Ugo’s Leigh

May 24, 2016 by Rich - Foodie Reviewer

Ugo’s Leigh

I've been out canvassing this week folks. Yep, foodie Rich has been traipsing the streets of Leigh drumming up support for a subject close to my heart. Something I've been passionate about for years, something I could debate and discuss long in to the night. The EU referendum I hear you cry? Forget that! Should we stay, should we go? Who cares! As long our ever evolving food scene continues to grow I couldn't give a monkeys! Nah, I've been canvassing for the Essex Food and Drink Festival! The good people, who organise this great event, got in touch and asked if I wouldn't mind dropping a few leaflets around the area, to bring awareness to this superb foodie fest. Think of me as their south Essex promoter! Well I couldn't say no to these fellow foodies. I jumped at the chance to wander in to bars, cafes, and restaurants and preach the foodie gospel; it's what I'm best at!

So, last weekend, Lou and I packed the rucksack full of promo flyers and headed out for a day of foodie canvassing in Leigh. We had a fabulous time we had, talking food to like-minded gastronauts. What was even better, when we dropped in to a bar, we'd have a little drinkie. In a cafe, maybe a slice of cake! I must say the craft beer refreshment we enjoyed whilst chatting in Henry Burgers was particularly good. That's enough of me plugging the food fest, but if you haven't been why not give it a go. The 16-17th of July at Cressing Temple Barns, a guaranteed fun packed day for all the family!!

Anyway, whilst carpet-bombing Leigh with flyers we popped in to Ugo’s. We all know Ugo’s? Tucked away in a corner on Broadway West, its long been a favourite of mine, but normally only for a drink or two. I’ve never eaten here. I know, call myself a foodie and I’ve never eaten in one of Leigh’s more established eateries. Well, the time had come last weekend to give em a go.

The place was packed, always a good sign. Luckily we found a little table for two to rest our weary legs, all that canvassing was hard work! To the bar! A beer was well in order, so two pints of refreshing Whitstable Blonde it had to be. The menu at Ugo’s is pretty simple, just a nice array of burgers, salads, baguettes and a few tasty sounding Mexican dishes. But one thing caught my eye, and I’ll tell ya why. We’re all familiar with the dude food revolution right? Surely you couldn’t have failed to miss it. All those fancy burger and bbq joints seem to be cropping up everywhere. Even restaurants more suited to fine dining have jumped on the gourmet burger wagon. This is not the start of a rant, not at all, I think its great. Just go back 10 years; the best burger in town was ‘Muck Donalds’ or Burger King, bloody awful! This food revolution made tasteless, crappy excuses for burgers a thing of the past, and who would complain at that. But, what’s going to be the next big thing? I’m certain gourmet burgers will be a mainstay on the food scene for years to come, but surely there’s got be something new on the horizon. Well, I think I know exactly what it is. I have it on good authority fried chicken is soon to be the new ‘on trend’ food to be seen eating. Trust me, food bloggers up and down the country will be in a Twitter and Instagram frenzy posting pictures of what they consider the ultimate in fried chook; I was doing exactly that on Saturday!

Going back to Ugo’s menu, there it was, homemade fried chicken! I need look no further. Lou and I shared a platter of 8 buttermilk fried chicken fillet strips, with curly fries, together with French fries and their own homemade slaw. One word, well actually three, OMG! Lets start with the fries. I’ll be totally honest, the curly fries were not my idea, Lou seems to have a fascination with curly fries. What’s wrong with classic fries, who’s idea was it to start curling perfectly acceptable fries, what’s the point? I’m not a massive fan of curly fries; I guess I’m a chip purist. But, Ugo’s curly fries weren’t too bad at all. The classic fries were far better, I can honestly say, some of the best fries I’ve eaten in a long time. The slaw too was blooming good. Clearly homemade, it was chunky, crispy, creamy and quite simply, delicious. A generous portion too. This is slaw as it should be. But the main event, the chicken! I really don’t know what to say, 8 plump chicken breast strips, with a herby, crispy coating, piping hot and perfectly cooked, not dry at all, just lovely and juicy. A platter of perfection, I was lost for words, Ugo’s got this spot on! Needless to say, we polished off the lot, fighting over every last morsel. Pudding? Forget that, I wanted more chicken! But, you can choose from sweet treats such as Oreo Sundae, Honeycomb Sundae or Pancakes & Ice cream. So how much did we pay for this superb chicken? Less than £27 with a beer.

.Well then, have I finally found it? Could Ugo’s be the first in Leigh embracing my predicted fried chicken trend? I hope so, don’t we all think it’s high time somebody stood up to the Colonel to show him what real fried chicken should be. I got thinking, you can order exactly the same in KFC; chicken, chips and slaw. But, pitch this up against Ugo’s offering; I know which one will be the ‘Finger Lickin Good’ winner. Could this also be the Perfect beer food? At Ugo’s you can just order a light snack of two strips with no chips for £2.50. Surely that’s got to be better than a bag of dry roasted with your pint? Well done Ugo’s for leading the way, I’m salivating writing this review, I’m definitely gonna be back for more very soon.

To read @foodierich previous restaurant reviews please hit the link https://www.leigh-on-sea.com/tag/listing/blog/restaurant-review