Top Fried Chicken in the Bay Area

The bustling, jovial Brenda's is a center for Creole cooking in the Bay Area.

In 2007, Brenda Buenviajé, a native of Harvey, La., opened her eponymous restaurant in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood, giving the city a thrilling taste of the Southern, French and Creole cuisines she grew up eating. It quickly became popular with City Hall workers, Gulf Coast expats and others who craved her crawfish beignets ($12.50), hushpuppies ($6.50) and shrimp and grits ($19). Fried chicken ($11.50) comes with a side of sweet and spicy pepper jelly, though at breakfast you can also get the chicken as a Benedict. (You’ll definitely need to take a nap after that.) Since 2007, Brenda’s has expanded to delivery in the South Bay, a full-service location in Oakland and a more casual spot in NoPa.

Credit cards accepted • Beer and wine

415-345-8100 • https://frenchsoulfood.com/ • Order online

Mobile purveyor of Nashville hot chicken sandwiches in San Jose.

You can get chicken sandwiches ($13) or straight tenders ($14) at this truck, which frequents breweries around San Jose. Each piece of chicken is coated in potato starch — an East Asian touch that makes the exterior extra crisp and, magically, robust enough to stay crisp in the fridge. Spicy adobo-flavored aioli (called “bro sauce”) heightens the piquancy of the chicken, while a drizzle of local honey cools the palate. The Nashville-style variation is seasoned with hot paprika and chile oil and is available with five spice levels that range from “cayenne” to “Carolina reaper.” I suggest starting at the second spice tier.

Credit cards accepted • Soft drinks

408-641-7617 • https://chicknbros.com/ • Order online

Stoner-friendly fare includes spicy chicken on house-baked Dutch crunch buns.

In May 2020, Will Allen started this East Bay pop-up as a pandemic side gig to his dispensary job, letting loose with creative takes on the ubiquitous fried chicken sandwich ($14-$17). He garnished fillets with cauliflower kimchi sauce, dressed them like Mexican elote asado, and expanded into making his own Dutch crunch buns and biscuits. Now working weekends out of a commissary kitchen in Oakland, this one-man show has continued to experiment; naturally, he sells out quickly, so preorder. A dose of citric acid makes his unique citric hot sauce taste like a Warhead candy.

Credit cards accepted

510-630-5174 • https://fowl-fare.square.site/ • Order online

Family-run soul food spot decked out in Giants gear.

Since 2010, this Bayview restaurant has been churning out light and crisp fried chicken, affordable family dinner sets and seafood entrees under the guidance of owner Marcel Banks and his uncle, Gregory. The restaurant is proudest of its piquant and sour lemon pepper flavoring, applied to the chicken a la minute with a generous hand. And if these bright orange walls could talk, they’d yell, “Let’s go Giants!” When crabs are available, the restaurant also serves Dungeness crab with caramelized garlic butter and garlic noodles, the iconic cross-cultural soul food of San Francisco.

Credit cards accepted • Soft drinks

415-822-1517 • https://friscofried.biz/menu

The fast-casual cousin to S.F.’s Hawker Fare.

A counter-service spot by restaurateur and chef James Syhabout, Hawking Bird has loads of Southeast Asian street food appeal. The menu is casual, made up of rice bowls, salads and sandwiches featuring curry-fried tofu, braised pork belly and gluten-free fried chicken ($12.50). Coated in rice flour and double-fried, the chicken has the bouncy-crisp texture of Hawaiian mochiko chicken. The dining room is currently closed, though there are several outdoor tables you can dine at.

Credit cards accepted • Beer and canned cocktails

510-593-2376 • www.hawkingbird.com • Order online

Wing-centric takeout spot with a plethora of flavors.

A San Francisco original, Hot Sauce and Panko does exactly what it says on the tin: It coats panko-crusted chicken wings with hot sauce. It’s not that simple, though. Do you want your wings ($6.99) with fish sauce and chile? Habanero mango? Har cheong prawn paste? Old Bay Sriracha caramel? The list goes on. Doubling as a hot sauce retailer and wing to-go shop, Hot Sauce and Panko is a no-frills experience that puts all of its emphasis on its product. (Thankfully, it’s an excellent product.) There’s no seating, so take your order and eat somewhere else.

