Review: Poulette Pompette's Fried Chicken Sandwich Shop

Fried chicken lovers, rejoice! The much-anticipated fried chicken shack, Poulette (from owners Martin Ho and Jesper Norrie of Pompette) finally opened its doors on Wednesday, December 2nd 2020. The take-away sandwich shop is open at Møllegade 1 in Nørrebro, in the storefront right next door to their natural wine bar – because what goes better together than hot fried chicken and juicy wine?!

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Poulette, Pompette's fried chicken sandwich shop, is open in Nørrebro.
Poulette, Pompette’s fried chicken sandwich shop, is open in Nørrebro.
POULETTE

Address & Contact Information
Møllegade 1, Copenhagen, Denmark
Website
Instagram

Fried Chicken in Copenhagen

Fried chicken has become quite the popular food trend in Copenhagen this year. Amass’ signature fried chicken (AFC) found a permanent home inside the bar area of their restaurant in Refshaleøen, and both Slurp and 108 experimented with Korean fried chicken this summer. Poulette, however, will be the first restaurant to serve Nashville-style hot chicken in Copenhagen.

Poulette was originally scheduled to open in March, but when Covid hit, it brought significant delays to the restaurant’s opening. In the meantime, Ho has tested some of his recipes (including his cold fried chicken) on the snack menu at Pompette. We really enjoyed this dish, where the cold temperature and hot spices battle it out on your tongue, and your brain tries to decide if it’s hot or cold chicken. The answer? Both!

The cold fried chicken on the snack menu at Pompette.
The cold fried chicken on the snack menu at Pompette.

Poulette Finally Opens on December 2nd

Now, the take-out restaurant finally opened on December 2nd, 2020. The shop will be open Wednesday through Sunday, from 11:00 a.m. until sold out. On the menu are two sandwiches: the signature fried chicken sandwich and a vegetarian alternative, the fried mapo tofu sandwich. Of course, we tried one of each! Can’t handle the heat? Both sandwiches come spicy, but a non-spicy version is available by request.

Co-owner Martin Ho in the kitchen at Poulette.
Co-owner Martin Ho in the kitchen at Poulette.

The Fried Chicken Sandwich

To make the signature sandwich, Poulette first brines the chicken and then bread it in a panko crust. Once fried, it’s topped with a secret spice mix, a dollop of kewpie mayo, a slice of iceberg lettuce, pickled cucumbers, and served on a toasted brioche bun. The meat was juicy with a perfect amount of fat, and really good flavor. Be warned – it is quite spicy, but not in an overpowering, inedible way. In fact, the sandwich reminded us a lot of the popular hot chicken shop Howlin’ Ray’s in Los Angeles (but, fortunately, the Poulette spice is maybe the equivalent of a medium heat level at Howlin’).

The Mapo Tofu Sandwich

While the chicken was our favorite, we have to say that the mapo tofu was a delicious vegetarian alternative with a completely different flavor profile from the other sandwich. Inspired by the Chinese dish of the same name, the mapo tofu sandwich comes with Sichuan chili oil and a mapo mayo made with doubanjiang (a fermented Chinese bean paste). It also has a slice of iceberg lettuce, pickled cucumbers, and is served on a toasted brioche bun, although Poulette hopes to offer a vegan bun in the future. (The mayo is already vegan.)

The fried mapo tofu sandwich at Poulette.
The fried mapo tofu sandwich at Poulette.

To cool down your tongue after all those spices, a house-made jasmine and fig leaf iced tea is available. The flavors in the tea are delicate and floral and do wonders to put out the burning fire in your mouth. Poulette also serves a bubbly kombucha, and two sparkling wines they have created with Austrian producer Anna & Martin Arndorfer, based on a blend of Gelber Muskateller, Gruner Veltliner, and Müller-Thurgau grapes. Both the Chicken Pompette/Poulette Pet Nat 2015 and the Tofu Pompette/Poulette Pet Nat 2016 are available by the glass and by the bottle.

Fun fact: Martin Ho married his sweetheart Rosio Sanchez earlier this year. Maybe we can expect to see a fried chicken taco collab in the future? 🙂

Team Poulette is ready to serve!
Team Poulette is ready to serve!
The Poulette nuggets are amazing and only 45 kr!
The Poulette nuggets are amazing and only 45 kr!
Poulette's pink logo.
Poulette’s pink logo.

Are you planning to try Copenhagen’s newest fried chicken sandwich? Let us know in a comment below.

Kaitlin Orr

Kaitlin Orr and Anders Husa are food & travel bloggers and creative content creators. From their base in Copenhagen, they operate the largest and most influential restaurant-focused travel blog in Scandinavia.

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