Parson’s Chicken & Fish

We were in Logan Square on a sunny Saturday afternoon and needed a place to grab a drink so we found ourselves at Parson’s. We were able to get seats at the bar outside instead of waiting for a picnic table. It’s a good, casual outdoor spot. The Pineapple Punch was tasty, but I can’t get too excited about pre-​mixed drinks.

Great place for summer group. Outside seating, sunshine drinks, outside ping pong and good atmosphere.

The food here is consistently good. I recommend arriving early or coming during the week if you don’t want to wait. Yesterday was a half hour wait for a seat outdoors at 1pm on a weekday. Love the outdoor seating, reminds me so much of Austin.
The service is unfortunate, and warrants a 2 star deduction. I’ve been coming to Parsons since it opened, and have encountered what I can only describe as this teenager-​style smugness from many of the waitresses. It’s really odd, and so routine it’s laughable. I warn people before bringing them here. Pretty lame, as rude service just isn’t cool and Parsons should be cool enough to know this.

Updated to say that we never received our sandwiches because we left shortly after my initial review. I spoke w the mgr who alleged there was a «fire in the kitchen». Interesting, seeing as how there was food coming out, just slowly. I politely informed him that simply keeping the customers abreast of any delays that are happening is best mgmt practice. In any case, I’d rather spend my money at places that have at least the basics of customer service down.
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Currently at Parson’s where we’ve been waiting an hour for two fish sandwiches. I get things are fried, and I understand being patient… however, an HOUR for a fish sandwich seems insane. I was excited to check this please off my list, but sadly, any good points to be had were knocked off by the wait time on the food. They should really re-​evaluate their kitchen process. Won’t be coming back. Good luck to those who come after us!

Thanks to GiftieApp for getting me over to Parsons. All the hipster buzz in the world didn’t do it, but Giftie did.
While the fried chicken is clearly a worthy main event, my favorite dish I return for is a seasonal faro salad. It’s as fresh and delicious as anything you’ll find at a fancy farm to table restaurant.
The communal eating is a plus — seats are available more quickly, so if there is a wait, rest assured, it’s faster than traditional seating. And worth it.

The food and drink are great. The service was bad. We brought the kids and in-​laws and decided to sit inside because we were able to get a table right away. It took an HOUR to get our food. We even asked for the hush puppies first and they took 30 minutes. How f’ing long does it take to dunk balls of dough in boiling oil? Did you have to chase the f’ing chickens down humbolt Blvd? We ended up with melting down children and grouchy old people who think I’m a f’ing moron for choosing a restaurant that takes an hour to eat and the music is so f’ing loud we can’t hear each other talk.
If you have kids and want to actually enjoy parsons, don’t go in the evening. Go when they open for lunch.

No better place to relax on a summer day. Grilled chicken is excellent. I always get the two piece: one breast, one thigh plus the coleslaw which is perfectly dressed — not sloppy with mayo. And, of course, the frozen negronis. This last visit I was really disappointed with their fresh green salad. Last summer, the salad was consistently super-​fresh and light; we would order it every time it was that good. This time, it was filled with rotted and over-​dressed lettuce leaves and not much else. Couldn’t eat it. That was a shame. I’m hoping it was a one-​off and won’t reoccur.

This is an AWESOME place to go with a group of people — the picnic tables lend themselves to lots of sitting, chatting, drinking and ordering. Plus, the food is «fun» — fried finger food and fruity but exceptionally well executed drinks (details below).
The Original Negroni Slushy — this has a very floral and herbal taste, with a definite bitterness. Not entirely my taste, but it’s a well adored drink with a specific flavor. I’d recommend trying one, but NOT if you hate either gin or bitters.
Purple Drink — Basically a wine slushy with a definite complexity. But basically, it’s purple drink and they’re cold, sweet, and yummy. Probably dangerous.
Oaxacan On Sunshine — looks like an old school tequila sunrise, but with WAY too much smokeyness for me (WHY can I not learn that I don’t like mezcal???) so I traded with someone else and finished their Negroni for them. If you like that smokiness, you’ll love this because it’s not JUST smokey, but also a bit floral without being too sweet
Red Hook — like a very very good old fashioned. Hard to say how it differs — same luxardo cherry and deep delicious rye. mmm.
Green Meanie — I honestly had 4 of these. Amazing — floral, a teeeeeeeny tiny touch bitter, sweet, clean. Yes.
Pimento Toast — I love pimento cheese, and this is just how it should be — creamy, rich, not too sharp. The Cornichon Vinaigrette adds a sharp little touch of vinegar. Loved these.
Chickpea Salad — Know that it’s mostly chickpeas with an unexpectedly creamy and cheesy dressing. The pea shoots were a little too over dressed — I think they should add them to the top after mixing and not over-​coat them. However, I’d order this even though I’m not vegetarian (or I’m just going to try to recreate it at home)
Fried Chicken Sandwich — I really, really wish they didn’t put american cheese on it. It overpowers the flavors of the chicken, slaw, and even the pickles. Next time, no cheese for me, and extra pickles. The chicken was of course crunchy and tender. Also, this sounds weird and picky, but the bun, while it looked great, was strangely crumbly on the outside, which meant it was a little dry? Wish it were more moist.
Hush Puppies — I like mine with a bit more crunch on the outside, but they were still little fried balls of happiness. And don’t worry, there’s not too much ham hock. They could probably up the amount of scallion, but really, it’s not necessary.
I’ve noticed that folks have said service is slow. i wouldn’t say it’s super-​duper professional, but really it’s not supposed to be I think if you go with a huge group, you’re not going to even notice. Just be prepared to hang out and eat like it’s your own backyard, just more expensive. I don’t think I’d go back with just one other person, to be honest. I would love to go with co-​workers or for a b-​day party again!

