Chicken Hut

The quarter chicken special was really a lot of food which was great. Loved the chicken and potatoes. The salsa with bread was different for me but it worked out nicely. The people there are nice and helped make suggestions. I liked this place a lot and would encourage others to go

First off, THEY ARE CASH ONLY, which would have been really f-​ing helpful to know before getting to the register. My hubby had to then leave and walk a few blocks to an ATM, pretty annoying when you’re trying to grab food.
Second, when we called the order in they were curt and flat out rude, and I had to stop them from just hanging up without actually getting the full order.
Third, when my hubby got there, they told him that what we ordered didn’t come with a drink but it damn well did but the jerk on the phone was so busy trying to hang up after the first 3 words out of my mouth he seemed to have overlooked that.
The mashed potatoes suck outright; stiff, bland and chalky. KFC makes better potatoes than this, and that is not a compliment.
I wouldn’t go back again at all because of all of those issues BUUUUUT the chicken… holy f*cknuts…I don’t know how they do it, but it’s honestly so damn good I know we’ll end up going back. I just know not to be much more aggressive on the phone, bring cash and do not waste money on the mashed potatoes, duly noted.
I will say that they need to step up their game when it comes to customer service because we also recently had the chicken from the place next door, «Falafill», and it was stellar along with their amazing level of service.
Get your heads out of your asses, step up your potato game and treat your customers a LOT better, guys.

I don’t usually care for chicken, but Chicken Hut is one of the very few places that makes me crave for chicken. The chicken is done just right, so flavorful and tender. The pita and tomato salsa that come with the chicken are nice additions. The sides are slightly pricey for being mediocre, but I usually end up getting one or two for variety.

This place has traditionally served as a go-​to for the working class on lunch break in yuppie-​landia … One often hears predominantly Spanish here
As mentioned the mashed potatoes are nothing to write home about — so it’s well worth the 50 cents for the upgrade to baked potato, which I prefer in any case
Your combo even includes a drink cup, but its Pepsi products so I just take the water
Good deal if you want a lot of chicken — but extremely bland & their salsa is the cheapest kind … The best thing here would be to get it to go … Then if you ‘ve got good chutneys or quality sauces at home you’d really be in business!

This place deserves 10 stars… Fast service and great food. Definitely my favorite place to go eat chicken. My family has been eating here for MANY MANY MANY years. The only annoying thing is they only accept cash but I love the place so much that it still deserves all the stars

When God comes to earth, She eats at Chicken Hut. This place is not called Mashed Potato Hut, It is called Chiken Hut. Stick with the chicken and you will not find a better meal.

The place is not the cleanest & it gets rather loud at times, but other than that I have never had a complaint. The food is cheap & it’s grilled chicken! In literally 2 minutes or less! The only annoying things is, is that they only accept cash. Just buy something across street from Walgreens & get cash back.

Best grilled chicken I have ever had — highly recommended, especially for takeout (dining in not recommended unless you simply can’t wait to tear into that juicy goodness). Looks like a total dump from the outside, but you will be happy you went there.

I have lived in lakeview for 4 years, this is the first place, I never have any complain about. The serving is quick, like within a minute. I find quarter of chicken is very fulfilling or you can always go for with half chicken. Quality is good as they use Purdue chicken, nicely grilled … I have been the place at least once a week. It’s really a fast food without gilt.

Very tasty. Love the intense grilled flavor of the chicken. Fresh

I’ve eyed potentially visiting here for SO, SO MANY years (over 7 – 8 years?), and I think the only thing that stopped me from visiting sooner was not the divey looking exterior, but learning about their cash only policy via online reviews years ago. You’d think a place like this would better publicize that fact via a sign on their front door, rather than just a sign on the register, but they annoyingly don’t. Anyway, on to the review.
It’s not a very deep menu, think like how Gene and Jude’s is with their hot dog/​fries/​tamales only menu, except here you have a slight bit more options. At Chicken Hut, it’s only grilled chicken, a few sides like for example mashed potatoes, and cole slaw. Rounding out the menu are 2 dessert options: Eli’s Cheesecake slices, and rice pudding.
Decided to order the quarter chicken special and upgrade to white meat, and I was honestly very divided about what I should get for my side. Asked the guy taking my order what he’d recommend for a side, and he replied back that their most popular sides were the rice and also the mashed potatoes (also have cole slaw and potato salad for sides, btw). Made a spur of the moment decision to order the mashed potatoes, and those were really good. I’d even say it was very comparable to Popeye’s or KFC quality. Tried a little of both the hot sauce (which yes, does look like a packet of salsa at first) and the barbeque sauce, and I definitely preferred the hot sauce of the 2. The hot sauce (and what I initially mistook for salsa) they use isn’t very spicy at all, btw. The barbeque sauce was blah to me for whatever reason, vs. their hot sauce. Liked the pitas that came with my quarter chicken special (w/​upgrade to white meat), and I did mix the grilled chicken with the hot sauce onto the 2 pitas that came with my meal at times. Was surprised that the final price post-​tax was slightly higher, than I was expecting it to be after upgrading the quarter chicken special to white meat ($ 8.60!). Sigh, I guess that’s a fact of life that taxes are always ridiculous in Chicago, and that I get this weird feeling that my food probably would’ve still been decent (and maybe a smidge under $ 8? or VERY close to the $ 8 mark) if I’d not upgraded from dark meat? Also have a TV inside which I’ll guess is often tuned into Chicago sports games, such as a Cubs game that was on tonight.
Glad I did come here post-​walking around the Lakeview East Art Fair today, and didn’t go to one of the typical chains having a location in the area (i.e. Chipotle, Five Guys, etc.). Though I don’t totally hate those chains, I was feeling like something different than chain fare today. Like other reviewers have said, it’s a cash only place, and they also don’t have an ATM inside. There are ATMs north and south of here on Broadway though, such as a Chase ATM within Walgreens across the street. And on a side rant, US Bank really should fill the annoying gap they have in not having any convenient ATMs if you’re in either the eastern part of the Lakeview neighborhood, or in eastern Lincoln Park. Though it’s at least a start US Bank did recently fill in their former Evanston gap, with 2 locations (on top of an ATM within Northwestern University’s campus). Thankfully, I was prepared beforehand for both the lack of US Bank ATMs in this area, and the fact that Chicken Hut is cash only.