Credit cards accepted • Soft drinks

415-359-1908 • https://hotsauceandpanko.com/ • Order online

A soul food star in Silicon Valley.

In 2018, Texas-born Jackie Jackson opened Jackie’s Place in San Jose’s Japantown, luring customers with the tantalizing aromas of fried fish, smoked brisket and peach cobbler. In 2020, Johnson was confronted by the pain of the pandemic as well as a fire that consumed her restaurant. Thankfully, she was able to reopen Jackie’s Place, and even increase its capacity, in a former steak house and banquet hall on North First Street. If you want chicken here, you can get it smothered in white, peppery gravy or as juicy fried wings ($6). And if you know you’re on Earth for a good time and not a long time, the restaurant’s fried chicken skin chips ($5) are exceptional.

Credit cards accepted • Full bar

408-490-4653 • www.jackiesplacesj.com • Order online

For Southern expats, Lena’s menu tastes like home.

Named after the owners’ family matriarch, Lena Mae, this counter-service restaurant has been a favorite in East Oakland since it opened in 2013. Customers line up to order from steam tables full of classic Southern dishes: fried chicken ($14.99), red beans and rice ($3.50), collard greens ($5) and so much more. You can go big by ordering a platter with a protein, two sides and cornbread, or pick off the restaurant’s 99-cent menu, made to feed neighbors who might be down on their luck. It’s one of the few non-chain restaurants in the Bay Area where you can get a hot, homemade meal for less than $4. The constant line might look like a long wait’s ahead of you, but it does move quickly.

Credit cards accepted • Soft drinks

510-957-5663 • www.lenassoulfoodcafe.com

The must-visit fried chicken kiosk at the Public Market in Emeryville.

Fernay McPherson's ancestors came to the Bay Area from the Deep South during the Great Migration, bringing with them the region's traditional recipes — what we generally call soul food. For Minnie Bell's Soul Movement, the Fillmore neighborhood native brought more of a California edge to her family's oeuvre, introducing béchamel sauce to her macaroni and cheese ($5) and fresh chopped rosemary to her shatteringly crisp fried chicken ($3/piece). If you want to make friends easily, show up to any East Bay picnic with a tray of McPherson's chicken. Currently, Minnie Bell's is selling food only via pickup or delivery.

Credit cards accepted • Beer and cocktails

510-879-7199 • www.minniebellssoul.com • Order online

Popular Caribbean spot in Old Oakland known for braised oxtails and skillet-fried chicken.

Located in a sunny corner of Swan’s Market, Miss Ollie’s is a California-Caribbean restaurant that has gone through a lot of transformation in the past year. At the end of 2020, seven years after Miss Ollie’s first opened, owner Sarah Kirnon announced plans to convert the restaurant into Sanctuary, a nonprofit incubator for Black chefs and artists, though that process is still ongoing. For now, you can stroll up and order Kirnon’s signature dishes, like saltfish and ackee ($23) and her famous skillet-fried chicken ($27). The latter gets its succulence from a salt brine, and a West Indian seasoning of vinegar-soaked herbs and habanero infuses the flesh with deep herbal flavor. Though the dining room is closed, the outdoor patio is a lovely place to dine.

Credit cards accepted • Full bar

510-285-6188 • www.realmissolliesoakland.com • Order online

A community supper club that serves global comfort cuisine and provides job training for youth.

This Bayview restaurant with shiny red leather booths is more than just a place to eat: It’s a community center run by at-risk youth. The menu is made up of dishes that the staff grew up with and still cherish, so you’ll find West African peanut butter stew ($10), Tongan marinated fish ($12), gumbo ($18) and fried chicken ($19) in the lineup. The nostalgia fits with the restaurant’s charming 1920s speakeasy theme, which gets amped up during the live jazz performances that take place here Thursdays through Saturdays. Old Skool Cafe is open for indoor and outdoor seating and curbside takeout.

