Red Rooster

If you live in Damascus, you already know. But if you’re just passing through and craving fried chicken, Red Rooster is absolutely worth the stop. I haven’t tried their sandwiches or sides—because every time I go, I stick with what they do best: the fried chicken. It’s fresh, never soggy, with crispy skin and juicy, flavorful meat that actually tastes like real chicken. The pieces do run a little small, but the 8-piece family meal was the same price as Popeyes—and so, so much better. No comparison on quality. Mainly a carryout joint, but there are a few picnic tables out front under cover if you can’t wait to dig in. Red Rooster doesn’t try to be fancy—it just gets fried chicken right.

Absolutely garbage! No flavor over priced small chicken is an understatement I feel as if I was served pigeon meat it was so small the cat food BBQ is drier than a popcorn fart and flavorless. I will never again set foot in this establishment and will do my best to make sure no one else does.

It’s so interesting to me the low stars I have been coming to this place for over 8 years. Everyone is nice and kind and I will say that some of the people who have left poor reviews I’ve seen here regularly as I typically eat here at least 5 times a week. So they need to get their life together and stop coming if they don’t like the food.

Breakfast items were okay. My bagel wasn't toasted and the sausage was warm. But I did hear that the other lunch items were fantastic. Prices were great too.

It was our first time there, and the food wit delicious 😋 nice and piping hot crispy chicken it's definitely worth going if you haven't gone already! The staff is great super friendly it gave me home vibes. We had got the family meal and a fried chicken sandwich, that was 🔥 🔥 . Check this place out

Excellent Fried chicken! Their only seating is outside. Great for a evening pick up dinner to go.

You at the menu and it say hash browns you think u getting cooked potatoes and you get a McDonald's hash brown wen go to a carry out they have real potatoes and onions very miss leading if I wanted a McDonald's breakfast I would have wen to McDonald's say on menu a single hash brown never be back for breakfast the old owners had real potatoes way over priced 2 eggs cheese 1 hash brown toast $7:95 I go to McDonald's next time 👎🤬

Disgusting attitudes, food is ALWAYS COLD and either under done or over done. I was told they can't make scrambled eggs because they have a flat grill, per Rachel (it Is possible) My drinks are always overflowing on purpose. There's a softens between being sure it's full and overflowing. I have to clean it off before walking out of the door. I've complained to owner about the attitude I get. Now it is smart ass niceness and has been for a long time. I have tried for over a year. They are convenient. Cooking area is not clean. I have seen one of the employees wipe their nose and literally handle food. I haven't given them any reason what so ever to be rude. Sooooo done!

It's just damned good chicken and the staff is great. What more do I need to say. It's a great place.

food was amazing fresh chicken juicy service take 10 to 15 worth the wait only outside eating

Food is ok. Very small portions. Sides will come in one of those small plastic condiment containers meant for dressing and not sides.

I literally found feathers on one of the chicken wings, this is terrible now like come one put some pride on what you do this quality of this chicken is declining really fast

It Mc Donald's food for an expensive price. The service is good and quick just like Mc Donald's The location is dirty but they do have good milkshakes.

The fried chicken is definitely the star at Red Rooster. Order the family meal, which came with 12 pieces of chicken, "bucket" fo fries, another side of your choice, and dinner rolls. Fried chicken was seasoned well, tender, juicy, and meaty. Skin was crispy and not overly battered. For the price of the family meal, $34.99, wish it came with less legs...I think half of the chicken were legs. Fries were okay. Didn't hold up well on the drive home. Came in large bag, rather than a bucket. So many fries! Ordered mac and cheese, but ended up with coleslaw. Coleslaw was okay as well (generally not a fan). After reading reviews about soupy mac and cheese, I guess I can't be too mad that I got coleslaw by mistake. I enjoyed the rolls, which were soft and fluffy. Super tiny, though. Also tried their fried shrimp, which wasn't bad. But for $7.99, I'd pass next time around. Chocolate shake was pretty good. Small was plenty. Service was good, with the gentleman taking our order being patient as we decided what to order. Food took slightly longer than stated, but it was nice that he brought our order to the car when it was done. Inside the store is fairly small. Just enough room to order. They have several tables outside, with two under covering. No bathroom, but they do have a surprisingly clean porta potty just outside.

