Wednesday 21 March 2012

Reggae Reggae Box Meal Review

So the time comes once again for a new TLO (time-limited offer) at KFC. If you've been following us here at KFB recently you'll know that the TLOs have been on a steady downward spiral ever since the incredible peak that was the Hot Rods Box Meal, primarily due to a lack of innovation. Could Levi Roots' famous musical sauce turn things around? Could this be the shot in the thigh that the Colonel has been looking for of late? Or will this be yet another disappointment? Read on to find out.

The prospect of a new TLO is always an exciting one (if tinged with a little trepidation these days) and the Reggae Reggae Box Meal was no different. A Caribbean-influenced addition to the menu surely couldn't go far wrong. After all, jerk chicken is a famous national dish of Jamaica, the home of Mr Roots and almost always delicious. With this in mind, we ordered at Marble Arch: KFC UK's flagship branch.

The first shock was the price: KFC has recently taken to automatically upgrading all meals in their largest central London branches to 'large' sizes (something this blogger complained directly to HQ about) meaning the meal cost a whopping £5.69. Naturally, we felt the need to Tower Up which adding a shocking 50p extra.

The meal arrived:


Reggae Reggae burger, fries, drink, side, mini breast fillet and a dipping sauce (which was totally absent). Sadly it seems the branch had run out of the special TLO boxes which dampened the spirits somewhat.

Let's cut straight to the chase: this is a fillet tower burger with Reggae Reggae sauce instead of ketchup. Nothing else is different. No special ingredients, no additional marinades, no Jamaican inspired bun. Nothing. Our hopes were immediately dashed: once again the Colonel has seen fit to simply take an existing product, make a tiny variation and sell it as something new and exciting. Still, we cracked on with the eating.

The accompaniments to the burger were all of high quality. Crunchy, hot fries, 3 step gravy and a succulent (if unusually small) mini fillet. No complaints here. 

The main event


A Fillet Tower is a consistently delicious burger (though obviously no Zinger Tower). The real question here is around the sauce and the first issue was that it wasn't spread equally around the bun, meaning the last few bites contained none of that Jamaican flavour. When we did taste it though, we liked what we were experiencing: zingy, tangy, fruity and spicy all combine in the mouth to provide a flavour never before known at KFC. And despite the fact that the mayo was still included in the burger, it all worked together very well. We just wish there was more of it or that the chicken had been marinaded in a jerk seasoning to add that special extra punch.

We've said it before and we'll say it again: the Colonel needs to bring something new to the table. Simply adding a new sauce to an existing product is just not good enough. What's happened to the creative geniuses that suggested the Hot Rods or Wrapstars of this world? The most innovation we get today is the Supercharger: a new type of roll containing two mini fillets and a sauce recycled from a special edition Zinger Tower from many moons ago. The depressing thing is, having visited KFC's HQ in the UK and toured the test kitchen, we know that they're experimenting with some products that are seriously pushing the boundaries (one of which didn't even contain chicken!). It's just a real shame that they don't have the guts to bring them to market.

Taste: 6.5/10
Value: 5/10
Innovation: 2/10

OVERALL: 4/10

19 comments:

Chris Brindle said...

I completely agree its not innovative enough if the sauce was applied say to a wrapstar or boxmaster maybe but you are right we need to see more innovation !!

Anonymous said...

Come On KFC. We need new ideas at LOWER prices!

Anonymous said...

Was not impressed at all with the reggae reggae boxmeal, was not filling enough, burger was tiny aswell as fillet, no value for money at all!!

steven said...

my reggae reggae box meal turned out to be a BBQ rancher box meal, and get this my g/f ordered a filet meal and she got a BBQ rancher burger lol. if they said sorry we are out i can except there out of stock (i dont mind there cock up) but my g/f went with out her burger

Anonymous said...

Same burger, different sauce... KFC is fast becoming McDonalds! Come on KFB, let us know what these things are that they were testing at KFC Headquarters! Maybe if you let a few go, there will be more pressure on KFC to give some of these new ideas a chance! Enough is enough KFC, I want that feeling again that I got when I had my first ever chicken tower burger!

Anonymous said...

Doesn't even exist on their website, must be too embarrassed about it, or too lazy!

Anonymous said...

The best TLOs were the boxmasters and I am still awaiting their return (2 years on). :(

Anonymous said...

