America is famous for many of the world's biggest fast food chains, with fried chicken among the most popular exports. And it continues to grow in popularity here in Manchester with the recent arrival of two more US chicken chains to compete with the grandaddy of Southern-fried treats, KFC.
Slim Chickens and WIngstop have this year both opened four huge new Manchester sites amid rapid UK expansion. Both brands are now available at the Trafford Centre as well as in prime spots in the city centre - Wingstop on Piccadilly Gardens while Slim Chickens is in the Manchester Arndale centre.
The barbecue chicken treats from the USA are now well and truly embedded in UK culture, with the Texan hot wings of Wingstop and Arkansas treats of Slim Chickens seemingly keen to take a slice of KFC 's Kentucky-fried dominance. But how do the three fried chicken giants really compare?
Read more : We went to Burger King, McDonald's and Five Guys in the city centre and the winner was a no-brainer
We decided to put them all to the test, ordering as similar menu items as possible in all three of the restaurants - choosing the sites closest to each other in Manchester city centre.
We also put to the test the speed of the fast food service, taste of the products and overall value for money. We decided to go for three chicken tenders, a portion of chicken wings, a regular fries and accompanying dipping sauces.
So which chicken really would be finger licking good? And which would just leave us with sticky fingers? There was only one way to find out....
KFC
Founded by Colonel Sanders way back in 1930, Kentucky Fried Chicken is one of the world's biggest and best known fast food brands. Famed for the tagline "finger licking good" and for its "secret" original recipe with 11 spices that it keeps firmly under lock and key.
We headed to the KFC branch on Piccadilly Approach to get our fix, where the compact branch could easily go undetected if you weren’t sure where to look for it. It doesn’t seem to carry the standard fast food chain’s branding of a red banner and white ‘KFC’ on the front, but is a little more discreet. Instead, it has ‘Kentucky Fried Chicken’ written in full in quite a nice font on the side of the building.
Inside it was pretty quiet so we were able to order on one of the four touch screen points immediately. There is also the option to order at the till, if you prefer to pay in cash.
Was there a queue? Not really. There were a few people reading the menu still deciding, and a few others waiting for orders to collect.
Time for order? KFC was the speediest of the three chains, with just 120 seconds between tapping my card to pay, to having the bag in my hand.
Wingstop
Wingstop was founded in Texas in 1994 and now has over 1.400 restaurants worldwide, with a rapid expansion here in the UK. Naturally, given its name, its famous for its wings - which you can choose in a variety of flavour combos.
We headed to the recently-opened Wingstop on the ever-busy Piccadilly Gardens, although it was fairly quiet in the downstairs ordering area. There's a larger seating area up the stairs, and we particularly liked the large neon bee and "Manchester" wall print making it nice and local.
It's all very clean and new, and staff were helpful with how to order in terms of which flavours were spicy and which not-so-spicy. Although it was the longest we had to wait for our bag of goodies out of the three restaurants.
Was there a queue? No queue at all, although the kitchen appeared to be really busy getting Deliveroo orders ready.
Time for order? It seemed to take forever - presumably because of all those Deliveroos - a not very quick at all 11 minutes for fast food.
Slim Chickens
A relative newcomer to the fried chicken scene, Slim Chickens was founded in Arkansas in 2003 by pals Greg Smart and Tom Gordon. They've now got over 100 restaurants across the world, with the UK seen as a key market since opening up in Bluewater in 2020 and two opening in Manchester in the past year.
We headed to the huge site inside the Arndale Centre, sandwiched nicely between fellow chicken chain Nandos and burger giant Five Guys. It's a lovely bright airy space with plenty of seating on the main floor as well as an extra mezzanine level.
You can order via touchscreens or at the counter, although there was a glitch when we ordered as it said there was no fries! Disaster was averted when we went to order these at the counter.
Was there a queue ? The restaurant was pretty busy with diners, but there was no queue to wait for the digital boards nor at the counter.
Time for order ? A pretty swift six minutes for the full order (which was split between the screen order and the counter).
Now here's what writers Dianne Bourne and Bethan Shufflebotham thought of all the food. Prices paid were for individual items, if you are ordering a drink with your meal it works out cheaper to do meal deals at all three restaurants.