This place isn't for ambiance and is take out only. But breakfast sandwiches are the best, cherry coke is old fashioned, and fried chicken and really anything fried is pretty amazing.

Staff are very friendly. The chicken was cooked very well, nice and crispy, not greasy, but it needed more seasoning for my taste. I'd say 3 1/2 stars for the chicken. The fries were good & they give you a massive amount of them. Maybe 4 stars for the fries. The Mac & cheese was pretty bad, I really regret getting that. Soupy & likely using some sort of powder or perhaps a cheese product versus actual cheese. 1 star for that. I really wanted to like the food more, because the staff were so friendly. But I just didn't. If you're not a fan of spicy chicken, you probably would love this place-it's likely great for a family dinner with kids, and I do want to underscore that the chicken was cooked perfectly-moist on the inside, crisp on the outside. It's just the flavor that was lacking, and I really need that seasoning in my chicken.

Stopped in Sunday around lunch. There's a small indoor area to order which has various menus on the wall, a small counter and a little area for napkins, ketchup and the like. I was impressed with the number of items on the menu. We got a six piece chicken, a small coleslaw and a medium size macaroni and cheese. The guy that took our order brought our food outside where we sat at one of the many tables. As mentioned elsewhere, there's no bathroom, but the port o John was in good shape. The friend chicken was good. We got a nice mix of pieces and it was cooked well. The coleslaw was tangy and delicious. The Mac and cheese was mostly flavorless. I wouldn't recommend it. The medium size fries were good. They could have used more salt, though by the time I had some My hands hand chicken grease on them and I wasn't going to spread that on the door. Overall the price was good, they have outdoor seating and the chicken was fine.

Everyone that rated this less than 4 stars, shouldn't be eating fried chicken period.... You can put my chicken in a garbage pale... if it tastes this good, I don't care if you curse at me... I'm coming back. This is pressure cooked chicken at its finest. Crispy thin skin, makes me think of perfect Filipino lechon skin. Crispy and juicy... I didn't make it to my house before I destroyed that 4 box. This is how Royal Farms chicken used to taste back in the 90s.... Now RF chicken is hot trash.... This Baltimore boy that loves his chicken box, found his go to chicken box spot. For sho

Awesome chicken nice crispy crunch Awesome chicken nice crispy crunch Awesome chicken nice crispy crunch Awesome chicken nice crispy crunchy

Comfort food at its best. So much homier than the Colonel or the spinach guy. The Rooster balls are unbelievably tasty.

I don't see any reason why there Chicken is Overpriced.. I spend $30 for 8 pcs Chicken and Onion rings. Chicken is dry it might be overcooked or the oil is old, Onion rings is alright. My friend recommended it for me but definitely I'm not coming back again. I came from Germantown drove 20 mins just to try but I was not impressed.

I love red Rooster. The food is delicious. I like their sides . They have breakfast as well. They should extend their late hours.

I came here around 2pm on a Tuesday. The ordering area was pretty small but the staff was super friendly and answered any questions I had about the menu. I went with the big red burger and made it a combo with two sides for an extra $3 or so. I got the onion rings and the Mac n cheese. The burger itself was cooked nicely and I would definitely get it again if I was in the area, but nothing to go out if your way for. The onion rings were decent but the Mac n cheese was way too soupy. Overall I'd come back here to get another burger or maybe try their fried chicken or breakfast.

Small local place serving some of the best fried chicken in the area! Great selection of sides and other American Fare foods.

