Chicken Shack (formerly Drum Room)

[Richard at Remax]

I liked the drum room when I went. Good drinks and good atmosphere. Only complaint is that at 1am, it still have heavy scent of fried chicken and fried food in general. It got a little overwhelming and we ended up leaving earlier than anticipated

[ConstantChange]

A few buddies and I went one day for lunch. We all really enjoyed the food, but thought it was a little on the expensive side for lunch. I think the total was around $17. The service was excellent.

[soonerguru]

I liked the drum room when I went. Good drinks and good atmosphere. Only complaint is that at 1am, it still have heavy scent of fried chicken and fried food in general. It got a little overwhelming and we ended up leaving earlier than anticipated

Wow. And my cat's breath smells like cat food.

[PhiAlpha]

I liked the drum room when I went. Good drinks and good atmosphere. Only complaint is that at 1am, it still have heavy scent of fried chicken and fried food in general. It got a little overwhelming and we ended up leaving earlier than anticipated

Isn't that to be expected at a fried chicken themed restaurant that serves fried chicken until 1 am?

Heck I picked up some Bobo's Chicken late night last week and my car still smells like smoke/fried chicken and honey. No spills involved.

[Dustin]

This place is DA BOMB! I ordered the fried chicken and waffles sandwich and it was literally one of the best things I have ever eaten... They put a HUGE chicken breast in between two waffles with bacon and cheddar cheese. You get one side and I ordered the steak fries which were very good. You gotta pour syrup over it too! Mmmmmmmmmmmm!

Edit: They also have just regular chicken and waffles and you can order half a chicken or the whole chicken. It rivals Eischens IMO. I can't believe I just said that.

Edit 2: One more thing. If you bring in a vinyl record, the will play it while you eat your meal!

[soonerguru]

Ate there for the second time tonight. The first time the chicken was absolutely perfect, as good as anything in Oklahoma. Tonight, we got ours to go and it tasted a wee bit too salty and was slightly overcooked. That being said, it was still very good and we enjoyed it.

The restaurant is obviously going to be a hit. Just hoping our experience tonight was uncommon.

[Dustin]

They now have a website

The Drum Room ? fine fowl & fixin's ? oklahoma city

Seriously, go eat here.

[Dustin]

Also, can this be moved to the Food section?

[tomokc]

Had lunch there today. The friend chicken was terrific and the waffle & chicken was good, but the rest of the menu needs some work. The check came in at $41 for two entrees, one appetizer and three soft drinks ($50 including tip). That may be OK to some, but it seemed awfully high to us, especially for a bar & grill establishment.

[John Knight]

Has anyone else had bad service here? I went there for the 2nd time on Saturday night and the service was bad, again. The waitress was unsure what beers were on tap, the food came out wrong and one person in our party had to wait a while longer for their food. Not to mention it took a while to get service when we first got there. I am hoping that I have been unlucky as I want this place to succeed.

However, the food was great!

[dankrutka]

The waitress was unsure what beers were on tap...

Since I was at the table I'll second this and add to it. When I asked what non-draft beers were available I was told I could go look (which is pretty silly). So, I left our table and walked over to the bar, but I couldn't even make out the names of most of the interesting beers because the bottles were still too far away. Surely there should be a better system to find out what's offered?

I also want this place to succeed, but I feel like whenever I have to root for a place to make it they usually don't...

[Pete]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Quality restaurant workers have got to be stretched very thin across the scores of new places that are opening all over town.

Our unemployment rate was very low to start, and when that's the case fewer people work in the food industry in general. Then, you add in dozens of new restaurants and bars and that has to leave gaps somewhere.

And this trend will not be slowing down anytime soon... Still loads of places in the works.

[Richard at Remax]

I know it's 7 months later and saw that soonerguru came after me a bit from my comments about the smell. I don't care about the chicken smell but this was a thick grease smell that was not very appealing. It was better when I went a few months ago.

[soonerguru]

I know it's 7 months later and saw that soonerguru came after me a bit from my comments about the smell. I don't care about the chicken smell but this was a thick grease smell that was not very appealing. It was better when I went a few months ago.

It was kind of a joke, dude. The point was a place that features fried chicken is going to have a greasy smell.

[betts]

I've never had a bad meal there. I've also never had a fast meal there.

[kevinpate]

...

And this trend will not be slowing down anytime soon... Still loads of places in the works.

Then the places opening up will by necessity either have to improve and increase the training up periods or pay better to entice quality staff from more established locations. Either is good news for folks in the service industry, albeit a somewhat bigger hit on the bottom line for owners/investors.

[Roger S]

Food has always been good but I have also experienced the poor service.

I've also never seen the same waitstaff in there twice. So the turnover rate must be high.

[OKCretro]

I've never had a bad meal there. I've also never had a fast meal there.

interesting you say that, I saw new sign that said something like a "20 minute lunch guarantee or its free"

[tomokc]

I'm surprised that this place continues to have problems. It isn't an undercapitalized mom & pop operation where they're learning things as they go along, this is part of the Deep Fork Group which owns Deep Fork Grill, Mantel, Wedge, Blue Note and Drunken Fry. Of those the Wedge is the one we visit the most (which is just a few blocks away from the Drum Room), and the food is good & consistent, and the wait staff is knowledgeable, friendly and they don't turn over very much.

I don't understand why Deep Fork Group doesn't step in and make this place run better, or cut their losses, close shop and move on.

[kevinpate]

I may be mistaken, but it is possible the Drum Room has more turnover due to its product.

In younger days I worked in a chicken chain, a few different pizza chains, and a burger place. Fun times in all and I learned a lot in each. But truth be told, when I left the chicken bits behind, as much as I liked (and still like) the product, I swore I would never work in a chicken eatery again. More so than any other place I have worked, the smells linger, coat and engulfs you. It does get to you after a while.

[MadMonk]

Speaking of workplace smells, I worked for My Pi pizza for a bit in my youth, and to this day, the smell of pizza dough immediately takes me back to busing tables, sneaking pitchers of Killian's Irish Red in the back, and jamming to The Who on the sweet stereo system they had. Good times.

I know I smelled like pizza pretty bad by the time my shift was over. I can't imagine it being any better with the smell of fried chicken on you.

[Urbanized]

Oh yeah, workplace pizza smell lingers. And not in a good way. Onions have a way of elevating themselves to the dominating olfactory top note.

[DammitDan]

I remember the smell of pizza and chicken fingers my mom would bring with her when she came home from her shift at Crystal's Pizza. Man I miss that place...

[soonerguru]

Two recent visits have reaffirmed my belief in this place. Outstanding fried chicken and fun atmosphere. Tip: order the chicken to go. When it initially comes out it is so hot it is almost impossible to eat. When you get the to-go, they package it in an aluminum container. By the time you get home, it's perfect temperature to eat.

On a couple of earlier visits, the chicken was overseasoned, and on one occasion, overcooked. Clearly they have worked the kinks out.

This is a great place if you're hunkering for delicious fried chicken with a nice array of side options.

[Urbanized]

LOL hunkering. Does that mean squatting in a corner of the room over a plate of chicken?