Move over Nando’s – how chicken restaurants became cool
From FOWL’s beak-to-feet pie to Morley’s fried drumsticks dunked in caviar, suddenly the humble bird has been given a luxe-makeover. As a wave of cool new restaurant openings ruffle culinary feathers, Mike Daw asks chefs why they’ve gone clucking mad for haute cuisine chicken
A few years ago, the phrase “chicken restaurant” would likely bring about the idea of Nando’s, usually anchored by the prefixes “a” and “cheeky”.
A cheeky Nando’s was a portmanteau for comfort, affordability, accessibility and simplicity, but, more recently, the resurgence of a new clutch of chicken restaurants, or restaurants serving serious chicken specials, has given this humble bird the ultimate rebrand.
The capital, in particular, is the feathered epicentre of this new wave. A glut of restaurant openings have gravitated around chicken as a straightforward, easy-to-understand USP. From FOWL, the new chicken shop from Will Murray and Jack Croft of Fallow acclaim, to Casa do Frango, the slowly burgeoning chicken empire looking to beat Nando’s at their own game (but, frankly, in far more chic – or should that be chick – surrounds), everyone’s at it.
Even fast food players have been making headlines. South London’s beloved Morley’s recently underwent a glow-up with a stint at the restaurant in The Standard hotel that saw clucking-mad diners dipping drumsticks into caviar. Fried chicken and caviar is, surprisingly, nothing new, but one can’t help feel that putting caviar on a Morley’s is like putting foie gras on toasted doorstop Hovis. It’s dirty luxury of the very best kind.
And giving the simple chicken a luxe-makeover seems to be catching on. Bob Bob Ricard, Soho’s opulent palace of champagne buttons and gilded leather banquets, has opened a hot little homage to the humble chicken. Evoking the famed Porsche quote when enquiring about which colour one might like their 911, the new Bebe Bob’s motto is: “Any main course the customer wants as long as it’s chicken or chicken”.
So the question is: why? And why now? The answer, according to chefs, couldn’t be simpler.
“Most people just love chicken,” Will Murray of FOWL says. “For me, the best roast dinner is a chicken and how comforting is a chicken pie? Cream of chicken soup is indented into my childhood and from a Caesar salad to chicken liver parfait to fried chicken, it’s just some of my favourite food.”
FOWL began as Murray and Croft looked to tap into more humble fare (Fallow is decidedly not so). “Initially we wanted to do a kebab shop, but the building (in the St James’s development off Haymarket) didn’t allow for live fuel. A kebab shop without charcoal wasn’t going to work but at the same time, a supplier we’d been working with in Devon came through with these birds.”
These said birds have already caused a bit of a stir, with everyone from The Sun newspaper to Loose Women commenting on the virtues of a £22 “whole animal” chicken pie. That chicken pie arrived at FOWL courtesy of a collaboration between Croft, Murray and legendary chef Pierre Koffmann.
“Pierre worked on the bird with the Ethical Butcher to develop these reared chickens that lived longer, had no soy or supplements in their diet and were bred to a higher welfare. When we were developing the pie, Koffaman would use everything. He skinned the head, ate the brains and we used the cockscomb, offal, gizzards and all of the insides.” There’s even chicken in the desserts.
Whilst Fergus Henderson of St John gave us “nose-to-tail” eating and Josh Niland of Saint Peter (Australia) developed “fin-to-gill”, the visuals of a cock’s head bursting forth from a pastry sheath speaks to a “beak-to-feet” ethos at FOWL.
“It turns out, when it comes to chicken, there really isn’t anything you can’t use,” Murray says... “apart from the toenails, that is. At the moment, I’m giving pedicures to about 250 chickens a week.”
Similarly at Bebe Bob, this is no ordinary poultry.
“Our chickens are quite fancy,” Leonid Shutov, owner of both Bebe and Bob Bob, tells me. “Without a doubt, a chicken is a humble ingredient, but the Landes chicken we get from Arnault Tauzin is on another level. He’s a fabulous farmer based just south of Bordeaux. It’s a very special chicken.”
