Bottom line up front...I am a big fan. Generous portions that are full of flavor and worth the money! It took a bit of time to get our food, but once I realized that it was cooked to order I understood the wait. Then once I saw the portions I thought..."bonus". Then once I took my first bite I forgot about the wait time and was like oh hell yea!!!! Large crispy moist and FULL of flavor chicken. I did not specifically drive here from Marcellus to eat here...but as good as it was I could see making the drive from Marcellus just for this chicken. Total FAN... Totally a Friends and Family recommendation and Yelp Bookmark. read more

Dave's Hot Chicken - They call this a Slider...I call it a meal. TASTY! - Chicken Shop Near Me - Cicero, New York

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I remember watching people on Tiktok eating Dave's hot chicken and I would sit there with my mouth watering.. so when it came to Syracuse I knew I had to try it! When it first opened, I went opening day and the line was wrapped around the plaza and people said they had been waiting 3 hours! I decided to go back a few weeks later and there was a very small line but the wait was quite long. My first impression was good - god quality chicken, good fries, good flavor, but not much spice. I recently wanted to try again but this time I ordered take out. I tried the medium chicken sandwich and there was almost no flavor this time? I should've gotten spicier but there wasn't anything there at all.. It did come with a lot of their Daves sauce but I was expecting more flavor from that as well. I think it's fun to have every once in a while - a good new chain to have nearby! read more

Dave's Hot Chicken - Medium Chicken Sandwhich & Fries - Chicken Shop Near Me - Cicero, New York

Updating this as I have been to Daves hot chicken a handful of times. Food is consistent, wait time and staff are consistent, place is clean etc. Single tender is a let down on that piece of bread. Sliders are where its at, the slaw and Daves sauce on the slider is very good. If you like heat you'll definitely find it at this place. The "HOT" and "EXTRA HOT" are plenty for myself. I usually get the 2 slider meal with 1 sandwich hot and the other extra hot which is plenty for me. The fries are so-so, eat a few of them but have never been into fries. Body craves the spice after about a week so I end up returning for another round of flaming goodness. read more

I can only speak for the take out but delicious. Their sauce is so good, the chicken is crispy and juicy. 10 piece no sauce (for the kids) and 10 piece spicy for me. My 6 year old who likes spicy really enjoyed the spicy with their sauce too! I will have to go back for their tenders, sandwiches, and a dine in experience. Overall a great experience! Clean inside, clean bathrooms. read more

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This was our first Dave's experience and we enjoyed it. I wasn't expecting the spice to be more of a dry rub, I'll admit my medium was very mild. I'm usually a medium/hot chciken wing gal so I played it too safe by ordering medium here. We were impressed with the amount of food you get for the price including extra sauce and pickles. With competitors that's always extra. Counter service was friendly. read more

Dave's Hot Chicken - #Dave's #3 1 Tender & 1 Slider w/ Fries Medium - Chicken Shop Near Me - Cicero, New York

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Expect long lines for this grand opening. It took us about an hour before we even placed our order but it's to be expected when something is new to the area. The dining area was clean & the employees did their best in trying to get the line to run smoothly. I've never been to Dave's Hot Chicken and let me tell you, I wasn't disappointed. I love that you're able to choose how spicy you want your chicken. I've never had kale slaw before but that with some Dave's sauce makes a very tasty chicken slider. I will definitely be back to try their cauliflower bites. read more

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Waited in line for 2 hours on opening day for Dave's Hot Chicken. The hype was definitely real. Obviously, this is still fast food, so grain of salt, but I was really impressed. The place was literally staffed by all teenagers. I didn't see an actual adult in the 2 hours I was there. These kids did an excellent job maintaining order and getting through the massive line effectively, props for sure. I can't imagine the sheer amount of chicken they went through today. I got the #3, one tender and the sandwich. I order it "hot." The spice doesn't hit you at first but is definitely hot afterwards. I can't imagine the spice on Very Hot or Reaper. The chicken seems to be seasoned with sugar in addition to spice, there is a very sweet taste to it. The pickle honestly may have been the star of the show. It was awesome. Crunchy and very dill. Dave's sauce is better than chick fil a sauce, and added with honey, is a great bite. Will wait until the hype dies before going back, but will most certainly go back. read more

