Fried chicken has taken Britain by storm. I spent a day at Popeyes to find out why

It’s Friday morning in Clapham High Street and standing outside the newly opened Popeyes restaurant I’m close to sensory overload. I was quickly struck by the glowing bright orange sign; the smell of fried chicken; a wall of bass music as I open the door and a slight oiliness in the air as I enter.

I’m here to spend the day in American fried chicken chain which has transcended national boundaries. The brand, which is proud of its Louisiana origins, has been rapidly expanding across the UK since its debut in London’s Stratford Westfield in 2021 (where it became the world’s highest-grossing store).

Since then, Popeyes has opened 49 restaurants across the UK, from Aberdeen to Plymouth, as well as 11 delivery kitchens and six more to come by the end of the year. Fifteen of its outlets are in London, including, as of early September, one on my local high street.

While Clapham can’t claim the dizzying heights of Streatham (whose main road has 12 chicken shops in a radius of just over three kilometers), it already has six chicken shops along a 250-metre stretch of road.

Britain can’t seem to get enough of fried chicken. Cheap, colorful and celebrity-backed, it’s now our favorite fast food – we spend £4.6 billion a year on it – while fish and chip shops are in decline.

More than 800 million pieces of chicken were sold in UK quick-service restaurants (the industry term for fast food restaurants) in May, according to market research firm Kantar. In contrast, vinegar company Sarsons recently estimated that more than half the country’s population fish and chip shops “May disappear” by 2025.

Despite, or perhaps because of, the dish’s place in the hearts of Britons, chicken shops are a source of controversy. Critics say they are a source of litter, childhood obesity and loitering teenagers.

Indeed, locals here in Clapham, if comments on social media are anything to go by, are not particularly impressed by the opening of yet another chicken shop.

But since Popeyes opened, it has been surrounded by people. On the day of my visit, a constant stream of customers and delivery drivers enter and exit here: construction workers grabbing bags, students preparing their first lunch of the day, UberEats drivers in helmets, office workers secluded with their burgers, headphones firmly in place.

Part of Popeyes’ cult status is undoubtedly due to the American experience it offers: the New Orleans music is loud, the branding is playful, and the wall art and the food itself repeatedly remind you that this is proudly Cajun cuisine. In addition to Louisiana fried chicken in all its forms, Popeyes offers biscuits (American) and Cajun sauce, Cajun seasoned fries, Cajun rice, and mac and cheese.

Shamina at the register says the Chicken Deluxe, an 855-calorie hamburger-style sandwich, is the branch’s most popular offering, so I order it with Cajun fries and a Diet Coke. She brings it to my desk: It’s part of the job of the Popeyes employees, who I’ve learned are also called “joymakers.”

spicy chicken sandwich (Americans would never call it a hamburger) – that’s good. The chicken is well-seasoned, tender, and the crunch of the batter is nice. The bun (brioche) is soft, and the pickles, lettuce, cheese and spicy mayo complement but don’t dominate. I’m less impressed with the Cajun fries, they’re a little bland but I still finish them.

After trying the product, I begin field research. After a couple of minutes of conversation, the man I’m talking to tells me that I have mayonnaise on my cheek. Ricky, 26, told me it was his first time here (at the suggestion of a friend) and he wasn’t particularly impressed.

Popeye’s offering is not “a great first meal of the day,” he said. It tastes exactly like what you get from a regular chicken store.” According to Ricky, the chicken store next door to where he lives is half the price, even though there is no seating, just a counter.

The next person I talk to is much more enthusiastic. He sits alone with a bottle of water, wearing a signature Popeyes hat and vest. He either works for the company or is a fan of it. I’m hoping for the latter, but Hashim, 35, tells me he is Popeyes’ operations manager and oversees London, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

“I opened Belfast about four weeks ago, but since then we have opened Wakefield and Dartford. Once a week for the next 10 years is the plan, that’s the goal.”

Popeyes seems to be riding the wave. Of course, it benefited from a lot of buzz on social media, including a chicken sandwich battle with rival US brand Chick-fil-A, and among celebrity fans. Popeyes catered Beyoncé’s wedding and was brought on Kardashian’s plane, according to the company’s UK chief executive Tom Crowley.

Later in the afternoon, at the end of the school day, I talk to AJ (12) and Bara (13), who agree to share their thoughts with me in exchange for me borrowing my phone to call a friend. Why Popeye?

“We didn’t want to go back to normal. chicken shop– says Bara. Plus, these boys no longer go to McDonald’s because of the brand’s presence in Israel – they rush to each other to tell me “boycott-boycott.”

