KFC

Fantastic experience. I've noticed some negative reviews about food, but we thought the chicken was out of this world - hot, crispy, delicious, and worthy of being served at the first KFC location. The museum was interesting, too, though I thought it understated the *history* of Sanders a bit in favor of a lot of fun KFC imagery (random product packages, etc.).

A bit busy, but to be expected as a tourist spot for a Saturday in the summer at lunch time! We ordered and had our food ready for us within 5-10 minutes, which was great considering the rush. Woman tending the register had the cutest pair of KFC bucket earrings that she made herself. Definitely worth the stop if driving through KY.

The restaurant portion was horrible. We waited 27 minutes for our order of simple two piece chicken and 5 piece tender. They said they were waiting on tenders, which is hogwash as they don’t take that long to fry. Wasn’t impressed with the work ethic of staff. As 20 people stood in the lobby waiting on their food to add insult to injury an employee talked with a customer she knew the whole time, people were looking at each and wondering why she wasn’t working as we all waited way to long. Unacceptable. The museum is a different review and was terrific.

I think the Colonel is rolling in his grave today. For being the "Home" of KFC, this was a very disappointing experience. To start, we stood waiting for 25 minutes for our food (after ordering). I wanted extra crispy chicken, and they didn't have any. The lady that took our order, seemed like she would have rather been having a root canal, and was very short with us. (So much for southern hospitality) When we finally sat down to eat, my corn was horrible. Tasted and looked like field corn. They were happy to replace it, so I tried the Mac and cheese, which was okay. I have eaten at KFC's in different states that were way better. No offense to the Colonel, but this was the worst KFC experience I have ever had, especially factoring in this is the original restaurant. Do yourself a favor..... drive on by....

I am increasingly dissatisfied with KFC’s chicken. The staff flat out lied when they told me the extra crispy chicken for the “Family Meal” I ordered was fresh out of the cooker. Some pieces had obviously not come fresh out of the cooker. They were not only NOT “extra crispy,” they were soaked in grease as if they had been sitting for a while in the bottom of a pan, soaking up all the grease from beneath the other pieces of chicken. So disgusting could not eat it. Another occasion I ordered an extra coleslaw. I confirmed with the server at the window that the extra coleslaw was in the bag. He assured me it was. It wasn’t. The manager did provide me the coleslaw on a later date. Also, they do not answer their phones when I’ve tried to call.

Their highway road sign was notably attractive on my way through Kentucky back to Ohio. This KFC is not only a restaurant but also a museum where I was feeling that I was eating in a last-century house. I was not hungry but I had to try the chicken wing here. The store had drive thru service and food came out fast. The chicken tasted not different from that of other kfc stores, but it was definitely an amazing experience to enjoy the historical KFC tour.

We had a not so nice encounter with a staff taking our order on August 15, 2025 at around 9:30 AM. She was very rude to us when we requested to have our chicken bucket be divided into half crispy and half original. This is a not a good customer experience especially that we drove 3 hours away just to be eat here. The food never tasted good because of this horrible experience.

This is the first KFC ever. It's a functional restaurant with a drive-thru, but it's also a museum with nice exhibits and displays of the history, stories about Col. Sanders, and its global impact. You can sign in digitally and buy souvenirs.

What starts as a normal KFC turns into so much more. They have a small diorama of the first restaurant and the hotel beside it. There are replicas of the old seating, old kitchen, and old beds for the hotel. There is a museum portion and plenty of information to learn about! The food is pretty standard for a KFC but the workers were also super nice. I hadn't tried the "Sweet Lightning" drink before so they gave me a cup to try. It's essentially peach-flavored. A bit on the sweeter side but you should try it!

The food was good hot and ready. Very clean and fun place to look at everything from back when KFC was first established. We ate, looked around for a while and got back on the road.

KFC done the way it's supposed to get done... This is the original! And everything about the place feels just right. Great food, my great service, great ambience. You're in Kentucky come here!

Great place! Chicken is good, staff is nice. Great ambiance, even in the bathroom. Would recommend as a spot to visit, loved it.!

So I don't remember the last time I went to a KFC was but let me say that this really was an awesome experience from start to finish! So this isn't your typical KFC this is the first one so it's got a mix of fried chicken and tons of memorabilia all over the place! This is a walk down memory lane to how the whole chicken franchise started as well as a full restaurant and you so know I had to get lunch here! So I went with the 3 piece combo it had a mix of white and dark meat all of which was super flavorful and fried perfectly as well as being soo juicy like just perfect in that chicken type of way! So the coleslaw is actually yummy here as it has the good mix of sweet to it just like those mashed potatoes and gravy while it's instant it's just a staple to KFC so it is what it is! But the biscuit was awesome too super hot and just hit the spot after each bite of that yummy chicken! Overall this gave me a new perspective on KFC to the point I might actually visit my local one to see if it's just as good as the first one! If you find yourself in the area totally stop by here as it's worth it for the chicken and for the museum!

