Best 5 chicken shops across Sydney, delicious reveals

Chicken shops have lifted their game in Sydney with some stellar charcoal chook options — and that’s even before we get to the delicious sides. See our top picks and have your say.

There are many reasons to buy a cooked chicken. Number one is that you don’t have to cook it.

All the other many reasons span the possibilities for versatile meals — from chicken salad to club sandwiches or any number of excellent leftovers — and because it almost feels homemade.

Plus nothing else hits quite the same barbecue, slow-roast, downright delicious pitch as a cooked chook.

Sydney plays host to some stellar chicken shops. In Revesby and Punchbowl, the long-running Awafi does free-range charcoal roasted chickens with crisp burnished skin and Lebanese chicken shop trimmings, from neon-pink pickles to covetable garlic sauce.

And the online-only Chicken Paradiso based in North Sydney does a beautiful wood-fired chicken with labne and fresh lime.

Charcoal chicken, like this from Henrietta in Surry Hills, is very popular across Sydney. Picture: Supplied

Chicken shops have lifted their game in Sydney. We now ask where the chickens come from, what they were fed, and so shops have responded with hormone-free and pasture-raised.

We don’t only want fries with that, and so restaurateurs turn out salads to impress, featuring great chunks of fresh avocado and house-made dressings, piles of roasted vegetables or pickles, and other marvellous things on the side.

Our best chicken shops are vibrant yet considered, without taking themselves too seriously. There’s crunch and texture, a charred or caramelised skin. They do what they do well – be it flat chickens cooked over charcoal or golden birds turning slowly on a spit.

Here is our pick of Sydney’s top five chicken shops right now.

| Vote in our poll below or leave your favourite in the comments section below |

The Chicken Shop, Paddington

This hole in the wall on Oxford St elevates the humble chicken shop, doing rotisserie hormone-free, air-chilled Bannockburn birds with dark caramelised skin and salads to chirp about.

The Chicken Shop in Paddington is a favourite among Sydneysiders. Picture: Supplied

There are giant wedges of roast pumpkin with skin on, glazed with honey. Rotating sides span roast cauliflower with Indian spices and raisins, roast beetroot with feta, walnut and orange, potato gratin or green beans with koji dressing.

Different rotisserie meats make appearances on the menu and have included ocean trout, pork belly, lamb rump and even glazed ham.

Meals here — led by chef Ben Greeno (Momofuku) — have a homemade vibe. It’s a Paddington neighbourhood gem we’d all like in our own backyard.

— 382 Oxford St, Paddington; merivale.com/venues/thechickenshop

El Jannah, Granville

Through the week and all weekend this Granville shop is pumping, turning out quarter chickens and chips orders with extra garlic sauce to a hungry, loyal crowd.

El Jannah takes the concept of the chicken shop up a notch, or a few. The chicken is butterflied and cooked over charcoal, imparting a distinctive barbecue, smokey char that secures El Jannah’s cult status.

El Jannah chicken with sides including hot chips and pickles. Picture: Instagram

The only drawback is the wait, which can be up to an hour on weekends. Always get pickles and flatbread with your order, and try the tabouli, a holy grail of sides.

Newcomers need the heads up to order the garlic sauce; a soft, pillowy, addictive substance.

And due to its popularity, more shops have opened up around Sydney in suburbs including Punchbowl, Liverpool, Newtown, Bankstown, Kogarah and Baulkham Hills.

— eljannah.com.au

Frangos, Petersham

Portuguese chicken won the hearts of Sydneysiders in the 1990s, and the affair has continued since.

Here the chook is butterflied, the skin scored with criss-crosses, then it is marinated in secret things and cooked over charcoal until caramelised and almost charred.

Frangos charcoal chicken has expanded to a number of locations. Picture: Supplied

Enjoy some side dishes as well as their special chilli sauce. Picture: Supplied

The bird’s provenance isn’t highlighted here, but the flavours keep the crowds coming back. There’s Greek salad and seasoned fries, a decent burger menu. But the real focus is on the chicken, which flies out the door.

It’s a no-fuss and cheery place, with outposts in Bella Vista, Concord, Penrith and a few other locations.

— frangos.com.au

Henrietta, Surry Hills

Sydney has a thing for pickles and chips at the best of times, but never more so when a charcoal chicken and Turkish bread is involved.

The charcoal chicken at Henrietta in Surry Hills. Picture: Supplied

At this casual, fun eatery, bar and takeaway shop by restaurateur Ibby Moubbadder (Nour), the advice is to tear open Turkish bread, slather garlic sauce (toum) inside, load up the charcoal chicken — slightly blackened, the flavours intensified over fire — and chips, and eat.

The design-led fit out here, with concrete and neon lights, cocktail slushies at the bar, the skewered meats also on the menu, make this a chicken shop with an edge.

— henriettachicken.com

Chargrill Charlie’s, all over Sydney

This long-running chicken shop — which has outposts in Annandale, Beecroft, Dee Why, Rose Bay, Wahroonga and an expanding list of other Sydney suburbs — is famous for many things, not least its place on the Sydney scene since 1989.

A menu selection at Chargrill Charlie's. Picture: Jenifer Jagielski

It’s known for its vast array of excellent sides.

It has also hosted both Chris Hemsworth and Justin Bieber at various times. But more noteworthy are the hormone- and chemical-free chooks, cooked on a rotisserie and used to form the basis of make-your-own packs.

Large chunks of avocado and cucumber, feta salads, potato gratin and coleslaws, roasted potatoes and generous portions of gravy come together in a symphony of fresh, vibrant flavours and textures.

The chicken roll with gravy is swoon-worthy, and quite possibly the best in Sydney.

— chargrillcharlies.com