Flavour bomb central at this new Liverpool Street spot
Run by mates Troy, Tristan and Deacon, Coqfighter has been turning out fantastic fried chicken for over a decade now. Starting out with a unit in Boxpark, where they made their name with wings and fried chicken sandwiches, the trio expanded, opening full-service restaurants in Soho, Finsbury Park and King’s Cross, as well as running a busy delivery operation. They’ve just added a fourth in the City, which marks an evolution for the brand. The offering has grown to include roast and grilled birds, salads and rice bowls, with Asian flavours woven into the menu. The look is elevated too; there’s a smart italic font for the logo, which you can see on the branded plates, and there’s stainless steel and red interiors for the Liverpool Street restaurant.
Eat This
Chicken is very much still the name of the game here so all you really do is choose your format. You can do wings, which come in various glazes like laksa butter, K-BBQ and buffalo, and you can do fried chicken, which comes in sandwiches. We tried the Nashville Hot with green slaw, pickles and chipotle mayo – though we would have liked it spicier, the chicken was well-fried and crispy, and the ratio of pickles and condiments was on point – and we overheard plenty of orders for the Green Chilli Cheese one too.
Don’t sleep on the roast chicken though; the skin is burnished, the meat is juicy and it was drenched in Thai flavours thanks to a chilli, lemongrass, lime, garlic and fish sauce marinade and a nam jim jaew butter. The dips are all flavour bombs too. We loved the laksa butter and the miso gravy but we’d happily have ’em all.
A lot of the greens on the menu, including the cucumber salad, the slaw, and the Caesar salad, come with creamy dressings (all tasty btw), which is fine with the roast chicken but just worth bearing in mind if you’re going heavy on the fried as it gets a bit rich.
Drink This
There are cocktails and beers available if you’re boozing but for those visiting at lunchtime like us, check out the house made sodas and shrubs, with flavours including sour cherry and chilli ginger.
Why Go
We’ve eaten Coqfighter chicken a few times over the years and always found it to be consistently good but this levelled up menu, with the roast chicken options and flavour really packed into the dishes, has made it even better. And the express lunch menu, which runs from 12pm – 3pm, Monday – Friday, represents great value, with half a roast chicken and a side for £13.50 and a fried chicken sandwich and fries for £12.50.
Key Information
Address | 18 Widegate St, London E1 7HP
For more information | coqfighter.com
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