There’s no shortage of excellent fried chicken throughout the Southland. From twice-fried Korean takes to classic Southern specimens, there is a chicken offering for any preference. The best options have two things in common: juicy meat and crispy, well-seasoned coating. Here are 19 terrific fried chicken spots around Los Angeles.
Read More19 Terrific Los Angeles Fried Chicken Spots
For buckets, sandwiches, hot chicken tenders, and everything in between
Les Sisters
For fried chicken in the Valley look no further than Les Sisters, a Cajun restaurant in Winnetka. The fried chicken here is served simply with generous pieces of meat and a well-seasoned crispy coating. It always comes out hot and fresh and is best enjoyed with some sides like mac and cheese or Cajun fries.
Anajak Thai Cuisine
It should come as no surprise that the Valley’s most celebrated Thai spot has some of the best fried chicken. Anajak’s Southern Thai fried chicken is succulent, crispy, and comes with a side order of sticky rice and spicy nam jim sauce.
Main Chick
This growing hot chicken enterprise is one of the most recognizable names in the game at the moment. Thankfully, fans who aren’t here for the heat can still find lots to like in the restaurant’s non-spicy fried chicken, available as combos with tenders, sandwiches, or quarter bird pieces. The best part is that there are a few locations across LA to score some Main Chick fried chicken.
Top Restaurant
Get to Pasadena’s Top Restaurant early to enjoy its fried chicken — only 45 orders are available each day. The 35-year-old restaurant marinates its chicken for 12 hours in a secret blend of kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), garlic, and more before frying it until crispy.
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Mom's Haus
This decades-old New Orleans-leaning Valley restaurant turns out reliable fried chicken by the piece. Diners can also sort through Bayou staples like gumbo and jambalaya to find fried chicken po’ boys and more.
Daybird
Chef Mei Lin’s fried chicken sandwich is the centerpiece at Daybird, but the chicken tenders are not to be missed. She uses thigh meat for the sandwiches and juicy white meat for the tenders. The fries are the ideal crisp golden brown as well, which is a wonderful complement to the Sichuan-spiced sandwich.
Crawfords
Cheap beer and fried chicken already sound like a winning combination, but when the bar comes from none other than Dustin Lancaster, you know it will be even more special. The result is Crawford’s, a Westlake drinking hole that puts out some surprisingly awesome fried chicken from the tiny kitchen in the back.
Gol Tong Chicken
After leaving a career in film behind, Kil Chae Jeong started making fried chicken in South Korean. In 2017, he opened Gol Tong Chicken in Koreatown and the restaurant quickly rose to cult-favorite status. Order the Director’s Cut, which comes with chili chicken, classic fried chicken, and soy garlic chicken. The chicken is served with a medley of fruits and vegetables that often includes blueberries, raspberries, avocadoes, jalapenos, and more. While it may seem unconventional at first, the side does something similar to the pickled radish more commonly served, offering a sweet, fresh contrast to the chicken.
Hoho Chicken
Whether bone-in or boneless chicken, Hoho Chicken is best eaten with a group. A bag full of fried chicken or a rice bowl can be taken up a notch flavorwise with sweet chili, garlic, coconut, lemon pepper, or hot fire options.
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Howlin' Ray's
Howlin’ Ray’s is still some of the hottest fried chicken in Los Angeles, even after close to a decade of being open. A line forms through Far East Plaza in Chinatown every day to score some of Johnny Ray Zone’s Nashville hot chicken. The chicken is available country style with no heat all the way up to howlin’ which borders on painful to eat.
The Prince
The Prince tends to pull people in for different reasons. Some are movie buffs eager to see a slice of LA, others are there for stiff, fun cocktails and the late-night hours. And yet more come simply for the fried chicken, a throwback menu item at this Koreatown haunt that can come as wings, full plates, spicy or not, and just about any iteration in between.
Chimmelier
The Korean fried chicken at Chimmelier is served in a few different forms on the menu. There’s a whole or half bird available if feeding a group, while an order of wings or chicken tenders is always a good option. For a spicy kick try the buldak chicken sandwich, which translates to fire chicken. The Chimmelier fried chicken is also available at Jilli, a modern sool jib in Koreatown.
Tokyo Fried Chicken
At Tokyo Fried Chicken, the bird is offered by the piece, as well as in a bucket, as part of a sandwich, or in a combo box. In the box, the supremely crispy pieces are served alongside a choice of sides which include curry creamed corn, soy glazed yams, and creamy potato salad.
Go Go Bird
Chef Brandon Kida’s Culver City fried chicken spot serves what he calls “Los Angeles-style fried chicken.” The chicken is available as tenders, wings, or a sandwich and is drizzled with Szechuan-style chili oil before serving.
Honey's Kettle Fried Chicken
At Culver City’s Honey’s Kettle, chicken is fried in enormous kettle drums until a thick, crispy coating is formed. It’s served with packets of honey meant to be slathered all over the chicken and fresh biscuits.
Si! Mon
It’s all about Panamanian fried chicken at Si! Mon, a buzzy restaurant in Venice. The restaurant serves all drumsticks, which are trimmed into lollipops before being marinated in salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and fresh culantro. The chicken is battered in cornstarch, club soda, and beaten eggs before being double-fried to achieve the optimal crisp. Before serving, the drumsticks are showered in “chicken salt” made with roasted rice, shiitake powder, and herbs.
Dinah's Family Restaurant
For buckets of the good stuff, get to Dinah’s on Sepulveda. This staple diner-slash-chicken spot has been in the neighborhood for decades, serving up its bright red buckets of takeout fried chicken to the greater Westside. Don’t be afraid to add a few orders of gizzards or liver either.
Pelicana Chicken
There is a lot of great Korean fried chicken in Los Angeles, but Pelicana continues to stand out amongst the options. Both bone-in and boneless chicken are on the menu, which are both available with sauce options including soy, hot chili, and hot spicy. Pickled radishes are also served on the side, giving a light crispy bite to counteract the rich, juicy chicken.
Monorom Cambodian Restaurant
Finding Khmer food in Long Beach is an easy task. Cambodia Town’s restaurants are plentiful with colorful interiors, with options that never feel redundant. But an unexpected highlight at Monorom is its fried chicken which is always flavorful and crispy.