Bolton’s Spicy Chicken & Fish

Hands down the best spicy chicken in Nashville. This is my new guilty pleasure! The staff was extremely friendly and kind. Will definitely make this a regular stop when I’m in town!

I am giving this a ⁵⁄₅ stars on behalf of my boyfriend. He is a maniac for HOT chicken and bolton’s is his favorite place in Nashville. When we moved here about a year ago we tried several other places and «hot» was always much too tame for our taste. That being said, Bolton’s is NOT that.
Bolton’s is not for the faint of heart. My boyfriend eats here several times a week and likes to treat the ‘hot’ and above as heat challenges. It’s always fun to eat in and see first-​timers crying because of the spice levels. I get mild or ‘light mild’ and I would say I have a pretty average heat tolerance. The peppers they put in that powder produce a long lived, and growing heat that will build and burn as you keep eating – so be warned.
The chicken though is absolutely top notch and so are the sides. But don’t look for relief in the pickles (as they are covered in the fiery dust) and the mac and cheese has a bit of pepper to it too. The ranch is the saving grace and so is a gatorade from the corner store next door. (Bolton’s notoriously has no drinks). If spicy isn’t your thing – don’t worry they do make unseasoned fish and chicken so you can still enjoy the food while your masochist friends cry.
Go here for an authentic hot chicken experience. AND DON’T TOUCH YOUR EYES AFTER.

I’ve tried both the «mild» and «hot» tenders. As someone who enjoys spicy foods, the «hot» tenders were painful. Sweat (and tears) were pouring off my face. Thankfully it was a to-​go order. The «mild» tenders, on the other hand, were still moderately spicy but still enjoyable — delicious, actually. Next time I may skip the spice simply to enjoy the chicken. Food aside, the service is great. I highly recommend.

This is a nuts and bolts hot chicken place, I love it for that very reason. No fancy décor and no gourmet sides-​this is quite straightforward. The staff is friendly and the chicken is fantastic. I have been visiting Boultons for years now and always enjoy the experience. They actually catered several company events for me and did so very well.

Bolton’s doesn’t mess around. Hot means hot. Sweaty, make a grown man cry hot. Soak your hands in milk and don’t touch your eyes/​nether-​regions hot. My god. The first time I ate here with my boyfriend we went right for the spicy. Unless you’re a masochist with a taste for stewed greens, go easy. Last night we tried medium and it still kicked our asses. I don’t even want to talk about the next morning. Wow. This is some seriously amazing soul food. Delicious chicken, tasty sides, and a funky atmosphere. The owners are so sweet and have a great sense of humor about the misadventures of their patrons. Next time, I’ll order mild, kick back with a sweet tea, and watch the Vandy bros cry their eyes out in defeat.

EXCELLENT! I went when I was visiting a friend in Nashville and was not disappointed, the hot chicken was very hot and very delicious. I only wish that there was a Bolton’s back where I live. The people working there were extremely friendly, too. If/​when I’m ever back in Nashville, Bolton’s will be the first stop!

Came down from Boston with a couple friends to visit a buddy of ours. We asked him to take us somewhere for some good Nashville food so he brought us here. The hot chicken was incredible and the folks working there were incredibly friendly. We’re going back tomorrow before we leave!

Wow… what a sh! t show. Disappointed since I live right across the street. Was hoping this would be my go to for hot chicken. Maybe every employee here is having a bad day. Full of pissed off customers, including myself…

I’ve eaten here I few times the 1^st time the food was great the 2^nd time it was different their wifi doesn’t work and for a meat and 2 their food is not as good as it could be their are other great all the time places near by

My favorite meal while in Nashville was right here at Bolton’s. You must try hot chicken — you just have to. Juicy, tender and delicious chicken meat fried to crispy perfection and coated with spicy habanero powder. The wonderful man behind the counter warned us about the spice options and he was right — even for serious spice lovers the MILD option was the way to go. The medium was too much heat, to be honest, and I adore hot food.
Served with two sides, pickles, and two slices of white bread, this was a memorable meal. The baked beans were unbelievable and the turnip greens were excellent as well. We enjoyed everything about this restaurant — the servers and owner were friendly and humorous and they cared a lot about their customers.

It was a Thursday at 11:30. There was a handful of customers. I ordered a breast and a quarter with green beans. The chicken was very dry, definitely was in the frier too long for me. The mild dry rub spice was okay. If this is how they fry their chicken, it’s not for me. The green beans was good.

Warning!!! They have changed their hot chicken. This used to be one of my favorites, now it’s at the bottom of the list. They need to go back doing it the way they did it years ago. I would not recommend this place to anyone until they change the recipe back. All they do is sprinkle cayenne pepper on the chicken.

One of those unhealthy but great-​tasting dive places that I feel compelled to visit on a regular basis because there is nothing else like it. Not somewhere I expect good service, just one of those get take-​out, bring it home, have napkins ready, devour it, now apologize to your body and go run 3 miles.

