Knockout Chicken - Your go to place for all things fried chicken!

Location: 207 Augusta Ave, Toronto, ON M5T 2L4

Intro

Knockout Chicken is your new one stop shop for all things fried chicken in Kensington Market. This halal establishment serves up a wide assortment of items like fried chicken, burgers, and chicken wings. They also serve grilled chicken burgers as a more health-conscious option. Keeping in line with the restaurant name, the menu features some creative boxing-themed items like the K.O Poutine, Uppercut Sandwich, and The Sugar Ray.

The Online Ordering Experience

The website, unfortunately, is rather frustrating to use. I understand that it is still new, but it has one glaring issue: all of the “order now” buttons simply refresh the page instead of taking you to the menu or the takeout delivery page. This is quite an awful oversight, as it took me nearly five minutes to figure out how to order. For those wondering: you have to press either the “takeout” or “delivery” button on the very top of the page to reach the ordering screen.

Click the takeout or Delivery buttons at the very top of the page

Now, when you actually get to the ordering screen, it is organized in a well-thought-out manner. Once you’re ready to check out, you can either pay online or pay in person. One of my gripes with the checkout screen is that there is no place to input any comments or notes to the restaurant. My particular issue was with the daily special, which included chicken wings but no place to select or write down the sauce you wanted, resulting in me receiving un-sauced chicken wings. Note that this is not an issue if you order the chicken wings separately, as there is a drop-down menu for the sauces; it’s only an issue for the daily special.

What I Ordered

I went for the regular-sized K.O. Poutine ($10) along with their Daily Special ($30), coming out to a total of $45.20 after tax. At the time of ordering, the Daily Special included 10 chicken wings, 2 Low Blow fried chicken sandwiches, 4-piece fried chicken, and medium fries.

The Review

K.O. Poutine contains their fresh-cut fries with chicken strips, cheese curds, and gravy. I am happy to report that they actually use real cheese curds in their poutine and they are very generous with the amount of it. The chicken strips are crispy, tender, and provide a nice crunch which perfectly contrasts the soft textures of the cheese and fries. The gravy was well-seasoned and not overpowering. The portion size of the poutine is very generous; it can easily be a meal on its own. This was by far the BEST poutine I’ve had and the perfect item to put you in a food coma for the rest of the day.

The Low Blow Sandwich contains fried chicken, pickles, homemade coleslaw, and their proprietary K.O. sauce. There’s not much to say other than it is a well-made sandwich with a good-sized piece of boneless chicken. The sauce compliments it well, providing a nice kick.

The 4-piece fried chicken and chicken wings have a crispy exterior with a moist and tender interior. When you take a bite, you can taste their unique mix of herbs and spices. It takes you back to a simpler time where things weren’t as complicated. Although the taste reminded me of KFC, I would say this is much better.

Closing Thoughts

Everything I tasted here was absolutely amazing. I especially commend the $30 daily special, which is an incredible value for anyone looking to dine at this place with a group of friends or take home a meal for the family. I would like to see them incorporate the suggestions mentioned in this article, namely improving their online ordering experience. Overall, I would rate this place 4 out of 5 stars.