Dave's Hot Chicken - #3, Hot. Tender and Slider meal - Chicken Shop Near Me - Cicero, New York

Great flavor. Best chicken around Cicero. Workers were nice and the service was fast. I always order to go, but there is seating for inside if you want to eat on site. read more

The first Dave's Hot Chicken was opened in May 2017 by childhood friends Dave Kopushyan, Arman Oganeshyan, Tommy Rubenyan and Gary Rubenyan. They were inspired by the no frills approach of In N Out Burger as well as the growing demand for fried chicken in Los Angeles. Kopushyan - the chain's namesake - was a professional chef trained by restaurateur Thomas Keller at three-Michelin-star restaurant The French Laundry. Drawing from this experience, Kopushyan developed the chain's signature hot chicken recipe. The four friends scraped together $900 to set up a small shop, and what started as a single restaurant in 2017 has expanded to over 100 locations in 4 countries. Love fried chicken. The more options, the better. Love a good sauce too. Dave's hot chicken is definitely some of the best fast food wise, seeing as it's not frozen and freshly battered and fried. You have options of sliders or tenders with fries. They are quite large pieces of chicken. Both my wife and I got medium, but we didn't find it to be spicy at all and will definitely raise the spice level next time. My wife and I are usually not a fan of crinkle cut fries, but even those were good here. Sandwiches were tender, pickles and slaw were good on the sandwich, and the Dave's sauce is delicious. The meals are a little pricier than most fast food, but again, it's higher quality chicken. While the tenders are quite large, the tenders-only prices seem a little crazy (10 tender for $45). Restaurant has plenty of room and seating in it. Employees were all friendly even though they were working hard. We'll definitely go back once the demand goes down a bit. read more

Dave's Hot Chicken - Chicken Shop Near Me - Cicero, New York

The food was decent, I would not hype it up like tiktok did. The sliders were better than the tenders. The reaper chicken wasnt that spicy. The servers were super nice and it was modern and upbeat. CLEAN bathroom. read more

Dave's Hot Chicken - Chicken Shop Near Me - Cicero, New York

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Good service max and Sean good was fresh and good keep up the good work clean restaurant

This was my 3rd time here the ambiance was amazing happy chatter but kid friendly. The food was a delight the chicken is very seasoned in a good way the hot is hot though the fries are good but the mac and cheese was not good but not a let down. We ate in the restaurant and the line was short amd we got our food faster then you could say superfragilisticexpialidocious. So if you you are hungry and want to be full and not eat for a week becuse you are soo full then yes. So ya go gicha some lol. read more

