McHardy’s Chicken & Fixin’

McHardy’s fried chicken hovers between incredibly delicious and too salty/​chewy. At its best it’s one of my favorite places in the city for some cheap takeaway deliciousness. At its worst, it’s tummy ache inducing :(

Very very solid fried chicken but decidedly meh sides. Soggy fries, mealy okra, unremarkable mac and cheese. But if you stick with the chicken you’ll be fine.

This is a fried chicken cookery.
Food: Although much hyped, I found the quality of the food to be middling-​to-​average. Nothing to really call home about. Prices were reasonable. 3 stars
Service: Counter service take out only. They mosey about their work at a steady, but leisurely, pace. 2 stars
Facilities: This place is for take out only. There are no tables whatsoever. Building was reasonably clean. No off street parking, so be prepared to go hunting off Broad if you can’t find a spot right out front. 2 stars
Overall: This place is over-​hyped for the product and service it delivers. I might go there again if I happened to be in the area and happened to want some fried chicken, but Popeye’s is more convenient and quicker to deliver product than here. Just because something is local doesn’t automatically qualify it as great. 2 stars

Good color, crispy skin, juicy and solid fried chicken. Reasonable price and good sized pieces.
Nothing special in seasoning: salt, pepper and slight garlic.

Chicken always hot & fresh here ! It’s some of the best chicken in town ! Bring your friends & fam ! I highly recommend this place !

Chicken was awesome. Spice was great. I don’t normally like white meat but it was juicy and flavorful throughout. I’m guessing they do some type of brine. The fried okra was disappointing — too much breading. The dirty rice was nothing special. But the chicken was awesome. My daughter had to show us how she left bones shaved clean of meat; kids gave big thumbs up. Be prepared to wait if you walk in and order. Although they do take phone orders so that would probably be the way to go. There doesn’t seem to be a menu online. But they do list on the menu board orders that go up pretty high in volume, probably 100 pieces or more. So keep it in mind if your planning a party.

Oh my, when they say hot and fresh, they mean hot and fresh. I was tasked with ordering one of the turkeys for Thanksgiving meal and was directed to order it from McHardy’s.
While there I decided to order a 3 piece tender combo for lunch. The tenders are larger and definitely made of real meat. The meal also came with steak fries, sauce, coleslaw. I loved the slaw, it wasn’t the sweet KFC kind it was thicker sauce and more herby but I really liked it. The sauce was like thousand island sauce and really unnecessary given that the tenders are spiced perfectly. The staff keeps it 100 and there is more of a wait than you would expect for a take out but it isn’t long especially when you know it is related to being hot and fresh.

McHardy’s is your local joint for some good ‘ol fried chicken. Recommended by couple of our Über drivers, we headed down here for our chicken fix.
We ordered 10 pcs of chicken, dirty rice and catfish with fries and sweet tea. Not knowing this is a to-​go place only, we Über’d it back to our place and ate it there. Opening up the box, you get a good whiff of the delicious meal coming. At first glance, their chicken are more peppery. They use seasoned flour which made the chicken light and really crispy. It’s not the most moist chicken I’ve had but it’s not also the driest. Their dirty rice was also good. The only thing i didn’t like was the catfish. The batter was bland. I wish they would use the same flour coating. Fries were soggy too. But it’s ok, the chicken, quick and friendly service and affordability more than made up for it!
I definitely recommend this place. Plus, if the locals tell you to try a restaurant — you go there! No questions asked. They know for sure where to eat good food :)
I am actually craving for some right now… *sad face*

Wondering why I haven’t written this review yet since I am a regular over there. Simply put, you want deliciously seasoned and always hot chicken? This is the place to get it from. I used to get Popeyes all the time but ever since I’ve had them, I’ve converted. Their prices are EXTREMELY reasonable as well. Better than McKenzie’s despite what some locals may claim.
I know 5 stars is pretty strong but this establishment deserves it. Fantastic price for fantastic food.

Man I do not know how to describe how much I love this Fried Chicken! If you are going here form something other than the chicken, you’ll need to read other reviews. If you want to know about the friend chicken, look no further.
I went to a potluck social gathering and I picked up 40 reasonably priced pieces of McHardy’s chicken. I ordered and paid ahead of time so when I walked in, my box was already packed. It was handed over with a huge smile and I walked out with my piping hot box of friend chicken in under 5 minutes.
When we arrived at the event, I realized some other person had contributed a box of another NOLA fried chicken that I am familiar with. It looked to be a box of about 20 pieces with about 15 or so remaining. I threw open the box of McHardy’s and immediately, everyone in the room started to mob me to get some! I barely escaped with my life, one wing, one thigh and a leg or two. It was a madhouse!
So on to the chicken — I know people have their theories about the breading but to me it is very different and minimizes the breading to add a wonderful crisp! Not to mention, it is dense enough that the meat stays SO moist inside. It is almost unbelievable how consistently moist the chicken is. It has a beautiful savoriness to it that does remind me a little of thin-​friend catfish breading. But it is different. Good different. I seek out the best friend chicken in any town I visit and I love in NOLA and have tried nearly every place in town. McHardy’s is on par with the very best of them! The very best!
I don’t know about the sides at all. They look fine but I am all about the chicken.
An hour after the party, I gazed at the side-​by-​side comparison and since I had arrived, the «other» chicken looked nearly untouched. However, as I grabbed a another leg, I noticed that there was much, much less chicken in my box now. And I had brought TWICE as much.
Side by side comparison to that other BOX of chicken (;)) had McHardy’s winning HANDS DOWN! I am sure every restaurant has an occasional misstep but I have been getting this chicken for years and have NEVER been disappointing! McHardy’s is where chicken is at in NOLA.

