Amy Z.
Yelp
Located right on the main street in downtown Oakland is this unassuming fried chicken joint. Gus's World Fried Chicken really hooks you in with its southern decor, a nice contrast from the busy city.
The venue itself is small, but because of its layout with a few tables clad in plaid table cloths paired with mismatching large wooden chairs, there is quite a lot of walking space. There's also a handwashing station with easy access for post fried chicken clean up. There's music playing on the back but not loud enough to be disruptive. We arrived early before lunch and we were its only customers there at the time. Great timing as it got a little busier after.
We were served by a wonderful man in the front who took our orders. He is very friendly and jovial and definitely made us feel welcome. When he forgot to add sugar in our sweet tea, he happily went in the back and corrected it, all with a smile.
8 PIECE SPECIAL:
The 8 piece special consists of four thighs and four drumsticks, all were nicely fried with a crispy outer batter. It is seasoned very well, adding exceptional flavor to its juicy meat on the inside. The hallmark of a good fried chicken is that you can eat it without any kind of sauce or extra seasoning. Gus's checked all the boxes here, but it certainly didn't hurt that every table had a bottle of Louisiana hot sauce that really brought it to the next level. The chicken really lives up to expectations in every way, but the show-stealers are really the sides.
MAC & CHEESE:
We got a large and it came in a nice container with a lid, preserving its piping hot state. When you open it, you see that it is topped with a generous amount of paprika and shredded cheese. Stirring it all together created a perfect ooey-gooey consistency. It looked like it packed a punch when it comes to flavor when it comes to coloration and the amount of cheese used. However, flavor-wise, it does not match with its appearance. Don't get us wrong, it is still really tasty, but its bright appearance will have you guessing differently.
BAKED BEANS:
The baked beans were perfectly cooked and lightly sweet. The beans had just a little bit of bite and carried a ton of flavor with the small meat pieces interspersed throughout.
POTATO SALAD:
The potato salad here is honestly the best amongst all the sides we have ordered. It is perfectly balanced, with the potatoes being boiled to the right consistency and the dressing not being too mayo-forward. It tastes light and refreshing, complimenting the chicken in the best possible way.
COLLARD GREENS:
Commercial collard greens have a high risk of running on the saltier side or be a bit fibrous and hard to chew, but fortunately this was not the case here. The collard greens at Gus's were perfectly cooked and melt in your mouth.
COLESLAW:
The coleslaw is also excellent. It is super creamy, as the cabbage and lettuce were shredded super well. You really can't go wrong with either the potato salad or the coleslaw.
FRIED GREEN TOMATOES & PICKLES:
These were piping hot when they arrived. They really helped with cutting the grease of the chicken. One note is that the batter does not really stick well to the pickles. It became one of those situations where you can just slide the outer batter off the pickle and you end up with just a naked pickle.
SWEET ICED TEA:
Not much to say here - a good sweet tea should make you feel like you're about to get diabetes, and this one comes through in spades.
The price is on the higher side for fried chicken, but honestly for genuine southern comfort food the value is worth the price.
Gus's is one of those places that you would go out of your way to visit. We really look forward to coming back again soon. We also have told all our friends about Gus's and that they should really give it a try, as it will not disappoint.