Hello from Kentucky, stopping in a the historic KFC home of the Colonel! This cafe and museum was an unexpected stop but worth it to check a little history in this famous brand, see some of the original stories and artifacts. Also ordered a 12 pcs bucket, chicken was cooked perfectly, Juicy and tender with a wonderful coating of a great recipe. I don't eat fast food and can only wonder what artificial ingredients make up the special coating these days and wonder what the Colonel is thinking but this fella was special ultimately selling out his recipe to a crook but his memory and indelible mark was left for generations to come!

I took a trip to Kentucky and was able to dine at an original Kentucky fried chicken establishment. This town was the birth place of Kentucky Fried Chicken and they use the original recipe with 11 herbs and spices. It was a huge difference from the KFC we eat now and the changed/ dumbed down recipe ((hence the reason for the name change). Adjacent to this property, which is a Cafe, is a Museum and the house Harland Sanders grew up. All I have to say is you need to stop by if you ever in Kentucky and purchase a big bucket of this chicken and take a picture with the life-size statue of colonel Holland Sanders.

This is a Kentucky Fried Chicken people. You know what you're getting... so the 5 star rating goes for the whole set-up of this place: it is AWESOME!! I truly enjoyed my stop at the "Sanders Cafe" the original place where the KFC secret recipe was concocted. They have interesting displays about the Colonel's first history and how he built up from broke with $110 to an empire of franchises- and finally selling them and eventually giving all the Canadian franchises up to charity. Quite the story. (I have not checked it but if true: a very wholesome story). We had the bucket of chicken, half original and half extra crispy: I knew I would prefer extra crispy: and I do! So: there's several areas, with different exhibits of the time, a huge parking lot so no worries there )I guess they get a ton of tourists) and there's some fun gifts for purchase! (I got a magnet!) It was worth a stopover as it is super close to I-75, just follow the Corbin exit and it's about 5 minutes from there, and you'll get to take your picture at this truly "all American" landmark! Enjoy!

OG KFC LETS GOOO! Clean tables, informative exhibits, and delicious chicken! It is definitely worth stopping by if you are close and have time. Lots of places to take pix too. I didn't know Colonel Sanders got a patent for their chicken frying method. Staff were nice.

Gotta give them five stars for being the original KFC! Newly remodeled in 2020-21. There's a museum full of Colonel Sanders paraphernalia and stories. It's cool to watch the tourists posing at the outside sign and also sitting beside the life sized colonel statue sitting on a bench indoors. The fried chicken here is light, perfectly seasoned with those mysterious spices, and not greasy. My favorite is always their fried chicken livers! Fluffy biscuits and plenty of tasty sides. The staff is friendly and helpful, and FAST! There's a lot of history behind this OG location. Come for the experience and decent food!

We came here for the experience. Someone told me eating kfc at the original location would taste better. We'll I was here to try. Preface my review, I don't eat fast food really nor do I eat kfc. I think someone gave me a few wings last year. Before that years and years ago. We ordered the 3 piece box with mash potatoes and Mac and cheese. My wife got a bacon and cheese sandwich. Still the same ehhh food. Nothing special. The museum was small cute nice to see once.

Placed an order with the mobile app, it showed our order was ready and it would be in the pick up window. Shocker it was in the window to which they never even started on my order until I gave them my name. The whole purpose of the mobile order is to avoid the wait! Got home with the food where I had missing food items and the fries were hard and cold.

It was cool just to say we've been here. The lemon cake wasn't very good. The fried chicken tasted a bit better than other locations. It was cooked to perfection. The Cole slaw was a little sweet and the potatoes and corn were as usual. The museum was cool. It was great to learn the history.

I typically don't care for KFC. Our local store in Cedar Park, TX isn't exactly the most well run establishment. However, I do have memories from childhood of it being excellent. If the flagship store isn't good, none of it should be. So we stopped. The museum is getting a facelift and wasn't open yet, but they were serving customers. It might have been one of the best chicken sandwiches I've ever tasted. Equally as delicious as CFA, just a different take. The customer service was fine. Polite. Fast. The food was good. The chicken was a huge filet that was tender, juicy, perfectly cooked. The fries were incredible too. If you're ever in Corbin, it's definitely worth a stop, even if it's just for a snack.

