Best fried chicken in London: 13 top joints for burgers, wings and more

Before we show you where to find the best fried chicken in London, let’s run through a quick bit of history. The first documented recipe for the dish dates back to 1824, when a housewife in Virginia allegedly wrote: 'Cut them up as for the fricassée, dredge them well with flour, sprinkle them with salt, put them into a good quantity of boiling lard and fry them a light brown.' Nearly two hundred years later and we have a whole cuisine based around fried chicken, with countries across the globe adopting the dish as their own.

Nashville, for example, is famed for its traditional hot chicken, supposedly named after a woman who once tried to murder her man with spicy chicken. Unfortunately for her, the man loved it, and Nashville hot chicken was born. Elsewhere, buttermilk chicken gets a lot of attention. That’s because buttermilk has two key benefits when used in fried chicken. The first is that when used as a marinade, it starts to break down the structure of the chicken, making it extra tender. The second is that, when mixed with flour and deep fried, it becomes addictively crunchy.

Of course, not all fried chicken hails from the west. Korean fried chicken, for example, follows a different set of rules. It’s traditionally double-fried to make it super crisp, and often basted in a gochujang-based spicy sauce. While Japan’s own riff on the crunchy dish is called karaage. Even chicken katsu is arguably fried chicken, just with breadcrumbs instead of batter.

Right, that’s enough preamble. You’re here for one thing: the best fried chicken in London. You’ll find everything from fast food joints to restaurants that serve epic twists on the dish down below, along with plenty of halal fried chicken places ensuring everyone can enjoy a plate of the good stuff freely.

We’ve included pictures so you can get an idea of the vibe, along with a mini review, where the place is, and a link to the page so you can book it, pronto. So, without further ado, here are the mother-clucking best places to find wings and tings in the capital.

Chicken Shop, Various London locations

What: This London chain is a bit more upmarket than most chicken shops (it’s the official chicken of Soho House) but these guys really do know what they’re doing when it comes to the crispy stuff. It was originally launched by Chick ‘n’ Sours founders David Wolanksi and Carl Clarke as CHIK’N, before rebranding in 2022 to Chicken Shop, when they decided to hone in on quality by preparing all sauces fresh on site daily, cooking meals to order, and only using high welfare chicken. But what does it taste like? Well, Chicken Shop is best-known for its Asian-inspired burgers, with creations like the Spice Up, slathered in a spicy Samurai sauce, Thai’d Up, filled with handmade sweet chilli mayo, mint, crispy shallots and a Thai slaw, and Hoisin BBQ made with a sweet sauce and spicy chilli mayo. More recently, it’s started serving wraps and sandwiches which are more modestly sized if you fancy a quick lunch, as well as ultra-crisp wings and tenders. Make sure to order extra Samurai sauce with your meal – it's elite.
Where: Various London locations
Book now: Chicken Shop Soho

Tanakatsu, Angel

What: No one said fried chicken had to be American-style. In fact, taking a break from Monterey jack-slathered burgers is probably no bad thing. Instead, why not head to this katsu-specialist restaurant for delicate tempura, karaage and panko-crumbed delights? Choose from pork, chicken, prawn or pumpkin, as well as rice, curry or even a sando. Run by husband and wife Joe and Koko, this relaxed dining room has a comprehensive Japanese menu, so you can dip into some sushi to balance your meal.
Where: 10 Wakley Street, London, EC1V 7LT
Book now: Tanakatsu

Lucky’s Hot Chicken, Covent Garden

What: The team behind Lucky’s Hot Chicken are spicing things up at Seven Dials Market and Mikkeller Brewpub London with their spicy fried chicken sandos, strips and wings. These guys adhere to a strict recipe to achieve their ultra-crunchy chicken, which includes double frying it, dunking in chilli oil, and finishing with layers of spice. The classic sando is the thing to get here, which sees brioche Texas toast filled with a seasoned fried chicken thigh (spice levels range from country and cajun to triple XXX and ‘good luck’) vinegar slaw, comeback sauce and pickles. Order alongside crinkle cut fries and a portion of wings.
Where: Seven Dials Market, 35 Earlham street, WC2H 9LX; 37-39 Exmouth Market, EC1R 4QL
Book now: Lucky's Hot Chicken Seven Dials Market

BAO, Various London locations

What: BAO might be known for its famous fluffy buns, but we’d make a special trip to munch down a bowl of its Taiwanese fried chicken any day. It’s so good, you can find it on the menus at all seven sites, which sees chicken marinated and coated in a spice mix of Sichuan peppercorns, cayenne and five-spice, before being deep fried. The piece de resistance is a final drizzle of spicy, vinegary hot sauce!
Where: Various London locations
Book now: BAO Soho, BAO Borough, BAO Marylebone, BAO City, BAO King’s Cross, BAO Shoreditch, BAO Battersea

