It's all about their backstory NOT their food. There is NOTHING remarkable about their offerings. If you did not know their story and ate the food absent of this knowledge you would NOT be back for seconds. read more

What is there even left to say. This place is insanely satisfying. Their mission to employ incarcerated individuals, their delicious fried chicken, their free sweet tea, their no-nonsense business style. Go. Go and don't think another moment on it. You're wasting your precious time-- you will love it. Just get there. read more

I ate here 3 times now!! And I absolutely love this place... Their menu is limited but the items they serve are on point. I really enjoy the coleslaw and banana pudding! I also love their sweet tea... something that is not easy to find at Mid West restaurants! read more

Yum. Just yum. Lots of seating. The sweet tea is amazing.

Definitely lived up to all the hype. The food was great and you get a lot for your money. Loved the community feel to it and how the owner was walking around and talking to customers as they waited, this is sure to become a Columbus staple! Come early because there will be a line. Can't wait for the North Market location to open and to try the other options on the menu! read more

Oh wow. Go early if you want to hop in front of the line, because people were lining up at the door to eat here, and it's not hard to see why. Delicious, spicy, fried chicken, amazing mac & cheese, delightfully crunchy pickles and two pieces of hot sauce soaked white bread. All served with free unlimited sweet tea and ranch. This place knows how to win over a girls heart. Long picnic bench style made it easy for out group of 15 to all sit together and talk. The thing that stood out to me was how friendly and helpful all the staff were. At the end of our meal, Joe, who I believe is the owner stopped by to check in on us. We told him we were from Cincinnati all in town saying goodbye to a friend who is moving to Houston, and he sent out some banana puddings for us. That was the best part of the whole meal! Super silky and decadent. Be careful- anything above warm was a struggle to eat- but they do warn you! The best part about this place is that 60% of their employees have been homeless or incarcerated at some point in their lives. I absolutely love their business model and it's totally working based of the attitudes of the people who are working there. I wish I could give this place more stars. read more

Great vibes and great food! I love going to a restaurant with a set menu that doesn't overwhelm. Part of the thrill of HCT is waiting in line while constantly being updated with the portions of chicken that are left- It makes me giddy with excitement and anticipation! While the chicken is the main attraction, the sides actually steal the show. The vinegar coleslaw, Mac n' cheese, and banana pudding are a MUST, and the homemade ranch dressing is the best I've ever tasted (this is NO exaggeration). With complimentary sweet tea, it's a great place to visit. read more

HCT is easily in my top 5 place in the Columbus area to eat at and my new number one spot at North Market! It is located on the top level in the corner with ample seating and an open area for the line which will surely form. Don't worry, it moves quickly! And if you are lucky like I was, you'll get to talk shop with the owner while you wait. He was just hanging out talking with all of us about his favorite places to eat and the history behind HCT. It was on his recommendation that I order my chicken Hot. There are 4 choices, Cold, Warm, Hot and Holy. I'll try the Holy next time but as a fan of all things spicy I can tell you that the Hot is right there in the sweet spot of being spicy yet not making everything else you eat tasteless. This is very important. So I ordered the 5 Wing Meal which came with 5 Whole Wings, Ma's Mac, Ma's Slaw, Bread and Pickles. All of this for $10.50 but there is more...the Sweet Tea is complimentary! That is a lot of value if you ask me! The Wings were so good I could eat nothing but them for weeks. Perfectly crispy and that flavor from the Hot just sticks to your ribs. So incredibly good! The spices get all over your hands and the bread is perfect for soaking it all up. The Mac is gooey and delicious. Then there is the Slaw which does it's job of cooling you down. Top it all off with a few Dill Pickle slices and that Sweet Tea and you have a real winning combo! You order at the counter and give them your name then a few minutes later your order will be brought out from the kitchen and they will call your name. I was there at a peak time and it still only took about 5 minutes to have the food in my hands. You can eat there or go out to the corridor if you like or obviously take it home. It all comes in the conventional styrofoam food container so it should stay nice and warm for you. I can't say enough how impressed I was with the food itself, the value and the service. A+++ in my book! read more

Hot Chicken Takeover - The 5 Wing HOT meal! - Southern Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

Good and crunchy fried chicken. Nice vinaigrette slaw and super good mac n cheese. Ditch the banana pudding-it was weak but everything else fantastic. read more

We have the best damn band in the land and the best damn chicken too!! Thanks HCT for great food and service this past weekend. Ready for it again! read more

Best chicken ever! So worth the wait! Hours are a bit odd but if you are in short north around lunch time there is no better place.

This place is great, the hot boneless chicken and double Mac and cheese is my go to! The coleslaw is a vinegar version, which I don't love as much so that's why I get double Mac and cheese. So good. The hot is quite hot, so be careful. I love the homemade ranch! read more

Amazing!! Great service with happy workers! Also the chicken is fireeeeee!!! And the coleslaw is uniquely different in a great way! Also the Mac & cheese is ON POINT!!! read more

Pretty good chicken, but nothing super special. The ranch is the best item they serve.

