First Look: Chicky Boi’s Viral Fried Chicken Sangas Find a Permanent Home on Brunswick Street

After more than a year building followers on Melbourne’s pop-up circuit, Adriel Reddy’s much-talked-about fried chicken joint, Chicky Boi, has found a permanent home.

This April, Reddy took over Near & Far bottle shop, the Brunswick Street that hosted a Chicky Boi residency from January to March. The new operation is a joint venture between Reddy and Near & Far founder Jason Cameron, so expect forward-thinking brews to accompany your fried chicken.

Chicky Boi started out as a series of dinner parties for friends – a side project for Reddy, an engineer by training, between contracts. It grew gradually through sporadic pop-ups, starting with a stint at South Yarra’s Pound cafe in September 2024, before rapidly gaining traction in recent months. That meant a sharp increase in volume – moving from dozens of sandwiches per service to around 500 – as well as a spike in online attention.

The move to a full-time set-up marks another shift in both scale and expectation. Opening weekend, Reddy says, was “a real shock to the system”, with queues forming before service and demand quickly outpacing supply. It’s a significant change from the early days when he was largely operating solo, producing small batches and learning in real time.

While social media has played a role in amplifying that growth, Reddy is cautious about overstating its influence. He points instead to the product itself – which took years of recipe development, and involves brining chicken breasts for two days in a “secret concoction” – and to a customer base that returns week after week, rather than a spate of one-off visits driven by online visibility.

The fried chicken sandwich is the star of the show. The double-dredged coating delivers a pronounced, structured crunch that gives way to tender, well-seasoned meat. The result is considered rather than excessive, reflecting Reddy’s engineering approach to development that’s focused not on scale or glitz, but on perfecting a signature product.

“I’m not looking at any particular venue and trying to be better than them,” he says. “I’m looking at the product and how I can make it the best it can be.” The upshot is a tight menu of core items: the fried chicken sandwiches that have anchored the business thus far – including the Chicky Boi OG with dill ranch and pickles, the Nashville-style Spicy Boi, the hot-honey drizzled Honey Boi and the pared-back Basic Boi – alongside regularly rotating specials. There are also a handful of sides, such as salt-and-vinegar crisps, and chicken strips with house sauces, keeping the focus firmly on the core offering.

While the Near & Far bottle shop is no more, the original bar area remains. Alongside taps pouring local craft beers like Bridge Road’s Beechworth Pale Ale, there’s a list of alc and non-alc cocktails by Reddy with pairing suggestions – try the Chicky Boi Spritz (sage syrup with a fennel and lemon lacto ferment, soda and a grapefruit garnish) with the Spicy Boi, or the Lagerita (a Tommy's Marg with Pickle Boi lager, pickle juice and jalapenos pickled in-house) with the Honey Boi – and a short list of Victorian wines by the glass.

Chicky Boi
375 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy

Hours:
Thu & Fri midday–2.30pm; 5pm–9pm
Sat 11am–2.30pm; 5pm–9pm
Sun 11am–2pm

@chickyboi.auchickyboi.au