A dozen bargains around Melbourne, from dedicated chicken nights at front-running pubs to Korean and Thai fried chicken for less, and budget-friendly hot chicken rolls at new-age takeaway joints.
“Should we get the chicken?” If that’s a question you regularly ask your dining companions, this edition of Specials Board is for you. We’re here to help you feed your chicken fanaticism – for less – thanks to a flock of chook-centric dining deals available now at eateries across Melbourne (and beyond).
From upscale takeaway shops to pubs and restaurants with dedicated chicken nights, here’s where to find some of the cheapest birds in town.
$10 khao man gai, Khaosan Lane, CBD
Forget your winter woes by heading to Thai hideaway Khaosan Lane in the city, which is doing khao man gai, or Thai-style chicken rice, for the unheard-of price of a tenner. It’s available at lunch Monday to Saturday – to dine in or takeaway – until July 31.
Melbourne GPO, G25/350 Bourke Street, Melbourne, khaosanlane.com
$25 chicken night, Builders Arms Hotel, Fitzroy
Every Tuesday from 5pm, Andrew McConnell’s Builders Arms Hotel is packed with punters with one thing on their minds: wood-fired rotisserie chicken. The July special is a butter-chicken half chook with pickled cucumber salad and basmati rice.
211 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, buildersarmshotel.com.au
$16 chook roll, Carvery, Toorak
The quintessentially Aussie chicken shops of the ’70s and ’80s were the inspiration for Hawskburn Village newcomer Carvery. As the name suggests, it serves all kinds of roasted meat, but one of the best-value items is the $16 hot chicken roll using Bannockburn chook on Noisette bread.
513 Malvern Road, Toorak, carvery.co
$22.50 Thai fried chicken, Club Chin Chin, South Geelong
Yet to get to Club Chin Chin, the Geelong outpost of Flinders Lane’s South-East Asian favourite? Thursday is the night, when $22.50 now buys you Thai-inspired fried chicken alongside curry-spiced potato gems and slaw. It’s $7.50 extra for a beer or house wine.
GMHBA Stadium, Joel Selwood Stand, 370 Moorabool Street, South Geelong, clubchinchin.com.au
$20 chicken schnitzels, Punters Club, Fitzroy
At Punters Club, named the inaugural Pub of the Year in The Age Good Food Guide 2025, the (excellent) schnitzels are usually $29. Save $9 by visiting on Tuesdays from 4pm, when the schnitties cost $20 and, if you’re into it, the schnapps are $10.
376 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, puntersclubfitzroy.com
$25 chicken night, Firebird, Prahran
At Vietnamese-leaning diner Firebird, Wednesday night is all about $25 plates of wood-fired free-range chicken. It’s served with burnt-chilli nuoc mam and your choice of two sides from a list that includes mushroom banh uot noodles, papaya salad, wok-tossed greens and steamed rice.
223 High Street, Prahran, firebirdmelbourne.com.au
Half-price Korean fried chicken, Gangnam Pocha, CBD
For a limited time only, this Korean eatery is running a deal on Tuesdays and Saturdays that gives you 50 per cent off all fried chicken, from original to soy and garlic to super spicy. That’s a saving of up to $20. It’s available until July 31.
1/270 King Street, Melbourne, instagram.com/gangnampocha_melb
Multiple chicken items, Hagen’s Organics, Brunswick East
Did you know that butcher shop Hagen’s offers hot food as well as organic meat at its recently opened East Brunswick Village location? That means chicken-fat garlic bread for $7, chicken-salad sangers and gravy-doused hot chicken rolls for $16, and quarter-chicken with chips (fried in beef tallow for maximum deliciousness) for $18.
6 Village Avenue, Brunswick East, hagensorganics.com.au
$1 chicken wings at Heartbreaker, CBD
Neon-lit dive bar Heartbreaker wants you to get your hands dirty on Wednesday nights. From 5pm to 3am (yes, 3am), the perennially popular CBD spot is dishing up chicken wings for only a buck a pop, smothered in your choice of Buffalo or Alabama sauce.
234A Russell Street, Melbourne, heartbreakerbar.com.au
$29 bottomless chicken wings, Bird, Brunswick East
How many wings can you withstand? Find out Monday to Thursday at banging chicken joint Bird, when the offer is all-you-can-eat wings (in various sauces) plus chips and slaw for $29. Buyer beware: there’s a 90-minute limit and a $1 charge for any wing that goes uneaten.
179 Weston Street, Brunswick East, birdbangnchicken.com
$25 chicken schnitzels, St Ali, South Melbourne
One of the city’s biggest cafe players, St Ali, has just launched a new express lunch menu of $25 dishes. Available on weekdays only, the satisfying line-up includes panko-crumbed chicken schnitzel with caper-flecked brown butter, parmesan and salad.
12-18 Yarra Place, South Melbourne, stali.com.au
$25 for a kilo of Buffalo chicken ribs, Moon Dog World, Preston
Start your week strong at Moon Dog World, the local beer brand’s island oasis in the northern suburbs. On Monday nights, you can up your protein intake and arcade-game skills simultaneously, with a kilo of Buffalo chicken ribs for $25, and free pinball all night.
32 Chifley Drive, Preston, moondog.com.au
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