Prince's Hot Chicken
Chicken restaurant · Downtown
5055 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203
Highlights
Original Nashville hot chicken, family-led, fiercely flavorful.
Original Nashville hot chicken, family-led, fiercely flavorful.
"A long-standing restaurant chain that lays claim to inventing Nashville hot chicken; historically rooted in Black communities, the dish is served in formats like sandwiches, tenders, and whole pieces and is an essential local culinary tradition to try." - Lydia Mansel Lydia Mansel Lydia Mansel is a writer with more than eight years of experience editing and writing for both brands and online publications—with a particular focus on travel, fashion, and lifestyle. She’s also the founder of the travel site justpacked.com. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines
"If this is your first time eating hot chicken in Nashville, check out where the city’s most famous dish was rumored to be invented: Prince’s. They have an outpost at Assembly Food Hall that’s within walking distance from L.A. Jackson, where the lines will likely be shorter than at their other location on Nolensville Pike. Plus, your eventual descent into the chaos that is Broadway will be close by. Line up for your chicken, order it extra hot if you want it spicy but not spicy enough to derail the rest of your evening, and make sure to get a sweet tea and a side of mac and cheese—both of which will provide small amounts of relief." - willa moore
"There’s no list of iconic Nashville dishes without the inclusion of hot chicken, a singular food that has blossomed into a stanchion of the food scene. According to legend, the pepper-spiked fried chicken was created as an act of revenge by Thornton Prince’s girlfriend, who wanted to scorch his tongue after he came home from a late night out on the town. But instead, a star was born: Prince perfected the fiery dish and cemented his place in Nashville history. The restaurant and its newer locations are still run by Prince’s descendants, offering an experience that can be delightfully spicy to downright punishing, depending on your chosen heat level. Regardless, all fried chicken is served on a slice of plain white bread with pickles to tame the flames." - Ellen Fort
"When I want the original Nashville hot chicken I plan a visit to Prince’s Hot Chicken, whose origin story — Thornton Prince receiving a fiery fried-chicken payback that he loved and replicated — is as much part of the appeal as the intensely spiced bird; if I can’t make the original, I’ll hit the downtown outpost inside Assembly Food Hall and cool off afterward with a beer on Broadway." - Kellie Walton
"I visited the airport outpost of the original hot chicken legend and sampled cuts of its cult-favorite chicken with sides like greens stewed with turkey meat, crisp coleslaw, and classic baked beans—while noting the caution about tackling the XXX Hot before a flight (located in the C/D connector)." - Eater Staff