The fried chicken tenders
Slim Chickens 3 tenders with dip - £4.45
KFC boneless chicken with dip - £5.49
Wingstop 3 tenders (choose coating as well as dip) £ 5.45
Bethan writes : "Slim Chickens tenders were slim by name and slim by nature, coming in the smallest of our haul. I picked up the ‘runt’ of the bunch and found it to be a bit dry, but I was reliably informed by Dianne and our photographer, Kenny, that their tenders were quite moist. The flavour itself was good and I liked the coating, which was more like a batter than a breadcrumb - think more ‘nuggets’ coating rather than ‘selects’ if we were to compare to the golden arches.
"KFC’s boneless chicken was a little meatier, made with 100 per cent chicken breast and smothered in that iconic blend of 11 herbs and spices. I enjoyed the flavour of this, and it was distinctively KFC. In a blind taste test, I’d have definitely been able to identify their flavour.
"But it was Wing Stop who had the biggest portion, with three whopping tenders smothered in a BBQ style sauce. As someone with manicured nails, I’m not a massive fan of messy finger food, and while there’s no denying they tasted great, the flavour of the sauce seemed to overpower that of the chicken, which was a shame for me."
Dianne writes: "I've always been a fan of KFC's chicken tenders, and they didn't disappoint here either - giving that unmistakable hit of the secret recipe crisp southern-fried coating. The chicken was also moist and juicy and they were decent sized portions in the bag, although I was a little shocked that they were the most expensive of the bunch when bought not as part of a meal deal.
"The Slim Chickens portion in comparison looked a little meagre - particularly the third tiny tender which you'd end up fighting not to have if you were sharing. But I did enjoy the juicy flavour of the chicken on this one, with a real hit of the buttermilk that they're marinated in.
"However for me the Wingstop tenders were the revelation here - huge chunks of tasty chicken in a rich, hearty crunch coating. You get to choose your sauce option that's added on top as well - Bethan wasn't too keen but I loved the sweet smoky BBQ sauce that just made these lip-smackingly good."
Winner: Wingstop/KFC draw
The chicken wings
Slim Chickens- cost per wing £1.31 (bought bag of three for £3.95)
KFC wings - cost per wing 59p (bought bag of three for £1.79)
Wingstop wings - cost per wing 93p (bought box of eight for £7.50)
Bethan writes: "I’m not normally a fan of chicken wings - I worry about how confidently people can bite into these knowing that there’s bones in them. However, the flavours on offer at some of these fast food joints could persuade me to convert.
"KFC’s three hot wings weren’t particularly tickling my tastebuds. I’m a chicken tikka kind of gal and thought these would at least have a kick, but it’s pretty standard flavouring. Meanwhile, Slim Chickens redeemed themselves with their wings, which had a deliciously crisp skin and meat that almost fell off the bone.
"I had high expectations for Wing Stop, who, by name, should be able to dish up a good chicken wing. It’d be a bit embarrassing if they didn’t. The first bite of the lemon and pepper wings had me worried that the citrus flavour was a bit much for this side dish, but actually, the initial burst mellowed as I chewed it was very pleasant. They were a stark contrast to the hot wings, which were actually quite spicy and a little more messy, however, and I’m sorry to say this in front of KFC, but they were finger licking good."
Dianne writes : "Like Bethan, I've never been much of a chicken wing fan, usually opting for tenders. But the gorgeous flavours of the Wingstop wings has persuaded me to look again at this treat. My only gripe is that as far as I could see on the menu the smallest portion you can buy is 8 which would probably be too much for one diner.
"However, it did give you the chance of having two different flavours - and the Winstop original packed a brilliant flavour punch, while the lemon and pepper style also gave a right old citrus spice mouthful too.
"The Slim Chickens wings were also really tasty and pretty huge too with lots of meat packed on the bones.
"I'm afraid that while KFC were the cheapest, they just very much paled in comparison to their meaty and flavoursome competitors."
