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10 Fried Chicken Sandwiches That Hit the Spot

The best local options to satisfy the classic craving

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New Orleans restaurants have long celebrated the heavenly combination of fried chicken, pickles, and some sort of mayo on a pillowy soft bun. And now that America has (for now) effectively killed Popeyes’ newly-introduced crispy chicken sandwich, it’s a good time to revisit the city’s wealth of top-notch options for the Southern-fried staple. Here are eleven picks for the best fried chicken sandwiches in New Orleans.

Don’t see your favorite Southern style chicken sandwich in New Orleans? Leave a comment or send an email.

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Cowbell

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This lively, casual Riverbend spot excels at everything on the menu, and the crispy chicken sandwich is no exception. Fried chicken, applewood smoked bacon, Swiss cheese, creamy slaw, and habanero-honey, it comes with a choice of soup, salad, or fries to help justify the $15.95 price. Only available during lunch, served Tuesday through Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Frey Smoked Meat Co.

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This Mid City barbecue hot spot has some of the best sausage, biscuits, and brisket in town, but it also has a killer fried chicken sandwich. This one comes with two tenders in a soft brioche bun, sriracha aioli, and shredded iceberg lettuce. $11, available at lunch and dinner.

Frey’s chicken sandwich, topped with sriracha aioli, pickles, and lettuce, served on a butcher board with french fries
Frey’s chicken sandwich is topped with sriracha aioli, pickles, and lettuce
Frey Smoked Meat Co./Facebook

Toups Meatery

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This haven for all things meat has long been known for its buttermilk fried chicken sandwich. It’s only available during lunch, but Toups’s combo of fontina, caper aioli, pickles, and a ciabatta-like bun hits all the right notes. On the pricier end at $15.

Blue Oak BBQ

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Warning: this local favorite is only available on Tuesdays, an oft-lamented fact on NOLA Twitter. The spicy fried chicken sandwich at Blue Oak is one of the only on this map that comes dripping with sauce, closer to a Nashville-style hot chicken sandwich — spicy, messy, and delicious. It sometimes sells out on Tuesdays, so get there early, or try Blue Oak’s spicy chicken biscuits on Sunday mornings starting September 8.

McClure's Barbecue

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McClure’s is yet another place known for its smoked meat that excels in the fried chicken sandwich arena. Located in Nola Brewing’s taproom, McClure’s Barbecue is currently throwing its hat in the ring with a series of Monday chicken sandwich wars, rolling out a handful of versions — banh mi, buffalo bacon and blue cheese, cordon bleu, and a classic with pickles.

McChicken Fil-A with smoked pickles
McClure’s Barbecue/Facebook

District Donuts Sliders Brew

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New Orleans’s doughnut sandwich sensation District Donuts also touts an excellent chicken option, sans doughnut. A perfectly-fried chicken breast is topped with buttermilk garlic slaw, candied jalapeños, and spicy pimento cheese on a house made bun. $9.25, and available all day.

The Company Burger

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After popular demand, Company Burger added a chicken sandwich to the menu permanently in 2017, and it’s one of the best in town. We love the softer fry of this breast; it’s not so breaded and crispy as to make it difficult to eat. Seasoned nicely and topped with shaved cabbage, mayo, and Company Burger’s great pickles, this $10 classic is served on a soft brioche bun.

Fried chicken breast with shaved cabbage, mayo, and pickles served on a brioche bun
Company Burger added a chicken sandwich to the menu permanently in 2017
The Company Burger/Facebook

Willa Jean

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Willa Jean’s fried chicken sandwich is a beauty, with bright purple serrano-spiked slaw and a huge hunk of meat in a Hawaiian roll. It’s $13 and available for lunch and dinner, with a biscuit version available during weekend brunch.

Sylvain

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Inarguably one of the most loved chicken sandwiches in town, Sylvain’s buttermilk-fried chicken breast is top-notch, and worth the $15 price tag. Classically accompanied by hot sauce and pickles, the fries that come with it are just as dreamy.

