Ezell’s Famous Chicken

This place does not need another endorsement. The fried chicken as good as it is hyped. It was juicy and tender and downright delicious.
We got a combo (four pieces) with (two) rolls. We were worried and though it seemed less for 2. But it was more than we could eat. The only bummer was that the spicy version was not spicy enough but we doused enough spicy sauce to make it so.

The service was pretty rude/​impatient even though there was only one person who walked in like thirty seconds behind me. I don’t usually mind bad service a long as the food is good (Hi, really Chinese restaurants!), but the chicken was just flavorless. The leg was dry, the meat on the inside of the thigh literally had no flavor, the breading itself was pretty bland and not spicy at all (yes, I ordered spicy). The mashed potatoes and the bread roll were eh. The only good thing I ate was the corn. (They were out of mac and cheese.)
Long story short, if you have a car, go find yourself a Popeye’s instead. Or pay up for one of the expensive foodie places in Cap Hill. (Skillet’s chicken is affordable during happy hour and very tasty.)

Best chicken strips ever.
The fried chicken is good, but doesn’t have anything on the spicy tenders.
I usually get the 1 lb spicy combo, makes my day every time. The chicken is moist, crispy, spicy, but not too spicy and extremely flavorful. The breading is the perfect consistency and isn’t too thick. Just the way Oprah likes it!
The rolls are also amazing and made fresh every day. The sides are the weak link, the fries are the only viable option. All the other sides are either too greasy or taste off.

Came here during my trip to Seattle from Los Angeles. I was told that Opra flies in Ezell’s to her home because it’s by far the best fried chicken, so obviously I had to try it. We got a 8-​piece with BBQ beans and mac n cheese. I was so incredibly disappointed, the fried chicken had no taste whatsoever. KFC is by far better than this. I honestly hope Opra really doesn’t fly this chicken in to her home. The chicken has a crisp but there is no real fried chicken flavor, we had to use their honey mustard sauce because I needed something to make it taste better. The two sides we ordered were good, but beans and mac n cheese aren’t hard to get right.

If you are going to have fried chicken this is definitely the pace to go. Flavor is fantastic. Sides are very tasty. I can’t eat any other fried chicken anymore.

A byproduct of the Oprah effect, Ezell’s does chicken on par with an average fried chicken joint in the South. As a self-​proclaimed fried chicken fanatic having grown up in Tennessee, it takes a lot to impress me when it comes to fried chicken but also lot to disappoint me (hence the three stars) since what’s not to love about a juicy bird with crispy skin and a touch of herbs and spices? Those who sing Ezell’s praises the highest seem to have the mindset that if Oprah says its good, then it must be good. Apparently she has become the expert on chai tea (Starbucks), popular fiction (we all know how great «A Million Little Pieces» turned out), Spanx, technological devices (Kindle), and apparently fried chicken.
I also find comments like «best fried chicken in the state» to be almost backhanded or uninformed since me describing a raw oyster joint as the best one in Tennessee isn’t saying much to those living along a coast. Although I left relatively underwhelmed with the chicken, I am fairly impressed with the jedi mindtrick the queen of media has been able to pull on the masses. This place is authentic for what it is, just not sure if I’d wait in line in the rain, endure second-​rate customer service, and find an alternate venue (no seating) to eat this chicken. It better be «Soup Nazi» good in order to earn a return visit.
Adiós muchacho!

Actually really disappointing fried chicken. Dry, not much flavor. You would do better to just make your own fried chicken.

