Islington - Gerry Louis Review

I've never had to return chicken before and i hope this is the first and last time. I'll get back to that in a minute though.

Got out at highbury and islington station and if I'd known how far the walk was i would have taken the bus down there. As a pointer turn right out of the station and follow the road down for ten to fifteen mins. I had to use google maps becaise the numbers just didn't make sense but it's probably better to exit from Angel which I had trouble getting to.

Picked this branch over dalston as it closed at eleven but i wonder if i should have taken the risk to get there. Entered just after ten and only Arron seemed to be working there though he ignored me as i came in. After serving the two ladies ahead of me if then decided to go off somewheres so i picked myself a table and had to wait for him to come back. He took my order well enough though i noticed trainee on his name badge but he did not ask if i wanted to use my orange reward. Too eager to get rid of me he also gave me a boiling hot glass. Spoons in the fork bowl and forks in the spoons bowl, holes in the straws i wondered what else would go wrong.

12 minute wait for the food despite the quiet, the food smelled great. Unfortunately that was the only good thing about it. The mash had a nice texture and taste however it was warm. Must have been waiting for the chicken which was hot and that's where it all went wrong. The second piece of chicken I pulled off went brown and I initially thought it was the sauce. But it turned out to be blood still dripping inside the chicken. This was the leg portion, the drumstick bit was fine it was the thigh portion. Checked the breast out and it was perfectly fine, could not understand this. Asked to get a new leg and somehow the manager came over to tell me about how they cook the chicken.. Not my problem obviously this one wasn't done properly. I would totally prefer a burnt chicken to one a severely underdone one..

They replaced the leg which took ages! Very apologetic manager but I'll never get chicken on the bone from here if I ever go back. Also the lemon and herb bottle wouldn't pour so I had to dismantle it to get some out. Unsure what they do here but the service was poo and so was the food. The staff were slovenly.

The branch seems small when you come in but then you see the downstairs section which has loads of tables, and the third hidden section underneath the stairs, the toilets tucked away in the back. The til counter is as you come in with the grill just behind it, a selection of twos and four tables in the first section. Along the left hand wall are a range of pictures all shapes and sizes. One picture I noticed looked like Morgan Freeman doing the 'Saturday Night Fever' pose riding a donkey carring a picture on a cart made out of goat pennies! There was a dog in a suit as well.. Really weird.

I do not recommend this branch..