I had to try some of the new menu items, and had a break near here. Got the chicken fried steak and peach hand pie. Thought about the fried cornbread too, but that seemed a fried-bridge-too-far for my health... The steak was good (for someone who likes chicken fried steak.) It was a bit tough, but if you're ordering something like this you know it's not prime rib- it's well well done cheap meat. Fried. With gravy. Winter comfort food, and even on this hot day it was satisfying. The hand pie, well, the crust was perfect. The filling disappointing: thin, not enough peach. Not getting it again. Apparently they've changed the chicken back to their original way. A good thing, and a nice admission that they screwed up by changing it in the first place. I'll try that soon. Service at this location is consistently the best I've had (lately) at any HCT. No comparison to the old days, but still. Also, free tea again. If they keep working at it, they might reverse the decline. read more

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First time in Getting carry out I've heard a lot of good things about it. Only concern so far is that I've been waiting for my order for 20+ minutes and there are still 6 people waiting ahead of me I hope it's worth it!! Edit: Was worth it! Good stuff, especially the beans! Ma's Mac so so. Tenders were good. read more

Hot Chicken Takeover - Counter - Chicken Shop Near Me - Westerville, Ohio

Absolutely terrible sides. Taste like it came out of a bag or can, with no other seasoning. I can still taste the metal on the green beans. The cost to value of product is beyond disappointing. read more

Hot Chicken Takeover - Unseasoned Flavorless Greenbeans - Chicken Shop Near Me - Westerville, Ohio

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Great food and service! Chicken was fresh and spicy! Love mixing the sweet and unsweetened tea for the perfect blend read more

Hot Chicken Takeover - Chicken Shop Near Me - Westerville, Ohio

I need the old HCT to come back, I ordered wings, got the spice level "Holy" I could've rubbed my eyes and it wouldn't hurt. There was ZERO spice. I used to love HCT because they would actually have spicy chicken. The seasoning y'all use now changed and not in a good way. Why would you change something that wasn't broken. The sides AWFUL, literally kraft Mac and bland backed beans. I'm so mad I spent my money here and won't make this mistake again. For the price you charge the quality of food is not at all equivalent. Let me know when you go back to the HCT I'm used to, spicy chicken (especially when I order it extra hot) and great sides. read more

Hot Chicken Takeover - Chicken Shop Near Me - Westerville, Ohio

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I'm standing at the kiosk and the employees working there make 15 bucks an hour but I have to come in and use the kiosk to get my order. I don't get paid by the hour to stand at the kiosk to place my order all right and then when the order is not correct then it's my fault because I didn't place the correct order. An employee was there and knew that I was sitting there for over 25 minutes And ignored me rather than asking if there was an issue or a problem. Anyway I don't get paid to place an order. If I'm going to be ignored then yo up can keep the 1cent. Heres a nice tip GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. read more

We went to Hot Chicken Takeover for dinner and they completely changed everything!!!! 1. Everything is A la Carte!!! Before you got an entree, and two sides for the price of just the chicken. 2. The sweet tea now is $1.50!!! Ranch was always unlimited for FREE 3. The drums were sooo small. They used to be double the size! 4. And one slice of bread I did try the banana pudding- it was ok. I disliked the added sugar sprinkled on the top. read more

Hot Chicken Takeover - DRUMS (4) - Chicken Shop Near Me - Westerville, Ohio

Nope don't wish to ever try this establishment again! Had horrible experience back in 2020 ordered 3 dinners to get home which is very far from their North market location to find huge feathers, very salty as well as wings looked as they'd been eaten off of & had to throw them all in the garbage. Three month's later the then owner responded to my review willing to refund me my money but he needed the receipt(sure I'm suppose to have a receipt 3 month's later)! So no refund. Five year's later(8/6/25) decided to try again since it was a new better location also I was told under new ownership but it was even worse than back in 2020. Bruised chicken, cooked in dirty grease and had huge feathers. The young man in charge(in video)ask why I wanted a refund when I showed him he acted as if he saw nothing wrong with the chicken being bruised or having feather's but, offered to make more for me of course I said no thanks which he replied he couldn't give me a receipt but that the money would be refunded to my card in 3 to 10 day's. I guess some people are accustomed to eating chicken with feathers or bruised but I'm not one of them! They don't even deserve 1 star but that's the only way to submit my review. read more

