Henrietta, one of Sydney's fanciest charcoal chicken restaurants, is opening in Melbourne

Melbourne is firmly within the sights of Sydney's charcoal chicken gurus, with three new openings slated for the next 12 months.

In the city's south, Windsor is set to be the next location of upmarket chicken restaurant Henrietta, which opened in Surry Hills in 2020 offering a full arsenal of Middle Eastern dips, salads and mezze to go with your bird, as well as cocktails and craft beer.

"There's a lot of competition in the chicken market and some really good players [in Sydney]," says co-owner Ibby Moubadder. "But there's nothing like Henrietta, because we're focused on dine-in, not takeaway."

Melbourne's charcoal chicken scene is far less mature, however, and Moubadder and his partner Jorge Farah saw a gap in the market while they were here on holiday late last year. Spotting a site in Windsor, a part of Melbourne that Moubadder loves, set the wheels in motion for interstate expansion.

The site opposite Tokyo Tina will be transformed from a dumpling restaurant into a bold and boundary-pushing space for up to 90 diners. Architects Russell & George have worked on venues including Yakimono and Society.

In contrast to Henrietta in Sydney, Melbourne's menu will be oriented even more firmly towards dine-in. A large charcoal pit will cook up to 40 chickens at a time, with separate sections for vegetables, steak and other proteins. Executive chef Enver Katranci is working on the menu, which will include a mezze section so big it could be the main event, plus whole fish cooked on custom-built skewers.

"People in Melbourne love restaurants and dining out. So we thought Henrietta would be perfect from a dine-in point of view," says Moubadder.

Melbourne has been home to an elevated chook shop named Henrietta's in the past. But that unrelated venue closed in 2018.

Designs for Henrietta have just been approved and Moubadder is aiming for an August opening at 75 Chapel Street, Windsor, henriettachicken.com.

And fellow Sydney chicken specialist El Jannah is nearly ready to open its first Melbourne outpost.

From April 30, locals will experience the unmistakable aroma of Lebanese-inspired rotisserie chicken, available dine-in or drive-through at 600 High Street, Preston. A second drive-through is planned for Campbellfield, further north, later in 2022.