53 editor-picked fried chicken restaurants across 31 cities.
Fried chicken is the world's most universal cooking technique applied to the world's most universal protein, and the global fried chicken tradition has at least five distinct culinary lineages worth knowing. The Southern American (Black-Southern, soul food rooted) tradition uses a buttermilk soak and a seasoned flour dredge, then fries in lard or peanut oil in cast iron or a deep fryer, producing the chicken that ancestrally defines KFC, Popeyes, and the great regional fryers from Willie Mae's Scotch House in New Orleans to Gus's World Famous in Memphis. Nashville hot chicken (covered separately) is its own subcategory built on this Southern foundation. Buffalo wings, the Anchor Bar invention from 1964 Buffalo, NY, are a related but distinct American tradition.
Korean fried chicken (KFC, the local name) is twice-fried (an initial fry to cook through, a second fry to crisp the skin), often glazed with a sweet-spicy gochujang sauce, and served as a beer-and-chicken (chimaek) drinking food. The chain Bonchon and the older Mom's Touch, BBQ Chicken, and Kyochon are the major players, and the cuisine has spread globally over the past 20 years.
Japanese karaage (deep-fried bite-sized chicken thigh, marinated in soy and ginger and garlic, dredged in potato starch) is the country's dominant fried chicken, with regional specialties (Oita's toriten in tempura batter, Nagoya's spicy tebasaki wings, Hokkaido's zangi). Taiwanese popcorn chicken (yan su ji, bite-sized chicken seasoned with five-spice and fried with basil) is the night-market tradition that gave its name to the bite-sized format. And the broader frying traditions of Filipino chicken (often marinated in soy and citrus), Thai gai tod (deep-fried with coriander root and turmeric), and Hawaiian mochiko chicken (marinated and dredged in mochiko rice flour) round out the global picture.
Buttermilk-brined, seasoned-flour-dredged, fried in lard or peanut oil, often in cast iron. The lineage from Willie Mae's Scotch House (New Orleans) to Gus's World Famous (Memphis) to Prince's Hot Chicken (Nashville, separate hot tradition) to Popeyes (the chain that elevated mass-market Southern fried chicken in the 2010s and 2020s).
Covered in its own pillar. Southern fried chicken coated in a paste of lard, cayenne, brown sugar, and other spices, served on white bread with pickles. Prince's Hot Chicken (1945) is the origin.
Twice-fried, glazed with sweet-spicy sauce (yangnyeom) or soy-garlic. Served whole or in pieces with pickled radish and Korean beer. Bonchon, Kyochon, Mom's Touch, BBQ Chicken (no relation to American BBQ) are the chains. The chimaek (chicken and beer) culture is one of the great late-night Seoul food traditions.
Bite-sized chicken thigh marinated in soy, ginger, garlic, and sake, dredged in potato or wheat starch, deep-fried. Regional variants include Oita's toriten (tempura-battered), Nagoya's spicy tebasaki wings, Hokkaido's zangi, and tatsuta-age (with rice vinegar).
Bite-sized chicken seasoned with five-spice powder, white pepper, garlic, and rice wine, dredged in sweet potato starch, fried with whole basil leaves (which crisp into a fragrant crunch). The defining Taipei night-market street food.
At a Southern fried chicken spot, the standard order is two or three pieces (dark and white meat mix) with two sides (mac and cheese, collards, mashed potatoes, mac salad, slaw), biscuits or cornbread, and sweet tea. At a Korean fried chicken place (Bonchon, Kyochon), order a whole chicken (or half) cut into pieces, often half soy-garlic and half yangnyeom (the banban order), with pickled radish and beer. At a Japanese izakaya, karaage is a small plate or appetizer; one order is a 6 to 8 piece portion shared by 2 to 3 people. At a Taiwanese night-market stall, popcorn chicken is a single-person snack.
