon – a church of chicken – opened in early May, and there's a second location in Campbellfield expected to open before the end of this year.

At El Jannah I spent $54 on a mountain of chicken, both fried and charcoal-cooked, a chicken sandwich, a load of chips, a flurry of sides, pita bread to wrap it all in, and a soft drink. I left full, happy, and with leftovers.

These days, charcoal chicken is commonplace in Australia, but in the late 1990s that was not the case. That's when two couples opened Awafi in Granville, Sydney, in 1998, bringing a staple of Lebanese home-cooking to the public. One of those couples, Andre and Carole Estephan, eventually left Awafi to open El Jannah nearby. Now there are 14 locations in New South Wales, and this new foray into Victoria.

In Preston, the response has been wild. People LOVE this chicken. The parking lot is a zoo and the lines are long, both for the drive-through and the dining room inside.

Once you're through the line you order at the counter, take a number and find a seat in the large dining area. It's basic fast-food seating, slightly elevated but not by much. There are high-top tables with stools and regular bench seating around the perimeter of the room.

Within minutes of ordering, your food is delivered, and – depending on how long you spend waiting in line and how long you spend eating – it's entirely possible to be in and out of here in 30 minutes or less.

So what's so great about El Jannah? There are charcoal chicken joints everywhere, many of them with similar menus, almost none of them with these queues or level of devotion. Well, firstly, the chicken: that charcoal-crisped skin really is a marvel, all smoky and shmaltzy and crunchy.

You're best ordering a whole bird ($27.90, inclusive of tangy garlic sauce, pickles and bread), which is more likely to retain its moisture; I've had smaller portions come out dry.

So, yes, the chicken is good, and occasionally great. But I'm just as impressed with the sides, particularly the tabbouleh ($7.50-$10.50), which is intensely lemony and fresh, the lightly bitter parsley crunch of it a perfect foil to the rich chicken.

Hummus ($4.50-$9.90) is creamy and tangy and wonderful to slather on your pita ($2.50/bag; included on many plates) before wrapping around chunks of chicken.

The fried chicken ($9.90-$29.90) is passable, better as bone-in pieces than strips, its crust salty and shattery, its interior pleasingly greasy. Not the best fried chicken in the world (or even in Preston), but it gets the job done.

Even the regular non-fried EJ chicken burger ($9.50) is kind of impressive – exactly like a fast food chicken burger but better, mainly thanks to the quality of the bird itself.

The staff is young, busy, a little green but happy and helpful. There is far less of a sense of misery here than you get at many fast food joints or chain restaurants in general. And, like the crowd, they are extremely diverse.

As I looked around the dining room, I heard at least four different languages being spoken. There were teenagers, elderly people, families, tradies, friends, multiple ethnicities, multiple economic backgrounds, all chowing happily on their chicken. I thought about my trendy CBD meal the night before, which cost eight times as much and left me half as satisfied.

Yes, this is fast food – unabashedly so – and no, it's not the place to go for pampering or glitz. But I know the place to which I'd rather return, even if money were no issue at all.

Vibe Green-hued fast food joint, slightly elevated

Go-to dish Whole charcoal chicken plate ($27.90)

Drinks Soft drinks

Cost $25 for two, plus drinks