Mishari Ali
Succulent chicken, crispy fires and crunchy coleslaw makes chicken shop one of my favourites for a hearty meal. Top it all off with their homemade apple pie and ice cream and you can’t go wrong. Love this place!
Dominique
The Chicken was really good, as you should expect! The batter was crispy and the chicken wasn't dry. The apple pie was really homely and the crust was nice and crumbly. I think the apple could have been a little bit less sweeter but having it with cream certainly helped to reduce that.
Christian Reiner
The family’s favourite restaurant; a Sunday staple. The kids love the chicken, chips and corn on a cob, equally good for eating in or take-away.
Caryn Dixon
Lovely, lovely place! Very cosy. Excellent food! Given a large portion of apple pie!
B ee
Love this place. Delicious food and desserts special the apple pie.
Stefan Nicolaou
Food was amazing. We had a whole chicken and a dirty burger to share with sweet potato fries and original fries. Portion sizes were great. The chicken marinade was very original like no other I've tasted. Price was very reasonable. Would highly recommend if you fancy some good chicken.
Manos Liolios
Perfect place for grabbing some chicken to eat in Kentish Town. Reasonably priced and very tasty dishes. I had the chicken salad with the sweet potato fries and was great. Cocktails were pretty good too. Their homemade smoky and hot sauces were amazing! Ask the staff for their secret with sauce! Staff was really helpful courteous, one of the best I've encountered! Totally recomended!
Roberto Claudio Sormani
They only serve one type of burger (cheeseburger), but they make it really well - best is rare. Burger is 5.5 quid but is worth much more. Lovely dirty fries and fried onions. The atmosphere is very much American Diner like, with a large shared table. There is no service but they're pretty quick in any case. Best burger ever!!
Petri Heikkinen
We went into this place just by chance, and luckily they had some counter seating available for three of us. Really happy of this "accident", since the chicken was fantastic, so tender and tasty! I really like the basement-style restaurants, and this makes no exception. The place looks good, it feels good, and the service was just perfect - and everything was reasonably priced (+ we got generous discounts due to their birthday). Oh yeah, and the apple pie was just amazing cherry on top of everything, highly recommended!
Jon
Brilliant, a cut above that "ubiquitous franchised high street chicken shop".
The ambiance in the downstairs eatery was excellent, and the open kitchen with rotisserie turning away made sitting at the bar area at the end of the restaurant a great choice over one of the tables. The chicken was tender and delicious and the sauces were exceptional. A real delight. Good value for money too.
Phil R Krynski
It’s a balmy September night in London and my flight had just arrived from Berlin. All accounts so far had warned me to rug up as if the ice age was coming, yet there I sat in a T-shirt - comfortable, but hungry. Of course smart phones choose our meals these days and rather than wander around possibly ending up with a less than savoury meal, I flicked through the Four Square app. I came across a seemingly decent restaurant with an 8.9 rating that was only 0.2 miles away. The decision was made and I scampered off to the ‘Chicken Shop’. <br/>The words ‘Chicken Shop’ back home in Australia instil strong imagery of a small family-run store with delicious rotisserie chicken, but in a dirty eyesore of a shop. Typically there would be cold metal furniture, greasy tiled floors and a flickering blue insect light at the back that would intermittently buzz as it take out the bugs that didn't end up in the food. It’s quick and easy, not pretty, but it sure as hell is tasty. This is exactly what I expected to find when I arrived at the Kentish Town location.<br/><br/>At first I couldn't find the entrance. I was hopelessly searching for an oversized fluorescent-lit window with a friendly-looking international store clerk behind a chrome counter top. Instead, I finally noticed a doorway with a minimalistic sign above, displaying the words, ‘Chicken Shop’.<br/><br/>I began to hear the sounds of soulful music playing as I made my way down the polished wooden staircase that levelled out onto a dimly-lit restaurant floor with designer furniture, candles, stylish decor and a well-stocked bar. It was certainly not the image I’d had on the way over. The waiter greeted me with a warm smile and explained that the menu sits on the wall at the back, much like the chicken shops back home. The concept made sense. They’d taken the classic idea of a family-run fast-food shop, but added the flair of fine dining. The place exudes class, yet it doesn’t lose its friendly local chicken shop feel. <br/><br/>I excitedly sent off my order of half a chicken and watched the chefs chopping up 24-hour marinated, steamed and rotisserie roasted birds in the open kitchen. The chicken arrived ready to go in a takeaway polystyrene box. <br/><br/>I eagerly made my way back upstairs to find a nice spot by a canal or in a park to gorge on the tasty goodness. The smell wafting from my carry bag overtook me and I set up on a curb like there was no tomorrow. The box flew open in holy grail fashion to expose the most delicious looking golden brown, juicy chicken you could hope to see from here to Timbuktu. During the meal I paused only for a second to mourn the loss of a piece that I had dropped during my trance-like eating state. I didn’t want the delicious food to go to waste and offered it to a passing puppy. The owner yanked her dog away in disgust. If only that pooch had known what he was missing out on.<br/><br/>I finished up and licked the house-made hot sauce clean off my fingers. Finger-licking good you say? Most definitely!
