Though Chau gave the spot high marks, it was the rotisserie half-chicken \u2014 specifically its price \u2014 that had many social media users up in arms.<\/p>\n
\u201c$40 for chicken is crazy,\u201d commented<\/a> one person.<\/p>\n \u201cid rather go to a dominican spot for the rotisserie chicken with beans and rice for $12,\u201d wrote<\/a> another, and a third added<\/a>, \u201cI\u2019m gonna be honest, this post made me cancel my reservation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c$10 rice with drippings is sending me,\u201d someone else commented<\/a>, referring to the chicken\u2019s side dish.<\/p>\n New York City Council member Chi Oss\u00e9, who represents District 36 (Bedford-Stuyvesant and North Crown Heights in Brooklyn), posted<\/a> on his personal Instagram, \u201c$40 HALF CHICKEN AT A WINE BAR? REALLY?\u201d<\/p>\n While Oss\u00e9 didn\u2019t mention Gigi\u2019s by name, commenters quickly figured it out<\/a>, and many echoed<\/a> his sentiment, pointing out a cheaper dish in his district at The Fly<\/a> for $19.<\/p>\n However, a number of people pushed back on the Council member\u2019s post, calling it \u201cshort sighted<\/a>\u201d and \u201crage bait<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is really disappointing, tacky, and self-promoting. The behavior in these comments too,\u201d commented<\/a> one person. \u201cCalling out one (mind you brand new) restaurant in a WHOLE CITY of overpriced food is so f—ing petty. Do you people live in New York? A cocktail is $15-25. A salad over $20. Walk outside and you spend $50.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c$40 for a half chicken reflects the inability for small businesses to operate at reasonable prices due to the exorbitant costs of commercial space,\u201d wrote<\/a> another.<\/p>\n Oss\u00e9 did not immediately respond to TODAY.com\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n Gigi\u2019s Says It\u2019s Not Winging It<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s kind of very low from someone like him,\u201d Hugo Hivernat, Gigi\u2019s owner, tells TODAY.com. \u201cIt\u2019s not small businesses that are creating this crisis. We are at the mercy of it.\u201d<\/p>\n He says his eatery\u2019s prices are based on several factors.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was really disappointing to see the comments from an elected official who is actually in a position of power to do something about affordability, and instead chose to make this about our restaurant,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n The skyrocketing cost of eating out in New York City has been a topic of discussion for years, driven lately by rising costs of everything from kitchen equipment to rent to gas and electricity.<\/p>\n According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics<\/a>, the cost of a whole chicken per pound has risen from a little over $1.36 in February 2020 to over $2 in February of this year. And that\u2019s just your average chicken.<\/p>\n Hivernat says Gigi\u2019s sources its chickens locally, which costs $13\u2013$14 per bird \u2014 about triple the cost of a Costco rotisserie chicken<\/a>. The big-box store actually loses money<\/a> on its bird.<\/p>\n He says, with his half-chicken\u2019s trio of sauces and potatoes, the dish\u2019s total cost is about $11 per plate. And, factoring every else from rent to insurance, he says he makes about $4 in profit per half-bird.<\/p>\n \u201cThat margin has to support everything else required to operate in New York City,\u201d Hivernat explains. \u201cAt Gigi\u2019s, every employee, including our dishwasher, is receiving a living wage and receives paid time off. These are deliberate choices we make to run a fair and responsible business.\u201d<\/p>\n Hivernat says Oss\u00e9 has reached out to him. In an Instagram direct message, Oss\u00e9 asked Hivernat if they could talk over the phone at the end of this week.<\/p>\n If they end up speaking, Hivernat plans to ask him, \u201cFrom now on, how can we make New York City a better and easier place for small businesses to work? How can you actually help us?\u201d<\/p>\n Pricy Poultry Is All Over New York City<\/p>\n Hivernat says his restaurant\u2019s prices are not outliers in the New York dining scene, pointing to similar dishes elsewhere that are even more expensive.<\/p>\n Oxomoco<\/a>, also in Greenpoint, sells a \u201cHalf Roasted Chicken\u201d with chili paste, salsa and crispy red rice for $59; Roman\u2019s<\/a> in Fort Greene sells a chicken diavola with broccoli for $47; King<\/a> in Hudson Square sells a grilled half-chicken with a bowl of flageolet beans, watercress leaves and sauce verte for $84.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can add to ours a beautiful salad with a dessert, it will cost you less than $50 per person and you\u2019ll be completely satisfied,\u201d Hivernat says.<\/p>\n A July 2025 Reddit post in r\/FoodNYC<\/a> also discussed the \u201cmost expensive\u201d roast half-chicken dish. Chez Fifi<\/a> on the Upper East Side was called out<\/a> for selling one for $78.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the Fly, it\u2019s $19, but if you add sauces and potato, it\u2019s also $38,\u201d Hivernat says. \u201cIt\u2019s like that in every good New York restaurant.\u201d<\/p>\n Bababoom, a restaurant in Bed-Stuy, ran a \u201cpay what you feel is fair\u201d deal<\/a> amid the bird-based brouhaha. <\/p>\n Owners Henry Glucroft and Charles Gerbier say the deal actually resulted in more profit for the restaurant\u2019s half-chicken, which is usually priced at $32<\/a>. One customer paid $10, though.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s easier for people to see the difference between a Honda and a Ferrari than one chicken and another, but the truth is, both are cars and both are chickens,\u201d Glucroft tells TODAY.com.<\/p>\n \u201cPlaces like Badaboom or Gigi\u2019s and many of the other nice restaurants in the city challenge that idea, that there is actually a difference in the quality of the chicken you can get,\u201d he adds. \u201cThey\u2019re not all the same.\u201d<\/p>\n For his part, Hivernat supports Badaboom\u2019s promotion and says he might run a similar deal one day.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s a good thing, you know?\u201d he says. \u201cI think if we didn\u2019t open like three days ago, and being so much in debt, this is maybe something we will do with pleasure in a few months.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Gigi's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/half-chicken-brooklyn-new-york-gigis-eaef8d.jpg\")
Gigi’s half-chicken is at the center of an affordability firestorm.Nick Prum \/ Courtesy Hugo Hivernat<\/p>\n![\"Gigi's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/half-chicken-brooklyn-new-york-gigis-hugo-hivernat-nick-prum-3-db9a3b.jpg\")
Gigi’s owner Hugo Hivernat speaks over a counter to chef de cuisine Thomas Knodell.Nick Prum \/ Courtesy Hugo Hivernat<\/p>\n![\"Chicken](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/half-chicken-brooklyn-new-york-gigis-nick-prum-diner-jl-39c9a4.jpg\")
Chicken and potatoes on a silver platter at Gigi’s.Nick Prum \/ Courtesy Hugo Hivernat<\/p>\n