Please note that since writing this blog post, Biscuit Baby has closed down
Much like my article about tacos in Amsterdam, this list wouldn’t have been possible to come up with even just a couple of years ago. But fried chicken is having a moment in Amsterdam, and who am I to count calories when there’s serious research to be done?*
I had to start with Biscuit Baby, because theirs was hands-down the best fried chicken I’ve ever tasted in Amsterdam. The chicken itself is moist and succulent, with a lightly fried coating and a fabulously hot spice mix applied to it if that’s your thing (it’s completely optional but highly recommended). It also comes with hot honey, which is just the bomb. Because Biscuit Baby is in the business of southern fried chicken, most menu items come with biscuits – which are self-explanatory if you’re American and are like savoury scones if you’re everyone else. Impressively, the biscuits are pillowy soft but don’t fall apart the minute you bite into them. The waffle fries with ranch dressing are also the real deal – these guys can do no wrong.
Next to Sarphatipark, Ladybird FC has got New York written all over it. There are no reservations, tables turn over quickly, and the service is definitely more American than Dutch. In that you won’t have to wait to get attention, but equally you won’t be hanging around after your meal. We tried their crispy fried wings and their regular six-piece set of fried chicken, and all came in a tasty and crispy coating (although they could’ve been served a little warmer). I enjoyed all the sauces we tried, particularly the J&T house-made hot sauce (by now you know I’m a sucker for hot sauce). Their collard greens and mac & cheese were pretty authentic, though Ladybird’s biscuits could’ve been fluffier and and more buttery. Drinks include a good selection of beer and bubbles – which is what you want to cut through the crispy-skinned greasiness of fried chicken.
For something a little spicier, head to Dapperstraat and pay a visit to Naskip. We tried their fillet strips, wings and a few larger, bone-in pieces, and all were moist and full of flavour with a perfectly crispy coating. The star of the show, however, has to be Naskip’s Surinamese hot sauce – which is fiercely spicy yet fruity from (I assume) the Madame Jeanette chilli peppers. But why wasn’t there more of it? We ordered over €30 in chicken and only received one tiny pot of the spicy gold. The side dishes – regular fries, sweet potato fries and corn on the cob – were all pretty decent, but again could have come with some sauces. Chips and mayo, anyone?
The new kid (geddit?) on Amsterdam’s fried chicken scene, KID Amsterdam opened in very late December 2022 or early January 2023 (it’s hard to tell from their social media) having found a permanent location after their very successful popup. It was a chef who told me about it, so I was keen to try their famed chicken. The crispy fried wings with mango-habanero sauce were the bomb, while the Sichuan chicken sandwich was a lot more manageable than it looked (the brioche bun squished down nicely and the spice and sauce made it pleasantly hot and sweet). We enjoyed everything else as well: from the various Asian-style meaty skewers to the lip-smacking cucumber salad and umami-rich roasted cabbage. The food was a triumph all round. I was less of a fan of the wines, which were all natural and therefore variously cloudy, funky and low intervention. Neither the website nor the wine list mentioned that this was the case, which made picking crowd-pleasing wines (I was with a group of six) a bit of a challenge. But I’d go back for fried chicken and cocktails!
Possibly the crispiest of the bunch was Gangnam Chicken – now with two locations, in West and Oost respectively. I’d wanted to eat inside (which is only possible at the branch in West) but at the last moment it was pouring with rain so we ended up getting takeaway from the Oost location. The crispiness apparently comes from the fact that Gangnam Chicken’s wings are double-coated-and-fried. And the small format (drumettes, wings or boneless) means that there’s plenty of surface area for the coating to cover. They offer three sauces, all of which were a bit sweet for my taste, but the Korean pepper sauce was at least moderately spicy. I also loved their kimchi!
In the same neighbourhood as Gangnam Chicken West, you’ll find Rotisserie – a cosy spot for chicken any which way (roasted, fried, you name it). Rotisserie’s fried chicken has a wonderfully savoury, moreish, crispy coating. Mr Foodie says it’s a travesty that it was off-the-bone chicken thighs cut into slices, but from a practical perspective it worked perfectly. And the ranch dressing was a nice touch, too. Meanwhile, Rotisserie’s cocktails are fantastic and good value – it was there that I discovered the Boulevardier (a whisky-vermouth-Campari combo that I’m currently addicted to). But you can also go off menu with an espresso martini or a mezcal sour.
Opening in 2023, SOJU is a newcomer on the fried chicken scene – but it’s got very popular very quickly. From the fried chicken point of view, I can see why: their spicy-sweet sauce-laden chicken, sprinkled with crushed peanuts, was the business. The rest, however, left a lot to be desired: the other menu items we tried (be it the bulgogi beef rolls or the chicken salad) were pretty lacklustre, and I wasn’t a fan of the soju itself (a Korean distilled, grain-based spirit) – though that may just be personal preference. Where they really fell down was the service: trying to order was like an endurance sport, and when our second round of food did come to the table, the wait staff failed to take the dirty plates from round one away. These are pretty basic issues. That said, the fried chicken was fantastic – so perhaps order it to go?
Feed Amsterdam re-opened in its current incarnation in summer 2020. But before that, it was a branch of the highly popular Aussie mini-chain Drovers Dog. While they’ve added a radio studio and a focus on music and community, much of the rest remains the same: the décor is not much changed, and you’ll see several familiar faces among the staff members. And while the menu overall now features far more veg-led dishes, one meaty item that’s still going strong is the buttermilk fried chicken. A generous portion of hot, crispy, delicious chicken that’s served with (what I think is) siracha mayonnaise. It’s a good sharing-sized plate for a couple of friends having a borrel. And if the rest of your friends are vegetarian, they’ll be equally happy with the cauliflower wings.
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