Chick and Beers (Coombe Road)
Chicken restaurant · New Malden ·
Crispy Korean fried chicken with soy garlic and spicy chili glazes
Crispy Korean fried chicken with soy garlic and spicy chili glazes
"We like a concept. And this one’s pretty simple, completely foolproof, and all in the name. The Korean fried chicken at Chick And Beers in New Malden has got a crunch that would make for some truly hypnotic ASMR, and the beer taps pour Krušovice and Maltsmiths into frozen glasses for consistently cold pints. It’s a casual spot with a does-the-job setup (read: canteen-like chairs that kind of hurt your back), and is perfect for an in-and-out portion of fried chicken for one, or a laid-back dinner with mates." - rianne shlebak, sinead cranna, jake missing, daisy meager
"Our favourite thing about New Malden High Street is the high saturation of charity shops—hello turquoise jewellery, hello Marmite merch from 1996. One of our other favourite things is the crispy Korean fried chicken at Chick and Beers. A casual solo dining and dinner with mates spot, it has a short menu that consists of chicken in its various forms and Addictive Carbohydrates Covered In Nice Stuff. But don’t get too distracted by the jalapeño poppers because you’re primarily here for a tender moment with gloriously crispy chicken that makes for some truly hypnotic ASMR." - rianne shlebak, heidi lauth beasley, daisy meager, sinead cranna
"Korean fried chicken has historically been too sweet, too dry, too wet, undercooked, overcooked, battered incorrectly and just generally put through the wringer in London. Chick and Beers is maybe the first to nail it. There are those who will instinctively go for the sweet and spicy yangnyeom as a matter of principle, the kind of people who will order anything on a menu with five chilli symbols next to it, but this is more sweet than spicy. Instead the simple fried is the best option to start with, plainly seasoned, but worth searching in between the bones for. Really it’s the ganjang —soy — that is worth the journey, the batter sweet enough to be redolent of the honey cornflake cakes that every primary school child has attempted to make, yet saved from overwhelming sugariness by the pungency of garlic and crisped onion, the batter pitched somewhere between craggy and hyper-glossy." - MiMi Aye
"Our favourite thing about New Malden High Street is the high saturation of charity shops—hello trinkets, hello turquoise jewellery, hello Marmite merch from 1996. Our second favourite thing is the crispy Korean fried chicken at Chick and Beers. A casual solo dining and dinner with mates spot, it has a short menu that consists of chicken in its various forms and Addictive Carbohydrates Covered In Nice Stuff. But don’t get too distracted by the jalapeño poppers because you’re primarily here for a tender moment with some chicken that’s so gloriously crispy that it would make for some truly hypnotic ASMR. " - Heidi Lauth Beasley
"Korean restaurant Chick and Beers is barely two years old, but already has a second outlet and boasts some of the best fried chicken in the city, with attention to detail lavished on each piece, particularly on one of the most overlooked parts of frying chicken: the butchery. Breasts are cleaved in half with the rib bones connected to underpin them, helping to maintain moisture throughout the fry. Intelligently portioned thighs and legs accompany, producing a whole portioned bird that Jacques Pépin would be happy with. Specify preferred heat level: The standard spicy is more of a sweet hot, and a few notches below the average sweet chilli, but the staff promise to blow the head off anyone willing." - Jonathan Hatchman