Hot Chicken Takeover - Wings either huge feathers & bruised blood - Chicken Shop Near Me - Westerville, Ohio

Interesting. I gave up on this place a year ago Service was so bad I was worried about food safety. That has did a 180. I see some good recipe changes. Some for the very good. Chicken breast size is about 1/2 the size and juiciness of last time I was here. Food needs to level up at this price point. I stopped because owner made a plea somewhere I read to try us again. I did. Average read more

The food was pretty good and you get a good amount of food for the price. You'll be tempted to get the waffles but I could have passed on them. Waffle fries and nuggets were great! I got the hot spicy level and it wasn't too hot, but I like spicy food. Overall, I liked it and would come back. read more

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I look forward to Tuesdays! This location serves a gluten free option of the chicken breast meal. It comes on a slice of gluten free bread with pickles and it's delicious! Paired with their homemade ranch and fries, it's on my weekly rotation. In fact I often order 2 so I can take leftovers the next day. The gluten free option is only available on Tuesday and only at this location. They prep the restaurant the day before to ensure limited cross contamination. I have celiac and have never had a gluten reaction. Don't forget the mama Bs banana pudding as they make a gluten free version of that read more

Hot Chicken Takeover - Gluten free chicken - Chicken Shop Near Me - Westerville, Ohio

Used the app to order since I was nearby and it was ready when I arrived. I got the limited time special fish sandwich since I'd already tried the chicken. It was tasty. Moist and tender. It had a pepper relish (optional) sauce that added a little kick. I also ordered wings to have the next day. I like that they are whole wings, not individual drums and flats. Southern fried and excellent. Plus it's got a clean, modern appearance inside, unlike most fast food places. This was a nice find! read more

There were things that I liked and thinks that I didn't like... I liked the decor - clean, simple, bright, and unique. The food was really good I had the chicken breast and beans. I didn't like the order it yourself at a kiosk - I probably missed a key selection that would have taken the food from really good to great or made me want to come back. The service was off - there were people there but not really wanting to be proactively helpful - I watch 3 or 4 other people struggling with the kiosk while I ate. I think the place is ok - not really a fan read more

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This review is for the gluten free boneless special that they do on Tuesdays only. I was so excited to try this out, but finally got over there today at lunchtime. Staff was friendly and takeout order was ready quickly. The ranch is as good as everyone says, but the chicken and slaw were both a bit disappointing for me. The heat level of Warm was good for me, but truly not spicy at all. The chicken itself was very dry. I know gluten free is always dry, so maybe that was the issue? The slaw is vinegar based and did not have as much flavor as I was expecting. I did not get any sweet tea or dessert, but they did offer a gf banana pudding dessert. Overall, glad that I tried it. read more

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Pros: Great employees Socially conscious organization Delicious chicken meals Wonderful sweet tea Clean restaurant Drive thru available Cons: Sparse dining room decor Somewhat pricey for what you get Didn't love the sides Pro tip: Make sure you try their amazing banana pudding read more