We didn’t think chicken restaurants would be this trend, but a lot of people are doing it now. It just seems to be the most universal food that’s loved by everybody
On the rise of chicken-forward dining, Shutov believes it’s something of a coincidence, but one that makes complete sense. “We didn’t think chicken restaurants would be this trend, but a lot of people are doing it now. It just seems to be the most universal food that’s loved by everybody.”
Unlike Morley’s, which adds luxury ingredients create something new, these restaurants are starting with humble ingredients and working out how to enhance them each step of the way. The chickens are the best imaginable: high-welfare, long long-lived birds, free of soy and free to roam. They may as well have passports and an expense account.
The cooking methods, though, range from the humble to the mind-bending. Shutov cooks his fabulous Landes birds on a rotisserie, keeping in moisture for ultimate levels of succulence.
Meanwhile at FOWL, the fried chicken is anything but simple. “I was researching Chicken Cottage and Morley’s to develop the fried chicken and I worked out most chicken shops steam their wings first because the batter needs to cling to the meat. We marinade ours for 24 hours, steam them, then add the dredge. They dry out for 24 hours before we do a second dredge of buttermilk, then a blend of potato starch, corn starch and a modified salt for the ultimate crunch. We blanch them, flash frying quickly, we then make a vodka batter with beer and honey, which is great because it browns at the same time as the chicken, fry, then add a final honey and Sichuan glaze”.
There were less complicated instructions for launching Apollo 11.
A sceptic might argue that these restaurants have opened under punishing pressure from the industry and that chicken is a high-margin menu item that can rake in the profits. Not so. If you look at the cost of these birds and the processes that go into elevating them, the once humble chicken in these glamourous settings is only about as profitable as any other mainstay protein.
In short, expect to pay a little more than the £9 half chicken at Nando’s.
The ubiquity of that Portuguese-African spot has somewhat hampered the public perception of chicken. Murray says: “For a lot of people, chicken is really accessible, but 40 or so years ago it was a luxury. We want to buy more premium and make some noise about it.”
Shutov agrees: “It’s like comparing really good quality milk chocolate and a high quality dark chocolate.”
And why not? We have A5 wagyu, grass-fed beef, rare breed Mangalica pork and high-welfare Welsh lamb: these subtle markers tell us punters we’re about to pay a little more, but for a quality product.
This new wave of openings, then, are serving chicken, but not like you’ve ever had it before.
Five chicken restaurants (that aren’t Nando’s)
FOWL
With years of success at Fallow under their collective belts, Will Murray and Jack Croft know a thing or two about running a great restaurant. FOWL’s focus on the bird means that from the feed-friendly chicken corn dogs to the infamous Koffman pie, guests will be enjoying some of the best chicken in London and with a chicken fat creme caramel and cornbread with chicken butter on the menu too, expect to indulge.
Morley’s
No chicken restaurant list would be complete without a nod to fried chicken and Morley’s is London’s best. The south London staple has been around since the Eighties, but is enjoying something of a cultural renaissance courtesy of the Heinz sauce collaboration and a glut of Chicken Shop Dates episodes filmed in branches across the capital. Forget the Colonel: if you’re in London, it has to be Morley’s.
Bebe Bob
With the poshest possible chickens from the continent, Bebe Bob is doing just everything in its power to ensure that this fine feathered food is as delicious as it can be. Roasted rotisserie style and served sauced, this is a luxury Landes bird done right. Nando’s who?
Japanese Chicken Shop
It’s impossible to ignore the love that the Japanese have for wonderful fried chicken and the cult following gained at Japanese Chicken Shop is quite rightly deserved. Picture towering chicken sandos dredged with dark soy caramel sauce and topped with a kewpie mayo slathered bun, all served alongside fried chicken, wings and fries. It’s a heady chicken sandwich haven.
El Pollote
From market pop-ups across town comes the new permanent site for Latino fried chicken shop El Pollote in London’s Soho. Expect an expanded menu of the favourite fried chicken alongside plentiful arepas (a Venezuelan corn-based bread, filled to the brim with flavour) of chicken, chicken and just a bit more chicken. Arrive with an appetite.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments