Dixy Chicken and Sam’s Chicken look alike from the pavement: a bright sign, a counter, a fryer and a menu built around fried chicken and chips, all sold as halal. Underneath, they are quite different businesses. Dixy is the bigger national name, with around 110 UK shops and its roots in the Midlands. Sam’s is a smaller chain of about 40 to 50 shops that grew out of north-west London and still clusters around it.
We looked at both chains from every angle a customer cares about: who owns them, where they trade, what is on the menu, what you actually pay, how their shops score for hygiene, how customers rate them and how each one backs up its halal claim. Every price and rating below comes from a public listing we checked, and the date is given so you know how fresh it is. This is an independent guide, and we have no connection to either company.
At a glance: the key numbers
| Dixy Chicken | Sam’s Chicken | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1986, Solihull | 1990, Wealdstone (Harrow) |
| Founders | Mohammed Chowdhury and Samuel Jackson | Sam Chandrasinghe |
| Owner today | Dixy Group Holdings Limited (based in Bury) | Sam’s Fast Foods (based in Harrow) |
| UK shops | About 110 | About 40 to 50 |
| Strongest areas | Midlands, North of England, London | North-west and west London, Home Counties, South coast |
| Outside the UK | Yes, including Pakistan, India and the USA | No |
| Halal | Halal brand; HMC lists individual branches | Says its chicken is halal, from certified suppliers |
| Hygiene ratings of 5* | 43% of rated listings | 74% of rated listings |
| Chicken fillet burger meal (London, app price) | £7.49 to £7.99 | £10.00 |
| Taste test score, January 2026 | 4.75 out of 10 (10th of 12) | 5.0 out of 10 (joint 8th of 12) |
In short, Sam’s wins on hygiene scores and app reviews, and Dixy wins on price and on how many places you can find one. The rest of this page explains why.
Two origin stories: Solihull in 1986 and Wealdstone in 1990
Dixy Chicken started in Solihull, on the edge of Birmingham, in 1986. Its founders set out to sell halal versions of the fried chicken and burgers that people were already buying from KFC and McDonald’s, at a time when halal fast food was hard to find in Britain. The idea spread through franchising, first across the Midlands and then into London, the North and beyond, and the brand is now sold in several other countries too.
Sam’s Chicken came four years later. Sam Chandrasinghe opened the first shop in Wealdstone, near Harrow, in 1990. Rather than racing to cover the country, Sam’s grew outwards from its home patch, so most of its shops are still within reach of north-west London. The company describes itself as “The Home of Great Tasting Chicken” and puts its own spice blend and breading at the centre of the brand.
Who owns and runs each chain today
Dixy is owned by Dixy Group Holdings Limited and is run from Bury in Greater Manchester. The business changed hands in 2022. Like most chicken shop brands, Dixy is a franchise: each shop is run by a local operator who pays to use the name and buys from approved suppliers. That is why prices, opening hours and even parts of the menu change from one Dixy to the next.
Sam’s is run by Sam’s Fast Foods from Harrow, and its shops also trade under local operators. Sam’s has a Primary Authority partnership with Brent Council. That means one council gives the company official advice on food safety, which its shops can follow nationwide, so the standards should be applied more consistently. Several Sam’s shops in London share their food hygiene listing with Ministry of Chicken, which trades from the same premises.
Mapping the two footprints
Where Sam’s Chicken trades
We found around 40 Sam’s Chicken listings on the Food Standards Agency (FSA) register. Most are in London, especially in the boroughs of Brent, Ealing, Harrow, Barnet and Westminster, with more in Croydon, Sutton, Wandsworth, Newham and Greenwich. Beyond London, there are shops in Watford, Borehamwood, Luton, Bedford, Northampton and Peterborough, and along the South coast in Southampton, Portsmouth, Bournemouth and on the Isle of Wight. Birmingham has two, in Erdington and Weoley Castle.
What Sam’s does not have is any presence in the North of England, Scotland or Wales that we could find. If you live in Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle or Glasgow, Sam’s simply is not an option.
