If you want the most flavorful Nashville hot chicken, which won’t blow out your taste buds, Hattie B’s is for you. Find out all about the chicken shop in this Hattie B’s review.
For more of our takes on food, check out all of our restaurant reviews.
There are certain regional food rivalries where people fiercely stand their ground.
In Philly, it’s Pat’s or Gino’s.
In Buffalo, it’s Duff’s or Anchor Bar.
And in Nashville, it’s Hattie B’s or Prince’s Hot Chicken.
Prince’s is the original Nashville hot chicken, created over 100 years ago when a scorned woman tried to get revenge by serving her man incredibly spicy chicken for dinner.
Well, the man, Thornton Prince, loved it so much, he perfected the recipe, opened a restaurant, and kicked off the craze that Nashville is known for.
But, in my opinion (and that of almost every Nashvillian I spoke to during our trip), Hattie B’s Hot Chicken reigns supreme.
If you want hot chicken but can’t get to Nashville, look for Dave’s Hot Chicken. The chain, which was started in LA (that’s Los Angeles, not Lower Alabama) is nationwide now.
And, if you’re in California, you can check out the regional chain Al’s Hot Chicken.
Hattie B’s Hot Chicken History
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Hattie B’s was started in 2012 by the father and son duo Nick Bishop. Yes, they’re both named Nick Bishop.
So, you’d think they’d name it Nick B’s. But, two is less than three and there are three Hatties in their family, so Hattie B’s it is.
The elder Bishop retired from the restaurant business, then unretired a year later to open Bishop’s Meat & 3.
Quick side story: If you’re ever been to the South, you know about meat and three or meat and two (if you’re me because I don’t need three sides). It’s a plate with a protein and sides, usually offered at a fixed-price.
You can find it all over the South.
Depending on the restaurant, there’s either a daily protein that’s available to everyone. Other times, you get a choice.
So, Nick B. Sr. opened his meat and three restaurant. Nick B. Jr. decided to take a break from his music job and join him.
One of the proteins on the menu was hot chicken in various levels of the Bishops’ spice blend.
The hot chicken got so popular that six years after opening Bishop’s Meat & 3, the Bishops opened Hattie B’s in Midtown Nashville. There are now 13 locations in five states with two more slated to open this year and three more next year. When the Wrigleyville location opens next year, it’ll be in six states.
We ate at the very popular Lower Broad location in Nashville, which is the very
Hattie B’s Hot Chicken
You can order Hattie B’s as strips, a sandwich, a salad, or loaded fries (which are fries with pimento mac & cheese, chicken pieces, Nashville Comeback Sauce, green onions, and pickles).
The spice level ranges from Southern (No Heat) to Shut the Cluck Up!!!. There’s also Mild, Medium, Hot!, and Damn Hot!! between.
According to online ordering, you can get Sweet & Smoky and Dry Rub too, but I didn’t see that on the sign in store.
We heard at Prince’s that we should order one level down from our normal spice level, so we carried that mentality to Hattie B’s and ordered a Medium heat chicken sandwich. We also ordered coleslaw on the side — mostly for me because I was worried I’d need something to cool down the heat.
Turns out, Hattie B’s already thought of that because the sandwich comes topped with coleslaw and a couple pickle slices.
The sandwich was delicious.
It’a a generously sized piece of chicken, which is really well breaded. The breading was fried, but still sort of soft. It didn’t snap and break when you bit into it.
The sandwich itself was really moist, partially because of the Nashville Comeback sauce.
I liked that because it made the chicken piece juicier, but Pete thought it was a little too saucy for him.
If you eat the chicken by itself, it was hot. Not a real overwhelming spicy hot, but a flavorful hot. This is probably because of the brown sugar that’s added to the spice blend. It balances the hot peppers so they’re not as torturous as they could be.
The coleslaw and bun really toned the spice down to the point where the sandwich tasted more mild than medium.
I noticed that at Dave’s Hot Chicken too. The slaw and bun really do the heavy lifting to make the hot chicken mellow.
By contrast, our Prince’s chicken sandwich came without coleslaw on it and it was just straight hot. (Quick note: I blame the shop here. It served a dollop of coleslaw in a small container with the sandwich. In hindsight, I realize that was supposed to be added — by me — to the top of the sandwich, but I didn’t know that and no one explained it to me.)
The coleslaw was really fresh. It’s made with mayonnaise, as opposed to a vinegar-mixed coleslaw. It’s wetter than I usually make coleslaw, which I appreciated. The dairy helped cut through the spice.
I’ve eaten a lot of chicken sandwiches. Like, that’s my go to order when we’re dining out. I don’t fry at home, so it’s a treat to eat fried chicken sandwiches and Hattie B’s is by far my favorite fast food chicken sandwich ever.
Sorry to the rest.
And sorry to me because I will never be back in Nashville, so the only way I’ll ever have this sandwich again is if I have a layover in the Nashville airport.
Or if I order online. You can get Hattie B’s shipped with Goldbelly. Well, sort of. There’s a waitlist right now.
You can, however, purchase Hattie B’s chicken skin crisps on Amazon.
Hattie B’s Hot Chicken: Frequently Asked Questions
There are 13 Hattie B’s locations: Birmingham, Alabama; two in Atlanta, Georgia; in the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas; five in Nashville, Tennessee (including BNA, the local airport, and Assembly Food Hall, which is the one we ate at), plus locations in Franklin and Memphis; and Austin and Dallas, Texas.
Locations in Huntsville, Alabama and another in Austin are opening in 2025 and the Wrighleyville in Chicago, Illinois; East Nashville; and Plano, Texas locations are slated for 2026.
We split a fried chicken sandwich and coleslaw, which was $13 and that was enough food for lunch for the both of us. So I definitely wouldn’t call that expensive.
The rest of the menu ranges. But, a few examples: Dirty Bird fries (the loaded fries) were $10, tenders and two sides were $13.50, a salad is $13.50, and a quarter bird is $13 for a breast and wing of $11.50 for a leg and thigh.
Siders were $3.75.
Considering some bars on Broadway are charging $18 for a mixed drink, this feels like a deal.
More Chicken Sandwich Reviews:
You guys. I’m out here doing the lord’s work, eating every fried chicken sandwich in my path to review them for you.
So be sure to check out our list of The Best Fast Food Chicken Sandwich Rankings. That’s all national chains, so you won’t find Hattie B’s on it, but you’ll find a bunch of others.
Have you had Hattie B’s hot chicken? Let us know what you thought about it in the comments.