Belles Hot Chicken — Restaurant in Adelaide

UPDATE October 2024: We attempted Belles Hot Chicken again! And I must say they have improved ALOT. It was a busy Friday night, with a line out the door, but the service was so efficient we got in, in less than 10 min wait. We were attended to immediately but staff from entering the door to taking our order.

It is a great vibe - FYI loud in there if that’s not your thing!

The chicken was great, the wings was so juicy, well coated in the batter/flavour and falling off the bone! Would definitely recommend!

All up we got a chicken burger, chicken wings with coleslaw, loaded fries, Mac n cheese and potato and gravy (see photos). But I must say I didn’t enjoy the sides, my partner thought they were okay. But the taste to me was a bit off - Mac n cheese had an interesting flavour and less cheesy and baked. While the gravy tasted a little salty like it’s from a premixed box. The coleslaw was edible but a little bland, and the loaded fries could do with more cheese and added bacon even and less chicken (seeing as it’s a side - I wasn’t expecting more chicken)!!

Service is improved a bunch so have adjusted my rating (FYI with no incentive - paid full price)

August 2024 post: Food rating is based on our take away order around opening week. We really liked the chicken tenders (got one of each) even the 🤫 off menu one. From memory…Southern and original Nashville we liked. But I’m not the biggest fan of the flavours in traveller but that’s just personal preference.

Anyway… we were so eager to come back!!

For context it’s Sunday night… We came in at 8 and waited to be seated (probably 10mins) although it wasn’t at capacity, before someone even acknowledged us. We watched 1 wait staff setting up menus/cups on the table meticulously without even looking up to acknowledge us. While others were walking pass without even a “I’ll be with you in a moment”.

When someone finally spoke to us they mentioned they ran out of tenders which was 🫤 but fine. We sat and looked at the menu, by the time wait staff came to serve us (after we tried to get their attention twice) 20-30mins passed (look sometimes I’ll take ages to look at a menu… but not somewhere like this)… and before she could take our order she said… “I might just check if they have any wings left…”

So just to clarify with everyone besides sides they only have chicken tenders, chicken wings, and chicken burgers…right?!?! So we only could order chicken burgers with sides? Not sure why they’re seating people when there’s only 1/3 of your menu available (still seating people when we got up and left).

Really disappointing service.

What I can recommend is take away at lunch...

Came here on a friend’s recommendation. The venue was half empty yet somehow had a queue. I thought maybe the food was so good it created a waiting list. Turns out the only thing worth waiting for was the sheer comedy of watching a waiter move slower than dial up internet while seating six people in fifteen minutes. Glaciers move with more urgency.

We finally got a table and ordered right away. “All the Good Stuff” and two beers. Twenty minutes later the food showed up but still no drinks. The bartender was running in circles like a Labrador chasing its own tail. If multitasking were a crime this guy would be completely innocent. The beers arrived after I finished eating, which is like bringing a life jacket after the ship has already sunk. I remind you, the place was less than half full.

Food review: Nashville Spicy Burger 5 out of 10. Smaller than my patience, limp lettuce, and heat level “spicy” only if you have never met pepper before. Spicy Tenders 8 out of 10. The only thing on the table that tasted like effort and the only true “hero” of the night. Crinkle Fries 5 out of 10. Small portion, saved only by the gravy. Coleslaw 1 out of 10. Sad, eggy, lifeless. Felt like it should have been served with an apology. Pickles 3 out of 10. Three lonely slices. Nice flavour, but three? Why bother.

Overall verdict 2 out of 5 stars. Cool looking venue but service is a disaster. The food has the bones to be amazing but is instead served mediocre. You queue outside for no reason, you wait forever to order, and when food finally comes it is paired with service that feels like performance art. With proper staff they could make a fortune. I could have happily stayed, sunk four beers while waiting for food, then had a couple more. Instead customers line up outside for the privilege of eating average food, chasing their own drinks, and receiving...

Always wanted to try out Belles for their famous fried chicken and sandwiches, got the opportunity in Adelaide CBD on Easter Sunday dinner while we were on Easter 2025 Break. The place was busy, we got a table for 4 after joining 2 tables. We requested for a booth table which we saw was getting freed up, inspite of being 1st in the waiting queue, the manager mentioned she had a booking for the table and forced us to go to the other corner where she had arranged my table. I kept an eye out to see the authenticity of her statement, apparently she didn’t have a booking and she gave it to the walk-in Aussie family waiting just behind us in the queue, who didn’t have a reservation (I checked with them to confirm my legitimate opinion). Maybe my Aussie dollars and credit card had a bit of a brown tint, so we were not indulged!! Anyway, apart from that irritation/humiliation, the lady who waited on us was great. She explained the way to order and we order 4 burgers (2 hot honeys, Nashville spicy and buffalo), along with Nashy loaded fries and 4 chicken tenders with Traveller spice, along with a couple of schooners of Belles original draught beers. Food came out within 20 mins while we had the beers. The sandwiches were medium in size, kind of felt like burgers without the burger buns. The chicken tenders were really big and tasty. The loaded fries were good. The beers were just lager, to wash down the food with, nothing to rave about. Overall the food was quite tasty, though our table’s collective feedback was that Betty’s Burgers, Chubby Buns and Five Guys (in Sydney) were slightly better than Belles. But I would def recommend Belles for a good chicken meal experience, if you want a nice...