Rotisserie chicken. What a concept. We have no idea why cooking a chicken by rotating it slowly near a heating element makes it taste a thousand times better than it otherwise would, but who are we to question an everyday miracle?

Strangely, despite clearly being the best possible way to cook a chicken, there’s no nationwide Nandos-style rotisserie chain in the UK. Rotate, the latest pop-up restaurant from Jimmy Garcia, may not quite fill that nationwide niche, but it does give rotisserie the respect it deserves.

Set up on the riverfront of London’s South Bank, Rotate is a restaurant that does one thing really, really well. Sure, you can order a Caesar chicken bap (which, judging by the response of the table next to ours, is incredibly tasty), but really, it’s all about the chicken on the bone. Turn up, order the amount of chicken you want, pick a couple of sides and dips, and get stuck in. 

With a menu this limited, it’s important to get everything right. We opt for a smoky barbecue dip and a pot of chicken gravy, both of which are excellent. The barbecue is thick and tomatoey with just a hint of smoke, while the gravy is clearly freshly made and rich in chicken juices. You’ll want to order some fries to soak it all up, but you’ll also want to slather it all over the chicken itself.

Those fries, too. Skinny and crisp without being overdone, they possess an almost supernatural power to soak up their body weight in gravy and still not go soggy. They’re also the perfect receptacle for ferrying an almost impolite amount of barbecue sauce directly into your mouth.

The corn ribs are another highlight, with the spice mix being good enough that we’re tempted to lick it directly out of the bowl once we’re done with the corn. Other sides include coleslaw and a honey butter focaccia, one for pairing with your rotisserie and the other for mopping up every tiny leftover you can find.

While our trip to Rotate was for a sit-down meal, we can’t help but think the walk-up traffic had the right idea, with people turning up, ordering a few drinks, then giving in to the tipsy temptation and ordering food, too. No more does a few pints on a sunny day have to end with a depressing kebab – now you can sate your hunger with a golden, mouth-watering chicken. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have another rotisserie to order.

For more information on Rotate by Jimmy’s, see here. 

The Queen’s Walk, London, SE1 8XX