This is literally the best food I have had. I have visited Nashville quite a bit and am familiar with the hot chicken scene, but this blew Nashville out of the water. Everything is great! Chicken! Mac & cheese! And the sweet tea! Yes Lord! read more

Amazing! Super spicy so watch out! The ranch is a must, it is homemade and delicious. Also their Mac n cheese is great , I get double Mac because their cold slaw is a bit bland since it is not mayo based. But overall awesome! read more

Food was delicious! I really enjoyed the mac and cheese and complementary sweet tea. I got the "Hot" chicken, and while the spice level was great, I was a somewhat left wondering about the actually seasoning. While spice is amazing (my family is from Louisiana and spicy cooking is the standard), I needed more flavor in the chicken. If there had been a bit of season all thrown in with the cayenne, I would've been a happy camper. All in all, though, quite delicious and worth the visit! read more

A taste of Nashville and overall comfort food paradise. Get a bunch of their house ranch with your hot chicken meal, it's amazing! Not so hungry? Get MA's MAC! Worth a stop just for that. read more

Love Hot Chicken Takeover! You gotta try the "hot". Delicious!!!! Employees are awesome too! read more

What a fantastic place to eat in the North Market. Sometimes there is a little wait but the food is worth it.

My wife and I stopped here on our way to Detroit. We actually arrived before it opened and found several people already in line. Once the doors opened, the place filled up fast, so my advice would be to get there early. The staff was amazing, Lem greeted everyone personally and took the time to answer questions. He even went out of his way to let me try their Holy Sh@! spicy chicken flavor. Note on heat: I was warned by everyone not to get anything past 'Warm'. However, I found that the Hot and even the Holy Sh@! to have the best flavor. Even my wife wished she had chosen the hot instead of the warm after trying mine. If you like spicy food, do not be intimidated to try the hot. Even the Holy Sh@! had a great balance of heat to spice without overpowering the chicken. Food was great, staff was great, service was great. Definitely would be a regular if we lived closer. read more

Hot Chicken Takeover - Hot Chicken Sandwich - Southern Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

Killer chicken. I'm a bit biased, as I'm a spice fanatic, but I found the hot to be satisfying and the holy to be almost perfect. Not a fan of the mac n' cheese though- it'd be nice if they had more sides like greens or cornbread. read more

I was intrigued by the FREE ICED TEA marketing ploy but..... it is weak/watered down and no lemon available. No respectable southern chick skips the lemon in sweet tea. As for the food, the chicken was fair but I could tell it was not cooked fresh. Rolling it around in a hot chicken sauce does not offset dried out chicken. The chicken was hot but the taste was lacking flavor. Hattie Bs and Gus's Chicken is much better. The baked beans were good however served luke warm. The slaw was fair once stirred. Toss it a bit before serving it. I prefer a cream based slaw but overall not bad. I am being generous with 3 stars!!! read more

Hot Chicken Takeover sells only one thing chicken and they do it best. Get the hot, its got a kick but doesnt burn your taste buds.

I visited Hot Chicken Takeover a few weeks ago, and like many others I had high expectations based on the Yelp reviews. I love, love mac and cheese so with my wings meal, I got a double serving, and also the banana pudding. Coming in at about $15 I was really disappointed. My wings were tiny, it reminded me of when I made the mistake of getting bone in wings from Pizza Hut when I was young and dumb (shame on me for getting wings from a pizza place I guess). I expected better from a chicken place. Maybe I've been spoiled but I'm used to wings from Wings over Columbus which are huge, the flavors were spot on though and I might be willing to come again and maybe try a different part of the bird if I were to suddenly have a craving for the hot seasoning. Most disappointing was the mac and cheese. Did the recipe change from before the move to the short north? I could barely eat 1/2 of one serving much less the two I had paid extra for thinking that it was be a no brainer that I would like it based on the pictures and reviews. The texture was gritty,the pasta was overcooked and the flavor was bland. Really mac and cheese is usually like pizza for me, if it's there I'm eating it. you can't really mess it up, except Hot Chicken did, and most of it went into the trash. Looking at the pictures I really don't believe I got the same stuff that everyone has been raving about. The highlight of the meal was definitely the banana pudding, and that's saying something cause I'm a savory girl all the way, usually I can take it or leave it with sweets. Obviously, I'm in the minority with this review but with all the glowing reviews I felt kinda cheated that my experience wasn't better. maybe my expectations were too high, maybe it was an off day I don't know, but I'm not really in any hurry to return. 4/9- Received a response from the owner and upgraded review by a star for customer service. Really appreciate the reply and will plan to give Hot Chicken another visit. read more

Even as a vegetarian, Hot Chicken Takeover is a delicious choice! Their mac and cheese is spectacular, and I'd encourage anyone to try it for the experience as much as the food. read more