The rookie mistakes: ordering all white meat at a Southern fried chicken place (the dark meat is where the flavor lives), expecting a 5-minute wait at a serious Korean fried chicken place (it is twice-fried to order and takes 20 to 30 minutes minimum), missing the pickled radish with Korean chicken (it is the essential palate cleanser), and confusing karaage with chicken katsu (karaage is small marinated pieces, katsu is breaded cutlet).
American fried chicken pairs canonically with cold beer (lager or pilsner), sweet tea, lemonade, or buttermilk. Korean fried chicken with cold draft beer is the chimaek tradition; soju on the side. Japanese karaage with cold lager or sake. Taiwanese popcorn chicken with bubble tea or boba milk tea. The dryness of fried chicken makes a carbonated drink the universal companion; the saltiness makes cold and crisp the right register. Champagne is a serious-people pairing with high-end fried chicken (the bubbles and acidity cut the fat beautifully).
Southern American: Willie Mae's Scotch House (New Orleans), Gus's World Famous (Memphis and now national), Prince's and Hattie B's for the Nashville hot tradition, Roscoe's (LA, chicken and waffles), Bayou Bakery and Astro Beer Hall (DC). Korean: Seoul holds the deepest scene (Kyochon, Bonchon, Mom's Touch, Kkanbu Chicken), with strong satellite scenes in Los Angeles (Koreatown), New York (Flushing and Korean midtown), and Sydney. Japanese karaage: Tokyo izakayas; Hokkaido for zangi. Taiwanese popcorn chicken: Taipei night markets, especially Shilin. London, Sydney, and New York all have serious global fried chicken scenes with all five lineages represented.
Fried chicken in the American Southern lineage descends from West African pan-frying traditions and the Scottish-Irish tradition of frying chicken in lard (both arriving in the South in the 18th and 19th centuries). The Black-Southern tradition codified the buttermilk soak and seasoned dredge. Korean fried chicken developed in the late 20th century, with the modern double-fry-and-glaze format emerging in the 1980s and 1990s; the chimaek (chicken and beer) culture is from the same era. Karaage emerged in Japan in the 1920s and 1930s as Chinese-influenced home cooking, becoming an izakaya standard by the postwar period.
Technique. Korean fried chicken is twice-fried (low temp to cook through, high temp to crisp) and typically glazed with a sauce after frying. Southern fried chicken is dredged in flour, fried once at a moderate-high temperature, and served without a glaze (the seasoning is in the flour and the optional hot sauce or honey).
It is Louisiana-Creole-Southern. Popeyes was founded in New Orleans in 1972 by Al Copeland and uses a Louisiana-style seasoning. The 2019 chicken sandwich popularized a new fried chicken sandwich format. The chain is now the most globally influential mass-market Southern fried chicken company.
The first fry cooks the chicken through at a lower temperature; the second fry at a higher temperature crisps the skin and renders out remaining fat, producing a notably crunchier and less greasy result than single-fried chicken. The technique also lets the sauce adhere without softening the crust.
Biscuit Head on Haywood Road in West Asheville builds full breakfasts around $7 cathead biscuits with house preserves at the jam bar. The under-$15 Asheville.
Try: Cathead biscuit and gravy
Tip: The biscuit-and-gravy plate is the value play; the Mimosa Fried Chicken biscuit pushes over $12.
Delilah's Everyday Soul inside Atlanta's Chattahoochee Food Works hall serves the Oprah-praised seven-cheese mac, fried chicken and collards from a counter.
Order: Seven-cheese mac and cheese plus a side of collards.
Why locals love it: A counter inside the Chattahoochee Food Works hall on the Westside; the seven-cheese mac is famously Oprah-approved but the food-hall format keeps it under the radar.
Tip: Pick up the seven-cheese mac and a side of collards, then take the order to the Westside Beltline benches across the parking lot.
Polo Fried Chicken in Bangkok's Soi Polo is the Bib Gourmand garlic-fried-chicken room, a 1989 family business deep-frying half birds with crispy fried.
Try: Garlic fried chicken with sticky rice
Tip: Cash only. Lunch crowds fill the room by 12:00; arrive before opening or after 14:00. Open 07:00-21:00 daily.
