Joe S.
Yelp
Saucy is a new (late 2024) concept from KFC, formerly known as Kentucky Fried Chicken. I feel like Colonel Sanders's Great Great Grandkids got together and were like "Whoa dude... let's take Pop-Pop Harland's delicious food and recipe and change a few things about it and start a new restaurant that just serves everyones favorite food.... chicken tenders... Kinda like Raising Cane's but instead of one sauce... let's make a bunch".
Ordering (inside at least) is through a kiosk. I will say to pay attention to the pics as some "combos" have fries, and some do not. So pay attention! I was there twice and each time someone came by to assist with ordering. It's usually just fighting with the terrible response of the touch screen, and having to tap in specific areas rather than the entire big picture. It's a bad UX, but I'm a software guy so I pick at the little annoying things too much. Merlin had the best UI Ever!
The food comes out fairly quickly, and the tenders have been hot and juicy each time... Oops, is "Hot and Juicy" a Wendy's Trademark? Sorry Dave. Maybe you and the Colonel can fight it out in hell! Back to the tenders... I'll say the chicken part is cooked nicely... completely cooked but super soft meat inside. The breading stayed on as I ate it (unlike Raising Canes which falls off) which was nice, but it was a bit too salty for me.
For fries, they're nice and crispy, but on each visit, they weren't piping hot, they weren't cold but could have been more fresh. They DO give you a lot of them though. I was full on a 3 tender meal due to the amount of fries. The Medium Drinks seem like smalls at other places, so they could do better there with sizes of cups.
Also each time, they called my name at the counter, then as I'm walking up to get my order, someone carried it to my table. Either pick one... Deliver it or don't call my name! Both made me look dumb. (Raising Canes calls your name and you go get it... simple and not embarrassing). It was like I was escorting someone to my table. Also each time, they gave the food and then came over with the drinks. There's too many people working there standing around.
The real disappointment was with the sauces... which is what Saucy is supposed to be about. I think I tried 6 of them so far and not one was a WOW. For me, nothing beats McDonald's Sweet and Sour, but that was one of the OG sauces. It's all personal taste, so be your own judge there. At least there's more than one (Sorry again, Raising Cane's). Extra Sauces are only 40 cents so I got the Honey Mustard for French fry dipping. And if you leave a positive review on Google, you can get a FREE SAUCE!!! Way to incentivize... "Hey man, if you tell the word how great we are, I got 4 shiny dimes for you!"
They have dessert in a "can" which seems like a "modern" throwback to their little bucket parfaits from back in the day! They're 4 bucks each which is a lot so I skipped. It's like they're making "easter eggs" to see if you see the KFC call-backs.
Overall, the tenders are good and the meal was 8.99 which is pretty reasonable these days. That's for 3 Tenders, Fries, one sauce, a Kings Hawaiian toasted bun half and a Medium Drink. Weekdays around 5:30 seem like the sweet spot for no crowds.
I just don't get it, why not just launch "New Tenders" and "11 Sauces" at KFC without all the rebranding and such. And let me get Mac N Cheese and Nashville Hot and Gravy all other stuff a KFC already has. Sure, it's young and hip and bright and pink, but bottom line, KFC is a known brand and I'd rather just have that back, and have these tenders as an option.