Harold’s Chicken

The chicken breast I had was pretty good, Along with their delicious fries…

Chicken is always great, but the service is the worst in the City. I tried to call ahead for pick up, they had the phone off the hook. It takes 20 to 30 mins to prepare the chicken, I had to wait when I could have just called ahead a gotten my order in 20 mins, but the staff just acts like you don’t matter. Great chicken, but I will be looking for a new spot. Over an hour waisted.

Great foood. City vibes. Great location. Would come forever

Do not order the catfish, whatever they are serving is not it. When I called to inquire I was immediately told it was catfish without any inquiries into what was actually placed in my order. How can you be soo certain that I wasn’t actually served perch without even asking one single question, unless you know «that’s the kind of catfish we serve» is not really catfish.

Ordered chicken for the first time tonight for delivery. After a two hour wait, called to inquire. Nobody had any idea where my order was or what happened. Apparently never solved. No call with an explanation or an apology. Walked in the rain to get food elsewhere. Won’t bother again.

I was referred to this place from my sister who was visiting from california. I ordered the 5 piece chicken wing my husband ordered the catfish. The catfish was fresh and cooked just right. The fried chicken was finger licking good well seasoned. The staff was friendly. We would definitely come back the food was delicious. It taste like grandma’s fried chicken real soul food.

The chicken wings were on point. The sides aren’t the best but we go to Harold’s for the chicken not the sides DUH!

Ok, I understand that all of these Harold’s are independently owned, but there should still be some level of courtesy and professionalism across the board.
I was experiencing some difficulties trying to contact my local Harold’s. For some reason the phone number wasn’t working. I decided to call this particular location to see if they could accept my GroupOn or if they happened to know an alternate phone number for my more local location. Immediately the lady started raising her voice into the phone about how she doesn’t know anything about any of the other Harold’s. The worst part is that she didn’t even let me get to ask my question. If she was that rude over the phone, I can’t even imagine what she would be like in person. What she failed to realize is that I was willing to drive 5 miles out of the way during the rush hour traffic to get food from this establishment. That’s ok though. I won’t ever consider this location nor will I ever recommend it to anyone.

Takes about 20mins for an order. Chicken tastes fairly nice! Dinners are served with fries (which are pretty tasteless) and bread (which is basically toast).
Not OVERLY impressed but you go here for fried chicken and you certainly get it.

Cha cha chicken! All orders are made fresh so expect a bit of a wait. Even calling in and waiting to pick it up doesn’t guarantee that it will be ready when you arrive.
If I were only going to review the chicken I’d give Harold’s more stars. However, a few other factors made it less satisfying. The fries are nothing special and the restaurant itself is small and dirty. Small is fine but there’s no need to have crumbs and grease on the counters. Don’t expect smiles from the staff either. They were all having off nights or just weren’t happy to see me.
Go for good chicken and don’t expect anything else.

So love their chicken!
Its good everytime. The delivery is long, but its super hot when it gets to me so its worth it!

Without a doubt, the fried chicken here is amazing, but what makes this a truly 5-​star establishment is the customer service. The lady running things is so kind and warm, and it’s obvious that she just loves what they do and wants nothing more than to make you happy with good food. I’ve always felt that food is love and this place embodies that more than any other place I’ve been to in Chicago so far.
A customer in line before us recommended we get the wings with lemon pepper and mild sauce, as our «intro to Harold’s chicken.» He was spot on. I’m from Georgia, so I know good fried chicken. This is really, really, really good fried chicken.
It takes a LOONG time to get food out, but they have a sign on the counter that says so (~25 minutes because everything is made fresh to order) so you can’t say you weren’t aware! I’m glad it takes that long, it means they’re doing it right. Just call ahead :)

Omg I heard about this chicken and was not disappointed! My mouth was pleased with the very first bite! I got the combo with the fried perch. I wish I had one in my state because it was definitely good eating. Hell I’m craving it now while typing this review. If traveling, get a combo for now and get another one for later. You won’t regret it.

