If you think of fried chicken as a guilty, greasy late-night snack, then think again. Fried chicken has undergone a gourmet makeover and dedicated fried chicken restaurants are popping up all over the country. With chefs dedicating their time to creating the perfectly textured crumb and uniquely flavoured sauces, these UK fried chicken restaurants are worth a visit.
With this much choice, you’ll want to flock to your nearest fried chicken restaurant ASAP. Take advantage of great prices when you book an Advance Ticket with CrossCountry. It’s time to get your lips smackin’!
Check out our interactive map below to discover the best fried chicken restaurants around the UK:
Buck’s Bar, Glasgow
At Bucks Bar in Glasgow you won’t just get great fried chicken, you’ll get ‘guilt-free’ fried chicken. Fried in rapeseed oil, the chicken here is lower in saturated fat but just as tasty. Their classic buttermilk fried chicken is marinated for 24 hours in buttermilk before it's coated in crust. Hot sauce fans will enjoy the complimentary hot rack offering a choice of over 50 sauces.
Feeling brave? We dare you to try the Ultimate Bird-Box Challenge. Play wing roulette with a blindfold as you gnaw your way through 12 wings, a large glass of milk and a side of fries. Customers who complete the challenge in 20 minutes will receive a 10% discount and a bottle of Buck’s Famous Hot Cock Sauce.
Getting there: Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to Buck’s Bar of course. Your taste buds will be tantalised within a 5 minute walk from Glasgow Central Station.
Happy Bird, Bristol
‘We have one goal – to be the best chicken in Bristol’. With a mission statement like that, it’s no wonder Happy Bird made our list of the best fried chicken restaurants in the UK. Everyone has their favourite kind of chicken and this restaurant wants to help you to eat it your way. Using only the finest free-range chicken, Happy Bird offers an exciting menu, with tastes and flavours from around the world. Order a chicken leg or a wrap and make it your own with your choice of sauce. There's 'Potugeezer' with oregano and smoky pepper, a tangy yogurt-based ‘Lebaneezer’, and the 'Tarragoner' sauce, said to be "nature's perfect gift to chicken, deep and distinct, warm and cool."
For something different, try the Sunday Roast Burger, a grilled chicken breast and all the trimmings in a burger bun.
Getting there: Happy Bird is worth the 30-minute bus ride to Clifton Shopping Centre from Bristol Temple Meads, where you’ll be clucking in delight over the restaurant’s diverse menu and adventurous sauces.
Yard & Coop, Manchester
Yard & Coop in Manchester's buzzing Northern Quarter is nothing less than a fried chicken emporium. Choose your own cut, crumb and sauce and the chicken connoisseurs will fry you up some buttermilk chicken, just the way you like it. Choose from a brined and buttermilked breast or boneless thigh, fried in their secret recipe perfectly-seasoned crumb, and then add a made-from-scratch sauce – say bourbon BBQ, Korean, or Smokin' Aces Scotch Bonnet and horseradish hot sauce.
Once you’ve decided whether you want your chicken in a burger, wrap or salad, it’s time to go to town on the sides. Homemade mac ‘n’ cheese, dirty rice, battered salt jalapeños and deep-fried stuffing balls are among our favourites.
Getting there: From Manchester Piccadilly, you can walk to Yard & Coop in under 15 minutes (faster if you jog).
Absurd Bird, Exeter
Absurd Bird specialises in Deep South-style crispy fried buttermilk chicken, chicken wings, waffles and cocktails. Their creative menu and cool vibe make it a serious contender for one of the best UK fried chicken restaurants. Hungry? There’s only one choice - ‘You Total Melt’, is a chicken fondue packed with your favourite chicken and cheese. It includes giant BBQ chicken wings, chicken sliders, and buffalo tenders, cheese fondue, Primula cheese, deep-fried Babybels and Wotsit dust – unbelievable! There are vegan options too, so everyone will be catered for.
Visit on a Wednesday for £12 bottomless wings! If bottomless made your ears prick, you might also be interested in the weekend bottomless brunch, offering two courses and 1.5 hours of bottomless booze for £30!
Getting there: Absurd Bird is a 15-minute walk from Exeter St. Davids, mmm fried chicken.
Coop, Newcastle
Visit Coop in Newcastle for #damnfinechicken. Here, chicken is cooked to perfection over a fire-pit – choose from a quarter, half or whole chicken and enjoy with a selection of classic sides. Veggies can sub chicken for falafel and those on a health kick can order the caesar salad.
There are nineteen sauces on the menu, ranging from mild to nuclear. You’ll find your favourites like sweet chilli and jerk BBQ to some unusual choices like mushroom ketchup, banana habanero relish and pineapple hot sauce.
If you’ve got room, Myke’s cookie dough pie is served by the slice or as a sharing pie and is served with vanilla ice cream…yum!
Getting there: From Newcastle Central Station, you’ll be eating fried chicken before you know it as Coop is a quick 3-minute walk away.
Bonehead, Birmingham
Bonehead is all about chicken and craft beer – what a combo! Whether you prefer chicken wings, legs, thighs and breasts, or chicken encased in a burger bun – Bonehead’s got your back. Some of our favourites on the menu include the Nashville hot free-range fried chicken, soy honey wings with Jack Daniel’s syrup and the original Bonehead burger loaded with a perfectly fried chicken breast, cheese, lettuce and gherkins. Order some of their savage sides like the loaded waffle fries and wash everything down with a cold craft beer of your choice. Our mouths are watering just thinking about it!
You can’t book a table unless there’s 8 or more of you, and Bonehead is a popular joint. But don’t be put off if there is a queue, this succulent fried chicken is worth the wait.
Getting there: Fried chicken champs will be pleased to hear that from Birmingham New Street, Bonehead is a speedy 3-minute walk away.
Whichever UK fried chicken restaurant gets you cluckin’, these restaurants serve up the best. Remember to buy an Advance ticket via our Train Tickets app.
Written by Abby