The 14 Best Fried Chicken Spots in NYC

When it comes to dining trends that aren’t going anywhere, fried chicken sandwiches still rule the roost. But there would be no fried chicken sandwiches without fried chicken, so let's take a moment to appreciate the bread-free bird. NYC has an amazing diversity of styles, from Southern-style whole legs on the bone, to shatteringly crisp, glazed Korean chicken, or Chino Latino chicharron de pollo that’s basically an excuse to funnel green sauce into your gullet. For fried chicken so delicious it’s worth burning your fingers and destroying the roof of your mouth, here are our favorite spots.

THE SPOTS

Charles Pan-Fried Chicken

As the name suggests, the chicken at this 145th Street flagship location (with a few others in Harlem and around the city) is fried up in a Tom and Jerry -sized skillet. The pitch-black pans look like they’ve been full of hot oil for the better part of the last 40 years, producing chicken that’s salty, juicy, and—due to the contact with the hot metal—ultra-crunchy. The chicken is seasoned down to the bone, the skin isn’t too thick, and the outdoor seating is an excellent place to hang out on a weekend afternoon.

Bobwhite Counter

Bobwhite Counter has a simple pitch: small business quality with fast food prices. And they nail it. The Avenue C spot is probably the best value on this guide (and it’s reliably better than their Union Square spot ). A two-piece of their perfectly crisp and hyper-moist chicken with a biscuit costs $7.19, and for just about another $10, you can throw in an order of tenders (also great in the caesar wrap), a cookie, and an Arnold Palmer.

Atoboy

At Atoboy in Flatiron, you’ll have to order the $75 prix fixe in order to get the fried chicken add-on, which’ll cost another $28. For some exceptional Korean fried chicken, it’s worth every last penny. You’ll get a small bucket of thighs and drums with a thick and crispy crust, decorated with fried garlic chips. The meat on this chicken is so juicy that it belongs in a pouch with a straw—there’s not a dry, stringy bit of breast meat to be found here. After your first naked bite, make sure to dunk your chicken in the sides of gochujang sauce and peanut sauce. Use this spot for a quiet meal with a group.

Potluck Club

The salt and pepper chicken is a perfect example of the Cantonese-American cooking that happens at Potluck Club, a casual but festive restaurant in Chinatown. The chicken is a hybrid of Southern and Chinese styles: crunchy, tingly, salty, and it's our favorite thing on the menu here. And the sweet and salty chili-plum jam it comes with makes us salivate like one of Pavlov’s dogs every time we think about it. Did we mention the dish is served with a scallion biscuit?

Three Roosters

The Thai-style chicken at Three Roosters is the Cheeto-adjacent entry on this list: less juice, more pure, satisfying crunch. This little counter in Hell’s Kitchen serves every meal with a cup of poaching broth, rice, and some vegetables, making it perfect for a filling lunch if you work in the area. You can get the chicken naked, but if you’re looking for a little heat, order the zab fried version. Dusted with toasted rice, makrut lime, and chile powder, it’s thirsting for a dunk in their jaew sauce.

Yumpling

As the name suggests, this casual Taiwanese counter-service spot in Long Island City does make yummy dumplings. The fried chicken is even yummier. It’s incredibly moist on the inside, but so crispy-crunchy on the outside that the sound of every bite reverberates inside your skull. Scattered with fried basil leaves, the popcorn chicken in particular should be categorized as a controlled substance (and you should spring for the eight piece order). A choice of dips includes the signature basil aioli—which is also put to excellent use in the fried chicken sandwich.

The Commodore

Hanging out outside The Commodore, on the corner of Havemeyer and Metropolitan in Williamsburg, is one of the great ways to spend a summer night in the city. Want to make it better? Grab an order of the bar's Southern-style fried chicken. It’s everything you want out of this genre of fried fowl. Full of pickle-brined salty goodness, and worth scraping up the roof of your mouth, it pairs very well with a frozen cocktail. The Commodore’s second location in the East Village has the same fried chicken, but no outdoor seating.

La Dinastia

La Dinastia on the Upper West Side has a long menu of Chino Latino classics (glistening fried pork chops, ropa vieja on a bed of fried rice) but we always get the same thing: the boneless chicken cracklings, which are delicately crispy, and salty enough to keep you coming back until your plate’s empty. They come with your choice of side—we like the tostones or fried rice—and a lemon wedge for squeezing. Ask for the not-so-secret green sauce, and order a rum-based Nutcracker, even at lunch.

Yetnal Tongdak

Yetnal Tongdak, a Korean spot in Queens’ Murray Hill, serves a whole bird, fried without starch. And it’s changed our perspective on just how crispy chicken skin can get with no grainy assistance. What’s even more impressive is the skin on their soy-garlic glazed wings. They’re subtly sweet and tangy, and the skin doesn’t lose any of its crust from soaking in the sauce. Come with a crowd, and come hungry—you’ll want to get at least a few bites of everything here.

Rowdy Rooster

The most casual spot from the team behind Dhamaka and Semma , Rowdy Rooster in the East Village packs a serious punch. The counter-service spot is most famous for their sandwiches, but you can go sans-bun, and pick your heat level. At level one, you might find yourself in a full-body sweat. But heat-level five is one of the cheapest ways to get a thrill in the city. The chicken is coated in a volcanically spicy rub that’ll stain your fingers for days, and burn your insides too—though it doesn’t lack in flavor, with discernible nuances from different chilis in the powder. The only way we’ve found to cool off is a big sip of their mango lassi.

Amy Ruth's

Harlem has several soul food institutions, and Amy Ruth’s, a casual 116th Street spot, full of murals of famous customers, is our favorite for fried chicken. The go-to combo here is the “President Barack Obama”:  two leg-quarters (drum and thigh), and two sides. Their chicken has a slight layer of flour, and eats light, but it’s still got the crunch. Get it with their mac and cheese and some sweet collard greens, or over a fluffy waffle. The restaurant is perfect for a big family meal.

Coqodaq

While it might be easy to write off Coqodaq because of the zombie apocalypse-like infestation of TikToks featuring their caviar-topped chicken-nugget, the fact is that the bone-in Korean fried chicken at this Flatiron restaurant is actually very good. Ignore the nugget, and order the $38 per person “Bucket List.” You'll get two rounds of buff pieces—first plain, then glazed with your choice of gochujang or soy-garlic sauce (we prefer soy-garlic). A few side dishes and frozen yogurt are included. If you want a fancy cocktail or champagne with your fried food, this is the place.

Blue Ribbon Brasserie

They’ve opened a whole lot of restaurants with slightly different concepts in recent years,  but Blue Ribbon Brasserie still makes some damn fine fried chicken. You can get it at their fried chicken spot in the East Village, but there’s something about sitting here, in in one of Soho’s sceniest restaurants, and singing your fingers on freshly fried chicken that just feels special. Plus, we love the collard greens that get served underneath the clucker. Come here late at night (the restaurant is open until 2am), start with some oysters, and eat some 11pm fried chicken.

Pecking House

This Park Slope restaurant started off as a beyond-viral delivery service, mixing Chinese and Nashville hot flavors on their chili chicken. The signature fried chicken at their counter-service spot features moist, almost silken, meat, encased in a crust that shatters like a dropped glass in an empty bar. The Sichuan-by-way-of-Tennessee spice-dusted chicken is no slouch either. Round out your order with some finely tuned sides that incorporate seasonal produce, like a charred cucumber salad. Head here before an event at the Barclays Center, or for some takeout before a Prospect Park picnic.