Chick-Fil-A Spring Menu Review: One Drink Steals The Show

As a longtime fan and dedicated customer of the chain, when Chick-fil-A drops a new, limited-edition seasonal menu, I pay attention. As part of their springtime celebrations, the nationally acclaimed fast food chain, Chick-fil-A, is getting ready to roll out a brand new menu, complete with a full strawberry and hibiscus-based drink lineup, plus a trio of sandwiches that feel designed for a meal on a sunny spring day. Luckily for me, I was able to try this new limited-time seasonal menu early at a private Chick-fil-A tasting in my home island of Manhattan.

This menu comes as part of Chick-fil-A's larger yearlong "Newstalgia" mission, which aims to bring iconic menu items back to life with bold new twists. For me, this menu perfectly encapsulated the familiar feeling of a crisp, sunny, spring day, and I found myself surprised and delighted by my meal. However, while some items felt like instant classics, other items were good, but not an urgent recommendation. If you're heading to a Chick-fil-A anytime after March 9 — which is the day this menu launches nationwide — you may want to take note as to not miss out on the unexpected stars among the bunch. Based on my experience trying each item in this new menu, here is exactly what I'd order again, and what I'd probably skip next time.

As part of my preview tasting, I tried every Strawberry Hibiscus beverage available at a company-selected Chick-fil-A location — along with the Original, Grilled, and Spicy versions of the new Jalapeño Ranch Club Chicken sandwiches. Everything was tried fresh, and the items were served back-to-back in succession. While Chick-fil-A promoted this new meal as a customizable experience, in order to make this review as fair as possible, I made no alterations to the menu and ate all items as they are typically served.

When making my reviews for drinks, I focused on flavor balance, sweetness level, and how much the advertised hibiscus and strawberry flavors actually showed up. For sandwiches, I paid attention to chicken quality, ratio, texture, and the overall balance of the ingredient's flavors, including specialty ingredients like the buttermilk ranch bun, and the caramelized onion-flavored candied bacon. Since Chick-fil-A is known for its sauce options, I also tried a bite of each sandwich plain and then dipped into the provided jalapeño ranch sauce as well.

Before you plan a trip to a Chick-fil-A to try these new menu items, it may be helpful to know the nutritional and financial information of each product. For the new Jalapeño Ranch Club Chicken Sandwich, prices vary by location, but you can expect them to start at $7.75 for the Original, $8.15 for the Spicy version, and $8.69 for the Grilled option. Like prices, calorie counts also vary depending on preparation, with the Original version of the sandwich including around 610 calories, the Spicy including around 640 calories, and the Grilled version containing 470 calories.The recommended jalapeño ranch sauce adds another 70 calories if you decide to pair it with your meal.

For beverages, the chain's Strawberry Hibiscus lineup's prices also vary from location, starting at $2.89 for the Strawberry Hibiscus & Sprite®, $3.25 for the Strawberry Hibiscus Lemonade and Strawberry Hibiscus Sunjoy®, and $4.75 for the indulgent Strawberry Hibiscus Frosted Lemonade. As for nutrition, the drinks range from 190 calories for the Strawberry Hibiscus & Sprite®, around 240 calories for the Strawberry Hibiscus Sunjoy®, 270 for the Strawberry Hibiscus Lemonade, and around 360 calories for the Strawberry Hibiscus Frosted Lemonade. 

Of all the items I tried in this review, no item surprised me as much as the Strawberry Hibiscus Frosted Lemonade. Made by combining Chick-fil-A's lemonade, the unique Icedream dessert, and strawberry and hibiscus flavors, this drink impacted me in the best way. It's an incredibly thick, creamy drink that still manages to feel light and not overly sweet. In many ways, this drink tastes like a hybrid of a smoothie and milkshake, which may sound slightly odd, but Chick-fil-A stuck the landing on this one.

Decadent but still bright and refreshing, this drink has a delicious flavor palate. Unlike some of the other drinks on this list, I felt the hibiscus flavor was perfectly balanced with the strawberry flavor, ensuring no flavor overpowered the other in too big a way. Overall, this drink felt like a summer dessert in drink form, and it was easily the standout of the entire menu lineup for me.

As someone who is an avid iced tea drinker, I had no doubts that this drink would be one of my favorites among the menu selection. Created by combining Chick-fil-A® Lemonade and freshly brewed Sweetened Iced Tea with strawberry and hibiscus flavors, this drink tastes like summer in a bottle. It's tangy, refreshing, and definitely sweeter than I was expecting. Even with this, the balance of the lemonade and the iced sweet tea made it smooth and easy to drink, without much of a bite.

If you gravitate toward drinks that are a bit less tart, this will be your pick. It is bold and unapologetically luscious, and while I do wish it was slightly less sweet overall, I thought the taste of the tea, lemonade, and added strawberry and hibiscus flavors all paired very well. Another thing I appreciated in this drink is how much I could taste the hibiscus, which is a flavor I found to be less apparent and more masked in the other drinks.