The best chicken I have had! I cook a lot and pride in roasting chicken really good-​but this beats my chicken hands down! Super juicy and quick as well. The staff are really focused and quick on orders. I visit this place at least 3 times a month.
Good job guys–
Remember though-it’s cash only!

Not enough stars. So good and I cannot say enough about the cole slaw too. Chicken and the other sides are awesome.

Been coming to this place since I was a young kid and they are very consistent and the chicken is delicious! They make the side orders fresh and always taste good especially the coleslaw and the potato salad. Eating healthy is very critical of my diet lately and this place is the perfect fit. Chicken legends

They have a great corner location with the grill strategically placed in the front of the restaurant, so everyone can see the chicken grilling. That got me to come in and try them out for a quick lunch.
Overall, the service was quick as you would expect from a place like this (almost the same set up as El Pollo Loco). The food was OK but not great, I had better chicken. The salsa was bland to taste, but the pita bread was decent.

Came here for the first time during the Pride Parade this last Sunday and I’m so glad that I did! My friend and I were starving and fortunately came across this place. We both had the quarter chicken with potato salad, pita bread/​salsa and a drink for less than $ 7 each! I absolutely love chicken and let me tell you! This is one of the best chickens I’ve ever had. This is the way to cook chicken! Absolutely juicy and cooked to perfection. I was instantly upset I only ordered a quarter chicken.
Also, we sat at the window seat so we had a clear view of the parade which was so convenient. We finished eating and continued to sit there for a good three hours, because it wasn’t that crowded. The staff was extremely nice and did not give off any negative vibes at all! He conversed with us and was so kind.
The place was also very well-​kept. They immediately cleaned and sanitized the area after other customers would leave and continuously mopped.
So overall, I would definitely visit this place again and recommend. The customer service and food is excellent!

So I never write reviews, I’m more of a «review looker upper». However, after dining here yesterday during the pride parade … I thought it was necessary to give my input. I also promised the owner I would, so here it goes. :)
So my friend and I came here during the parade, very randomly, just out of pure hunger. Little did we know we had the best seats in town for the parade — the bar stool tables were window side and it just so happened that this was where the parade began ! My friend and I sat there for about 2 and a half hours, probably longer and the owner was so nice to us. Made conversation with us a couple times and never once asked us to leave even though we had been done eating. He even let us charge our phones there since we were running super low on our batteries — and we all know how important our iPhones battery percentage is now a days.
The chicken was fabulous, not dry and grilled to perfection and then topped with the delicious tomato salsa … perfect combo !
I’m huge on customer experience, so that may be why the experience is longer than the actual food review. But don’t doubt that when going to chicken hut you will experience good customer service and AWESOME chicken !

If you are craving some fresh fast tasty chicken come here!
My family and I have been going to chicken hut for like ever now! 15+ years.
I usually get the half chicken with rice and they give you this nice light tomato sauce. And that pita bread is flame!
It’s a great fast take-​out kind of place.
They are cash only btw.

Excellent chicken! Nice place for take out when you are sick of or from kfc, Popeyes, etc
Reminds me of chicken from down on the farm. Pita is excellent as well.

1.0 star rating 10÷5÷2012
Walked into Chicken Hut at 8:30pm. The sign says they close at 10. With my mom who had been bringing me here since I was 5, and cousin, who was visiting for the first time. 8:50: We sat down to eat and half way through the bus boy comes up and snatches the salt/​pepper shakers and napkin holders off the table right over my moms plate of food! (Horrified!)
We said nothing and continued to eat, so then he picks up the chairs and puts them on the table right next to us and before he sweeps starts to mop with this stenchy old bleached infused ancient mop! My mom can barely breathe and my cousin stops eating. We then move to the high chairs by the window and he follows with his broom and sweeps the sediment under our chairs and feet! (Pissed the f**k off) I wait until my mom is done eating, as she goes to explain to the cashier the situation he laughs! (Lost it!)
I cut him off and tell him this shit is not acceptable or funny and a customer who had brought so many people, gone there since I was 5, and spent ONLY CASH with the no brain idiots I was more than perturbed by this unfortunate night. They have not lost a customer they lost a relationship! No stars for service and one for the food!
Brittany
(Someone Flagged me!)