Hot Chicken Takeover - Thigh meal - Chicken Shop Near Me - Westerville, Ohio

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This Westerville location has been our go-to ever since its opening. It is much more convenient for me to get to than Clintonville location on High St or Easton. There is plenty of parking and I have never seen it too busy. I love getting carry out. I wish they would offer pickup from the drive through window though as they do at the High St location. You can always expect great food and service here. The fried chicken is just the best with how perfectly moist it is every time and with the different heat options. It's nice, because one order can actually have different heat options for each piece of chicken. I usually change it up from warm to hot every now and then. They are now serving their waffles daily as opposed to just on the weekends. I think the HCT ordering app can be tweaked a little to make it easier. I do not like the dragging of the bar to adjust for quantity. Instead, I wish there was a pull down tab for quantity for things like the heat level of each piece of chicken on the order, amount of ranch, etc. Ma's mac is definitely a cheese lover's dream. I usually heat it up for 30 seconds at home to give it that cheesy goodness that where you can actually see it. Ma's sweet tea is definitely sweet, but honestly it's perfect to tie in with the entire meal. The only bad experience I have had with this location one time is that the banana pudding I ordered was runny and the wafer crumbs were extremely over salted, making it inedible. Since this only happened once, this still remains a 5-star worthy fried chicken joint. read more

Hot Chicken Takeover - Drums (warm) with waffles & a side of Ma's mac - Chicken Shop Near Me - Westerville, Ohio

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There's a lot to choose as far as picking your meat: Thighs, drumsticks, wings, boneless breast, sandwich, gluten-free boneless, nuggets, lil' chick (kids portion), or whole bird. Then you pick your heat (spiciness): cold, warm, hot, or holy. Pick your sides: mac, slaw, or baked beans. Pick your extras: soda, banana pudding, gluten-free banana pudding, waffles, sweet tea, unsweet tea, and house ranch. I ordered the thighs (cold heat) with mac and cheese and banana pudding. I asked for half sweet and half unsweet tea. The chicken comes with bread and pickles and ranch dressing sides. It was ok, not the best chicken meal I've ever had, the meat was dry, and the total bill was a bit pricey at $15.50. However, they have a good business model that includes party size bulk catering, a drive-through window, and hip merchandise. I also felt the employee who served me was very accommodating. read more

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First time eating their food and the "Yo Momma chicken sandwich" was so good! My son had the original and loved it! We both had the Nashville hot flavor. We can't believe we waited so long to try this place. My other son got the chicken tenders with the holy flavoring and loved those too!! Alittle pricy but was worth it for this one time! Fried cornbread was great so we were definitely full and satisfied with it all! read more

I've been here so many times and they are always great! The food is always good and service was great. They only had one server in lunch and she's pretty busy. Hope they could have another server to help her. It was packed at 1 pm on weekday. Pretty clean and cozy. I like to eat there cuz it's fried chicken and I want to enjoy the crispy skins and juicy meat there. Hahaha! read more

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Okay. So. The service here is always good. But since they were acquired I have noticed a sharp decline in the quality. Portions getting smaller. Seasonings being different at each location. Hell, the quality of the chicken has decreased (dried out and over cooked). It is sad, because they used to be amazing. It used to always be hot, fresh, and juicy. With amazing portions that left you full. Now you feel like you're paying for those portions, but you're getting even less. It used to be entree, two sides, banana pudding. Now it's chicken. Side. Water. And you leave disappointed. read more

Fantastic local business, have been a fan for a while! Appreciate the neighbourhood spot at Polaris. I stopped in to pick up dinner this night, easy to customize what I'd like, super attentive at the counter. Food was up quickly very little waiting. I also hear the drive thru has just opened, may check that out next time. I always order hot boneless chicken and am never disappointed. I have also done catering with them with great success. The spice is a nice heat, not too much burning, but I need the ranch for sure. I love that iced tea and ranch dressing are always free and each meal comes with silverware. read more

Hot Chicken Takeover - Chicken Shop Near Me - Westerville, Ohio

Great location for another HCT in the Columbus area. This is the place to come for your spicy fried chicken fix. Don't forget about their delicious sweet iced tea. Happy customer service from Mason. He rang up or order inside and gave us a drink refill (while we waited for our food). We ordered our meals to go. Spacious indoor dining area. Optional outdoor seating. Drive through available at this location. They packaged up our food really well and labeled each box so we would know whose was whose when we got home. read more

