Hip Hop Fish & Chicken

Totally love this spot since I’m from the Midwest and TOTALLY miss the Chicago style fish and chicken spots. The wings are AWESOME and flavorful, and the sweet potato cream cheese pie is my absolute favorite. It reminds me of home so naturally I’m biased but it really is a good spot with good food at great prices. They recently started serving macaroni and cheese and greens and a few other more dinner geared sides… I’ve only had the macaroni and it was DAMN good. And I rarely like restaurant macaroni! At any rate go try something, they have plenty on the menu!

I was told by a D.C. police officer and a Facebook friend that Hip Hop Fried Chicken was LIKE THAT so when I had plans to venture into the city for a youth football game, I added this stop to my Google map.
The cop and my homegirl lied through their freaking teeth! The puny dried up wings must’ve been plucked from neighborhood pigeons! The soggy fries needed another 4 minutes in the deep fryer. The cole slaw was probably the best thing in the combo and that’s because they never put it in the bag! Even the banana pudding, peach cobbler and ketchup packets were bootleg! I asked the guy behind the counter what was in their special Hippity Hop seasoning… he whispered «lemon pepper». My man-​friend ordered the chicken breast and catfish nugget combo, he too got a big box of bland. They need to call up the Colonel, the Popeyes Cajun lady… hell call Paula Deen! Y’all need help! Bad enough the chicken shack itself was jacked up… like greasy walls, dirty plexiglass and rats napping in the alley kinda scary!
The search continues for the perfect fried chicken joint… this is not it!

The worse fish I’ve ever had. Not even Franks hot sauce could help. In fact I drank from the bottle ever time I took a bite but just couldn’t eat the six pieces of trout so my $ 18.00 went in the trash. Zero stars for me.

Food was hot and on point. Customer service, not so much hence the 4 stars. The gentleman at the register didn’t take to kind to me asking him about a particular combo and basically replied as if I should know, even though it was my first time ever eating there. He said it in the nicest way possible and he wasn’t out right rude but it also wasn’t necessary. Again, I was a first timer. :)

I’m not the biggest fan of carry outs because they truly are the epitome of all that is unhealthy. They really ought to be called «carry you out to a hospital.» But after Justin raved about Hip Hop Chicken we decided to go together. My suggestion for dinner had been cooking mac and cheese with cut up hot dogs at home (am I the only one who grew up eating that?) so I didn’t really have a leg to stand on with my «fried chicken and French fries is too unhealthy» rationale.
Despite all the raves, Hip Hop is just fried chicken. Yes, they do a good job cooking it — it ends up with perfectly fried skin and everything is fried to order. But the reportedly «crack like» batter and seasoning they put on afterwards was just too sweet for me. I felt so unhealthy eating it that it went beyond the usual my-​BMI-​just-​increased-​by-​20 feeling to that plus oh-​God-​I-​have-​sudden-​onset-​Diabetes.
I can’t, however, blame my feelings completely on the chicken. We split a combo that had a piece of fried fish and four chicken legs, plus all combos come with French fries and a tiny container of way too sweet coleslaw. The amazing part is that all of that food was $ 8.99. I’m tempted to give Hip Hop an extra star just for the amount of food you get for the price. It’s worthwhile to note that the hot sauce they give you adds a lot of flavor and helps cut through the sweetness a little bit. It’s not so much hot in spice level as it is in flavor — I’m usually a «medium» level myself but I could pour that sauce on every bite of my chicken. They also have many other sauces to choose from — tartar sauce, Ranch, honey mustard. In addition to all that, we also got a side of fried okra (no remoulade sauce, sadface) and would have gotten some banana pudding except they had none that day.
I guess the kicker is that everything here is either fried or refrigerated, though maybe that’s to be expected from a carry out. The only healthy option is a side of fruit which is the same price as most of the desserts. Even the mac and cheese is cut into wedges and fried. Had we only had the chicken and fish and then had healthier sides, I think my impression of the place would be more in line with everyone else’s. I’d be more than happy to come again for the meats if I could cook up some greens and fresh mac and cheese at home, though if I was doing all that Justin would probably just go ahead and make his own fried chicken.

