Skip this place. Chicken is not spicy. It is drenched in sauce and isn't even that crispy. And the amount of oil/grease is disgusting!! The bread was a slice of room temp wonder bread. The best part of the whole meal was the pickles, which is soo sad. It was soo unenjoyable to eat, my guy didn't even want to finish it and we hate wasting food. Expensive garbage. read more

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If you're in the loop, and looking for a quick and tasty bite for lunch, I certainly recommend Hot Chi Chicken! Visited a little after the lunch hour rush and was impressed by the service and efficiency, between ordering and receiving my meal I was out of there in less than 10 mins. Hot Chi offers huge juicy, tender chicken sandwiches with your preference of different heat preferences! I got their original sammy in the "hot" heat level. Finally a place that packs the heat/spice I'm looking for!! Very spicy, awesome flavor and a big portion-- I had enough for now and a lot to later! I can't wait to get here on another lunch break (prepare to be sleepy by the time you get back to work lol)! Highly recommend! read more

Hot Chi Chicken - Chicken Shop Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Sloppy mediocre chicken sandwiches. Fall apart easily, low quality chicken with gristle throughout. Ordered two and both were the same deal. $15 each for these is insane. read more

Everyone seems to dub this place as the best hot chicken which leads me to believe they haven't been to what I call The Big 3 (Roost, Fry The Coop, and Dave's Hot). Hot Chi Chicken is what I would consider to be a very here and there meal, not something I'd crave or put in a regular lunch rotation. To start, the price point is egregious for what you're getting and I've been here a couple times (hoping they'd improve) and the food is always cold, clearly sitting there for who knows how long. The customer service is great but the chicken leaves something to be desired, especially if you've been to The Big 3. Generally an okay sandwich, the flavor is decent but missing the mark in my book. I wouldn't personally recommend this place but I leave it up to you to cast your judgement. read more

Hot Chi Chicken - Hot Honey Butter Sandwich - Chicken Shop Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

There was a case once when my reviews [hopefully only in part] were described as nasty. Far from it, I try to be fair, and give praise more often than nastiness. At the same time, if a motel has a cardboard box for a mattress, I'm going to let you know. While I do call out bad experience, I sometimes wonder if I am being too nice. This is the case with Hot Chi and this review. Had you asked me last Monday, it would have been an immediate slam dunk and five stars. Then I returned on Tuesday, and while still great, I'd only call it a layup that time - still great, but not something that invites me to return the next day. I was left with a question: do I award four stars or five? Is five being too nice? Is four me being too much of a Lillian Bloom (or Anton Ego, if you prefer)? I think I am going to be nice, and bump up the 4.5 to a five, plus Yelp doesn't allow half-stars anyways. Both times, I ordered a "Popeye's Ain't Sh*t." First time ordered as Medium; second time as Hot. First things first, the sandwiches go out at incredible speed. The first time I was handed my food before I was done paying. The second time I had a couple orders ahead of me, but these were seemingly constrained by how fast orders could be packaged, versus the cooking and assembling. Now, as great as speediness is, quality matters too. Both times, the chicken within was hot, crisp, and tender. This was far removed from the sad, soggy pieces that sit under a lamp at so many fast-food-chicken-shop places. Flavor-wise, both had a little sweetness, with the medium having an approachable level of heat, and the hot being more up there, but still perfectly enjoyable. (Proceed with caution - I have high heat tolerance). Unfortunately, the Hot was almost the fifth star's undoing. I am not sure why, but this piece of chicken was very heavy on the acid notes. I am not sure if this is the nature of their Harissa sauce, if this chicken spent a little too much time in brine, or if some pickle juice sneaked over. While I still devoured it like no one's business, I can't say I enjoyed it quite as much. Now, let's talk about veggies and sauces. These were wonderful for adding flavor and moisture. The garlic sauce gave very light garlicky notes that worked wonders. The tomatoes added a little moisture, the onions tang and crispness, and the pickles a little more crunch and salt. Finally, when it comes to the assembly itself - one round one, there was no issue, but on my second visit the sandwich fell apart about halfway through eating. Though, I am not sure this is entirely their fault - chicken thighs, for all their benefits, tend to be uneven. I don't know if I am brave enough to try the hottest level ("Call Ya Mama!!!!"), I have found heat-tempered-self gasping for air more times than I would care to admit. I am open to giving the "hot" another chance, and if it doesn't work out, I will happily drop down to a medium and continue ordering them more often than is good for my health. read more

Hot Chi Chicken - Popeye's Ain't Sh-t - Medium - Chicken Shop Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

You will find this restaurant in the Sterling Food Hall. There is a lot of seating available in the food hall dining area. This is a fun place with uniquely named food like the "Popeye's ain't sh!t" Chicken Sandwich. The have fried chicken, chicken tenders and Chicken sandwiches on their menu. The staff there was very friendly and there is metered street parking and commercial parking garages available within a reasonable walking distance. I ordered the Hot Honey Butta' Chicken Sandwich, with a medium heat. I also got some fries to go with it. The heat level was as described, a little tongue tickle. It was just right for me. I hate a sandwich that is too hot to really enjoy the flavor. The sandwich was so delicious and really hit the spot. It was tasty, flavorful and filling. I highly recommend it. This spot is one of the better spots in the food hall and is definitely worth checking out. read more