Tangmanstyle
Christmas is always a great time for gluttons like myself! However, to prepare myself for the inevitable food onslaught, I undertook some “training”: A “Tony Adams” at Piebury Corner : A deep filed pie consisting of crisp pastry and tender meat, topped with a rich, smooth gravy and sitting on a pile of creamy mash. Beautiful! A “crazy lamb jalfrezzi burger” at Baba G’s : Tender spiced lamb in a soft bun, smothered with riatha and an apple and pear chutney. Innovative, but not quite as good as a traditional jalfrezi from Dishoom. A “Louisiana Rib” from Pure : Sounded awesome, tasted very one dimensional. The distinct lack of smokiness in the pulled pork was a killer. Chicken from Assenheim 56 : Think Nandos, but SO MUCH BETTER (blasphemy!). I have no idea what is in the “green” sauce (I’m guessing a lot of coriander!) but ask for extra sauce! I would also suggest getting the salad, not the rice (otherwise risk falling asleep at your desk…..) Juice from Joe and the Juice : Made fresh and reasonably priced. Only complaint is that they add too much apple to the juices! More dim sum at the Lotus (I went three weekends in a row….)
London Zef
The Chicken Shop menu is simple, unfussy, geared towards an easy dining experience and written on the wall (so don’t look like a twat by asking for one). The place is set in a trio of eateries
FoodGrid
The Chicken Shop in Kentish Town serves only rotisserie chicken and sides to go with it. I heard about it because a friend of mine let me taste some of her left over apple pie from there, and even when it was a day old and not even kept in the fridge, it tasted amazing. So I decided the trip to North London must be worth it. It was difficult to find, as it is located downstairs with only a small paper bag on the doorknob as signage
HungryBee Maija
If you like Nandos, you will absolutely love this place. Chicken Shop is located in Kentish Town, so unless you live there, it is not really in most people’s way and this is a “destination restaurant”, as in you have to make a trip to go there, but it is really worth it, if you are a chicken fan. Chicken Shop is owned by the same people as Pizza East, and there is also a Pizza East located on the ground floor of the same building where Chicken Shop is (Chicken Shop is located in the basement). Chicken Shop as the name suggests serves chicken and not much more. The menu is super small and this I have noticed is a trend these days as more and more really specialized restaurants are opening up with only very few things on the menu (e.g. Burger and Lobster). I went to Chicken shop on a Thursday at 7.30 and when we got there it was full and we we
The Very Hungry Londoner
The food came incredibly quickly, and the chicken really was very good. Straight from the spit, it was succulent and with a crispy, herb slathered skin. There was a large wedge of lemon to squeeze over it and two bottles of sauce on the table - smoky and hot. The sides were also very good – we opted for crisp crinkle cut fires and corn on the cob, which had coriander melted butter poured over it at the table. There was only one issue: the later came in three pieces. After having had one each, and failing to get a knife through the third to divide it, I suggested I just ate half and then past it over. Only I forgot and ate the whole lot. However, as luck would have it, the table of four right next to us went for a smoke right after their mains, and left behind, sitting alone its dish, an untouched cob. Feeling guilty for my earlier cob gobbling, I sneaked it off the table and past it to my friend. I am not meant to say this, but she did eat it, and quickly, before they returned. Our (r
Cocktailsandcaroline
Chicken Shop opened at the end of last year. You could easily walk right past it; it's downstairs below Pizza East. It's quite small inside and when we went - a Saturday afternoon - a little chaotic. Dimly lit but bustling, bottles of sauce, china chickens and teapots adorn the walls. Chicken Shop sells you chicken - pure and simple. You can choose a quarter, half or whole chicken (free-range Norfolk chicken, fact fans). They are all spinning on a huge spit at the front of the r
Jeanne-Marie B
Second visit at 79 Highgate Road in Kentish Town: this time was at Chicken Shop . My first visit was at Dirty Burger . I went there for a Sunday Brunch with some friends , we ordered a whole and a half chicken, two corns on the cob (each dish got 3 corns inside), three crinkle cut fries and one coleslaw. It was totally enough for 4 people, we didn't finish all but we were happy to learn that you can ask for a 'Doggy bag' if you want to keep the rest of your chicken. All of us tried the chicken with both sauce: Hot and Smokey and without. Even if sauces were good we were all agreed to say we prefer the chicken without, because it was already perfumed and tasty. Corn on the cob can be served with a garlic and butter sauce but we all choose to just add salt on it which is better because you can feel corn taste. Fries were good, and coleslaw too. Weak points of Chicken Shop I think it's sides price. All sides are £4, I think this price is ok for corn on the cob because you have 3 in you
Food And Drinks Noob
Located in between Kentish Town and Gospel Oak station, from the same people who brought you Dirty Burger and Pizza East, Chicken Shop is an interesting underground restaurant serving nothing but rotisserie chicken as its main course.