We entered this establishment and was greeting with a Hello and a smile. A few people were ahead of us but order taking was quick. We ordered honey bbq wings with Mac and cheese, Red beans & rice with 2 sweet teas. The wings, red beans and sweet tea was good. But that was store bought Mac and cheese which was awful.

5 stars the the chicken. Perfectly seasoned, not too spicy or overly greasy. Great flavor. Sides were ok but I went specifically for fried chicken so they can take my money and all my stars.

WHERE’S THE BEST FRIED CHICKEN IN THE CITY?
Attending a formal foofoo luncheon catered by R’evolution a few weeks ago my table was an interesting mix of older uptown gentry and academic scholars. My obvious ice breaker?
«What’s your favorite fried chicken in New Orleans?»
Unassuming McHardy’s was at the top of several lists. I still prefer the tenders at Key’s Fuel Mart — fresh before 11AM (but the sides suck). However these beat out Manchu because they aren’t as greasy; and they don’t come with a side of Willie Mae’s pricey, gawd-​awful canned peas.
$ 6.92 TENDERS PLATTER IS AN OUTSTANDING VALUE
Not only do you get 3 hand-​battered lightly fried and deliciously seasoned strips, but also crispy fries, a decent scoop of cole slaw, plus their spicy «cluck sauce» for dipping. And being counter service the tip is negligible.

Mc Hardy’s is a no-​frills, take-​out only style, place to get great chicken. The pieces are smaller, but fried to order perfectly. They have great sides like red beans & rice and friend okra. The service is fast and friendly. You can take your food to nearby City Park to eat as well.

Lawd have mercy this is the absolute best fried chicken ever. One time eating it and I was hooked… o tell all my friends about McHardys chicken

Very good chicken that is not that consistent but on its best day is one of the best in the city. They feature the five piece chicken made famous by McKenzie Chicken Box. The highlight of this chicken coop is the potato salad that is more of a mashed potato salad but still very tasty and one of the best in the city. It goes perfectly well with the chicken and makes the calories worth it.

We went to Willie Mae’s right after 200pm and they stopped taking customers, so I said what the hell I am not leaving NOLA without some dam fried chicken. Since McHardy’s was nearby we went there but found out they only do take out. No problem let’s order our chicken and eat in the car, we really enjoyed the food and it was reasonably priced.

MUSIC TO FRIED CHICKEN LOVERS
Some say McHardy’s fried chicken is tastier than Popeye’s, I’d say it’s neck and neck good. There was a bunch of cars waiting along the sidewalk for McHardy’s to open this Saturday morning. We were one of them. In front of me while waiting to order, the person had called in an order for 200 pieces of fried chicken.
I ordered their five piece special of a breast, wing, thigh and two drum sticks without sides for $ 5.49. Took the box back to the hotel to relax and slowly inhale our second fried chicken meal of the day. We just tried the thigh, wing and breast. The two drum sticks went to the housekeepers who service our room.
This is one fried chicken that actually tasted better cold. Its seasoning is slight but generous in white and black ground pepper. Not salty but well done, not oily and meat throughly cooked through to the bone. Great for dipping into your favorite sauce.
Their prices are hard to beat and I’m assuming that their fried chicken is consistent in texture and seasoning. The chickens they cook are leaner and slightly smaller. They have breakfast, oyster, catfish and of course chicken combos from less than $ 2 to $ 8. Or how about a 10 to 12 lbs turkey with cooking options of four different ways for just $ 45.
McHardy’s is strictly for take out food.

I was trying to grab food at the Caribbean restaurant down the street but Mondays in New Orleans means your restaurant options are slim and I was denied my rice and peas. I knew McHardy’s Chicken & Fixin’ was right around so I headed there instead.
McHardy’s offers take out service only, so there is no seating for dining in, just a couple of benches for customers to wait while there batch of chicken is being prepared.
The prices seem great at first but really in comparison, you get less (and smaller pieces) than the offering at similar restaurants that have higher prices so essentially it is ends up being almost the same thing value wise. Although, I will say I liked not being force to eat a large portion or eat food that isn’t pumped with hormones for size.
This is chicken & fixin’ so don’t go expecting food that is extraordinary. I think the chicken could have used a little bit of seasoning/​spice but I think what sets it apart is that it is cooked fresh for you. So, not only was it hot and fresh but thankfully not greasy or salty.
My opinion of the shrimp echoed the same sentiment, but I thought that the fries were only okay (they were soft with no crispy outer coating).
The woman at the counter was very nice, but this is get in and get out service anyways!

So my cousin was in town from Portland (she’s originally from the Bay Area) and wanted some down home southern fried chicken. Since my experience with fried chicken is normally Popeye’s and she didn’t want that (she went to culinary school so she wanted something that you can’t get anywhere else). After asking my coworker for suggestions the closest options to mid-​city were McHardy’s and Mackenzie’s chicken in a box. It turns out this joint was closer so off we went in search of the purple building!
As other reviews have mentioned this is a to go place with no dine in options. They have nice purple benches and beautiful depictions of New orleans scenes on the walls like Mardi Gras Indians, Second lines etc. we placed our order and watched the onslaught of people who seemed to arrive after us so we thankfully beat the rush! Wow this place was popular!
We waited for a bit and hen brought the delicious smelling chicken back to my place. OMFG y’al this chicken is no joke! It was deliciously breaded, juicy meat, tender and just plain delectable! I’m salivating while writing this. My cousin and I couldn’t stop eating the chicken (I won’t tell you how many pieces we ate) until we felt like we were going to pop. I was in a food coma afterwards.
Now I reserve the 5 stars until I can try Willie Mae Scotch house (but I hate waiting in line) and Mackenzie’s chicken in a box. May need to update this review later. Next time I’ll have to order the sides too.
Happy chicken eating!