Wendy’s Teamed Up with Takis for a Blazing-Hot Chicken Sandwich—Here’s My Honest Review

The Takis Fuego chicken sandwich comes with a spicy chicken breast, chili lime sauce, cheddar cheese sauce, creamy street corn spread and crushed Takis Fuego chips. The Takis-Inspired Fuego Fries are tossed in chili-lime seasoning for a spicy, zingy twist on the O.G. Even better, your combo meal comes with a small bag of Takis Fuego chips, so you can add more to your sandwich if you’d like (or save them for later…but good luck with that). Prices may vary by location, but in Philadelphia, you can buy the sandwich and the fries a la carte for $7 and $3.39 respectively, or the combo for $11.39.

I love Takis and all things spicy-sour, so I was psyched to taste this handheld. However, the sandwich’s initial appearance and smell were both a bit off-putting. The red dye from the Takis bled into the corn spread and onto the bun, and the citrusy scent of the Takis smelled more artificial than usual, and almost chemical-y.

Once I tasted it, my concerns were a touch alleviated. The sweet, zesty corn spread wasn’t overpowered by the spicy components of the sandwich at all. However, it was basically impossible to tell it apart from the cheddar sauce and the chili lime sauce in the sandwich. (I tasted each of them on the wrapper though; the cheddar sauce gave boxed mac and cheese, while the chili lime was tingly, vibrant and nuanced.) Next time, I’d probably ask for the Takis on the side, so they don’t turn soggy doused in all those sauces. Also, I wouldn’t have minded more corn spread, as well as something pickled or fresh produce (lettuce? onions?) to cut through the sammy’s richness.

I thought the shake-and-tear bag was such a cute touch. It reminded me of the discontinued Burger King Shake ’Em Up Fries from the early aughts. Because Wendy’s fries are always famously fresh, the seasoning stuck to them like a charm, and the short bag made sharing (read: stuffing my face) even easier.

However, while I typically love chili-lime everything, the seasoning mix was definitely on the intense side. The citrus in particular tasted very artificial…but hey, we’re talking Taki-dusted fast food fries, so I wouldn’t expect otherwise. In terms of spice, they were a solid medium.

All in all, this is one of those excessively indulgent fast food LTOs that are worth trying if you’re a fan, but probably not something you’d order again. (I’m not exactly knocking it either—a fast food fried chicken sandwich slathered in three types of slop is sort of an American delicacy, IMO.)