The chicken at Dave’s Hot Chicken is hot. I mean, it’s not named Dave’s Hot Chicken for nothing. Find out all about the pop up turned fast casual chicken joint in our Dave’s Hot Chicken review.
For more reviews, be sure to check out all our restaurant reviews.
Let’s start this out with a fact. Dave’s Hot Chicken is hot. It’s right there in the name. The restaurant is giving you all the facts right off the bat. It’s hot chicken. Not temperature hot, but style-wise.
Hot chicken is a style that originated in Nashville. There’s a specific preparation for the Southern chicken, which includes cayenne pepper, that gives it a bright red hue, making it look … well, as hot as it tastes.
Dave’s Hot Chicken is made with Carolina reaper, which earned the Guinness Book Of World Records title of world’s hottest pepper in 2013.
So it’s only fitting that after over 500 franchise locations in the United States, Dave’s Hot Chicken finally made it to the (sort of) namesake of it’s signature ingredient. (Side note: yes, we know the Carolina reaper actually originated in South Carolina.)
Dave’s Hot Chicken opens its first Carolina location today, and, luckily for us, it’s opening in Wilmington, NC.
We were hosted by Dave’s during its soft opening and we got to preview all the hot chicken earlier this week … and that includes the hottest piece Dave’s offers: The Reaper, and “‘Cause it’s so dangerous, you’ll have to sign a waiver.” And not just in that Barenaked Ladies lyric way. But in an actual waiver that prints from the register when you order the Reaper.
For more hot chicken reviews, check out our Al’s Hot Chicken review. That’s also a chain. We had the chance to check it out in Tacoma, WA.
Dave’s Hot Chicken Review
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Dave’s Hot Chicken Menu
The majority of Dave’s Hot Chicken locations are out west, so if you’re on the east coast like us, you might not have heard of it. But you may have heard of Raising Canes. The menu is similar in that it’s just chicken fingers, served either alone or on a bun.
There are a couple options for sides (both serve fries and coleslaw, Dave’s also has mac and cheese) and both have their own signature sauces.
The difference is in the size and spices. Dave’s tenders are much larger (although, so is the price: one tender is $4.25 at the Wilmington location verses $1.79 at our closest Raising Canes). And Dave’s offers spices while Cane’s just does plain.
Dave’s Hot Chicken Spice Level Reviews
No Spice
No Spice is equivalent to the type of chicken you’d expect from a typical fast food joint. There’s no spice at all, which is a great way to actually taste the quality of Dave’s Hot Chicken chicken tenders.
The tender is huge, meaty, and really juicy. The breading is really light, so most of what you’re eating is chicken.
It’s delicious and, arguably, one of the best tasting chicken tenders you’ll get at a fast food restaurant. Pricewise, like we mentioned above, it’s $4.25 for a single tender at the Wilmington location. So you’re getting a quality chicken tender, but you’re also paying for it.
That’s the last time we’ll mention price during this Dave’s Hot Chicken review, but we did want to mention it now before you go up the Scoville scale and can’t concentrate anymore.
Lite Mild
We read online that all the chicken at Dave’s Hot Chicken is spiced with Carolina reaper peppers, but the Lite Mild tender tastes like cumin. It’s “very cumin-forward” we wrote in our notes.
If your spice of choice is cumin, this is a good chicken tender for you. But, if you’re not a fan of it, just skip this one and go straight to Mild.
Mild
Mild is where the chicken turns a deep red (burnt sienna, if you will) color that just looks hot. No Spice looks like plain chicken; Lite Mild looks like you threw a piece in Shake N Bake breading; Mild and above look like you’re going to start questioning if you should lick your fingers after you touch the tender.
You’re not at the “do not lick” portion just yet. It just looks that way. The coloring from Mild on up is pretty similar, but the taste isn’t.
Mild is actually pretty mild. It has some heat, but it’s pretty on par with the Lite Mild. It’s made with spices, so technically it’s spicy. But the spices add flavor, not heat.
This one is definitely more tasty than it is spicy, and it’s a great choice.
Medium
The Medium tender is tricky. It starts out not hot. It’s flavor-forward and gives you the confidence that you can go up to the top of the spice scale.
And then, as you swallow and you’re above to take another bite, the spice creeps up on you and lingers. And you start eying the French fries on the side of your basket, really happy that they came with your order.
Hot
Hot is where you start rethinking your choices and wondering if your taste buds can actually handle heat. Hot is when you start wondering if, even though you say you like spice, if you even ever had anything spicy. Because hot is hot. It’s not like a hot Buffalo wing or traditional hot sauce.
This chicken has a really forward punch of heat that jumps a lot from the Medium tender. The jump is fast and you won’t be prepared. Even though I’m telling you to be prepared. You’ll think I’m exaggerating.
And then you’ll try it and you’ll be happy you ordered the creamy macaroni and cheese on Dave’s Hot Chicken menu because that’s delicious and cheesy and the rumor that dairy cools your mouth will be true.
Extra Hot
By the time you get to Extra Hot, your taste buds will be in stealth mode. They’ll know what to expect. They’ll understand heat.
Because for some reason, I actually think Extra Hot is less hot than Hot. Or, if it’s the same heat, it’s a more enjoyable heat.
