Pepperfire Hot Chicken

Was recommend to go here while in town visiting for work. I get here 8:48pm and the door says it closes at 9 and they already stopped taking orders. Well… that’s disappointing even to make a Togo order? Can’t miss something you never got to try. Not making a trip to come back at ALL while I’m still here for a week to so!

All my comparison so far is to Joella’s hot chicken in Louisville (5 stars).
Came at 8pm on a Tuesday night. Place had begun closing early. No potato salad and all orders were served in a togo box.
Took 30 minutes to cook our chicken and then some of the skin was over fried.
Compared to Joella’s (5 star) this was only 3.
With the right friends I would come back again for another try.

So hot it even makes girls need to poop even though they don’t have a butthole. Great collard greens too!

Went here on our last day in town after having great hot chicken at several other places during our trip. They claimed to be a step hotter than Hattie B’s so I ordered light mild and my boyfriend ordered a sandwich hot. My chicken was just as hot has his. We asked and they assured us that I got light mild. It didn’t have flavor, it just burned. Admittedly I don’t like crazy spicy food but the mild at Hattie’s was great, here it just hurt.
Bottom line: Just drive to midtown and wait in line at Hattie B’s.

The inside is kind of small and populated by three very long community tables that everyone shares. This is also counter service. The line moved rather quickly and I’d say we only waited about 10 minutes or less for our order.
The food was delicious. I had greens, slaw, and baked beans. The chicken was wonderful. My wife ordered medium and I ordered hot. While my wife could tell there was a significant difference in the spice level, I could not. They both seemed extremely mild. However, the flavor was really, really complex and savory.
I’m only giving four stars because I don’t think the chicken lived up to the name «hot chicken».
We went during the lunch hours. While there, I felt safe as a transwoman. I would consider this place a safe space.

What you need to know…
Clean.
Safe neighborhood.
Limited parking.
Good value.
Hot, tasty and VERY SPICY.
Medium is more than hot hot enough.
Call ahead and get it to go.

The chicken is hot!!! I normally like really spicy food but ordered medium hot here since I hadn’t been before and am glad I did, the heat build as you eat. I truly enjoyed it though and the sides were great. Staff was friendly and helpful.

We’ve been going to Pepperfire since we moved to Nashville and no other hot chicken we’ve tried compares. (Although, the princess at Biscuit Love, while being a different idea than traditional hot chicken, is also super delicious.)
I realize that it’s more popular to swear by Hattie B’s, but we finally tried it and were underwhelmed. It was not nearly as hot, was a smaller portion, and had no flavor other than its more mild heat to recommend it. Pepperfire has more heat, more sweetness, and more seasoning in general.
They also have good sides. Not as good as Edley’s, but just fine.
I will say we’re bummed they no longer serve mac, since there’s nothing else on the menu that our toddler will eat. I asked the owner about it and he kindly explained they just couldn’t get past inconsistency issues and had to take it off the menu. He suggested the apples for kids, but that’s basically just sugar…
All in all, I guess it’s kind of a relief not to love Hattie B’s. Cause now we have no reason to fight traffic when Pepperfire is right here and SO much better.

Very good chicken. I got mild and it was pretty darn hot. I normally get spicy food and can handle it but was warned about the spicy levels. There is a unique flavor that a really liked. The only negative is that I wished they made their own ranch dressing instead of the store bought packets to use for dipping.

We ventured out to lunch headed towards Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack. We got there around lunchtime and the place was already too busy for the likes of our crowd. Luckily we found Pepperfire’s. A much cleaner place and you don’t need a four wheel drive to get through the overflow parking lot like you do at Prince’s. (Top Gear could almost film a show there).
We got to Pepperfire’s, easy parking, clean, and a much less worn space. The food was excellent! Some of us wanted to order the extra hot but luckily took the advice of the staff to knock it down to just Hot. Thank goodness, the pain I saw in their faces eating just the «hot» said it all. As good as the hot chicken was, the sides were just as tasty, especially the collards. I would eat there again in a heartbeat.

