It used to be better! The corn tortillas are thin and flimsy now… they used to be thick and amazing! The tacos used to have big chunks of chicken breast but now you get what you get. The salsa is still amazing but they won’t let you have more than 2 little salsa dishes if you dine in… what happened to pre-pandemic What a Chicken!? Bring that place back!
Eric Brooks
I had the asada burrito which was excellent and filling. I didn’t try the bbq offerings. The salsas were fresh and a decent amount of spice level, but not too high. They have complimentary chips and salsas which is nice. However it would be great if they made their own chips with their homemade tortillas.I will definitely be back.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Salsa Bar, Chicken Burrito
Jennifer Nash
Great chicken and ribs. Huge portions and great service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Andrew Safont
Tried the pork burrito. It was huge. I took off the foil and picked it up to eat. Big mistake. Half the filling came out. It was impossible to eat but it was so tasty that I still went at it. Saved what came out in the foil. I will make tacos later tonight.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
L.Z. Tang
I'm seriously impressed by the excellent food and service here. The wait staff suggested several popular items, offered information about the size of the portions and the spiciness of their amazing salsa bar (definitely something for everyone). As for the food, it was so wonderful that I forgot to take a picture of it. I'll even admit that I usually dislike tortilla chips but theirs were actually good. Pictures to come on my next visit!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Salsa Bar, Grilled Chicken
joey stoner
What a chicken? What a joke. Condiments are not fresh. The point-of-sale has it set up so they asked for a tip before I got the food. The burrito was wet. The salsa was not fresh. Verde salsa had a frozen ring around the top of the container, clear evidence of time temperature abuse. This place deserves much less than an overall 4.5, more like a three if you factor in the people who are probably uneducated as to how food should be prepared and served and who would rave about it. Meh.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
sw hatter
best steak burrito likeever.nothing beats this. its filling, delicious, and all worth itthe food also came REALLY fast, and staff is very friendly, a good bonusi dont give a damn about atmosphere, the food is good enough
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chips and Salsa, Steak, Grilled Chicken
Pelishek santovi
I recently dined at this chicken restaurant and it was absolutely delicious! The chicken was cooked to perfection and the flavors were amazing. The staff was also very friendly and attentive, making for a great dining experience. I highly recommend trying out this restaurant for some mouthwatering chicken dishes.
Jose González
The food is very delicious, especially the sauces (there is a great variety) highly
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Aguacate, Tortillas de Paquete
Lisa G
Best Tacos ? ??? Grill Chicken ? What A Chicken Petaluma Drinks Cucumber ? Melon ? Orchata You Got to Go try ? Love ❤️ what A
First time here a week ago was great. My wife and I both ordered a regular chicken burrito. My wife loved the chicken quality (a rarity) and was amazed by how much chicken was in the burrito. I thought the same and the taste was very full and rich. 5 stars. I thought we had found a good place to get take out regularly. Second time there yesterday I tried the rib burrito and my wife had the same chicken burrito. Unfortunately neither burrito was even half as good as the burritos just the week before. The rib burrito had many bone fragments and gristle, and very little meat. The taste was ok but every other bite I had to pull out something from my mouth that was inedible. It made an unpleasant experience and I cannot recommend this item. 1 star. The chicken burrito was ok but not good, it contained about a third of the amount of meat as the week before experience. 3 stars is an average of the 5 and 1 star experiences. My guess is different staff were working. The place seemed crowded both times and their salsa bar has great salsas, although it is very difficult for anyone over 5'6 to reach in under the short opening. I'm only 5 11 and I have to bend down in a squat to reach the back salsa trays. Might try this place again, if a repeat of experience #2 we won't be back again. Whoever made my rib burrito should be waaaay more observant about what they are putting in someone's dinner. Some of the bones were sharp and could have hurt someone if they swallowed it ?