Where Dixy Chicken trades
Dixy covers far more ground. It is strongest in the Midlands, where it started, and in the big northern cities: Manchester, Bradford, Leeds, Sheffield, Blackburn and Newcastle all have Dixy shops. London has a good number too, mostly in the north and east of the city. Our Dixy Chicken London guide and Birmingham guide list every branch with its hygiene rating.
The two chains only really go head to head in London, the Home Counties and Birmingham. Everywhere else, one or the other is usually your only choice.
What is on each menu, item by item
Both menus are built around the same core: fried chicken on the bone, fillet burgers, wings, strips and chips. The differences are in the extras, and they say a lot about each brand.
Fried chicken on the bone
This is the heart of both menus. Dixy sells pieces in boxes, with two or three pieces plus chips and a drink, and in buckets of six to twelve pieces or more. Sam’s sells its chicken in two, three, four, six or eight pieces, coated in what it calls its secret special breading. Sam’s “The Original, 2 for 2” deal is its take on the classic two-piece meal.
Burgers
Both chains centre their burgers on a breaded chicken fillet. Dixy’s range runs from the plain Chicken Fillet Burger to the Supreme, the Chicken Steak Burger and quarter- and half-pounder beef burgers. Sam’s has a wider line-up of named burgers: the Club Max, Blaze, Mighty, Maxi, Mexo, Jumbo Steak and Mini Strip burgers, plus beef and veggie options. Sam’s adds hash browns and spicy strips to several of its burgers, which Dixy generally does not.
Wings, strips and boneless chicken
Dixy’s wings are usually sold as Sizzler or spicy wings, with deals of up to 20 or more. Sam’s sells Fiery Wings, BBQ wings and grilled wings in portions of 4, 8, 12 and 20, plus chicken tenders, strips, nuggets and Golden Poppers (its popcorn chicken).
Peri peri and grilled chicken
Many Dixy branches now sell peri peri chicken, in quarter, half and whole birds, alongside grilled wings, though not every shop does. Sam’s also has a peri peri range with quarter, half and whole chickens, peri peri wings and a spicy rice side. If grilled chicken matters to you, check the menu for your local shop first, whichever chain you choose.
Loaded fries, rice and sides
This is where Sam’s pulls ahead on variety. It sells loaded chicken fries, loaded cheese fries, loaded chicken rice, spicy rice, wedges, sweet potato fries, baked beans, corn and a homemade sweet chilli coleslaw. Dixy’s sides are more traditional: chips, cheesy chips, spicy fries, coleslaw, corn, onion rings and mozzarella sticks. Some Dixy shops also sell pizza, which Sam’s generally does not, apart from a few co-branded sites.
Vegetarian and plant-based choices
Sam’s lists plant-based nuggets, a veggie burger and a veggie wrap. Dixy branches typically offer a veggie or halloumi burger and fish fillet burger, but the range depends on the shop. Neither chain is a good choice if you want a wide vegetarian menu.
Desserts and drinks
Dixy keeps desserts simple, with ice cream, milkshakes, apple pie and cookies at most branches. Sam’s sells apple pie plus Magnum ice creams and full tubs of Ben & Jerry’s on the apps. Both sell canned and bottled soft drinks and water.
Real prices from real listings
Neither chain has a national price list, because every franchise sets its own. So the fairest comparison is between shops in the same area on the same app. The table below compares Dixy and Sam’s shops in and around London on Uber Eats, checked on 3 October 2026. App prices are usually higher than what you would pay at the counter.
| Item | Dixy Chicken (London) | Sam’s Chicken (London area) |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken fillet burger, on its own | £4.69 (Wood Green) | £6.00 (Kilburn and Watford) |
| Chicken fillet burger meal | £7.49 (Wood Green), £7.99 (Stoke Newington) | £10.00 (Kilburn and Watford) |
| Two-piece chicken meal | £6.49 to £8.99 (Wood Green and Stoke Newington) | £9.50 for “The Original, 2 for 2” (Northampton and Portswood, Southampton) |
| 20 wings | £12.99 (Stoke Newington) | £18.00 (Watford, before an app discount) |
| Chicken strips | £3.99 (Wood Green) | £4.50 for 3 strips, £6.25 for tenders (Kilburn) |
| Big family deal | £24.99 Family Platter (Wood Green), £27.99 Family Meal (Stoke Newington) | £35.00 Monster Deal 2 (8 pieces, 8 wings, 4 fries, 2 drinks) and £36.00 Fiery Bucket (Portsmouth) |
On like-for-like items, Dixy is usually cheaper, often by £1 to £2.50 on a single meal and by more on large wing orders. Sam’s narrows the gap with app promotions: its Watford shop was running 20% off several items when we checked, which brought 20 wings down to £14.40. Sam’s box meals also often come with a free chicken wrap, which adds real value if you are sharing.
