So, we all know my love for pizza, but did you know that I also hold a large portion of my heart for chicken? That’s right! So let me tell you about all the chicken at Ma’Pluckers in Soho.
Oh, and did you also know that the day I met my now husband he took me to good ol’ Nandos as the pub we were in had sold out of roast dinners… Yes my friends, we fell in love over chicken! What a love story.
Back to the chicken. I love cooking with it at home – I make a mean roast chicken, but one thing I can’t recreate is buttermilk fried chicken, and oh how I love a good buttermilk fried chicken! I normally get my fix from the great selection of street food traders we have here in London. Spit n Roast were my firms favs until I tried Otherside Fried chicken this summer… oooof. Their burgers are good.
To continue my research I recently went to try what Ma’Plucker in Soho’s had to offer.
We walked in on a heaving Friday night and once the drinks were ordered (frozen raspberry margarita for me and boozy ice tea for him) we started the deliberations on what chicken we would try.
The Food
Ma’Plucker promises to bring the Deep South to London’s doorstep with their signature 3-way chicken: Buttermilk Fried, Chipotle Roasted and Slow and Low Pulled Chicken. You pick your chicken, choose your ‘base’ (brioche bun, house bun, maple waffle or salad) and then decide which sauce to top it off with – MP Chicken Skin Gravy, Chipotle Chilli Sauce, Kansas, BBQ, Herb dressing or Maple Chilli Glaze! The sauce selection makes me happy. I am definitely a condiment girl.
There are also a few other options including the chicken caesar salad or buttermilk fried patty. We were here to eat chicken and we most definitely were not here to eat just salads!
We wanted to try their signature way of doing things and so opted for the chicken 3-ways. Having decided to order the buttermilk dipped chicken and the rotisserie chipotle chicken, we asked the friendly waiter which way he recommended we have them.
And so the feast was ordered…
Crispy coated thighs (they’d run out of wings!) were ordered on top of the maple waffle base with the chicken skin gravy – I ordered an extra little pot of maple syrup on the side because sweet and savoury loving. We went for half a roasted chipotle rubbed chicken on a simple salad with the Chipotle Chilli Sauce but ordered fries, coleslaw and one crack n cheese please on the side.
When the food arrived we both looked at each other as if to say ‘woaaaah, we’re never gonna finish all this’.
We did. It’s chicken after all. It’s like dessert – separate stomach.
The crisp-coated buttermilk chicken thigh was a little over cooked with the coating being a bit crunchy in places. But the flavour was great – the lightly spiced coating went great with the chicken skin gravy, as recommended.
The chipotle roasted chicken doesn’t, in my opinion, look like the most appetising chicken but let me tell you, the flavour of this juicy chicken was amazing. Oh and it really is half a chicken, just look at the size of it! I am so glad we ordered it with the leaves! The Chipotle Chilli Sauce was like mayo perfectly spiced and slightly smokey.
The coleslaw was creamy and the fries nice and skinny though at £3.50 for a ‘mug’ of fries I thought it was on the expensive side. The crack and cheese comes served as a huge ball of deep fried mac n cheese goodness. Again quite small for £4.50 but really very good.
We were restrained and decided not to order two desserts but just order the one slab of cherry pie with ice cream to share. Boy, is Ma’Plucker’s cherry pie good. Thin layers of pastry packed full with juicy cherries.
The Verdict
Ma’Plucker is a really fun spot in the heart of Soho for a Friday night bite to eat. They had a wicked playlist of old-school tunes, frozen margaritas that actually tasted like they had tequila in, and the place was full to the brim.
The buttermilk fried chicken was not completely faultless and I think it’s something they need to master but overall we really enjoyed our meal and if I’m in need of chicken when in Soho I know where to go.
Where is your favourite place in London for fried chicken? I’d love some new places to check out!
Ma’Plucker
75 Beak St
London
W1F 9SS
*I was a guest of Ma’Plucker, but as always views remain my own including my love of maple syrup and chicken!
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Good grief that fried chicken screams everything, shame it was a bit over! I’ve not found amazing deep south fried chicken yet, but i’m now curious about this!
Honey x The Girl Next Shore
It’s definitely worth a visit if you’re nearby. Well, I think I’m going to make it my mission to find the best chicken in London – I feel it’s my duty… haha. x
Ohh my god, that macaroni cheese ball looks so good!
They were AMAZING!