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
Matt B
It's too bad that this place was meant to take off and open additional locations. It's apparent that no one likes their work environment at this location. It's tiny and cramped for the staff behind the counter. And the "restaurant" is still the same since it opened. Version 1.0 x years... All the workers appear to be in a hamster box waiting to get out. Side note the latest cashier is the doppelgänger to Hank on the HBO series 'Barry,' but with hair. The only reason I want to go back at this point.The food... the chicken is decent, but only serves a once a month craving vs the location and depressing experience there.Don't do the RiBs!!! Full stop!! It's their way of schlepping cheap pork ribs onto the uninitiated customer. They are hands down the worst!! And they don't include any sauce for them. Dry as a bone, and too similar to the chicken in flavor. Might as well order the chicken, which retains some moisture, because it's fatty chicken.No breast meat ever!!! It's all brown meat and drumstick only! Where their breast meat goes... no body knows, but it's only dark meat FYI! It sucks after a while knowing that you are never allowed to enjoy the white meat. Perhaps they save it for themselves??? Don't know. But lots of over fatty brown meat... it's old and tired and demeaning to customers.The one thing they have is their tortillas... home made!! They are great! But their meat especially the ribs are dry, and only flavor is from their smoking of them, but to the point that it is super dry, hard, and chewy.What is evident, is that a stubborn person created this flavor profile, and has refused to allow for any improvement in their product. And watching the staff try to work in that environment, is truly depressing. Not to mention the customers who have to co-mingle with to go orders and sit down families on cold hard steel tables, that never get wiped down. It's a wonder how this place has survived this long. The stubborn person who refuses to change and consider a new location, improve staff morale, offer whole chicken breast meat, and just stop offering those ribs! They are so bad! No one likes them!What-a-Chicken is What-a-stubborn owner who thinks they are the franklins bbq of chicken when really they are just a little bit better than El Pol/o Loco... but at least El Pol/o figured out how to succeed. What-a-Chicken has already died.Good luck parking perpendicular next to the nail salon! It's not even worth trying to park anymore.And frescas are not refreshed after their initial making at their opening hours! So at night you are welcomed with the 2 inches of bottom jug fresca / horchata left for you to be swindled out of $7 dollars! But again they look like staff stuck in a wheel, so who can blame them for not making fresh batches! I mean where is the room to do that even?Get a better location!Stop smoking those ribs into rocks and offer a sauceAnd get back in the restaurant, and save it owner! You are way behind and stubborn! Never once have I noted any ownership. You might be in the back... but the front 1.0 old news and mediocre everything!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 2
Charles Laquidara
Chicken is a bit dry. Wish they had access to a gravy or sauce- something to moisten the meat. All in all a great family owned restaurant!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Con P.
If I lived in Petaluma I'd dine here multiple times per week. The portions are large, and the food is delicious. The rice and chicken are flavorful and the chicken is not dry. There are multiple tasty salsas to try with complimentary chips. The potato salad is my favorite side. When I first saw it I thought I would hate it. There are peas and green beans and corn in it. Somehow it works and is delightful!
Annie L.
Why didn't I find out about What a Chicken sooner! I have only heard about them for a few weeks from the Santa Rosa Farmers Market. I purchased a 2 piece meal with a side for $10. The chicken was delicious! It has a charcoal grilled taste, large pieces of juicy chicken! The skin was crispy and yummy! I was excited to find out they had an actual location in Petaluma so I made the drive down and ordered a whole chicken this time with 2 sides (Spanish rice & pinto beans). Shared it with my hubby for lunch and had 2 pieces with sides leftover for dinner. You can make two meals out of it. $19 for a whole chicken is a steal! They also serve burritos, tacos, wraps, salads and fajitas. You got something for everyone in the family! Will definitely make this a staple in the area!
It used to be better! The corn tortillas are thin and flimsy now… they used to be thick and amazing! The tacos used to have big chunks of chicken breast but now you get what you get. The salsa is still amazing but they won’t let you have more than 2 little salsa dishes if you dine in… what happened to pre-pandemic What a Chicken!? Bring that place back!
I had the asada burrito which was excellent and filling. I didn’t try the bbq offerings. The salsas were fresh and a decent amount of spice level, but not too high. They have complimentary chips and salsas which is nice. However it would be great if they made their own chips with their homemade tortillas.I will definitely be back.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Salsa Bar, Chicken Burrito
Great chicken and ribs. Huge portions and great service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Tried the pork burrito. It was huge. I took off the foil and picked it up to eat. Big mistake. Half the filling came out. It was impossible to eat but it was so tasty that I still went at it. Saved what came out in the foil. I will make tacos later tonight.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
I'm seriously impressed by the excellent food and service here. The wait staff suggested several popular items, offered information about the size of the portions and the spiciness of their amazing salsa bar (definitely something for everyone). As for the food, it was so wonderful that I forgot to take a picture of it. I'll even admit that I usually dislike tortilla chips but theirs were actually good. Pictures to come on my next visit!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Salsa Bar, Grilled Chicken
What a chicken? What a joke. Condiments are not fresh. The point-of-sale has it set up so they asked for a tip before I got the food. The burrito was wet. The salsa was not fresh. Verde salsa had a frozen ring around the top of the container, clear evidence of time temperature abuse. This place deserves much less than an overall 4.5, more like a three if you factor in the people who are probably uneducated as to how food should be prepared and served and who would rave about it. Meh.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
best steak burrito likeever.nothing beats this. its filling, delicious, and all worth itthe food also came REALLY fast, and staff is very friendly, a good bonusi dont give a damn about atmosphere, the food is good enough
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chips and Salsa, Steak, Grilled Chicken
I recently dined at this chicken restaurant and it was absolutely delicious! The chicken was cooked to perfection and the flavors were amazing. The staff was also very friendly and attentive, making for a great dining experience. I highly recommend trying out this restaurant for some mouthwatering chicken dishes.
