CHOOKS, EALING

I love finding a restaurant in an area I know really well that I haven't found before. I used to pass through Ealing several times a week, bemoaning the lack of good eateries there. There's a few, but the majority of them I'd give a miss. Recently Chooks got in touch to see if I'd like to try out their new extended menu and I assumed they were a new addition to the area, but apparently they've been there a while - at least since I used to spend time in Ealing. Intrigued to check it out I headed down there with Bron a few weeks ago for a chicken themed feast! Chooks is renowned for marinating and grilling buttermilk chicken, but they've added to their menu and now serve brunch and more healthy options (not that we necessarily went for all of those!)

We started with cocktails which were fine - too cold and not quite strong enough, I've had better (I'd stick to beer or wine if you go) then moved on to the main event. We were hungry and wanted to sample as much as possible...

Starting with Nachos to nibble on while we perused the rest of the menu. The nachos were great - a good amount of all the toppings and still nice and crunchy underneath.

Then the feast began.... we tried both the Korean salmon (salmon, Korean bbq sauce, avocado, seasonal slaw, pico de gallo and micro greens) and buttermilk chicken (chicken, fire roasted corn, seasonal slaw, avocado and chipotle sauce) tacos. We devoured all of them - they were fresh, light, punchy and delicious and I loved the abundance of herbs used on them, even if it did make finding where each taco began and ended a little tricky!!

Then it was something from the healthy menu - grilled tequila and lime chicken open taco with more fresh herbs, iceberg, cucumber, avocado, radishes and a flaxseed and lemon dressing. The chicken was perfectly cooked and covered in crisp, crunchy veggies which added an excellent texture and taste.

  
So our virtuosity ended there as we moved on to mac and cheese (it's gotta be done!) Four cheeses with shredded BBQ ribs, but it didn't quite work for me. I can't quite pinpoint what it was but there was a strange taste to it and it was all a bit orange. Also the rib meat was incorporated into the pasta, loosing its essence slightly - I would've preferred it piled on top.

FAR more successful were the "hangover fries" with melted cheese, jalapenos, crispy bacon, spring onions and sour cream. If it didn't involve travelling with a hangover to get Ealing nowadays for me, these would 100% be my go to hangover cure!! Best chips I've had in a while.

So Chooks is good. Some dishes were really good, others were just good. It's really affordable, lots of fun and absolutely one of the better places to get food if you're in Ealing. They've got another branch in Muswell Hill and are also on Deliveroo, so do check them out!