As a man that loves spicy food, I was fully ready to take on Pepperfire. I’m used to white people that think mild food is spicy, so I decided to go with the hot chicken strips (rather than xtra hot or xxtra hot) thinking I was playing it safe. I should’ve known to be careful with the heat, however, when I saw that there was a «light mild» on the menu, which was a level below regular mild. I placed my order, found a seat, and waited on my meat feast.
Finally, my food was delivered. The employee smiled, probably knowing that would be the last joyful moment I would experience for quite some time. I ate the first bite. The chicken was great, and the spice was pretty intense. I ate another bite. The heat got much more intense, almost unbearably so. I thought trying the ranch dressing would help. It didn’t. I thought drinking the entire cup of ranch dressing would help. It didn’t. I ate the big slice of bread that was included with the chicken. It was covered in hot sauce. The inferno in my mouth was intensifying and I frantically began to plot solutions, including suicide.
I began to lose my hearing and things around me started to move in slow motion. As I looked around me, I noticed groups of people, all laughing, conversing, smiling, and generally enjoying life without tears pouring from their eyes or their faces the color of a boiling lobster. And in that moment I hated them all. I tried to calmly walk to the bathroom so no one would look at me and become aware of the intense pain that I was in. I locked the door behind me and immediately began to furiously scrub my tongue with paper towels. After I realized that wasn’t going to do anything to temper the pain, I briefly contemplated cutting my tongue off altogether. I blacked out and came to at a brewery down the road, and somewhere in there I regained feeling in my mouth. Next time I’ll get the light mild.

I love food. I really love chicken. You know that saying, «you are what you eat»? Well, if that were true I’d be a chicken. Actually I’d be bacon, but for the purposes of this review, I’m a chicken.
Speaking of being a chicken, spicy, hot food makes me wimpy. Luckily, they have degrees of spiciness. I went with mild, which had «noticable heat» according to the menu, for my chicken tenders. I was a little scared that this may be a bit too much, but apparently, I’ve become less wimpy with age (though I do get heartburn… boo!). This was some seriously delicious chicken! I’d definitely go mild again. If you’re seriously a wimp, I’d say you should go with light mild or southernfied.
I love fried okra, and they do theirs well.
For my next visit, I plan to try the chicken and waffles.

We all know that hot chicken is a very stratified thing here in town. One needs only look at the number of reviews a place has in relation to its authenticity/​historic relation to the fiery bird to get a better view of things. That said, the heart wants what the heart wants and there are enough places in town to give you the hot chicken experience you crave. For me, it’s important to note that Pepperfire is the next iteration of the hot chicken experience and where you are on your hot chicken path will determine your experience.*
First things first, parking is a bit of a bear. There’s a small lot in front but that requires dealing with the Christine’s that make up Gallatin. I recommend parking on the side street and keeping it moving. The next thing you should notice are the really nice employees. I came in for my first visit and the very helpful woman behind the counter welcomed me, walked me through everything and kept a smile on her face. Realizing that she probably has to do this a lot made me appreciate and respect her graciousness even more. If you choose to eat your food here, note that it’s a slightly industrial space with family/​communal seating. If you don’t like strangers, beware. In any event, if you’re staying or leaving, you’re going to take a number and you’re going to wait. I appreciate freshly-​made food so waiting isn’t an issue. YMMV.
Now, here’s where things take a turn: the food. Pepperfire isn’t necessarily a purist take on hot chicken. There are many dishes that have interesting (read: cheese) components. It’s makes for a nice take on hot chicken but this is not Prince’s. Also not Prince’s, the sides. You won’t get mac & cheese. I thought I just wasn’t seeing it on the menu. Nope. It’s not there. The greens have a nice taste but it’s a small serving and comes with a lot of liquid. A lot. I ordered a half chicken (mild) with greens and fries. Don’t judge me: it was dinner on a Saturday night. I deserved it! While the chicken had a nice heat and flavor, I found that it was also very greasy. I know there have been complaints about dry chicken here (I hate dry chicken; no excuse for it) I found my meat (not just the skin) to be lathered in a sheen of grease. Not only was it visually off-​putting, it affected the taste. It wasn’t bad but I must admit to thinking about my meal more than I anticipated (in an effort to process it).
I think Pepperfire is best experienced with measured expectation. This isn’t your big mama’s hot chicken. It’s a variation of the classic that works for what it is. Know what you’re getting into beforehand and, I believe, your dining experience will be much better for it.
*Yes, I can’t believe I wrote all that either.

