Harold's Chicken Shack

I'm a truck driver from California and every time I'm visiting or driving through Chicago the first thing I do when I touch down is get me some Harold's chicken this place is 5 stars across the board kind of mad this location had no banana pudding BUT SCRATCH that the CHICKEN the SAUCE ain't nothing BETTER!!! and my fat self done been to uncle Remus and all them copy cats yeah yeah nah Harold's got my dollar when it comes to the chicken In Chicago keep doin

Harold's is a South Side institution and this place is an excellent place to satisfy your craving. Harold's was designed for each franchise to develop its own ambiance/vibe - it was specifically trying to avoid the cookie cutter molds you see from other fast food places. This is probably why it's a bit inconsistent from location to location; this franchise is great. My usual order is a half chicken meal with both mild and spicy sauce. I thought this came out great - it has the same excellent taste as the other Harold's places I've been to. It's been rated as one of the best Harold's in Chicago and I think the ranking makes sense. The location itself is very clean and everyone was very friendly. There are a few tables around but it's not designed for you to dine-in; it's made for takeout. Harold's cooks its meals to order so expect to wait at least 10 minutes. It's not as fast as your other fast food franchises - but most fast food places don't cook your meal to order so I think it's well worth the wait. They also accept grubhub orders here if you don't want to order at the counter and wait. I think it's definitely worth the wait - Harold's is something I try to get whenever I am back in Chicago!

Hard to understand complaints about Harold's, this one or any of them. There can be some inconsistency between locations, sure, but overall it's exactly what you're looking for if you're looking for fried chicken.Complaints about speed of service also annoy me somewhat: this place is an institution. Honestly, if you really think about it, you are probably also slow. The service was slow when I went, but I also don't blame them from mostly switching to a pickup-oriented service model that assumes more time between order and pickup than what happens when you order in person and wait in the restaurant. The "slowness" is also the reason the food is so fresh.I ordered a white 1/4 dinner. Excellent. It was so perfectly fried, I was shocked to see there were almost no bones left when I was done. As a former Chicagoan who doesn't get to have Harold's whenever I want anymore, I'm happy to see this institution surviving despite the past few years.

They are quick and efficient!! Flavor remains the same. Close location...118th and Pulaski

Best Harold's in the city. I always used to get half white, salt/pepper and hot on the side. After a while I started getting mixed buckets because I could eat it and not have to cook for a couple days. The breading is nice and if you get your sauce on the side the chicken stays crispier.Livers are good and I like their okra too.There's no real consistency between different Harold's locations. Some are terrible. Some are decent. Some are real good. This location is my favorite for the consistent food quality.P.S. I know where they get their hot sauce and buy it to use at home. It's really good stuff, similar to Frank's but more vinegar and spice.

Protip: Make sure you have plenty of time to wait for your order. There's not much seating inside so pick somewhere nearby to eat or don't order anything that will get soggy while you take it back home.Highlights: Wings were pretty good and I'd be open to trying other items from the menu.Lowlights: It look forever to get our food and we didn't order very much. French fries were very soft and not really my style.

August 13, 2022, dining after parade with the lovebugs. It was the kids and I first time in Chicago, but not bay's. As a foodblogger and foodie, I eat by researching reviews, food pictures, and presentation of the food first-hand. This establishment is a Chi-town staple; but the wait time was not bad at all. Not sure if it was meant to dine-in because they had the bigger tables blocked off. On the other hand, there were 2 smaller tables visible, but already occupied. We cleaned the tables off and sat down after the previous customers. Then proceeded to wait for our food to be ready. I ordered 2pc catfish and 2 wings (lemon pepper), came with order of fries. My food was seasoned well, not salty at all - just bursting with flavor. Will definitely recommend and also eat here again upon return visit.#memphisfoodblogger #chicagoroadtrip #dinein #wherelocalsgo #travelingblogger

Chicken was good. Nice and fresh. Got Sauce on the side. Service was great and had Nice throwback pictures on the wall..

There is nothing like good Harold's chicken !! I love the mild sauce with lemon pepper!!!

Of course I'd visit Harold's Chicken #88, considered to be the best of all the Chicken Shacks. Harold's Chicken Shack was explicitly called out as the place to go for Chicago's take on fried chicken when I visited Skydeck earlier.The breading, the crispiness, the crunchiness is perfect. They've got the right amount of salt in their fried chicken. The fries are well done. The sauce is legitimately spicy; there's a clear difference between spicy and mild. What's great about the mild sauce is that it's not a sweet sauce--it is actually "mild." Main downsides I see are the unusually small amount of coleslaw and the current tax due to the wing shortage (20% tax is hard to chew on). The 1/4 chicken dinner is what I'd recommend people get. You won't be disappointed!