Food Over London
The chicken comes chopped up, make sure you check out the chopper with the massive cleaver and chain mail gloves, that job ain't for the faint of heart. With the chicken is 2 sauces either smoky or spicy, the spicy certainly had a fair amount of kick to it! The chicken however was a little disappointing, far too dry and some skin on the wings too burnt to eat. There must have been a bit of a cock-up. Some of the meat on the drumstick was still quite juicy and succulent but overall felt a bit underwhelmed.
A Spoonful Of Sugar
The restaurant itself has a great vibe to it, the smells coming from the kitchen are intoxicating, the music had us all dancing in our seats, the food itself was delicious, the staff were so friendly and helpful...
Nom Nom
I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like chicken, and this chicken is extra special yummy. Win.
Samphire And Salsify
However, the corn was perfectly cooked with charred blackened bits giving it plenty of flavour.
Jonathan.p.garrett
It would be easy to overstate how good the Chicken Shop is. It’s very clever but in a simple way, and its food is very tasty but in an unambitious way. But you can’t deny that it’s probably the most satisfying and delicious places to eat in London – the fact it costs less than £20 for two courses, drinks and service is, frankly, ludicrous.
Uju
...And the chicken… oh, the chicken. Plump and tender and juicy and beautifully seasoned, each mouthful tasted better than the last, especially when I threw on some hot sauce. Sometimes a chilli sauce adds fire but dims flavour, but the Chicken Shop hot sauce amps things up on every level. Their Smokey bbq sauce is good too, but I prefer the heat.
Flora Tonking
Yes, this is another of those 'too cool for reservations' places. You enter through an unmarked door, wondering vaguely whether you're about to walk into someone's living room, and head down to a basement filled with the thump of classic 60s rock and roll tracks. There is a slight element of the shed about Chicken Shop - lots of wooden panels and the odd pile of potato sacks. But the place is far cleaner than your average shed, and with the rotisseries spinning merrily just the other side of a wide metal-topped bar, the restaurant certainly smells better too. Once you've been greeted by the cheery serving staff you will be shown to a table - if you're lucky and the place is rarely quiet - or you will be told how long your wait for a table will be. But even if you have a wait ahead of you it's rarely more than about 30 minutes, and the staff are happy to keep the drinks flowing so you don't get too bored. Although after watching everyone else tucking in to their delicious-looking
Every Meal Matters
A bloody good brownie too. It’s a sign of a great pudding when you’re already full and then suddenly, before you realise, it’s all gone.
Nic Cril
Southern-style buttermilk fried chicken might have been the order of the day in 2014, but this year we can expect to see more and more restaurants pare down their approach to poultry.
The Perfect Trough
A nostalgic highlight among the sides are the crinkle cut chips (although these are bettered at Dirty Burger) but the chicken really is the star. It’s served in pieces unlike that impaled, under-seasoned bird at Tramshed – and is seasoned and charred in spots to give it a true grilled taste. Supermarket spit chicken this is not, but at £14.50 for a whole one, it’s a bargain.
Thecriticalcouple
We haven't thus far indulged at many of the chicken speakeasies that have been popping up around London over the past 12 months, so it was about time. What's more, as many will know, Chicken Shop and Dirty Burger are essentially next door and owned by the same people (Soho House). Being in Kentish Town, we were resolved to try both, though interestingly, according to UrbanSpoon, Dirty Burger has twice as many blog posts as Chicken Shop so in the trend wars, burgers it seems remain supreme. Like Dirty Burger, Chicken Shop focuses on a single main course option, but against the rough and ready, round the back and in the shed burger joint, Chicken Shop is a large, comfortable and family friendly. You can choose a seat at one of the tables or at the large front table that puts you in spitting distance of the grill (that's the distance at which the grill can spit fat at you). Of course, as can be seen in the first picture below, this is also where the action is. We really liked Chicken Shed
Editor
Just chicken, but done well - in typical Soho House style
Laura Fitzpatrick
I knew I'd love it. They've recently opened in Vauxhall too. Service was nice, we paid around £20 each, cheap and tasty.
