The 7 best fried chicken spots in Charlotte

Fried chicken in Charlotte runs from a West Sugar Creek Road cafe that dates to 1999 to a Nashville hot chicken stall at Optimist Hall and a chicken and waffle shop from rapper DaBaby that opened in September 2026. This list covers seven spots across Uptown, Plaza Midwood, Cotswold, Park Road, Optimist Park and north Charlotte, with sandwiches under $10, bone-in plates, hot chicken and a $45 cornbread waffle platter. It is for lunch-break regulars, families ordering takeout and anyone who wants their chicken hot. Most entries name dishes and prices from current menus or recent coverage, and each has tips on ordering, parking or spice levels. Entries are listed alphabetically, not ranked.

How we chose

Every restaurant here is known for fried chicken, based on current menus or recent coverage, and passed a 2026 Mecklenburg County health inspection. Picks are based on independent coverage, including Axios Charlotte’s 2021 roundups of fried chicken spots and chicken sandwiches, Charlotte Magazine’s guides to fried chicken and Southern food, WSOC, WhatNow Charlotte and opening coverage from WBTV, along with how long each kitchen has been frying. National chains were left out, and so were restaurants already covered in the best soul food in Charlotte guide. Places whose current menus no longer list fried chicken, or whose chicken has no independent coverage, were dropped, which is why the list stops at seven. No restaurant paid to be included.

Bossy Beaut’s Chicken Shack

Park Road, 512 Brandywine Rd., Suite 500, plus shacks on Freedom Drive, in Ballantyne, on Derita Road, in Fort Mill and in Winston-Salem

Jim Noble opened the first shack on Freedom Drive in November 2019 as Bossy Beulah’s Chicken Shack, named for his great-aunt Beulah, who fried chicken on Sundays after church, WSOC reported. The website and menu now carry the name Bossy Beaut’s Chicken Shack, and the restaurant says the chicken is never frozen, brined overnight in buttermilk, hand-breaded and fried to order.

The Beaut is a fried chicken breast with mayo and house pickles on a potato bun for under $9, and Axios Charlotte included the sandwich in a 2021 roundup of the city’s best chicken sandwiches. The $9.99 Hot Thigh Sandwich uses a fried thigh with the house hot sauce, and tenders start at two for $6.99.

The Park Road shack opened in August 2025, two months after the South End shop closed, with a larger dining room, patio and parking lot, according to WhatNow Charlotte and WSOC. Order pickup online or in the Bossy app.

The Chicken Box Cafe

North Charlotte, 1331 W. Sugar Creek Rd.

Chicken has been frying at The Chicken Box Cafe since 1999, when the cafe was established, according to the business. Charlotte Magazine included the cafe in a 2022 guide to the city’s fried chicken, pointing to white and dark meat plates, wing-only dinners and chicken livers and gizzards.

The cafe’s most recent Mecklenburg County health inspection, on September 24, 2026, came back with a score of 96.5, and the cafe takes calls at 704-921-8102 for anyone checking the day’s menu before driving over.

The cafe is closed Mondays and closes at 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, so plan on lunch or an early dinner. Orders can be placed online for pickup.

Horace’s Hot Fried Chicken

Uptown, 327 S. Tryon St. (takeout and delivery only)

The chicken at Horace’s Hot Fried Chicken goes through about three days of marinating and dredging, according to the restaurant, and the chicken and wings are hand-breaded in gluten-free flours, though the kitchen is not gluten-free. The style is Nashville hot.

Axios Charlotte put Horace’s on a 2021 list of the city’s top fried chicken spots, and the same year included Horace’s Favorite Fried Chicken Sandwich, with coleslaw, spicy mayo and house-made pickles, in a roundup of the best chicken sandwiches. On the catering menu, two pieces of dark meat are $12 and two pieces of white are $14. Salt and pepper wings are the choice for anyone who wants no heat.

There is no dining room. Order online and pick up inside the sister restaurant at the same address. ChowNow delivery covers a few miles around Uptown and DoorDash reaches a bit farther. Orders can’t be changed once they are confirmed.

