Update 11/22/22: We also tried the Italian version! Click here to read our review.
If you’ve browsed Burger King’s menu recently, you may have noticed that the Ch’King is Mis’sing.
That’s right, it appears Burger King has deserted the paper-pouched Chicken Sandwich Wars with the discontinuation of the Ch’King.
Now I don’t know how you all felt about the Ch’King, but I’m not gonna miss it. I’m gonna miss saying it out loud and sounding like a confused rooster or an old-fashioned cash register, but I didn’t think it stood up against the Popeyes or KFCs of the world. It was ok, but it felt like BK was a little out of its element.
The higher-ups must have felt the same way because the new BK Royal Crispy Chicken Sandwiches are more in line with the traditional fast food chicken sandwiches that existed prior to Popeyes’ game changer. These are less substantial than their big-ticket predecessor but, in my opinion, taste better.
The Classic version consists of a “crispy” white meat chicken fillet topped with lettuce, tomato (not mine. Never mine), and a savory “royal sauce” nestled between a toasted potato bun.
While my chicken wasn’t as crispy as advertised, it was still good. I don’t think it’ll be as highly regarded as the big fat Ch’King patty, and it pales in size to all the other soldiers of the Chicken Sandwich War, but it still passes for a “premium” fast food chicken sandwich.
The big draw of the BK Royal Crispy Chicken was definitely the “royal sauce,” which I think is brand new. I couldn’t find confirmation, so for all I know, this could be a sauce BK has used in the past. Either way, it’s killer. It’s slightly peppery and tastes a bit like parmesan cheese. The flavor profile fits that of a fancy Caesar dressing, and it lives up to its regal name.
Potato buns are just flat out better than the standard sandwich bun, so using them is always a win. Its flavor and texture definitely kicked the sandwich up a notch.
The lettuce was just kinda slopped on my absolute mess of a sandwich, but it was a necessary ingredient. It made this seem like a chicken sandwich topped with a nice savory Caesar Salad.
I imagine the BK Royal Crispy Chicken Sandwiches may not be as popular as their predecessor, but at least they come in multiple flavors such as Spicy, Southern BBQ, and the Classic topped with Bacon and Swiss Cheese. I’m of the opinion that bacon and cheese do almost nothing to enhance a chicken sandwich, but even I think they all sound pretty damn good.
The original long boy Chicken Sandwich still stands as my BK gold standard, but this new sandwich is a strong showing. So, don’t feel so bad if you are bummed about the Ch’King. This BK Royal sandwich is not as big and flashy, but you can still get a classy chicken sandwich at Burger King. Also, let’s be real, in two years, the chain will probably just ax these and start a “Return of Ch’King” campaign anyway.
No matter what happens, I just hope Burger King lets the royal sauce stick around as an add-on or dipping sauce.
Purchased Price: $5.19
Size: N/A
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 670 calories, 41 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 60 milligrams of cholesterol, 1080 milligrams of sodium, 54 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and 23 grams of protein.
I will agree that cheese does not belong on a chicken sandwich!
I whole heartedly disagree! Cheese certainly has a place on a chicken sandwich if that’s what you’re going for. I’m guessing that you aren’t into chicken parms, chicken cordon bleus, etc. etc. Maybe you just mean that it doesn’t belong on the typical fried chicken sandwich?
Yes, thats what I meant Holly May.
i tried it it was so good
I was surprised when I heard the Chking was axed. I thought it was up there with Popeye’s. I agree though that they’ll probably have a return of the Ch’king one day. Maybe they’ll bring back the Yumbo too.
“The original long boy Chicken Sandwich still stands as my BK gold standard, but this new sandwich is a strong showing.” Hmm…seems like it would be pointless to compare the two seeing as how different the two sandwiches are.
The Ch’King was hand breaded, and laborious to make, that coupled with poor sales and staffing issues during the pandemic led to it’s demise. I didn’t care for them personally, they had a weird taste to them.
I do like this new version, in particular, the spicy one, but I find the royal sauce to be god awful.
I add cheese, bacon and light onion to the spicy one and it’s been delicious each time.
They’re about to drop some coin on promoting the whopper and coming out with new flavors of it, they’re also bringing back the “have it your way” slogan
Hmm, never realized the slogan wasn’t still a thing.
the patty looks similar to the old school McChicken – the batter being more tempura style instead of bread crumbs. i loved that. gonna try one of these soon.
They are awful. IF you get tomatoes, they are substandard. The lettuce is anything but fresh and crispy and why this is called a “crispy” chicken sandwich is beyond me. Wish I could paste a pic of mine. A picture is worth a thousand words.
I worked at BK one summer in 2000. They had a Caesar sauce they would put on a Caesar chicken sandwich. The royal sauce tastes a lot like that, but with more pepper. Not terrible.
I worked at Burger King in Hobart Indiana in the late 60s. There was no chicken sandwich. There was a fish sandwich and a ham and cheese called the yumbo. They’re big advertising punch was that you can get change back from your dollar when you got a Whopper fries and coke. Sometimes it would be my job to chase pterodactyls out of the parking lot.
Counterpoint: I shed a tear and pour one out for the Ch’King
The Spicy Ch’King was delicious. That was pretty much all I used my Royal Crowns on. R.I.P. Ch’King, gone too soon.
Amen!
The Tender Crisp was the GOAT
yeah it so crispy like the fried chiken at kfc
Now I’m sad. I LOVED the Ch’King! Super crunchy and moist. I opted for ketchup and mayo with lettuce and tomato and NO PICKLE. I loved it. I noticed the chicken in the photos didn’t look nearly as crunchy and that was my favorite thing. I don’t want to order a new sauce for delivery that might ruin the sandwich for me since I rely on delivery because of no car. At some point I’ll get into a BK and try the royal sauce, but until then, I’m sticking with ketchup and mayo.
ketchup? fast food chicken sandwich fail.
I tried the royal bk crispy chicken sandwich today and I threw it out. It tasted disgusting. I don’t know what was in that mayo, but it was inedible and there was too much of it. The breading was also weirdly seasoned and tasted so bad, I could not eat it at all (I tried wiping off the mayo but it was still inedible). Ick.
I tried the new bacon chicken sandwich at Burger King, I found it to be one quarter inch thick fried way too much you can hardly taste the chicken so little of chicken the bun overpowered it I am very disappointed in the amount of chicken on the sandwich they make it out to be their big chicken sandwich it has hardly any flavor and not worth the money at all shame on you Burger King
The sauce is new, I love it! Like you, It reminds me of Caesar dressing – which is my favorite. I prefer their snack wraps to the burger though.