Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant8039 Beach Blvd.
Buena Park, CA 90620
714-220-5080
I have lived in the LA area since 1978 but I have never been to Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant. As readers of the New Diner know, I love fried chicken. So it's really surprising that I haven't gone to Mrs. Knott's.
So finally I went and I'm surprised I waited so long. Now the first thing that should be cleared up, you do NOT need to buy a ticket into Knott's amusement park to go to Mrs. Knott's. Also you do NOT have to pay for parking for Mrs. Knott's. All you need to do is enter off of Beach Blvd and go straight into the parking lot.
So I go into Mrs. Knott's and I am greeted by a very nice hostess. We get seated quickly. So things are off to a good start. Our orders are taken quickly. The menu says dinner is served starting at 4pm. The menu is wrong, dinner is served all day. Lunch is served until 4pm. So I ordered the light eater's chicken dinner. The light eater's dinner is two pieces of chicken, you can choose dark or white meat, corn, soup or salad, and mashed potatoes and gravy for $10.50. I got an order of creamy chicken noodle soup because another person in our party didn't want soup.
Before the soup and salad arrive they bring you fresh baked biscuits. Let me tell you they are great. Nice and flakey, with a crunchy crust. The best biscuits I've had in a very long time. The salad is your basic green salad. I know I keep saying somethings are fresh but really how the hell can a restaurant mess up a green salad? The soup was very nice and tasty. There were nice big pieces of chicken and the noodles were tender.
So then the chicken comes. I was very impressed. I started with the breast piece. The skin isn't anything to brag about. It wasn't crispy or flavorful. But the actual meat was sooo moist and juicy. It was great. Maybe the best fried chicken I've had. The wing was also tender and juicy. The mashed potatoes were creamy and tasted like real potatoes. If they are from a box, I'd like to know what box. The gravy was a bit bland but nothing a little shake of pepper couldn't help.
Service was very good. The server allowed me to take the soup after I asked the other person in our party if she wanted the soup or not. He was very helpful and we got top notch service. They have another person who refills all drinks. She came by a lot and we were not thirsty at all.
I was very impressed with Mrs. Knott's. So much so that I would go back again and again. They do have a take out place right next door to the restaurant. It only took me 29 years to go to Mrs. Knott's but it may not take me 29 days to go back. A great place!!!
