Fish and chips or a Chinese have long been known as the favourite takeaways among Brits, but hungry customers have developed a growing craving for fried chicken.
From McDonald’s to Popeyes and KFC, the number of major chicken chains making their way to the UK from America is only growing, with Chick-fil-A the latest to announce its upcoming arrival.
The American chicken sandwich shop plans to open five restaurants across London, Liverpool, Belfast and Leeds over the next two years.
But feathers could fly in high streets across the country, with the US imports facing fierce competition from British institutions like Morley’s, Chicken Cottage and Popeyes.
In south London, a single stretch of road has a staggering 29 fried chicken shops, making it the biggest street in the UK for the fast food item.
McDonald’s is the largest US chain selling fried chicken in the UK, with 1,442 stores opened since it came over from America in 1974.
This is closely followed by KFC, which has 1,040 branches in the UK and came over even earlier in 1965.
Here, takes a look at how American chicken offerings rival our homegrown favourites – and whether a cheeky Nando’s beats a late night Maccy’s, or whether Popeyes leaves the competition in a flap.
A newer addition is Popeyes, which arrived in the UK in 2021 and has already set up 50 stores.
Popeyes was founded in 1972 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, by Al Copeland, who was known to stay up all night perfecting his mashed potatoes.
Chicken favourite Nando’s came to the UK from South Africa in 1992 and has set up 392 restaurants so far.
Specialising in Portuguese flame-grilled peri-peri style chicken, Nando’s has become one of the most popular dining locations in the UK.
Fernando Duarte and his friend Robert Brozin, the founders of the first Nando’s, bought a restaurant originally called ‘Chickenland’ and renamed it Nando’s, opening it in 1987.
By 2018, there were 340 Nando’s restaurants throughout South Africa.
Nando’s initially struggled to get started in the UK, where the franchise rights were bought by the Enthoven family in 1992. The first UK restaurant opened a short time later in Ealing, West London.
And Chicken Cottage, a UK-based fast food chain, was founded in 1994 and has 115 outlets.
It was founded in London and speciaises in fried chicken and succulent sides.
Iconic Morley’s has been operating in London since 1985, and has more than 100 stores serving chicken, wings, ribs and burgers.
The family-run chicken joint was referred to in Stormzy’s 2015 track ‘Wicked Skengman Part 4’, while his 2017 video for ‘Big for your Boots’ was filmed inside one of its branches.
The chain also worked with writer and performer Corey Bovell for his one-man theatre show Chicken Burger N Chips, while another grime star, Krept, released a song titled ‘Morley’s Freestyle’ and used a prop of a Morley’s store front on stage during a gig at the O2 Arena in 2019.
But the chain’s iconic branding this year ended up at the centre of a very different stage over claims a competitor had wrongly used signage too similar to the distinctive red and white, ‘MMM… it tastes better’, trade mark used by Morley’s.
It won the battle when Judge Melissa Clarke ruled in favour of Morley’s, holding that competitor Metro’s ‘…It’s the real taste’ sign ‘infringed the Morley’s red and white mark’.
Some have pinned fried chicken’s popular status on its affordable prices which target ‘deprived areas’, while others point to its influence through social media and celebrity trends.
The craze has been helped by the popular show Chicken Shop Date, which premiered in 2011 and sees its creator Amelia Dimoldenberg take major celebrities on an outing to eat the fast food.
Among the run of famous faces who have featured in her series – which began with her interviewing up-and-coming grime artists back in 2014- include Billie Eilish, Daniel Kaluuya, and most recently A-listers Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman.
The Deadpool & Wolverine stars also recently featured on US YouTube talk show Hot Ones with host Sean Evans, where guests answer questions as they eat spicy chicken wings.
Sidemen, the YouTube group popular among teens, sent fans into a frenzy when they opened their own fried chicken chain Sides in 2021.
Richard Pigott, Slim Chickens UK Operations Director said last year that social media has ‘supercharged’ the demand for fried chicken.
‘It is clear that fried chicken has a long-held affection in the UK, but even we were surprised at how much it’s overtaken great British dishes like fish and chips.
‘Undoubtedly social media has also supercharged demand for US fast food, playing a crucial role in shaping food trends and influencing people’s culinary preferences.’
American fast-food chain Chick-fil-A this week revealed its first ever UK locations.
The chicken sandwich chain plans to open five restaurants across London, Liverpool, Belfast and Leeds over the next two years.
It already has more than 3,000 restaurants across the US, Puerto Rico and Canada, with the new UK branches marking the first locations outside of North America.
The brand will donate £25,000 to a local non-profit organisation in celebration of each new UK restaurant opening.
The majority of Chick-fil-A restaurants will be owned by local, independent Owner-Operators – small business owners.
Each local Owner-Operator will be responsible for daily activities of the business – including hiring and developing their Team Members, connecting with guests, and cultivating relationships with local organisations and businesses.
Truett Cathy founded and opened the first Chick-fil-A restaurant in 1967 in Atlanta’s Greenbriar Mall.
The chicken shop opened a pop-up store in Reading, Berkshire, in 2019, but closed after the initial pilot period when the lease on the site was not extended.
Reading Pride gay rights campaigners held a demonstration outside the shopping centre, calling for a boycott over the chain’s history of giving money to groups it claimed were anti-LGBT rights.
The chicken chain is still significantly rooted in its founder’s Christian beliefs.
The owners of the chain, the Cathy family, have in the past donated money to various charities, some of which have been associated with anti-LGBT beliefs.
The stores do not open on Sundays, in a tradition to honour a day of rest. This allows staff to worship and spend the day with family.