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Barcelos vs Pedros: Which Flame-Grilled Chicken Is Cheaper in 2026?
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South Africa has no shortage of flame-grilled chicken, but the real fight at the budget end is between these two. Barcelos is the old hand: it opened in Pretoria in 1993 and built a loyal following on Portuguese-style peri-peri chicken at prices below Nando’s. Pedros is the newcomer that arrived in Durban in 2018 and grew to more than 200 stores by doing one thing relentlessly: charging less for a quarter chicken than anyone else. This page puts the two menus side by side, price by price, using Barcelos prices re-checked on 2 November 2026 and Pedros prices checked on the official Pedros menu on 4 November 2026.
The short version: Pedros is cheaper on every like-for-like item we could match. A quarter chicken is R32.99 at Pedros against R45.90 at Barcelos. A full chicken is R124.99 at Pedros, while Barcelos sells its whole chickens mainly through family packs starting at R149.90. Barcelos claws ground back with things Pedros does not sell at all: shawarma, prego-style items, breakfast at selected stores and a wider salad and dessert side of the menu. So the answer depends on whether you are buying the cheapest chicken possible or the wider menu.
Barcelos vs Pedros at a Glance
| Barcelos | Pedros | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1993, Pretoria | 2018, Durban |
| Stores | About 100 in South Africa, plus stores in other countries | 200+ in South Africa and the rest of the continent, targeting 250 by 2027 |
| 1/4 chicken on its own | R45.90 | R32.99 |
| Full chicken | No plain listing on the national feast menu; whole chicken comes in packs from R149.90 (guide price for a whole chicken on its own is about R181.90, branch-variable) | R124.99 |
| Cheapest item that counts as a meal | Chicken strips, R29.90 | Strips & Chips or Strips & Rice, R29.99 |
| Heat and flavour | Five sauce levels: Tangy Lemon, Prego, Mild Peri, Veri Peri, Supa Peri | Bastings (Lemon & Herb, Mild, Hot, Extra Hot, BBQ) or a dry Sprinkle spice coating |
| Only here | Shawarma, breakfast at selected stores, desserts and shakes | Paella meals, kids meals at R54.99, a sub-R30 burger |
| Format | Sit-down and takeaway | Takeaway-led |
Chicken on Its Own: The Headline Numbers
Start with the cleanest comparison there is: chicken with nothing added. Same cuts, same flame-grilled style, no chips or rolls muddying the maths.
| Chicken only | Barcelos | Pedros | You save at Pedros |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/4 chicken | R45.90 | R32.99 | R12.91 |
| 1/2 chicken | R90.90 | R64.99 | R25.91 |
| Full chicken | About R181.90 (guide, branch-variable) | R124.99 | About R56.91 |
| Chicken livers | R39.90 on its own | R29.99, served with a roll | R9.91, and Pedros includes the roll |
| Chicken strips | R29.90 on its own | R29.99 with chips or rice | Same money, but Pedros includes the side |
The pattern is hard to argue with. Pedros charges roughly 28% less for a quarter chicken and the gap widens as the bird gets bigger. On a full chicken the saving is close to R57 against the Barcelos guide price. One honest caveat on that full chicken row: Barcelos does not put a plain whole chicken on its national feast menu, so the R181.90 is a guide figure compiled from recent branch menus, and your store may charge a bit more or less. The Pedros R124.99, by contrast, is a fixed national menu price, which is part of why Pedros is so easy to budget around. Full menu detail is in our Barcelos price guide and our Pedros price guide.
There is one row where the sticker prices hide a real difference. Chicken strips cost R29.90 at Barcelos with nothing else on the plate, and R29.99 at Pedros with chips or rice included. If you add a side at Barcelos, the same strips climb to R39.90. For a light lunch, the Pedros version is simply more food for the same money.
Chicken Meals With Sides
Most people do not buy chicken on its own, so here is the comparison with the sides most people actually order. Barcelos uses a simple step system: the chicken on its own, plus R10 for a side, plus another R10 for a side and a drink. Pedros bundles chips and rolls into named meals instead. Match them up and the gap stays open.
| Meal | Barcelos | Pedros |
|---|---|---|
| 1/4 chicken with one side / with chips | R55.90 | R44.99 |
| 1/4 chicken, chips and a roll | R65.90 (the 1/4 chicken meal with fries and a garlic roll) | R49.99 |
| 1/4 chicken full meal with a drink | R65.90 (side and drink) | R59.99 |
| 1/2 chicken with chips | R100.90 | R79.99 |
| 1/2 chicken full meal | R110.90 | R89.99 |
| Full chicken with a big side | See family packs below | R149.99 (with large chips) or R139.99 (with 4 rolls) |
The quarter chicken, chips and roll row is the one to remember, because it is the standard lunch order at both chains: R49.99 at Pedros against R65.90 at Barcelos, a difference of R15.91 on a single meal. Order that twice a week and Pedros has saved you more than R130 in a month. Where Barcelos does fight back is flexibility. Its R10 steps let you build the meal you want with any side on the list: fries, wedges, spicy rice, pap, slaw or bean salad. Pedros meals are fixed bundles, cheaper but take-it-or-leave-it.
