Fried chicken blah blah, mana from heaven blah blah...if this is the first time you've read one of my fried chicken reviews, apologies, but I can't open every single fried chicken review with the same rhetoric. In short, I consider my fried chicken quest to be of a similar scope to Ocarina of Time because I'm overly dramatic like that.
I've been pretty blessed on my quest in the last couple of months (definitely not the Water Temple) with places such as The Devonshire Arms, the K-style Jubo, and the reopened Rita's all serving very good chicken. However, Clutch. Yes, that is deliberate verb omission. To sum up Clutch in one word: fcoafoahfgiseduhgisud. I reckon this is probably the sort of review that I'll look back on in a couple of months and wonder what the hell I was thinking - to be honest, I'm probably still drunk on chicken (or high if they've been sprinkling crack into their batter. They almost definitely haven't, but it is exceptionally moreish. Clutch employees, if you're reading this, it's not libel, it's a compliment).
If you're smart, you'll have skipped my ramblings above: the tl;dr is that Clutch is a chicken shop. The space itself is pretty small with room for about 20-30 diners. The decor seems to sit halfway between modern gastropub and upmarket bistro (very white, bulbs with giant filaments) and is pretty cosy (especially before they figured out how to stop the heating unit blasting hot air at our necks). There's also a bar attached to the back, and Clutch offer a small selection of cocktails in case you feel a bit too grubby about eating fried chicken and want to counterbalance that with something.
Between 5 of us, we had:
- 1 bucket of peppery buttermilk fried chicken (between 6-8 pieces usually)
- 1/2 bucket of soy and garlic fried chicken
- 1 load of parmesan and lemon tenders
- 1 bucket of soy wing tips
- 2 portions of chips
- GRAVY
- Slaw
To be honest, the best way to review this would be to post a link to me eating. The 'standard' fried chicken was excellent and hands down the best of its ilk that I've tried in London. Thin, crunchy, tasty batter encasing juicy, flavourful happy chicken. No sogginess, no insipid chicken, minimal greasiness. Some people may argue that the batter could do with a little more seasoning, but for me this was perfect. Oh, and the gravy. The gravy is exceptional - intensely flavoured and full of pepper. "Do you mind if I drink the gravy?" "No Rob, go ahead." Music to my ears.
Whilst for me the buttermilk chicken was undoubtedly the star of the show, the other dishes didn't disappoint either - the parmesan chicken tenders are pretty good (they were a tiny bit on the dry side, but only marginally so), but the accompanying garlic-truffle aioli is just awesome. The soy garlic sauce items were great too - I like the style, although less so than regular fried chicken as it tends to be less crunchy - but they've got the sauce just right. Again, this was perfectly cooked, so very enjoyable.
The bill came out to around £15 per head - whilst not cheap for fried chicken, this was in the same ballpark as the fried chicken from The Devonshire Arms; whilst I could happily have eaten another half bucket, I can chalk that up to a case of me being disgusting rather than me being still hungry. Whilst my fried chicken quest may never truly end, Clutch have acquitted themselves exceptionally well and are quite simply the best in the business in London. Alongside Jubo and Rita's, East London's revival of this noble and sacred art form is a serious hazard to my health and wallet. And I love it. read more