Went for dinner. Ordered the 1/4 bacon cheeseburger and two regular (small) cheeseburgers for the kids. The kids burgers were not good. Shoe leather. One kid ate it, the other had trouble finishing it. The 1/4 burger was fine. No complaints. Nothing special. Soft bun. I'd eat it again but I also think the Burger King next door would probably serve me a more flavorful burger. They forget to put bacon on my sandwich but gave me a very generous side portion when I asked. The bacon is crispy but poor quality. It's that very thin cheap bacon that tastes more like burnt crunch than bacon. Fries were fine. We were going to order milkshakes but the machine wasn't working. Went for dinner and decided to sit outside. Tables were all sticky and there was an overwhelming odor of their dumpster that kind of put a damper on things. I wanted to like the place. I try to support local privately owned establishments that have been around forever. It just wasn't that good. I'd eat there again, but wouldn't go out of my way for it. Maybe we should try the chicken. Seems to be known for the chicken. Service was friendly.

Great chicken tasty wonderful flavor Fantastic old fashion cut steak fries good coleslaw too Reasonably priced Good burgers and I am going to try this place for breakfast sandwiches too

I bought the 2 piece fried chicken platter with white meat. I got a breast and the smallest wing ever. For the price, I expected two good size pieces of chicken not a breast and an itty bitty wing- way over priced for what we got. I also got coleslaw as a side and it was swimming in mayo. The fries were decent, but how can you really mess that up. There are a lot more options in the area to spend your money, don't waste it here.

There was no saving grace to my carryout. The fried chicken was badly overcooked. It was extremely dry and rubbery. The French fries were also overcooked and had the consistency of match sticks. I paid $15+ for the pleasure of indigestion. This place used to be great.

From outside the place doesn't inspire confidence. However, once you try the chicken and sides you will keep coming back again and again!!

We read a lot of great reviews about this place, but I gotta tell ya, it's not all that. In fact I kinda found it just meh. I got a steak and cheese, while hubby got chicken fries and Cole slaw. My steak n cheese was under par, but the bread was fresh. I love Steakums but for the price it should have been London broil. The Cole slaw was plain and void of any flavor or spice. The French fries were merely a filler for the take out container and news print woulda been cheaper. The staff was congenial and friendly. The cooking/prep area was no bigger than my trailer bathroom and staff had to jump over each other. My hubby liked the chicken and said there may have been soy sauce or flavor in the batter. It remains an enigma to this day.

This place was a nice find. I found the fried chicken to be crispy and non greasy. The flavor was enjoyable. I fries were good and perfectly salted (I like thin fries), but the baked beans tasted like they were straight from the can, which was ok. My husband said the cheeseburger sub was good & right on for the price. He liked to coleslaw and the potato salad was standard. We both enjoyed the buffalo balls, which were delicious & will definitely order those again. I loved the sweet tea. We can't wait go again to try more things & breakfast.

I ordered a white chicken dinner with Cole slaw & baked beans. Sides were good. The chicken was crispy but also was very dry. Probably won't return.

I love Red Rooster because Red Rooster has the Best Fried Chicken in Maryland. Red Rooster's French Fries don't make people overweight. The people at Red Rooster pressure cook the Fried Chicken.

Recommendation: Get the grilled cheese and potatoe wedges instead of fries. Don't get the fried chicken or potato salad. Hoped for something decent only to be unimpressed. The fries were completely overdone (even heard the people in the back asking if they should throw them away when someone suggested they should instead mix them in with the next good batch), a very small container of potatoe salad, and the fried chicken was alright but nothing special. The grilled cheese was the standout being actually really good but for a place named Red Rooster I would've thought the chicken would be the best.

This place is a-ok in my book. I don't think it's quite worthy of rave reviews but it's decent and nice to have a local, non-chain option for fried chicken. The fried chicken itself is good; at least on par with its corporate competitors from Kentucky and Louisiana, but a bit more homemade tasting. Wings were fine, but I've had better, and their "hot" is not really spicy at all. Coleslaw and fries are the standard sides but they have others, I liked their potato wedges better than the regular fries and think they made a nice combo with coleslaw and fried chicken. My biggest critique it that I did find their pricing (especially $17 for a mediocre dozen wings) to be a bit steep.

Honestly the chicken is over priced. The fries are horrible, wedges were good and the chicken was just ok. The wings were super tiny! Just not really worth what we paid. The options in Damascus are so limited that we tried it without knowing prices and that seemed like a mistake.