Winner: Wingstop
The fries
Slim Chickens regular fries- £3
KFC regular fries- £1.49
Wing Stop regular fries- £2.95
Bethan writes : "Never have I seen a sadder looking portion of fries than that of KFC’s regular side order. Limp, soggy, unseasoned - they couldn’t hold a candle to the Wing Stop or Slim Chickens fries, which offered beautifully seasoned, crisp and moreish fries in generous portions.
"For me, the flavour of Wing Stops chips was the best, tasting almost sweet but with a thick, flaky salt coating the fries. Meanwhile, Slim Chickens had the biggest portion seasoned with what the chain describes as the ‘perfect salt mix’, but I’d argue there’s something more there too - perhaps a hint of paprika? Either way, I couldn’t stop tucking in and kept reaching over the table for them."
Dianne writes : "Oh dear KFC, you delivered a bland flabby chip to us here. While KFC's fries may have worked out as the cheapest, I'd rather pay twice the price for the rich taste of either the Slim Chickens or Wingstop fries.
"The Wingstop ones were the show-stopper for me though - with their own salt and pepper mix generously coating their rich crispy outer shells.
"For value for money though, you couldn't really beat the Slim Chickens option which was double the size of the others. They too had a really pleasant spicy salt on them which made them a moreish treat."
Winner: Wingstop
The dips
One dip came free with each chicken dish ordered at the restaurants.
At Slim Chickens we ordered garlic cheese and blue cheese; at KFC garlic mayo and spicy supercharger mayo; at Wingstop regular ranch and regular blue cheese
Dianne writes : "Slim Chickens' sauces were the real standout here - their garlic cheese and blue cheese blew the others out of the water for rich flavour and creamy consistency. I'd always been a big fan of KFC's garlic mayo but compared to the others in this taste test it just seemed very thin.
"The Wingstop sauces tasted light and fresh but not big on taste, although did make a better sauce to go with the sweet Wingstop chicken tenders I thought."
Bethan writes : "I always forget that fast food chains do dips beyond tomato ketchup, but it’s well worth browsing the menu and seeing what takes your fancy, as it can really elevate your whole meal. We sampled Wing Stop’s blue cheese and garlic offerings, both of which were tangy but tasty, bringing a bit of zing to the chicken portions. They had a nice consistency, and paired well with the wings, strips and chips alike.
"Better still were the Slim Chickens sauces, also blue cheese and garlic cheese, which were a little thinner in viscosity but it really worked well as a dip. Full of flavour without knocking your socks off, Slim Chickens dips got my vote over KFC, whose spicy mayo and garlic mayo was so thick I’d have been better locating a butter knife to spread it with."
Winner: Slim Chickens
Final verdict
Overall costs for comparison of three wings, three tenders and regular fries (when purchasing as single items to take away from the restaurants):-
Slim Chickens - £11.40
KFC - £8.77
Wingstop- £11.19
Dianne writes : "Having long been a fan of KFC I was pretty disappointed at how it all stacked up on taste in comparison to its newer, fresher chicken rivals who are certainly ruffling some feathers here in Manchester. KFC did win on speed, so if you're in need of quick fried chick this would definitely be the one, and also worked out at the cheapest.
"However for me, Wingstop was the big hit, offering some great flavour combinations and juicy chicken for a bit of a treat that I would definitely want to go back and try again.
"If I was out with my kids though, I'd probably head for Slim Chickens as it was such a nice environment in the larger restaurant space and the fries would easily serve two." Dianne's winner: Wingstop
Bethan writes : "While KFC’s service was the fastest and their boneless chicken tasty, that’s where my compliments for the chicken chain end. If you want a quick, cheap meal, then they’re a solid option, but if you want something you can really savour, there are much better fast food options available a short walk away.
"Wingstop was the slowest service of the bunch, but their wings were second to none and their chips were fantastic. However, I found their food on the messier side, which saw the chain lose points because there was far too much risk of spilling something on my outfit.
"Slim Chickens tenders may not have been the biggest, but their wings and dips made up for it. Their fries portion was huge and flavoursome, and in all, I think they offered the best value for money. Located inside the Arndale Centre, the atmosphere is really nice and you feel like you can really sit down and relax while you eat, so for me Slim Chickens takes the fried chicken crown in this taste comparison." Bethan's winner: Slim Chickens
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