Buttermilk-marinated chicken, double-dredged in seasoned flour, fried until the crust crackles. The Carolinas variation often runs spicier than Georgia's Nashville-influenced style.
Fried chicken in the Carolinas traces to West African frying technique combined with Scottish flour-dredging. The meat-and-three diner format kept fried chicken on the lunch counter through the textile-mill years. OJ's Diner on Pendleton has been frying since the 1980s, with the chicken often sold out by 14:00.
3 editor picks for Southern fried chicken in Greenville, ranked by editorial score. All Greenville signature dishes · Southern fried chicken across every city.
GB&D (Golden Brown and Delicious) ★ 4.5
downtown · 147 Welborn Street, Greenville, SC 29601
GB&D runs burgers, fried chicken and a tight Asian-inflected menu in the Commons. Casual, no fuss, all-day Sunday brunch. Recently moved from the Village.
OJ's Diner ★ 4.4
village-of-west-greenville · 907 Pendleton Street, Greenville, SC 29601
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.
Tupelo Honey ★ 4.4
downtown · 1 North Main Street, Suite T, Greenville, SC 29601
Tupelo Honey runs scratch-made Southern on the North Main corner: fried chicken biscuits, shrimp and grits, sweet potato pancakes. Asheville-born group.