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Categories: Greek, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean [Edit]
Neighborhood: Bernal HeightsMon-Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
"Yes, it passed the roommates test! Again, amazing hummus! Perfection. Excellent lentil soup, the hummus/fava bean dish, and of course the…" read more »
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The Deluxe Falafel with eggplant and potatoes was good, but a little dry. The Kefta Kabab was very good and tasty. Wished I had tried the hummus...and will if I come back.
Must admit though...I wanted to try this place based upon its name. I thought it would have soul food which I wanted to try. However, I love mediterraneous food too, so it was all good.
I could eat their pita bread and hummus all day. Matter of fact, I think "pita" deserves a spot in their restaurant name! Then maybe people won't get thrown off when they walk into a Mediterranean-themed restaurant rather than a fried chicken place.
Nope, no fried chicken here. Just some delicious and uicy chicken covered with a fantastic blend of herbs and spices! And yes, the chicken is frikin goood! However, this lunchtime visit with the coworkers called for a lighter meal since I had to be productive later at work (serious food coma could result if I opted for the open flame chicken with the meal). I went with the vegetarian combo plate -salad, dolmas, falafels, hummus, baba ghanooj and of course, their incredibly delicious pita bread. All I have to say is yummy, yummy, yummy! Spreads were creamy and not overpowered with any one ingredient, and went well with the outstanding pita (can you tell I love their pita?) I'm not a huge fan of dolmas, but these were pretty good. The falafels were perfectly fried, and I thought the flavor was comparable to Falafel Drive-In in San Jose.
And I love their salad! I tried to carefully dissect each bite to figure out what herbs they used, but after a while I thought it was best just to enjoy homemade perfection. And that's exactly what GFC is!
I am sorry guys. I gave it a try and my rating is this: there is nothing good about "Good Frikin Chicken" I had split two shawermas with my friend one chicken and the other was lamb. The chicken shawerma wrap was so small I could eat 10 of them. Well for the price ($8) you pay for a stupid wrap that does not even come with a pickle on the side, that would be make me angry. Another thing, the coke was $3.70 for a glass. Now that is outrageous, I don't care what anybody says.
Parking on the street was hell since you have to feed the stupid meter until you run out of money for the food. What is wrong with San Francisco anyhow.
Sorry, but I am not going back there again.
OK, I admit it - we tried this place because of the name. How can you pass up Good Frickin Chicken??? Funny thing is, hubby got the rotisserie chicken. I got lamb over rice. HAHA!
The rotisserie chicken is their specialty. Delicious roasted chicken with a fantastic combination of spices. Perfect with a side of mac & cheese or rice pilaf. I had the Mansar. Yummy chunks of fall off the bone lamb, over rice with a yogurt sauce on the side. So good. They give you a ton of rice. I ended up eating all the lamb and taking the rest of the rice home.
Don't forget to try the Falafel app. So flavorful. I could eat a dozen of these by myself.
Service was very friendly and quick.
This place landed itself a solid spot on my "will go ahead soon" list.
Maybe it was because I wasn't feeling this place from the beginning. I really was expecting FRIED chicken not Mediterranean. Yeah, I should have read their sign closer... I know.
THE FOOD: We started with the hummus and pita which I could have eaten all day long, Yes, it was that good and should not be missed. The "whole meal" comes with a salad and if you like lettuce that is ice cold because they made the salad hours before and its been sitting in a cooler, than you'll go gaga over this. We each had a chicken in a pita that were very different from each other. Mine was white meat with a hint of citrus and had a pickle mixed in. KTPower's was more of dark meat with nuts mixed in. You'll have to make the call here, if you like either one. I don't think we did. The mac and cheese side was anything but flavorful - so bland, so bad.
THE SERVICE: Both servers were very attentive and couldn't have been nicer. They actually saved the meal from being a really bad night out to something we can joke about.
I ate at Good Frickin Chicken for the first time last night, with my husband and two guests. The place was recommended to me for its enjoyable, tasty food, convenient (for me) location, and very reasonable prices. I had the deluxe Falafel wrap, which was unusual and also delicious. Servings were generously proportioned, and our servers were lovely.
It took about 15 minutes to find a parking place. If you're meeting people I'd allow time to find a place to put the car, if you're driving.
The restroom is downstairs, in case you need it while you're dining. Several signs point the way.
And though the restaurant was a bit warm, our server cheerfully offered to keep the back door open so we could enjoy a cool breeze during dinner.
All in all, dining here was a pleasant experience.
If you like a good piece of white or brown chicken that will not break the bank, GFC will hit the spot.
