Clockjack claims to serve the best roast chicken in London. And while that might not be true, they do make a pretty good stab at it. The menu here includes a bunch of burgers and salads, but you’d be clucking mad not to opt for the quarter, half or full birds fresh from the rotisserie spit – the meat arrives with a garnish of lemon and rosemary, and that’s all it needs.
The sides, on the other hand, could definitely do with some attention. Our ‘crisp’ coleslaw turned out to be a few shreds of cabbage swimming in liquid, and the sweet potato fries with paprika were a disappointment. Better were the tender and moreish buttermilk chicken bites – though it’s worth thinking twice before ordering the crispy chicken wings, which make no mention of spice on the menu but turn out to be really flapping hot.
All of this amounts to a meal that is, basically, fine. What slightly shoves Clockjack down the pecking order of London’s chicken restaurants is the fact that it’s located in deepest Woolwich – making it a decent enough local joint, but hardly worth traipsing across town for.