5 Best Hot Chicken Spots in Nashville, According to Chefs
No food item in Nashville is more iconic than Music City's famed hot chicken. The infernally spicy dish was born from scorn when a woman wanted to punish her boyfriend for his wandering ways by coating his breakfast fried chicken with an insane amount of hot pepper. To her amazement (and to the benefit of generations of Nashville "hotheads" over the past 80 years,) Thornton Prince loved the piquant poultry and asked her to cook it again for him and his friends. Eventually, Prince opened a restaurant dedicated to what would become known as Nashville Hot Chicken, now available around the globe.
The number of hot chicken joints has multiplied over the decades, and most fans have a favorite that they swear by. To help sort out the options, we asked a group of notable Nashville chefs where they like to scratch their hot chicken itch when it strikes. These are their personal favorites.
Prince's Hot Chicken
The originator is still the champion, and a recent spate of expansion has made getting your Prince's fix easier than ever. It's also the reason why some Nashvillians have been known to store a roll of toilet paper in their freezer. (Best not to think too much about that.)
Kahlil Arnold is the chef/owner of Arnold's Country Kitchen, the legendary "meat-and-three" where locals and visitors alike line up to slide their cafeteria trays down the steam table to select some of the world's greatest downhome Southern cooking. So Kahlil knows his chicken, and Prince's is his favorite. "It's soooo good and is still the OG, so they should always be number one!"
Chef Edgar Victoria specializes in Mexico City street food at the multiple outposts of his Alebrije food truck empire, and he speaks for the vox populi when he says of Prince's, "I have to go with this place. I have been eating hot chicken here for years now, so I have to agree with 99% of Nashville."
Bolton's Spicy Chicken & Fish
Bolton's is another old-school favorite, a family-run business still using recipes passed on by a primogenitor who was an early employee at Prince's. Although Bolton's cooks in a different style from Prince's, preferring a dry spice over a dip into spicy oil after cooking, many chefs swear by their chicken and their version of another Nashville classic, hot fish sandwiches.
Matt Bolus is the chef at The 404 Kitchen, and Bolton's is one of his favorite spots for hot chicken. "In all honesty, I feel like they have the overall best flavor there is for Nashville hot chicken, and I love that they offer hot fish as well, which is super fun and delicious," he shares while warning that heat levels can occasionally be a little inconsistent. "When they are on point, they are very, very hard to beat."
You might remember Vivek Surti and Arnold Myint as two of our fried chicken experts as part of this Publix vs. Kroger smackdown, and the pair of chefs are both fans of Bolton's. Myint is used to a little spice in his food at his International Market, and Bolton's brings the heat for him. "They deliver on a heat scale that isn't matched anywhere else. Their medium level is right at my threshold, and I'm a Thai cook who isn't shy about heat. Any hotter for me and I don't think I could effortlessly enjoy the entire dish. I do love the balance of Bolton's spice blend. There's both a front heat that hits you at first bite, but also a longer back heat that creeps."
Tailor chef Surti isn't afraid to face the peril. "This is my go-to for the original 'dry' style of Nashville hot chicken. Hot chicken should make you uncomfortable. Growing up, the mild here was hotter than most places' current hot levels. Bolton's does it the old-school way, and that's why it's my favorite!"
James Beard-winning chef Sean Brock is one of the most respected voices in the country when it comes to the food of the South, and he sums up his love of Bolton's succinctly. "For the record, I haven't eaten hot chicken from anywhere besides Bolton's in the last four years."
Hattie B's Hot Chicken
This Nashville-based hot chicken chain has popularized the dish widely, opening more than a dozen locations across the country. While they certainly don't claim to have invented hot chicken, they definitely have their recipes and processes on lock.
Bolus appreciates Hattie B's professionalism, saying, "On the top of my list will be Hattie B's. I say this for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, they have really dialed in the flavor, which is the most important for me. I want to taste the seasoning of the hot chicken and not just feel a bunch of heat. The second reason is their consistency. You always know what you're going to get when you go to Hattie's."