This is a combined review for both the Bolton locations (Main St. & Franklin Pike) in Nashville. I tried and enjoyed the dry rub hot chicken breast sandwich at both locations.
I would like to begin this review by appreciating the hospitality of the staff at both locations. They were funny and helpful at the same time. My order arrived faster than I expected and I would attribute that to the chicken being cook in advance. Now by saying that I do not mean that the chicken is cooked all at once but as an approximation of the incoming traffic. I prefer just prefer mine made to order.
I started off my review by giving this place four stars but took one off as dry rub is something I did not enjoy as compared to the other hot chicken places in town. The other star was lost in the oily floors. This is more of a hazard concern than anything else.
In conclusion, bolton’s spicy chicken and fish does quite a good job for $ 5.40 for a chicken sandwich.

The is usually pretty good; although, their spice index is very inconsistent. I am a big fan of the hot catfish sandwich with all the fixin’s. Their customer service is a different story. I live right down the road from this place so I like to call in to place an order but I am consistently asked to hold which I do not mind because I am headed there anyways. Unfortunately what usually happens is that I am forgotten on the phone to hear whatever conversation the workers are having. I have mentioned it to them several times, even walked in the restaurant while still on hold, and usually no one is in the restaurant except workers and me. This happens far too often to be an abnormality.

Wow. Not a good wow, more of a head shaking wow.
My experience started with a surly person taking orders. Surly happens in old school hot chicken shacks so no big deal. I ordered the leg quarter medium with fries (my usual hot chicken order, if something is going to kill you just go for it.) I asked for a bottle of water and they were out. It happens. I asked where the restroom was and was pointed to the Captain D’s across the parking lot. Really?
Usually at Chicken shacks there is a 15 to 30 minute wait for your food but my leg quarter (mild not medium) came in about 3 minutes. It was a generous portion with lovely crunchy skin and a big order of fries. I picked up a fry and it literally drooped. To say it was under done is a huge understatement. Oh well, on to the chicken. I bit into the leg and it was barely room temperature. After my order came the customers were informed that they were out of bread. Huh? The taste of the chicken was good but the fries were inedible.
This was a very bad lunch experience and I will not be visiting them again.

HOT CHICKEN is HERE! Get some !
Like Hattie B’s but hate standing in line? — Come on down to 8^th Street Location of Boltons. I got the tenders Mild (because based on other Unilocal!Reviews the chicken was going to be hot) however At Hattie B’s I’m more of a HOT girl.
Whoo Wee — Here’s my run down
Chicken Tenders — Juicy, and light dusting of the «HOTness» and wow Mild was great!
Sides — Greens and Mac and Cheese.
Greens were super flavorful and Mac Cheese was not dried out.
White Bread — Fresh from the Package!
FREE RANCH (yes! Yes! yes!)
Ice Cold 20 oz bottle of coke
Total time from order to put in mouth: 6 minutes.
Total Bill $ 10.97
Now the interior was so/​so and outside area had alot of flies but looks — to me, minor issues when coming to Hot Chicken. So if you’re a Hot Chicken fan try this out, I really think you’ll like it — alot!
Tips: You can park at the Little Caesars parking, and or Tabacco /​Liquor store next door. Bostons does take credit card.

The chicken was great but the sides were excellent. I ordered the greens and white beans along with the quarter breast (hot) chicken. The dry rub was pretty intense but had a good flavor, and the chicken was really moist. You feel the burn in your mouth, throat and sinuses (the way it should be). The greens were the best I’ve had in a long time, maybe ever in Tennessee. The white beans were spicy and flavorful and were a great compliment to the chicken.
If you want true southern food, this is the place to go. It has the feel of a meat and three, with the bonus of hot chicken. The lady who took our order was really friendly and the food came quickly.

The Chicken! This was my first «hot chicken» experience since moving here and I am so excited I can’t wait to come back here as well as try lots of other places. The chicken was awesome, I ordered the mild because while I like spicy, I don’t have the best tolerance for it, and the mild was plenty for me. Spicy enough to burn just a little but not too much that I was uncomfortable. I ordered a quarter leg, the skin was nice and crunchy, had great flavor, and like I said, plenty of spice. The meat pulled a part nice and easy, was juicy and had wonderful flavor. My brother got their spiciest, he is very brave. While he was making a lot of woooo oooo sounds he loved it. Ate every bite. He even went in and ordered a catfish sandwich (which was equally delicious and amazing as the chicken) and ate all of that too. Some mentioned the inside of the restaurant is a little bland, which is true, but it’s what I would expect coming to a small place like this. The outside seating area was great, plenty of space and tables. Where the star is lost was for the sides. Very peppery… is this a thing? The very peppered mashed potatoes were good, nothing amazing. It was the mac and cheese that was a let down. So much pepper… on mac and cheese? It was kind of weird.
Over all I really enjoyed it, and certainly plan on returning soon!

I prefer the location on Main Street. First, because the Main Street location has character and second, when I went to the Franklin Pike location they ran out of utensils and numerous other items. I will say the staff was extremely apologetic and they were having an uncharacteristically bad day.
With the above stated, here are reasons to go to the Franklin Pike location.
1. It is more spacious.
2. I believe it has a bathroom (do that ahead of time).
3. Parking is easier.
Overall the food is the same, but I had to give it one less star for the preparedness of the staff on my last visit.