Joella's Hot Chicken - Lexington

Cool spot with outdoor seating besides that... The service was slower than if we ate at a sit down restaurant. Waited a good 15/20 minutes for two orders of tenders and Mac n cheese. Let's start with the good, the chicken was solid and the sauce spiked honey was amazing. The bad, first off it's really expensive and the "jumbo tenders" aren't big enough to justify the price and the Mac n cheese was dry like it was under a heat lamp for the last 6 hours. For the price and wait I don't know if I'll be back unless I just want that spiked honey sauce in a gallon jug.

Immediately when you walk in, you are welcomed by a bright and cheery lady named Milenda. Everyone's customer service here is A-1. Portion sizes are huge, and the chicken is juicy, fried just right to a crisp, and I got the ghost pepper spice level on the chicken, so that lit a fire under my butt from the first bite. This place is better than the Hattie B's in downtown Nashville and I really like that place. Its good and quiet in here at lunch time too. I highly suggest the fried pickles, they're damn good

To review this place, I start with positive points. Crispy thin fries were so good. Price wise it was pretty good. Negative points are as follows Wings were uncooked and considering the price, it was like throwing your money away. In terms of cleaning, it was so disappointing. The counter was full of dust which made a bad impression. With the high google score, I was expecting a lot more. I do not suggest this place.

My family is a big fan of Joella’s! We love the variety of flavors and spice! The menu has food for everyone including yummy desserts! The restaurant itself has lots of personality and you catch yourself looking all around. The staff is friendly and always very helpful determining what is right for you. We eat there and pick it up for dinners often!

Honestly, Joella's is my go-to chicken spot. Can never go wrong with a big pimento and some parm garlic fries. Their lemonade and sweet tea are my favorites as well. Service took a second, but that becomes ignored when compared to the food and nice environment. Definitely would recommend!

Great place !!! Can tell it’s part of a great community. Melinda was great and helped steer us in the best direction.

I come in here pretty often to pick up lunch or dinner after work. Everybody is always SO friendly and if you get Melinda as a cashier you KNOW you’re going to have a good day, good service, and a reminder you are loved. The food is always fresh and they always get the orders correct. 10/10

First ate here about 3 years ago and really enjoyed it. Previously really good portions and well cooked. Unfortunately, as with other restaurants, quality has fallen hard, and the “boneless bites” they serve are now 60% breading, 20% air, and 20% chicken. How they can charge these prices while reducing the quality and quantity of their offerings is mind-boggling to me.

Customer service was awesome and the woman taking orders was so kind. Highly recommend!

Melinda was so nice and offered great service! Very personable and felt very loved coming here! Highly recommend.

Joella's strive for the backyard casual feel of a local joint, pulling it off fairly well. I'll be honest, I've never had Nashville Hot Chicken before so I was nervous. I opted for the Ella's Fav after being able to sample it and the Tweener. I must have looked like a TOTAL newbie because that sauce hit the back of my throat and I couldn't talk for a minute. The poor cashier I think she thought she killed me! Turns out I like the chicken a lot! The sauce is not nearly as aggressive as I feared, actually less heat than a traditional Buffalo Sauce. I think next time I try the Tweener. The chicken was great, shoestring fries nice and crisp, slaw was fresh and crisp. I normally prefer creamy over the vinegar slaw but this actually helped balance the chicken. Their Nashville Hot Sauce wasn't so much heat (although you can scale up big time) as it was LOADS of spices and seasonings in it. This adds the heat and a nice complex flavor. I will be returning.

Doesn't matter where you go, most of the time we all find something. It could've been a little bit better, but all the food taste great. My mother had gotten their fried chicken, and unfortunately, it wasn't cooked to perfection, some pieces were still raw. The flavor was on point.. The servers were nice, the ambience was nice too! I think our experience as a collective unit lacked a little bit, but I'm sure it can be a great experience out of all the chicken sandwiches. I've ate at various chains. This has to be in the top five.

Weee loveeeee Joella's. They have a great lunch special and we always order the same side because we are obsessed with the Mac n cheese! You cannot go wrong with ordering it. It's very much a southern vibe and food. So if you want some good chicken check them out, we always order to go and they are always quick and have our order ready.