I came here while passing through Nashville on a cross-​country roadtrip. I initially selected this restaurant because we were traveling with our dog and needed outdoor seating. The pictures on Unilocal show window ordering and picnic tables out front, but Pepperfire Hot Chicken has moved to a new location. It is currently set up to be a fast casual restaurant. No outdoor seating our window ordering. You stand in line, order/​pay at the register, grab a number and a seat and wait for your number to be called.
We each ordered a tender royal, which is a deep-​fried, pepper-​jack grilled cheese with three chicken tenders on top. It is deep-​fried heaven in a basket. I went with the medium chicken and my fiancé ordered the XX hot chicken. Our meals ended up getting mixed up, so I ate about half of a XX hot tender before realizing (I was in pain, but it passed after a few minutes).
The chicken is different from what you’ll find in other areas of the country. It is fried, but not too crispy and the breading is red in color. On top of the breading is a seasoning rub, which adds additional flavor and heat.
This was a great stop. I’d recommend it to anyone passing through Nashville.

The tender royale is a gift from the junk food goods!
Hot, crunchy chicken tenders as spicy as you want them on top of a crunchy, deep-​fried grilled cheese?! Incredible. Have this with some pickles to add some sweet, acidic relief to this spicy, juicy, and fatty masterpiece!
The sides were meh, but the chicken was so juicy and smoky on top of that one of a kind grilled cheese, Pepper Fire deserves 5 stars.
FYI The «hot» level of spicy is hotter here than it is at Hattie B’s.

Can you handle heat? If so this place is for you! Let me start with the cashier… spitting image of southern charm. We split the chicken tenders (5) and left stuffed! We had the mild and boy did that even open up my sinuses! The seasoning blend is unique and delicious (it’s even on the French fries). If you are interested in spicy chicken please do yourself a favor and give this place a try!

Pepperfire has always been our go-​to hot chicken establishment. Last night we went for the first time in 2016 and things have changed.
1. They don’t answer the phone on Saturday nights. Don’t even try to call, it will keep ringing.
2. They stopped selling mac and cheese. The website is not wrong, they took it off the menu.
The first one I can deal with, but they really should put a recording that says, «due to the high volume of calls on Saturday nights, we no longer take orders over the phone. Please order online.»
The second thing makes me pretty upset. The mac and cheese is the perfect side to temper the heat. I don’t understand why they would remove it. It doesn’t make sense.
I attempted to get the potato salad and it was good, but the greens, they basically gave me a cup of liquid with no greens. It was very disappointing. Unfortunately, I think we’re going to have to switch over to Bolton’s or drive across town for our hot chicken fix.

I LOVE the new location. Jonnie helped us and was fantastic! Super nice and really knowledgeable, and helped us find exactly what we wanted. We got the royal — you get 3 tenders and deep fried grilled cheese. Get this if you are hungover. Ooftah! I got the light mild (I wasn’t feeling as brave today, usually I get the medium) and it had just enough spice but packed with killer flavor. My favorite hot chicken I’ve had in Nashville.

Don’t go to hot. Medium almost killed me. Chicken and grilled cheese was great! Lol

This used to be me and husband’s favorite hot chicken place. The food was tasty and cheap, the place was faster than Prince’s and they sent those convenient texts that let us know our food was ready. The people working were always SO friendly, and it felt like a true local spot. We knew we could always count fantastic chicken and mediocre mac and cheese…
I’m not sure if the restaurant is under new management, but this place has been ruined. Tourists might not know the difference, but I’m really disappointed.

Food is alright! Not many sides. Takes way too long for the food to come out! Rude staff!

How hard is it to mess up chicken that’s battered and deep fried then bathed in your choice of hot sauce?
Here’s the deal. The chicken is very good, not epic.
The hot chicken has cumin and that makes it very different.
I ordered the chicken royale which is a deep fried pepper jack cheese sandwich with the chicken strips on top.
Who thinks up these things?
Prices are a little steep for chicken but it is fresh and top notch ingredients.
I’ll go back.
A word of caution. It you are in a hurry, call it in. The wait time for walk up service is ridiculous.

This review is based on taste preferrence, tenders, wings, and service. Staff was great!
There sides are AMAZING! We had baked beans, collard greens, potato salad, and fries… all were great.
We ordered medium tenders and hot wings… and they were HOT, but no flavor. I like heat, but i want more than just heat. You bite in and the only thing that occurs is heat in your mouth. If thats what you want to happen, this is the place!
Also, i would say for $ 30 seems a little high… even with a beer and soda.

WHAT HAPPENED! This place used to be the best! FIX the chicken and make it crispy again! Please for the love of God fix it! FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING PLEASE!

I heard plenty of good things about Pepperfire so I decided to go. I wasn’t disappointed unlike my hotel stay. Lol. I had the Tender Royale. Its 3 tenders with a deep fried pepperjack cheese grilled cheese. Sounds amazing right? I loved it but I thought they put it all together. It was basically 3 tenders on top of the deep fried sandwich. Nonetheless it was delicious. The tenders were juicy and well seasoned. I wanted the mac and cheese but they don’t make that anymore. *sigh* The potato salad was good as well. I will definitely go back.

