Jason V.
Yelp
I've driven past this place on Sandy several times since moving into the neighborhood, and always thought of it as some sort of Popeye's knock-off, judging from the sign. Honestly, it never held much interest to me, until a friend recommended coming down on a Friday night for their special.
Chicken, I assumed.
Wrong.
Fish and chips.
Wait, what?
"Not just any fish and chips", he said. "The best in Portland!"
There's no way that could be right. I had to prove him wrong.
Thank goodness I'm not a betting man, or I'd have lost my shirt!
OK, so ostensibly, the Wooden Chicken IS a pub. I almost said "just a pub", but that would be snobbish and dismissive. On the inside, it is pretty dive-y, and has all the usual offenders, from poker machines to pool tables, a gallery of taps above the bar, dim interior lighting, neon signs. You get the picture. What I wasn't expecting was it to be packed to capacity at 7pm, and that we'd be forced to sit outside, where the one awesome (but incredibly overwhelmed) server still managed to keep things together and serve us our drinks and entrees in a reasonable amount of time!
My wife and I split the special, a three piece halibut basket, subbing out the fries for jojos, as suggested by our friend. My Old Fashioned was the same sort of muddled, cloudy version encountered at just about any pub or tavern (as opposed to the clear, golden, orange peel adorned version you get at "fancier" places), so it was rather unexciting, but that's about the only thing I can hold against this place.
So, how's the Halibut fish and chips at the Wooden CHICKEN, you ask?! Phenomenal! No joke, the best I've had in Portland, which means the best I've had outside of the United Kingdom. I started to wonder how strong my drink was, as I was seriously doubting the truthfulness of my own taste buds. My wife, however, concurred, and later, reading other reviews of this place, it turns out we're not the only ones to think so. Be warned, though: the three piece special ($15 on Fridays; slightly more any other day of the week) is meal enough for two people, so gauge your hunger level accordingly! Or just take the extra home and enjoy it for later!
After this weekend, I won't be driving by the Wooden Chicken with a dismissive attitude again. I'll be too busy wiping the drool of my chin, or calling up the wife and asking if she's up for fish and chips tonight! I may have to find another route to drive, or I'm going to be making an excessive number of stops here in the future!