5 Fried Chicken Chains With The Best Quality Meat, And 4 With The Worst, According To Reviews

Fried chicken is a deeply American tradition, beloved by many. When it’s done correctly, it’s pretty much irresistible. Making the perfect fried chicken can be challenging, but it really comes down to the quality of the meat and the method you use to fry. That said, there are plenty of places out there with great fried chicken if you’re craving it; this way, you don’t have to attempt to make it yourself. Great fried chicken can, of course, come from a local spot or a chain, and chains can be a great way to get your fix if you’re on a budget. As it turns out, there are plenty of great chains out there that are doing it well. 

Not sure where to start when it comes to finding delicious fried chicken from a chain restaurant? We combed social media and review sites to compile a list of the five best chains and the four worst chains to go for this classic comfort food, based on quality and taste of the chicken. Keep reading to find out which spots you should try and which to avoid. 

When it comes to fast food chains serving up delicious, juicy fried chicken, Jollibee seems to be one of the best. This Filipino chain has locations across the U.S. and is known for its Chickenjoy fried chicken. It’s a fan favorite, with customers praising it for the balance between crispy, juicy, and flavorful — a difficult accomplishment with a delicate dish like fried chicken. One YouTube reviewer praised the spicy version for its tenderness and juiciness, also saying it was “perfectly crispy.” 

Redditors agreed, with one stating emphatically: “It’s fantastic. No joke. I’m very glad I don’t live near one. I would gain enough weight to be able to eat at Heart Attack Grill for free.” Another YouTuber said it was “fried to perfection,” and called the chicken “nice, crispy, and tender,” and popular YouTuber Joshua Weissman ranked it the best fast food fried chicken in the country. 

Have you ever asked yourself what the difference is between a chicken tender and a chicken finger? If not, you may want to go to Raising Cane’s and find out for yourself, because you won’t ever mistake a chicken finger for anything else again. Raising Cane’s is a long-running chicken chain established in Louisiana in 1996. It’s known for chicken fingers and has nearly 1,000 locations across the country. As far as fried chicken goes, Raising Cane’s consistently gets praise for the freshness of its food — even the chicken, which one Reddit-posting staff member elaborated on. “Bird goes into the fryers every 90 seconds, and is wasted after 6 minutes if it stays that long.” The chain takes the freshness of its chicken very seriously.

Customers seem to take note of the care Raising Cane’s takes to make their chicken good, generally praising the juiciness as well as the flavor. One reviewer praised the chicken for its tenderness and crispiness, saying it’s superior to a place like Chick-fil-a, and a TikTok review of the chain similarly praised the freshness and juiciness of the meat.

Chick-fil-A has been a Southern (and beyond) staple for decades, with its signature waffle fries, milkshakes, and house-made lemonade. What the restaurant is truly known for, however, is its fried chicken sandwich. What is it about Chick-fil-A’s chicken that people love so much? Maybe it’s the big, juicy filets, or maybe it’s the rumored pickle brine that the chain uses for its chicken (which it actively denies). Either way, people really love Chick-fil-A. Over the years, they’ve offered many variants on their original sandwich in addition to different items, and they remain a major player in the chicken business.

Whatever it is about Chick-fil-A chicken that people gravitate towards, one thing is for sure: The quality of the chicken is consistently great. Customers consistently rate it as one of the best fried chicken options around, from the sandwiches to the nuggets to the tenders. One YouTube reviewer praised the sandwich as being “simple yet delicious.” Redditors also praise the chain’s chicken, with one saying it’s “so damn delicious” and another saying it’s “fantastic.”

North Carolina-based Bojangles has been frying chicken since the 70s, now operating over 800 locations across the world, including the U.S. and China, among other countries. Its biscuits are the stuff of legend, and people particularly love the blueberry biscuits. The chicken is truly the centerpiece of the restaurant, though, and there’s a great Bojangles hack out there where you can take their blueberry biscuits, add chicken, and enjoy a sweet and savory chicken biscuit like no other.

There’s a lot of hype around this chain, and customers agree that Bojangles is a quality spot for delicious chicken. One Redditor said the restaurant has “the best chicken,” while a YouTube reviewer praised the crispiness of its chicken, the flavor of the meat, and the juiciness, which he described as “just right.” Next time you’re jonesing for some chicken and biscuits, look no further than Bojangles to get your fix. 