Outside London, Dixy gets cheaper still. In our city guides we found Dixy fillet burger meals from £5.99 in Halifax and £6.81 in Nottingham. Our UK menu prices guide has the national ranges, and the order cost calculator will add up a full order for you.
Feeding a group: which bucket goes further
For a family or a group, the bucket deals matter more than the single meals. Dixy’s buckets are simple: a number of pieces, some chips and sometimes sides and a large drink. Typical examples from our city guides are 6 pieces with 4 fries for £15.99 in Walsall and 10 pieces with 2 fries and 2 sides for £21.99 in Stoke-on-Trent.
Sam’s buckets mix things up more. The Variety Bucket, Mega Mix and Family Mini Mix combine pieces, wings, strips and sides, and there is a Boneless Bucket for people who do not want chicken on the bone. They cost more, roughly £19 to £28, but you get more variety. If you just want the most chicken for your money, Dixy usually comes out ahead. If you want a mix for fussy eaters, Sam’s buckets are easier. Our bucket planner will help you work out how much a group needs.
Food hygiene scores across every listed shop
We pulled every listing for both brands from the FSA’s food hygiene rating register on 3 October 2026 and counted the ratings. The register covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland uses a different scheme, so it is not included here.
| Rating | Dixy Chicken (136 rated listings) | Sam’s Chicken (39 rated listings) |
|---|---|---|
| 5 (very good) | 59 (43%) | 29 (74%) |
| 4 (good) | 28 (21%) | 7 (18%) |
| 3 (generally satisfactory) | 23 (17%) | 2 (5%) |
| 2 (improvement necessary) | 14 (10%) | 1 (3%) |
| 1 (major improvement necessary) | 9 (7%) | 0 |
| 0 (urgent improvement necessary) | 3 (2%) | 0 |
The gap is clear. Nearly three in four Sam’s Chicken shops hold the top rating of 5, and only one of the 39 we counted scored below 3. Dixy has many excellent shops too, but fewer than half hold a 5, and about one in five scored 2 or lower. Dixy is still living down a poor reputation from 2014, when newspapers reported it had the worst hygiene record of any UK takeaway chain. It has improved a lot since then, but the numbers show it is still more uneven than Sam’s.
Two caveats. A few Dixy listings may belong to independent shops that use a similar name, and every chain’s ratings change as shops are re-inspected. The rating that matters most is the one for the shop you are about to order from, so check it on the FSA website or look for the sticker in the window.
What customers say on the delivery apps
Star ratings on Uber Eats give a rough idea of how happy customers are. When we checked, Sam’s Chicken in Kilburn had 4.5 stars from more than 4,000 reviews, and Sam’s Watford had 4.3 stars from more than 3,000. The Dixy shops we compared in London scored lower: Stoke Newington had 4.2 stars from more than 800 reviews, and Wood Green had 3.6 from 88.
A taste test of 12 UK chicken chains published in January 2026 found the same pattern. Sam’s Chicken scored 5.0 out of 10, level with Chicken Cottage, while Dixy scored 4.75 and finished 10th. Both were well behind the American chains at the top, Wingstop and Dave’s Hot Chicken, and behind KFC. Neither brand is trying to be premium, so the fairer test is value: how good the chicken is for what you pay.
How each brand backs up its halal claim
Both chains sell themselves as halal, but they back up the claim in different ways, and that difference matters to some customers.
Dixy was founded as a halal chain and halal is at the core of the brand. Individual Dixy branches are generally certified by the Halal Monitoring Committee (HMC), which requires hand slaughter without stunning. HMC lists certified outlets one by one, so certification is confirmed branch by branch rather than across the whole brand. Our Dixy Chicken halal guide explains how to check your local shop.
