7/10 Tried Dave's Hot Chicken for the first time today at their new location in Hamden, CT, and I've got to say -- the place definitely makes a great first impression. When you walk in, it's bright, colorful, and lively -- the kind of atmosphere that'll really appeal to younger crowds. There's plenty of seating, and I was greeted right away. Everything looked clean and well-kept, and my food came out in a decent amount of time. I ordered two slider sandwiches (one for me, one for my wife) and the 10-piece bites for our three-year-old. Our daughter liked the bites but didn't finish them -- which is pretty standard toddler behavior! Now, my wife and I both agreed: the chicken was juicy and flavorful, but we personally wished it had a bit more crisp to it. The kale slaw on the sandwich was a nice surprise -- first time I've had kale slaw, and it worked well with the pickles and Dave's sauce. One of the employees suggested adding honey, and while it added a sweet kick, I think the sandwich was solid enough without it. Overall, I'd give the experience a 7 out of 10. The food was fresh, the flavor was there, and the service was great. I'd definitely return to try something else on the menu. Plus, with Popeye's being the only other chicken spot nearby, it's nice to have another option in Hamden. read more

Dave's Hot Chicken - Tender slider - Halal Near Me - Hamden, Connecticut

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Service was pretty quick for day 2 opening. The cashier was friendly and efficient. The place has lots of indoor seating. Drink options were great; soda, slushy, and shakes. Prices are on par with other fast food restaurants in the area read more

Dave's Hot Chicken - Colorful - Halal Near Me - Hamden, Connecticut

Dave's Hot Chicken is a chain of fast-casual Nashville-style hot chicken restaurants that opened in Los Angeles, California in May 2017. It was founded by Armenian-American childhood friends Dave Kopushyan, Arman Oganesyan, and brothers Tommy and Gary Rubenyan. Kopushyan, the chain's namesake, was a professional chef trained by restaurateur Thomas Keller at three-Michelin-star restaurant The French Laundry. He and his friends had a dream to open their own Nashville-style hot chicken restaurant. After scraping together $900, they opened the first Dave's location which was nothing more than a street food stand in a parking lot. Following word of mouth in local publications and social media, the brand quickly took off. By the following year, the food stand had been replaced by a brick & mortar location at a nearby strip mall. Pretty soon, additional Dave's Hot Chicken locations began popping up all over California and beyond. As of 2025, there are over 300 locations in six countries. My family and I just visited the brand new Dave's Hot Chicken in Hamden, Connecticut for dinner. The Hamden location is the fifth one to open in Connecticut this year (following Milford, Newington, Southington and Stamford). We really liked the interior of Dave's, which featured street art on the walls: a feature that originated at the original Dave's location. I ordered the "1 Tender & 1 Slider w/ Fries" (served with kale slaw, pickles & Dave's sauce) and chose "Extra Hot" for my heat level, my wife had the "2 Sliders w/ Fries" and chose "Mild" heat, and our two sons both had the "2 Tenders w/ Fries" with no heat. We all had a delicious dinner!! We hope to be back again and again! read more

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First time and I got Dave's bite10pc chicken nuggets and french fries a soft drink . Not knowing how hot the chicken is i just got hot and wow it's was hot and good I hope Dave's Hot Chicken is in Hamden for a log time read more

Only a 4 because the wait seemed long. We got two orders of two tenders plus Mac and cheese, fries and a single tender for me. I got medium spicy and they included complimentary spicy ranch which had great ranch flavor but is just slightly too hot for me. Though I still went back . Fries are lovely! Crinkle fries with some spice. Mac and cheese is delicious even better spiced up. I'm a leftover girl these are all fab in the air fryer later. read more

This is the new establishment that moved into the space where DiBella's used to be. Very vibrant and clean atmosphere, friendly and dutiful waitstaff. I liked the food overall. My top loaded fries were more enjoyable than I thought they would be. Chicken was juicy, tender and flavorful. Fries were crispy and well seasoned. Pickles were crunchy. Kale slaw was creamy and savory with fresh vegetables. Cheese sauce and Dave's sauce were both delicious. Next time I'm getting a large. The "chocolate" shake was a letdown, however. There was barely any chocolate flavor; it was 99% vanilla. The shake was decent for what it was, but why be skimpy on the chocolate? Despite the underwhelming shake, I liked my meal a lot. I look forward to trying their spice levels in the future. Great food. read more

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I took my kids here and we ordered the two slider meal, a large loaded fries, and a small buffalo mac. When we brought the food to the table I realized that they gave me the small buffalo mac that I ordered, along with a large buffalo mac instead of the loaded fries that I ordered. All of this food cost more than $50, which is not cheap! When I went up to the counter to let them know they gave me the wrong food and the workers were like "ok" and didn't want to do anything to make it right. When I asked for ranch they told me they'd have to charge me!! We went to a fast food restaurant for a reason, and I didn't have time to wait for them to correct the order and I wasn't going to pay for ranch. I complained through Dave's Hot Chicken website and received a text from the manager at 12:30 AM (!!!) apologizing for the "mix-up" and thanking me for my understanding. Unprofessional conduct and garbage food. Don't go here!! read more

Food was cold, fries missing from meal, and I ordered in store not through third party too. Wanted to charge for sauce. Too expensive for basic chicken. read more

Coming from a Foodie / Chef. Chicken lover. This is my first time trying DHC. And first impression of the large medium spice tenders was a box containing 2 deep dark red spiced tenders. Looks tasty and a bit spicy. Upon tasting them first bite was salty and not at all crispy. A bit disappointing the fries cold and a total salt bomb. Actually the whole box was a One note experience. In the world of Chicken meals offered by so many restaurants, DHC wasn't the bites I hoped for. I may try it again down the road but for now just Ok. read more

Dave's Hot Chicken - Halal Near Me - Hamden, Connecticut

This is my third time here. They dropped the ball. My sliders had hard dried out chicken tenders. Tasted like old chicken that was sitting around and kept getting warmed up. With sauce and wilted veggies. Fries was the only thing that was good. Gave my dog the chicken smh. The young man that rang me out was great. read more