Three of my friends and I went to GFC this past Saturday evening and ordered a whole Open Flame chicken, and a half Rotisserie chicken. To begin our dinner pre-chicken, we enjoyed two orders of the hummus and pita bread...YUM! The hummus is true to taste and creamy, while the pita is soft, flavorful, and compliments this hummus perfectly.
Both chickens were moist, juicy, and flavorful. However, the Rotisserie chicken was slightly more moist than the Open Flame chicken. The chicken at GFC is definitely GOOOD Freakin Chicken!
*** 3.5 star rating ***
First of all, I fell for the name "Goood Frikin Chicken" thought it was a Fried Chicken place, my bad, should have read the yelp review first.
Again, NO FRIED CHICKEN!!!
So in fact the chicken was good, I had open flamed, my husband had rotisserie. We ordered rice which was okay, the potatoes were really good, I didn't care for the olive oil pita, I like my plain, but my husband really liked his. Service was fair. Parking is metered street parking at about $3.00 an hour on the meter...ouch. We used a http://restaurant.com gift certificate so that made the meal reasonable!!!
Don't know if I would travel to SF specifically to eat here. There are so many WONDERFUL places in the city, it is hard for me to go back to one that doesn't dazzle.
This place lives up to it's name. The chicken is goood. I particularly like the open flame and lemon rotisserie chickens, although I go back and forth on which one is better (probably open flame). With a meal, you get a side, a salad, and a pita bread. Both the mac and cheese and the house potatoes are good for sides, and the pita bread is delicious!
The only knock on the place is the price. You get a lot of food though, so I guess that's okay.
Also, they often run out of the two chickens I mentioned above, because they marinate them overnight so they only have a certain amount prepared for the day. So go early if you want to make sure you get their best items.
LOOOOVE this place.
Every time my sister comes to visit with her entire family from LA they request to come to this place.
The chicken is yummy and the olive oil pita bread dipped in the aioli is soo delicious.
We also love to get the vegetarian plate to have the assortment of flavors to go with the chicken and pita. My daughter always enjoys the cinammon spiced potatoes.
After you are done, you'll be pleasantly surprised by the reasonable prices.
Ok, I admit it did not yelp this place before trying it either and let me tell you - I was not impressed!
I ordered the open flame chicken meal: Salad was "blah". The chicken was ok...it was not "good" in my opinion but still ok. The rice (which was plentiful) was pretty good though. The pita I really liked but could tell I would be doing extra time on the elliptical later on...oh and the little "cup" of sauce.....not impressive. I mean come on, just put it in a real bowl or on the side or something! It just made me feel like paying the $17 (w/ tip) was way too much if I have to like try and dip something in a cup not big enough to stick even part of the pita in, let alone my fork...either way it had my breath hummin for the day...LOL
Anyhow....moving on. The place itself was very empty (and at 12 noon on mission st. I don't think that is a good sign!) and looked pretty clean and the server was nice, but the bathrooms down the stairs - so ridiculous!
Oh, and the angry looking woman at the top of the stairs puffing her cancer stick evil-eyeing me as I went down to the bathroom was a total turn off - even more so when on my way up I figured out she WORKED THERE!
Yeah, like I said; I was not impressed.
I came in here on a friday at like 500 and it was empty! The salad was simple but still good. I had the chicken schwarma and my bf had the lamb shwarma and house potatoes. I liked the cinnamon on the potatoes! I also thought the bathroom placement was kind of cool. I used the bathroom and liked the courtyard surrounded by apartments, very mission I thought.
I won't beleaguer the nice-restaurant-dodgy-neighborhood parts, but here are the hilights.
* roti chicken - exTREMELY tender, nicely seasoned, and not just the outside skin. I like that they take the time to season underneath so your herb flavor is throughout
* mac n cheese - disappointing. Overdone for my taste, though to their credit it was not the smooth-velveeta kind, but rather from more authentic cheeses
*salad - nice dressing. Unlike a certain other mediterranean place I went to recently, I could tell that the lemons were freshly squeezed, and not byblos bottled lemon.
* hilight of the meal - the olive-zathar pitas. Worth going back for just for these.
* bonus points for a delightful, spacious place, warmly decorated, and the pretty mural work on the interior wall. From the outside, you would never guess this place was so charming.
One of my favorite restaurants in SF. I am not a creature of habit but after my first visit I haven't ventured out to try anything else, the dish I get (and crave all the damn time) is so good!
