clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile
The Biscuit Bar/Facebook

Where to Find the Absolute Hottest Hot Chicken in DFW

Super spicy yardbird is the city’s biggest food trend right now. Here’s where to find it.

View as Map

Over the past several months, no trend in Dallas food has been hotter than saucy, spicy fried chicken. Ranging from straightforward interpretations of Nashville’s cayenne-laden hot chicken to riffs on the classic, there are plenty of new spots that can satisfy a craving for some ridiculously hot fried chicken.

Use this map as a guide to the city’s best hot chicken spots, and be prepared to take the heat.

Read More
Eater maps are curated by editors and aim to reflect a diversity of neighborhoods, cuisines, and prices. Learn more about our editorial process. If you buy something or book a reservation from an Eater link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics policy.

Hot Chicks Chicken

Copy Link

Opening December 14 in Plano, Hot Chicks already has a fiery operation in Fort Worth. The small chain boasts Halal, dairy-free and peanut-free hot chicken, in a range of heat levels and configurations from tenders to sandwiches to tacos. If you’re looking for the most heat, the Hot AF is the spiciest choice.

Super Chix

Copy Link

Saucy and topped with hot sauce and pickles, the Nashville hot chicken sandwich at Super Chic is nothing to sneeze at. It also comes on a salad, for a lighter trip to Nashville.

Ricky's Hot Chicken

Copy Link

Another spot for halal, dairy-free and peanut-free spicy fried chicken, Ricky’s in Richardson has baskets of crinkle cuts, tenders and sandwiches alongside their trademark special sauce. Take note, though: This spot frequently attracts lengthy lines, but at least they’re outside and generally socially distant.

Palmer's Hot Chicken

Copy Link

With half the restaurant designed to offer open-air patio seating, Palmer’s had a pandemic plan built into its opening here in Dallas. Palmer’s offers “Haul it Home” service for picking up quarts of sides like greens or beans, or even their cool frosé, which is necessary to cool off the spot’s hotter Nashville Hot fried chicken spice levels of “Nashville” and “Napalm.” “Novice” and “Naked” are tamer flavors.

Rapscallion

Copy Link

Chicken and waffles has become a must-have at many restaurants during brunch, but the Chicken & Waffle here may ruin it for all the rest. Crispy chicken thighs tossed in mala, Belgian waffle, sausage cream gravy, potato hash, real maple syrup, and two sunny eggs make Rapscallion a true hot spot on the hot chicken map.

Lucky's Hot Chicken

Copy Link

Inside a completely renovated laundromat on Gaston, Lucky’s offers crinkle cut fries, soft serve and spicy chicken wings, tenders and sandwiches in a range of five spice levels from Kinda Lucky to Best of Luck. Sauces include ranch, hot honey, honey mustard, comeback and cheese sauce, available to order online and grab to go at luckyshotchicken.com.

The small-but-mighty hot fried chicken bun at Uchiba represents a Japanese twist on the Nashville hot chicken sandwich: a spicy, saucy fried chicken thigh sits on a Parker house roll topped with pickles, cornichon gastrique. Available for dine-in or for pickup curbside.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCCNqzanXtW/

Hot Fried Chicken Bun at Uchiba
Rachel Pinn

INVASION

Copy Link

This spot is near famous for its stacked chicken sandwiches named after performing artist Cardi B, but the “Nash-ty” is the sandwich Nashville Hot fans will be after. It’s a Nashville-style hot chicken breast tossed in hot sauce and topped with a sour cream ranch all served on buttered brioche.

The Biscuit Bar

Copy Link

Perhaps the only thing that can make a Nashville Hot chicken sandwich better would be to put it on a biscuit — which is exactly what the Biscuit Bar does. Nashville-style chicken, dill pickles, and housemade ranch are piled atop a fluffy biscuit, a perfect combination of buttery, spicy, and cool.

The Biscuit Bar/Facebook

Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken

Copy Link

With two DFW locations in Dallas and Fort Worth, Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken calls theirs “the best fried chicken in the world.” Unlike Nashville-style chicken, which is usually drenched in a cayenne-oil sauce, the heat is built right into the crispy batter on the outside of the chicken. Add house-baked whole pies and traditional sides like fried okra and fried green tomatoes for the full southern experience.

gus’s

Vegan Food House

Copy Link

This Nashville Hot Chick’em sandwich will please vegans wishing they could partake in the hot chicken trend, and no cauliflower will have to be consumed to make it happen. Not that there’s anything wrong with cauliflower. It’s just not chicken.