I, unlike the rest of my fellow commenters, rather enjoyed the Reggae Reggae Box. I ate it in a branch in Surrey and it cost me £5.19. I found that the chicken fillet in the burger was extremely meaty and large, in no way was it slender. The sauce was plentiful and spread evenly across the whole burger. The lettuce was crisp and fresh, my overall rating of the burger itself would be a high 9. The chips which accompanied the burger were extremely good, weren't over or under cooked. The mini breast fillet was far from mini it was more like a whole fillet and had a bit of spice about it. I decided to choose gravy as my side and was pleasantly surprised with it as it was very thick and tasty. Overall I would give the meal an 8.5/10. Wish it was a permanent box meal.

Anonymous said...

Really unimpressed, what a rip off! 5.19 may not be much for you in surrey but it could by me a far better meal at my local cafe. Half full box of chips, a meager slice of chicken and a burger the size of a small hamster. Its not good enough! last time i go there for a few years.

Nicholas Simpson said...

I have to say I quite enjoyed it, however I was far from impressed with the Teesside branch. We paid for go large and only got regular drinks, we got no dipping sauce for our meals and the lettuce was shockingly sparse. The fillet and the fillet inside the burger were a decent size and I found the reggae suce had a nice kick. I will be writing a letter of complaint about my issues and issues we had with the service.

The colonel needs to raise his game as far as I'm concerned! He's in the UK now and we have high standards!

Disappointed KFC fan said...

After reading this review, I went to one of my local KFCs earlier today to sample the Reggae Reggae Box Meal. I had high hopes for the new product - being that both Colonel Sanders and Levi Roots are two people who I would list as personal role models.

Sadly what I experienced could only be summed up as being one of the greatest disappointments of 2012.

A few points to highlight:-

(1) My local KFC also didn't have the branded Reggae Reggae box, which was extremely disheartening;

(2) I also didn't receive the advertised dipping sauce which is billed as being a key part of the Reggae Reggae Box Meal - this is simply not acceptable and borders on false advertising;

(3) Unlike your experience, I found that my Reggae Reggae burger did NOT contain mayo so either this was an anomaly or the staff are uncertain how to properly prepare the new burger and what it is supposed to contain; and

(4) Everything else aside, I cannot abide the way this product is being marketed with a picture of Colonel Sanders wearing sunglasses and wearing a Jamaican-themed shirt - the Colonel was not "cool" or a "dude" - he was a serious man with a serious love of good quality fried chicken and that's what we should remember him for.

The Reggae Reggae sauce itself was evenly spread in my burger and it had the same great taste I've come to expect from Reggae Reggae branded products so no complaints on that front but everything else was a huge disappointment.

Once again KFB hits the nail on the head - the Colonel simply MUST bring something new to the table. The poor guy must be spinning in his grave.

RIP Harland. R.I.P.

jake said...

my reggae meal was piss poor 2 bits of bread chicken an a dead out leaf of lettis an fuckall sauce an no tub of sauce , it was dry as fuck an i want my money back

Anonymous said...

I just had one from Kilburn KFC and got no dipping sauce and no reggae sauce in my burger! What a let down!

Lee said...

Am I right in saying the TLO for this month (May) is the Supercharger meal? The burger that has been on the KFC menu for the last 2-3 months (In East Anglia at least). Really scrapping the bottom of the barrel now KFC. I have given up on KFC ever bringing out an original, different burger. The new crisscuts from McDonalds are amazing and NEW! You should try it one time KFC.

Aberdeen Fan said...

I tried it and it did not have enough reggae sauce and I did not get a side sauce either and the KFC I go to never gives your box meal in a box.

Anonymous said...

1. The dipping sauce is just a sachet of sauce
2. You don't get it in a box if you eat in
3. These people dont control thr size of the chicken funnily enough I don't imagine the staff of KFC personally breeding each chicken behind the counter to cater for your size needs

Anonymous said...

when are you going to review the new NACHO BURGER its not like you to fall behind like this

paulbot said...

Just had one today, review will be up ASAP!

Anonymous said...

To start off I love KFC chicken I could eat it every day.BUT, I went to one on my way home late one night got an 8 pc took it home and shared it with a friend.. went to bed woke up around 3 am and realized what I paid for a 1 (one) hole chicken.It wasn't the cost it was the size of the chicken.I mean i've seen pigeons bigger.Come on KFC for what you are charging us find bigger chicken.
I LOVE KFC....Dont make let me go somewhere else.