I always get the half rotisserie chicken as a complete meal with the mac 'n cheese as a side. It also comes with a delicious salad (sometimes they tend to put a bit too much dressing on it, so at times it's a litle too much vinegar but generally it's great), seasoned pita bread and a delicious garlic spread (I always ask for a second because I dip everything in it!)
If you go to http://restaurants.com you can get a $25 certificate for only $12 or so. Of course there are some "rules" to using it (have to spend $35, added gratuity, etc.) but it's absolutely worth it.
The staff have always been extremely friendly and attentive, the service is always fast.
I did not yelp this place before trying it. Based on the establishment name, I thought it'd be some good ol' fried chicken... but it wasn't. I was a bit disappointed but decided to try it anyways.
It was actually good! The spices and flavor of the chicken skin was delicious! The pita bread was amazing also! But I think the star was their Mac & Cheese. Yum.
I got the food to-go, and they were very quick!
In my opinion, if you like fried chicken and mediterranean/greek flavors, this is the place to go (except the chicken is not fried, so its healthier right? :] ). Only downfall was, that the chicken was a bit dry (breast part); the leg was pretty moist though.
The Rotisserie Chicken (marinated in Garlic Lemon sauce) was FRIKIN good! Full of flavor, JUICY and very tender...ordered the full meal and it came with a whole chicken, 2 side salads, 4 slices of pita (deliciously SOAKED with olive oil & crusted in herbs) and an additional side of choice. They have one section dedicated to take-out orders and one full chicken meal ($20) is enough to feed 3 people.
They charged us 20% tip for very very MEH service so that was a bit annoying...(did not refill our drinks, piece together our tables, etc.). Overall the food was worth the annoyance.
good lamb shawarma, wrapped up in pita with roasted vegetables. good hummus. good side salad. nothing mind-blowing in comparison to other shawarma venues, such as "Flames" by my office downtown. of course, i haven't yet tried the chicken, just the lamb ;)
I had to go in just because I wanted to know is it really good frickin chicken? yes I ordered the chicken and YES it was Frickin good! Moist and very flavorful. They have really good freshly made pita too! I've been here 3 times already and the last time I went there I noticed the expanded the place, must be doing very well!
Ooovercoooked Frikin Chicken. Unfortunate, because besides that, it had a lot of potential.
I decided to go simple--half a flame-grilled chicken with no sides. A check in the plus column for the olive oil-soaked pita with Middle Eastern spices, as well as for the little cup of garlic spread (like Greek skordalia, if you're familiar with that) that came with. The chicken marinade was delectable. Sadly, the chicken itself was extremely overcooked to the point of dry rubberiness, a problem exacerbated by the fact that the thigh had been relieved of its skin. The dark meat actually had less moisture than the white meat--going against the forces of nature and all that is holy.
I will probably give them another chance, perhaps mentioning my previous experience. Properly cooked, this could have been a stellar meal.
3.5 Stars
Definitely a fan!
*Good authentic food
*Good space for big groups
*Good portions
*Recommendation:
Open Flame Chicken, Lamb Shawerma, Kefta Kabab, Roasted Lamb leg
The name of the restaurant calls for FALSE ADVERTISEMENT!!
Should be renamed: Ooook Frikin Chicken
Do they eat Mac and Cheese in the Mediterrenean? How come I never knew? The reason why I'm saying this is beyond the Med. food served here like hummus, schwarmas, etc, they also have mac and cheese. Weird? Yes. Good? NO. Please Avoid.
I opted for a $20 lunch because the words "RIB EYE" got me. I'm a sucker for steak & marbelized fat (aka rib eye) so I ordered this plate. My rib eye also came with 2 sides so I got some flatbread and mac&cheese. I must say I was not too pleased. The rib eye wasn't THAT juicy and succulent and the mac and cheese was soooo soft a baby without teeth could eat it. The chicken was a bit on the dry side so you must consume it with their garlic yogurt sauce. Other than that, everything's just ooook.
What I will rave about is their really delicious FLATBREAD that is served with your meals. Their amazingly seasoned flatbread is also served when you either order hummus or babaganoosh (eggplant hummus), which btw, are both delicious.
I would return to Ooook Frikin Chicken for their hummus and babaganoosh!
Ok, This Chicken is frickin' amazing! I walked past this shop yesterday and saw their clever sign. I thought "I have to try this and see if it really is that good."
Well let me tell you this is the best chicken I've maybe ever had! Even the next day when it's reheated, it's juicy, tender and frickin' delicious! The Zatar bread and garlic butter they give you with it is addictive too! I'll be back here to try their shwarma and open flame chicken!
