The 10 Best Places In London To Eat Chicken & Waffles

20th Jan 2020

Walk into an English caf’ and ask for chicken and waffles and they will stare at you like you’re holding a cat by its whiskers. Not exactly a well known dish across the pond, there are actually a number of restaurants that do offer chicken and waffles, offering a taste of Southern USA.

1 – Dirty Bones

Based in the lovable (albeit a bit too hipster) Shoreditch, which hosts a number of multicultural restaurants and dishes. Dirty Bones got the essentials right, they make sure it’s crispy fried chicken, while you also get a shot of maple syrup to accompany the dish. It comes to £11, a bit steep for what you’re getting, but what price do you put on comfort food?

2 – Absurd Bird

Absurd Bird can be found in both Spitalfields and Soho, so you can pick the one closest to you. As well as the succulent chicken and waffles, many people also recommend the butter chicken in Absurd Bird. Their traditional dish costs £11.65, also including gravy and syrup, while there is also a pulled chicken option, which includes sour cream, guacamole and jalapenos.

3 – The Diner

This American diner tends to pack out around Independence Day or finals of big American sporting events. There are multiple locations across London, including Camden, Shoreditch, Soho, Spitalfields, Strand and Dalston. Not to everyone’s taste, it’s buttermilk fried chicken, so it depends how you like it. It’s described on their site as ‘on the bone with classic American waffles, diner bacon gravy, slaw & as much maple syrup as you can handle’ at a cost of £11.95.

4 – Ma’ Plucker

I think Ma’ Plucker is probably best known for their occasional offers on bottomless chicken and booze, which is enough to entice most people in! Based in Soho (what is it about Soho and American food), they are open till pretty late most days except Sunday. This restaurant is a little different to the others, offering a ‘3 way chicken’ where you pick what you want. So you choose the way you want the chicken, the pick the base (either waffle, house bun or salad) and then the sauce (e.g. gravy, chipotle, Kansas bbq etc).

5 – Breakfast Club

Based in Canary Wharf, Croydon, Hoxton, London Bridge, Soho, Spitalfields, Battersea Rise, Angel, Hackney Wick and even where I live in Brighton, the Breakfast Club is spreading like wildfire. My main reason for loving this place is the amazing bottomless brunch! But anyway, onto their main dish, this one has an interesting twist, with the inclusion of mac & cheese, pickles, jalapenos, pepper sauce and maple syrup, so expect a slightly different but still amazing taste from home. The price is £11, which on this list actually puts itself relatively cheap.

6 – The Fat Bear

This one is at the premium end of the spectrum, with the cost at £13.50, but the taste matches the price. They use corn fed chicken and siracha maple syrup, while you can also make it ‘buffalo hot’ for an extra £1.50, not sure what that includes though. Right in the heart of London, you can find the Fat Bear at St Paul’s, above the Rising Sun pub.

7 – Red Rooster

Marcus Samuelsson has brought his Harlem culinary influence to London with Red Rooster, while he was adamant it would have to be in Shoreditch, which is such a lively and creative location. Coming out at the cheaper end of the spectrum, you can expect to pay only £10 for the dish here, served with pickles, hot honey and rooster sauce, so not following the traditional recipe but definitely worth considering. But if you really feel like pushing yourself and have someone to share with, you could try the Bird Royale Feast, which is a whole fried chicken, waffles, southern biscuits, mac and greens, cabbage and rooster sauce for £44.