Empire Chicken Addington is a fried chicken burger restaurant at 359B Lincoln Road in Addington, Christchurch, inside the Riverside Market complex. The restaurant has 15 indoor seats, plus seating across the market complex and a beer garden. Its burgers are the Snack, Original, Cheese and Spicy, each built on fried chicken with slaw or aioli in a brioche bun. The Loaded Chocolate Brownie is served with ice cream, sauce and berries. Fries come with the burgers, and crispy potatoes can be swapped in for $2.00 per person as at 2026. All the chicken is halal, from a local Canterbury producer. The website says the chicken is marinated for days and cooked fresh to order.
The business started as a food truck that has served the South Island for eight years, and the website says it can cater for up to 200 people and deliver. The Riverside Farmers Market is also on the website's list of places to visit. A bar is licensed, and the spaces can be hired free when customers spend more than $2,500. Our pick in Addington for a halal fried chicken burger.