Chick-fil-A’s Sweetest Fall Experiment

The Boone, NC Chick-fil-A prior to being packed with customers eager to try the new fall menu. Photo Credits: Chick-Fil-A.com

Marina Brown, Staff Writer for The Powderhorn

Chicken and waffles have gone from a Southern classic to Chick-fil-A’s newest experiment. But this isn’t quite unfamiliar territory. The Dwarf Grill, which opened in 1946, was the beginning of what would become Chick-fil-A. One of Dwarf Grill's most popular menu items was chicken and waffles, meaning Chick-fil-A is taking a page from its own history and putting a new spin on it.

The current fall lineup was released on August 24, 2026, and Chick-fil-A describes the items as limited-time offerings. The lineup includes the Chicken & Waffles Sandwiches, made with maple-flavored waffles, a chicken filet, three strips of applewood-smoked bacon, honey butter spread and classic syrup. S’mores Milkshake, and S’mores Frosted Coffee are both built around chocolate, graham cracker, and marshmallow flavors.

The Sandwich: 

The Chicken & Waffles Sandwich is an interesting combination of sweet and savory, but the sweet mouthful is slightly overpowering.

Eric Burke, who tried the sandwich on the first day the new menu launched, thought the flavors paired well together. He first heard about the new menu through TikTok, but he said he still wouldn’t choose it over his usual order. 

“I’m sticking to my beautiful spicy chicken sandwich,” said Burke. 

Burke also noticed that the pickle flavor wasn't as prominent as it is in Chick-fil-A’s classic sandwich, suggesting that the different combination of ingredients changes the overall flavor of the sandwich.

The overpowering sweetness was noticeable to other people who tried it. Rowan Sbrizzi described the sandwich as “pretty good” but said that the overbearing sweet flavor was too much for him to choose it again over his usual Chick-Fil-A order. 

This was similar to what I noticed when trying the sandwich myself: the combination works, but the sweetness becomes the most noticeable part of the meal. A Chick-fil-A employee who was familiar with the new menu pointed out that the sandwich’s price makes it difficult to choose over a regular Chick-fil-A order.

When it was my time to try the sandwich I found that the sandwich was quite sweet, and the waffles were slightly soggy. The combination was unusual, but not necessarily in a bad way.

The Milkshake/Frosted Coffee:

The s’mores items take a completely different approach from the sandwich, focusing on familiar dessert flavors instead of mixing sweet and savory ingredients.

The S’mores milkshake was sweet, but the different flavors worked well together and made it an enjoyable addition to the fall menu.

The S’mores Frosted Coffee, however, was the standout for me. The marshmallow and chocolate flavors paired well with the coffee, making it sweet but not overpowering. Compared to the sandwich, the frosted coffee felt like an easier choice to order again.

Of all the items I tried, the frosted coffee was my favorite. I would definitely recommend it to someone looking to try something from Chick-fil-A’s fall menu, especially for someone who already likes sweet coffee drinks.

The Final Verdict:

Overall, the sandwich earns a 6.5/10. Would I recommend it? Yes, but with some hesitation. If you’re curious about the combination of the chicken and waffles, it’s worth trying at least once. However, if you’re looking for the safest choice from Chick-fil-A’s fall menu, I would recommend the S’mores Frosted Coffee instead. It was the standout item for me and the one I would be most likely to order again.