Sarah Guershon
I was overjoyed to join the young, hip crowd at The Chicken Shop, not least because the smell of the rotisserie chicken was intoxicating! <br/><br/>The menu is simple and to the point. I presume this is because they didn't want to mess around with what is the best, most delicious rotisserie chicken, EVER! Thank heavens there are a few of these places around! <br/><br/>The service was absolutely perfect: fast and happy without being in your face and annoying. Very reasonably priced too. Their drinks menu is a little brief, but luckily, you don't come here for the beer.
Meryem
The ambiance is cool. The menu is limited. The choice is easy; chicken.<br/>The service is quick. The chicken is moist and flavoursome. The portions are huge, even the quarter chicken was more than enough for me. The chips are -nice and crispy- some of the best in London. The homemade apple pie is.... Just try the homemade apple pie. <br/>Go to THE chicken shop, and change your chicken shop perception forever.
Fiona Barrows
“Just chicken?”<br/>“Yes, is that a problem?”<br/>“No. I like chicken”<br/>“Good”<br/><br/>So went the conversation when I suggested to a friend that we met at the Chicken Shop in Kentish Town on Tuesday night. My reasons for visiting were twofold: 1) I would be muddy coming straight from a BMF session on Hampstead Heath so didn’t want anywhere formal and 2) if a restaurant just serves chicken, it has to be good chicken right? And I do like some good chicken.<br/><br/>We met as she had just walked straight past the door. The Chicken Shop is clearly far too hipster to do such a mainstream thing as have an actual sign advertising its presence (to be fair – it doesn’t seem to need one, it was full all evening) and instead settles for its name printed on a Hessian bag hung from the door. It does make finding it, if you don’t know what you are looking for, a bit tricky. Downstairs the dimly lit room (good date lighting FYI, although if you can find a way to eat the chicken seductively, you are a better woman than me) is a cross between an American diner (chequerboard floor, plastic tables, brightly coloured chairs) and an old barn (dark wood ceiling and bar, enamelled plates and chickens, chickens everywhere).<br/><br/>All the food and drink is written up on blackboards. We ordered a small jug of house red (the wine is simply labelled house, good and decent). I’m not sure what it is was, and was too thirsty to ask, but it was perfectly drinkable.<br/><br/>We then turned our attention to the food. My friend looked horrified when she realised this was a ‘sharey place’. I love ‘sharey places’ but have long since realised that many of my friends do not like going to them with me. I *think* this is because I am not very spatially aware so I can’t really judge equal portions, I went to boarding school so can eat really quickly, and well, I am just a bit greedy.<br/><br/>The food came incredibly quickly, and the chicken really was very good. Straight from the spit, it was succulent and with a crispy, herb slathered skin. There was a large wedge of lemon to squeeze over it and two bottles of sauce on the table - smoky and hot. The sides were also very good – we opted for crisp crinkle cut fires and corn on the cob, which had coriander melted butter poured over it at the table. There was only one issue: the later came in three pieces. After having had one each, and failing to get a knife through the third to divide it, I suggested I just ate half and then past it over. Only I forgot and ate the whole lot. However, as luck would have it, the table of four right next to us went for a smoke right after their mains, and left behind, sitting alone its dish, an untouched cob. Feeling guilty for my earlier cob gobbling, I sneaked it off the table and past it to my friend. I am not meant to say this, but she did eat it, and quickly, before they returned. Our (rather cute) waiter found this very amusing. <br/><br/>Despite the previous incident my friend did agree to share a piece of apple pie for pudding, although only if she could divide it when it arrived. I agreed. The pie was served in a family style dish from which the waiter asked how much we wanted. He then placed half a pint of cream on the table and told us to help ourselves. You can see the results in the photo. The apple pie was warm, cinnamony and sweet. Perfect.<br/><br/>But perhaps even better, was the bill. At £16 each, for a lot of really good, unpretentious food and plenty of wine, it was very good value. And to top it off, when I told our cute waiter the food was better than Nandos, he said he loved me. Yup, perfect.<br/><br/>
Paul Davis
