Restaurant Review of Sonoma Chicken Coop

A visit to Sonoma Chicken Coop in San Jose on a Friday night is like stepping into a casual movie scene. With its soft, gentle lighting and soothing background music, the restaurant creates a fun atmosphere that has customers anticipating and savoring every moment of their dinner ahead. The theme of this restaurant may be called "Inexpensive Excellence". Although it might be classified as a fast-food dine-in restaurant, Sonoma Chicken Coop has a trendy set-up, high-quality menus, and well-balanced and lovingly garnished meals like any other fine dining restaurant.

The Market Street entrance is nondescript. Try the San Pedro Square entrance, which reveals a pretty little courtyard, highlighting a water fountain and a fireplace at the center, surrounded by dining tables and chairs. At the front entrance, the menus are stacked on a small round table with a sign informing customers to place their orders at the counter before seating themselves. At the back entrance, the menus are housed up on a stand, with bottles of wine stored underneath for customers to purchase.

We entered from Market Street and there was no host or hostess at the doors to greet and seat the guests. It was not until we read the sign that we knew what the concept of this restaurant was about. There were no menus left, so we made our way to the back of the restaurant and found some menus on the stand with the wine bottles, near the counter where customers place their orders. This method is more pleasant than it sounds. The kitchen is very much open air so that customers are able to catch sight of chefs at work.

The menu revolves around rotisserie chicken but there are other options that people can choose from such as pizza, seafood, pasta, and food cooked from the grill. As we walked up to the counter to place our orders, the line was short, as it was late in the evening, a little after 9pm. The restaurant's busy hours are usually during lunchtime and early evening. After ordering, we were given a reference number that would be called out by microphone when our food was ready. While we were waiting, we decided we would eat outside on the fine-looking courtyard where most of the crowd was. As we stepped out onto the patio searching for a table, people were darting in and out of the restaurant, balancing drinks and trays with plates of food as they made their way to their tables. This delivery system was one thing that could definitely be improved, especially when the restaurant is busy and filled with people.

The weather was clear, but it was a little chilly; nonetheless the six heaters spread about, as well as the fireplace, kept us warm and comfortable. The dining tables and chairs outside were nothing too fancy. The tables were covered in plain green tablecloths, and the silver chairs were wide and made of plastic. We found an empty table and got seated, and then we watched and listened to the relaxing music of an elder gentleman playing a mix of classical and soft rock pieces with his guitar.

When our number was called, we picked up our trays with our plates of food at another counter and made our way back to our table. The drinks were self-served at a soda fountain where everyone was welcome to refill at any time. Eating utensils were also organized near the soda fountain.

We opened our dinner with the fried calamari ($8.99) and the panko prawn cocktail ($8.99). The calamari was quick-fried with oregano, crushed garlic and parmesan and came with a horseradish cocktail sauce. It was a little on the chewy side, but the taste was good; however it was not the best I've ever eaten. The prawns were served individually on eight skewers and came with a red cocktail sauce dip. It was covered with a light crisp breading; the texture was tender and the taste was very appetizing.

For the main course, I had the Garlic Chicken Alfredo ($8.99) which came with linguini noodles, slices of rotisserie chicken meat, sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms and a creamy roasted garlic sauce. This pasta was very succulent and full of flavor though I thought it contained too much sauce, making the dish rather soupy but still tasty. I also got a taste of the restaurant's specialty, spit-roasted chicken ($6.99 quarter; $8.99 half) which came with a choice of the warm lemon vinaigrette, barbeque, or Coop Au Vin sauces. I tasted the barbeque sauce which was very sweet (the way I like it), balancing the flavor of the chicken. All of the dishes were also complimented with a slice of soft and delicious pizza bread made with tomato sauce, cheese and onions. The friendly staff members were efficient in clearing and cleaning the tables as our plates were emptied.

Halfway through our dinner, we ordered dessert which we picked up in time just as we were finishing our meals. The desserts (all $6.50) menu included dark chocolate fondue, chocolate hockey puck, butterscotch bread pudding, mile high layer cake, and chicken coop egg custard. Our group shared the dark chocolate fondue which came with fresh strawberries, banana slices, pieces of white cake, cinnamon cookies, marshmallows, nuts, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The rich melted chocolate was placed in a bowl at the center over a lit candle.

After finishing dessert, we stayed and took pleasure in the cozy, laid-back atmosphere while many other cliques of young people did the same, engaging in lively conversations. Overall, the Sonoma Chicken Coop is a great place to come with lots of friends or to bring a date to after the movies and enjoy a homely environment with great food at great value!

RATING: 4 chickens!

* It's a fast-food dine-in restaurant with a modish look as if you're in a fine-dining restaurant. The atmosphere is great and enjoyable and the meals are satisfying.