When Dave’s Hot Chicken opened its doors in London for the first time in December 2024, a massive queue stretched along Shaftesbury Avenue.
The US fast food chain, which was born in Los Angeles, was an instant hit with Brits, with two further branches opening in Birmingham and Manchester this summer.
Fans across social media soon described the menu as ‘superior’ and ‘elite’, with popular TikToker @TheBurgerReviews calling the freshness of the ingredients ‘way better than any other chain restaurant I’ve dined in’.
And now, America’s fastest-growing chain is expanding across the UK, with a staggering 57 sites planned across the country.
The chain has signed an agreement with Azzurri Group (the company behind ASK, Zizzi, and Boojum) to open 180 restaurants across Europe, including 57 more UK sites.
The exact locations are yet to be confirmed, but we know one thing: this brand isn’t just about food.
The new Birmingham restaurant, at 56 New Street, is located inside an iconic Art Deco-style building with a space-themed interior complete with UFO installations, holograms, and graffiti art inspired by renowned L.A. based street artists Splatterhaus and Dehmq.
And last month, Dave’s Hot Chicken opened its doors in Macnhester’s Printworks, taking a cue from Manchester’s warehouse rave scene. The building features an industrial interior design, with towering ceilings, exposed steelwork and laser lights.
Speaking about the expansion plans, Jim Attwood, managing director of Dave’s Hot Chicken UK, told Metro: ‘Birmingham and Manchester are on the up, with food scenes to rival London’s. Opening up our next two locations here kicks off our national expansion, and we can’t wait to welcome our first fans through the doors.
‘We’re taking Dave’s Hot Chicken nationwide. Watch this space.’
What does Metro’s food writer think of Dave’s Hot Chicken?
As Metro’s specialist food writer, I gave the chicken chain a try and it was love at first bite.
I’ve only had food from DHC the once, but it easily blows KFC out of the water and that meal was all it took for it to shoot right up there to join Popeyes in the top tier of my fast food rankings.
The chicken is nice and juicy and the Medium spice level is perfect for those who want food that’s full of flavour with a kick of heat. They’re big on pickles, which I love, but the best part was hands down the loaded Cinnamon Toast Crunch Shake – that’s a drink that dreams are made of.
What’s on the menu at Dave’s Hot Chicken?
DHC brought a number of US favourites over to the UK, with prices starting from £8.
Interestingly, there are just two main chicken items on the menu — tenders and sliders (sandwiches) — which are made using halal certified British chicken. However, they also recently launched chicken bites in London.
To pair with your chicken, there are a range of sides available including fries, pickles, and slaw, and you can also order combinations of these to make for a bigger meal, with four combo options to choose form.
Customers can also personalise their order by selecting a spice level for the dish, with seven different levels to choose from: No Spice, Lite Mild, Mild, Medium, Hot, Extra Hot and The Reaper.
The latter 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 are soft drinks such as Coca-Cola, Fanta, and Sprite, and those feeling the heat can cool off with an indulgent top-loaded shake for £4.49. Flavours include chocolate, vanilla or strawberry and these can be topped with Oreo or M&Ms.
Dave’s Hot Chicken was founded in East Hollywood back in 2017, when four friends who loved chicken tenders scraped together enough money ($900) to buy a fryer and launch a pop-up business in a car park.
They began serving Nashville-style hot chicken and soon people were flocking to get a taste, with Drake, Samuel L. Jackson, and Usher all being counted amongst the brand’s biggest fans, and investing in the company.
The business was recently named America’s Fastest growing Restaurant chain, as it now has 200 restaurants across America.
And if you’re still wondering how it tastes, fans on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram have praised the food as ‘unreal’, ‘amazing’, ‘elite’ and a ‘10/10’.
A version of this article was originally published in June 2025.
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