Belle’s Hot Chicken

5/33 Barangaroo Ave
Barangaroo, NSW 2000
https://belleshotchicken.com/

Belle’s Hot Chicken has a special place in my heart. The first time I ever ate there was in Melbourne, and unbeknownst to me at the time, it was just hours before I was to receive the call that kickstarted my pharmacy career. Sure, it wasn’t a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but at the time, getting a job offer at a large hospital after 3 months of desperately looking for work was the best feeling in the world.

As it turns out, I wasn’t the only one who’s come a long way since 2015. In the last 5 years, not only has Belle’s became a stalwart for southern fried chicken in Melbourne, it’s also expanded across the border, and now has 2 locations in Sydney as well. The one we hit up today was in Barangaroo, and the al fresco dining along the promenade was the perfect backdrop for the menu of fried goodies and natural wines.

In anticipation of all the deep-fried and carby goodness we were about to ingest, I ordered a tall glass of the house-made Cardamom Lemonade ($5) to temper the richness. Although I couldn’t taste the cardamom, the lemonade itself was fantastic – sweet but not too sweet, with a bright citrus tang. It tastes like the kind of lemonade that most people probably haven’t had since they were a child.

The menu here is pretty straightforward: you pick your meat, pick your heat (which goes all the way up to Sex Panther), grab a side, and maybe consider a sauce or two. There’s also a few sandwiches on offer if you can’t bring yourself to have nothing but fried chicken. I went for the classic Medium Drumsticks ($17, 3pcs), and shelled out an extra dollar to upgrade my side to Mac and Cheese. I was hugely impressed with the almost toffee-like crispness of the skin on the chicken, which contrasted marvellously with the juicy meat. Despite the ferocious appearance of the seasoning however, this was actually very tame, with almost no heat to speak of beyond a smoky warmth. In fact, I found the entire thing to be rather under-seasoned; a heavier hand with the salt would’ve done wonders. The mac and cheese on the other hand was entirely on point, the pasta coated in a lusciously creamy sauce, pepped up with a dash of paprika.

Compared to the drumsticks, the Southern Tenders ($19, 4pcs) were distinctly underwhelming. The chicken erred on the dry and bland side, though it was somewhat improved by a side of a ranch dressing, made in the traditional style with buttermilk. Thankfully the side of Potato and Gravy (also an extra dollar) was sheer perfection, its combination of smooth buttery potatoes and savoury chicken gravy being more than enough to make up for the lacklustre chicken, and doubling as a great dip to boot!

As much as it pains me to say it, I feel the same about Belle’s as I did 5 years ago, sentimentality notwithstanding. Although the technique of the frying and the quality of the chicken can’t be faulted, there just isn’t enough flavour in the seasoning to make it truly special. It has the foundation of something that could be great, and as it stands, it’s pretty good fried chicken, but I really wish it was better.

Rating: 12.5/20 – sex panther, seriously.
This rating reflects my personal experience at the time of visit.