I've come here twice. The first time was really good. The line went quick and after we ordered the food came out within 10 or so minutes. Despite it being packed, everything seemed to go efficiently. I came back today and it was the complete opposite. We were one of the first people in line and after 20 or so minutes had gone by we still had not gotten our food, despite other people who had been behind us already eating. There were also some other people that hasn't gotten their food like ourselves and they began to ask what was going on. After asking one of the workers about it he went back and checked and they had never gotten our order. It seems something happened and some people's orders never went through. I saw some people waiting over 45 minutes waiting. Additionally, it also looked like the orders were coming out wrong since some were sending it back. We finally got our food but it was disappointing how it was all handled. It wasn't even packed and it seemed like it was a big mess. They could've made an announcement indicating that something was wrong and to make sure that they knew who still hadn't gotten their food. Hopefully this was a one time thing, but you could tell that some people were really pissed off about the situation. Additionally you could see the people bringing out food getting frustrated, which is understandable, but they could've tried to be nicer to the customers who had been waiting for awhile. read more

Awesome chicken. Hot and spicy just as promised! House made ranch and slaw pull it all together.

Was in Columbus visiting my sister, and she recommended going to HCT. I had recently seen a video on Facebook talking about their unorthodox (and very awesome) hiring practices, so I was excited to try it out and give them some of my business. We got lucky and there was practically no line when we got there. The quality of food lived up to the hype (I had boneless chicken with "warm" level of spiciness, along with banana pudding and tea), and I don't think I've ever seen staff as genuinely friendly and helpful at a restaurant. read more

Seriously you cannot get better chicken in Columbus. Get there early if you want wings. They always sell out first. The breast is so juicy and unreal. The "hot" is hot enough. It stuck with me. I don't think I'd ever try the holy. If you're there on a day that they have mint for the sweet tea, just go play the lotto because it's going to be a fantastic day. Enjoy. read more

I can't say enough good things about HCT. The food is absolutely delicious, the picnic like atmosphere is a fun twist on your usual dining experience, and owner Joe is always making the rounds to meet his customers and make sure everything is running smoothly. I'm a fan of the boneless warm chicken, but the great thing about HCT is there is a heat level for everyone, from Holy (melt your insides) to Cold (light on the spice). The sides are incredible - I have had dreams about that mac & cheese! I can't wait to check out the upcoming North Market location this winter! read more

Well after the hype and reviews I have to say I was let down. Positive is the crunch on the chicken and flavor choice either warm or hot as the cold was lacking seasoning. The banana pudding was very tasty. Negative the slaw is cabbage and vinegar with no seasoning and I like vinager based slaw. The waffles again lacked flavor and felt like mattress foam. The mac and cheese was good but not the best I have had. This location for the hype and lines should blow you away abd for those it does they have never had real soul or southern food. So many other places do better and charge half the price. One time try dont think I will go back. read more

Food is not worth the expensive prices. I had the hot chicken which just had additional hot seasoning coating the chicken taking a lot away from the flavor. Felt like you could could rub the powder spices right off the chicken which was not cooked in. First and last time going there. read more

Stopped here for lunch while on business in Columbus. This place is great! I got the warm boneless meal and it was everything I had hoped for and then some. Even there house ranch dressing is great...and I don't really like ranch! The location is awesome and I loved the vibe of the place. It is located upstairs in the North Market so once you get done eating check out all the shops below. You won't be disappointed! read more

So, so good. The seasoning levels are great for all tastes, and the spice isn't necessarily "slap you in the face" hot. Staff is also fantastic. If you have the chance, don't miss it! read more

I've been going to this place since it was on Oak St. I've never been disappointed and I like what the business owners stand for when giving people second chances. read more

Pretty good, but a little greasy. I usually go for the hot flavors, however at this restaurant the warm is the way to go. I found the hot to be more of a dry heat and not as flavorful, while the warm presents better flavor. I love the sweet tea too! It's a fun place, casual atmosphere. Nice lunch spot, but the line gets pretty long so go early! read more

Hands down one of the best places to eat in Columbus. The chicken is so crispy and the flavor is to die for. The waffles are also a must and the mac and cheese is probably the best I've ever had in my life. Just make sure to get there early, like 11 or 12. They sell out fast! read more

Food was delicious! Loved the homemade ranch and sweet tea! Line does get a little long, but I loved how the staff greets you in line and checks in with you while you wait. Wouldn't recommend the Cole slaw, but the Mac and cheese was bomb! read more

Place is fantastic!! It is usually My wife and I's little treat to ourselves on the weekend. Mac and cheese is excellent and the chicken is always flavorful and juicy. The staff is always friendly and funny starting with Joe and working their way down. You can tell that they enjoy their jobs and what they do. For people that don't like waiting in lines, call ahead! I live close by so we will call when we leave the house and the chicken is ready for us by the time we get there, never have to wait in line unless you want to. I had some friends in town from Texas and they begged me to take them there because I talked about it as the place you have to try while in Ohio. They weren't disappointed! read more