Burgers: The Widest Gap on Either Menu
| Burger | Barcelos | Pedros |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest burger | Cheese burger, R55.90 (or Tasty Twins, two smaller burgers, R65.90) | Sprinkle Chicken Burger, R29.99 |
| Standard chicken burger | Cheese burger, R55.90 | Chicken Burger, R35.99 |
| Cheese burger | R55.90 | R39.99 |
| Burger with a side / chips | R65.90 | R39.99 to R49.99, depending on the burger |
| Burger, side and drink / chips and a Buddy | R75.90 | R49.99 to R59.99, depending on the burger |
If you eat burgers, this comparison is not close. The Sprinkle Chicken Burger at R29.99 is the cheapest proper burger at either chain by a long way, and even as a full meal with chips and a 300ml Buddy it only reaches R49.99, which is still less than a Barcelos cheese burger on its own. Pedros runs the same three-step ladder on every burger and wrap: the item alone, with chips for R10 more, or with chips and a Buddy for R20 more. Barcelos burgers are flame-grilled and perfectly decent, but on price they are competing a class above. Anyone hunting the cheapest handheld lunches in the country should also see our roundup of fast food under R50, where Pedros shows up repeatedly.
Wraps
| Wrap | Barcelos | Pedros |
|---|---|---|
| Slaw wrap | R42.90 (chicken slaw wrap) | R36.99 |
| Standard chicken wrap | R46.90 (chicken and feta wrap) | R39.99 |
| Cheesy wrap | R50.90 (cheesy loaded wrap) | R46.99 (cheesy jalapeño wrap) |
| Top-end wrap | R50.90 | R49.99 (Fully Loaded Wrap) |
| Wrap with chips and a drink | Not sold as a set ladder | Add R20 to any wrap price |
Wraps are the closest category on the two menus. The savings at Pedros shrink to R4 to R7 a wrap, and the Barcelos chicken and feta combination has no direct Pedros equivalent. If wraps are your usual order, choose on taste and on which store is closer. If you want the wrap as a meal, Pedros wins again, because adding chips and a Buddy for R20 takes a Chicken Wrap to R59.99 all-in.
What Only One of Them Sells
Price is not the whole story, because the menus only overlap in the middle. Barcelos sells a chicken shawarma at R69.90 (R79.90 with a side, R89.90 with a side and a drink), prego-style items and, at selected stores, a breakfast menu built around eggs, chicken strips and livers, with breakfasts roughly between R44 and R110 depending on the store. It also finishes a meal properly, with desserts and shakes at R29.90 to R39.90. Pedros sells none of that. There is no shawarma, no breakfast and no dessert list on the official Pedros menu.
Pedros has its own extras that Barcelos does not match. Its paella line takes the same flame-grilled chicken and serves it on spiced rice: a quarter chicken paella at R49.99, a half at R79.99, a full chicken paella at R149.99 and a strips paella bowl at R29.99. It has a proper kids menu, with nuggets, chicken bites and burger meals all at R54.99, where Barcelos has no equivalent national kids listing. And it has the Sprinkle: a dry spice coating you can choose instead of a wet basting, which is a genuinely different way to eat the same chicken and the thing regulars talk about most.
Family Packs and Sharing
| Sharing option | Barcelos | Pedros |
|---|---|---|
| Entry sharing deal | Half Pack, R138.90 (half chicken, 2 regular sides, 2 Portuguese rolls) | Full Chicken & 4 Rolls, R139.99 |
| Whole chicken family meal | Family Chicken Meal, R149.90 (whole chicken with sides, branch varies); Thumbs Up, R189.90 (full chicken, garlic loaf, medium coleslaw, medium pap or spicy rice) | Viva Meal, R159.99; Full Meal, R199.99 |
| Bundle with a big drink included | Not a standard pack feature | New Fiesta Meal, R179.99 (full sprinkle chicken cut into 10, large chips, 2 rolls and a 1.5L drink) |
| Standard family pack | Family Pack, R274.90 (full chicken, 2 medium sides, 4 Portuguese rolls) | Mini Combo, R219.99; Maxi Combo, R259.99 |
| Biggest pack | Super Family Pack, R359.90 (2 full chickens, 2 large sides, 6 Portuguese rolls) | Mega Meal, R309.99; Chicken Platter, R509.99 |
Read the entry row carefully, because it sums up the whole comparison. For R138.90, Barcelos gives you half a chicken with sides and rolls. For R1.09 more, Pedros gives you a whole chicken and four rolls. Split the big packs four ways and the same story repeats: the Pedros Full Meal at R199.99 works out to R50 a head, the Barcelos Family Pack at R274.90 to about R68.73 a head. Barcelos packs tend to include the nicer spread of sides, and the Super Family Pack with two full chickens is a real party order, but a family buying on price alone will pick Pedros every time. The biggest Pedros sharing orders are its two platters, and our Pedros platter prices guide prices both of them per person. For how Pedros stacks up against fried chicken instead, see our Chicken Licken vs Pedros comparison.