Hot Chicken Takeover - Chicken Shop Near Me - Westerville, Ohio

I am really shocked at the food I received. Everything pictured was inedible. Mac n cheese looked like they scraped the bottom of the barrel. The meat on the bread was supposed to be a southern fried steak sandwich. It was burnt and dry. And the tenders looked like they were from yesterday. I haven't been there in a while because my last experience wasn't so great, so I thought Id give them a chance again. Im really disappointed because I use to love their chicken. Looks like Im going to head down the street and give Dave's Hot Chicken a try. read more

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I've been ordering from this location on doordash the last few weeks, but I was nearby today so I went in instead. The space is open for dine in (even though google for some reason says it isn't) but the dining room is very small. Only about four tables and a counter top with some chairs. I like their hot chicken and banana pudding and the Mac and cheese is decent. I also love that they serve sweet tea and of course I adore their mission statement. I will keep coming back. read more

Hot Chicken Takeover - Chicken Boneless Breast Ma's Mac - Chicken Shop Near Me - Westerville, Ohio

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Nothing like how it used to be. Back to serving pig slop gfs macaroni and trash quality chicken. Private equity ruins everything. Don't waste your time. Go elsewhere. read more

Hot Chicken Takeover - Trash Mac and cheese. - Chicken Shop Near Me - Westerville, Ohio

It was alright, we had the chicken - warm tenders and the hot wings. Tenders were great, wasn't a fan of the wings. The Mac was lacking in flavor. Overall the chicken was decent but wasn't a huge fan of the sides. The spot is expensive, but service was good. Dining room is severely lacking in seating though and bathrooms were dirty and out of toilet paper. read more

Hot Chicken Takeover - Chicken Shop Near Me - Westerville, Ohio

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I love HCT and I'm so happy that now they have a location in Westerville! The staffs there were very friendly and the place was very clean. We ordered online for pickup. We ordered the drumsticks and the wings and side of baked beans. As always, everything was delicious. We did order sweet ice tea but instead received regular tea. We found out that it was regular tea once we got home. We were very disappointed that we received the wrong tea just because we just love their sweet ice tea. Their sweet ice tea is just the best! Overall I will give them 5 star due to their service and food of course. read more

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Another one bites the dust... the service was great, but you can always count on private equity to swoop in and ruin everything good about a unique, fresh concept. Each person on the board at CraveWorthy should be forced to eat an entire pan of the new mac & cheese as that's the only punishment I can imagine that could even come close to making up for what they've done. read more

The Mac&cheese is the worst thing ever! The Kraft Mac &Cheese you get at the grocery store for a $1 is better. I can't believe they've charge $4 for a tasteless cup of noodle and what I'm not sure is cheese. It was horrible ruined the whole meal! read more

Not hot, the person taking order didn't want to be there, and the chicken isn't anything like it was at the Crocker park location.

When HCT opened, it was one of our favorite places to order takeout from. Lately though (we heard it changed hands), it's been underwhelming. The mac and cheese is no longer worth ordering. It used to be SOooo good BAKED with REAL cheese. Now it tastes like it's made from chemicals. If you like Velveeta, maybe it'll be your thing. If you like traditional mac and cheese, SKIP! The same thing happened with the fried pickles. They used to be so yummy, made from dill pickle chips. NOW the new owners (we presume) have insisted on sweet pickle chips. Yup. Sweet pickles vs dill for fried pickles! They taste so bizarre. I've never had sweet fried pickles anywhere else, and I can guess why. It just doesn't work. Maybe some folks like them! Lastly, the chicken is just inconsistent now. We almost always order dark meat, but one time I was in the mood for white, and it was so dry, other times, the dark meat is overcooked. You can no longer order bone-in thighs, only boneless, so yeah, you run the risk of the boneless thighs being overcooked due to the lack of standards in consistency. We're bummed this place started off so tight and then sort of 'fell apart". It's still really the only chicken place in our area, so we just keep it to the standards and usually order nothing more than chicken legs. Also, is it too much to ask for some sweet peach cobbler at a place that's supposed to be in the Soul Food category? read more

Mostly salt. Good flavor, but very salty. Got the Mac and cheese but couldn't taste it after eating the chicken and fries. The inside eating setup is nice but minimalistic. read more