First, I want to say that so far this place has one of the best Micheladas (Green Street Meats being the first). I had the fried chicken sandwich, very crispy and very delicious. The hushpuppies are tasty as well, seasoned well and not dry at all. Their hot sauces are excellent! The baked beans are «meh,» nothing special.
My one issue is the service. While our server was very friendly, when it came to the back yard bar, they are awful. We would order a drink from our server and then I guess she expected someone else to bring it out? Each time she was like, «Oh, it’s not here yet?» This happened every time we ordered drinks from her.
The Michelada on the menu says it comes with lime, salt, and their sauce and each time the bartenders in the back left off the salt and the lime. When I asked for salt and lime the bartender acted annoyed about me asking for it. BTW, I had to ask the bartenders myself because the server hardly came around, maybe it’s because they are busy… who knows.
All in all, food good, service needs work… the hostesses were pretty great though!

I actually order take out more than I go, although I love eating (and drinking) there.
Here’s what I like:
The hot spicy chicken
Here’s what I don’t like:
The sides…
It’s a real bummer that their sides are disappointing. I like the concept of hush puppies, and like the name, but at the end of the day, let’s just do fries or some other veggies.

This is a great place if your in the mood for great drinks and a huge outdoor patio. I am not particularly a fan of the food (people think I am crazy because they love it) but everything is great. They have outdoor Ping-​Pong tables and bags. They also have bleacher seating if your waiting for tables where you can soak up the sun. The beer is cheap and they make a mean margarita. Great place to hang out with friends.

I loved it! The patio is amazing and the cocktails are great! Our server was super nice. For a Monday afternoon it was fairly busy which I was impressed to see, however that translated to everything taking forever to come out. I was starving so it was hard for me to wait over 20 minutes for our appetizer. The chicken is delicious! I ordered the chicken sandwich and I scarfed it down in what seemed seconds. I was disappointed by the 6 homemade chips that came with my sandwich; it was hardly a handful. For a southern fried chicken place it is definitely on the pricier side in my opinion. I haven’t tried their fish options yet, but plan to the next time I stop by!

I was going to initially give this only four stars, which, don’t get me wrong, is still a place totally worth going! But this trip I waited ten minutes in line to get on a list that had me waiting two and a half hours to be seated. And I must stay it couldn’t have been a more pleasant way to spend two and a half hours. Have a dog? Bring it. Children? Bring them! Friends? Bring all of them cuz there’s room, and fire and ample seating near enough to the bar to make the wait worth the while. The food was great, simple and affordable. Great place to spend a summer evening! Definately have the pickle back, hush puppies and Parson’s Hot. Carry on.

I like this place but I have some caveats.
It really annoys me that they don’t have biscuits for their chicken sandwiches. I just can’t get behind the bun they use. It really just doesn’t complement the rest of the sandwich.
The steak tartare I also had on my most recent visit was seriously lacking in the flavor department (I know what you are thinking, what kind of jerk orders steak at a place that has chicken & fish in it’s name). It was flat out boring. And the rye toast that came with it tasted borderline stale. It was really unappetizing.
However, the Negroni slushies here are outstanding as are the mezcal margaritas.
The scene on the patio at this place when it is warm outside cannot be beat in the neighborhood either.

