I'm a Brit who tried Popeyes for the first time, and there's only 1 menu item I wouldn't order again

I'd never been to Popeyes before, but had heard of it from friends and Insider's Food Wars series. 

Popeyes first opened in Westfield Stratford, East London, one of the biggest shopping malls in the UK according to Group Leisure and Travel. As of February 2023, there are 17 Popeyes across the UK, with 20 more to open in the future, as reported by Time Out London.

I visited Popeyes in Romford, which is also in East London. The outside looked bright and fun, but nothing extraordinary. I was curious about what the interior would look like.

There were some cool additions, like a large TV screen in the eating section, which played promotional videos. 

I also really liked the blue, orange, and white color scheme. To me, it opened up the restaurant and made it feel more spacious.

In my experience, this is typical across all UK fast-food restaurants, so I wasn't blown away. 

I ordered from the screen as it was the most convenient. I noticed that the screen didn't give you much flexibility. For example, I only wanted chicken tenders as a side, but I was forced to buy fries alongside as it was only available as a meal.

The machine told me to pick a table flag, and nine minutes later, my food was brought to my table by the waiter. 

This made my experience feel more like a restaurant than a typical fast-food chain, and I appreciated skipping the often annoying wait at the register.

I was impressed with how surprisingly affordable my meal was — I only paid £19.33, or around $24.50.

The burger was delicious. The chicken was juicy, tender, and seasoned to perfection. There was a good amount of sauce and the lettuce gave the perfect crunch.

I also tried the biscuit with honey, but I don't think I'm a fan. I think it would have paired well with something else, but it didn't work on its own for me.

Whenever I cook chicken, I always take off any fat as that's my preference. I don't think it was prepared the same way here, so to me, the chicken tasted a little fattier than I'd have liked. 

I immediately loved it. The texture was perfect and the flavor was delicious. I'd love to eat it on a cold winter's day as it was so comforting.

I really enjoyed the cajun seasoning and didn't feel like it needed to be dipped in sauce.

The milkshake, however, was a little heavy overall. In the future, I'd get it on its own as a snack, rather than part of a meal as it was very filling.

In the UK, we call sodas "fizzy drinks" and say "you guys" instead of "y'all."

Compared to other American fast food chains I've tried like McDonald's and Wendy's, Popeyes felt the most authentic to me since it had items such as biscuits and cajun gravy.

Other than the tenders, I enjoyed everything I tried and would definitely come back again.