It’s time for a Where to Eat Chicken in Vancouver roundup…and yes, it happens to be Year of the Rooster…Coincidence? Subliminal? In any case, fact is, we indisputably eat a lot of chicken year in and year out, in various shapes and forms. Dark, white, bone-in or boneless, poached, fried, roasted – we love them all, but here’s a list of the types of chicken and places we frequent the most: fried, roasted, and Hainanese.

Fried Chicken

Church’s Chicken

With multiple locations across Greater Vancouver, this chain is the baseline fried chicken; what many locals grew up on, according to our unofficial polls.

Damso

Juicy korean-style in three flavours (and pro-tip, an off-menu dry salt & pepper.) If they’re still running their late night all you can eat wings deal ($10.99), we’re there.

Dixie’s BBQ

A substantial and assorted meat platter gets plunked down and you’re elbow deep in beefy brisket juice and pulled pork, but then you dip into the bucket of chicken and realize, this bird ain’t playing no second string.

Duffin’s Donuts

A $2 piece of thigh within reach 24 hours a day, which you will likely wash down with a side of donut, torta, or tamale. Their spicy option is legit, too.

Juke Fried Chicken

Tasty and moist with a hint of herbs, the batter is inoffensively gluten-free; to-go boxes are fun and stay-in drinks are yum.

LA Chicken

A cult fave of a group consisting of what seems like those who grew up on but want more options than Church’s.

Longtail Kitchen

Chef Angus An has Thai flavours throughout his menus down pat, and these wings are no different. The tang of tamarind sauce is a nice touch.

Phnom Penh

Those sweet golden piles of crispy garlic flakes atop a mountain of the most addictive wings around. We’re just going to say it – they’re the best.

Uncle Willy’s

Guilty pleasure pick. If you feel like having your chicken fried and roasted, and unlimited sides and other joyful items to fill your bottomless pit of a belly with, big Willy style is the way to go. Pro-tip: they offer a take-out menu exclusively for their fried chicken.

Shout out to other crispy chicks we dig: Zabu Korean Fried Chicken, Japanese karaage (Guu and Kingyo make great ones), and five-spiced Taiwanese fried chicken (what up Maji and G8!)

Roast Chicken

Grilled, barbecued, rotisserie.

Freebird

Mix it up with Asian-style rotisserie from Chef Angus An.

Homer St Cafe and Bar

We may not have an $80 chicken in Vancouver, but if you’re looking for an easy date night, pull up here and enjoy a very tasty chicken dinner, elevated by the handsome room and patio.

L’Epicerie Gourmande

This Granville Island counter serves various roasted meats you can enjoy right at the Market as a nice meat snack. Take-home birds come in three flavour options: Porcini, Citrus Herbes de Provence, and Honey-Rosemary.

Swiss Chalet

Their rosemary sauce is so iconically Canadian that they turned it into a potato chip flavour.

Hainanese Chicken

CoCo Hut

The family and combo meals offer good variety, plus the accompanying bone broth soup may be worth the price alone.

Freebird

Tender boneless slices you could eat with knife and fork; the cleanest tasting version out of the bunch.

Hawkers Delight

Accurately named, this tiny hole in the wall keeps their offering cheap and cheerful.

Ipoh Bean Sprout

The chicken is good and the rice is packed with flavour – definitely not the time to go carb-free here. Crystal Mall food court in Burnaby and Granville Street in Marpole.

Mamalee

You’ve prob seen this one on the ‘gram. Plump pieces prettily plated, Mamalee is one of, if not the first, in the city to do it boneless (also available at their Aberdeen Centre food court location, Cafe D’Lite Express.)

Mui Garden

With multiple locations, these guys have been shilling no-fuss plates of poultry in volumes second only to their famous curry beef brisket.

Prata-Man

This place keeps has a street food style about it and makes no qualms about dishing up morsels of juicy dark meat, glistening in all its natural oiliness.

Hidden gem: tucked into a nondescript strip mall is City 1, a homestyle hole-in-wall serving up good chicken (and curries, and other tasty snacks.)

Market birds: Perfect for weekday meals, Costco, Safeway, and Whole Foods all do the rotisserie thing, but for us, Costco gets the edge on bang for buck and juiciness.

Other chicken we’re into:

Butter chicken from Original Tandoori Kitchen, jerk chicken from The Reef, and Soy Chicken from HK BBQ Master (but if you’ve made it through the queue at HK BBQ Master, you best be ordering some BBQ pork and roast pork as well)

Ok, let’s hear it. What essential spots have we missed?