Leroy Fox Kitchen & Cocktails

Cotswold, 705 S. Sharon Amity Rd., with a second location in South End at 1616 Camden Rd., Suite 150

Bone-in fried chicken is the focus at Leroy Fox Kitchen & Cocktails, according to the restaurant, and Charlotte Magazine’s 2022 guide to Southern food said Leroy Fox is known for fried chicken. The Cotswold restaurant came first, and a second location is in South End.

Chicken and waffles, a chicken-fried chicken sandwich and The Elizabeth, chicken fingers with Cajun fries, are among the featured dishes. WSOC listed chicken-fried chicken among the dishes Leroy Fox is known for in a February 2025 roundup of comfort food in Charlotte. Brunch runs Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and the catering menu delivers fried chicken to offices.

Both locations take reservations online. In Cotswold, park in the front lot or behind the building. In South End, use the garage off Kingston Avenue and bring the ticket inside for up to two hours of validation.

milkbread

Plaza Midwood, 1431 Central Ave., with a second Charlotte shop Uptown at 525 S. Tryon St. and the original cafe in Davidson

Joe and Katy Kindred, a husband-and-wife team, built milkbread around doughnuts and crispy fried chicken, according to the business. Axios Charlotte named the shop one of the 11 best new restaurants of 2022 and wrote that milkbread “has quickly become an essential neighborhood spot.”

The Original Sandwich is buttermilk-brined chicken with shredded lettuce, mayo and pickles on a potato bun for $11, and The Hot Dip coats the chicken in an Eastern Carolina-style hot dip with citrusy slaw for $12. A crispy chicken biscuit is $7. For a household dinner, a family pack of two sandwiches, nine tenders, three sides and sauce costs $46.

The Plaza Midwood shop took over a converted fast-food building on Central Avenue, and Charlotte Magazine’s 2022 preview said the shop would have walk-up service. Order ahead online for pickup.

No Knife Chicken & Waffles

North Charlotte, 700 Atando Ave., off North Graham Street

Charlotte-raised rapper DaBaby opened No Knife Chicken & Waffles, his first restaurant, on September 6, 2026, WBTV and WSOC reported. He helped develop the menu but is not the head chef, Axios Charlotte reported.

Waffles come in red velvet, banana pudding, birthday cake, peach cobbler and sweet potato flavors for $25 each, or $15 for the Plain Jane. The $45 Soulfood Cornbread Waffle comes with collards, candied yams, mac and cheese and four wings, and six more wings cost $10, theGrio reported. Inside, the fast-casual room has two diner-style booths and bar seating for about 16, and the back patio has a stage, a big screen and a hot tub, according to Axios.

The kitchen runs until midnight, so late-night diners have an option, and free parking is in a large lot across the street.

PoppyCox Nashville Hot Chicken

Optimist Park, inside Optimist Hall, 1115 N. Brevard St.

Owner Michael Kocak started PoppyCox Nashville Hot Chicken as a pop-up in 2022 and then ran a food truck, WhatNow Charlotte reported, before the business moved into a permanent stall at Optimist Hall in fall 2025. Optimist Hall describes the food as Nashville hot chicken with spicy, crispy sandwiches and loaded fries.

The Sando is a boneless breast with comeback sauce, slaw and pickles on a potato bun for $14. The Tendies are three jumbo tenders for $13.50, a leg quarter is $10 and Crazi Daddy Fries come loaded with chopped chicken for $16.

Heat levels vary, so pick one when ordering, and start lower if unsure. Seating is shared with the rest of Optimist Hall, so a group can order from different stalls and eat together.

Also worth knowing

Two fried chicken spots with long press records are covered in the soul food guide. Haberdish in NoDa brines, batters and fries the chicken and was on Axios Charlotte’s 2021 list of top fried chicken spots. A 2016 Charlotte Agenda roundup, now archived by Axios Charlotte, called Mr. Charles Chicken & Fish the writer’s favorite of the five spots featured, and the original Statesville Avenue shop is takeout only.

This list was last checked on October 20, 2026. Spot something out of date or a place that belongs here? Send corrections through our contact form.