Daves Hot Chicken

Dave’s Hot Chicken is a refreshing change from the usual fast-food fried chicken options like KFC or Slim Chickens, and I went in genuinely curious to see what the hype was about. The chicken tenders were actually very tender and well cooked. I tried both the medium and spicy levels, and they were enjoyable without being overwhelming. In fact, I’m fairly sure I could tolerate an even higher spice level next time. The fries were good too, especially when paired with the sauce dip, simple, satisfying, and executed well. However, the bread placed underneath the chicken was a real miss for me. It was soggy, oily, and frankly quite yucky. I genuinely don’t understand why anyone would want to eat that. If it’s meant to soak up oil, fine, but at least toast it or do something to make it more appetising. As it stands, it feels completely unnecessary. Price-wise, it’s not cheap, and for what you’re getting, it felt quite expensive. I didn’t walk away feeling like it was good value, despite the decent quality of the chicken. On the plus side, food came out pretty quickly, which is always appreciated. Overall, decent chicken with some questionable choices and pricing that doesn’t quite justify the experience.

We visited Dave’s Hot Chicken in the Printworks and the experience was mixed. The food arrived only just warm even though the restaurant was not very busy, and the drinks machine had no syrup in most options so there was only one drink choice available. There were also a lot of people gathered in the doorways which made the entrance feel crowded and a bit stressful, especially with children. The reaper chicken had a good flavour and we signed the waiver which added to the experience, but the temperature of the food made it feel average overall. The staff were excellent and very friendly, and the door staff were polite and even held the doors for us. Parking nearby was convenient. We paid around £60 for four meals and four drinks, which felt overpriced for the quality of food we received. The main reason for our visit was to try the reaper chicken, and while we are glad we tried it, I am not sure we would return after travelling an hour for the experience.

Date’s Hot Chicken was amazing! Big shoutout to Makai and Mo — they were incredibly helpful in helping me choose my flavours and made the whole experience even better. Both had great smiles and provided outstanding customer service. The food was delicious, and the service made it even more enjoyable. I’ll definitely be back!