Polo Fried Chicken in Bangkok's Soi Polo is the Bib Gourmand garlic-fried-chicken room, open until 21:00 daily with half birds blanketed in crispy fried.
Try: Garlic fried chicken (gai tod)
Tip: Cash only. Last orders 20:30. Half a fried chicken with som tam Thai and sticky rice is the canonical late-dinner order.
Henne Alt-Berliner Wirtshaus on Leuschnerdamm in Kreuzberg has served one dish for over a century: a half-roasted milk-fed chicken with kraut salad and rye.
Why locals love it: Henne has cooked one dish since 1907 and is barely online. The room has no booking widget; you phone two weeks ahead and ask for the original 1907 dining room.
Tip: Phone reservations only: +49 30 614 7730. Ask for the original 1907 room when booking; the annex is less atmospheric.
Aaron Josinsky and Laura Wade's sister restaurant to Misery Loves Co. opened in August 2022 in the historic Block Building at the top of the Winooski rotary.
Signature: Fried chicken, Shucked oysters, Hot-honey biscuit
Order: The fried chicken half-bird plus a half-dozen Vermont oysters and a hot-honey biscuit.
Tip: Bar takes walk-ins; book the dining room on Resy. Dinner 16:00-21:00 daily; weekend brunch 10:00-15:00.
Sister room to Misery Loves Co.; opened August 2022 at the top of the Winooski rotary in the historic Block Building. Fried chicken and East Coast oysters.
Signature: Fried chicken, Vermont oysters, Hot-honey biscuit
Order: Half-bird fried chicken, half-dozen Vermont oysters and a biscuit.
Tip: Bar walk-in; book the dining room on Resy. Dinner only, and the half-bird fried chicken sells through by 21:00 on weekends.
Bertha's Kitchen on Meeting Street Road in North Charleston runs Albertha Grant's soul food cafeteria from 1979. Fried chicken, okra soup, red rice.
Order: Fried chicken, okra soup, red rice, lima beans with smoked turkey neck
Why locals love it: A North Charleston cafeteria steam table that has run since 1979 and won James Beard's America's Classics in 2017. Tourist guides barely list it.
Tip: Lunch only Mon-Sat, cash and card. Arrive before 13:00 weekdays or the fried chicken is gone.
Bertha's Kitchen in North Charleston has run soul food cafeteria-style since 1979, the Grant family at the steam table. Fried chicken, okra soup, red rice.
Try: Fried chicken, okra soup, red rice with two sides
Tip: Cash and card both fine. Lunch only, Mon-Sat; arrive before 13:00 or the chicken sells out.
Leon's Fine Poultry and Oysters in Charleston runs fried chicken and oyster plates from a converted body shop on King Street since 2014. Priced at $$.
Signature: Fried chicken sandwich, Char-grilled oysters
Order: The fried chicken sandwich and a half-dozen char-grilled oysters.
Tip: Walk-in counter seating. Lines at lunch are real; weeknight dinner is easier.
Bossy Beulah's flagship on Freedom Drive is the Charlotte chicken-sandwich counter that has built four city locations since opening in 2019, with simple.
Signature: Chicken sandwich, Tenders, Wings
Order: The classic Bossy chicken sandwich and a side of fries.
Tip: The Freedom Drive flagship is the original. The Ballantyne and Brandywine spinoffs serve the same menu.
Bossy Beulah's Freedom Drive is the original Charlotte chicken-sandwich counter, opened in west Charlotte before the brand spread to Ballantyne, Brandywine.
Why locals love it: The original Freedom Drive flagship is in a corner strip mall in west Charlotte, easy to overlook past the more famous Ballantyne branch.
Tip: Counter-order. The classic chicken sandwich with fries is the canonical visit.
Bossy Beulah's Freedom Drive flagship runs a simple chicken-sandwich menu under $12 in west Charlotte, with four city branches and consistent counter-service.
