Chicken Box Cafe

Wow
This place has really changed. I have live in the university area for quite a while now and have seen this place change over the years and I am sad to say I am disappointed. The food was terrible, cold, and they got my moms order wrong. The dining area was extremely cold and the tables were not clean and the tv was too loud. Needless to say I will not be back.

I visited this establishment at the recommendation from a friend as I was visiting the area and in search of soul food. This place did not disappoint! Everything was fresh and delicious! Will definitely be returning next time I’m in Charlotte!

Horrible food. Save yourself the disappointment and find another place to eat. The candied yams were over cooked, the green beans were sweet, the macaroni and cheese was bland and runny, and the chicken was undercooked, It was still pink inside and had a weird smell. I came hungry and left hungry… Couldn’t finish anything.

The food there was mediocre it wasn’t that good but what was really gross was there were two large ants in my food I definitely will not be back

I ordered baked chicken with stuffing, mac and cheese, greens, candied yams, and cornbread all for $ 13!!! It was so delicious! I do suggest calling ahead they can get pretty busy. If you do have to wait order an Arnold Palmer (sweet tea lemonade mix) it’s also just as tasty!

Very disappointed! I chose the meal deal for $ 5.99 and it came with one smothered pork chop a side of rice and gravy and a roll. The portion size was horrible. It was about a half cup rice and the pork chop was very tiny!(the roll was almost bigger) The gravy was so bland and the temperature was luke warm. This was my second time visiting and not being happy. You can get better tasting and a larger quantity of food at other restaurants nearby… I will not be returning!

This was a hidden treat across the street from our hotel. Seems family run and very welcoming. We had a number of items in the menu. Fried chicken, Ox tails, fish, and more. The sides were great, especially the mac&cheese, greens, and yams. Definitely a welcomed addition to my list when in Charlotte. They have plenty of items on the menu including chitterlings and other southern favorites.

The food was good, really good even. 3.5−4 stars for the food.
But the kitchen was awful. The food took forever to arrive, they brought out the wrong plates multiple times, and they completely forgot a side of fries our party ordered. When we brought it up, they said they would be right out. But they still weren’t out by the time we finished the rest of our meal. The waitress actually told us it was because they were holding fries back for a large takeout order. On the one hand, I applaud her honesty I guess, but how about serving all your customers equally? We ended up getting it taken off the ticket.
So, if you’re willing to put up with a terrible dining experience, you can get a good meal at a good price.
Maybe the moral of the story here is get it to go, apparently they’ll prioritize you, lol.

First off the seat and table was messy, there was no salt — pepper– napkins on table, Second the fish (perch) was dark wasn’t brown as normal fish supposed to look, then the service was TERRIBLE ’ we didn’t get no refills on WATER– we signed into Unilocal at the restaurant location and received a free med ice tea showed my phone to the attendant he acted as if he had no clue about the deal and never got the free ice tea. I AM really was DISAPPOINTED

Easy access from I85. I stopped in because of a friend’s recommendation. The free sweet tea at Unilocal check-​in was a good deal too.
Best part of the meal were the extra crispy chicken wings. The collards were a bit salty, but delicious. The mac and cheese was too sweet for my taste, but it was baked fresh.
I walked in today and there were over a dozen watermelons on the floor. It kind of added to the low frills ambiance.
The staff was nice and the food service was very quick.

I usually order takeout from here. The Sugar Creek location. The fried chicken is the best I have had in Charlotte. I also had the Mac and cheese and the broccoli casserole was equally flavorful. I have been at least 3 times and each time the food is great.

So i have heard some pretty good thing about this place so i decided to give it a try one day. The restaurant was very dirty inside which kind of makes it hard to enjoy a meal. I got fried chicken with mac n cheese and fries. The chicken was extremely salty to the point where i couldnt even eat it. The fries tasted like they had been cooked in the same fry bin as fish which made them pretty hard to eat as well. As for the mac n cheese it was bland and not to my liking. On the upside the service was very good, but i can guarantee i wont be back.

Wait 30 after calling in my order 30 prior to showing up. They fried the chicken and okra in burnt grease. On top of that my kids got food poisoning from this dump. OSHA needs to shut this cess pool down.

I have yet to have a great experience from this Chicken Box on Sugar creek. (I grew up eating the one on North Tryon with the same owners). My mother gave me the warning not to eat the one on Sugar creek but to continue going to the North Tryon location. Once the locations were combined to the Sugar Creek location, I decided it couldn’t be THAT bad anymore. I was wrong. I ordered my usual, Bbq chicken white meat, broccoli casserole, Mac and cheese, and I add a side of rice and gravy. I called it in and sent my boyfriend to pick it up. Once he got home he assured me the employee checked the bag for all the contents. When we finally open every thing we were missing 2 sides (My Favorite two sides!). Once I finally cooled down, I began eating the chicken and it was awful, looked like they just slapped Bbq onto baked chicken (It used to look like it had been stewing for hours, The meat would fall off the bone). It’s safe to say I will never be back. To think I was in love with this place and spoke so highly of it!