Just ordered the hot honey chicken sandwich at the HOTTT level of spice, no sides. It was $16.00 with tax and tip. Standard service, took the standard amount of time one would expect for a walk up counter fried chicken sandwich. I ended up sharing half with my hubs, and thought it was an appropriate amount of food for a lunch. It's a juicy, great quality chicken thigh- with tons flavor. The bread was great, the sauces and pickles were spot on. I couldn't tell the hot honey, but there was a lot happening between the buns. read more

Hot Chi Chicken - Chicken Shop Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I got the Popeyes Ain't Got Shit on This sandwich. For me the white sauce tasted like Mexican crema sauce. I didn't like it. The Elote was sweet and soupy. For me this was a thumbs down. The Watermelon Sugar drink was delicious. $22.00 was a hard lesson to learn. read more

I have stopped by this location a few times whenever I have had to come downtown to work. Lunch is always a crowded session, so I tend to hold out until an hour or so after high noon. The Popeye's Ain't *Blee Blah* and the Hot Honey Butter have been my go-to sandwiches when I order from them. Those are some sloppy sandwiches, but they are so good. I keep telling myself to get the sauces on the side so that I can add however much I want when I return to the office. Somehow, I keep forgetting to follow through. Nevertheless, their tasty sandwiches get an encore every few months when I walk over to Revival Food Hall. read more

Hot Chi Chicken - Hot Honey Butter Sandwich - Chicken Shop Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The food was excellent. The chicken was fresh moist fully cooked with a little spice . The service was very good as well.The area was clean organized and cool. read more

I went around 6pm on a Thursday, the food hall overall was pretty empty. There was no line for Hot Chi Chicken and I've seen it on TikTok before so I thought I'd give it a try. I got the Hot Honey Butter Chicken Sandwich (mild). The staff were nice and the service was quick. There were many seats available in the food hall so my friend and I ate there. As for the sandwich it was a little disappointing. It didn't look as good as the ones I've seen reviews of. In addition to that it wasn't hot, just warm as if it had been sitting for a bit. The flavor was good but would have been better fresh. I would recommend coming here during a peak time for a better experience. read more

Hot Chi Chicken - Hot Honey Butter Sandwich - Chicken Shop Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I first discovered this place at their south side location a couple years ago so one may wonder why I'd write a review for another location with almost the exact same food. Well to be honest this is probably the meal/lunch in the entire loop area & what I discovered about 2 months ago is they even have delivery. Now of course the price skyrockets when getting it delivered but you'd be hard pressed to find something this tasty in the entire area. Again they're heavy handed with the sauce & the fries are the heaviest so much so that the healthiest appetite won't be able to finish them. The fries could also use more time in the fryer but nonetheless this is the best meal/lunch in the loop & best chicken sandwich in Chicago. read more

Hot Chi Chicken - the location of the hot chi grille - Chicken Shop Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Third time's the charm. My last two attempts at trying the new Hot Chi location didn't work out, but I finally got it. They claim to be halal, but in full transparency I couldn't find any certification posted. This one is located inside Revival Food Hall. The menu is simple enough and there are five heat levels for the chicken. The place was well staffed and service was friendly. I ordered the hot chicken tenders with medium spice; it came out pretty quickly. They didn't have plastic knives when I went, so eating the tenders was a bit tricky. This dish consisted of two tenders served atop toast with a couple of pickles and some sauce on the side. It cost $10, which was very reasonable. The tenders were awesome. Nicely sized, battered, and fried. They were juicy and tender, and the flavor was outstanding. I've tried a few hot chicken places like Dave's and Hangry Joe's, but Hot Chi has a very unique flavor. It seemed to be a mix of spicy, tangy, and a bit sweet. The side sauce was pretty good, too. And the medium spice level was actually medium spicy. read more

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A disappointment. Flavors and craftsmanship were very good, but the fried chicken sandwich was a fried batter sandwich with a few chicken bits. Was about one thigh of chicken. That's it. read more

It's really disappointing when you read good reviews and then you walk for 15 mins and get to the restaurant and that becomes the end of your excitement. The lines were all empty but I still stood there abd waited for the cashier to call me, to my surprise I looked into my eyes and ignored. Another gentleman came from the back kitchen looked at me a again ignored. I tried to initiate the conversation with the first gentleman, again ignored but I guess 3rd time is the charm. So finally he said how can I help you, I asked about the halal food and he saif the sandwiches are halal. So I ordered 2 of their sandwiches he asked me how spicy I want them to be and I said mild. Got my sandwiches from him immediately and then came to my table with my partner. Hahahaha no fries or anything else but a small sandwich in a big box starring at me. I picked it up and took a bite and wow the amount of vinegar in it was outrageous so I thought I should try the seconf one and hahaha again same the amount of vinegar was mind blowing. The chicken was crispy on the top but inside very soggy. The buns were small and thr presentation was below average and they charged me almost $27 for this. This was my first and last visit to this establishment. This is outrageous and disappointing at the same time. read more