Whoopsies…
(Thought I’d reviewed this joint already).
So while in «Emerald City» a month or two ago, on foot, we were stopped by a local transient (no judgment there…) and as we attempted to offer him cash, a conversation evoked. Recognizing him to be a local, we inquired with him on where the «soul food» joints were; I will definitely be taking our conversation w/​this guy to the grave.
HE WAS HIGH — larious! (emphasis on «HIGH)
Exhausted from all of the town’s tourist attractions (i.e.: the Space Needle, the Seattle Great Wheel, Pike’s Market, etc.), we sought something a bit more «off the grid».
Inevitably, this lad suggested we check out «Chocolate City» and Ubering our way to this part of town, while there wasn’t all that much «chocolate», it became all the more apparent that we weren’t in Kansas any longer.
_​_​_​_​_​_​_​We did, however, manage to stumble upon Ezell’s Famous Chicken.________
Located in Seattle’s «Central District» borough, directly across from the «Quincy Jones Performing Arts Center» sits Ezell’s — a local neighborhood icon for some 2 decades now.
Walking in and away from the local road construction, it’s relatively easy to conclude this place to be your local hole in the wall.
Menu items, while reasonably priced, include: Spicy chicken, Breaded chicken, Baked Beans, Sweet Rolls, Tatuh’ salad (that’s how you say it when you’re in a soul food joint, lol), as well as Coleslaw and Sweet Tatuh’ pie.
* * * * Believe it or not, this place has somehow managed to grace Okrah’ Winfrey’s list of «favorite places». Regrettably however… I can’t state that either of us saw why. Sorry O-​Deezy (…and you’re spozed’ to be from Mississippi. Tisk… Tisk…).
While portions are served in ginormous abundance, I was compelled to deduct a star or two seeing as… what they weren’t out of, I/​we found to be QUITE uninspiring.
Another reviewer alleged items here to be «flavorful but not spicy»; I’ll gladly concur. This was ALLLL «Lawry’s Seasoned Salt» and «Mrs. Dash» but lacked the necessary paprika and cayenne pepper to take it up a notch.
In addition, by no means does this qualify as a «sit down establishment». This place was (***coughs***) about that big yet it pleased us to find that there are a mutha’clukkin’ (see what I did there?)…12 additional locations to this franchise — from Bellevue, Tacoma, Spokane across the Atlantic to:
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates! — say what???
While I’d go so far as to disagree w/​Mizz’ Winfrey in her need to have this chicken flown out to better satisfy any such hunger cravings, without reluctance would I be willing enough to add it to our «to do» list when in town again.
[ —-whispers prayer that Oprah –NEVER– stumbles upon this review: EVERYONE KNOWS YOU DON’T DISAGREE W/​OPRAH!!!]
Last but certainly not least, …based solely upon the pot fumes wafting around this entire locale, I’d have to conclude by hypothesizing that my assessment came just in time for ⁴⁄₂₀.
Thank me later.
#puff-​puff-​pass

Ezell’s is just straight up good chicken. I don’t know if its the BEST fried chicken I’ve ever had but its just good solid food. I actually door dashed the order since I’m not a local. (door dash delivered to my hotel room!!!) I was shocked at how hot and crispy the chicken was considering it was piping hot when I got it. Normally crispy anything gets soggy from the condensation. I got the spicy tenders (not that spicy but tasty) and brown gravy… which was kinda meh… and crinkle fries. The hot sauce is clearly crystal hot sauce which I’m happy with.

The best fried chicken in the game. This place is no frills, just great chicken and some other soulful choices such as fried gizzards, okra and peach cobbler.
Quick and honest service with a smile. Go here and get some great food, don’t even worry how long the line is… Wait on it!

A bit of a disappointment. Between the seven of us, we ordered the 24 piece family combo and a half pound of fried okra. Service was surprisingly sloppy! Most would expect a restaurant with no seating to be on top of their takeout game, but ours was missing an entire side dish, several sauces, utensils, and napkins. C’mon guys. The food itself was mediocre, I felt a little embarrassed about how much I talked this place up to my friends. Chicken was pretty dry depending on your luck of the draw and the sides were too bland. If I’m gonna treat myself to a junkfoody meal, I want it to be so intensely juicy and flavorful it makes me forget about how I could’ve picked a healthier meal. Maybe next time, Ezell’s…

I ordered creamy coleslaw and more items but for me it seemed way greasy and the coleslaw was the worst I’ve ever tried. Idk what that rave is all about. I will choose KFC over them any day. And the customer service was terrible
Will not be back

Alright Oprah, let’s see what cha got!
We did a family style meal between 3 and got the 8 piece fried chicken with corn and mash potatoes on the side along with baked rolls.
I wasn’t too impressed, I ordered spicy and it wasn’t even close. The sides were alright again nothing amazing. I’ve had better fried chicken in New Orleans.
Prices are decent but again it’s fried chicken, how much can it cost?
Major con: no seating, I guess you could be like Action Bronson and just eat on the hood of your car.
Heads up to my home girl Oprah, you need to get some chicken from NOLA instead!

Peeps come here for one thing, fried chicken take out. No seating, No baked chicken here, only fried, regular or spicy. I used to get regular, now I only get the spicy. It’s more flavorful and It’s not really that spicy.
Driving here is a little difficult now, since there is road construction on 23^rd Avenue. Parking lot is great, not a ton of spots, but it’s easy to find one.
The chicken is always fresh and juicy. The batter is thick and crunchy. Prices had gone up a little. I always get the two single-​piece option. the price used to be different per the piece of chicken that you want. Now its all the same price, no matter if you want a piece of breast or a drum stick. I think it’s $ 2.80 per piece now.
This lady in front of me was trying to order a family bucket of 24 pieces. But no substitutions were allowed. She wanted drum sticks and wings, instead of breast and thighs. Cashier still said no. Crispy Good Chicken!

