Nashville hot chicken: Our top 5 places to get Music City's signature dish

Nashville hot chicken has spawned many imitators the world over, but its origin story is synonymous with a legendary lothario named Thornton Prince.

Prince's cheating drove a jilted girlfriend to serve him hot chicken as a dish of spicy revenge. But Prince loved that hot bird and leveraged it into a money-making restaurant he founded in the 1930s.

Prince's efforts helped launch an enduring hot chicken trend. Not only is this brand of fiery fried chicken found coast to coast and worldwide, but it's also a dish you'll find in plenty of restaurants and breweries not well known for their take on one of Nashville's native foods.

That's why The Tennessean's food writers thought it might be time to suss out and create a new list of who's best at serving this dish of crisp-fried bird basted with spicy oil and blasted with seasonings — including hot chili peppers. You can find our list below.

But first, the story of how hot chicken came to be, and why Music City's white residents did not know about it for many years.

The matriarch of hot chicken

Andre Prince Jefferies, Prince's great-niece, took over Prince's Hot Chicken from her uncles in the summer of 1980, becoming hot chicken's matriarch. Her daughter, Semone Jeffries, now helps run the day-to-day operations of Prince's Hot Chicken, which has locations in South Nashville, Assembly Food Hall, Geodis Park and others, with more slated to come.

The story of the restaurant's early days is often told like this: Prince’s bounced around between predominantly Black neighborhoods. That glosses over the truth. The restaurant was forced to move several times. Sometimes to make way for development. Other times, white stakeholders moved the goal posts.

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Prince’s Hot Chicken's first location was on Jefferson Street, later moving to Hell’s Half Acre, a neighborhood near the Grand Ole Opry where some of the city's poorest Black families lived and white country musicians played. At the time, white residents ate in the back of Prince's, Black residents in the front. That location was eventually razed, succumbing to urban renewal under the Capitol Hill Redevelopment Project.

Black neighborhoods were often the first to be redeveloped because they were frequently zoned for industrial use, local author Rachel Martin wrote in her book “Hot, Hot Chicken,” which explores the role of racism in Prince’s history.

Nashville's urban planning initiatives, first set in motion during the Civil War, came in waves. But each had the same goal, Martin wrote: "To unwind the independence that planted itself in the spaces the refugees claimed when they stole themselves away from slavery and declared their freedom."

Such initiatives cleared so-called "slums" and fragmented Black neighborhoods, separating customers from businesses and, in some cases, destroying businesses altogether.

An enduring family tradition

After Hell's Half Acre, Prince’s moved to Charlotte and eventually off Clarksville Highway. By that point, Andre Prince Jefferies was trying to purchase a permanent home for her restaurant.

“My mom tried to buy the property several times, and the owner of the property, he would always move the pricing,” Semone Jefferies said. “If he told her $20,000, and she saved enough money to put down, he’d say $40,000."

Her next spot off Dickerson succumbed to a spate of bad luck. It burned when a car crashed into the building. The landlord delayed repairs, and Andre Prince Jefferies decided to close up shop and move to South Nashville, where one of her locations remains today.

Semone Jefferies said many moves and her mother’s fear of getting burned by landlords and accountants helped delay Prince’s expansion, even as imitators sprang up. But now Prince's is in growth mode, with a new location slated for Jefferson Street ― back where it all began.

"When (my mom) decided to come into this business full time without having a lot of business knowledge, she did not know all the ins and outs and went in by the seat of her pants trying to make it as a divorced single mom of two girls, just trying to make a living," she said. "She got burned a couple of times trying to navigate the business world."

Semone Jefferies said the secret to enduring success is fortitude, though hot chicken received a big boost when former Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell found a life-changing meal at Prince's, both for himself and for Jefferies.

In 2006, Purcell and his staff decided to celebrate Music City's bicentennial with a celebration of its culture and native food. That year, he launched the annual Music City Hot Chicken Festival.

“I chose chicken as the operating theme because it is my favorite food," Purcell told The Tennessean in 2022. "And hot chicken is Nashville's indigenous food. It is the only food that was invented here."

In 1996, as his last order of business in the Tennessee House of Representatives, Purcell declared Prince's Hot Chicken the "best restaurant in Tennessee."

— Mackensy Lunsford

Where to find the best hot chicken

No. 5 — Prince's Hot Chicken

Four locations: South Nashville, Assembly Food Hall downtown, Tanger Outlets in Antioch and Geodis Park soccer stadium, www.princeshotchicken.com.

Mackensy: I was lucky enough to have been introduced to this restaurant by Bill Purcell himself, where I interviewed him for a podcast about hot chicken. I say that not as a humble brag, but to explain why this place holds a soft spot in my heart. I love the sides, from the crisp seasoned fries to the creamy mac and cheese. And I think the flavor of the hot chicken is perfect. But on a most recent visit, the chicken had either been over brined or held too long and the interior was ― what's the best way to put this? Overly soft? Anyway, let the record show that I wanted this higher on the list. This is the tension readers are after, right Brad?

Brad: Ha! Look, respect to the OG, for sure. I have the fondest memories of stumbling into Prince's Ewing Drive location late after a night out with friends, and waiting in that charming hole in the wall for 45 minutes or longer for excellent hot chicken. Since those days, though, I feel like the flavor, while very good, has slipped, and there are those in town who do it just a little bit better. Also, Prince's food is no longer cooked to order — we got our plates in seven minutes, Mack, and it takes longer than that to fry chicken. And yes, the chicken itself was soft, bordering on mushy. But I still love going to Prince's, and I still think it tastes great, and I still want to support the family that created Nashville's only indigenous food.

