Courtney Pochin
Published December 4, 2025 6:00am
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Exciting news for chicken fans! (Picture: Dave’s Hot Chicken)
It’s been a year since Dave’s Hot Chicken first arrived in London with its flagship store on Shaftesbury Avenue.
Queues stretched down the street during opening week, and even now, many fast food fans still line up to try the Nashville-style hot chicken beloved by Drake and Samuel L. Jackson.
But if you can’t be bothered to schlep into central to get your fix, we’ve got some good news… the American fast food chain has announced it’s opening its very first site in South London.
The chain is currently in the process of expanding across the UK with between 30 and 60 new sites planned over the next five years – and the next one will be in Croydon.
The chain is bringing Nashville-style hot chicken to Croydon (Picture: DINESPHOTOGRAPHY)
Dave’s has confirmed to Metro that the brand new site is opening on December 16.
It’ll be open from 11am until 10pm Monday to Thursday and Sundays, but 11am until 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays.
Speaking about the new location, Jim Attwood, managing director of Dave’s Hot Chicken UK, said: ‘We can’t wait to close out the year with our sixth new opening and bring our signature heat to Croydon. This dynamic borough, known for its fried chicken shops, has a vibrant food culture and an energy that fits Dave’s attitude like a glove.
‘We’re looking forward to opening our doors to welcome both new and returning fans to experience our unique spicy chicken. This launch isn’t just an expansion, it’s us bringing big flavour to one of London’s most iconic communities.’
As well as Croydon, Dave’s has also opened or announced stores in Birmingham, Stevenage, Manchester, Westfield White City, and Leicester this year.
What’s on the menu at Dave’s Hot Chicken?
Fans can’t get enough of the spicy chicken (Picture: Dave’s Hot Chicken)
There are just two main chicken items on the menu — tenders and sliders (sandwiches) — which the chain says are made using halal-certified British chicken.
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To pair with your chicken, there’s a range of sides available, including fries, loaded fries, pickles, mac & cheese, and slaw, and you can also order combinations of these to make for a bigger meal, with four combo options to choose from.
Customers can also personalise their order by selecting a spice level for the dish, with six different levels to choose from: No Spice, Lite Mild, Mild, Medium, Hot, and Extra Hot.
Or, if you’re feeling really brave, you could opt for a seventh level: The Reaper.
This is so hot that anyone who dares to try it has to sign a waiver before they’re allowed to tuck into their food.
Alongside this, there’s a range of soft drinks as well as top-loaded shakes and fruity slushers.
What's going on with all the chicken chains in the UK?
Chicken chains have been setting up shop left, right and center in the UK, with Dave’s Hot Chicken, KFC and Slim Chickens expanding and brands like Chick-fil-A and Raising Cane’s revealing plans for new sites.
And it’s not just American chicken brands that want to set up shop here – Dubai-based BonBird and Canada’s MB Chicken are also getting in on the action.
Other established fast food chains are jumping on the bandwagon too, with Domino’s recently unveiling a new chicken spin-off brand called Chick ‘N’ Dip and McDonald’s revealing its looking to add more chicken items to its UK menu.
To find out why fried chicken is proving so popular right now, Metro spoke to Vhari Russell, a food industry specialist and founder of The Food Marketing Experts.
She explained that during turbulent times, such as a cost of living crisis, chicken is seen as an ‘affordable, familiar and versatile’ product.
‘It’s a lower-risk source of protein when costs are high and customers are cautious,’ she says. ‘It’s also perceived as being slightly “healthier” than beef or pork, so it appeals across demographics.’
What do people say about the food?
Fans on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram have praised the food as ‘unreal’, ‘amazing’, ‘elite’ and a ‘10/10’.
Reviews on TripAdvisor for the Shaftesbury Avenue location also claim that Dave’s has the ‘best chicken ever’.
Richard H posted: ‘Absolutely the best chicken in the world imo. It’s extremely hot (extra hot). Chicken is tender and succulent, never dry and always 100 percent fresh.’
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Similarly, Oliver G said he had the ‘best meal of [his] life’ at Dave’s, while Rebekah B said it was the ‘best chicken ever’ and she was ‘blown away’ by it.
Elsewhere, @steakshapiro posted: ‘Just found the most insane chicken sandwich. I had heard rumours about it. Can’t even believe it. Dave’s Hot Chicken. UNREAL!!’
While @RevCiancio said: ‘Dave’s Hot Chicken has some of the best hot chicken fingers and sandwiches ever. They are super tasty, extra crispy and extremely spicy.’
And @vveoko was quick to proclaim it the ‘best fast food chicken out there’, saying: ‘There’s no competition, fries are also hella good.’
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