A co-​worker raved about this place, and we drove out of our way back from visiting friends in Seattle to check this place out. At the time, the roads were all torn up, so we drove through the next street over. Walked in, and there was a line of about 5 people, yet the parking lot was full.
We were driving back to Portland, and didn’t realize that this wasn’t an establishment to sit and dine. Oh well, no worries. We ate the chicken on our drive home. I honestly didn’t think it was anything special. The chicken was hanging out under heat lamps, and tasted like it had been there for awhile. A little reminiscent of gas station grub, which I definitely have no qualms about, but I didn’t think spicy had any spice to it.
Not sure if Seattle has Popeye’s, but I love me some Popeye’s and would probably choose this over Ezell’s.

Ever since I found this Ezell’s chicken, I do not like KFC anymore.
The way that they batter their chicken here is unlike any other chicken that I’ve eaten. It’s almost tempura style and that makes it come out super crispy. I always order mine spicy but I have yet to actually get any that actually has a kick to it. They should just say plain or seasoned. I do not like the fries. They are flavorless, bland and just not good. The fried okra is amazing and they have many other sides to choose from. The peach cobbler is amazing too.
I always opt for 1lb of spicy strips with honey mustard for dipping. It comes with 2 sweet bread rolls and there is nothing better in my opinion.
If you’re looking for some awesome fried chicken then you have to go to Ezell’s. It will change your life.
Thanks for reading.

My friend were randomly walking back from Trader Joes in the U-​District, when we see Ezell’s Famous Chicken Express truck parked right in front of our bus stop. We knew it was a sign! My fellow Elite-​er, Nicole B and I had to stop over, even though we had many grocery bags filled with delicious food.
We ended up sharing the wingette combo (spicy). It was juicy, tender, and flavorful! It went perfectly with the variety of sauces provided, but I could of easily do without the mini rolls it came with. In the future, I’d get the a la carte option versus the combo. So delicious and I hope to see the truck again in my area!

Ezell’s has the best spicy chickens and the best rolls. The food here is always quick and efficient. Friendly staff and consistent food is why I give this play 4 stars. I don’t like that it’s take out only and condiments aren’t free. But other than that I really don’t have any complaints.

This is a review for the food truck, and a mighty fine review it will be.
My cousin and I got combos at Ezelles, parked outside South Lake Union, right outside of MOHAI. The chicken was crispy and full of flavor, the krinkle cut fries classic, and the sweet rolls moist and flakey. To top it off, the service was so friendly it borderlines brown-​nosing. The gal at the window downright gushed over my curls and said «if I had your hair I would be so vain.» Aw, shucks.
Plus, they take cards.

I came here on a Sunday evening to be a fat kid thinking that no one would be here. And the result? Long ass line! There’s a reason for the high demand: the chicken here is just amazing!
I’ve had original, spicy, chicken tenders, dark chicken, and all the different sides (e.g. mashed potatoes and gravy, rolls, cole slaw). Below is my 2 cents for each one:
Original v. spicy = SPICY is BETTER, so choose it! It is actually not that spicy if you compare it to other spicy food. Good kick that gives it some flavor, but does not detract from the overall intended taste of the meat.
Chicken tenders = warm and tender and not too dry! I usually get the tenders with honey mustard (you get a choice of sauce), but the place also has ranch and BBQ sauce.
Dark chicken = this is my usual go to (e.g. «3-​piece dark») when I go to Ezell’s. It is just so finger lickin’ good I don’t even how to characterize it!
Rolls = warm and moist (funny how some people don’t like the word ‘moist’), but honestly I grew up with Popeye’s and like their buttermilk biscuits more. That’s probably just me though.
Other sides = mashed potatoes and coleslaw are solid and complement well with the chicken. Plus, if you’re like me, you’ll feel a little bit healthier and less guiltier by eating them. Both are essentially vegetables, no?
Just as a forewarning this place is not a sit down because there are no tables, but I guess you can sit on the hood of your car as you eat in the parking lot. Also, sometimes the credit card machine there does not work; I’ve had that happen to me maybe a few times. And word on the street is that Oprah will sometimes order Ezell’s to have it flown over to her. That’s how good it is!

One word: OPRAH
someone told me this was oprah’s favorite chicken joint. Hearing that already made my meal taste substantially better.
But in all seriousness, best fried chicken I’ve ever eaten. Better than Popeyes.

Where else to go for some hearty southern soul food besides the Oprah-​endorsed fried chicken haven?
The peach cobbler and potato mash were alright, coleslaw was fairly good and the bread roll the chicken came up with was SO GOOD. Slightly sweet and so soft, goes great with the chicken. And what you come here for, obviously, are the ginormous pieces of drumsticks and thighs with skin that’s devilishly crispy and flavourful. Get the spicy version, it wasn’t very spicy but just the right amount of flavour. That picture of Oprah in the smack of the resto was strategically placed and the endorsement was rightfully given