Chicken Sandwich with buttermilk-fried chicken breast, hot sauce, pickles, and fries
The chick-syl-vain sandwich at Sylvain
Sylvain/Facebook

Cane & Table

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Chef Alfredo Nogueira’s chicken sandwich at Cane & Table is a nod to one of the most popular items on the menu at his previous restaurant, the Bywater’s Cafe Henri. Now closed, the lovely corner cafe became known for the sandwich soon after Nogueria came in and revamped the menu. At Cane & Table, you can get the $12 version with pickled red onions, cabbage, and spicy mayo during brunch on Saturday and Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Cowbell

This lively, casual Riverbend spot excels at everything on the menu, and the crispy chicken sandwich is no exception. Fried chicken, applewood smoked bacon, Swiss cheese, creamy slaw, and habanero-honey, it comes with a choice of soup, salad, or fries to help justify the $15.95 price. Only available during lunch, served Tuesday through Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Frey Smoked Meat Co.

This Mid City barbecue hot spot has some of the best sausage, biscuits, and brisket in town, but it also has a killer fried chicken sandwich. This one comes with two tenders in a soft brioche bun, sriracha aioli, and shredded iceberg lettuce. $11, available at lunch and dinner.

Frey’s chicken sandwich, topped with sriracha aioli, pickles, and lettuce, served on a butcher board with french fries
Frey’s chicken sandwich is topped with sriracha aioli, pickles, and lettuce
Frey Smoked Meat Co./Facebook

Toups Meatery

This haven for all things meat has long been known for its buttermilk fried chicken sandwich. It’s only available during lunch, but Toups’s combo of fontina, caper aioli, pickles, and a ciabatta-like bun hits all the right notes. On the pricier end at $15.

Blue Oak BBQ

Warning: this local favorite is only available on Tuesdays, an oft-lamented fact on NOLA Twitter. The spicy fried chicken sandwich at Blue Oak is one of the only on this map that comes dripping with sauce, closer to a Nashville-style hot chicken sandwich — spicy, messy, and delicious. It sometimes sells out on Tuesdays, so get there early, or try Blue Oak’s spicy chicken biscuits on Sunday mornings starting September 8.

McClure's Barbecue

McClure’s is yet another place known for its smoked meat that excels in the fried chicken sandwich arena. Located in Nola Brewing’s taproom, McClure’s Barbecue is currently throwing its hat in the ring with a series of Monday chicken sandwich wars, rolling out a handful of versions — banh mi, buffalo bacon and blue cheese, cordon bleu, and a classic with pickles.

McChicken Fil-A with smoked pickles
McClure’s Barbecue/Facebook

District Donuts Sliders Brew

New Orleans’s doughnut sandwich sensation District Donuts also touts an excellent chicken option, sans doughnut. A perfectly-fried chicken breast is topped with buttermilk garlic slaw, candied jalapeños, and spicy pimento cheese on a house made bun. $9.25, and available all day.

The Company Burger

After popular demand, Company Burger added a chicken sandwich to the menu permanently in 2017, and it’s one of the best in town. We love the softer fry of this breast; it’s not so breaded and crispy as to make it difficult to eat. Seasoned nicely and topped with shaved cabbage, mayo, and Company Burger’s great pickles, this $10 classic is served on a soft brioche bun.

Fried chicken breast with shaved cabbage, mayo, and pickles served on a brioche bun
Company Burger added a chicken sandwich to the menu permanently in 2017
The Company Burger/Facebook

Willa Jean

Willa Jean’s fried chicken sandwich is a beauty, with bright purple serrano-spiked slaw and a huge hunk of meat in a Hawaiian roll. It’s $13 and available for lunch and dinner, with a biscuit version available during weekend brunch.

Sylvain

Inarguably one of the most loved chicken sandwiches in town, Sylvain’s buttermilk-fried chicken breast is top-notch, and worth the $15 price tag. Classically accompanied by hot sauce and pickles, the fries that come with it are just as dreamy.

Chicken Sandwich with buttermilk-fried chicken breast, hot sauce, pickles, and fries
The chick-syl-vain sandwich at Sylvain
Sylvain/Facebook

Cane & Table

Chef Alfredo Nogueira’s chicken sandwich at Cane & Table is a nod to one of the most popular items on the menu at his previous restaurant, the Bywater’s Cafe Henri. Now closed, the lovely corner cafe became known for the sandwich soon after Nogueria came in and revamped the menu. At Cane & Table, you can get the $12 version with pickled red onions, cabbage, and spicy mayo during brunch on Saturday and Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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