Shrimp Boat

It’s true…“Ain’t no chicken like Shrimp Boat chicken!” When my family comes to town, they are always sure to plan their trip so that they arrive in time to eat at Shrimp Boat! Great menu, great food, crushed ice and great service — nothing to complain about here!

Best fried chicken in the Carolinas in my opinion. Perfectly crunchy & seasoned & priced fair. This isn’t the type of place you want to dine in at though, so order to go!

Best Hushpuppies I’ve ever had in my life and I don’t even really like hush puppies!!! Fried Chicken is some of the best in SC and the seafood is pretty great as well.

Good service. Fair pricing. Food was better than average good. If your a Yankee and impatient or in a hurry this is not the place for you because they cook everything fresh and this takes time. If you want something quick and can’t wait go to McDonald’s. This is our first time here and we will return.

How can the chicken be crispy and juicy, yet flavorless? I think maybe I am getting different chefs. This chicken was once on-​point! Even the shrimp has declined in flavor and the fries are getting limpy. Maybe I need to stick to the lunch crew, beacuse my last dinner visits have been disappointing.

Not plush, but very clean and the chicken was cooked perfect the the breading was very crispy. The best chicken we have had down in the Carolinas. We will return!

Because really though, there ain’t no chicken like Shrimp Boat chicken!
The space is small and a bit worn-​down but clean and has enough room for plenty of dine-​in customers while many more seem to get their food to go. You order at the counter up front and either the waitress brings it to your table or you wait to get it to take away. While the restaurant is called «Shrimp Boat» and has a nautical theme and they do have ample fried fish options, the real star of the show is their fried chicken, even down to the point they have the motto «there ain’t no chicken like Shrimp Boat chicken» on the sleeves of the staff’s uniform shirts. For real. And it’s no lie, it’s possibly the best fried chicken I’ve ever had and the hush puppies are certainly the best I’ve ever had, anywhere. However, the salt and pepper catfish was only ok, and their mac n cheese I found pretty poor.
I don’t know how Shrimp Boat came to be renowned for fried chicken, but that’s the big draw here. Still, they offer two kinds of fried shrimp, several fish options, and more. This is the type of Southern soul food place where literally everything in the kitchen except the coleslaw and the cook himself goes into the fryer, so be ready for fried, fried, fried here. And enjoy it, as they say even if you order seafood, do get an additional side piece of at least a chicken leg or wing to just try that chicken because, there ain’t no chicken like Shrimp Boat chicken!

This is some of the best fried chicken I’ve had in years! Every piece was juicy and nothing was too greasy or overdone. Don’t let the outside appearance fool you and stop in!

The sweet gal up front brought my mom n I free samples (wings) of the fried n baked chicken since it was our first visit. AMAZING. Also, they have gizzards which is my Mom’s favorite. We will be back for sure!

The chicken was really juicy but lacked flavor. The coleslaw and fries were pretty standard. The tea tasted rather weak. I don’t get the hype.

Usually a mom and pop a step which meant that has been around a long time has done well. This one is an exception. The name shrimp boat implies that they have good seafood so I thought. I bought the seafood platter for almost $ 11 and I was disappointed at the plate was not even full. Long John Silvers would be better than this place.

Yes, the fried chicken is great and the go-​to for me over there is always a one or two breast plate… AND add either a 4 or 8 oz piece of fish. OMG and I know WWJD… he’d have what I’m having plus about three cups of tea. I now live in Columbia and drag my Gamecick peeps to bulk up. My family was lucky to have worked down the street back in the day and the food has ALWAYS been hot and fresh. Do not pass go… just go, now. Yum to the 14^th power.

5 stars for the friendly service and crushed ice.
4 stars for all the options.
3 stars for the chicken as it’s just okay. Nothing to write home about but at least they offer text deals; Unilocal deals (per other reviewers but nothing when I checked in) and Lunch offers;
2 stars for that fried corn on the cob and dark broken pieces on my chicken wings. Yep you read right. FRIED corn on the cob. It’s battered then deep fried but not greasy. No flavor.
The crushed easy to chew ice is only behind the counter. At the fountain the ice is a huge square. Trust me you want the crushed ice. Pepsi products only.

Chicken was expertly prepared. I ordered the ½ chicken, and was surprised it was all dark meat. Is this the default? Well, I didn’t mind too much. Iced tea was crammed with crushed ice; very little tea; ask for only 2″ of ice. Fries were tasteless frozen crap. The ketchup was not Heinz — some generic food service off-​brand.
Order at the counter, and they’ll bring in the food in a while.

I haven’t been to the brick n mortar location, but recently was at an event which had their absolutely fantastic chicken catered in. Even cold, it was quite possibly the best chicken I’ve ever eaten. I’d bet hot out of the fryer would drop that ‘possibly’ entirely. Followed by their (I’m told famous) ‘nanner pudding and the world is right! Winner, Winner — Chicken Dinner!

Ain’t no chicken like Shrimp Boat chicken!
What an awesomely local gem w/​a home-​cooked feel & ambiance. Don’t show up here & expect to get served quickly, they take their time to prepare your food & the wait is very much well worth it.
If you’re in Rock Hill… go here!

(I just want to put this out there: I do not like friend food. Maybe if I actually ate fried food my review would be better. Now that you have full deets, read on! I said «do you have anything that is not fried?» The woman behind the counter said «No. There ain’t nothing healthy about this place.» If you like fried food, this is the place for you. It’s billed as a seafood restaurant but the fried chicken is where it’s at. The staff is super friendly and ***bonus*** if you check in you get a healthy portion off of your meal.

If you check in with Unilocal,you get 10% off your bill. A family relative has been coming here for years and we came here for a fried chicken feast takeout. The women working up front were really friendly and the fried chicken was hot and cooked to perfection. Awesome! The sides were average (if the sides were great — the would have received 5 stars)

In fairness, I have not eaten anything on the menu except the fried chicken. I have traveled throughout the south (Carolinas especially) and can say with authority — they have kick ass fried chicken! If you aren’t a fan of fried chicken, then you might not appreciate how consistently awesome it is. Either way, I don’t care. If you like it crispy (not crunchy/​bready) on the outside, and dripping (yes oil) juicy in the inside — then look no further.
Yes, its a dive. The outside looks pretty dumpy, and the inside isn’t much better, BUT… you gotta get the fried chicken!
Enjoy

This resteraunt is a definate butterface! The fried chicken couldn’t be done better unless they put some pretty bells and whistles on it. The Shrimp Boat is a typical «greasy spoon» style restaurant with terrific food. The appearance of the place could use the old «bag-​on-​the-​head» treatment.
This resteraunt gets five stars if it ever decides to promote their food and put some lipstick on the place.