I had never heard of this place before they showed up in Syracuse. After people went nuts over Chick-fil-A, it didn't even phase me that people did the same here, showing up and waiting for hours. Eventually the hype wore me down and I figured I should at least give them a try. Today, we were in town at a reasonable hour and needed food to take home. I wasn't sure if this place was accessible yet, so we ordered online like an hour in advance. We wouldn't be eating until later anyway, so it didn't matter if it wasn't hot when we got it. We showed up around 2:00 PM and the place was totally empty, so the order was ready right after we placed it. Not sure if it's like that during busier times. We've been pretty drawn into the "chicken sandwich wars" of the last few years, and have been to most of the must-try places in the area. Most of the big names are no better than Popeyes, and we can honestly do much better at home. Our primary reason for coming in was to not have to cook today, and figured we'd check another name off our list in the process. We spread our order out to try just about everything. The whole thing came to just over $60 for 4 sliders, 2 tenders, mac and cheese, coleslaw, some fries, and two milkshakes. People say this place is expensive but that seems about on par with other places. We split our order down the middle between Extra Hot and Reaper without even thinking about it. On the menu, the Reaper option says to "See Disclaimer Below", but we couldn't see it anywhere so we figured it was just a gimmick. My girlfriend is Korean, and my tolerance for spicy is at least above average. I usually seek it out, and in Syracuse it's so rare to actually get something that contains real heat. When I order Thai or Indian food I specify to make it as spicy as possible, and so rarely do I ever break a sweat. Not because I'm indestructible, but because we must not be known for spicy tolerance here, so restaurants tend to play it safe and pull punches. Anyway, I took my first bite from the slider and immediately felt the wave of heat. I said "Wow, this is about as hot as I can go right here. This is awesome." I got about half way through the slider and set it down to regroup, and that's when I saw it. This wasn't the Reaper - this was the Extra Hot. Oh god, now I'm nervous. The other one's gonna be even hotter. We had one Extra Hot tender and one Reaper and I didn't know which was which. I picked one at random and took a bite and was fully teared up in five seconds. This one's the reaper. I was prepared to power through it, even if it hurt. Nope. I tapped out before I could even swallow the first bite. We were watching a show, and I had to pause it because I realized I couldn't even pay attention. It's over, Dave won. This is the first time I've ever tapped out from spicy in Syracuse. I've had every "nuclear" "xxx" "kill me now" branded hot wings I could get my hands on. Pleaded with dozens of restaurants to step it up with the spice. And who's the first place to make me cry in absolute despair? Not a Mexican place, not a Thai or an Indian place. Nope, it was "Dave". I'm not mad. I got cocky, and I let my guard down. Next time I'll probably go regular hot for comfort, and Extra hot for the pain, and some day after a long training montage, maybe I'll come back and try the Reaper again. Not any time soon. Real quick recap on the food I guess, while we're here. Don't sleep on the cauliflower, it's incredible. I ordered the bites and can't wait to do a slider. It's so soft and delicious, and has the same breading and taste of the chicken. They piled the sauces high, which was awesome. Dave's Sauce is about the same as any other orange sauce you'll get with this sort of chicken, but it comes in satisfyingly large packets. They also give you honey, which is just as good on this stuff. The fries were standard crinkle cut, the slaw tasted like nothing, and the mac and cheese was creamy and amazing. Like KFC's, but doesn't taste like it was squeezed out of a hot pocket. Absolutely some of the best chicken sandwiches we've had in the city. Worth all the hype, but still on the high end of fast food. I'm glad I waited through the frantic hype, and also glad I didn't wait a moment longer than I did. read more

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This is the only 1 star review I have ever made. But, after waiting over 25 minutes, our order for 4 people was wrong. It was 2pm on Saturday and no line when we walked in. Three larges parties that ordered after us, all got their food before us. Somehow it got into a mess and our order was caught in their chaos. No apologies. No explanation. No free drinks or something to offset the extended wait. Food was okay. $15 a meal -- way overpriced (and no drink included). All said, we will not go back. read more

Stopped in at 4:30 on a Wednesday. No wait although there were a couple other patrons in the restaurant. The place looks new and clean with a spray paint motif throughout the establishment. The staff was prompt and accommodating. I had the Dave's #3 (one tender one slider with fries) with a spice level of "Hot". The order was ready in about five minutes. I did also order a fountain drink but it seemed that the ice machine was broken as there was no ice and a puddle of water on the ground. Not a problem for me but another patron inquired about the situation to a staff member and they replaced his fountain drink with a bottled drink. So good service there. The food was admittedly pretty solid. The chicken was juicy and the fries were well seasoned. The sauce(?) that makes the chicken spicy is more similar to a Nashville hot type of thing than a Buffalo sauce. It tasted pretty good and there was definitely a little heat. Not enough to make you sweat or anything but it was there for sure. If you get hot wings at a bar, this will be fine for you. Now I gotta say I was skeptical about the fact that you only get two tenders (one individual and one in the slider). However the tenders were easily the largest piece of chicken I think someone could reasonably class as a chicken tender. It was a fine amount of food, filling but certainly not stuffing. The price seems whack though. This meal with a drink came to over 20 dollars. Seems like a huge stretch for 2 tenders and a side of fries even if the tenders are considerably larger than average. This might get by in Hollywood (where the company began) but I'm not convinced they can compete here. This location is a stone's throw from a Tully's where you can get 10 tenders for 20 dollars. That seems like a hard sell to me. I was thinking where I would feel better about paying 20 dollars for two tenders, a drink, and fries and realized that this reminded me of high-end stadium food. I would've honestly been pretty stoked to have gotten this meal at a baseball game where all notions of value are kinda thrown out the window. But when I could've just as easily went to Tully's and had an extra meal or two for the same price- decidedly less palatable a proposition. Probably won't be back, but don't regret stopping to try. read more