Came in on a Thursday night with two of my friends. Upon first glance, you’d think the wait would be forever due to the amount of people inside. We were quite surprised when we were seated right away. Since we went a little later in the evening we found that a lot of people were drinking rather than eating. Nonetheless, between we decided to order half of a chicken, hush puppies, fried fish, and the spicy chicken.
The food came out fairly quickly. I must admit that I might have expected something less due to the reviews but I was very surprised. Batter was light, crunchy, and flavorful. The meat was tender and juicy. What else could you ask for in fried chicken? Odd enough, the fried fish seemed to be the favorite though. All the food was solid and we will definitely be coming back again!

My family and I are officially done with parsons. The service has gotten consistently worse and worse. Yesterday my food runner was in such a hurry when she placed the food on our table and it almost fell off, twice. Like she would drop the food off literally teeter tottering on the edge and quickly scurry off. There was no explanation of any of the dishes she threw at us — it was really unfortunate.
The food last night was also the worst I’ve had from parsons. We had to dump tons of their sour hot sauces on the mashed potatoes as they literally tasted like unidentifiable space matter — the fried chicken was ultra burnt and the cod fritters were so over salted we didn’t finish the order. We did however enjoy the hush puppies.
Anyways I’m just so over giving my money to terribly inconsistent restaurants. We are so blessed in Chicago to have such an array of awesome restaurants, there is no reason to patronize such poorly ran establishments.

Been on a bit of a winning streak lately. Parsons is a continuation of that streak. The have perfected a magical Frozen Negroni. Their fish filets are fresh, flakey & delicious. Their hot chicken is straight from grandma’s hotbox. I’m all in

:(decided to give parsons another chance because it’s so close to my apartment and I really do enjoy their food!
The service was definitely better this time around so that was a plus.
But my formerly beloved fish was once more coated with raw batter :(
The chicken sandwich and their mashed potatoes were fine though.
Still sad because my favorite thing used to be the fried fish!

After a bookmark search while at Bang Bang I discovered I was just a .3 mile walk away. After the unplanned side of grits at bang bang, I needed a stroll on a pleasant day.
I had been on the fence what to bring a picky eater, who hadn’t touched a drop of hospital food in nearly 20 hours. I knew a slice of bang bang chocolate pie was 1^st and foremost (after all it is #piday) and I knew their broiled chicken would interest him as well. Mashed taters n gravy, a 2 pc fried and of course a 2 piece Parson Hot for myself, rounded out my order.
Wesley is a great server and I took a tour of the humongous patio out back after our enjoyable discussion. He helped kill time with me while waiting.
My bud in the hospital wolfed down both broiled pieces caveman style and he was making nomnom sounds with ever bite. The Parson’s Hot is devine! I had one piece of fried as well as one piece of hot. Loved them both and those pickles are killer that come with the hot. The nurses were salivating and asking lots of questions. The Amish chicken certainly makes a huge difference.
My bud’s wifey wolfed down the balance when she finally showed up and got a whiff of the deliciousness. She didn’t even share them mashed potatoes… #thatbitch! Guess she hadn’t eaten all day either.
I look forward to some ping pong on the patio along with a night by the fire pit out back. What a great concept LSD (land & sea dept) has here. I’ll have to visit their Longman and Eagle concept too.

Yasssss Parson’s! You’re doing chicken right!
Went to Parson’s with a couple friends for dinner on a Friday night and so so glad I did.
Parson’s has a super cute vibe. A very low key down to earth restaurant. They have picnic table seating which I think adds to the down to earth vibe.
The restaurant itself is smaller than I expected. When you walk in to your left there is a small bar with a few stools. I got here earlier than the rest of party so they had me wait there. All of the bartenders are super chill and really nice to talk to.
When we were seated at our table our waiter brought us our waters right away and started to explain the menu to us once he found out we were newbies.
We started off with the Hush Puppies. These bad boys came to our table piping hot and stuffed with cream cheese. On top of that, they had the most delicious dipping sauce with these. Seriously guys, finger lickin’ I can drink this good.
For my main dish I ordered the Fried Chicken Sandwich with the house made potato chips. This chicken sandwich is one of the best chicken sandwiches I have ever had. The first bite just put me on cloud 9. The skin was nice and cripsy, the chicken was juicy, flavored to perfection, not to spicy not to bland. The coleslaw and pickles added a whole other layer and flavor to this sandwich. I cannot say enough good things. You NEED to try this sandwich!
oh and the napkins, oh the napkins. Coming to a fried chicken joint, I expected those paper thin, have to use 8000 just to get your hands clean napkins, but Parson’s proved me wrong. They had these nice, big, soft, durable, you only need one for your whole meal napkins. Thank you Parson’s.
I definitely, definitely will be back here soon and if Chicago decides to have another winter storm… delivery it is!