I love chicken, which is good for me because it’s pretty much the only meat I eat. Amen loves chicken too, but he loves everything lol. He’s not that into fried chicken though, but I think that’s mostly because he’s a fitness freak. He didn’t agree to deep frying chicken wings at home until I accepted using coconut oil lol. And the rare times we make breaded chicken, he coats the chicken with brown bread and only briefly flash fries it before he puts it in the oven to cook. I say all that because Amen himself booked Dinner at Chicks ‘n’ Sours because he’d heard very good things about the restaurant …
Chicks ‘n’ Sours is a free-range fried chicken restaurant in Haggerston and Seven Dials. We went to the restaurant in Seven Dials, which is pretty much Soho as it’s just off Shaftesbury avenue and a stones throw from The Palace Theatre. Our reservation was 6PM on Friday. We were just about on time and when we arrived the restaurant was already very busy. When you step through the door it looks like a simple chicken shop, but then you’re led to the restaurant itself on the lower ground floor. It’s a fairly compact room with a cool bar on one side, and has a really relaxed vibe with a lot of really nice pop art on the walls.
What we ordered
The menu is simple, and has everything and more that you’d hope for in a fried chicken restaurant. For starters we both ordered disco wings. Mine were sticky and his were tossed in Kung Pao, peanuts & Szechuan chilli. We also ordered popcorn chicken to share. For Mains, I ordered Chicken Tenders and he ordered the Guest Fry Drumsticks and Thighs, which come with Malaysian lemongrass curry sauce, bean sprouts, Thai basil & crispy shallots.
Review of the Food
Starters
The wings were huge! Clearly free range lol. Beyond that, the uniqueness is in the sauces the wings are tossed in. I liked my sticky wings, wasn’t overly sweet and it was certainly sticky. It was a very good portion, and I’m proud to say I finished it all. Amen liked his wings, which were tossed in Kung Pao sauce. I tried one of them and it was sweet and spicy, but not too spicy. He started off loving it, but you could see his guilt creeping in as he soon began trying to break off the crispy coating lol. He devoured them though.
Amen tried KFC’s popcorn chicken for the first time last year after the Wireless festival and he absolutely loved it! He initially wasn’t that keen on this popcorn chicken though, especially because he didn’t like the house BBQ dip we ordered, but he started enjoying it more once he started dipping it in his Kung Pao sauce. I enjoyed them, but wasn’t exactly enamoured with them.
Mains
My chicken tenders were really good. The coating was crispy and delicious and the chicken was tender lol. The extra flavour, which will be necessary for most people when eating chicken tenders, comes from the dips. I ordered the St. Agur & buttermilk dip, which I didn’t like at all but luckily I still had the house BBQ dip, which I did enjoy. Chicks ‘n’ Sours also offer kewpie mayo, Gochujang mayo, sriracha sour cream and hot sauce dips.
Amen enjoyed his Guest Fry, but at this point his guilt had taken over because he essentially removed all the crispy coating on the thigh and drumstick and just ate the flesh lol. He liked the curry sauce though, and the crispy shallots too.
Dessert?
We were stuffed, so we chose not to have a dessert (this time lol).
Verdict
I really enjoyed my dinner experience at Chicks ‘n’ Sours, Amen less so, but that is to be expected, and it has more to do with him than the restaurant. The fried chicken is really good and the restaurant has a great buzz with really good music. I recommend for very relaxed dates, mid to large group dining (6-10 people), and lovers of fried chicken. It’s much more expensive than your local chicken shop, but that’s to be expected … it is free-range herb-fed fried chicken after all lol.
Cuisine: Fried Chicken
Dress Code: Casual
Shiima’s Star Dish: Sticky Disco Wings
Amen’s Star Dish: Kung Pao Disco Wings
Price: £20+ each (excluding alcohol)
Rating: 3.8 out of 5
Chicks ‘n’ Sours Seven Dials
1a Earlham Street, Seven Dials, WC2H 9LL
Reserve at ResDiary
or call 0203 198 4814
