Is Dave's Hot Chicken Overpriced Or Worth The Price? Here's What Customers Are Saying

When Dave's Hot Chicken opened its first location in my hometown, locals couldn't wait to line up and try the chicken chain that boasted celebrity investors like Drake, Samuel L. Jackson, and Michael Strahan. But, with a price tag of around $50 for 10 tenders, does Dave's live up to the hype? The chain got its start in 2017 as a late-night pop-up in LA and has rapidly expanded since then. In 2023, it had 169 locations. Currently, the plan is to add 150 new spots each year, including some Dave's Hot Chicken restaurants outside of the U.S. That's a lot of confidence in the sizable signature offerings that have a growing fan base insisting it's worth the seemingly high cost.

At this chain, the secret's in the sauce, an extremely spicy one that's more of an oily paste applied to each tender to keep it crispy. The flavors range from no spice to Reaper, and it may cost you more than $5 per tender. And when you order the Reaper, you have to sign a waiver acknowledging "its extreme heat and potential risks, including injury, property damage, distress, or death." That's a hefty price to pay, but some people really risk it for the tender.

The online debate shows just how divided people are over the price. Some say $50 for fast-food chicken is outrageous. "Almost $50 for 10 strips. It's a different kind of stupid," one Redditor wrote on the r/StupidFood sub. But Dave's fans argue the tenders are larger than they appear in the photos. "By strip, do you mean like half a chicken breast?" another user replied.

Now that Dave's Hot Chicken has become more established, the price debate has become a common theme in online communities. Facebook users described sliders so big they became two meals, with some saying the tenders stretched into leftovers for days. Many claim that while the price might seem high initially, the 10-piece box easily feeds five or more people.

I had a similar experience on my first visit to Dave's. I've tried Hattie B's and Prince's Hot Chicken in Nashville, the latter a chicken joint inspired by a jilted lover's revenge that gave us some seriously hot fried food. So, at Dave's, I didn't hesitate to order the mild heat tenders (there are four hotter versions available). It lit me up, and I had to give up after one slider. I think it was worth the price size-wise, but it wasn't worth it to feel like I was on an episode of "Hot Ones" sans the conversation. Maybe I should have added the $11 large Lucky Charms Top-Loaded Shake.