This IS absolutely the best Kentucky Fried Chicken we have ever eaten! The atmosphere is set with the Colonel Sanders Museum and tells the amazing story of how it all began. Dennis is a fabulous tour guide for the museum and the customer service was impeccable. The employees care about their customers and love what they do! Well Worth the Stop!!

Ok. KFC is KFC, right? Wrong (ish)! This is THE KFC. Like, the original. The first. The flagship. We were driving past and laughed at the irony of passing a KFC while in Kentucky and then realized that it was actually THE KFC. Understandably, we turned around and made the obligatory stop. The building is being massively remodeled, but the drive thru is open. Cool experience. Same old KFC food. Nostalgia factor? A+ Food quality? Yeahhh you get it

Come for the history. Leave for better food. Service slow. Order not correct. Litteraly 6 fries in a small. waited 20 mins for cold chicken. Col would not be impressed.

We saw the brown sign to the First KFC and needed from I75 and this was a little bit out of the way. Unfortunately the museum was closed and there was not much difference compared to any ordinary KFC other than the signage and the museum. Just another KFC. I was disappointed. I ordered 5 originals chicken pieces expecting something different but again this is just fast food. The neighborhood is a little ghetto. We had to tank up at the Marathon next door and where they were kind enough to let us use the restrooms. I would not bother diverting your journey for this.

Well the lobby is closed so I am really disappointed. We went off the freeway to make the trip to the first Kfc and we had to go through the drive through. Bummer! Service at the drive through was good and the food was the typical fast food, but if you are expecting a unique experience.... Forget it for now.

Upon arrival to this legendary restaurant, the excitement was intense. I was excited to visit the museum, order some food and especially see and touch the colonel's suit. My excitement quickly turned to frustration and disappointment soon after entering the parking lot. The location was empty of patrons (except one car) who yelled to me from across the lot that they were going to the chicken place across the road (a gas station). It was very nice to read the history signs and look into the windows of the closed museum, but I was really bummed that the Website didn't mention it's closure. Luckily, this wasn't the reason for my visit, but once in the drive thru...things took an awkward turn. We ordered 3 - 2 pc meals and the long wait time from speaker to window took around 20 minutes. Upon arrival to the first window, we observed a bunch of teens sitting down..doing nothing and hitting each other. The cashier at the 2nd window appeared to be under some "unknown substance" Due to the fact that she could not process information and proceeded to wipe the lid from my cup on her chest was disgusting. I left this location, hoping that the food was provide justice for the horrible ordering experience but it was just blah, old, cold and not as delicious as Streamwood, IL locations. I do not recommend..it is very ghetto.

This is THE ORIGINAL (Ok, so they had to restore it but it looks like THE ORIGINAL and it certainly can fool a bunch of folks so why tell them it was a rebuild? Some of the stuff apparently did come from the SANDERS CAFE, which was located right here. ...) home of the southern friend chicken with those secret spices that shook the world for decades. The Colonel's own place ... the SANDERS CAFE, which just happens to house a Kentucky Fried Chicken Franchise serving all of the Pseudo Colonel's favorites. What's really cool if you let yourself get into the experience is to consider yourself as eating at the CAFE not at a KFC. You are part of history and that alone is worth a star or maybe a star and a half. This is a really well done museum of Americana and it brought childhood memories (Again, because I have been here before ... in fact every trip to this region of Kentucky requires stopping in Corbin City to see the Colonel.) of my parents bringing a bucket home with sides of mashed potatoes and gravy, cole slaw, and biscuits. And you know what, the Original Fried Chicken served to me on this Wednesday lunch hour tasted as good as my memory could pull up from the earliest KFC meals. The chicken was hot and juicy, the mashed potatoes and that special Colonel Sanders' gravy with all of its saltiness ... tasted so good, and their special cole slaw crisp and tasty. The roll was just right. And, then I ate looking over at the recreation of the kitchen where it all started. I even bought one of the Colonel's cookbooks (Ok, it is a photocopied pamphlet with 20 recipes but I want to think of it as the Colonel's cookbook (No, it doesn't have the secret spices for the fried chicken.), which is just one of several souvenirs you can buy. The staff working the register were friendly and I watched them help one woman whose kids were going in every direction get her order together, which is something you don't usually see at a fast food joint. So, for creating a happy day for me and my van full of travelers ... thank you! FIVE STARS and I will be seeing y'all the next time I am in that corner of Kentucky! FINGER LICKIN GOOD .... I don't care if people stare I still lick my fingers in public when the tastes are so good!