While I was in Nashville, I sampled 2 hot chicken places. We didn’t make it to Prince’s but we went to Hattie B’s as well as Pepperfire.
Take it from me, skip the line at Hattie B’s and go to Pepperfire, I liked their chicken better. Hattie B’s was very good, but Pepperfire was very very good!
Pepperfire’s chicken had a lot of flavor and a lot of heat, my boyfriend and I both had never had anything like it. You can also get a fried grilled cheese, I mean who doesn’t love fried things filled with cheese?
The service was great. While we were eating we ended up talking to the owner and he was super friendly and nice.

The. Best. Chicken. Ever. That is all.
PSA if you can’t handle spices at all, do not order medium heat level

We ordered online and had to wait twenty minutes longer than promised for our food. But the service was wonderful and the food was great. The mild chicken had me sweating. My husband got medium and could barely handle it. Delish!

Found about Pepperfire from a fellow Unilocaler (Daniel C from Hawaii), and was determined to check it out during my next trip to Nashville/​Ft Campbell. Well that trip came and I had the weekend free, so stopped by Pepperfire for dinner on Saturday. Not very crowded, spacious, bench seating, good amount of parking outside, I went up to the counter to figure out what I wanted. Some kind of chicken meal, with sides, variable heat levels– that’s good. Ordered the quarter chicken leg meal (one each drumstick and thigh) and a six wing meal to get leftovers and the sides I wanted (two collard greens, one okra, and one potato salad) — medium level heat. And a beer. Took a number and sat down, they delivered to the number. Piping hot and delicious, the heat level was right on the edge of what I could handle. Only ate one each thigh and wing there– I think if I ate more chicken I would have to order a pint of milk or ice cream to cool my tongue down. Lots of food, I definitely had several meals worth of leftovers to take out. Price for two meals and a beer with tip was not cheap– about $ 35, definitely an indulgence. Pepperfire is one of the best Tennessee spicy hot fried chicken in Nashville, and it will go on the repeat list. Recommend and will repeat whenever my travels bring me back to Nashville!

Every time I come to Nashville, I have to get my hot chicken fix. After waiting in ridiculously long lines at Prince’s with loads of tourists, I decided to branch out a few years ago and try Pepperfire. Their new location is much swankier than their old one and has nice seating, though the parking is tight. They also offer online ordering, which is a bonus. As you wait, you can smell the pepper in the air and it may even make you cough a couple times in a good way.
Pepperfire’s hot chicken is excellent and I find it less greasy than Prince’s on the whole. I typically order a quarter chicken medium, which is still way hotter than you would imagine. I love spicy food but the hot here is really painfully hot for me. The tender royale is also amazing– what’s not to love about hot chicken tenders over Texas toast grilled cheese? It is a tasty heart attack on a plate. The food is so delicious that it warrants 5 stars.
My one complaint is the service, which has been spotty since they moved to the new location. Recently my take out order came out and sat there for ten minutes while the employee counted tips, swept, and looked at her phone. I don’t expect stellar service when I get hot chicken take out, but I hope this was a fluke.
Every hot chicken joint in Nashville has its own take on the classic and Pepperfire is at the top of my list.

This place is really not that bad. I came here for the first time on Halloween to get ready for a long night of drinking. I was so hungry so I got 10 wings. I didn’t realize the wings were HUGE! I should have gotten 6 wings instead.
I don’t know why I didn’t like it. I guess it’s because it was dry rub. The meat didn’t have a good taste. Look– before I came to Pepperfire, I was one of those people who said Hattie B’s ain’t all that. But after coming here, I realized that Hattie B’s was really really good.
I came here with my fiancé and he didn’t like it either. I can’t seem to remember what he got but it was the sandwich with grilled cheese. It was just so big and it didn’t really compliment one another. The grilled cheese had friend chicken on it.
It might just be us. I’m not really sure. I would recommend it to other people just so you can try it yourself. It might just be a preference. The people who work at this place are really nice so if you have any questions, just be sure to ask them.

Turned us away at 8:30pm claiming to be closed. Hours of operation are until 9pm. Too many other hot chicken options to deal with that crap. Hattie Bs, Princes, Boltons, 400 Degrees, etc.
[UPDATED] Review from next visit:
Past 3 visits have consistently sucked. Tried calling ahead, all numbers listed online don’t work. Tried ordering online, system was down. Walked in and ordered AppleFire with fries. Waited 35 minutes sitting on a window sill. Got home and opened my food and there were no fries and my apples were on the side.
I can’t call to try and get a refund for the fries, and it’s not worth my time or effort to go back and have this corrected.
This was my official last time at PepperFire.