Sides and Extras
| Side | Barcelos | Pedros |
|---|---|---|
| Regular chips, rice or wedges | R19.90 (any single side) | R17.99 |
| Large chips or rice | R36.90 (sharing side) | R27.99 |
| Garden salad | R36.90 | R27.99 |
| Greek or Mediterranean salad | R46.90 | R34.99 |
| Coleslaw | Included in the single side range, R19.90 | R17.99 |
| Rolls | Garlic loaf add-on, R19.90 | Portuguese roll R5.99; garlic roll R9.99; cheesy garlic roll R13.99 |
| Loaded fries | Cheesy loaded fries, R44.90 | Loaded Fries, R36.99; Cheesy Fries, R32.99 |
| Dips and extras | Sauce tubs about R8.50 on delivery menus, cheaper in store | Dips, R4.99 |
Sides are where the small differences add up over a family order. Pedros is cheaper on every standard side, and its R5.99 Portuguese roll and R4.99 dips are the kind of prices Barcelos simply does not offer. Barcelos gets one back with choice: salads can have chicken added for R18, which turns a Mediterranean Salad into a light meal for R64.90, and its poppers (five chicken poppers for R29.90, cheesy jalapeño poppers for R29.90) have no Pedros match.
Flavours and Heat Levels
Both chains grill over flame and neither charges extra for heat, so this section is about style, not price. Barcelos runs a five-step sauce ladder: Tangy Lemon at the gentle end, then Prego, Mild Peri, Veri Peri and Supa Peri at the top. It is a peri-peri purist’s menu, and the top two steps are properly hot. Pedros offers bastings in Lemon & Herb, Mild, Hot, Extra Hot and BBQ, and then gives you a second route entirely: the Sprinkle, a dry spice rubbed onto the chicken instead of a sauce, in the same range of heat levels. Neither approach is better in the abstract. Barcelos tastes more like a Portuguese grill house; Pedros tastes punchier and saltier, and the Sprinkle chicken stays crisp in a way sauced chicken does not. If you are new to either, start in the middle of the ladder. Supa Peri and Extra Hot both mean it.
What R100 Gets You at Each Chain
| Budget | Barcelos | Pedros |
|---|---|---|
| R100, one person eating well | Mega Ayoba Meal, R99.90; or a 1/2 chicken on its own, R90.90 | 1/2 Chicken & Chips, R79.99, plus a regular chips, R17.99 (R97.98 total) |
| R100, classic quarter meal plus extras | 1/4 chicken with a side and a drink, R65.90, plus chicken strips, R29.90 (R95.80 total) | Two 1/4 Chicken, Chips & Roll meals at R49.99 each (R99.98 total): that is lunch for two |
| R200, feeding a family | Thumbs Up, R189.90 (full chicken, garlic loaf, coleslaw and pap or spicy rice) | Full Meal, R199.99; or the Fiesta Meal at R179.99 with a 1.5L drink included |
The middle row is the whole Pedros pitch in one line: R100 there is not a meal for one, it is a meal for two. At Barcelos, R100 spent carefully still feeds one person very well, and the food is arguably a step up in variety, but the arithmetic does not change. It is also worth checking the current fast food deals before a big order, because both chains run rotating specials that can close the gap on a given week.
Reach, Halaal and Delivery
The strangest fact in this comparison is the store counts. Barcelos has been trading since 1993 and has about 100 South African stores, strongest in Gauteng. Pedros opened in 2018 inside a KwaZulu-Natal Spar, passed 200 stores across South Africa and the rest of the continent, and is targeting 250 by 2027, so in most towns the Pedros is now easier to find than the Barcelos. The two chains are not related and neither owns the other; both are South African businesses that happen to sell the same style of chicken. The same confusion follows Pedros everywhere, which is why we also get asked whether Pedros is the same company as Nando’s. It is not, and it is not Barcelos either.