Never went here because my group has a vegetarian and it didn't seem like a place that caters to veggies, but it does! Its really a Mediterranean restaurant that sells good chicken. Nothing fancy, very clean. But bathrooms are located outside in a residential courtyard where you have to descend stairs to get to it. I was freaked out cause it was dark and sorta like a nightmare on elm street episode, but the actual bathroom was very pleasant.
The only thing I didn't like was the rice pudding. Strangely dry and the rose water that was used gave it an unappealing after taste.
Had out of town guests who were on a budget, so last night I tried eating in at GFC again.
Happy to report dramatic improvements in salad dressing and service, the former was not sour at all, the latter was at the level of a much higher end restaurant.
The standards were solid per usual, and my soup of the day -- lentil, was very nice -- delicately spiced.
They have a new starter since last I went -- an aged yogurt that is yummy and probably very probiotic.
The chicken was good, a nice way to satisfy the chicken urge without getting into dangerous fried… Read more »
Not as goood as they make it out to be. The entrees are huge and filling and at a great price. I had the mac and cheese side along with the rice pilaf. Both sides were tasty but the winner is definitely the pita bread that comes with the meal! Now that was GOOOD! The chicken was kind of dry to be honest! A huge disappointment for a restaurant with a name exclaiming how good its chicken is.
However the service was exceptional! I made reservations for a large party and the waiters were ready to serve us when we arrived. They even turned off the lights when sang happy birthday to our friend! Yay to great service!
Great food and great service.
I heard good stuff about this place and thought would give it a try. We had to start the lebnah w/ bread, then for the entree, we had open flame chicken and the mansaf.
Lebnah was okay... bf says that he's had it before and it tasted like it came from a can, but the bread was seasoned nicely.
Open flame chicken was very good- especially the spicing gave it a good flavor.
Mansaf was pretty good- very big portion.
I thought the service was okay/awkward- we had ordered baked beans for the side and they made a mistake and came with hummus. When we told the server, she checked her notebook, then blamed the kitchen, then asked if we still wanted the hummus which was on the plate?! (what was she going to do, scrape it off?). Then she said that she wouldn't charge us extra for the hummus... even though it was their mistake.
All in all, food was pretty good, menu items were a little strange (mac and cheese, baked beans?), but didn't care for the service.
This place should be called Goood Frikin Everything! I am not a chicken lover and I looove their chicken, preferably the rotisserie one. My friends and I go there regularly even though the parking sucks. It is worth circling around for 30 minutes on these metered streets. The pre-entree items are enough to win you over. The fresh pita bread is the best I've ever had. It even beats most places in the real Mediterranean. The hummus dip will make you want to order more even though it comes with your dinner too. The chicken comes tender, juicy, and full of flavor. I also am not a fan of dessert but even when I'm stuffed full, I still order their kenafeh. Make sure you tell the server before you finish your dinner if you want their kenafeh because it does take a while to make and it is worth it!
More bonuses - beer and wine is cheap (less than $3/glass). And I don't care if Mac & Cheese is not Mediterranean - it rocks here!
I've seen GFC a hundred times before I actually decided to come in & try it. At first, I thought it was down home soul food southern type of cookin'. Isn't that what the name suggests?! I guess not so much. It's actually not very traditional Mediterranean food! Not that I know what traditional Mediterranean food really is, but I'm pretty sure it's not mac & cheese & baked beans (both very good sides, by the way.)
You are warned: parking in the area sucks, but the restaurant itself is never actually busy. I've been here a few times & there is one really friendly waitress. The rest are pissed off as hell to be there, which is fine because they refill my water glass when it needs to be and they bring my order out correctly everytime.
I think this place is comparable to Zankou Chicken in LA (for my So Cal peeps-holla!!!) Falafel & garlic dip is HELLA good. Their chicken kabab plate is very good, but the portion is a little small if you're really hungry. I've had their chicken shawerma salad & that's good too. When I am in one of my "Ohhh, look at me. I'm a righteous vegetarian" mood, I love their vegetarian combo plate for it's hummus & baba ghanoush. If you're looking for a larger portion, get the rotisserie chicken meal.
Their baklava is very good (i prefer the pistachio over the walnut, but you be the judge.) DO NOT let them talk you into trying their special dessert Kenafeh-- i think it was a baked cheese covered in honey & pastry noodles? I'm not against trying new & even weird things, but this wasn't weird in a good way. I could just feel my arteries hardening with every bite. Don't get it, but try the baklava.
It may be hard to over look the cheesy decor, but if you can get over it, you will be rewarded with a cheap & flavorful meal.