Food was warm, fresh, and the perfect amount of seasonings! The chicken was so juicy and crispy. My only complaint to HCT (not this specific location): Why did y'all change up the pickles? I hate sweet pickles. :( Please, please, please bring back the regular, salty-brine ones! read more

Unfortunately this location is subpar at best I ordered an original chicken sandwich with a 4.00 upcharge for chicken breast vs chicken thigh. That's a 16.00 chicken sandwich I get home and they did not honor my order. I was given a dry burnt chicken thigh that tasted and looked as if it was reheated in the deep fryer and the bun was stale. I called the shift supervisor he apologized and said it happens sometimes when the staff read the order incorrectly. I went thru the drive thru please check your orders literally..like open them!! Great way to rip people off!!!! read more

Decided to try out this new hot spot on a snowy Sunday, glad we did! This place gave us modern farmhouse vibes, the menu is simple and portions are large. All items come in disposable containers, including your refills. They only have like 6 tables and 2 counters to sit at. The tables have stools that are really low to the ground, not good for a snowy day didn't have a place to put my coat and layers or purse especially with the floor being a little wet. The food was really good!! Sweet tea was true southerner sweet tea. My husband had the hot thighs, they had heat little to crunchy but good. I had the sandwich which comes with pickles and coleslaw, it was very very good. Mac and cheese and beans also good. The star of the show was the banana pudding, it's a must if you give this place a try. read more

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I haven't had hot chicken takeover in a while, so I decided to get some for the weekend game. The staff was friendly and the store was clean. The chicken was crispy and had the right amount of spiciness for me. I liked their beans a lot too. It was my first time getting waffles instead of bread, and I was a little disappointed. The waffles were very oily and I was not a fan of the texture either. But overall it was still a yummy meal~ read more

Hot Chicken Takeover - Drums w/ waffles, Baked beans, Ma's Mac, - Chicken Shop Near Me - Westerville, Ohio

It's good quality junk food. Hot wasn't that hot at all this time. It is much milder than Hattie Bs Hot. I feel the best move is to get the chicken thighs cold. The quality of the fried chicken is high. Like really high. Great crunch, salted well. Also now they have fries and the fires are fair fries. Fantastic but they are begging for some vinegar. Def bring malt vinegar from home if you are coming here. read more

Was going to try it but the prices were too steep for what you get. Notice a Daves Hot Chicken is being installed up the road. Daves will put this place out of business just on value and Daves is pretty on point with the hot chicken. HCT will have to re-evaluate read more

The young lady Savannah that took my order was very welcoming. The bad part came when I took my food to eat it and saw the runny looking Mac and cheese that tasted yucky alone with the double yucky baked beans....I definitely didn't eat neither. The chicken crust had some unusual hard pieces. I normally would go to the Easton location in which I haven't visited for over 2 years but i was near this location. I wasted my money on a meal that I only ate the 3 wings. read more

I've done reviews for all 4 locations I've visited except this one, the one closest to my house. I've visited several times and had a very good experience every time. I love the food and it is the same here. Today I ordered online for the 2nd time. I attempted to put the order in about an hour before I wanted to pick it up. The online order site is actually pretty good. It allows you to customize your order significantly, which i did/do. The only problem is that when you place the order, it assumes you want it ASAP. Most sites allow you to specify a pickup time and usually starts the suggestion for the first available time. HCTO's site just gives you the next available time no matter what. This is my biggest complaint, and yes, its pretty insignificant in the larger scheme of things. However, this problem gave this location a chance to shine customer service wise, and they didn't disappoint. During the pandemic it seems like answering the phone is the lowest priority for a business. When I discovered my order would be ready 30 minutes before I could get there, I called. They answered the phone, found my order in their system and said they would adjust it for me. I showed up an hour later and I actually saw them packing up my order. I got it right away, drove home to a nice hot meal. I mentioned I did a bit of customizing and they got it right! Perfect visit! read more