This week saw a slight departure from the usual procedure: while Charco’s Chicken has seating for around 30 people at any given time, the decision was made to make use of their main function as a takeaway outlet and dine at the home of Brains and the Deliberator.
And what a takeaway outlet it is. Don’t be sucked in by the name – not only is Charco’s chicken range not just limited to the charcoal variety (they also specialise in Portuguese spicy "flat" chicken, barbecued chicken, chicken nuggets and chicken drumsticks among others), they are the one-stop shop for take-away food. You name it, they do it: souvlaki, burgers, lasagna, schnitzel, ribs and a variety of other solid take-away fare. They even do a sideline in vegetables, including (amazingly) scalloped potatoes in creamy sauce. And it doesn’t end there – you can wash down your feast with coffee or a selection of icecream sundaes and milkshakes. And it’s halal to boot!
Staff were extremely well-presented, efficient and friendly. And wise: the Sponge was advised against the excessive application of vinegar to the chips to avoid sogginess on the journey home (advice which was followed to the benefit of all – see below).
Unfortunately, the Deliberator and the Sponge (being the appointed purchasers of said takeaway) were completely overwhelmed and bamboozled by the dazzling array of snacks on offer and so decided simply to judge the establishment on its flagship: chicken and chips.
The food was a delight. The chips were golden brown, crispy and covered in just the right amount of oil (prompting the Sponge to proclaim them the Best Chips on Beaufort Street (thus far…)). The portuguese chicken was spicy and cooked to perfection. This was a particular favourite of the Deliberator, who monstered almost an entire bird down to the bone (think of those old documentaries showing a cow being stripped by a school of piranhas in 20 seconds flat).
In all, Charco’s Chicken are the benchmark of the Beaufort Street takeaway merchants. The BSBs cannot recommend it enough, although be prepared to spend a little time there as you negotiate their American-sized array of goodies.
In summary:
Service: Very friendly and efficient.
Food: Top notch.
Ambience: Take-away shop chic (although our experience was limited due to dining off-site)
Highlight: The chips
Lowlight: The sheer size of the menu (sorry, but we had to include one.)
Rating: 4 charcoal chicken drumsticks out of 5.
Will we be back: Definitely. This place is a wealth of unexplored riches.
Details: Charco’s Charcoal Chicken, 971 Beaufort Street, Inglewood WA 6052. Phone: 9371 3700
Coming up: The Beaufort Street Bloggers, possibly with a special guest, will be spending a romantic Valentine's Day meal together at the Banyan Tree Indian Restaurant.
4 comments:
Much better than Nandos, and halal too!
We have had a couple of dud experiences there recently...so don't know if things have changed since you went.
Both times we have been, we've been overcharged...maybe just coincidence!
Second time we went thought we would try something different from chicken and chips. Pide was great! Highly recommended! However, everything else ranged from pretty average to inedible.
Ribs were okay although very fatty, turkish bread was fine, greek salad was bearable...but hummus was absolutely awful! Went in the bin without even making it to the table!
So surprised...thought the hummus would be a definite winner...
Anyway...maybe it was an off night...but we won't be back there quickly!
Most of my order for two people (a rack of ribs, potato salad, Portuguese chicken and chips) went straight into the bin. The potato salad was revolting and inedible, to the point where even tasting it was a bad idea. The dressing was completely solid and waxy -- I assume some kind of fat had solidified through refrigeration. Bleugh.
The (lamb) ribs had a lovely sauce on them, but were inedibly fatty. Not realizing the shop was halal, we were expecting pork ribs and were disappointed to receive lamb ribs instead. They were picked at but 9/10 of the rack ended up in the bin. Lamb fat has such an overpowering flavour that the ribs were just not appetising.
The fries were fine, on a par with KFC or Nandos, a bit bland and could have done with more salt. All the fries were eaten.
The chicken was extremely dry, though the marinade was spicy and tasty. In fact it was so dry that despite being hungry, most of this ended up in the bin too.
All in all, we're just glad to have escaped food poisoning.
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