This place was pretty neat. However, it was very small and didn't really offer a lot of historical information. But it was neat to see some of the items there. The chicken here wasn't all that great. Probably should stop at Bojangles before or after.

It was just okay. The museum itself was a nice rest stop but the chicken was like any other KFC in your home state.

This kentucky fried chicken is the best I have ever had and I have eaten it at many places over the years. So juicy and wonderful even the gravy has great flavor. The people are always friendly and fast I will return

This is the original Corbin Kentucky Fried Chicken and museum. The building has been rebuilt but the museum is nice with a display of the original kitchen, office and bedroom. There is a setup of a table from the period shown in pictures. The food is the same chicken menu that is at any other location. This was a nice stop on our visit .

This is the original store, so even tho we were driving through a storm and were behind schedule, we got off and went out of our way to see some history. There were a lot of cars in the drive up (only thing open) and we ordered a piece of chicken and a biscuit. It took quite a while, which we dealt, with but when we finally got out food, we couldn't believe it. I would have gone in and taken the food back but there was a big line still so no way. So I took a video and picture and sent in a comment to corporate. It's been a week and no response. So disappointed. I don't eat there normally but I can't believe they would serve this food at any time especially at the museum site store. I tried to upload the video but the can't get it to, you can hear me knock on the biscuit they were so hard.

We came from out of state. The museum was not opened they forgot multiple components of our meals and when we came back and asked for them they told us they were out, of actual food items we ordered and paid for. That is really unacceptable... I am very disappointed, if the museum was at least open I would be less frustrated but we drove very out of the way to get here.

First thing that comes to mind..."if you have time to lean you have time to clean". This is my second visit at the KFC museum of Colonel Sanders. Food was good. Hot. Nothing any different than any other KFC but the museum was cool. It could use a SERIOUS clean though. Too much dust on and around the displays. Also, the front counter was filthy. Drink station was sticky, with straw wraps all over the floor, empty sweet tea, napkins everywhere, and a general sense of "who cares...this is just a job" in the air. SO MUCH POTENTIAL is being lost at this place. They could really make this place a destination instead of a "I'm hungry...oh let's go see this museum while we're at it".

8pm Monday March 22, 2021: There's a really long wait at the drive thru and the museum is closed for COVID-19. If you are thinking about taking a detour to visit this piece of history, just know that you'll only be seeing the outside, which can obviously be seen online. I wanted to post a review just so there would be something recent for people to see. You are better off getting a piece of KFC elsewhere and saving this piece of history for another year.

As a fried chicken lover my fiancé was excited to visit the place where KFC started. I'll admit I enjoyed it too. From the outside it looks small and like they did their best to restore the original structure while adding onto the building. When you walk in it looks a bit like you'd expect except there are glass cases with times in it that explains parts of the history. We ordered our normal meals of chicken tenders, and $5 fill up with Mac n cheese as our side. Call us crazy but we both agreed that we thought the food tasted better from this location. After eating we walked around the restaurant where you could see and read about the original kitchen and restaurant. Interestingly there is what looks like an old hotel room in the middle which we read and learned that Colonel Sanders has this room on display to encourage his visitors to stay at the motel he ran next to the restaurant. If you happen to be driving by Corbin, KY I'd suggest stopping in to learn a bit more about the restaurant that helped begin the fast food industry.

This was the best. The museum part was so good. Where it all began -- you know you got to go. The food is the same as the other Kentucky Fried Chicken places -- great chicken. And the different flavor of the Mountain Dew soda was fabulous, whish it came in diet.

A short drive off I7-75 and worth seeing. Colonel Sanders got his start in Corbin KY running a gas station and motor court and serving food. Here he developed the kfc recipe and cooking method. A modern kfc here with replica kitchen motel room and kfc memorabilia. The food is same as your local kfc.

The food was good, but I was absolutely heartbroken after going out of my way on my 10 hour drive to stop at the birthplace of KFC just as a novelty tourist trap place to look at, while all the billboards were claiming it was open and to just follow the Kentucky bricks road to find out where a real legend began, I had the biggest smile on my face quickly turn into a frown when I saw the sign on the building say drive through only, museum is under renovation. Still wanting to eat KFC in Kentucky I decided to at the very least eat something for my long sorrowful drive home, after my family finished their meal, I quickly found out there was not a single out door trash can anywhere to be found and had to look for one myself, honestly, despite the blizzard, 60 car pile up on I-65, running over a sharp rock and getting a flat tire, and being locked out of my vacation home on accident, this was the biggest disappointment of my vacation.

