Pretty's Hot Chicken • Setapak — Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur

The aroma of this fried chicken often tempted us while we played pickleball, sparking strong cravings to finally give it a try — unfortunately, it turned out to be a big disappointment:

Cleanliness: The tables had visible dirty watermarks, suggesting the cleaning cloths or methods used were unhygienic. It looked bad in person, even if hard to capture in photos.

Poor Ventilation: The entire restaurant was filled with a strong greasy smell. There's clearly no proper exhaust or ventilation system — the air felt heavy and polluted.

Overpriced: Prices are much higher compared to other fast food spots, but the quality doesn’t justify it.

Old Frying Oil: The fried chicken had a dark, almost burnt appearance, with a bitter, unpleasant taste — this might be a sign that the oil had been reused far too many times.

Lukewarm Chicken: The chicken was not hot when served — only slightly warm, which made it even less enjoyable.

Undercooked Chicken: Out of four pieces, two were visibly undercooked. We ate one reluctantly and returned the other. The staff threw it away and gave us a fresh, hot piece — but this kind of mistake is unacceptable when it comes to food safety.

Weak Spice Level: We ordered both the “Pretty Hot” and the RM1 extra “Extra Hot” options. Unfortunately, the spice was only sprinkled on the surface — the sides, bottom, and inside had zero heat. Very disappointing for those expecting real spicy chicken.

Fries: The fries were okay, but the so-called "Cajun fries" had no Cajun flavor — just a hint of reddish color, no seasoning taste at all.

Dry Bread: The small square slice of bread that came with the set was very dry and clearly not fresh — it tasted like it had been left out for a long time.

Flies Everywhere: There were many flies in the dining area — one even landed on our cup of Coke. Extremely off-putting and raises serious hygiene concerns.

No Drink Customisation: The set meal only comes with Coke — no option to change the drink or even request no ice. Very inflexible and not customer-friendly.

Overall, this was our first and definitely our last visit. There are far better and more hygienic places to enjoy fried...

I feel compelled to share my disappointing experience at Pretty’s Hot Chicken to save others from the same fate.

I discovered this place through social media, and the food looked absolutely mouthwatering—like the kind that would leave you sweating and crying in the best way. Unfortunately, the reality didn’t live up to the hype.

First Impressions: The moment we entered, there was a long line, which wasn’t a dealbreaker at first. However, I noticed the woman ahead of us left abruptly even after waiting for quite some time after the guy who was taking our order told her something. That should have been a warning sign, but we decided to stay.

When it was finally our turn, the person at the counter disappeared into the kitchen for several minutes while the line grew behind us. When he returned, he informed us there would be a 40-minute wait for food. We were fine with that, but then came the bombshell: they were out of chicken tenders and soft drinks.

The Food: We ordered a 5-piece chicken (extra hot) and the “Hot Hell” spiced chicken burger. Surprisingly, the food arrived in just 10 minutes, but that’s where the good news ended.

The chicken wasn’t hot, fresh, or flavorful. It tasted like it had been cooked hours ago, and the spice levels we paid extra for were non-existent. The burger was edible but bland and far from worth the hype or price.

Service: To make matters worse, the staff was rude and dismissive throughout the experience. I left feeling like I had been roasted more than the chicken.

Final Thoughts: Pretty’s Hot Chicken was a complete letdown—mediocre food, poor service, and overhyped marketing. I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone. If you’re tempted by their Instagram photos, don’t be fooled. Save your time, money, and taste buds! Go to hot bird or...

Goes to show you can't really trust Google reviews these days. Place is highly rated with thousands of supposedly good reviews. But here's my honest review after having their chicken.

Firstly, to clarify, I did not make the purchase myself so can't really describe the outlet in terms of its cleanliness or staff attitude as others have commented here. Apparently alot is left to be desired. I can probably imagine from the quality of food produced.

Food was purchased as takeaway by a family member and brought home and eaten immediately. Chicken was still hot and crispy.

However, as I sunk my teeth in for that first bite, that familiar easy tear of the chicken meat was missing. I thought that was odd. As I took a second bite, I saw what looked like undercooked/raw flesh. Totally grossed me out. The outer skin was totally fried and crispy but the inside was still not fully cooked. It's like an amateur frying chicken for the first time. I had their chicken tenders too. That one was okay, fully cooked at least.

I don't know where this brand is from honestly but yeah for someone having fried chicken from here for the first time, it's safe to say, I will not be a repeat customer. And I don't think it matters anyway, but just thought it's a heads up to the restaurant if they'd wanna take constructive criticism to improve or not. Let's just hope I do not get any food poisoning from this.

P/s: I forgot to take pictures of the meat cos hands were all greasy and I was pretty...