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Photograph: Courtesy of Lizzie Munro

NYC's 12 best fried chicken destinations

New York’s best fried chicken includes greasy-spoon, gourmet, and dynamically delicious varieties.

Amber Sutherland-Namako
Written by
Time Out contributors
&
Amber Sutherland-Namako
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Photogenic foods have gotten more and more slickly produced over the years, with unicorn dye here and glitter there, but fried chicken, one of the originals of the form, is as lovely as ever, unadorned. Whether it's perched atop a waffle at brunch or joined by a smattering of sides at dinner, that crispy golden skin practically crackles from its pixels. It’s even better when you lower the phone and take that first juicy bite, and these are our favorite fried chicken destinations in NYC to sink your teeth into right now. 

RECOMMENDED: Full guide to the best restaurants in NYC

Fried chicken we love so much that we welcomed them into Time Out Market

  • Bars
  • Gastropubs
  • Upper West Side
  • price 2 of 4

When Jacob’s Pickles opened on the Upper West Side in 2011, it was one of the first truly cool restaurants in a neighborhood better known for its sleepy dining scene than hip eateries and bars. The back-to-basics menu was one we could get behind (goodbye, stale chicken wings and greasy fries). The Southern-focused spot specializes in comfort foods: Nashville hot chicken, biscuits, mac and cheese and, of course, pickles.

Best fried chicken in NYC

  • Restaurants
  • Soul and southern American
  • East Village
  • price 1 of 4

This small, no-fuss East Village chicken nook focuses on beautifully fried-to-order fowl, at three locations in NYC and one in New Jersey. Each order's gentle seasoning can please a wide variety of palates, and the exterior has a satisfying crunch. The overnight–sweet-tea–brined birds' turn in the pressure fryer lend them a juicy finish. 

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  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • Restaurants
  • Downtown Brooklyn
  • Recommended

This truly beautiful, self-billed oyster and chop house has a sleeper-hit fried chicken dish, with a formidable crunch as sonorous as any, plus kimchi cheddar cornbread with buckwheat honey butter and Brussel sprout slaw on the side. 

  • Restaurants
  • Soul and southern American
  • Prospect Heights
  • price 1 of 4

A Prospect Heights favorite since the 70s, Mitchell's still serves all manner of menu items in its petite space, including fried chicken in several pleasing configurations. 

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  • Restaurants
  • Soul and southern American
  • Bedford-Stuyvesant
  • price 1 of 4

One of New York’s top purveyors of Nashville-style hot chicken, the bird at this Bed-Stuy soul-food favorite is seasoned with sizzling cayenne and scorching ghost peppers. Its final form is pleasantly greasy, and even after many spicy bites (or extra spicy, for thrill-seekers), you can’t help but go back for more.

  • Restaurants
  • Park Slope

This “underground” fried poultry purveyor had folks in a feathered frenzy for buttermilk-brined chicken nicely spiced with Tianjin chili and Szechuan peppercorn shortly after it first got clucking in 2020. Today, it has a permanent location in Park Slope, replete with all of its original cult classic favorites.  

 

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  • Restaurants
  • Soul and southern American
  • Williamsburg
  • price 1 of 4

Sweet and savory get equal billing here, but fan-favorite fried chicken is the undisputed star. Seasoned with paprika, black pepper and cayenne, and crisped to a golden mosaic, you'll remember the resulting tender white and dark meat legs, breasts and thighs long after you've reduced them to bones. Grab a box of three pieces with a biscuit and a side like collards or burnt end baked beans.

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  • Restaurants
  • Soul and southern American
  • Williamsburg
  • price 2 of 4

Now with five locations in NYC, Sweet Chick is something of a mini-chain. Its chicken is bathed in sweet tea before being dredged and fried, giving the meat a gentle sweetness. It's available by the bucket, in a few types of sandwiches, and atop waffle varieties. 

  • Restaurants
  • Soul and southern American
  • Harlem
  • price 2 of 4

Founded by “Queen of Soul Food” Sylvia Woods, and now operated by her family, this Harlem restaurant has been a neighborhood staple since 1962. Decades later, it's still doling out down-South specialties like terrific chicken and waffles.

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  • Bars
  • Gastropubs
  • Williamsburg
  • price 2 of 4

This Willaimsburg winner's edge is its crust. Orders of regally-coated thighs arrive heartily seasoned and three to a plate, with biscuits, honey butter and hot sauce. Each piece's detailed topography delivers a cartoonishly audible crunch and decadent grease—a great way to soak up all the booze on offer at this hipster-happy gastrodive.

  • Restaurants
  • Contemporary American
  • Soho
  • price 3 of 4

This Soho spot in a typically heavily-touristed area is not a dedicated fried chicken destination, but it does save room for one on its brunch, lunch and dinner menus. And the hot fried chicken with honey butter biscuits and slaw is one of The Dutch's most popular menu items.

Looking for more Southern food?

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