Great food. They have fantastic fried chicken and great burgers. It is takeout only, but don't let the store front deter you.

Feels like the quality of the food has gone down drastically. The fried chicken was small, dry and unappetizing. The sides were surprisingly small and bland. Not a good value at all. I can get better food and value at Popeyes.

I bought a family size that was supposed to have 12 pieces of chicken, fries and a pint size side order. The chicken was cold and I received 10 pieces shorting me 2 pieces, we got a large amount of fries but they were tasteless and the mac and noodles were soft and mushy and the cheese was was watery and runny. I had to add more cheese, salt and seasoning when I got home and bake the mac and cheese get rid of all that tasteless water. I was very very disappointed. I will not be going back. I would recommend you check your order before you leave if you are brave enough to go. Not recommended at all..

This place is nothing like what it used to be. First, their prices have doubled. Prior to going I looked at their menu and by the time I got there I was shocked at how expensive everything was. $2.50 for one leg...seriously? I was hungry so I placed my SMALL order....2 pieces of chicken and a small scoop of coleslaw. 20 minutes later I'm still waiting and someone had called out a name other than the one I gave them..I said that was my order but the name is wrong, so my food had been sitting there getting cold because they didn't even get my name right. None of the workers were friendly or even smiled. The place got super packed. You'd think they would have a better system by now, especially if they know it constantly gets packed with no room to move. Chicken was ok, coleslaw used to be the best I've ever had...but not anymore...doesn't taste as good as it used too. I will never go back.

Excellent fried chicken taste excellent steak fries and cole slaw good sandwiches are great

VERY good fried Chicken! Definitely one of my favorite places to hit for some tasty chicken. Don't usually go here often, but through mutual friends, have tasted the food. Pretty great, I must say. Really delicious fried chicken and coleslaw. Wish it was closer, though. Need to drop by sometime soon, been a long while now for sure...

This Damascus hole-in-the-wall is minuscule, with only three parking spaces out front, and room inside for half-a-dozen people to stand in front of the counter (and a tight squeeze for that many). A mixed 20-piece on this first visit was a guilty pleasure. The thin, crisply breaded skin and moist meat are a solid step above fast-food fried-chicken. That said, this isn't free-range natural-feed fair-trade buttermilk-brined chicken. But it's still quite tasty, and much cheaper than those variations would allow. As for sides: the criss-cut fries are a fair approximation of Chick-fil-A waffle fries (but don't taste like peanut oil, so not quite as good). Macaroni salad is reasonable but nothing exciting. Note that inexpensive "small" size is literally a single side serving, maybe 2.5 Tablespoons in a sauce-sized container. Let the aroma of fried chicken guide your decision: this is a chicken shack, and you come here to get fried chicken, Just do it.

Sorry, I don't see what all the fuss is about. The chicken is good, not great, though definitely better than anything from KFC. The skin is really crisp and the chicken is well seasoned. The sides suck, which is a downer. The woman at the counter touted how the cole slaw was homemade, so I ordered that and baked beans as the sides w/my 3 piece meal. Got home and opened the container to find that the slaw was pure mayo. If I pick up a forkful and the dressing oozes through the tines, I don't want it. The baked beans may have been good when they were fresh but I received bottom of the bucket beans that were dry and burnt. The bf ordered shoestring fries and onion rings for his sides. If memory serves, he said the fries tasted like they were from Shoppers. However, we both loved his perfectly crisp onion rings. I totes stole a couple when he wasn't looking! I was really tempted to rate Red Rooster 2 stars but the helpful staff merits an extra star. The woman I mentioned before asked us if it was our first visit and how we heard about RR, and proceeded to suggest we get meals instead of the bucket we initially ordered so we could try different sides and combos.

We have noticed no decline in the quality of the excellent chicken. We order more than once per month and have never been disappointed. Sadly we are moving about 15 miles away from Damascus (instead of 5). I was whining last night about "what were we going to do for fried chicken"! As to the negative reviews note that they most recently one time posters. When I evaluate a place as a yelp user I throw away the glowing reviews and terrible ones and look for a trend from people who have posted more than once and are not just possibly settling a gripe.