No. 4 — Party Fowl

Four locations: Downtown, Donelson, Cool Springs and Murfreesboro, partyfowl.com.

Brad: Here's a hot take, which, I guess is the only kind for this subject — Party Fowl serves the most delicious hot chicken in Nashville. Yes, I know the places have bro, frat-boy energy, and menu planners might've had a little too much fun in inserting hot chicken into way too many items. (Hot chicken and beignets? Hot chicken poutine?)

But, that chicken. ... Despite the heat, which is just enough to light you up without overwhelming you, I kept wanting to eat bite after bite after bite. The (not-so-secret-anymore) ingredient of bacon grease gives it a unique flavor, for sure, but it's not just that. There are other spices that make it special, and the bird itself is well cooked and fresh and fantastic.

By the way, loved most of the sides, including the mac and cheese and coleslaw. So don't sleep on Party Fowl like I used to. You're going to have a great meal here.

Mack: So, that mac and cheese was dry. So dry. And the potatoes were cold. But that chicken? Like I said before, there are things about placing this restaurant on this list that I don't like, including a somewhat unfocused menu. But as I have also said, if I tried this bird in a blind taste test, I would praise its flavor and tenderness over many others. And yeah, in this case, bacon does make things even better.

No. 3 — Hattie B's

Five locations: Midtown, Melrose, West Nashville, Nashville airport and Assembly Food Hall downtown, www.hattieb.com.

Brad: For most tourists and Nashville newcomers, Hattie B's is the first and often the only place that comes to mind when you say "hot chicken." Started in 2012 by a father-son duo who'd been running a meat-and-three in Cool Springs, the franchise has exploded into six states. At first, I found the chicken inconsistent from visit to visit, in quality and in heat. Seems in recent years, though, Hattie B's has nailed it.

In a recent visit, Mack, you and I had only one bite each before we both said, yep, this has to be on our top-5 list. Delicious, hot, crunchy fried chicken, served with solid sides in clean, fun, welcoming restaurants. (Yes, I still giggle when I see the "Shut the cluck up" heat level on the menu.) It's no wonder there are long lines at most locations most every day.

Mack: Yep, I have the same issue with Hattie B's as I do Party Fowl in that it's taken a concept and sort of made it more palatable to the masses. But fine, count me in with the masses because there's no denying that this is just simply delicious food. That chicken was perfect. I've now eaten here several times and have not yet found a single thing to complain about unless it's the fact that I once unwisely ate it a few hours before spin class. Never doing that again.

No. 2 — 400 Degrees Hot Chicken

Two locations: Bordeau and Nashville airport, www.400degreeshotchicken.com.

Brad: This place is turbo-fueled by its hilarious, high-energy, happy owner, Aqui Hines, who's full of fun quips while turning her 1,000-watt smile on customers. "My husband's a firefighter, honey," Hines says. "I start the fire and he puts it out!" Hines, an undeniable personality, is as talented at social media marketing as she is at making hot chicken.

Hines grew up eating and loving Prince's hot chicken, and she eventually opened her own humble, no-frills chicken shack along Clarksville Highway in predominantly Black working-class Bordeaux. In many ways, it feels like the most authentic hot chicken shack on this list.

The chicken itself? It's hot. Really hot. But yes, through the heat, I could taste a wonderful blend of spices and a well-fried piece of fresh, moist chicken. Come for the Aqui Hines show, stay for the food.

Mack: Sweet mother Mary and Joseph. I have a very high threshold for pain, which this chicken challenged to a high degree. My notes say, "So hot. But still flavorful. Cooked perfectly."

That pretty much sums it up. Also, the catfish was fantastic! But hot tip: Expect a wait for your food, ok?

No. 1 — Moore's Spicy Fried Chicken

115 Walton Ferry Road in Hendersonville, www.mooreschicken.com.

Mackensy: Get out of here. I took one bite and said, "This is it." And it is. The chicken, which looked overcooked at first, was perfect inside and out. I absolutely crushed the fried okra, hot water cornbread, the seasoned fries and the mac and cheese. Excellent. Some of the best fried fish I've ever had, too.

Now, I loved owner David Moore, who looked me dead straight in my eye when I walked in and said "You haven't been here before, have you?"

I laughed and said, "What have I messed up already?" which I think cemented a friendship.

But folks, David thinks me, you and everyone in between should order ahead to avoid the wait. It's just him, and him alone, cooking everything to order.

Brad: Yeah, I took a lot of grief more than five years ago when we last put out a top-5 hot chicken list and ranked Moore's the best. It's too far out, "all the way" in Hendersonville, detractors said. The owner, David, can be prickly and impatient, they said. It doesn't look like the hot chicken at other places, they said. I can't really argue (too much) with any of that, but....

The chicken is delicious. The best in Middle Tennessee. It's worth the drive. Order ahead, and know there'll be very little seating when you get there. And have some patience with David; turns out he can be downright charming, even though for six years now, he has been refusing to tell me what spices he uses to make his chicken so damn good.

Did we get it right? What's missing from our list? What's your favorite hot chicken place in Nashville? Find Mackensy Lunsford at mlunsford@tennessean.com and Brad Schmitt at brad@tennessean.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville hot chicken: Top hot chicken restaurants in Nashville