This must be our fourth or fifth time we have had The Chicken Box cater an affair and they never disappoint. This time we ordered 60 pieces of fried chicken. All pieces were done perfectly, crispy and seasoned well. Our guests were impressed with the fried chicken.
Just a side note-​this past summer, we had Chicken Box cater our family reunion banquet. This was a great meal, with great sides. They raved over the mac and cheese and green beans.
So far, we have been very happy with their catering as well as the occasional meal while out and about. Would most definitely recommend The Chicken Box.

The only bad thing I can say is that Chicken Box is an 1.5 hour drive from my home. But, it gives me a reason to come back to Charlotte.
I have not had fried chicken this good in more years than I can remember. The batter was light crunchy batter encapsulated the moist flavor chicken. What an explosion of goodness with every bite.
Very low key restaurant that allows their food to speak volumes.
I truly enjoyed my meal as did my wife and son. This is now our goto chicken place every time we are in or near Charlotte!!!
A definite family and friend recommendation as well as a repeater!!!
If you are in Charlotte, even passing through along I85, you need to swing in.

We just wanted some good olé southern eats, some get in your belly soul food.
You walk in and place your order at a counter. The menu is big and on the wall. It being our first time, I wanted to try a little bit of everything so we ordered the following:
*Kids Meal with fish fillet and double side of mac and cheese
*Gizzards
*3 piece chicken wings
*Smothered chicken with cabbage and green beans.
*Smothered pork chop with greens and fried okra
We chose to dine in and so we sat our selves and waited for our food. And waited for our food. Then we waited a little bit more. Then they finally called our number. Everything came out looking delicious. But the key word here is «look». What made it so disappointing is that half of our food was cold. My pork chops were so cold in the middle and my hunny’s chicken too. I didn’t even eat my pork chop because it was too cold.
The mac and cheese was okay. The noodles were mushy and it was bland, it needed a little salt or something. The fish fillets were actually pretty good and we really enjoyed those.
The vegetables we had were alright. Fried okra was on point. It was hot and fresh and I just added a little bit of salt and it was so good. The other vegetable sides we had did not disappoint either but they did not wow our taste buds either.
The fried gizzards were banging. Perfectly fried and seasoned.
The fried chicken wings were on point too.
I actually liked the place. I should give them a two but what was good made up for what was bad.

I love the original Chicken Box on N. Tryon but I decided to stop here because it was closer. I called ahead and spoke with a nice lady on the phone to order a 3pc whiting with cabbage, cornbread and black eyed peas. I told her about the offer on Unilocal for a free sweet tea with entrée purchase and she asked that I just bring it with me and I would be fine.
When I arrived the man at the register was in the back and came out complaining about another employee. He said to a client waiting for her order, «You see what I have to deal with!?» He and that client proceeded to have an exchange about the other employee’s «attitude» while 3 other clients awaited his service. Needless to say, the lady in front of me (who was next in line) was displaying perturbed body language, which he completely disregarded.
When it was my turn, he asked for my order and I stated that I’d already called in for a pick up order. Instead of asking for my name and looking it up in their system, he proceeded to play a guessing game, that took about a minute and a half. Finally, he asked my name and said it should be out shortly. I informed him of the Unilocal coupon (that’s available with check in) for the sweet tea. He condescendingly stated, «Ya’ll be usin’ these old coupons! Here’s the coupon we got right now.» He then passed me a folded copy of the menu (yeah, the menu!). I explained him that I was confident it was valid as it was on the Unilocal page and was only available with check-​in. He angrily went and got the tea and told me my total was $ 8.45. When I pulled out my card he said, «That will be $ 9.45.» I explained to him that he’d just given me a different total and he said that was because of the tax. At this point, I didn’t want to argue over the dollar.
When he brought me my order he complained about the bag, clearly trying to blame the other employee. He got a new bag. I checked my order and started to leave. He said, «We good?», instead of offering a genuine apology. At which point, I just walked off.
Now on to the food…
The whiting was hot and delicious.
The cabbage tasted like it had been sitting for days and had a light brown tint versus the typical green color. It had a strange aftertaste.
The black eyes peas tasted like they’d been sitting as well and were bland and watery.
The cornbread muffin was dry and lackluster.
The tea was perfectly sweetened.
The one on N. Tryon is always a perfect experience and I’ll keep going there as I have been since the 1990s.
Avoid this location and drive the extra 5 miles for a fabulous experience.