Disappointed to say the least. Forgot the dressing for the wings but that's nothing. Service was ok, food was horrible. Chicken was bland no flavor, wings barely had sauce on them, mac and cheese awful no flavor period. Fries were soggy. Just plain old yuck for $52 never again. Would not recommend

I finally got the chance to go try the fried chicken at this place and..... it was a disappointment nothing especial. I would say it was my first and also last time going there.

Was trying to find a place to grab lunch before a day out of DC and came across Red Rooster. Glad we did. Dismiss the reviews of people who go to a fried chicken place and don't order fried chicken. We each ordered a two piece "dinner" combo, which is available all day. The white meat combo comes with breast and wing. White meat can be dry, but this was not. Chicken is cooked to order and was hot and fresh. Combo came with french fries, cole slaw, and a small roll. Fries were good, cole slaw was cold and crisp, and a great partner to the hot chicken. I'm from the South and have eaten my fair share of fried chicken in my life. Is this the best fried chicken I've had in my life? No, but the food is good, fresh, and the price point is fantastic. Will be back!

Not a bad place. Service is always friendly maybe Taco Bell/KFC up the road should take notice. The fried chicken is average to me not bad not great but good. My personal opinion is the people who think this chicken is so great (as I have been told locally) have never been down south or are being bias. Regardless of my opinion overall you get what you expect from this place which is a good thing. Just do not expect a life changing experience. Good chicken Good sides ( not many to choose from) Great Staff Good ten minute wait once you order.

This hole-in-the-wall isn't pretty in the eyes. They don't have much parking, nor do they have a lot of standing room once inside to order your meal and resist the urge to peek into the kitchen. Their outdoor seating is right next to their dumpster, so judge the wind carefully before choosing a table. All of that being said, once you get your hands on their fresh, juicy, crispy chicken, you'll know why it was worth the trip to the middle of Damascus. The chicken is made to order and their fries and coleslaw are a great compliment to your meal.

The chicken is really good, but this place could be so much better with a little effort. The fries are just terrible. Bland frozen with no flavor. And dinner rolls that are just terrible. Go for the best chicken around, but pass on the low effort sides.

Just not the same as it used to be. Staff is not kind or courteous. The chicken has made me sick on 2 occasions. Also, according to the owner, the mixed 3 piece meal is a leg, wing, and a thigh... all dark meat so how is it mixed? I hope they make changes and can improve. I won't say I will never go back, but not anytime soon...

the chicken was decent but not as good as KFC.. sides had no flavor. over priced.. the restaurant looks quite dirty and messy. Looks like it hasn't had a good cleaning in 30 years.. had higher expectations..

Once I moved to Damascus, my co-workers kept bugging me to try this place. I was excited to try it only to be let down. The chicken was dry and flavorless. It didn't even have salt on it. The skin was perfectly crispy but again, no flavor. The coleslaw had so much mayo in it, I thought I was drinking mayo from a bottle.. The baked beans were nothing special. The texture was perfect but it was lacking flavor. The fries had an old oil taste to it. I ended up tossing them in the trash with the coleslaw. I will give it a second chance since so many people rave about it. Maybe I went on an off day. Environment: Friendly Food: C

We must have gotten their leftovers before closing. The chicken wasn't very fresh tasting, like it had been sitting around for a while. Didn't have a good flavor and taste. The fries were stale and old. The Mac and cheese tasted like it was made out the box!! This is not the Red Rooster I remember years back, must be under new management. I wouldn't recommend this place.

Because it's fresh and made to order. There used to be places like this all over the south. The chicken is super crispy. Someone complained it didn't have a lot of seasonings and I confess I added hot sauce which is available in small packets. But the main thing about fried chicken is the chicken and how it's fried! You can add salt and pepper after it comes out golden brown. I'm happy I made the trip from Virginia! This is old school family-owned and I loved it.

Good food for the price. Their chicken is great of course, but I get their chicken tenders. They're pretty fast considering how busy they can get. The updates to the outside look great, perfect place to get lunch