Try: Fried chicken sandwich and tenders
Tip: Counter-order. The combo with fries lands under $15. The Brandywine, Ballantyne and Derita branches serve the same menu.
Honey Butter Fried Chicken in Chicago is the Avondale counter from Christine Cikowski and Joshua Kulp, with the honey-butter biscuit that named the place.
Signature: Fried chicken with honey butter, Sides board
Order: Two-piece dark plate with the honey butter biscuit and the corn salad.
Tip: Order online from your phone before you walk in. The counter line is twice as long as the screen-pickup one most evenings.
MOTR Pub on Main Street in OTR runs Cincinnati's late kitchen until 2:30am, with burgers, vegan fried chicken, free live music and a long beer list.
Try: Burgers, vegan fried chicken, late kitchen
City Bird on Vine Street in OTR is Cincinnati's Thunderdome fast-casual chicken flagship, with brined tenders, sandwiches and house hot sauce options.
Signature: Chicken tenders, Crispy chicken sandwich
Cork's most-loved fried chicken chain on MacCurtain Street, open until 03:00 Mon-Thu and 04:00 Fri-Sat. Catches post-midnight Victorian Quarter crowds.
Deep Ellum fried chicken bar celebrating its 10th year in 2025, serving crispy Nashville-style chicken until 2am every night. Open daily 6pm-2am.
Order: Nashville hot chicken sandwich; waffle fries with house sauce
Tip: No reservations. Lines form after 11pm on weekends. The back bar area is quieter if you just want a drink.
Buck's Bar is a rock and roll fried-chicken joint on West Regent Street in Glasgow, slinging buttermilk and Nashville hot chicken with bourbon and loud music.
Order: The Nashville hot chicken with a bourbon on the side.
Tip: It doubles as a late bar with live bands, so it works for a boozy dinner as much as a quick feed.
OJ's Diner in Greenville: Black-owned Pendleton soul food counter, cash preferred and weekdays only. Locals know; tourists routinely miss it.
Why locals love it: Black-owned Pendleton soul food counter, cash preferred and weekdays only. Locals know; tourists routinely miss it.
Tip: Get there before 13:00 on weekdays. The fried chicken sells out by 14:00 most days.
OJ's is a Black-owned counter-service soul food diner on Pendleton Street: fried chicken, turnip greens, baked mac and cheese, sweet tea. Cash preferred.
Try: Soul food meat-and-three: fried chicken, turnip greens, mac and cheese
Frenchy's Chicken in Houston is the 1969 Third Ward Creole fried chicken counter on Scott Street, with a three-piece dark with two sides for $11 that fills.
Try: Three-piece Creole fried chicken with sides
Tip: Dark meat over white. Dirty rice and red beans. The Sunday queue is 30 minutes; weekday lunch is the move.
Frenchy's Chicken on Scott Street in Houston is Percy Creuzot's 1969 Third Ward Creole fried chicken counter, two blocks from Texas Southern University.
Signature: Creole fried chicken, Dirty rice
Order: Three-piece dark meat with dirty rice and red beans. A peach cobbler to close.
Tip: Sunday after church is the line. Weekday lunch is the move. The Scott Street counter is the original; multiple satellites exist.
Frenchy's Chicken in Houston is the 1969 Third Ward Creole fried chicken counter on Scott Street, open until midnight Fri-Sat with the Sunday-and-late-Friday.
Try: Creole fried chicken
Tip: Friday and Saturday past 11pm gets the after-club crowd. Three-piece dark with dirty rice is the order.
Cincinnati import that nails the Mass Avenue fried-chicken brief. Brined and dredged in-house, served with spoonbread and a half-dozen Southern sides.
Signature: Fried chicken, Spoonbread, Kale salad
Order: Half a chicken, the spoonbread, the kale salad. Sit at the picnic tables outside in summer.
Tip: No reservations. Get on the standby list at 5:30 for a 6:30 weekend table, or go for an early lunch.
The Eagle Mass Ave in Indianapolis fries half-chickens brined in-house and runs Southern sides on Mass Avenue's busiest corner. The line moves fast.