I found out about Hip Hop Chicken from this girl who used to date a friend of mine. I’m not sure if she was trying to improve her street cred or something, since she hadn’t actually been here. But whatever the case I’m glad she was in his life, if only briefly, so that she could share the knowledge about this place, which was otherwise unknown to me. It’s a very unique style of fried chicken, but certainly deserving of its own credit in the discussion about legitimate spots to try in the DC area.
Suzy happened to still be deployed at the time of my visit to Hip Hop, and it was the weekend before I was due to travel to Morocco to meet her, so much like my Ramen World experience the day before that trip, I decided to shirk the traditional fasting to look great in lieu of pigging out like a massive fat bastard. I had originally intended to order a 6 piece of fried chicken (3 wings and 3 drums), plus some fries, but when I found out that the chicken already came with fries, my fat kid brain thought «oh shit, now I’ve got extra money to spend on more chicken!» rather than just taking the bonus fries as a gift and being content (note: I think this whole order was still somehow under $ 10). So I went home with a box of 10 pieces of chicken and fries that could barely stay trapped inside their Styrofoam home. Thankfully I don’t think my nutritionist saw this particular Instagram.
A lot of people compare the unique seasoning blend that Hip Hop uses to crack. I’ve never had crack, so I can’t say whether that’s a legitimate comparison, but it definitely adds a totally different sweet, addictive property to the chicken that leaves your lips tingling and wanting more. It reminds me a lot of the kids I used to see in elementary school who would just have a Ziploc bag filled with Kool-​aid or some other sugary substance and them just eating that stuff all day. I can see why Hip Hop has some pretty loyal followers. It’s really important to douse the chicken in the hot sauce they give you though, since this adds a great balance of sweet and spicy. The chicken itself was fried wonderfully, and the skin had a nice crisp texture. These are plump pieces too, no little throwaway things like you get at sports bars. Somewhere between half to two-​thirds of the way through I began to get rather full, but as a testament to the quality of the chicken here I managed to power through the entire box. A lesser product would have been disposed of much sooner and written off. Instead I’m trying to formulate an excuse to make a return visit for a fix sometime soon…
I’ve had almost all of the fried chicken mentioned in the various «best of» lists for the DC area, and while Hip Hop wouldn’t top that list, it would certainly be more deserving of a place than many of the other repeatedly mentioned destinations.

Stopped in for the first time today. I must say the customer service was beyond my expectations. The cashier Fouad Kh was extremely polite and helpful, but what really made my day was an elderly lady came in with several bags to pick up her food and was about to leave. Fouad saw she needed assistance and offered her a ride home. Totally blew my mind! I just want to say he made a patron for life!!!

I love this place. I am a big fan of their whiting, talapia, and shrimp. It’s fried to perfection! I really like cole slaw and theirs is always fresh and tasty. I also like the fried corn and okra, not to bready and you can actually taste the main ingredients. They give you generous portions at a great price. It’s in the hood, so some of the guests can be a bit jarring but the staff is very friendly to all. I highly recommend this place if you want good, down home fried fish.

I was in D.C. this past weekend and heard several times that Hip Hop Chicken was amazing. I was particularly interested in the mysterious seasoning that I was told must be «crack» because it was amazingly delicious. Naturally, I needed to try it and wasn’t leaving D.C. until I did.
Okay. .. so this place is a complete hole in the wall. Like the type of place where you go, order quickly and avoid eye contact with other patrons and sort of wonder whether the plexi-​looking glass is bullet proof.
I ordered the Chicken and Fish Combo — selecting the wings and the catfish fillet. It came with fries and cole slaw that I never got (that was okay). And. .. the fries were the best part. Not crisp, but chunky and chewy the way I like them. The chicken was okay, so was the fish. But nothing special. The mysterious seasoning was still a mystery to me – maybe I tasted sugar and onion powder — I actually have no idea. But I also didn’t have a ton of it, so maybe that’s why my chicken wasn’t that great? Who knows. The chicken also tasted as if it had been refried and was quite dry.
The staff was friendly — we were also four women ordering enough food to feed fifteen people. However, they were inconsistent in tracking the condiments and sides that we paid for when finalizing our orders. I had to repeat no fewer than three times that I paid for an orange soda (judge me, please).
I’d rather get my fried chicken elsewhere.

Good is delicious made fresh the order taker could smile and greet a little more other wise awesome food

I tried Hip Hop Fish & Chicken for the first time last week. I had the Chicken tender meal and it was surprisingly delicious. They give large portions and it was fried to perfection. I will return…

Food was good but staff is rude especially the manager sam. He doesnt know how to talk to guest. He cussed at guest. They selling bootleg movies inside and homeless people begging for change. Stay away from this location.