This place was recommended by a local as my hubby and I just moved into Richmond a couple of months ago. Right from the start was very warmly welcomed right when we walked in the door. Like coming home to family.... The worker was super nice and very helpful. If you ever go there and Melinda is serving, just know you will feel loved. After learning we were new, she gave us a few pointers about the menu and told us how to get the best bang for our buck. We tried the 5 jumbo tenders (enough for 2 people) with a side/drink. We opted for the slaw and sweet tea with a couple of sauces so we could try them. The tenders were large and moist with a nice crunchy breading. No weird or chewy bits here, all nice white meat tenders. We went with southern style, which was no sauce to start with. We dipped into ranch (great flavor), bleu cheese (nice chunks/great flavor), tweener (the bits in it were spicy, but the sauce itself was not too spicy with a nice mild chili type flavor), the JoJo Sauce was really unique and good (cross between Honey Mustaard/BBQ). The sweet vinegar slaw was the only miss here. It was super dry and lacking on any flavor at all until I hit that one bite that had some sauce. That bite was really good, but then it was back to dry again with no flavor. Maybe it just wasn't mixed up very well or had enough of the slaw sauce. Too bad, because that one bite rocked, lol! The sweet tea was excellent, just like I'd expect in the south. (I come from up north, to me this is as south as I want to live, lol) Price was reasonable, under $25. We will definitely be back. Way better than the major chain places.

Since my son and I were coming out to Lexington from SoCal to visit UK, I wanted to find some good places to eat during our short stay. On TikTok, I saw a video on Joella's Hot Chicken and decided to give it a try. I have to say I was NOT disappointed. Right from the start, we received a very friendly greeting. We told the young lady that this was our first time here and that we were from California. She walked us through the menu and suggested the popular items. My son had the Jumbo Chicken Tenders with Waffles, which he really liked. I had the 3-piece Jumbo Chicken Tenders with a side of Mac & Cheese, choosing the "hot" spice level. The level of spice was perfect - not overbearing, but also not weak like other places I've tried. The chicken tenders were cooked to order and came out juicy, tender, and just perfect! The mac & cheese was also very good, though the portion size was a bit small. I would probably ask for a larger size next time. We couldn't leave without trying the cake in a jar. We got the cookies and cream, and the strawberry shortcake desserts. Both were good, but not great. When you pull up to Joella's, from the outside it looks sort of abandoned, but that may just be the style/theme of the restaurant. Inside, the restaurant was a different story. The interior was decorated perfectly to match the theme of the restaurant. Overall, I was very pleased with our experience at Joella's. I'll definitely be back when visiting my son at UK.

Melinda was very helpful in placing my order for dine-in. The food and staff are great. Melinda was very welcoming.

Sorry for this lengthy review but I feel like I was being Punk'd and I just have to know if it's a common experience or we were the lucky selected victims. Walking in, we were greeted by the cashier, a lovely lady about my grandmothers age, yelling that she loves us and happy holiday (Labor Day). Wonderful- so sweet. When it was our turn to order from her, she began getting aggressive. Not even passive aggressive- just aggressive. She went on a small tangent badmouthing the restaurant because they take her tips and force her to split them between the entire crew. There was about 50 cents already in the jar. This is a counter service restaurant and I do usually tip but not usually the same amount as a full service waitress that's getting paid wait service amount. My spouse put $3-$4 cash in the jar, which was actually about 20% of our two lunches. She then tells me flat out we need to tip her more and she's working very hard during the holiday. She picks up the jar looks at the cash, shakes it around and says wow only a few bucks? Split between us what is that- 50 cents. Stunned. Speechless. Almost wanting to take the cash back. She was actually so worried about the tip she put our food order in incorrectly, and we had to send it back. When we did get our correct meal, it was delicious. However, I won't be back. Because it's weird and uncomfy.

For a chain the staff here really goes above and beyond. Usually the same people working every time I come in. The kale crunch salad with crispy chicken is really good when you want something that is going to fill you up but still want something green. Dressing is lemony and the right amount of bright and just a little sweet. Has become one of my favorite lunch spots.

One word. WOW!! Right from the time we entered, we were greeted and taken care of!! The staff here is fantastic and food is wonderful!! Thank you to Melissa for taking care of us!!!

Joella's never disappoints and all the Lexington locations are super tasty and efficiently run, but this neighborhood location on Cochran is the OG for us whenever we crave their hot chicken. The staff is super friendly and always willing to up the level of service! Love the atmosphere of this location too, good relaxing neighborhood vibes. What else could ya want?!? Shout out to the beautiful lady in the tiara who took my order today as it was her birthday and she was all smiles - great customer service. Hope she had a brilliant day as she certainly made mine better!

