Best Fried Chicken in Manhattan
The 10 best fried chicken spots in Manhattan, Harlem soul-food classics, Korean double-fry, Nashville hot, and the new wave of fried-chicken-only restaurants driving 2026 demand.
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- 1
Charles Pan-Fried Chicken▲ buzzing
Harlem · $$ · 145 St (A B C D) · 340 W 145th StAlso No. 2 on Best of Harlem →
Map ↗verified 10w agoA Harlem institution on Frederick Douglass Boulevard run by chef Charles Gabriel, who has been pan-frying chicken in seasoned cast iron since the 1980s, almost the only spot in Manhattan still using a true pan-fry rather than a fryer.
Because the pan-fry method gives the skin a different geometry than deep-frying, flatter, deeply browned, with crackle that survives the takeout container, and Gabriel's seasoning has not changed in three decades.
Order Pan-fried dark-meat plate with collard greens and mac.
Order the dark-meat plate over white, the cast-iron technique rewards the higher fat content, and the breast can dry out before it makes it home.
Photo: Tom Mills, CC BY-SA 2.0 Photo: Tom Mills, CC BY-SA 2.0 - 2
Coqodaq▲ buzzing
Flatiron · $$$$ · 14 St (1 2 3 F L M) · 8 W 18th StMap ↗verified 10w agoSimon Kim's Flatiron Korean-fried-chicken tasting room on West 18th, a sibling to Cote, where the bird is dry-aged, double-fried, and served as a multi-course $78 tasting with champagne.
Because Coqodaq is the only restaurant on this list that treats Korean fried chicken as a fine-dining format, the dry-age step changes the skin texture in a way nobody else here is doing, and the wine list rivals any steakhouse.
Order The Bucket List tasting menu with the champagne pairing.
Splurge once on the full Bucket List menu instead of ordering a la carte, the curated progression includes the corn cheese and a soft-serve finale that the standard menu does not.
Photo: Transpoman, CC BY-SA 4.0 Photo: Transpoman, CC BY-SA 4.0 - 3East Village · $$$ · Broadway-Lafayette St (6 B D F M) · 506 LaGuardia PlMap ↗verified 10w ago
A LaGuardia Place natural-wine bar from the 7th Street Burger team where fried chicken sandwiches and whole birds share a menu with grower champagne and very little else.
Because Lord's is the rare downtown spot that takes fried chicken as seriously as it takes the wine pour, the sandwich is built on a brioche-style bun engineered to absorb without disintegrating.
Order Whole fried chicken for two with the chunky pickles and a glass of pet-nat.
Sit at the bar to get the kitchen pacing right, by the front window the orders show up cold from the back service line on a Saturday.
Photo: Transpoman, CC BY-SA 4.0 Photo: Transpoman, CC BY-SA 4.0 - 4Upper West Side · $$ · 86 St (1) · 680 Columbus AveMap ↗verified 10w ago
An Upper West Side Southern-comfort restaurant on Amsterdam Avenue where the buttermilk-brined fried chicken is plated on biscuits the size of a fist with sausage gravy.
Because Jacob's nails the brunch-fried-chicken format that the rest of the borough overpriced, the biscuit-and-chicken plate runs about $20 and feeds you for the rest of the day.
Order Buttermilk fried chicken atop a cheddar biscuit with sausage gravy.
Show up before noon on weekends, the brunch line by 1 p.m. wraps the corner toward Amsterdam and the wait climbs past an hour.
@jacobspickles ↗Jacob's Pickles
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- 5Lower East Side · $$ · 2 Av (F) · 178 Ludlow StMap ↗verified 10w ago
A Lower East Side fried-chicken-and-waffles concept on Ludlow Street co-owned by John Seymour, with a sandwich program that grew into a multi-city brand from this original storefront.
Because Sweet Chick popularized the fried-chicken-and-waffle plate as a sit-down restaurant format in NYC, and the spicy mayo on the sandwich is dialed in better than nine of ten knockoffs.
Order Original chicken-and-waffles with the rosemary-cheddar waffle.
Order the chicken-and-waffle as the savory build with the rosemary-cheddar waffle, the standard sweet waffle muddies the seasoning of the bird.
@sweetchicklife ↗Sweet Chick
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- 6Chinatown · $$ · East Broadway (F) · 83 Henry StMap ↗verified 10w ago
Chef Eric Huang's Sichuan chili-fried chicken counter, tucked under the Manhattan Bridge with 10 seats and a line worth joining.
Because the buttermilk-brined bird gets a full Sichuan makeover, Tianjin chilies, peppercorn tingle, and MSG with zero apology, and the Chili Chicken Sando on milk bread is one of the best $15 moves in the city.
