Six To Try: Next-Level Melbourne Chicken Shops

For Melburnians, chicken shops are essential neighbourhood spots known for peas and coleslaw from a tub, chips coated in chicken salt, and juicy birds. But a new wave of reimagined chicken shops is hitting the city, with chefs transforming the dinner go-to. Here are six of the most exciting new chicken shops around.

Yang Thai, St Kilda

Former Earth Angels chef Narit Kimsat and Waxflower co-founder Jimmy Pham are behind Yang Thai, a chicken shop that serves mostly – but not strictly – southern Thai food. Choose from turmeric chicken (available whole, halved or quartered), grilled whole fish and grilled tofu. On the side, there is som tum with salted egg, sticky rice and chips served with sweet-and-sour tamarind ketchup.

Season Chargrilled Chicken Service, Brunswick

Serving flavour-packed banh mi during the day wasn’t enough for Good Days Hot Bread founder Nam Nguyen. Tuesday to Saturday after 5pm, the Brunswick banh mi shop transforms into Season Chargrilled Chicken Service. Season has a tight, smart offering of chargrilled chicken and fried tenders. The chargrilled chicken is brined in a fragrant blend of lemongrass, shallots, ginger and coriander for 48 hours, and the fried tenders are served on their own or as a burger. Sides include chips, pickled salad and rice cooked in broth. There’s also crisp Orion on tap and low-intervention wine by the glass.

Smoky Hen, Mount Waverley

Melbourne is very familiar with Korean fried chicken, but at Smoky Hen, chef and founder Scott Lee puts the spotlight on Korean chargrilled chicken. At his Mount Waverley shop, Lee cooks chicken over oak wood, with an old-school Korean technique he learnt in his native Korea. Lee says the high heat created by the wood results in especially crisp skin, and the smoke leads to a more subtle smokiness than is typical of charcoal chicken.

Chook, Cremorne

Fonda co-founder Tim McDonald was tired of the basic salads and off-the-shelf chips found at most chicken shops. So he started to wonder, “What should a chicken shop look like in 2025?” And he opened the doors to Chook in Cremorne earlier this year.

Chook pressure-fries chicken to secure juiciness without overdoing it on the grease. The “proper sandwich” is a piece of crisp and golden chicken layered with pickles and house-made ranch between toasted buns. Another hero dish includes the Julius wrap, a snacky iteration of the Caesar salad made with fried tenders, cos lettuce, prosciutto crisps and croutons dressed with Caesar salad dressing. “I’m not trying to be revolutionary,” McDonald tells Broadsheet. “We’re just trying to add a contemporary offering to an already-classic dish.” The drinks menu is just as fresh, with lychee lemonade and cucumber soda made in-house.

Habibi Chicken, Preston

At this Wagga Wagga-born, sibling-run Lebanese chicken shop, each bird is marinated in a blend of garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, cumin, coriander and paprika for 24 hours before being chargrilled. The result is smoky chicken balanced with spice and a subtle tang.

Accompaniments include flatbread, pickles, salad and sauces like toum or chilli garlic. A standout is Blame the Flame, a slaw and chip-stuffed, chilli-brushed wrap that’s toasted to order. Habibi Chicken also has fried chicken that you can order in snack boxes, wraps and burgers. The kitchen pumps out a decent number of takeaway orders, but there’s also plenty of seating if you want to eat in.

Kokoras, Yarraville – coming soon

“I’ve always wanted to open my own chicken shop,” Alex Xinis says. When a vacancy popped up two doors down from his Yarraville restaurant, Tzaki, he knew it was his chance. His chicken shop Kokoras (Greek for “rooster”) serves butterflied chargrilled lemon- and oregano-brined chicken with house-made flatbread and Greek lemon potatoes on the side. The 50-square-metre space, painted fluorescent yellow, is be primarily for takeaway with limited indoor and outdoor seating.