Krispy Krunchy might seem like an unorthodox choice for a list like this, but the convenience store chain has fried chicken that consistently gets fantastic reviews from customers. They’ve been around since 1989, and started in Louisiana before expanding. The flavor of the meat is at the center of the praise they get from customers, with one Redditor who tried their tenders saying, “Unbelievably moist and yes tender. Best I’ve ever had. The breading is great and crispy, a little spicy. Very very very good.” 

On Facebook, one reviewer said the chicken is “always super juicy and flavorful and is also fried perfectly,” while a YouTube review called it “standalone chicken.” With so many locations across the country, there’s little excuse not to seek out a Krispy Krunchy and see for yourself what the hype is all about. 

There’s an entire generation of people who grew up on KFC, and there was once a time when its chicken reigned supreme among fast food consumers. Today, it remains a storied chicken brand with a wild history and probably the most recognizable mascot in the history of fast casual dining. But unfortunately, that’s where it seems to end.

The brand, unfortunately, seems to have declined in quality over the past several years. It used to be a reliably good chain with enjoyable chicken, but customers note that things have significantly changed. One Redditor said that KFC’s meat just isn’t good anymore. “How does anyone enjoy this? It’s bland and mushy and quite feels like the joy was sucked out of the chicken,” the reviewer stated. In another Reddit thread, a customer said of its declining quality, “It is indeed bad. Chicken is greasier, tougher, and a lot less tasty.” On Facebook, one reviewer agreed that KFC has been “going downhill for a number of years now.”

Popeyes is another chain that used to be popular for its chicken; in particular, it’s supposed to be a spicy Louisiana chicken joint with great sides and quality chicken. Even the late Anthony Bourdain talked about how much he loved the place. 

These days, however, customers have noted a serious decline in the quality of the chicken. One Redditor said, “Their chicken tenders are now the thickness of cardboard and the texture of drywall. I can’t believe I paid money for this trash.” A Facebook review called Popeye’s “the worst fast food restaurant ever.” There’s also a dedicated Facebook group for complaints about Popeye’s, where someone said, “the quality of food was awful, it tasted terrible, and the $30.00 worth of food all went into the garbage.”

Church’s Chicken has been around since the 50s, serving up Texas fried chicken at locations across the country. This is another spot that, at one point, was a reliable place to get quality fried chicken at reasonable prices. Today, it’s another restaurant that has seen declining quality in terms of its meat over the past few years, and customers have taken note of the lack of flavor, low quality of the meat, and the overall disappointing experience of eating it.

Opinions on Church’s lackluster chicken are pretty brutal, with one Reddit reviewer stating straightforwardly, “Church’s Chicken has fallen to crap.” Another said the sandwich they got was “the most bland fast food chicken sandwich I’ve had.” Another noted that their food was a “grinded up chicken patty,” comparing it to a “horrible McChicken clone.” On Facebook, one user said, “The chicken was bland and had an unpleasant, slight oil fryer aftertaste.”

Zaxby’s is a chicken restaurant with a lot of menu options and, famously, a large selection of sauces that range in spice level. There’s a lot to choose from, and some of what they offer is better than others. Unfortunately for Zaxby’s, it seems like it’s yet another chain that has declined in quality over the years.

Zaxby’s customers have noticed a sharp downturn in the quality of its bone-in wings, specifically. One customer noted on Reddit: “First, they switched from decent-sized ones to the tiniest bone in wings I’ve ever seen. Now they’re overcooking them every time.” In general, there seems to have been a decline in the quality of the meat overall, not just in regard to bone-in wings. Another Redditor said of the tenders, “Every time I get it, it always taste weird, I don’t know how to explain it, it’s also always dry, or just tastes only like salt.”

Picking the best and worst fried chicken chains was a challenging task, as there are so many opinions about what makes a particular place good or bad. To put this list together, we combed social media sites and reviews from Reddit to come to a consensus on the best and worst-quality meat from fried chicken chain restaurants. We were looking specifically for taste, texture, value, and overall experience of eating the chicken when compiling our list. Some of the things to consider when it comes to the meat were flavor, dryness, quality, and consistency.