If you have made it this far in life without trying a Chick-fil-A lemonade, you're seriously missing out. It's no secret that the fast food chain has become famous for its lemonades, including their limited edition lemonade variations, and while it's hard to beat the original version, this drink did just that for me. The new Strawberry Hibiscus Lemonade is an absolute must-try for fans of Chick-fil-A's lemonade — it keeps the classic element of the lemonade and adds in a mix of strawberry and hibiscus flavors. The result is a bright, bold, and tangy drink that is refreshing and easy to sip on.

One thing I did wish there was more of in this drink was the hibiscus flavor, as this drink overall did taste more like a strawberry lemonade to me. Still, each sip made me feel confident that this is a fun, fruity upgrade on a classic lemonade, even if I was missing the floral element of the hibiscus. If I were to go back and order this again, I would likely choose to buy the version made with diet lemonade, an option available for the Strawberry Hibiscus Lemonade, Strawberry Hibiscus Frosted Lemonade, and Strawberry Hibiscus Sunjoy® drinks.

This drink was the first of the bunch I tried, and on the first sip, I was impressed by how crisp and refreshing it is. While it's altogether quite enjoyable, it unfortunately is a step or two below the other three drinks for me, which leads it to be designated as an item I would skip if ordering from this menu again. My main problem with this drink was the balance of the flavoring. I felt that the Strawberry Hibiscus Sprite added way too much of the strawberry and hibiscus flavors, which made the drink taste incredibly syrupy. 

At the start of my tasting, this drink veered into cold-syrup territory, which thankfully was improved upon as the ice melted. This drink reminded me heavily of the Cherry Berry drinks that were released at Chick-fil-A in 2024. As a Sprite lover, I was a little disappointed with how difficult it was for me to taste any Sprite in this drink at all. While this item is a fun, fruity take on a classic soda, I would hesitate to order it again unless I could confirm that the Sprite ratio would be significantly upgraded.

After sampling all four of the menu's new drinks, I moved onto the main event, the Jalapeño Ranch Club Chicken Sandwich. This sandwich comes with a buttermilk ranch bun, pepper jack cheese, strips of caramelized onion-flavored candied bacon, lettuce, tomato, and pickled jalapeños. The original version of the sandwich comes with a sizable piece of Chick-fil-A's iconic fried chicken, which I felt was a great addition to the sandwich as it allowed all of the other ingredients to truly shine.

This version made it easy for me to taste the buttermilk ranch bun, which is savory and garlic-forward, and the caramelized onion-flavored candied bacon, which provided excellent sweetness to each bite. I especially loved this sandwich dipped in the jalapeño ranch sauce, which added an extra boost of spice. My only wish for this sandwich is that I wanted the cheese to be slightly more melted and gooey. Even with this negative, I felt this sandwich was packed with flavor and an incredibly satisfying meal overall, and I'm already imagining how good it will taste paired with the chain's delicious waffle fries.

For those looking to up the spice level of this meal, the Spicy Jalapeño Ranch Club Chicken Sandwich is a perfect solution. The fried chicken portion on this sandwich is massive, and the added spice complemented the jalapeño slices and the jalapeño ranch sauce. Even with the spicy piece of chicken, the spice level is asserting without being too overwhelming.

Overall, I prefer the original version to this one, only for the fact that I did feel the spicy chicken portion dulled my ability to taste the caramelized onion-flavored candied bacon — which was one of my favorite elements in the original version. The buttermilk ranch bun was slightly overpowered as well. Even with this, I still really enjoyed the sandwich, and I especially loved the size and quality of the spicy chicken piece. If you love your sandwiches bold and fiery, this version is for you.

As a huge fan of Chick-fil-A's grilled chicken, I had high hopes that this sandwich would be my favorite among the three versions. The chicken itself was delicious, with a lovely charred flavor and a soft texture. This sandwich is also the lightest option, which is great for those looking for a less heavy meal. Unfortunately, the portion size of the chicken was just too small for such a big sandwich, and I found myself searching for the taste of chicken within the massive, pillowy bun and heaping of lettuce, tomato, and jalapeño. When I tried this sandwich with the jalapeño ranch sauce, it became even harder to taste the grilled chicken.

If I were to try this sandwich again, I would probably order a double portion of the grilled chicken to allow it to stand a chance against the powerful flavors of the other ingredients. While this sandwich was still very appealing, the ratio of chicken to bun makes it a skip for me, and I wouldn't recommend it above the other sandwich options on this list.

While I truly would order many of the items in this menu again, I have absolutely no doubt that I will be going back for the Strawberry Hibiscus Frosted Lemonade. It's refreshing, indulgent, and feels special enough to justify the trip to Chick-fil-A all on its own. I'm already envisioning myself going back to grab this before a springtime walk in the park.

While the Strawberry Hibiscus Frosted Lemonade was the star of the show, for the sandwiches, the Original version takes the crown as the best option to appreciate all of the great flavors this new sandwich introduces. Overall, this launch feels fun, summery, and nearly every item was a success in some way. With these items launching soon in stores nationwide on March 9, I wholeheartedly recommend taking a trip to your local Chick-fil-A to indulge in at least a few items from this menu. If you're looking to give it a try, I wouldn't wait too long, as this menu is available only for a limited time, as supplies last.