Let me start by saying the food is great so that is not what drives my 3 star review. They must be really tight on cash because the charge for extra ranch (which is fine) as long as the ranch cup they serve you is at least full or even close to full. Ours barely had any on it so I had to pay $1 to get more ranch. Then one of our tender meals was served on a heel bread. Come on, just open a new loaf... I hope they take this review and double their ranch price so consumers can get a 3/4 full side of ranch. Guy at the register was great though.

This place was so amazing! As soon as we walked in Malinda greeted us and was so sweet and helpful the entire time. For my first visit Malinda recommended the beer battered cod and it was perfectly fried and so delicious. I got the Ella's fave spice level and it was also amazing. I'm not good with spiciness and this was the perfect blend of flavor and spice for me. The French fries were also so good. Definitely would come back! Food and service both top notch.

Melinda is above and beyond. The food is unbelievable. I came here straight from the airport and would do the same thing again.

I come here everytime I'm in Lexington. best fried chicken and sweet tea!! customer service is excellent

Below average chicken and the place is disgusting. The chicken is dried out from sitting under a heat lamp for hours and the green beans are flavorless. The entire floor is slimy and the bathroom door handles are falling off. For what its worth, the fries are decent and the kale salad was very large and tasty. If you're still interested, go soon before this place closes.

Love the Ella's fav spicy level for the chicken! The jumbo thigh is boneless. Got my daughter the 2 tenders and waffle meal. Maybe because it's been waiting for us in a box, the waffle tasted very normal. They do give you butter n syrup for them though.

The guys behind the counter were friendly and helpful. The no heat chicken was very tasty. I'll be back.

Such a warm welcome from Melinda .... Definitely a great place! Highly recommend! Very clean with fantastic food and staff!

Food was good, love the pimiento cheese on the sandwich but customer service was lacking. When we ordered food to go the girl at the counter repeated the order correctly just to find out later when we got back to our hotel that she messed up one of our order. Instead of wings she put down tenders and we're also missing an order of fries. We called and spoke to the manager, she wasn't accommodating and at the end of the conversation just told us to pick up our missing order of french fries next time. Seemed like she didn't believe one of her staff messed up our order. It wasn't worth it to take an extra trip back just to pick up french fries.

Very fast and good food. Workers was very nice and atmosphere is always good. I can't wait to eat here again.

top shelf, good got chicken, they need more words but I have none, just try this chicken, it's delicious

The service was so nice and friendly with an at home feel. The restaurant also had a relaxing feel to it. The chicken was amazing, so tender! You can pick from extreme spice to very mild. Will be back!

Food and service are both fabulous! Try out the desserts as well! I like the one near campus the best

Decent local hotspot for all your fried chicken cravings. The staff were very friendly. You order at the register and they bring your food out. We got the 2 chicken sliders and the 3 chicken tenders meals, both with mac and cheese. Southern on the heat scale - so no heat. Overall solid fried chicken and mac and cheese, but nothing too crazy.

I've been to Joella's many times over the years and I stop in anytime I visit the Lexington area. I'm local to Savannah and wish we had a Joella's here. I love their sandwich with slaw- next time I'm going to try it with the pimento cheese spread. I would highly recommend the sandwich. I love all of their sauces and recommend paying extra the first time you go to try multiple. Lexington is lucky to have Joella's. I can't wait until the Hamburg location opens again as it's closer to where my sister lives in Winchester and is convenient when out shopping. They no longer offer their potato salad or their broccoli slaw which hurts me deep down as they were my favorite sides. Their fries are top notch and I'm not usually a fry person. I tried the mashed potatoes with the spicy gravy and it was good but not fantastic. Also miss the Boylans soda they used to carry. Hopefully they bring it back. I actually started buying Boylans at the grocery store because I loved it so much.

I know Nashville is the place for hot chicken, but I was really unimpressed. Perhaps if I'd ordered a higher level of heat I would have thought more if the place? As it was, I tasted almost no heat in the chicken (chose the "Tweener" level), on either the grilled or the regular tenders. Honestly, the BBQ sauce has more spice than the chicken. Sides were not great. Mac and cheese was bland and had thyme or something sprinkled on it which detracted, IMO. The collards were so bad that a place in the south should be ashamed. I found one small piece of bacon in it so maybe that's why there's a lack of flavor? I was here July 2021, so nowhere near peak pandemic (although as a reminder, we are not post-pandemic). Pretty disappointed to see that they hadn't installed motion-detector soap and paper towel dispensers in the bathroom, though they had added a hand sanitizer dispenser. Overall I was pretty disappointed that I've had better hot chicken at multiple places in Chicago than this. I won't be back.