Credit cards accepted • Full bar

415-822-8531 • www.oldskoolcafe.org/san-francisco-bayview-supper-club • Order online

Livermore neighborhood restaurant enchants with airy decor and modern Californian cuisine.

Range Life's buttermilk fried chicken and beer special ($28), offered Monday nights, is so good for mental health; thankfully, the restaurant has been continuing with this tradition during the pandemic. Crisp chicken, incredibly sweet Brentwood corn and dirty rice are just the solution for the "What day is it again?" blues. On the rest of co-owner and chef Bill Niles’ menu are dishes like toast with sweet peas and caviar butter ($15), which combine seasonal ingredients in novel and delightful ways. The wine list by co-owner Sarah Niles is accessible and fun, with plenty of sub-$50 bottles from California and abroad. Also recommended are the restaurant's cool selection of shirts and sweaters, which you can wear to show off your Livermore pride. Takeout is still an option, though the restaurant is increasingly focusing on serving folks eating in the country-chic dining room. Range Life's sunny patio, where you can dine underneath a 100-year-old peppercorn tree, is open for outdoor dining as well.

Credit cards accepted • Full bar

925-583-5370 • www.rangelifelivermore.com • Order online

International chain brings Taiwanese street food to the Bay Area.

Dreaming of going to Taipei’s night market to soak up the sights and sounds of its vibrant street food culture? Well, you probably can’t right now, but at least you can imagine you’re there while eating Shihlin’s XXL fried chicken ($9.25), a night market classic. Chicken meat is butterflied and seasoned with soy sauce and spices like five-spice powder, then fried with a light flour coating. At Shihlin, this dish is available with chicken breast or thigh. The international chain has five locations in the Bay Area.

Credit cards accepted • Soft drinks

408-922-7271 • www.shihlinca.com • Order online

Seasonal Petaluma restaurant with a weekly fried chicken special.

Deep inside Petaluma’s 100-year-old Lan Mart building is Street Social, a new restaurant by married couple Marjorie Pier and Jevon Martin. The former is the face you’ll most often see in the dining room, while the latter is the brain behind the restaurant’s weekly menu. You might see a prawn cocktail cooled by a funky absinthe granita, pan-seared gnocchi in a Cheddar sauce with potato chips on top, and crispy pig ears. Martin’s menu goes everywhere and is full of surprises. On Wednesdays, the couple host industry nights, with special offerings of beer, corkage-free wine service and exceptional, gorgeously bronzed fried chicken.

Credit cards accepted • Beer and wine

707-774-6185 • www.streetsocial.social

Fried chicken sandwich shop with two locations in S.F.

There’s a lot to like about the Bird, the fast-casual sandwich shop by the Back of House restaurant group. The chicken sandwich ($10.25) uses free-range chicken thigh meat, and the breading itself is gluten-free. (You can get the sandwich without the bun to make a true gluten-free meal out of it.) Little touches, like Ethiopian berbere spice mix and house-made Sriracha sauce, enhance the chicken with a sweeter, earthier heat. You can sub out the fried bird for grilled chicken, if you’re making your way down this list and want to give your arteries a break.

Credit cards accepted • Beer, wine and cocktails

415-940-2770 • https://thebirdsf.com/ • Order online

A classic late-night spot for soju and ramyeon in the Sunset District.

When it’s after midnight and you’re craving something to warm your belly, you’ve got to go to Toyose. The Korean pub in the Outer Sunset, just steps from the ocean, is open until 2 a.m. every night with a full menu of food made to soak up alcohol and ensure a peaceful next morning. (Or you just keep going and order from the restaurant’s large list of powerful sojus.) Bring a group so you can feast on seafood pancakes packed with squid tentacles ($14.95), gooey broiled corn cheese ($7.95), Spam and ramyeon stew ($32.95), and spicy fried chicken wings ($15.95). The chicken has a satisfying lacquered quality to it, with skin made crisp and taut.

Credit cards accepted • Beer and wine

415-731-0232 • https://sftoyose.wixsite.com/toyose