“Chicken stores are a little dirty, but Popeyes is really good,” adds AJ, who says he was recently served pigeon meat at a local chicken store.

It is true that quality varies significantly. Both KFC and Popeyes have signed up to the Better Chicken Commitment, a voluntary commitment to meet higher welfare standards by 2026. This includes using chicks that grow more slowly and live longer than six weeks, as well as keeping chicks at a density of 30kg/m2 compared to Red Tractor’s denser 38kg/m2 standard.

The British Poultry Council told me that this differs from most of the UK market: 85 per cent meet Red Tractor standards, with the remaining 15 per cent split between free range (about 3 per cent), organic (less than 1 per cent) and BCC (about 10 percent).

In terms of price, the KFC down the road matches the burger with Popeyes for £7.99, while a three-piece meal costs £8.49 at KFC and £9.50 at Popeyes. The Roosters Spot and Chicken Hub, located just steps away from Popeyes, sell a chicken burger for £4.99 and a three-piece meal for £5.99 respectively.

It’s worth noting that the broader cultural interest in fried chicken on both sides of the Atlantic was initially driven by black audiences. In the USA, Aaron Ross Coleman noted that “like many other internet phenomena, the hype around Popeye’s chicken sandwich first originated on Black Twitter.” In the UK, as Bridget Minamore wrote in 2017: “Chicken shops were a cultural marker for black and brown kids long before white art students started wearing tongue-in-cheek Chicken Cottage T-shirts.”

But British chicken shops have also become a cultural force of their own. Independent stores have become the subject of fiction books and music video sets. In 2016, Elijah Quasi, known as the Chicken Connoisseur, created a series of viral hits with his YouTube series. Pengest Munch. And comedian and presenter Amelia Dimoldenberg Date at the chicken shopwhich she started in 2014 has now become an essential stop for any celebrity on a press tour.

Throughout the day, I see young people coming in and out of other stores before stopping at Popeyes with Roosters Spot bags or McDonald’s burgers. At one point, Hashim asks a group of teenagers who are occupying a stall but eating food from elsewhere to leave. Employees are discussing the possibility of providing security during particularly busy times, especially at the Inferno nightclub located down the road.

Teens and children do not make up the majority of fried chicken consumers. Kathleen Topping, chief customer officer at Kantar, says: “People aged 25 to 54 have the greatest appetite for chicken when they’re out and about,” but chicken shops remain a target for childhood obesity campaigners.

Wes Streeting, the health secretary, has vowed to stop fast food outlets from building new outlets near schools and to test the KFC name.

Barbara Crowther, children’s nutrition campaign manager at Sustain, tells me that “the explosive growth of fast food on our high streets and shopping centers is hugely worrying.”

She believes the proximity of these stores to schools is a problem, and also cites bright colors, mascots and food advertising as “constantly encouraging children and young people to crave these types of foods.”

“Although some councils have introduced policies to restrict new retail outlets within 400 meters of schools, this is not the case everywhere, which is why national planning guidance is so urgently needed, as well as further restrictions on unhealthy food advertising in outdoor areas,” she adds.

Crowley says Popeyes is aware of the health concerns, pointing to children’s meals that include salad rather than fries and low-calorie snacks.

I’m told that the most popular item across all Popeyes websites is the chicken sandwich, with one sold every three seconds in the UK. Compared to its KFC counterpart, it’s richer in both calories and fat, although neither is particularly healthy, according to nutritionist Nicola Ludlam-Raine. However, the discrepancy may well be due to size: “a Popeyes burger provides nearly twice the energy per serving!”

During the day spent there, no one was under the illusion that they were eating healthy food when they were in the chicken store. Most say it’s more of a pleasure than a regular occurrence. For some children and students this is the last Friday before half term starts. Yodit, 36, brought her two children to Popeyes because her nine-year-old daughter Johanna was doing well in arithmetic and spelling and they had just returned from swimming lessons.

“I really like their food and it’s very tasty,” she adds. “I’ve been here a few times, so this isn’t my first time, and I really like the way I’m fed and the people who work here give me kind respect.”

It’s a very special type of American service and culture, playing on the aspirational authenticity that America sells so well: fast food so good that the world’s richest and most glamorous celebrities will eat it at their wedding or on their private jet – and maybe you and you’ll be less likely to ask how healthy it is.

That doesn’t mean it’s seamless. To be called a “creator of joy” while working as a waiter is too much for the British sensibilities. It’s cloying and forced in that cheerful American style that irritates such a dour nation.

But maybe that’s what all of us, not just kids, really want now – the nation’s favorite food in shinier packaging.