Pili Pili

I’m always looking to find tasty and relatively cheap choices in Ottawa to make it a weekly thing and I think I found a new one to add to the list. One thing is for sure though, you should ALWAYS call to pre-​order, as it takes about 40 mins to cook the chicken.
The location is relatively small with few seating space but I was able to find a spot every time. There isn’t much to say about the service, just friendly people taking your order and bringing the food to your table.
The chicken is obviously the star every time as it is superbly seasoned and just the right level of spice. I would suggest sharing the whole chicken meal as you get every part of the chicken. The meal usually comes with an aromatic serving of rice, a very fresh tasting salad and the plantains which were sweet and cooked to perfection.
Prices are fair and portions are decent. Would highly recommend if you are in the neighbourhood.

I would like to share a story, in hopes that beyond any other review I post this one will catch your attention.
A week after my last post regarding my Pili Pili’s takeout order I received a call from the company who was responsible for the delivery of my food (I apologize that I forgot the company name, however the owner that I spoke to was amazing). Apparently small/​big restaurants hire a food delivery company to deliver orders for them instead of hiring their own employees (brilliant!).
Anyway, this owner had read my review and wanted to set the record straight. She let me know that the time frame of my foods arrival and the driver’s resistance to give me change was unacceptable and was independent of Pili Pili’s service. Whaaa??? First off I can’t begin to explain how completely blown away I was to have a company owner even read my Unilocal post, let alone take the time to call me and apologize for her employee.
This is what customer service should look like, and what has made me a loyal customer to both businesses (once I find out what it is of course.)
I would like to thank this delivery company for the most amazing customer service I have experienced in a long time, and for renewing the reputation of my favourite chicken spot. I have no other words for this experience but… awesome!

This place rocks! I came here today after I spent 2 months in my hometown of New Glasgow, NS wanting to try it. So these guys are from Burkina Faso from my understanding, which is a country in west Africa you don’t hear a lot about… So if any of you have tried YKO it’s kind of the same deal. I was really disappointed by YKO so I was excited to try something else to compare it to.
I ordered the ¼ chicken breast meal and next time I’m clearly ordering the ½ chicken or the full chicken. The service was great, they were so friendly and they took my name and whenever they asked me something (what do I want on my salad, spicy or not spicy, etc) they would call me by name which I thought was kind of nice, made it feel like they knew me haha. They told me it would take 35 minutes but it actually took 45, I was kind of stupid and thought it would just be a good idea to walk in instead of preordering, definitely call your order in. All together my meal came to $ 12, the portions weren’t huge but they weren’t small either.
To get to the food, the salad was good, fresh ingredients, just ranch or balsamic dressing but it was a nice healthy component of the meal I suppose. The rice was really underwhelming, I found it kind of bland but I mixed some of my chicken into it and it was a lot better after that. The plantains were delicious, not mushy or overcooked, just right. The chicken though, OH MAN. The chicken was DELICIOUSSSSSSSS. I must have looked barbaric when I was eating it, I devoured it. I am judging myself right now. Ok, so I ordered mine spicy, I wouldn’t say it was really spicy but it had a little kick to it, it was unbelievably flavorful and tender. I can’t put my finger on what they seasoned it with, I definitely tasted lemon though. It was just an explosion of flavor and I’d say it is highly addictive because I want more. Immediately.
–1 star for the bland rice, it could be better I’m sure. If they just threw some of that seasoning in it I would eat a bucket of it.

I drove by this place and saw a big sign outside and I’m pretty sure it was kismet!
I came in and could smell the delicious wood charcoal and chicken. No question asked I ordered the half chicken combo that comes with salad, rice and plantains. They tell you to order ahead of time because they cook their chicken fresh to go and it takes time!!!
Anyways I was a little worried how long they were cooking the chicken for but really you can’t argue with the chef, he absolutely knows what he’s doing! When they assembled my platter I realized that there was way to much food which means LUNCH!!!
This place gets an automatic 4 stars for cooking the chicken perfectly moist with a great outer flavour. You can order the chicken regular or spicy and of course I ordered spicy, which has some heat. The rice is actually solid and the plaintains were good. The salad I got was massive and they give you a choice of dressing. I think they’d be over the top if they came up with their own salad dressing.
This place is take away only. I HIGHLY recommend calling ahead of time to place your order. I will post a picture of their menu at some point for people who want to take away. I would assume someone could wait over 45 minutes for their chicken depending when they show up for food.