Leina Horii of Kisser was an early acolyte of Hattie B's. "When I first flew out from LA to try out for a position at The Catbird Seat, this was the first thing I ever ate in Nashville. It was so good I went back a second time in the same day! We've been a Hattie B's family, so we haven't tried any other spots in town."
Bringle concurs, "After Bolton's, I would say Hattie B's. They are not the original like Prince's or Bolton's, but they really brought the awareness of hot chicken to the masses."
At Thai Esane, frequent diners who are friends with the owner Nina Singto can order a secret spice level above anything listed on the menu as long as they know the code phrase. She appreciates the aggressiveness of Hattie B's hottest levels. "Hattie's B has to be my favorite choice due to the hotness of heat that can even beat NinaHot!" (Sorry for spoiling your secret, Nina.)
Surti respects Hattie B's as a more modern option for diners. "There's the old-school hot chicken and the new-school hot chicken. Growing up, when you got hot chicken, it could take up to two hours to get an order in, and heat levels varied considerably. So sometimes the hot was hot, other times mild or it could be like hell's front door," the native Nashvillian explains. "Hattie B's brought consistency, customer service, and a better dining experience that brought hot chicken to the masses. Hattie B's is the reason why everyone in the country now knows what only a few of us used to."
400 Degrees Hot Chicken
400 Degrees is run by a woman named Aqui Hines, who has earned a cult following for her hands-on approach to hot chicken in locations in North Nashville and at the Nashville International Airport. Guests can pick from a 0-degree mild bird all the way up to 800 degrees if Aqui thinks you can handle it.
Surti can certainly handle it, and does often. "There was a time when 400 degrees was the newcomer on the block—opening after Prince's and Bolton's. But, the determination to spread the traditions of hot chicken and do it the right way has made 400 Degrees an institution."
Gavigan has an even more personal experience that made her a fan. "After the family from 400 Degrees came in for ramen on a day that they were handing out Christmas gifts at the local school, I decided it was time for me to try their hot chicken, and it has become one of my favorites."
Helen's Hot Chicken
Helen's is another hot chicken spot that showed up on multiple lists from the chefs' panel. Located near HBCU Fisk University, Helen's started out as a food truck and moved to a few locations before setting down roots in North Nashville. Singto appreciates that "they're always consistent on their heat level, and the chicken is never dry," while Myint notes that "their hot isn't that hot, but it's delicious in so many ways. They are a bit more minimalist when it comes to the condiments but with chicken like this, you need nothing more. The chicken meat is tender and flavor-packed, and the skin is just as l'd hoped. Also, a small order of fried gizzards is a perfect bonus. Helen's is definitely one of my all-around top spots!"
Other Nashville Hot Chicken Spots Worthy of a Visit
The chefs each had more favorite spots that they wanted to vouch for, including a few surprising choices. Kahlil Arnold has a suggestion for folks traveling through the airport (hopefully on an inbound leg to avoid any in-flight emergencies!) "The hot chicken and waffles at Acme Feed & Seed at the airport shocked me with how tender and flavorful it was, just the right amount of heat balanced with sweetness." He's also a fan of Subculture Cafe, an eclectic little restaurant in South Nashville that serves an unexpected treat in the form of a bowl of Nashville hot ramen. Arnold shares this secret, "They have such a good variety of food, and I was surprised by how good their hot chicken was."
One particular dish puts Red's Hot Chicken high on Bolus's list. "My biggest draw for them is the creativity in their menu. I think my favorite example of that is the Hot Chicken Mac and Cheese Crunchwrap. In my humble opinion, this is on par with the brilliance of the McGriddle. Red's found a way to combine almost everything I want when I want hot chicken into one bite. I always want mac and cheese with it, I would prefer it to be a sandwich style meal with pickles and sauce, and the addition of pimento cheese in there just takes it over the top. It's the entire wish list and meal in a single bite!"
Chef Myint offered one final recommendation: Pepperfire. He notes, "As far as the chicken, the overall look of the fried chicken is what every 'phone eats first' foodie dreams of. The well-dredged and crispy skin presents a dust of chili shake and a fully-coated golden red color that may suggest that it's been dipped in a chili oil of sorts. The chicken skin is impressively crispy."
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