I hadn’t had Harold’s in years because I didn’t think there was one on the north side. I found this one then when on the way home saw there’s one on Wilson… wouldn’t ya know it…
But this visit to the Milwaukee Ave store was totally seamless! They closed at 9pm on the 4^th so she even called me back to tell me they were dropping my food in at 800p. By the time I got there at 825p she had me ready to do a U-​ee out the door. Had a smile on her face, we exchanged pleasantries, talked about the drink we was gonna have with this bagged up table full of goodies, then out the door we went.
Ok this is as good as I remember. We sat down to 8 piece dark with onion rings, fries, coleslaw and it wouldn’t be Harold’s without the white bread to soak up that greeze!
My partner never had Harold’s before, never heard of it. He can’t get enough of that sauce Poured it over everything on the plate then dipped all the bread and ate that too! 4 pieces, a load of fries and 8 onion rings later, we were done; couldn’t finish it. Chicken was tender, moist, a little bit on the salty side but still greezy great!!! Maybe next visit they can not put in that much salt but I still wore it out. This is NOT the chicken to be proper with… eat everything off the bone so even Mr. Manners wanna complain!
Onion rings and fries were really good. That cole slaw… it should be a crime to just have a SMALL cup of that stuff. It’s a wonderful combination of slightly sweet, creamy and COLD! Do they make a bigger container… we’ll soon find out. But we got I-​tis and if I hadn’t fallen asleep after that fine mess of food, I would have written this sooner!
Overall I give this location a total 5 stars. If you haven’t tried Harold’s then what are you waiting for??? It’s not Church’s, Brown’s, Popeye’s or KFC… but still makes a great meal!

Went to Harold’s chicken shipped through the Wicker Park sidewalk food tour the chicken probably is the best fried chicken I’ve ever had crisp light the sauce was not too spicy not too sweet it was actually perfect.

I consider myself and my buddy pretty much regulars at this Harold’s, going at least once a month, if not 2 – 3 times. Up until the past month, we never had a bad experience. Large orders of tenders, extra mild on it, couldn’t beat it.
The past two times this month, the chicken just isn’t the same. While the pieces are bigger, they are bland, no taste at all, and it lacks the old crunch they used to have. Even the amazing mild sauce can’t make up for it. Not sure if they changed suppliers or what, but until the chicken goes back to the way it was, don’t think I will go back to this Harold’s. Harold’s was always our #1 choice for chicken, makes us upset to see the quality suffer.

OH HAROLD’S. You are worth every bit of the 25 minute wait. I’m not from the midwest, I don’t know about the mild sauce shit. Maybe I should try some time. But 8 piece hot sauce drizzling on the fries is a beautiful thing. Yea, you might not finish but you’ll have leftovers for later. The wings are just perfect, coming from a connoisseur. Cooked perfectly fresh. You can’t beat it.
Always gotta stop here when in the Chi.

Went here as part of our Chicago Sidewalk Food tour and learned there’s over 60 of these shops and it’s a Chicago staple. Just had a chicken wing and it was mighty tasty. Apparently it takes 30 minutes to make so call ahead!
The most unique part for me was the batter. Unlike most fried chicken, the batter was light and flaky versus oily and heavily breaded. Didn’t really care for the sauce — it tasted like something you would put on a chicken nugget.
Just a small shop with limited seating.

Yes, the chicken is great and one of the best I’ve tasted, but if you call in the order 25+ min, ahead of time and arrive to pick it up only to be told it’s going to take another 25+ min., then it’s not worth it. Maybe I caught them on an off night, but I just know it will be a long time before I order from here again. For quick and just as tasty fried chicken, go to Popeye’s drive thru or get them from Jewel deli which actually is pretty good ok!

LOVE fried chicken. That’s the easiest way to convince me to eat chicken.
Came here one late afternoon when my boy and I were feeling hungry and were in the neighborhood. When we arrived, we realized that everyone came to pick up orders. And everything was MADE TO ORDER. Great idea, but not so great when you’re starving.
The service is minimal here, and honestly, I felt very out of place. I would suggest to call ahead and order your chicken before coming to pick it up in 20 minutes. I would not step in there alone, ever. And I would not go there at night either.
We tried wings (my fave!!), drumstick and thigh. So all dark meat. batter crispy, meat juicy. Would I say the batter is very tasty? not really. Eat it with the mild sauce (basically ketchup), makes it much more palatable. Dinner order comes with fries and bread. Nothing special, but decent fries. Bread, not sure what to do with it.
In short, call ahead, get the dark meat and mild sauce, come in 20 minutes or more to pick up your order!