I used to eat at the other location at least several times per week thru out the eighties and nineties since we had a retail business right next door on Tryon Street. We sold that business many years ago and I haven’t had the great fried gizzards, livers, and chicken for quite a while now. For several years now I’ve been meaning to stop by the new location on Sugaw Creek and finally did on Tuesday, 7÷8÷14, craving gizzards. It was 11 am and they had just opened for the day.
To my disappointment their food truck hadn’t arrived yet and they were out of gizzards. I overheard another customers’ conversation and I believe he had ordered fish, croakers I think, and they were out of that too. I believe a restaurant should never run out of their products they sell.
But anyway, I got an 8 piece order of chicken and an order of livers since they were out of gizzards and away I went. I couldn’t wait to get home so I started in on the livers as soon as I got in the car. The first thing I noticed the oil used to fry the food appeared old. That’s another no-​no for a restaurant that specializes in fried food. Got’a keep that grease fresh! The next thing I noticed — NO SALT! The crust on the chicken and livers was excellent — except the lack of salt! Maybe they just forgot to add it to the breading mixture.
Any restaurant can have a bad day and I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. Will I go back? Absolutely — next week!

Excellent fried chicken (reminds me of how my mom used to make it) and amazing greens! When I’m in Charlotte on business and want some «home cooking», it’s the spot.

I’ve eaten here several times before. It seems like its always hit or miss. This time was a BIG miss! I had the meatloaf, Mac & cheese, and stuffing. The Mac & cheese was so dry and very bland. The stuffing was burnt and it wasn’t edible. The meatloaf was just ok. It also took 20 minutes to get my food which seems it could have been sitting out for a while. I really want to love this place. But, today reminded me why I only go 2 – 3 times a year. I remember the 1 amazing meal I had and I somehow always hope I get that experience again. All and all, I’d rather eat at Lola’s uptown. The food is much better and the people seem friendlier.

Came into town from Raleigh with my mom a few weeks back and we decided to eat here. We saw commercials for this place all the way in Raleigh. I must say the food was really good with just the right amount of seasonings. I ordered the baked chicken white/​stuffing, collards, mac & cheese. Lets not forget the sweet tea and roll. This was excellent and my mom ordered the same thing with a side of sweet potatoes. If you’re ever in town you must try this place out.

We could not have found a better place for Sunday dinner than Chicken Box. We arrived about noon and there were a lot of people having dinner after church. You order at the counter from the bewildering array of side order items. It was really hard to narrow it down.
Ms T and I ordered a two piece and three piece dark dinner respectively with fried okra, black eyed peas, cole slaw, pintos and collards. We chose corn bread muffins as our bread. Wow, I’m getting hungry thinking about it and I just ate.
The chicken was very hot, fresh and juicy. The salt was just right. The coating was light, crisp and tender. This is very good straight ahead fried chicken. It is not peppery, either red or black.
The sides were all good. Pintos were plain, perfectly cooked, perfect salt, one of my favorite things. The greens had no meat or fat, in fact they have a little sign saying that they do not use pork fat/​lard in their cooking, so I guess these greens are pretty healthful. They were mild and flavorful, with perfect salt again. The slaw was a fine Carolina chop with a very good creamy dressing that was slightly but not too sweet with good depth. Black-​eyed peas were similar to the pintos, plain, no meat, but flavorful and tender. Ms T did not like the fried okra as well as she usually does. I will have to yield to her expertise, put I liked it. She felt it had been parboiled before frying, leaving it a little soggy. It had mild but nice okra flavor coming through the light coating. The corn muffins had good corn flavor.
This was a great meal of southern cookin’. Again, we have found a place that is exactly what Sweetie Pie’s in St Louis has the reputation for, but has completely failed to earn. I have no idea when I will ever be in Charlotte again, but I would not say never. When I am, I will eat at Chicken Box. Might have to try the other location. Strong four stars.

They have expanded! I didn’t even know.
This location is so much bigger than the last one. Pleasant, fast service.
All the food was hot and home cooked. I was pleasantly surprised. Its a little limited but its cheap and you get a ton of food.

My cousin and I were cruising by one afternoon and had to check out The Chicken Box. It was our first visit to a place neither of us had ever heard of, so we had no idea what to expect. When we walked in and saw the menu, I was shocked… it was huge! More soul food selections then you could imagine. I’m always a bit skeptical about new places though, so I went with a favorite of mine, fried chicken.
Now, you may think I’m pulling your leg here, but I kid you not. This place had the BEST fried chicken I’ve ever tasted! I had the broccoli casserole and mac and cheese as my sides. Never tasted better sides. Even the sweet tea was just purely wonderful. The lady that took our order was as sweet as the tea, couldn’t ask for better service. She recommended the sweet potato pie for desert, which was great as well.
I would highly recommend The Chicken Box to anyone looking for some truly great soul food. This little joint gets 5 stars from me, and I will make sure to stop in again for some more great food.

I guess a restaurant is doing pretty good if they open a second location. The Chicken Box 2 is beside the Cookout on Sugar Creek, and I must say its a nice size location, I think it’s an old Shoney’s or something but it’s very roomy for those dining in. They have the same menu and are open 7 days a week and have added a tasty looking breakfast menu that includes chicken and waffles (mental note to try as my eyes widened), pancakes, omelette’s, platters, sandwiches, etc. I may go as far to say that I thought the food was better compared to the Tryon street location, but I’ll have to confirm that on my next trip. I’m looking forward to going back.