Signature: Fried chicken, Spoonbread
Order: Half a chicken with spoonbread and the kale salad.
Tip: No reservations. Get on the standby list at 5:30 for a 6:30 weekend table.
The Eagle Mass Ave in Indianapolis runs a late kitchen Friday and Saturday until midnight. Fried chicken, spoonbread and pours from a long beer list.
Try: Fried chicken and spoonbread
Stroud's Oak Ridge Manor is the Kansas City pan-fried chicken anchor, set inside a restored 1840s log-cabin homestead that became the second Stroud's in 1983.
Signature: Pan-fried chicken, Cinnamon rolls, Mashed potatoes and gravy
Order: Pan-fried chicken with mashed potatoes, pan gravy and the legendary cinnamon rolls.
Tip: Mon to Sat dinner only, Sun lunch. Walk-in or call ahead; the line wraps the porch on Friday nights.
Stroud's Oak Ridge Manor in Kansas City sits inside a restored 1840s log-cabin homestead, the second Stroud's location since 1983; the original 85th.
Signature: Pan-fried chicken, Cinnamon rolls, Country gravy
Order: Pan-fried chicken with mashed potatoes, country gravy and the cinnamon rolls.
Tip: Mon to Sat dinner, Sun lunch. The line wraps the porch on Friday nights; call ahead.
Colby and Megan Garrelts' Rye Plaza on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City refined the Midwestern restaurant template. Fried chicken, biscuits.
Tip: Megan Garrelts is a multi-year James Beard Outstanding Pastry Chef semifinalist for her Rye work. Brunch on weekends; Tock for evening reservations.
The Crack Shack at Park MGM in Las Vegas is Richard Blais and Top Chef alums' Strip Jidori chicken shop, a counter-service room for sandwiches.
Signature: Jidori fried chicken sandwich, Chicken oysters, Schmaltz fries
Order: The Senor Croque: fried Jidori chicken, bacon, fried egg and miso-maple butter on brioche.
Tip: Breakfast menu runs 09:00-12:00 with chilaquiles and biscuits; the line is shortest at opening.
Alcenia's in the Pinch District of Memphis runs Betty Joyce Chester-Tamayo's soul food plates under $15: fried chicken, collards and a hug at the door.
Try: Fried chicken plate
Order: Fried chicken plate with greens and yams; ask for a Ghetto Aid.
Tip: Counter service, cash preferred. B.J. greets every table; the experience is half the meal.
Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken on South Front Street downtown Memphis runs the city's cheap fried chicken plate, three-piece dark with sides under $15.
Try: Three-piece dark meat plate
Order: Three-piece dark meat plate with fried pickles and slaw.
Tip: Lunch line moves fast; dinner can run an hour. No reservations.
Lil' Dizzy's Cafe in New Orleans is the Baquet family's Treme Creole soul-food corner at Esplanade and N Robertson, with fried chicken and a lunch buffet.
Try: Fried chicken plate
Tip: Lunch only Monday to Saturday 11:00-15:00; the gumbo and fried chicken combo is the canonical order.
Soju on Penn Avenue in Garfield runs a later weekend kitchen in Pittsburgh. Korean fried chicken, bibimbap and soju cocktails into the evening in a small.
Try: Korean fried chicken
Nicole and David Mouton's Southern brunch counter on E Burnside in Portland since 2006, with buttermilk fried chicken on sweet potato waffles and biscuits.
Try: Buttermilk fried chicken and waffles
Tip: Brunch 08:30-14:00 daily. Walk-in line moves fast at counter pickup; reservations on OpenTable for the dining room.
Portland's most famous dive on SE Division for late-night fried chicken, with the bar open until 02:00 and the fryer pulling chicken until they sell out.
Try: Broasted fried chicken and beer
Tip: Last fryer order around 23:30. After that, beer only. Pool table and poker machines stay open.
Reel M Inn (Division Clinton): Bright-red Division Street dive with a single deep fryer and Portland's best broasted fried chicken. Cash bar.
