Top 5 Chicken Restaurants in Adelaide

Korean fried chicken has taken the world by surprise over the past few years, so it’s no surprise that we’re starting this list with a Korean fried chicken restaurant.

Gunbae means “empty glass” in Korean and is the Koreans’ own way of saying “cheers,” so you can pretty much guess how great this place is for lovers of beer and chicken.

When we came to visit, we ordered all four of their chicken flavours to get a good taste of what Gunbae offers.

Although all of them were tasty and juicy, we loved the yangnyeom chicken the most. It was spicy but not too much, and the spice was balanced out by the sweetness of the sauce.

We also loved how we could get a faint taste of garlic in the sauce, making it so much better.

We also ordered Kloud beer and a bottle of soju to make a mix that worked well with the chicken. It’s a must-try that we highly recommend to everyone.

The only disappointing part about the menu is the small portion and the rice balls.

The chicken comes in small pieces, so if you ordered the half-bird menu, you might get disappointed. 

As for the rice balls, we found the rice to be too mushy. They’re also quite pricey, $12 for 6 pieces.

On the bright side, they offer outdoor seating, so it’s great for customers who are more comfortable dining outside.

Ban Ban is another Korean fried chicken restaurant in Adelaide that’s very popular among locals. In fact, it’s one of the most highly recommended chicken restaurants in the city.

What we love most about the restaurant is how extensive its menu is. They have chicken, many sides, and large dishes like fries, tteokbokki, rice cake skewers, kimchi stew, and kimchi pancakes.

Among their chicken, we really loved the secret sauce and soy garlic ones. They were very flavourful and juicy, so we enjoyed every bit of them.

We also love how even the breast parts of the chicken were juicy and not dry. Many restaurants serve these parts dry but, fortunately, not Ban Ban.

They have a ban ban option where you can choose two flavours for one order, so we highly suggest you try that.

The umami fries are also a must-try when you come to visit. It’s our favourite dish, along with the kimchi pancake, because they match well with the chicken.

Another thing we love about them is they have a lot of options for people with dietary requirements. Their vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free food are marked on the menu, so they were pretty easy for us to find.

The only drawbacks would be the small location and the customer service.

The place, although very beautiful, is quite small. There’s limited space, and it can get pretty crowded easily.

We were just lucky enough to not be seated near the kitchen, as it can get warm in that part of the restaurant.

Orders also take quite a long time before they are served. We waited for over 30 minutes to get the food, which would have been a little tolerable if we didn’t already wait for over 20 minutes before getting a table.

In addition to this, it was hard to get the staff’s attention because of how many people there were in the restaurant.

On the bright side, they are very generous with their serving and fair with the prices.

Located a few minutes away from the city centre of Adelaide, Kokko is worth every kilometre you’ll travel.

Kokko focuses on fried chicken, so they’re able to improve their recipe. They also offer a wider range of flavours for this.

The Kokko signature chicken is our favourite on their menu. The chicken is coated in a sweet and spicy sauce with a hint of garlic flavour, but it’s still crispy.

The volcano chicken is very spicy, but the sauce tastes really delicious, so it’s worth a try if you’re a fan of spicy food.

During our last visit, their regular chickens were very moist and juicy, but we found the boneless chicken to be a bit dry. They used the breast part of the chicken, and the sauce didn’t seep in much, so we weren’t able to enjoy it as much.

We also found the drink menu to be limited. They only have Coke, Sprite, water, Korean beer, and local beer, which isn’t much compared to the other entries on this list.

On the bright side, their menu is very reasonably priced. Their chickens only cost $15–$19 per serving, and they’re also quite generous with the serving.

Another thing we love about Kokko is how friendly and helpful the servers are. They were lovely and very attentive, making the dining experience better.

We also didn’t have to wait for a long time despite the restaurant having a lot of customers.

If you’re craving chicken for your midnight snack, Plus 82 Pocha is the best place to go.

The restaurant is open until 9 on most days of the week and until 1 AM on Fridays and Saturdays, so you can come whenever you’re craving good chicken.

They’re also open for delivery, so if you find dressing up and going out too bothersome, just order online and have their food delivered.

When we went to eat at Pocha, what initially caught our attention was the artistic interior design of the place. The neon lighting made the vibe inside more vibrant and cosy, and the chalk illustrations made the place feel more youthful and fun.

As for the menu, we were shocked by how extensive it was. We went there with the thought that we’d only get chicken, but we ended up ordering japchae and kimchi pancakes too.

The garlic soy fried chicken was top-notch and deserved all the praise it gets. The chicken remained crispy despite being drizzled with sauce, so we were to enjoy it to the last bite.

The kimchi pancake was a great match for the chicken and Cass beer that the restaurant offers, so we highly suggest ordering them together.

The spicy devil-flavoured chicken was extremely spicy. If you’re not big on spicy food, we don’t suggest ordering it, as it was a lot spicier than we thought.

The only downsides would be the price and how noisy it can get inside the restaurant.

The original chicken costs $32, while the flavoured ones cost $34, which is quite a lot for a single serving of chicken. The kimchi pancake is also $19.

As for the noise, since the place isn’t that big, it can get crowded pretty easily, causing more noise. It’s not the best restaurant for people who prefer to dine in peace.

While Korean fried chicken has been gaining much love from people worldwide for the past few years, we can’t deny that American-style fried chicken has ruled the world for some time.

Motherlode 142 in Hindley Street serves some of the best American-style chicken nuggets in town, so be sure to drop by when you’re near the area.

The jalapeño honey butter and pink parmesan nuggets were our favourites out of their nuggets menu. The jalapeño nuggets were coated in a sweet sauce with a bit of spice, which balances out the dish and prevents it from being too sweet.

As for the pink parmesan, the chicken came with just the right amount of saltiness. The pink sauce is a must-have, and we were honestly blown away by it.

They, however, don’t have much to offer during lunch, which is pretty disappointing. They only offer their chicken sandwiches, their signature nuggets, and two other flavours of chicken tenders.

On the bright side, they have the most extensive drink menu out of everyone on this list. Aside from their soft drinks, they also have alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

They offer both beers on tap and beer cans for beer lovers. They also have gin, vodka, tequila, rum, whiskey, and a wide variety of wines.

We’re just a bit disappointed with their customer service. The manager was quite rude towards the customers at the table near ours, so it was pretty uncomfortable.

The attention of the servers was also quite hard to get because they were busy talking to each other. Some were cleaning the tables, so it was pretty understandable, but we still hope they can be more attentive to customers.