1 word...DRY
"Goood Frikin Chicken" -- the name is so appealing that we decided to give it a try to see if its really that frikin good.
Well it was pretty frikin good I must say. The hummus was frikin goood, the chicken shawarma was also frikin goood and so was the salad- their french fries were frikin good too! The waitresses here were all frikin nice!
All in all this place was really frikin goood and I will definitely be back!!!
OK, I have serious qualms with paying $9 for a skimpy ass lamb lavash that was mostly bread. I can't believe how much I paid for that wrap--absolutely ridiculous. The lamb wasn't even that good--thin sliced, tasted vaguely marinated, and super skimped on the meat portion. The sauces were OK, lettuce was wilted and bland diced tomatoes made it thoroughly disappointing. Couldn't even finish it--I got almost 3/4 through and the rest was flatbread. I guess I should've known better and gotten some chicken, since that seems to be what they do best. Service was not very hospitable.
If they continue to charge these ludicrous prices (which seems to be paying for their recent remodel) I don't think they'll survive. Good luck GFC.
Indeed - it is good chicken. Not bad but not great.
The rotisserie chicken was flavorful and moist. I'd definitely favor it over the chickens from the grocery stores and Costco.
The portions are good value, and the accompanying olive oil pita is addictive. The mac and cheese was so and so - I should have went with my first instinct and gone for the hummus.
I'd like to try them again, and explore their menu a bit more.
Good food. Too pricey. No offense, but the prices are a little too high for quality and quantity.
GFC ain't no KFC, that's for sure. But is it really that "goood"?
Despite what other Yelpers have been raving about, my chicken was on the dry side and was far from tender. The seasoning was great, but an off night with the rotisserie, perhaps?
The best thing about the meal was their olive oil pita bread and hummus. I could nosh on that for days. Their mac n cheese is pretty good -- thick and creamy, just the way I like it (puh-lease, get your mind out of the gutter, right now).
You definitely get a good bang for your buck, as each entree comes with a salad and a side dish. And if you order chicken, you'll receive their complimentary pita and garlic dip. But needless to say, I wouldn't venture out here just for their "not-so-goood" frikin chicken.
This place is weird. I've walked by this restaurant on Mission many times and assumed they served soul food. Doesn't the name make it sound like deep fried Southern food? So we went in expecting that and instead found a large, empty Mediterranean restaurant.
The food was mostly dry and bland. My brother's cheeseburger had no cheese and my Deluxe Falafel lacked flavor and sufficient juices. It wasn't bad, but it didn't have any kick. Our friend (the only one who actually ate the frikin chicken) said it was "okay," but I can tell you, it was definitely NOT an enthusiastic okay.
We dined here on a whim and will probably not come back. Maybe if I really wanted a falafel wrap, I would come back ($8 for a 2-meal sized wrap wasn't bad, as long as I can add plenty of hot sauce and maybe some extra hummus and tzatziki).
Pretty good chicken.
Really.
I avoided this place for YEARS based solely on the asinine name.
I know I'm picky.
I can't help it.
It really bugs the hell out of me.
What's with all the o's?
What does "frikin" mean?
It's not a cleaned up version of f**king because it would have to have 2 f's.
Right?
Aaargh.
Enunciation makes me feel better.
But good food goes a long way too.
And we've been quite pleased by what we've had here so far.
Open flame chicken (herbal marinade), rotisserie chicken (garlic/lemon marinade), macaroni & cheese, falafel, hummus.
Friendly staff.
Convenient "to go" side of the restaurant.
Works for me.
so, it's not zanku chicken down in la, but it's a close second. and the garlic spread is a must.
Decccent frickin chicken.
After having passed this place about a million times it was about time to give it a shot. It's been around for a handful of years so they should be doing something right. First of all, I'm not the biggest fan of chicken. I have it fried mostly. I'm big on Popeye's, when I'm craving it, El Pollo Loco and when I'm in LA Zankou and Versailles are a must. So after passing by for the millionth and and first time it was time to give it a shot (I feel the same about Palace Steak on Mission and Army - I will yelp it as soon as I give it a shot, which will be soon because there ain't anything on TV no more).
Good.... The breads were good, mac and cheese was good... The Chicken (Grilled) was OK, not at all Frickin good... The three stars are actually a solid 2.5.
Service was friendly and attentive. The place isn't cheap for what you get. Over all the experience wasn't bad. I'll probably give this place another shot to get the Rotisserie Chicken. Maybe that'll sway me to say it's Goooood... We'll see.
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