Why locals love it: Bright-red Division Street dive with a single deep fryer and Portland's best broasted fried chicken. Cash bar.
Tip: Wait can hit an hour at peak. Order at the bar first, then drink while the chicken comes up.
Brad Cecchi's Canon in East Sacramento earned its sixth Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2025, the city's chef-driven small-plates room with seasonal cocktails.
Order: The fried chicken, smashed cucumbers, seasonal small-plate tasting
Tip: Open 7 days a week 17:00-21:00. Book a week ahead for prime Friday and Saturday seats.
Chef Jeff Balfour's Southerleigh brews 15 beers in-house at the Pearl Brewery and pairs them with Texas coastal cooking, a Michelin Bib Gourmand room.
Tip: Sit near the brew tanks and pair the fried chicken with the house pilsner. The Gulf snapper is the seafood pick.
The Crack Shack in San Diego is Richard Blais and Michael Rosen's Little Italy fried-chicken yard since 2015, attached to Juniper and Ivy. Priced at $$.
Signature: Firebird chicken sandwich, Coop deville (10-piece), Schmaltz fries
Order: The Firebird spicy chicken sandwich; the schmaltz fries with sherry-vinegar mayo.
Tip: All outdoors; bring a sweater for marine-layer mornings. The Coop Deville feeds a table of four.
Sapporo's reference zangi (Hokkaido fried chicken) counter. Set meals under 1,000 yen with free rice and cabbage refills; weekend lines run 15 minutes.
Try: Hokkaido zangi teishoku
Tip: Same set-menu price all day; the Sapporo Station branch is the queue overflow.
Sapporo Zangi Honpo's Susukino late counter pulls Hokkaido fried chicken with rice to 23:00. Cheaper alternative to a ramen close after a Susukino crawl.
Try: Hokkaido zangi
Tip: Counter only; teishoku sets under 1,000 yen.
Cafeteria-line soul food on Skidaway: oxtails, smothered shrimp, fried chicken with candied yams and macaroni and cheese. Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives feature.
Try: Oxtails, smothered shrimp, soul food sides
Hodak's has won Riverfront Times reader polls for best fried chicken since the 1990s. The family-run Gravois corner room is a no-frills temple to the bird.
Order: The fried chicken dinner with sides.
Tip: The fried chicken is the only thing most regulars order; pair it with the slaw and a cold draft. Expect a wait on Friday nights.
Hodak's has won reader polls for best fried chicken since the 1990s, plating a generous bird-and-sides dinner at a fair price in a no-frills room.
Try: Fried chicken dinner
Tip: The fried chicken dinner with sides is the value order. Expect a wait on Friday nights for the bird.
K25 on Kungsgatan in Stockholm's Norrmalm runs eight Asian counters under one roof; ramen, pho, dim sum and Korean fried chicken with lunch sets under 160.
Try: Ramen, pho, dim sum
Tip: Closed Sunday. The central seating fills at 13:00; arrive 12:00 or after 14:00.
Pub burger on Mary Street, Newtown, Sydney. Cheeseburgers, fried chicken, mac and cheese in a former church-turned-rock-bar; kitchen runs to midnight.
Try: Cheeseburger and fried chicken
Malaysian nasi lemak from Ho Jiak in Haymarket, Sydney for A$22. Pandan rice, sambal, ikan bilis, fried chicken and a hard-boiled egg on each plate.
Try: Nasi lemak with fried chicken
Hot Star at Shilin Night Market in Taipei serves the dinner-plate-sized fried chicken cutlet for NT$90, easily shared between two travelers.
Try: Fried chicken cutlet
Tip: Cash only.
FamilyMart Tokyo Station is the konbini bento standard that anchors traveller lunches in Tokyo. Onigiri, fresh sandwiches, bento, oden, famichiki chicken.
Try: Onigiri, bento, fried chicken
Tip: Onigiri at 150 yen each; the famichiki fried chicken is the local cult order. IC card and cash accepted.
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