Order Chili Chicken Sando (milk bread, duck fat chili oil, kewpie, pickles)
Order the Chili Chicken Sando on milk bread and add the wok-fried lettuce, the sides here are as serious as the bird.
@pecking_house ↗Pecking House
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- 7NoMad · $$ · 33 St (6) · 325 5th AveMap ↗verified 10w ago
Bonchon's Fifth Avenue NoMad outpost, the global chain that brought double-fried Korean chicken into the mainstream American conversation in the late 2000s, with a menu that still leans toward the original Bonchon recipe.
Because Bonchon is the most accessible high-quality Korean fried chicken on this list, service is fast, beer is cold, and the texture of the skin is consistent across the dozen Manhattan locations.
Order Soy-garlic boneless wings with a pitcher of light Korean lager.
Order ahead online with a 25-minute pickup window, dine-in waits during weekday dinner can hit 45 minutes for a table even on a Tuesday.
@bonchonchicken ↗Bonchon
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- 8Hell's Kitchen · $$ · 50 St (C E) · 792 9th AveMap ↗verified 10w ago
A Hell's Kitchen Thai counter that cooks chicken three ways, grilled, poached, and, most importantly for our purposes, fried to a thunderous crunch.
Because the fish-sauce-kissed crust out-crunches anything in Midtown, and the zab version dusted with toasted rice, makrut lime, and chile brings the heat this slot demands.
Order Zab fried chicken with sticky rice and jaew dipping sauce.
Go zab, the chile-and-toasted-rice dusted version, if you came for heat.
@threeroostersthai ↗Three Roosters
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- 9East Village · $$ · 2 Av (F) · 28 E 1st StMap ↗verified 10w ago
A small East 1st Street counter from the Blue Ribbon family, fried-chicken-only, no sit-down, with a brining and dredge process developed for the original Blue Ribbon Brasserie a decade earlier.
Because Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken takes a chef-driven recipe and runs it through a fast-casual storefront, you get the seasoning depth of a Brasserie kitchen at a takeout-window price.
Order Half-chicken basket with mashed potatoes and a side of slaw.
Get the half-bird with two sides, the per-piece pricing makes the basket the better-value build at this counter compared with single-piece orders.
Photo: Billie Grace Ward, CC BY 2.0 Photo: Billie Grace Ward, CC BY 2.0 - 10Harlem · $$ · 116 St (2 3) · 113 W 116th St
Also No. 5 on Best of Harlem →
Map ↗verified 10w agoA Harlem soul-food restaurant on West 116th Street, opened by Carl Redding and named for his grandmother, Sunday-suit church-lunch energy and a menu that puts fried chicken in front of every other entrée.
Because Amy Ruth's plates the chicken on top of waffles with a serious side program (collards, candied yams, mac) for under $25, and the room itself is one of the few Harlem soul-food settings still doing it the original way.
Order The Reverend Al Sharpton chicken-and-waffles plate.
Order the Reverend Al Sharpton, the chicken-and-waffles plate named for the regular customer, to get the version locals actually mean when they say chicken at Amy Ruth's.
Photo: goodiesfirst (Flickr username; profile display name Krista), CC BY 2.0 Photo: goodiesfirst (Flickr username; profile display name Krista), CC BY 2.0
Good to know
- Where is the best fried chicken in Manhattan?
- Our current #1 reflects a blend of editorial sourcing from Eater, The Infatuation, Time Out, and Grub Street, plus live community votes. The order shifts as votes come in — what is first today may not be first tomorrow.
- What is Korean double-fried chicken?
- Korean fried chicken is fried twice — once at a lower temperature to render the fat, once at a higher temperature to crisp the skin. The result is a thinner, glassier crust than American Southern-style, often coated in a soy-garlic or gochujang glaze. Bonchon, Kyochon, and Coqodaq all serve this style in Manhattan.
- Where can I get Nashville hot chicken in Manhattan?
- Peaches HotHouse and Sweet Chick both serve Nashville-style hot chicken in Manhattan. Coqodaq and Charles' offer their own hot variants. The cayenne-and-lard paste defines the style; ask for medium first if you have not had it before.
- What is the oldest fried chicken spot in Manhattan?
- Charles' Country Pan Fried Chicken on Frederick Douglass Boulevard in Harlem traces its roots to chef Charles Gabriel's pan-frying technique from the 1980s. It still uses the same cast-iron pan-fry method rather than deep-frying.
- How much does fried chicken cost in Manhattan?
- A Harlem soul-food plate runs $14 to $22. Korean half-bird at Bonchon or Kyochon runs $20 to $28. The Coqodaq tasting menu runs $78 per person before drinks. Sandwich-only spots like 7th Street and Sweet Chick keep individual sandwiches at $14 to $18.