On halaal, both chains are branch-by-branch. Many Pedros stores carry individual SANHA certification and some Barcelos stores are certified too, but there is no blanket national certificate at either chain, so check your specific store if it matters to you. On delivery, both chains are on the big apps and both carry a heavy markup. Barcelos delivery prices run about 40% to 45% above in store, and Pedros shows the same pattern: its Fiesta Meal is R179.99 in store and was listed at R244.99 on Mr D at a Cape Town store. At those markups, the saving from choosing Pedros survives, but collecting your order saves more than the choice of chain does.
Verdict: Who Should Eat Where
Choose Pedros if price decides it, if you are feeding a family on a budget, if you want a kids menu, or if a sub-R30 burger or a R29.99 strips meal is the kind of lunch your budget needs. On chicken, burgers, wraps, sides and family packs, Pedros is cheaper across the board, and the gap on a full chicken is big enough to pay for the drinks and rolls as well. Our Pedros vs Nando’s comparison tells the same story against the premium end of the market.
Choose Barcelos if you want the wider menu: shawarma, a sit-down breakfast at the stores that serve it, salads with chicken added, poppers, desserts and shakes, and a five-step peri-peri ladder that regulars swear by. You will pay about R13 more for a quarter chicken and about R26 more for a half, and for some people that buys a meal they enjoy more. Our Barcelos vs Nando’s comparison shows where Barcelos sits against the other premium option. The honest summary is that Pedros wins this comparison on price, clearly, and Barcelos wins it on range, also clearly. Pick which of those two things you are actually shopping for.
How these prices were checked: Pedros prices are from the official Pedros menu at pedroschicken.co.za, checked on 4 November 2026. Barcelos prices are the national menu prices re-checked on 2 November 2026. Both chains are franchised, so individual branches can differ by a few rand, and delivery app prices are higher than the in-store prices quoted here. If your branch shows a different price, the branch menu is the final word.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Pedros cheaper than Barcelos?
Yes, on every like-for-like item. A quarter chicken is R32.99 at Pedros against R45.90 at Barcelos, a half chicken is R64.99 against R90.90, and a full chicken is R124.99 at Pedros while Barcelos sells whole chickens mainly through family packs from R149.90. Pedros is also cheaper on burgers, wraps, sides and family meals.
How much is a full chicken at Pedros vs Barcelos?
A full chicken costs R124.99 at Pedros, or R139.99 with four rolls. Barcelos does not list a plain whole chicken on its national feast menu; its whole chickens come in family packs such as the Family Chicken Meal at R149.90 and the Thumbs Up at R189.90, and the guide price for a whole Barcelos chicken on its own is about R181.90, varying by branch.
What can I get for R100 at Pedros and at Barcelos?
At Pedros, R100 buys two quarter chicken, chips and roll meals at R49.99 each, so it can feed two people. At Barcelos, R100 buys one person a big meal: the Mega Ayoba Meal at R99.90, or a quarter chicken with a side and a drink (R65.90) plus chicken strips (R29.90) for R95.80 in total.
Which is better for a family, Barcelos or Pedros?
On price, Pedros. Its Full Chicken and 4 Rolls costs R139.99 and its Full Meal R199.99, which works out to about R50 per person for four. The closest Barcelos equivalent, the Family Pack at R274.90, works out to about R68.73 per person, although it includes two medium sides and four rolls in the price. Barcelos packs include a wider spread of sides; Pedros packs cost less.
Are Barcelos and Pedros the same company?
No. They are separate South African chains. Barcelos was founded in Pretoria in 1993. Pedros was founded in Durban in 2018 by entrepreneur Moosa Bux, with the first store inside a KwaZulu-Natal Spar. Neither owns the other, and both compete with Nando’s and Galito’s in the same flame-grilled chicken market. Mochachos competes in the same market with a Mexican menu, and its prices are in our Mochachos menu prices guide.
Which tastes better, Barcelos or Pedros?
That depends on the style you like. Barcelos is the Portuguese grill house option, with five sauce based heat levels from Tangy Lemon to Supa Peri and a wider menu around the chicken. Pedros bastes its chicken in Lemon and Herb, Mild, Hot, Extra Hot or BBQ, or coats it in a dry Sprinkle spice, which gives a punchier, crispier result. Both are flame-grilled and neither charges extra for a hotter flavour.
Are Barcelos and Pedros halaal?
Certification varies by branch at both chains. Many Pedros stores are individually certified by SANHA and some Barcelos stores are certified too, but there is no single national certificate covering every store at either chain. Check with your local branch before ordering if halaal certification is a requirement for you.
Does Pedros or Barcelos charge more on delivery apps?
Both do. Barcelos prices on delivery apps run about 40% to 45% above its in-store menu. At Pedros, the Fiesta Meal costs R179.99 in store and was listed at R244.99 on Mr D at a Cape Town store, before delivery and service fees. Collecting your order is the biggest saving available at either chain.