Popeyes, Various London locations

What: American fried chicken chain Popeyes has made a decent dent in the UK’s dining scene with the launch of 65 (and counting) sites over the last few years. 38 of those are in London, which means you’re never too far away from a box of its 12-hour marinated Louisiana fried chicken. Order a portion of wings, tenders or on-the-bone chicken alongside a pot of Cajun gravy, or if you’d rather make a meal of it, make room for one of its brioche burgers. Favourites include the Classic Chicken with pickles and mayo, and the Spicy Deluxe with cheese.
Where: Various London locations
Book now: Popeyes Waterloo

Slim Chickens, Various London locations

What: This UK-wide fried chicken brand is expanding rapidly in the capital, with new openings in Leicester Square and St Paul’s on the cards for 2025. In fact, Slim Chickens started in Arkansas in 2003, and now has over 200 locations worldwide, so you could say it’s established itself as one of the main fried chicken players across the globe. Expect traditional southern-inspired dishes including buttermilk-marinated fried chicken, hot buffalo sandwiches and burgers loaded with honey BBQ sauce.
Where: Various London locations
Book now: Slim Chickens

Kricket, Shoreditch, Soho, Brixton and Canary Wharf

What: Kricket has long been touted for its signature Keralan fried chicken, a dish that has achieved cult status in the capital for good reason. It uses a basic tandoori marinade to tenderise the chicken and pack it with as much flavour as possible, before coating in a mix of flour, chilli powder and turmeric, and then frying until crisp. Served with a fragrant curry leaf mayonnaise, this gastronomic twist on fried chicken is a must-try.
Where: Various London locations
Book now: Kricket Soho, Kricket Brixton, Kricket Canary Wharf

Good Friend Chicken, Chinatown

What: Another player to bring Taiwanese fried chicken to the capital, Good Friend specialises in the sort of fried chicken you'd expect to find in the night markets of Taiwan. Here, it’s sliced super thin for maximum coverage and tossed in three different flours to create its legendary crispness. You might have to brace the queues, which can end up winding down Little Newport Street, but it's worth it just to try its famous popcorn chicken.
Where: 14 Little Newport Street, WC2H 7JJ
Book now: Good Friend Chicken

FOWL by Fallow, St. James’s

What: Fallow chefs Jack Croft and Will Murray branched out from their excellent restaurant with a space around the corner, dedicated to serving ‘beak to tail’ chicken. Dishes are more technical than your average, with a variety of wings featuring, alongside a famous chicken head pie and a cracking triple crisp chicken fillet burger.
Where: 3 Norris Street, SW1Y 4RJ
Book now: FOWL by Fallow

Butchies, Various London locations

What: You’ll be scrolling a while if you happen upon Butchie's accolades page, with the dreamy duo behind the brand (husband and wife team Garrett and Emer) having gone and won many the award, and having cooked for big-name brands like Nike and Southern Comfort. Their success is of course down to the quality of their fried chicken – which is made from meat that is ethically and sustainably sourced from high-welfare, local farms. Having set out on their journey to make the best fried chicken sandwich London has ever seen the menu focuses on such joyous things, but there are also wings and strips up for grabs. Our favourite is the Jenny From The Block, which combines that crisp and succulent fried chicken with guacamole, chipotle mayo and smoky streaked bacon in a bun. 
Where: Various London locations
Book now: Butchies

Thunderbird, Various London locations

What: Now with seven locations across London, this casual joint serves up all kinds of fried chicken options – from wings and buns to buckets and boxes filled with the golden good stuff. We love the 'sharing' bucket that packs in boneless fried chicken, awesome sauce, fries and a choice of three dips. Elsewhere, the classic Thunderbun burger is an ever-popular order, while our favourite, the Meltdown, packs in molten miso-jalapeño cheese sauce, garlicky red pepper aioli, lettuce and pickles. You can find these guys in Clapham, Canary Wharf, Wimbledon, The O2, Westfield Stratford, Charing Cross and Parkdean Resorts. 
Where: Various London locations
Book now: Thunderbird Fried Chicken

Patty & Bun, Various London locations

What: While not strictly a fried chicken joint, there’s no denying that Patty & Bun is a cracking place for a burger. Try the ‘hot chic’, stuffed with buttermilk fried chicken, coleslaw, pickles, smoked garlic aioli and crunchy lettuce, or the PFC boneless thighs with chilli butter and pickled chillis. There are vegan versions of both so your plant-based pals won’t feel left out. If you want to step it up a notch, try the ‘winger winger chicken dinner’: smoked confit wings with BBQ sauce and spring onions.
Where: Various London locations
Book now: Patty & Bun

Coqfighter, Various London locations

What: Coqfighter mainly deals in delicious burgers, but they’re the fried chicken kind so we’ve given them a well-deserved spot on the list. Their original burger, which you might have seen on Instagram at some point while in a scroll hole, is made up of fried chicken thigh, lettuce, pickled red onions, sambal mayo and Korean hot sauce for a really addictive fast-food sandwich. Bao, wings and strips are also an option if you don’t fancy a burger and there are of course fries on the side for those of us who know that filling our potato quota is an essential element of the day.
Where: Various London locations
Book now: Coqfighter

Looking for more fast food fun? Check out our guide to the very best pizza in London, or discover London's best Korean restaurants where you're bound to find plenty of Korean fried chicken.