Why Fans Are Disappointed With Chick-Fil-A's Breakfast Items

Chick-fil-A has some of the most loyal fans in the fast-food biz. According to The Food Institute, the chain has secured the top score among fast-food restaurants in the American Customer Satisfaction Index for seven years in a row. However, while Chick-fil-A's satisfying chicken sandwiches and waffle fries keep customers coming back again and again, it seems that not everything on the menu is quite so popular. In fact, some Chick-fil-A customers who love the company's popular lunch and dinner items feel that the chain is slacking in one important area: the breakfast menu options.

From 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., Chick-fil-A offers breakfast goodies like hash browns, chicken biscuits, and bacon or sausage egg and cheese muffins. But some fans feel the quality of the chain's breakfast menu has dropped. One frustrated customer vented their disappointment on Reddit, posting, "I've found myself burned out on the breakfast since they got rid of the bagel and I'm very shocked they haven't replaced it with something else." When the Reddit user asked if anyone else found the breakfast options "underwhelming," they got quite a few responses in agreement.

A number of Chick-fil-A customers expressed similar sentiments about the chain's subpar breakfast items on the Reddit thread. Some shared the original poster's disappointment over the removal of the bagel, while others joined in on the conversation simply to express their surprise that a chain with such great lunch and dinner options could fall so short in this one area.

"Always thought their breakfast could be better. Their biscuits are always undercooked. I love the egg white grill but a lot of the times the chicken is barely larger than a nugget size," replied u/MiTejano. Another user responded saying the quality of their breakfast food seems to have gone down in recent times, complaining "I always order the egg white grill, but the last two times it's been at least 50% gristle." 

Another Chick-fil-A fan suggested some ways to improve Chick-fil-A's breakfast items. "Remember you can always buy breakfast filets and use your own bagel from home to make a sandwich! I know it's not the same but it's definitely 10/10," recommended u/soykenito.

However, according to some customers, Chick-fil-A's breakfast menu wasn't always this bleak. In the past, the chain had a few more hearty and flavorful breakfast items. In addition to removing the bagel, which the company took off the menu in the spring of 2021 in an attempt to continue "streamlining our menu... as well as make room for new future menu items," Chick-fil-A also used to offer a greater number of breakfast options, per Today. In the past, the chain carried popular items like the sweet Cinnamon Cluster, multigrain oatmeal, and a savory sausage gravy, but none of these breakfast items lasted.

Quite a few other Reddit users chimed in on the thread lamenting the former morning favorites that have disappeared from the menu. "Still miss the biscuits and gravy after they went away, was always a nice change of pace," one person said. "I was disappointed when they got rid of the onions and peppers in the hash brown bowls. Now it's just so plain," posted another Redditor. "I haven't wanted Chick-fil-A breakfast since they took the breakfast bagel off of the menu," another agreed.

Other Chick-fil-A fans didn't have anything bad to say about the chain's breakfast food, but they certainly had complaints about the chain's morning beverages. "I love the breakfast but I'll never understand how the coffee could be as bad as it is. CFA coffee is straight trash," one disappointed customer posted. 

The chain's breakfast beverage menu also hasn't been safe from getting trimmed. In the spring of 2021, at the same time the chain removed the bagel, Chick-fil-A also took decaf hot coffee off the menu, so fans who want a cup of Joe without the caffeine buzz are out of luck, per Today.

However, based on some of the less-than-positive responses about the quality of Chick-fil-A's java, it doesn't seem likely that many people were stopping into the chain for the excellent flavor of the hot coffee. "CFA coffee is the literal worst thing I've ever had, and I drink it at work every single morning because I have to in order to stay awake," one disgruntled worker remarked. "For someone as renowned as CFA, you'd think they'd have real good coffee," someone else agreed. While fans aren't likely to stop eating at Chick-fil-A entirely, it seems the chain could kick its customer satisfaction up a notch by making some changes to its breakfast food and beverage offerings — and maybe bringing back some of those former fan favorites.