TL;DR: Seriously delicious hot chicken. Will definitely repeat. Welcoming ambiance and clean floor space. New furniture. I really love hot chicken sandwiches and was looking forward to this location. The food is absolutely delicious, with perfectly seasoned and juicy chicken. The spice levels are on point, offering just the right amount of heat for those who love a good kick. The service was friendly. I would recommend this location to people who like hot fried chicken. I will be coming back for sure. read more

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Overall, I'm glad I tried this place finally. The food is definitely good, however you could probably find similar for way cheaper at Popeye's. We got the medium tender meal and medium slider meal. I can handle some heat but this barely had a kick. The sliders were our fav. Tenders were just okay. Fries were adequate but nothing to balk at. Mac and cheese was pretty good, kind of reminded me of stouffers from childhood. Would I come here again? Yes. Would I seek this place out and praise about it? No. read more

4 bc of service being slow (and it wasn't busy). We ordered TO-GO. I had the cauliflower bites with Mild sauce. Delicious. Daves sauce was the perfect addition. Hubby had the hot slider and then a extra hot tender (said he was glad he didn't go any hotter on the slider... and he can handle spicy). All orders come with Dave's sauce, pickles and a piece of bread (I can't have the bread so I can't tell tou how it was) I did think the grafitti look inside was neat. read more

Dave's Hot Chicken - Sorry no pic of what I ordered ... - Chicken Shop Near Me - Cicero, New York

My husband loves anything spicy, and was excited to try Dave's Hot Chicken for lunch one day. I warned him that it would be busy during the lunch rush, but did not expect it to take as long as it did. He arrived and had about 10 customers ahead of him. It took about 15 minutes for him to even place his order and then another 45 minutes to receive his food. If this is considered "fast food", you're better off going to a sit down restaurant where you could be in and out within an hour. I get that they are fairly new, but they literally have two menu items (chicken tenders and sliders), so not sure why it took so long. They need to figure out a better system before we return. I will say, the chicken was very good and different from any of the rival chicken restaurants on the same strip. The tenders are hand-breaded and have great flavor. They are also HUGE and two with fries was more than enough food to keep me full through dinner. Their Dave's sauce was also delicious and I'm glad we ordered extra. I'm not one for spicy, but even I thought the Extra Hot sauce that my husband ordered for his tenders was not hot at all. I would recommend getting spicier than you originally planned. Overall, the food was great, but not worth an hour wait in my opinion. Hopefully they will figure out a better system or Chic Fil a is going to run them out of business. read more

As a person who makes and eats chicken pretty much every day, this was GOOD chicken! I got the medium spice and next time I will definitely try SPICIER! It's was pretty busy when I went and food was hot and ready within 5 minutes. Fries were fresh and not soggy at all. The sauce though ‍ wowza - so good!! Meal a little on the pricier end, but for what you get not bad at all! read more

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Food is always good, and value. The noise level is off the charts loud. No chance for conversation in here.

Went in around 11:30 am, and as soon as I entered i was greeted with a really nice clean restaurant with appealing art on the walls and ceiling, I had to wait in line for a while as there were a fair amount of people there, but when i got in line service was great, fast, and simple just how i like it. I ordered two tenders with fries and added one additional tender. The wait afterward was a bit long, but i imagine its due to the popularity of the restaurant right now. When i got my tenders home and ate them they tasted really good! Theres a unique seasoning and flavor that Dave's chicken has that i have not experienced anywhere else nearby, there was also plenty of sauce for my deliciously crispy fries, and the tenders also came with bread so I could sandwich them up if i so wished. Overall, if you can deal with a long wait time right now, I loved my food and would go back again in the future albeit whenever its not extremely busy. read more

Dave's Hot Chicken - Chicken Tenders and Fries - Chicken Shop Near Me - Cicero, New York

