Carolina fried chicken is buttermilk-brined chicken double-dredged in seasoned flour and fried crisp, served with biscuits, pimento cheese and a hot honey.
Fried chicken arrived in the South via West African cooking traditions that combined with Scottish frying methods on Carolina plantations through the 18th and 19th centuries. By the 20th century the dish was the canonical Sunday-supper plate across Charlotte's churches and mill households. Today Price's Chicken Coop, Haberdish and Mert's Heart and Soul keep the Charlotte tradition with cast-iron-fried birds and seasoned crust.
3 editor picks for Carolina fried chicken in Charlotte, ranked by editorial score. All Charlotte signature dishes · Carolina fried chicken across every city.
Also in: Atlanta, Greenville, Jackson.
Haberdish ★ 4.5
noda · 3106 N Davidson St, Charlotte, NC 28205
Haberdish on N Davidson is the NoDa mill-town Southern kitchen from Jeff Tonidandel and Jamie Brown, with a craft-cocktail bar built into the room.
Bossy Beulah's ★ 4.4
west-charlotte · 2200 Freedom Dr, Charlotte, NC 28208
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.
Mert's Heart and Soul ★ 4.3
uptown · 214 N College St, Charlotte, NC 28202
Mert's Heart and Soul on N College Street is uptown Charlotte's longest-running soul food room, with a fried-chicken-and-collards plate that draws a crowd.