Find Nashville hot chicken and spicy fried chicken restaurants near you — pick your heat level and go.
FIND HOT CHICKEN NOWNashville hot chicken started at Prince's Hot Chicken Shack in Nashville, Tennessee — a local secret for decades before the rest of the country caught on. Now hot chicken is everywhere, and for good reason: there's nothing quite like crispy fried chicken coated in a blazing cayenne-spice paste, served on white bread with cold pickles. It's addictive, it's painful, it's perfect.
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Nashville hot chicken is a style of fried chicken that originated in Nashville, Tennessee, traditionally attributed to Prince's Hot Chicken Shack. The chicken is fried crispy then painted with a paste made from cayenne pepper, brown sugar, garlic, and other spices, creating a shiny, deep red coating that is simultaneously sweet, spicy, and complex. It's traditionally served on white bread with pickles to cut the heat.
Most hot chicken restaurants offer multiple heat levels from 'No Heat' (plain fried chicken) to 'Country Hot' (mild), 'Hot', 'Extra Hot', and sometimes extreme levels like 'Reaper' or 'Insane'. Country Hot is a great starting point — flavorful without overwhelming heat. True Extra Hot Nashville hot chicken is intensely spicy and not for the faint-hearted.
Traditional Nashville hot chicken is served on white bread (to absorb the grease) with pickle chips. Modern hot chicken restaurants often offer it as a sandwich in a brioche bun, as tenders, as a half-bird, or on a platter with coleslaw and fries. The brioche sandwich format has become the most popular nationwide.
Click 'Find Hot Chicken Now' above and allow location access. ChooseMy.Food will surface hot chicken and spicy fried chicken restaurants near you. Hot chicken has spread nationwide — look for dedicated hot chicken spots, soul food restaurants, and fast-casual chains like Dave's Hot Chicken, Hattie B's, and Joella's.