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Fried chicken wars heat up in Victoria with new restaurants

So many fried chicken options, so little time
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A fried chicken sandwich at Smile Chicken. (Chris Campbell photo for Black Press Media)

So much fried chicken, so little time.

That’s the situation faced by Victoria diners as the number of restaurants specializing in fried chicken has exploded in the past year.

To be clear, many restaurants in Victoria offer fried chicken on their menus, but now there is a long list of eateries actually specializing in it.

Below is a list of just some of the places that offer fried chicken as the main staple on their menus (the list doesn’t include the many bars or restaurants that simply have a fried chicken option but feel free to email in with your favourite).

These fried chicken places go way beyond the fast-food stylings of KFC with fresh ingredients and a slow cooking process that is done when you first order instead of sitting in a heated bin for hours getting stale.

One of the latest is Smile Chicken, a Korean-style restaurant at the corner of Broughton and Douglas - it’s all chicken, all the time.

The menu does feature some interesting different corn dogs, including one that is all cheese that is deep fried. But it’s the fried chicken that really brings in the customers. You can get original or some sweet and spicy glazes. Everything is done by scratch and you really notice the difference.

If you want to go beyond a basket of chicken, try the fried chicken sandwich (pictured above). It’s huge and fresh, with a delightful glaze to go along with a fresh bun and lettuce. Truly an impressive package to fill you up for lunch.

Also new downtown is Chimac Korean-style fried chicken that includes an tantalizing item called spicy chilly chicken. Other fried chicken options include original, garlic soy, honey mustard, snowy (with a cheese seasoning), plus sweet and sour, creamy onion and pa-dak - a boneless chicken with thin-sliced green onion and homemade horseradish sauce on top.

If you’re noticing a trend with Korean-style fried chicken, you’re right. This is all the rage in Metro Vancouver and it’s growing in Victoria. Another great place in this style is Thunderbird on Cook Street that has an incredible crispy chicken.

Other great chicken options to choose from:

Chicken 649

Capone’s

Chester’s

Chicken on the Run

Chicken World

Jones Bar-B-Que

Good Ovening (just opened last month)

Hive Eatery

Hungry Hen

So if you love fried chicken, you could pretty much eat at a different place each week.

Let me know your favourites.

READ MORE: New Victoria restaurant bucks fried chicken ‘mania’ with oven roasting

Chris Campbell is an editor with Black Press Media in Victoria who also writes about food in this space. You can follow him on Twitter @shinebox44.

Do you have a story tip? Email: chris.campbell@blackpress.ca.

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Chris Campbell

About the Author: Chris Campbell

I joined the Victoria News hub as an editor in 2023, bringing with me over 30 years of experience from community newspapers in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley
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