Even though the line was long for their opening weekend; they do have some great food. I really enjoyed their sliders and tenders. Dave's sauce is the BOMB! The view of the place gives 80's vibes with the graffiti and the music was soft played in the background. I recommend this to anyone who wants to try. read more

Dave's Hot Chicken - Opening weekend line - Chicken Shop Near Me - Cicero, New York

I recently door dashed Dave's Hot Chicken, and was not impressed. Strawberry milkshake was just disgusting fake strawberry syrup on top of vanila ice cream. The chicken didn't have any spice like it was supposed to (medium), just no flavor at all, and the fries didn't have the seasoning on them which is why i ordered it and we're cold. Disappointingly, the Dave's sauce was also flavorless. I may try them again in the future once they settle, but I was sorely disappointed. read more

Cool decor good tunes playing and lines went fairly quickly. I was encouraged by seeing someone checking all orders before they were sent out. Encouragement short lived when we got home. So we each ordered the number one 2tender combo with fries at $12.99 each which was up charged to $14.49 each for cheese fries on both. One hot one medium so we could test flavor and heat. Food stayed hot in cardboard containers disappointment was one had regular fries not the cheese fries ordered. I will go back and take care of that another one I have the receipt no biggie. Hot was to us well seasoned more mild than medium and hot was also well seasoned with enough heat to be more medium to our taste buds but we do like heat. Dave's sauce has a bit of pickle in the flavor and perfect for dipping the crunchy outside meaty juicy inside white meat good sized chicken strips. We each got a drink total came to $37.54 pretty comparable to other nearby chicken places for size of food and ability to fill us up. I would say it's a different option not something I would do often or go out of my way for but it is good and different. I recommend trying it for sure! read more

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Ambiance, service/staff were amazing! Food tasted very fresh. Got a medium chicken slider that was very good but very little heat. I was hoping for a little bit of a kick with their signature sauce but it still had lots of flavor. I definitely will order a "hot" slider next. Only downside was the sodas ice machine was broken. read more

I personally did not see what all the hype is about the food was ok they messed up my order,I had to return to get 2 new sliders I asked for 2 plain and they gave me 2 with everything but they fixed it and I never got my kale slaw and 2 of the sliders were overcooked big-time so I'm done eating at Dave's not hard to make a order right the first time. read more

This location opened fairly recently and there was a lot of hype and even longer lines those first few weeks. We just avoided it until a night we drove by and saw there was finally no line snaking out of the front door. It was still pretty busy but the service was reasonably quick. The menu is fairly small with only a few choices and I actually didn't mind that because ordering is so much less confusing your first time there, lol. The two main choices are tenders or sliders, and there are a few sides (fries of course, and Mac & cheese being the two main stars). The tenders are huge and the sliders are made with those same tenders, so they're much bigger than the usual slider. The chicken was cooked well, juicy and tender. You get a choice of your spice level; I went with mild and hubby went with something a little spicier. The Dave's sauce is a star here, super tasty. The fries were also very good. The one drawback is that the prices here are definitely higher than other chicken chains in the same vein. The potions are a decent size but still a little overpriced in my opinion. I would definitely go back again but maybe not regularly because of the prices. read more

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I stopped in n a Monday evening and the line wasn't too long so decided to stay and try it out. We waited 18 minutes for our food which to me wasn't bad considering this place was very busy. I ordered the medium heat tender and sandwich combo and a side of Mac n cheese. The medium heat was a perfect balance of spice, not too spicy to taste but you could feel the slight heat. I'm not normally a fan of crinkly fries but the seasoning actually made me enjoy eating these. The Mac n cheese I will probably never order again. It's not bad if you enjoy eating kfc Mac n cheese, you'd like it. I didn't like it. The pickles they serve with the chicken are thick cut and very fresh, I really enjoyed them and may ask for extra next time. I wasn't expecting to get full but the tenders are large and very filling. It is a little pricey considering you're just eating chicken tenders and crinkle cut fries but I'd return, it was tasty. read more

