THE BEST CHICKEN IN LONDON
1. Chick ‘n’ Sours
Locations: Haggerston, Covent Garden
Chick ‘n’ Sours know their chickens – dishing up free range birds, with a range of coatings. My favourite is the House Fry, which comes dusted with crushed seaweed, but their Korean fried wings are always on point. And whatever you do, don’t leave without trying the Szechuan aubergine. It’s not chicken, but it’s damned delicious.
2. Butchies
Locations: Camden, Broadway Market
I will write about Butchies til the day I die, and with good reason. They serve the finest chicken burgers known to man and they’ve now got a full time location in Camden too. Go for the Dale (pickles, garlic and herb aoili) and note that they do private hire too – Butchies wedding breakfast anyone?
3. The Orange Buffalo
Locations: Brick Lane and Brighton
The New York-style wings at the Orange Buffalo are straight-up magical. They’re so good that the gang have won the UK’s chicken wing competition (Wingfest) twice. And if you can’t get enough of their sauce, you can buy it by the bottle at their truck.
4. Fish, Wings & Tings
Location: Brixton and Croydon (soon)
FW&T are a Brixton market institution. Serving Caribbean soul food, their jerk wings are a thing of beauty. Go for the jerk platter and a roti, with colselaw and a Ting to drink. But don’t ignore the rest of menu – their goat curry is also worth a bite.
5. Chicken Town
Location: Tottenham
Chicken Town is more than your average chicken shop. Part restaurant, part non-profit social enterprise, their chicken is steamed before being flash fried. Which means it’s juicy and goes perfectly with beers from local breweries like Redemptionand Beavertown.
Profits from normal diners mean that Chicken Town can offer a £2 Junior Special box to under 18s. It’s “designed with top chefs and is tested by food scientists and nutritionists to ensure it’s within strict guidelines on RDAs of salt, sugar and fat.”
6. Kricket
Locations: Brixton and Soho (soon)
Focusing on Indian small plates, Kricket is a thing of beauty. And their Keralan fried chicken is the crown jewel of their menu. That and their bhel puri with raw mango – I bloody love bhel puri. Anyway, the chicken is served with curry leaf mayonnaise and pickled mouli, and goes perfectly with an oriental spiced gin and tonic (aka the Route O’Pihr on the cocktail menu).
7. Yami
Location: New Malden
For authentic Korean fried chicken, go south to New Malden. There are plenty of options, but Yami is pocket-friendly and delicious. Get your fried chicken fix here, or have the chicken galbi (a kind of stir fry) if you want a healthier option.
8. Motherclucker
Locations: Brick Lane, Camden Market, Hawker House (London Fields)
There’s only a handful of things on the menu here, but they’re all good – go for the tea-brined, double-battered strips and always get extra hot sauce, and a side of Cajun fries.
9. Chicken Shop
Locations: Tooting, Kentish Town, Holborn, Whitechapel, Balham and more (there are 10 locations total).
If rotisserie chicken is your thing, then say “HIYA” to Chicken Shop. The menu is simple – choose your size (whole, half or quarter), choose your heat (hot or smokey) and add on a side (crinkle fries for me please). And remember to leave some room for their apple pie.
10. Randy’s Wing Bar
Location: Stratford
Randy’s knows chicken wings– it’s kind of their thing. Choose from six different fries, from Vietnamese to Indian to Buffalo, and get a side of buffalo shrimp for good measure. Or come by at the weekend for brunch and get the maple, bacon & pickled blueberry wings on a waffle (above).
11.Bonedaddies
Location: Soho, Kensington, Bermondsey, Old Street
Bone Daddies has lots of great selling points – ramen, their Kinako French toast, matcha green tea ice cream – but their Korean fried wings are truly yummy. Try out Shackfuyu (another Bone Daddies location) for buttermilk & shichimi fried chicken dished up in a bao. Or cook up a storm at home with their kara age.
12. The Rotisserie Co
Location: Clapham
This low-key street food stall (known locally as “the chicken lady”) does the most divine rotisserie chicken ciabattas, with a herby dressing. Not showy, but mouthwatering as heck. Keep an eye on their twitter for trading locations.
13. Clutch
Location: Bethnal Green
Clutch’s free range chicken is lush, but what’s really worth your time is their range of sauces. Are you ready? Here we go: Roasted Garlic Crème Fraiche / Whipped Feta Cheese / Truffle Aioli / Homemade Tomato Clutchup / Red Pepper Chilli Chutney / Clutch’s Chicken Gravy. Get some tenders, order one of each sauce (they’re £1 a go) and straight dipping.
14. Mama Lan’s
Locations: Brixton, Clapham, Dalston, Stratford and Shoreditch
Mama Lan’s is probably best known for their delicious dumplings and Beijing street food. But they also do some intensely good spicy chicken wings. If you’re feeling a bit healthier, then go for a spicy chicken ban mein instead – a crunchy, vibrant chicken noodle salad.
15. Rudie’s
Location: Dalston
Rudies take their jerk chicken seriously – it’s marinaded for 24 hours, and then cooked over charcoal and wood smoke on top of steel drums. You can then choose your home made jerk sauce (mild, medium or hot). What’s more, their rum punch is 10/10.
16. The Bohemia
Location: Finchley
This friendly local brewpub does a neat sideline in wings. Sidestep classic Buffalo sauce in favour of spicy apricot sauce. And make sure to come on #wingswednesday, when it’s 10 wings for £5.
17. Lucky Chip
Locations: Dalston, Islington and Camden
Lucky Chip are best known for their beef burgers, but let’s shout out their chicken burgers too. Especially as they’ve got a Stranger Things menu for November. Before we go on, Lucky Chip have always had movie and TV show-inspired menus, so it’s not a novelty thing.
Now, the Up Fried Down is two fried chicken fillets, American cheese, hot pepper sauce, lettuce and mayo. Doesn’t that sound truly delicious?
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