Louie’s brings a little taste of Nashville to London.
If you’ve never been to Nashville before, I can’t recommend it enough. The late night honky-tonk bars, the Southern hospitality, and best of all, scorching hot crispy fried chicken. Luckily, that Nashville chicken is no longer a transatlantic flight away, as chicken joint/dive bar Louie’s has opened in Hoxton Square. Time to get your Nashers on some chicken!
Tucked away in Hoxton Square, this basement hangout hides a rather fiery secret: fried chicken, “served blazing”. Nashville fried chicken notoriously ranges from ‘hot’ to ‘inferno’, although Louie’s have styled their scale from ‘mellow’ to the ominous ‘afterburner’. Buttermilk coated, the chicken is then spiced with paprika, garlic, brown sugar, and fried in cayenne-infused hot oil for that extra zing.
Happily, Louie’s chicken is served with a range of traditional Southern sides, including slaws, fries, and pickles. Even more happily, the bar serves a range of punch bowl cocktails, which will keep you sorted all evening long. Relieve your gap yah with the Thai bucket (Mekong Thai whiskey, Red Bull concentrate, Coca Cola), or stick with the theme and opt for a Southern Lynchburg Lemonade (Bulleit Bourbon, Cointreau, and house lemonade).
Further booziness comes in the form of milkshakes, sexed up with an adult-sized splash of alcohol. Plus, you can keep your sweet tooth satisfied with Louie’s homemade pie of the day, all whilst enjoying the playful dive bar decor and dance music curated by Itchy Rich, who’ll be bringing in the best DJ talent. Hot tunes and hotter chicken – I guess Nashville’s a little closer than we thought!
Find it in Hoxton Square, Shoreditch,