Sam’s Chicken says the chicken in its stores is halal “to the best of our knowledge, based on the representations of our suppliers”, and that every supplier provides it with halal certificates for the products it supplies. In other words, the assurance comes from the supply chain rather than from a certifier inspecting each shop, and Sam’s does not name a certifying body on its website. The halal directory Zabihah lists the Sam’s shop it checked as alcohol-free.
If you only eat HMC-certified meat, Dixy is the easier brand to check, because you can look a branch up on HMC’s own list. If supplier certification is enough for you, both should suit. Either way, ask the shop to show you its current certificate.
Opening hours and late-night food
Sam’s shops on Uber Eats typically open from 11am to 1am. Dixy’s hours vary much more from shop to shop: Stoke Newington in London was listed until 4am and Wood Green until 2am, but some Dixy branches outside London close by 10 or 11pm. For very late food, a London Dixy is often the better bet, but check your local shop’s hours on the app before you set off.
Ordering, apps and deals
Both brands are on Uber Eats, Just Eat and Deliveroo in most areas, and some shops of each chain also take orders through their own websites. Ordering direct or collecting in person is usually the cheapest way to buy from either, because the apps charge shops a commission that is passed on in higher menu prices.
Sam’s tends to run more app-wide promotions, such as percentage discounts and a free chicken wrap with box meals. Dixy deals are set by each shop, so they vary more. Lunch Box and Value Box deals are the ones to look for.
Allergens and nutrition
Neither chain publishes full calorie and allergen tables in the same detail as the big American brands. Under UK law, every food business must tell you whether any of the 14 major allergens are in a dish when you ask, so speak to the staff if you have an allergy. Bear in mind that fried chicken shops usually share fryers and preparation areas. Our Dixy Chicken calories and nutrition guide gives estimated figures for the main Dixy menu items.
Our verdict: pick by what matters to you
Choose Sam’s Chicken if hygiene ratings matter most to you, you like a wider menu with loaded fries, rice bowls and mixed buckets, and you live in London, the Home Counties or on the South coast, where its shops are.
Choose Dixy Chicken if you want the lower price on everyday meals and wings, you want HMC certification you can check branch by branch, you need food very late at night, or you live in the Midlands or the North, where Sam’s does not trade.
Whichever you go for, the local shop matters more than the brand. A Dixy with a 5 rating and a good owner will beat a poorly run shop of either chain. Check the hygiene rating and recent reviews first. For more head-to-heads, see our Dixy Chicken comparison hub, or read Dixy versus KFC, Dixy versus Chicken Cottage and Dixy versus Morley’s.
Quick answers
Is Sam’s Chicken part of Dixy Chicken?
No. They are separate companies. Dixy was founded in Solihull in 1986 and Sam’s in Wealdstone in 1990, and they have different owners.
Is Sam’s Chicken halal?
Sam’s says its chicken is halal, based on certificates from its suppliers. It does not name a certifying body on its website, so ask your local shop if you need a specific certifier such as HMC.
Which is cheaper, Dixy or Sam’s Chicken?
Dixy, in most cases. In London on Uber Eats, a Dixy chicken fillet burger meal cost £7.49 to £7.99, compared with £10.00 at Sam’s. Sam’s app discounts can close the gap on some items.
Which has better food hygiene ratings?
Sam’s Chicken. In our count of FSA listings, 74% of rated Sam’s shops held a 5, compared with 43% of Dixy shops.
Is there a Sam’s Chicken in Manchester or Leeds?
Not that we could find. Sam’s shops are concentrated in London, the Home Counties, the South coast, Northampton, Peterborough and Birmingham.
Which one stays open later?
It depends on the shop, but some London Dixy branches stay open until 2am to 4am, while Sam’s shops typically close at 1am.
How we put this comparison together
We checked prices and customer ratings on Uber Eats for shops in the same area on the same day (3 October 2026) and rechecked Sam’s prices outside London on Uber Eats and Deliveroo on 15 October 2026. Hygiene figures come from our own count of the Food Standards Agency register on the same date. Background details come from each company’s website, public records and our own city guides. Prices change often, so treat them as a guide. If you spot something out of date, let us know and we will update the page.