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If you’ve strolled by Shaftesbury Avenue anytime over the last nine months, you’ll no doubt be familiar with the huge queues and spicy aromas snaking out of Dave’s Hot Chicken.
The viral US chicken chain, backed by the likes of Drake and Samuel L. Jackson, opened its first London branch in December last year and hordes of hungry Londoners were immediately lining the street to get a taste. Two more outposts have since opened in Birmingham and Manchester and there’s word that a second Dave’s Hot Chicken branch will be coming to London very soon.
Another Dave’s is expected to launch at Westfield White City ‘in the coming months’, following an agreement with hospitality investment group Azzurri. The group (which also operates Zizzi and Coco di Mama sites) has signed an exclusive deal with the cult chicken chain, agreeing to develop at least 180 restaurants across 10 European countries, 60 of which will be in the UK and Ireland. You can find out more about the potential British locations here.
There’s no exact date for Dave’s White City yet. In the meantime, you’ll just have to join the queues in the West End. Although there have been reports of punters waiting up to four hours for their extra hot chicken tenders (which get so spicy you have to sign a waiver), Time Out’s food editor Leonie Cooper found that the wait wasn’t ‘actually too bad’ and only lasted around 20 minutes.
When Leonie paid Dave’s a visit, she reported that the chicken ‘is actually really very good, with a crunchy, quality batter and soft, well-cooked meat’ and ‘a lot juicier than other high street chicken joints’. You can read her whole review of Dave’s Hot Chicken here.
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