Down an inconspicuous doorway just off Hoxton Square is where you’ll find Louie’s Hot Chicken – the new fried chicken-focused joint from the Red Dog Saloon family.
Touting a proper Nashville-style bird here, chicken pieces – served either on a slab of white bread, sandwiched in a bun with slaw or in a bucket – are soaked in a seasoned brine, dusted in flour, fried and then doused in cayenne pepper paste.
Some of it’s good. Copper-coloured legs, wings and thighs were crisp, perfectly spiced and tender as you like, while ‘jumbo’ strips of breast meat were average-sized at best but equally moreish. Bowls of butter-laced mash and golden, bagel-sized battered onion rings were winning sidekicks, too.
On the downside, however, fries were lacklustre and under seasoned. And though the deep-fried mozzarella sticks and fiery tomato dip had us drooling over the menu, when they arrived, they were a bland, rubbery flop.
But Louie’s biggest letdown was its service. Having waited 30 minutes to order (on a very tame Saturday night), food didn’t arrive until over an hour later. The delay was blamed on a broken-down fryer, but to go ahead and include service charge on the bill rubbed salt in the wound.
Is Louie’s the hottest place to eat right now? Definitely not. Sure, certain dishes sizzle but you’ll give them an icy cold reception if the service doesn’t improve.