Hot Chi Chicken - the inside of a restaurant - Chicken Shop Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Better than expected! Hot spicy fried chicken sandwich was excellent. A huge deep fried breast. Crunchy! Spicy mayo is not too spicy. Just enough. Sandwich, fries and drink is about $20. Not lunch every day for most people but in the west loop once in a while, this is a great choice. read more

customer service was great! Greatly appreciated my cashier. the Food was breath takin, along with the ambiance/area of the restaurant was beautiful. read more

Stopped in during peak lunch period, but that always means the food is fresh! I ordered the Cheat Day Fries with the chicken at medium heat. it came piled high with crinkle-cut fries, lots of sauces, chopped up chicken tenders and a sprinkling of cilantro. This was a tasty bowl! I would say the Alabama white bbq sauce overwhelmed the cheese sauce for me, so I would've liked less of that and more of the cheese sauce. The spice on the chicken was good. I like some good spice, and I think the medium had a nice kick, but not a suffering burn. The taste of the chicken, to me, was more like buffalo chicken than Nashville chicken. It had that vinegar tang from hot sauce instead of the slightly sweet spice rub. not a complaint, just an observation. I also had a peachy sweet tea, which, as a southerner, I thought was pretty spot on, but I was disheartened to see about half an inch of empty cup when they handed me my meal. I saw on the menu they had a buttermilk mac and cheese that sounded really interesting. I don't know if it would be feasible for the restaurant, but a dish like the Cheat Day fries with the mac and cheese instead would be amazing, right??? I love sitting in Revival during a busy rush. Great people watching! read more

Best hot chicken sando in Chicago! We tried both of them at Revival Food Hall before heading to The Nederlander for a fun musical, and they hit the spot. Both of the glazes, the honey butter and harissa, were amazing. The watermelon sugar drink was the perfect accompaniment. If you like crinkle cut fries, you'll love theirs. I know where to go next time I'm craving hot chicken! read more

I got the cheat day fries the first time I tried this place and while they were good, they are bathed in sauce, too much sauce to the point where the fries are totally soggy. So if soggy fries is your thing then this is your dish. Second time around I got fries and they were good. Third time I got fries and mac and cheese. The fries weren't salted or hot and the mac and cheese was warm at best. This it's important because my order wasn't ready when I arrived, which means that my food should have been hot by the time I got back to my office across the street. read more

Located in Revival Food Hall, this is a yummy spot to stop by for lunch if you work in the Loop or anywhere downtown! I liked that you found customize how spicy you wanted the chicken (based on a scale with about 5 options) and the unique twist on the items (e.g., harissa glaze on the Popeyes Ain't Sh!t). Service was great and despite being a busy lunch spot, moved quickly! I will definitely be back! read more

Hot Chi Chicken - a tray of food and drinks - Chicken Shop Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Carry-out hot chicken in Revival Hall is tasty, but so saucy that the breading is falling off. I guess I'm spoiled by the hot crispy Korean chicken we have in Northern Virginia like Wooboi and Chong Man. Busy, but service was quick. read more

Ordered the Nashville hot tenders with the hot spicy level. While I was expecting these tenders to have more heat, they were still good. I enjoy spicy food so had I known that the hot spice level to me personally wasn't very spicy. I would've kicked it up to the top one. read more

I don't know...when I looked on Instagram and saw the "commercial", I was so excited. couldn't wait to go and try this chicken sandwich. I looked better than Popeyes. well I finally went and it was just meh. Even my teenage boys were not impressed. It was like a fried chicken sand with hot sauce. I tried to get the fries, but they said they were no longer making for the day. Whattt?? Soooo... you didn't run out..you're just no longer making it for the remainder of the day? Who does this? Nahhhh. I shall not return. read more

Service was quick. Ordered the Popeye's Ain't Sh*t sandwich at medium heat which was phenomenal. The chicken was a generously portioned, was well-battered & crunchy, and that sauce... I'll be thinking about it over from SF. Was surprised to see the low reviews on this place, but all-in-all this was probably my favorite food stop in Chicago and I only ordered the sandwich to be fair. Will be back for my next visit! read more

On 5-24, I ordered lunch (via DoorDash) for my co-worker and I. I placed an order for 1 Popeye's Ain't Sh1t sandwich, 1 Nashville Hot Tenders and 2 Crinkle Cut Fries. When the Dasher arrived, she only had the Tenders (and those were cold). The Dasher said that the restuarant was VERY busy and the restaurant said that I did not order the sandwich and fries. This was my first time trying Hot Chi and it will be my last. read more

Hot Chi Chicken - Chicken Shop Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I ordered the chicken tenders with the medium sauce & side of fries. This chicken was seasoned wonderfully & tenders were soooo tender. The fries had a crispy & good as well. read more