Dave's Hot Chicken - Interior - Chicken Shop Near Me - Cicero, New York

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Food was disgustingly expensive. Especially since it tastes bad. Not one speck of seasoning is on that chicken. Throwing spicy powder on it doesn't make it flavored. I was pressured into doing a review for a free "milkshake" (it's cream and red dye). read more

Dave's Hot Chicken - Fake milkshake with red dye number 5 to make it look pink - Chicken Shop Near Me - Cicero, New York

Placed an online order 20 mins ahead but still waited for an additional 10mins. The chicken sandwich was superb and it's actually "HOT". Fries weren't that good but it's a chicken place so can't complain. read more

Food was tasty but the place has a lot of work to do as far as efficiency. Looked like they were actually over staffed as there was plenty of people standing around in the kitchen however it took almost an hour to get our food. There was a crowd there with the same problem. read more

The food was just fine. It was kinda good at the beginning but got bad when I started getting full. The service was good and the decorating was nice, but the chicken and fries had WAY too much seasoning and I only got medium. Chick-fil-a across the street is MUCH better. read more

I ordered medium tenders and they had very little salt and no spice. The strawberry milkshake was very nice, if a little artificial tasting and thick. Service was as fast as could be expected with a line nearly out the door. What was strange is that they called out orders completely out of order. The interior is decorated nicely but if you have a large party, there's not much space to sit. Overall, the place is overrated and a bit expensive but try anything once! read more

Great Service, good sandwich! Mac and cheese was subpar but that's okay because the sandwich and sauce was awesome. Nice ambiance, too read more

Dave's Hot Chicken - Chicken Shop Near Me - Cicero, New York

Food was horrible sandwich tasted like paste won't be back Place doesn't smell too clean wasn't happy thought it would be busier at lunchtime. Should've been a clue not to go. read more

Well finally tried the new chicken place. Service was good, place was fairly clean, one table was noticeably dirty. Tried the chicken sliders and fries with cheese. Sliders were good( had medium) crispy, nice pickles and the meat tasted well done juicy and flavorful; good quality chicken thighs. Fries not good soggy, no crisp and cheese sauce just your average squirt cheese. You should offer different levels of spiced cheese sauce to match chicken. And I liked the unsweetened tea offered rather than soda. read more

So, I heard this place was pretty busy so I figured I'd check it out for myself. I went today, Thursday afternoon and there was still a line winding all the way to the door. I spent about ten to fifteen minutes in line before I was up to order. Staff was friendly and very busy. I ordered the #3 which is a tender and a slider. I did this so I could judge the chicken on its own and in the sandwich. For the slider I ordered "Hot" and for the tender, "Reaper". They literally have you sign a waiver for the Reaper. I waited about 15 minutes to get my order while chatting with other patrons. The meal comes with Dave's sauce, crinkle-cut fries and pickle slices (which are great). The fries were seasoned and crispy on the outside and soft in the center. Perfect. I also ordered a strawberry shake. (A good idea with the Reaper but, to be honest, the strawberry shakes at Chic-Fil-A and Five Guys are much better. This was slightly better than Ron's Steakhouse, AKA McDonald's.). I went for the Reaper first. I can see why they have you sign the waiver. I love hot, spicy foods but this was scorching. Bordering on unpleasant but not quite. I could still taste the spice and some sweetness from the seasoning but I had to keep taking sips of the shake. This really burnt but at least I could still taste the food. The chicken was juicy and tender. I then ate the bread that came with the tender, sopping up as much Dave's sauce as possible to quench the burn. Then I devoured the fries in an attempt to do the same. That actually seemed to help. Next, I tackled the slider after putting the pickles and more Dave's sauce on it. The slider was great. Hot seemed to be the right balance of heat and spice. The kale slaw on the slider was excellent. It had a slight bitterness to it (not overpowering) that went well with the briny pickle and slightly sweet Dave's sauce. All in all I thought everything was very good with the exception of the milkshake which was just "meh" for me. Mount Kilimanjaro in my mouth had finally gone dormant but I am waiting until my morning constitutional tomorrow to see if the Reaper tears the back door off its hinges. If you like hot, I definitely recommend Dave's Hot Chicken. Would have been five stars if not for the shake. read more