I keep dreaming of chicken so spicy my nose runs and my eyes water.
First good sign the parking lot was packed to capacity. We thought well for lunch that’s a good sign.
Staff is friendly.
My husband and I were visiting a friend in Nashville and (after seeing this place on tv I made sure to write it down) I am soooo happy we stopped in for lunch. So I ordered a ¼ chicken with Mac and cheese (mild). Amazing I wish we could have gone again!!! Absolutely creamy yummy Mac and cheese (I could have done without the slice of bread at the bottom).
My husband ordered a chicken sandwich in hot. So delicious! He ordered fries yummmmmmmmmm
I am literally salivating as I write this
Everything is made to order so it takes a little while but we didn’t mind :)

I have a problem. I seriously can’t decide if Pepperfire or Hattie B’s is better hot chicken in Nashville, so you’ll just have to try both. Pepperfire’s style is more about raw spice power than breading with it battered somewhat thinly. Pair it with their fried grilled cheese (yes, it’s exactly as advertised) and skip getting sides, they just get in the way of the fried goodness.
Warning: heat levels are on a scale of their own, medium is hot to people who have not broken in their mouths on weekly hot chicken.

How dare you compare yourself to Prince’s Hot Chicken!!! Blasphemy!
I was riding along Gallatin actually craving hot chicken. Saw this place, read the reviews, and figured I’d give them a try.
The parking lot is extremely small. I had to park across the street in a small gravel lot.
Their menu is limited. The girl at the counter asked if I’d ever been to Prince’s. I told her yes, but it’d been awhile. She said well this is what it’s like. Girl, stop!!! No —- it’s not. And I’m a Nashville native.
She allowed me to try the mild sauce (?) on a piece of white bread. Well, as soon as my left eye watered, I declined. She suggested the light mild. Then she told me it’d be about 25 minutes before the order was ready. I asked what was quickest, she suggested the tenders.
So I ordered 3 tenders with no sides.
I didn’t eat there, it was very small with only two long tables. There was a film crew there eating, so it was crowded.
I was very disappointed in the food. It wasn’t even spicy. It was also super dry. It just looked like some fried tenders with a bunch of stuff (not spice) sprinkled all over it. I maybe ate ¾ of one tender. Meh.
I won’t be back. People that are not from Nashville… this ain’t traditional hot chicken.
Try Prince’s. Maybe even Hattie B’s.
But they need to stop comparing themselves to Prince’s.

Quick spot to grab some hot chicken. The half-​chicken option, mild hotness is the way to go. Moist and flavorful chicken with the crunch/​hot goodness on the outside. If your are feeling up to it, try the deep fried grilled cheese with chicken tenders on top (Tender Royale).
Order ahead through the Unilocal app or their website to speed things along.

When you visit a new place, you eat like the locals do. I was lucky enough to have my cousin’s wife’s cousin lives here. Small world! He advised me to eat fried chicken and BBQ when I visit. We stayed in contact and when I arrived, he took time out of his busy schedule to take me out to eat.
Originally we were going to meet with his friends for lunch but his friend had engine problems. He asked my distant cousin to pick him up from the auto shop after they tow it there. Knowing that I was visiting, he scheduled the tow so that we could still have a quick lunch so we had to pick a place near the Gaylord Opryland.
What did I do? Of course I looked up places on Unilocal.I found this place. Great reviews and they had fried chicken. The address is actually of a new spot that just opened. They are still ironing out the details for their liquor license so no beer is available for sale yet. Since it was my first time, I asked one of the cashiers what they would recommend. He suggested the Tender Royale and the Applefire.
After thinking about it, we both ordered the Tender Royal meal. I ordered mines XXHOT with Fried Okra and Mac & Cheese. He ordered his Medium with Fried Okra and Collard Greens. My chicken was very juicy and full of flavor. It sits on top of fried bread with cheese. It was a nice compliment to the fried chicken. Mac & Cheese along with Fried Okra was decent. I thought the Collard Greens were the best of the 3 sides.
Be warned that the XXHOT has some kick to it. If you don’t normally eat spicy foods then I would not recommend this level of spice. Great spot to check out and a better spot once they start serving beer. Awesome find and much mahalo to Unilocal