Great simple hot chicken place. The staff is always nice and friendly. I always make a point of stop in when in Lexington for a bite. I love the roll up doors and ambiance.

I stopped here with my family for lunch on a week day. There was no line and our food was prepared quickly. The chicken sammie was good. I ordered Ella's fav for the spice level and didn't know what to expect. It was more of a black pepper flavor than spicy to me, but I know everyone's taste buds are different. A few of us ordered parm garlic fries with the meals and those were devoured quickly. My husband's chicken and waffles was the biggest hit with everyone at our table.

My family loves Joella's! We love spicy and have tried all the levels - including signing the famous disclosure. The sides are wonderful and the chicken is always flavorful and juicy. Normally, I find Joella's to be 5 Stars, however we ordered from Door Dash and had a number of issues, including missing food, wrong spice levels for our chicken and a missing drink. Some of this may be on Door Dash, but I was definitely disappointed that there didn't seem to be the same level of care and detail for our delivery.

11/8/2020 Came here for dinner with my friend and her kids. We ate inside as, limited capacity seating was permitted. I ordered the chicken salad and collard greens side. I think we came too late as many options were out. I also, remember the kale salad tasting differently than what I got, kinda disappointed in the salad I got tonight. Everything was tasty, but something was off. I won't let this experience deter me from coming back, but I sure hope that kale salad didn't change, and maybe tonight was an one off kinda thing.

The food is so much better at this location. The other that used to be in Hamburg was never even close to this one. The service is a bit slow but that's the price you pay for freshness. The staff here are just more professional. It's been clean everytime I've been in here! I just wish they would change side dishes.

Not sure what happened to this place but I ordered 3 big wings and a side of kickin mashed potatoes, what I got were three tiny intact wings that you would get at any chain wing place and one that I couldn't really tell what it was. They used to serve big ol wings and even the quarter my wife got was tiny! The mash potatoes were ok but certainly not kickin mash potatoes. I've noticed that this place has really really changed over the last few years and I'm sooty to say I will not be back. Sorry

YUMMMM! Joella's chicken was fried perfectly. You get a lot of bang for your buck too. We did a 12 piece tender platter for 3 adults and 1 child. We had a ton of leftovers. The Jojo sauce complimented the entree, the parm french fries were so good, and the service was great. We ate on the patio with our mini goldendoodle and felt very relaxed. One bathroom was out of order and the other was a hot mess. It wasn't busy when we went and there were quite a few workers so maybe keepin up with the cleanliness could be prioritized in the future. Otherwise, we had a great time.

Chicken was good but a few complaints. Ordered extra ranch with my meal and they gave me two small containers that were not even halfway full. When I asked for two more they charged .50 per ranch. Ridiculous pricing especially when one ranch is barely enough for one tender. I've been here other times and have never had an issue where my ranch cup is not over half full. To make matters worse, I saw them give another girl who went to the kitchen door extra ranch for free. After charging me. Lastly, my bread was the butt piece of bread that's at the very end of the loaf. Does anyone even like that piece of bread?? Taking a long break from this restaurant for sure. Makes the good chicken not even worth it.

Overpriced. Pretty good chicken but overpriced for sure. 18 dollars after tip for 3 tenders + fries + and drink. Just go to canes or Chillis for that price and get more in my opinion

Overall service was good food was good. The only reason I lowered my rating is due to the hype of the menu and the letdown. I love super spicy food. I have had fire in the hole many times. However, Joelles updated their menu, a flavor to choose from now is Ghost Pepper, and they updated fire in the hole as waiver worthy. Being me, I ordered the fire in the hole. Chicken was great as always, but no real spice to be had. I have had jalapeños that were hotter. I'm truly saddened by this... dont put waiver worthy on the menu and deliver that... I expect heat like real ghost pepper level or hotter if you put that. Perhaps it was a fluke.... I'll try again, but any restaurants that put waiver worthy on their menu should deliver.

Joella's Hot chicken has great service, yet it can take around 10 minutes at max to get your food when it is busy you still get your delicious food. Another part of the Joella's is the feel of the inside of the restaurant it feels like a old fashioned barn with polaroid photos of people having a great time.

So freaking yummy! Had the chicken sandwich (sauce - Ella's Fave) with pimiento cheese. The perfect indulgence when paired with Parmesan garlic fries and friend pickles.

