Restaurant Review
Yummy hot fried chicken. I have been craving this place after trying it at taste of chicago a few years back but have been unable to get to one of these locations until the past week. The restaurant itself is located in a rather interesting neighborhood that I probably would avoid at night i.e. there is 1 inch thick bullet proof glass with a revolving door to get your fried chicken. The prices are higher than popeye or KFC, however the chicken is larger and fried right on the spot. Typically you will have to wait 10-20 minutes before getting your meal. They also have fried fish, liver, giblet, etc. Make sure you bring cash as they have a service fee for credit cards through this weird ATM like machine.... Otherwise great fresh hot fried chicken
Pro- piping hot fried chicken, super crispy/natural flavors
Con- super long wait, more expensive than popeyes and no spicy variety. Avoid this area at night.
Hidden deal-
Order online to speed up the process and come in to pickup
was driving around trying to decide what i want for dinner and i saw Harold's chicken.. it have a small parking lot in front too so that was cool.. the service was good.. the lady that worked there was really nice..
ordered the 6 pc wings with mild sauce.. it was pretty good but i was hoping the wings would be a little bigger.. Â it also came with fries and 2 slices of white bread.. the fries was just ok..
i wouldn't eat in there tho.. the staff is behind a bullet proof window and there is a few tables and chairs for you to eat there..
This is the hidden gem of Chicago. I flew in from San Francisco last week and could navigate my way from the airport just from the memory of eating Harold's 5 years ago. The memory of the spices wafting in my face as I took bite after juicy bite haunted me for years. No one on the west coast understands Harold's Chicken and if one more person tries to empathize with Popeye's or KFC, I'm gonna kick them in the knees 'cause they just don't get it.
Pull up to the parking lot (and try to ignore the White Castle) and you'll find a lot of cars from the northern suburbs. Why? 'cause even Northsiders know where good chicken is. The skin is rubbed with a spicy concoction and has that crunch that is comparable to pressured cooked chicken.
The dining room isn't anything special and you're gonna have to fend off the beggars and sneak the occasional wing in the car, but that's why napkins were invented. Be patient, be nice, and be ready with cash and you'll be rewarded with the food of the Gods. Trust me.
My go to order is:
2-2 piece dark special chicken. 3 wings free.
Mild sauce with salt and pepper.
The ladies working here are always nice. Only thing is the last few times the wait time have been pretty long even with a call in ahead of time.
They do still have occasional panhandlers, but they aren't aggressive.
Also, they charge like $.75 or so to get the sauce on the side.
Boo! Seems they raised the prices according to their online site! NOOOOO!!!
Typically, if you're complaining about anything about Harold's, you really don't understand anything about Chicago outside of the north side and downtown.
Its a "cultural" experience (for those of you who are reading this on Yelp) - they "specialize" in what is really the root of African American history - making "cheap scraps" taste finger lickin good. Â
You're paying $2.29 for a dinner special - two piece dark, extra mild, fries, a piece of bread, and occasionally some slaw. This is not "Food Network" style eats. But if you want some damn good chicken, you're in Chicago, and want your money going back through the community, look no further.
All Harold's taste the same in my opinion so I'm not rating the food I'm rating the service. I don't know who these people think they are! They cook chicken for minimum wage! They act like they're the damn soup nazi! And they're slow as all crap! I live about 5 minutes away from this place so I call before I leave to give them a good 15 minutes to prepare the food and when I get there I ALWAYS have to wait an additional half hour! And they literally make you beg for sauce that you've paid 85 extra for. And the damn chicken still doesn't have "extra" sauce on it. I'm a vegetarian now so I don't eat this crap and I wouldn't go here but my mom and sister like it so I only go in this place for them. I hate this Harold's!
Review Source:Quality has gone way down here!! I thought I'd give them a chance again. I ordered over the phone. 9 bucks for a small perch?? With 3 small measly pieces looking like perch nuggets and no fresh fries? Has fish gone up that much?? Also halfway done with eating I realize the fish doesn't look throughly cooked. If I get food poisoning you heard it here first folks. I feel taken advantage of. What happened?? Wont be coming back here again.
Review Source:This is our go to spot after clubbing in the south loop. It's right around the corner from the Shrine and we always seem to crave chicken when we're over there. But, Don't even THINK about calling an order in ahead. It still takes FOREVER!!!! Â So just get ready to get familiar with the other clubbers because you'll be in there for about 30-45 minutes.
This place does not take credit cards either, they only have this ancient contraption of an ATM that no one likes to use. I've laughed numerous when people just gave up trying to take out money and had to borrow from one of their friends because the ATM is too confusing.
I used to live near this Harold's and I hated it! I couldn't stand it because the service was always slow and crackheads would wander in without fail. Just about everytime I came here I would find myself waiting 20-25 mins on a 4-5 piece mild (thats 4or 5 chicken wings with mild sauce, bread & fries for those that dont know)
I came over last night starving after hanging at M Lounge and it was pretty empty at 1:45AM. That was probably due to The Shrine not letting out yet. Ordered a 4 piece mild; sat down and did the damn thing on it. Delicious as always! they also have a credit card machine there which is new for most Harold's Chicken.