Driving into DC, taking a different route as recommended by Waze, avoiding the rush crush; I drove by two Hip Hop Fish & Chickens. Taking that as a good omen, of course, I checked out Unilocal!
The reviews were pretty good; the chicken described as addictive. So, of course, I had to check it out that evening as I drove back to the burbs.
I ordered two dinners ½ and ½; both with chicken breast and one with jumbo shrimp and the other tilapia. The place used to be a Popeyes.
Anyway, was disappointed with the chicken as it was undercooked, with some pink showing at the bone. The tilapia was overcooked crispy. The shrimp was not jumbo but average. The fries were okay.
The menu is long. Maybe there is something else on the menu worthwhile but the chicken breast and tilapia were not.

My boyfriend and I tried this place because a coworker told him about the one in Baltimore.
The food is good but the location isn’t the best. If you want to sit down and eat i don’t suggest you come to the DC location. The food here is good though! Its also a large portion for such a good price! I ordered the chicken wings and legs and they were really good. They were seasoned just right and fried exceptional. My boyfriend ordered the whiting and chicken tenders. He loved his food, we even came back later on that week! I also ordered dessert, the red velvet cake. This was phenomenal. I’m a big red velvet cake fan and really picky about cake, this was definitely up to my standard. I also ordered the potato salad and didn’t care for the taste. It wasn’t the best but it was horrible, i just know not to order it again. The combos come with coleslaw, bread, fries and chicken. My boyfriend and I didn’t care for the coleslaw either and didn’t even eat the piece of bread.
All and all its a nice place to carry out your food and enjoy somewhere else.
The staff is extremely nice and very helpful.

My husband and I came to Hip Hop Fish & Chicken for dinner. They have multiple locations, primarily in the Baltimore area, but have a few other locations (DC, Temple Hills, and Glen Burnie). They offer a variety of items on their menu such as: Fish Dinner (ocean perch, whiting, trout, catfish fillets, tilapia, catfish nuggets, shrimp); Fish by the Piece (perch, whiting, or trout); Fish & Chicken Combos (your choice of fish with either chicken tenders/​breast/​legs/​wings/​gizzards/​livers/​nuggets); chicken entrees/​combos; sides (fries, onion rings, mushrooms, hush puppies, eggplant, okra, coleslaw, potato salad, cheese sticks, jalapenos, poppers, corn nuggets); desserts (peach cobbler, various cakes, bean pie, sweet potato pie, banana pudding); and, even catering services. You can call in orders so your food can be ready for a pick-​up when you swing by. This location is run by a Moroccan and a Palestinian, both extremely sweet and with a great sense of humor! There are technically two lines; one where you order, and the other line where you pay. We shared a Fish & Chicken Combo (catfish fillet with chicken wings) — the catfish was extremely generous in size, but it was okay; the fried chicken wings were good, as they were not monstrously big, but had good breading and good with the hot sauce; this combo also came with a huge mountainous side of fries, a cup of coleslaw, and two pieces of white bread. The fried clam strips were also okay; great with either the hot sauce or the cocktail sauce. I also tried their 6-​piece Buffalo Wings, but I wasn’t much of a fan — I did request it to be extra well-​done, but they were just extremely wet — this also came with a heaping side of fries, a cup of coleslaw (pretty okay), and bread. We also had side orders of onion rings (nice and crispy), potato salad (not a fan as it was heavily egg-​based), jalapeño poppers (I enjoyed these a lot as they were small and didn’t have an overwhelming amount of filling within them; you can choose either cream cheese or cheddar cheese filling — I requested a combo of both), and mac and cheese triangles (filled with mac and cheese and battered; my husband liked these; I thought it was okay). We washed everything down with a 44 oz. Half & Half (sweet tea and lemonade) that was quite delicious and tasty — I appreciated that they were easy on the ice. Tons of locals were coming in for carry-​out orders; the prices were very nice, as all this set us back little over $ 30. There’s also a small lot for your car, and be mindful of the 1-​ways on either side. I love their little logo, with a fish and a chicken, dancing to some beats: D
+Half & Half drink
+jalapeño poppers (cheddar and cream cheese combo)
+onion rings
+fried chicken wings
+clam strips