I ordered online and it said your order will be ready at 9:26. I arrive at 9:30 and my order is not ready. I wait and finally its done at 9:46. I was told that I was waiting on the chicken but my side parmesan fries are ice cold. When I ask about it they said we should have given you hot fries. I am done. I previously had not dined here in over a year. I remember why now. There were only two people inside on a Friday night near UK campus. I just saw a response that I am in a VIP book for a free meal? That is a meaningless response. They also got a 95 on their last health department inspection. I will not be back !

Updating my previous review from 2 years ago because I've been coming to Joella's for a while now and lately it has just been inconsistent and perhaps not as good as it used to be. Every-Single-Time I eat here, the wait is a ridiculous amount of time especially considering they really only have one thing - chicken. The side dishes are already made up. Either they have a serious lack of employees or they aren't cooking enough chicken. Even the front desk cashier keeps going into the kitchen. We waited 30 minutes for our food and it's usually 20+. The chicken is still good, but the spice levels are inconsistent. Hot used to be spicy, but usually it is not. Fire in the hole is inedible and yes it does say it's very hot, but there's no middle between "hot" and "fire in the hole". I can't say anything good about the side dishes anymore. The potato salad is different every time I order it, except for the potatoes always being undercooked. The vinegar slaw tastes like it's been sitting for a while, the green beans mushy... I definitely don't come here for the sides. It'll probably be a while before I come back, though I used to visit weekly. I guess that's better for my waistline anyway.

Don't know how I found myself eating a "Soy based pea, carrot, beetroot, potato, and seasonings" patty, but here I am. This is one of those places that is on its face antithetical to a herbivore such as myself, but has decided to try to cater to the vegetarian/vegan customer. The aesthetic feels offputting to me; I don't even like the fact that the food comes in those square boxes because it just feels like something I wouldn't eat. But I did. This chain is apparently widespread, with locations in the South and Midwest. Weirdly, they've skipped the Carolinas, but nonetheless offer a Cheerwine barbecue sauce (a North Carolinian flavor if there ever was one). Their "fire-in da-hole" spice level is made with Carolina Reapers as well, which I did not note before ordering it. I assumed that the Southern flavor profile wouldn't be all that spicy, but no, this stuff is legit. I rested my hands on my legs while sitting down, and my legs started burning. You'll definitely want something to cool down with if you order the highest spice level. Whatever soy and vegetable-based stuff they used is processed and probably not the greatest food in the world, but it takes the flavor well and I was fine with it, and Cheerwine barbecue is actually pretty good given the contrast with the heat. I don't normally go for shoestring fries, but theirs took the garlic parmesan flavor nicely, and their mac and cheese was creamy. Comparing the company's web site to the menu here, they do note that menus vary by location, and this store didn't have the full range of drinks and desserts (at least not for carry out). My pickup experience was a bit confused (apparently ordering online and ordering from Doordash is not the same thing). I was a bit miffed that for all the effort at making their main item vegan, their vegetable sides were not vegetarian friendly at all. Still, I was overall pleasantly surprised.

Awesome hot chicken sandwich I get hot chicken sandwiches all over the US. And this is one of my favorite. Thumbs up from me.

Melinda was a very kind person with great service and great hospitality. She is one of the best people I have seen here. She's did a great job and the food was amazing.

Of the Joella's I've been to this one is the least spicy. But it's still great chicken and you get the same experience as the others. Good service, quick, and clean. The parking lot could be full for you, but there are nearby options. They have great sides and fun sauces.

I've had better. The meal was decent. I wish the chicken had better seasoning or flavor at least and it tasted sorta stale. Not impressed and don't think Ill come back.

I came with high expectations and as bad as I want to like the food I did not. The heat level chart is not explanatory. I tried to describe my taste for hot food to the cashier and all she was worried about was taking my order. The heat level I selected was not hot enough. The portions were very small. The chicken was not cooked correctly and it did not "bite back." The gentleman cleaning tables spoke to me and checked on me. I appreciated that. The place is spotless and thus the reason for the three stars. Give it a try. It may be your kinda place.... it's not mine.

I went there with my office fam today and oh boy! What a surprise! They made me sign a waiver because I ordered their hottest/spiciest chicken They didn't know they were dealing with a south Asian here Anyway, I tried the lunch deal with 2 jumbo tenders (there were actually 3!!), dipping sauce and a side (ordered creamy Mac n cheese) with a drink. The tenders came on a piece of bread... they base looked the same as hot tenders but there was an extra heavy layer of a spicy rub on them.. ghost peppers most probably... not bad!! As spicy as it was, I could still distinguish flavors n it was goooood! Best sweet iced tea I've had in a while! Full marks for that! I'll definitely be coming back!