Yikes a 2.5 average rating for this Chick-fil-A after 200+ reviews?! Well after my visit, I completely understand why, leading to the ever so important question of "Do I round up or down here?"
I recently received a reward for a free chicken sandwich thanks to LAFC (Los Angeles Football Club). In case you're not familiar with this, fans in the Greater LA region can score a free chicken sandwich anytime within the next three days after LAFC wins a home game. Four days if one of those days falls on a Sunday, a Sabbath Day for Chick-fil-A.
I wasn't totally sure if San Clemente, the southernmost city in Orange County, would count as the Greater LA area, but I was more than willing to try. There's only one Chick-fil-A in San Clemente, and it's on the outskirts of the Outlets at San Clemente. It's literally the first thing you see as soon as you exit the 5 freeway heading south, but you can't go straight. Instead, you'll have to make a right, and then two immediate lefts. I made a third left so I could park my car by the sidewalk.
If you're heading north, you'll have to cross the bridge over the freeway in order to get to this Chick-fil-A. Either way (north or south), you'll want to look for the Avenida Vista Hermosa exit.
Brandon was the one who took my order, and he was pretty cool and welcoming at first. However, he completely faltered when I asked him about the sauce that looks like Chick-fil-A sauce, but comes in the smaller sauce packets. He kept insisting that I was talking about the Chick-fil-A sauce even though I said it wasn't the Chick-fil-A sauce and it wasn't in those rectangular tubs. I was flustered enough that I just said "fine" to the Chick-fil-A sauce. This is something I do to get a feel for service at any Chick-fil-A location, and this was sadly the first time where an employee could not catch on to what I meant, even with some tells.
This might have been a precursor of what was going to happen next. Keep on reading.
In addition to the sandwich, I asked for water. Usually at any other Chick-fil-A, I'd get a styrofoam cup with or without an insulated sleeve, but with a lid on top. However, this was the first time I was given a plastic cup sans lid. I had already said "to go", so it makes me question if they really don't provide lids on drinks to drive-thru customers?? Hopefully not! I had to be careful to not spill any water in my car while driving to my next destination.
How long was the wait? No joke, it was ready as soon as I got my receipt! I was so surprised! The employee who handed me my bag seemed pretty cool as well, but neglected to say "My pleasure", a phrase that should be ingrained in every Chick-fil-A team member to the point where they naturally say it after receiving thanks.
They have a couple of counters with some other sauce packets, none of which I had asked for in the first place. However, they did have some good old-fashioned mustard and mayo, which you can never go wrong with on any sandwich. And yup, they were definitely much needed after a long day of work that day.
After finishing my sandwich, I needed to use the restroom. There's a small hallway in the middle of the dining room that leads to the restrooms, and no joke, I *nearly* collided with not one, but two employees! One on the way in, and one on the way out. Both employees were in a rush and did apologize albeit quite flippantly that I wouldn't be surprised if both of them regarded such near misses as NBD. Like what's the rush guys?? The way these two employees behaved made me think they care more about speed over customer safety. I was nursing a sore knee and ankle from a bad spill I took last week; I don't know if my knee could have taken another one...
There were *a lot* of tables inside. No joke, this is probably one of the biggest Chick-fil-A locations I've ever seen in person, and this is just one counterexample of the theory that bigger is better. However, the decor inside from Halloween to the surfboards in the far corner were conducive to a family-friendly atmosphere. If you'd rather dine outside instead, they have a few tables between the front door and the drive-thru entrance.
Parking in front of the restaurant is commensurate with the capacity of the restaurant's interior. Even in a packed house during peak hours, I can't see anybody having difficulty finding an open spot here.
Overall, it was a decent chicken sandwich, especially for (literally, no less) fast food. However, service definitely needs improvement. Difficult to decide between 2 or 3 stars as I would have given a solid 5 stars if ratings on this review platform were out of 10 instead of 5 stars. However, I think it'd be a nice place to stop by for a chicken sandwich after a long day of shopping at the Outlets. For me, I'm more likely to stop by another Chick-fil-A just off the 5 in another Orange County city that also starts with San. If you're not sure where that is, it's the next closest location to here. read more