The food is very delicious, especially the sauces (there is a great variety) highly
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Aguacate, Tortillas de Paquete
Best Tacos ? ??? Grill Chicken ? What A Chicken Petaluma Drinks Cucumber ? Melon ? Orchata You Got to Go try ? Love ❤️ what A
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: 3 Tacos, Grilled Chicken
Restaurantji Recommends
First time here a week ago was great. My wife and I both ordered a regular chicken burrito. My wife loved the chicken quality (a rarity) and was amazed by how much chicken was in the burrito. I thought the same and the taste was very full and rich. 5 stars. I thought we had found a good place to get take out regularly. Second time there yesterday I tried the rib burrito and my wife had the same chicken burrito. Unfortunately neither burrito was even half as good as the burritos just the week before. The rib burrito had many bone fragments and gristle, and very little meat. The taste was ok but every other bite I had to pull out something from my mouth that was inedible. It made an unpleasant experience and I cannot recommend this item. 1 star. The chicken burrito was ok but not good, it contained about a third of the amount of meat as the week before experience. 3 stars is an average of the 5 and 1 star experiences. My guess is different staff were working. The place seemed crowded both times and their salsa bar has great salsas, although it is very difficult for anyone over 5'6 to reach in under the short opening. I'm only 5 11 and I have to bend down in a squat to reach the back salsa trays. Might try this place again, if a repeat of experience #2 we won't be back again. Whoever made my rib burrito should be waaaay more observant about what they are putting in someone's dinner. Some of the bones were sharp and could have hurt someone if they swallowed it ?
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
It's too bad that this place was meant to take off and open additional locations. It's apparent that no one likes their work environment at this location. It's tiny and cramped for the staff behind the counter. And the "restaurant" is still the same since it opened. Version 1.0 x years... All the workers appear to be in a hamster box waiting to get out. Side note the latest cashier is the doppelgänger to Hank on the HBO series 'Barry,' but with hair. The only reason I want to go back at this point.The food... the chicken is decent, but only serves a once a month craving vs the location and depressing experience there.Don't do the RiBs!!! Full stop!! It's their way of schlepping cheap pork ribs onto the uninitiated customer. They are hands down the worst!! And they don't include any sauce for them. Dry as a bone, and too similar to the chicken in flavor. Might as well order the chicken, which retains some moisture, because it's fatty chicken.No breast meat ever!!! It's all brown meat and drumstick only! Where their breast meat goes... no body knows, but it's only dark meat FYI! It sucks after a while knowing that you are never allowed to enjoy the white meat. Perhaps they save it for themselves??? Don't know. But lots of over fatty brown meat... it's old and tired and demeaning to customers.The one thing they have is their tortillas... home made!! They are great! But their meat especially the ribs are dry, and only flavor is from their smoking of them, but to the point that it is super dry, hard, and chewy.What is evident, is that a stubborn person created this flavor profile, and has refused to allow for any improvement in their product. And watching the staff try to work in that environment, is truly depressing. Not to mention the customers who have to co-mingle with to go orders and sit down families on cold hard steel tables, that never get wiped down. It's a wonder how this place has survived this long. The stubborn person who refuses to change and consider a new location, improve staff morale, offer whole chicken breast meat, and just stop offering those ribs! They are so bad! No one likes them!What-a-Chicken is What-a-stubborn owner who thinks they are the franklins bbq of chicken when really they are just a little bit better than El Pol/o Loco... but at least El Pol/o figured out how to succeed. What-a-Chicken has already died.Good luck parking perpendicular next to the nail salon! It's not even worth trying to park anymore.And frescas are not refreshed after their initial making at their opening hours! So at night you are welcomed with the 2 inches of bottom jug fresca / horchata left for you to be swindled out of $7 dollars! But again they look like staff stuck in a wheel, so who can blame them for not making fresh batches! I mean where is the room to do that even?Get a better location!Stop smoking those ribs into rocks and offer a sauceAnd get back in the restaurant, and save it owner! You are way behind and stubborn! Never once have I noted any ownership. You might be in the back... but the front 1.0 old news and mediocre everything!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 2
Chicken is a bit dry. Wish they had access to a gravy or sauce- something to moisten the meat. All in all a great family owned restaurant!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
If I lived in Petaluma I'd dine here multiple times per week. The portions are large, and the food is delicious. The rice and chicken are flavorful and the chicken is not dry. There are multiple tasty salsas to try with complimentary chips. The potato salad is my favorite side. When I first saw it I thought I would hate it. There are peas and green beans and corn in it. Somehow it works and is delightful!
Why didn't I find out about What a Chicken sooner! I have only heard about them for a few weeks from the Santa Rosa Farmers Market. I purchased a 2 piece meal with a side for $10. The chicken was delicious! It has a charcoal grilled taste, large pieces of juicy chicken! The skin was crispy and yummy! I was excited to find out they had an actual location in Petaluma so I made the drive down and ordered a whole chicken this time with 2 sides (Spanish rice & pinto beans). Shared it with my hubby for lunch and had 2 pieces with sides leftover for dinner. You can make two meals out of it. $19 for a whole chicken is a steal! They also serve burritos, tacos, wraps, salads and fajitas. You got something for everyone in the family! Will definitely make this a staple in the area!