S&J’s Hot Chick

Copy Link

The spice levels at this fried chicken spot, which range from not hot to damn hot, are not to be trifled with. Score your super-spicy yardbird on a sandwich, as tenders, or consider the vegetarian option, called “the imposter.”

Hot Chicks Chicken

Opening December 14 in Plano, Hot Chicks already has a fiery operation in Fort Worth. The small chain boasts Halal, dairy-free and peanut-free hot chicken, in a range of heat levels and configurations from tenders to sandwiches to tacos. If you’re looking for the most heat, the Hot AF is the spiciest choice.

Super Chix

Saucy and topped with hot sauce and pickles, the Nashville hot chicken sandwich at Super Chic is nothing to sneeze at. It also comes on a salad, for a lighter trip to Nashville.

Ricky's Hot Chicken

Another spot for halal, dairy-free and peanut-free spicy fried chicken, Ricky’s in Richardson has baskets of crinkle cuts, tenders and sandwiches alongside their trademark special sauce. Take note, though: This spot frequently attracts lengthy lines, but at least they’re outside and generally socially distant.

Palmer's Hot Chicken

With half the restaurant designed to offer open-air patio seating, Palmer’s had a pandemic plan built into its opening here in Dallas. Palmer’s offers “Haul it Home” service for picking up quarts of sides like greens or beans, or even their cool frosé, which is necessary to cool off the spot’s hotter Nashville Hot fried chicken spice levels of “Nashville” and “Napalm.” “Novice” and “Naked” are tamer flavors.

Rapscallion

Chicken and waffles has become a must-have at many restaurants during brunch, but the Chicken & Waffle here may ruin it for all the rest. Crispy chicken thighs tossed in mala, Belgian waffle, sausage cream gravy, potato hash, real maple syrup, and two sunny eggs make Rapscallion a true hot spot on the hot chicken map.

Lucky's Hot Chicken

Inside a completely renovated laundromat on Gaston, Lucky’s offers crinkle cut fries, soft serve and spicy chicken wings, tenders and sandwiches in a range of five spice levels from Kinda Lucky to Best of Luck. Sauces include ranch, hot honey, honey mustard, comeback and cheese sauce, available to order online and grab to go at luckyshotchicken.com.

Uchiba

The small-but-mighty hot fried chicken bun at Uchiba represents a Japanese twist on the Nashville hot chicken sandwich: a spicy, saucy fried chicken thigh sits on a Parker house roll topped with pickles, cornichon gastrique. Available for dine-in or for pickup curbside.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCCNqzanXtW/

Hot Fried Chicken Bun at Uchiba
Rachel Pinn

INVASION

This spot is near famous for its stacked chicken sandwiches named after performing artist Cardi B, but the “Nash-ty” is the sandwich Nashville Hot fans will be after. It’s a Nashville-style hot chicken breast tossed in hot sauce and topped with a sour cream ranch all served on buttered brioche.

The Biscuit Bar

Perhaps the only thing that can make a Nashville Hot chicken sandwich better would be to put it on a biscuit — which is exactly what the Biscuit Bar does. Nashville-style chicken, dill pickles, and housemade ranch are piled atop a fluffy biscuit, a perfect combination of buttery, spicy, and cool.

The Biscuit Bar/Facebook

Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken

With two DFW locations in Dallas and Fort Worth, Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken calls theirs “the best fried chicken in the world.” Unlike Nashville-style chicken, which is usually drenched in a cayenne-oil sauce, the heat is built right into the crispy batter on the outside of the chicken. Add house-baked whole pies and traditional sides like fried okra and fried green tomatoes for the full southern experience.

gus’s

Vegan Food House

This Nashville Hot Chick’em sandwich will please vegans wishing they could partake in the hot chicken trend, and no cauliflower will have to be consumed to make it happen. Not that there’s anything wrong with cauliflower. It’s just not chicken.

S&J’s Hot Chick

The spice levels at this fried chicken spot, which range from not hot to damn hot, are not to be trifled with. Score your super-spicy yardbird on a sandwich, as tenders, or consider the vegetarian option, called “the imposter.”

Related Maps