People rave about this chain but, to me, it was no different than any other chicken chain such as Church's or Popeye's. Then again, I probably am not the best person to turn to for chicken shack recommendations since, contrary to popular belief, it is not something I really enjoy ... chicken that is. The fries were really greasy and flavorless and the chicken was bland aside from the flour fried on the outside of the chicken.
I will not make it a point to pitch in on my next visit.
4 stars for food, 2 stars for atmosphere.
-1 for 15 minute wait after ordering food
+1 for great mild sauce
+1 for sizable proportions
-1 for small seating area
+1 for walking distance from McCormick Place
-1 for only accepting credit cards through ATM
-1 for decor
Recommended for take-out only.
if you are stopping in here for your first time please dont judge this book by its cover.
the food is great and they are slowly improving the decor.
i personally love the chicken with mild. it seems like a lot of ppl disagree so it really comes down to personal preference. a lot of my "eater" friends like harolds chicken as do i.
i was pleasantly surprised to find out on my last stop that they now deliver. the extent of their delivery zone is limited to the downtown area i believe which may be nice for future lunch orders!!!
as an fyi......when you get a chicken meal they serve it with the fries on the bottom, chicken on top of fries doused with sauce, and 2 pieces of white bread on top of the chicken. if you are getting take out or are not going to eat immediately be sure to get the sauce on the side so your fries and bread dont get soggy.
i will get harolds at least once a month. there is street parking available right outside and this is a safe area (other harolds further south - cant say the same)
Two stars for cleanliness, the place is spotless and the folks real nice. Â But the chicken is really bland. Â The sauce? Â I asked for it on the side and it looked and tasted like a side of ketchup (didn't resemble barbeque sauce at all).
I'm not sure why they have such a good reputation unless its because of the people who like bland food. Â I've also heard about the great reputation of this chain for years, it could be because its clean, basic friend chicken with no seasoning.
Not a fan of bland. Â Mississippi Ricks down the street beats them hands down for taste of sauce and bird, but that place is filthy. Â If only they'd get their act together and pass the Board of Health inspection. Sigh.
Yummy! This is definitely a place for the natives to come. We were told to come her and order the 4 wings with mild sauce and salt and pepper on top. What a great suggestion! It was not only delicious, but also a great value - think we paid only $5 for it all. The meal comes with 4 wings, 2 pieces of sliced bread, coleslaw, and fries. Next time I'll ask for the sauce to be separate from my fries but all in all it was so good! It was also surprisingly really filling.
The location is pretty cool too, seems to be near a lot of schools so there were a lot of people walking around.
This is the best Harolds in Chicago other than the one on 87th & Dan Ryan. Food comes fresh and piping hot. Only downside is the wait is so long you  would think they're in the back chasing after the chicken they're about to cook. I also hate how the juice from the cole slaw gets on my fries and chicken. Yuck!
Review Source:I LOVE Harold's (#71). Â When I used to work in the South Loop, we'd always go to this one. Â It was the first Harold's I ever ate at. Â They don't have many on the north side (I don't remember ANY when I was a kid). Â I've been to the one on Clark (#44) in Rogers Park and it gave me the runs. Â This one doesn't!
Review Source:I'm craving this so I might make a run for this tonight.
The last time I came here, I called ahead to order AND told them that I lived in the South Loop AND I was driving straight over. The wonderful woman on the phone (ANGEL to me) told me that they would drop it right away and it would be ready by the time I get there. It was a 5 minute wait for me so I only had to refuse 2 solicitors inside the seating area. No I am NOT giving you my change and No I don't want to buy that candy bar for your high school basketball team because you look like you are 40 years old, playah.
The gizzards I ordered were deliciously, perfectly sauced and fried. It was the food of the gods!
So, just a minute on Harold's Chicken...
I grew up near one off of Western, it was right down the block from my grade-school and after class once in a while, maybe with allowance from my parents (or maybe from that shitty paper route I was eventually fired from... another review...) my friends and I would buy fries. The ones covered in BBQ sauce. It was delightful.
I hadn't been to a Harold's in ten years since this weekend. We were at Reggie's before a show and there was a perfectly good fast food place next door with $3.99 everything and RC cola but I said "no, no forget it I'm getting Harold's and you can't convince me otherwise," so we did that and my friend and I waited twenty minutes for my five piece chicken dinner, which was delicious, and which I ate in around six minutes, which, mathematically speaking, is just dab over a minute-per-piece.
An hour later my stomach grumbled. Two hours later I tried to be real coy and made sure I had a seat very close to the bathroom. By midnight I was in front of the venue gagging and finally at 6 AM I threw up my entire dinner, in only three minutes, and spent the next two days doubled over eating alkaseltzers complaining to anyone who'd listen about my food poisoning which I guess now includes you.
Anyhow, the wait for my dinner was ridiculous, the food tasted great, and it basically ruined my weekend. So, you know, enjoy at your own risk.
Still rocking the bulletproof glass, there's not much to differentiate this Harold's from the MoneyGram location on the corner of the strip mall. Still, the chicken is fantastic and the inside is as clean and spacious a place as I've seen at Harold's - there's even a few booths to sit down!
Review Source:
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