Unless you need to get a train, being underground isn't ideal. In fact, the underground is hardly ideal, either. But what I'm trying to say is that Chicken Shop is located underground, and this hardly ideal. <br/><br/>The Chicken Shop - along with Pizza East and Dirty Burger - make up an uber-cool triple threat all located on a single site in Kentish Town. Whilst Pizza East gets pride of place on the ground level, and Dirty Burger is tucked around the back, the entrance to the Chicken Shop is a doorway leading directly down a flight of stairs, to a dark and cavernous restaurant. <br/><br/>Now I don't like being underground, what with the lack of natural light and general stuffiness. But to be fair to Nick Jones, he's really made this underground restaurant a pretty comfy affair. The staff are impeccable, and the decor is pretty cool. Yes, it is trying to be cool, perhaps a little too hard. But not so much that it undermines the cool altogether. It is cool in spire of itself. <br/><br/>The seating feels a little cramped. But then again, it is done in such a way as to give you relative privacy. I was there with a friend, and we felt that the buzzing ambiance didn't at all impinge upon out ability to talk privately and freely. If anything, it enhanced our moods. Sitting in the Chicken Shop you feel like you're sitting in the place to be without feeling uncomfortable - a rare synthesis. The waiter came, tattooed to the nines, rocking the swagger and the smile, crouched down to our level, and asked us if we had been to the CS before. I'd have said no even if I had - he seemed so genuinely excited to tell us about the place.<br/><br/>Before entering the CS, I expected it to be Nando's with class. However, I'm more than used to Nando's fairly emaciated chicken. So when we ordered a whole chicken to share, this raised an eyebrow from our waiter. This was a good sign. These chickens were set to be plump and wholesome. And they were. Chicken is one of those run-of-the-mill foodstuffs. Easy to do well enough, difficult to do exceptionally. The quality of the meat was exceptional, and the way it was cooked was spot on.<br/><br/>Now, here's where things went a bit wrong for me. The sauces. For me, it is difficult to say which comes first between the chicken and the sauce. They are both essential to a good chicken. Lose one, and the whole house of cards comes a-crumbling. But the sauces were sub-par. The spicy sauce was, if anything, not particularly nice. Too sweet. It didn't do it for me. The other sauce was decent. <br/><br/>Will I go back? Yes. More for the atmosphere, which is saying something seeing as it combines two of my pet hates - overly dark and underground. The food was lovely, and certainly good enough for a return visit. But you won't see me there. After all, it's too dark. And nobody makes eye-contact when underground. <br/><br/>Screw Flanders.
Hailey
If you're tired of the regular fried chicken joints, go out to Kentish Town and walk up the hill to a Green (almost hidden) door next to Pizza East. Chicken shop does one thing, and only one,but they do it damn well! Get a whole bird from the spit, or half, order 2- 3 sides and enjoy the best, juiciest chicken you've had in a long time. Corn on the cob and fries would be my personal recommendation, there's a range of sauces to go with. If you have a good enough appetite, or can resist ordering seconds, try the Apple pie.
Food Over London
Chicken Shop is one of 3 Soho House Group food places to invade Kentish Town, just up the road from the forum, alongside Dirty Burger and Pizza East. The entrance is very minimalist to say the least, no sign on the door, just a 'Chicken Shop' bag attached to the handle. Walking downstairs there was a wonderful aroma of chicken and chatter from a full house, even at 10 pm. Inside is a candle lit 50 style diner with food served in tin camping style dishes. I'd heard a few good things about this place from some other locals, so was looking forward to some chicken 'n' chips. <br/> Taking a gander inside this place really is no frills and chicken is at great value. £8 for half and £14.50 for a whole chicken. I was hoping a for a better version of Nandos. The chicken comes chopped up, make sure you check out the chopper with the massive cleaver and chain mail gloves, that job ain't for the faint of heart. With the chicken is 2 sauces either smoky or spicy, the spicy certainly had a fair amount of kick to it! The chicken however was a little disappointing, far too dry and some skin on the wings too burnt to eat. There must have been a bit of a cock-up. Some of the meat on the drumstick was still quite juicy and succulent but overall felt a bit underwhelmed. It's good value, but if you are going to do one thing (bar the sides) surely it has to be consistent all the time. On a plus side the management were quick to respond to our feedback and got a chance to try the apple pie, that I don't think I would of otherwise had.<br/>Here's where Chicken Shop redeams itself. The apple pie destroyed all of us. The waiter brings over the whole apple pie dish and serves a large slice of pie with ice cream. It was really fulfilling and great crunchy pastry. It's a massive portion but one of those desserts that you keep eating until you can't physically take any more.<br/><br/>Read more on: http://www.foodoverlondon.com/2012/11/chicken-shop-on-wing-and-prayer.html
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