Stopped in for a bit to eat on our way to Tennessee. Original KFC museam on one side. With some things to see about the history of Colonial Sanders. Restaurant is o the other side. Very nice employees working. Clean rest rooms.

Not a real big fan of KFC, but eating here was pretty interesting after realizing that this was where KFC started. Filled with bunch of artifacts about Colonel Sanders and such! The food was decent and although there was a mistake with our order, the staff wasn't reluctant to fix it! Recommend if your Corbin!

Average kfc...cool exhibit. Friendly service...very cool local history. We met some really nice locals and talked of old school 70s bands.

We actually passed this KFC because it is the old building place not a KFc looking place, which makes this place unique. The lady taking our order was very nice and understanding. The food was made extremely fast for the place being opened 5 minutes before we walked in. There was a mistake within our food which the order taker instantly caught and fixed herself personally. The dining room is so different and nice compared to other kfc and other fast food restaurant in general. Finding out this is Colonel Saunders place of work along with his hotel was the interesting part about this KFC. That alone made it worth the visit.

The museum is open and definitely worth the time to visit. There are displays inside and outside. The displays are key highlights and memorabilia so it takes minimal time to view. The food didn't disappoint. My husband still thinks their coleslaw is THE BEST. We love the KFC & Col Sanders history. My husband worked for Kentucky Fried Chicken and I met Col. Sanders when I was in Drum Corps. Yes, many years ago. Enjoy!

When we were in line, my mom asked for four cups of ranch. When we drove off, we checked the bag to make sure everything was there. When we looked in the bag there was no ranch but yet it was charged to us. Also when my mom got her drink it was not completely filled all the way to the top.

Yes, I'm a vegetarian. But I'm a sucker for visiting places of significant/historical note. Plus, I can appreciate the yumminess of KFC's macaroni and cheese and tater wedges. ;-) Are you looking for a place to wile away your afternoon and marvel at the evolution of fast food fried chicken? Eh, better come up with other plans then. But are you looking to maybe grab some traditional KFC food, glance at a few pieces of memorabilia, and oh, maybe gnaw on a chicken leg (or tater wedge) in front of the historical KFC sign? Worth a quick stop then. A little out of the way, but hey, if you're passing through anyway...take a break and stretch your legs.

Fun trip to the Cumberland Gap area and wandered into Corbin for some chicken and a picnic! Gotta say some of the best fried chicken around! Should be since it is the birthplace of Colonial Sanders, but it definitely beats the KFCs in other places.

This place is just a glorified restaurant with an attached historical 'dining section' where you can see the 'original' layout for KFC's founding restaurant. The city is tiny, and the restaurant isn't anything worth driving off the highway for (unless you are into Heart Attacks and clogged arteries). So keep driving on, and just ell people you visited, or take photos out front.

Great experience for the kids. Some of the original items from the beginning are on display and you can take your picture with a life size Kernel Sanders. It was fun for the kids.

Usually the KFC is great, but we recently went there and the chicken tenders were hard as a rock, and the fries were cold! The waitress said that it wasn't her fault and wouldn't fix my order! But usually the food is great, although it could use a bit of a clean.

In a hurry? Don't stop here. Been sitting in the drive thru from start to finish for prolly an hour. "#1 KFC" nah they are #1 in the slowest service known to man! ALSO the side of Mac and cheese is the size of a nickel. Don't bother

Took almost an hour to get up to the ordering, took almost another 30 minutes to get our food. If your in a hurry DO NOT STOP HERE! The side of Mac n cheese we ordered was basically one bite, no point in getting it unless you get a size that's meant for a family.

I found it interesting. I thought it was a good representation of what it originally was. Would have been cool to use an original type menu- instead of the corporate one.

Wow! I came here with lower expectations after reading the reviews, but I was pleasantly surprised. The girl working the counter; I believe her name was Anna, was super helpful on what to order and was so nice to my son. The place was clean, had a good atmosphere, and was very fun to see the museum part. I definitely would recommend to someone looking for a nice dine.

This is a great place to go to! Family friendly, great customer service, and food is always fresh. Never been disappointed when I come here. It's a great place to view Kentucky history and has always been one of my favorite restaurants to visit when I'm in town. Counter worker (Sharday) was very nice and helpful. Definitely recommend.