We tried a bite of each chicken tender, cleansing our pallets between each, and then ate our favorites as sliders. I picked the Extra Hot. And between the potato bread, the kale slaw, and the pickles (oh the pickles!), it was delicious.
I would say, in sandwich form, the Extra Hot is equivalent in heat to the spicy sandwich at Chick-fil-A, which I think is the spiciest fast food chicken sandwich (although not top ranking).
Reaper
So, this is a funny story. Funny to me, anyway. But, let me start it with: Children, don’t try this at home.
For the review, the first four chicken tenders (No Spice, Lite Mild, Mild, and Medium) were served to us in one basket. The next three (Hot, Extra Hot, and Reaper) were in a second basket.
For sake of completeness, we took a photo of each tender individually, then carefully put it back in the box. My assistant (my non-spice-liking mom who blogs at Life of 2 Snowbirds) was in charge of moving the tenders from the basket to the photo area. She did this holding a napkin between her fingers and the chicken because she didn’t even want to touch the spice.
We took a bunch of photos and, unbeknownst to us until it was too late, in the course of this, the basket with the three hottest got flipped around.
We got up to Medium and my mom was ready to tap out. But I twisted her arm. “You already made it to level 4, see if you can make it to 5,” I said to the woman who is hesitant about adding red pepper flakes to her recipes.
I cut a piece for each of us. We chew. And our mouths are on fire. It’s so hot. My mom is questioning giving birth to me because if she had not, she wouldn’t have ended up in this situation. We’re wondering why Dave’s Hot Chicken milkshakes are coming soon, not coming now.
“I’m dying, it’s so hot, I think I have to leave,” my mom says moments after I take the funniest photo of her face and send it on my family’s group text.
And that’s when we look back on the aforementioned photos, compare the shapes of the chicken, and realize that instead of Hot, we’re eating the Reaper, the hottest chicken on the menu, the spice you have to sign a waiver for.
It was so, so hot.
But, here’s the thing. My mom ate it, ate lots of fries after, and ran quickly back down the scale to the No Spice to ease her mouth. But, like the Chow from the Hangover movies meme, I’m all, “But did you die?” No, no she didn’t. So if she can eat it, albeit it only a bite, you can too.
But it’s hot. It’s really hot.
Dave’s Not Chicken Review
Right in time for Lent 2024, Dave’s came out with Dave’s Not Chicken: a deep fried cauliflower sandwich. So of course, we had to try it.
You can get it as bites (which we’ve had somewhere else, so that’s not unique), as tenders (which is basically just a cauliflower steak) or served just like a Dave’s slider, which is how we tried it.
With the not chicken sandwich, you choose your spice level, the slaw is on the bottom, and Dave’s sauce is on the top. We went with medium because we really wanted to see how the cauliflower tasted without being masked by all the spice.
Besides it being just slightly under seasoned (adding a little salt went a long way), the sandwich was delicious. The breading was crispy and stuck to the cauliflower, which had a nice bite and texture that really did mimic chicken breast.
I would honestly order it every single time if it was on the menu. Unfortunately, it’s a limited time menu item. But, here’s to hoping it’s there permanently one day.
Dave’s Hot Chicken: Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Dave’s Hot Chicken is actually spicy. Really spicy. Not every one of the spice options is hot (the Lite Mild is definitely spice-forward but not hot), but they all have a lot of spice — as in seasoning.
The spice is in the batter, rather than in the sauce like many other restaurants do. So you’re getting the spice — and an equal amount — in every bite, not just some of them.
Meals are served with a side of Dave’s sauce and sandwiches are served with sauce drizzled on top. But that’s just a sauce to accompany the chicken, not one to impart the spice.
Dave’s Hot Chicken was started in 2017 by Chef Dave Kopushyan, his best friend Arman Oganesyan, and brothers Tommy and Gary Rubenyan.
They started franchising two years later with Bill Phelps (co-founder and former CEO of Wetzel’s Pretzels) and movie producer John Davis.
Brand investors include really big names like retired New York Giant Michael Strahan, actor Samuel L. Jackson, Red Sox owner Tom Werner, and former California First Lady Maria Shriver.
And the leadership team is the same that started Lebron James-backed Blaze Pizza, which is my favorite pizza in Wilmington (although there’s a new place opening soon that will give Blaze a run for its money in my book … more on that when we get more details).
Dave’s Hot Chicken sauce is a chipotle mayo, according to the Internet, but to us, it tastes like Thousand Island dressing.
Order Dave’s Hot Chicken Online:
You can order Dave’s Hot Chicken online through Dave’s Hot Chicken’s website, but that’s for pickup only. If you don’t feel like driving there, you can order Dave’s Hot Chicken online via Grubhub.
Want More Fast Food Chicken Reviews?
We are huge fans of fried chicken here at Drugstore Divas (it’s definitely my go to treat dinner). So, it makes sense that this isn’t our only fast food chicken review.
For more, check out:
After reading this Dave’s Hot Chicken review, which spice level do you think you’d order? Let us know in the comments.
stephanie 139a
Tuesday 12th of April 2022
You can't beat spicy chicken - the hotter the better for me!
Rachelle
Wednesday 6th of April 2022
Cumin is one of my favorite spices! And I don't mind hot, spicy food so would enjoy Dave chicken :)
Gina Mitchell
Thursday 31st of March 2022
I love chicken, it’s one of my favorite foods.