We had tried their hot dog location in the past and LOVED it so decided to try their chicken location as well. Got their sandwich combo - a fat chicken finger with lettuce and sauce in a bun - and it was fire. I can't do spicy, so I got their lemon pepper chicken - the chicken was so juicy and flavorful, and that lemon pepper was tasty. LOVED the pink sauce - great for both the sandwich AND for the fries. Honestly would've loved some mac & cheese with the chicken. I know they have mac & cheese balls, but some mac and cheese to put in with the sandwich? That would be delicious. Delicious fries. Crispy and well-salted. We were going to order some ice cream after, but I was so full from the chicken that it didn't happen. But next time we come, ice cream is a must-try. Loved the decor here - super cute with the ice cream theme. Staff were so friendly! Highly recommend stopping by for some delicious chicken. read more

J's Hot Chicken - Sandwich Combo - Chicken Shop Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

I came here with the family to try the chicken and ended up staying for the ice cream. There were a surprising number of people in the shop for. A late Sunday evening (~7:30) but then I realized most people were coming for the ice cream at that point. The two people (looked like HS kids) they had working there were just kind of doing everything, and because there were folks ordering both chicken and ice cream it was ALOT for them to do. A third person would have made things go WAY smoother as they could have had one person dedicated to register and a second on ice cream and a third on chicken. As it was the two kids kind of bounced around between doing all three of those and it just seemed really inefficient. I will say the most overwhelming positive thing is these two were HUSTLING! Throughout the grind they still managed to be friendly and helpful. Those kids deserve a raise, although maybe another co-worker or some efficiency training would help too! Despite everyone either getting a combo it seemed like each meal was prepared separately and individually, like each orders chicken and fries were made then the next meals chicken and fries were made. I'm surprised they didn't do all the fries and chicken at once or at least in two batches for our five meals. The shop is nice, but it's clearly an ice cream shop that serves chicken, not the other way around, the tables are small and it just seems to cater more to a "to-go" style. Ok now the food; this was a struggle. If I could I would have said 3.5 stars but ultimately, for me the food determines which way I round in cases like this, and here it was just ALOT more misses than hits. The one positive was the original strips were tasty and hot. But the mild... WOW, I'm not a spice weenie but that was ALOT of spice. I would have hoped that was hot level at least. The biggest misses for me were the crinkle cut fries. They were just not crispy at all. I think an easy fix would be to double fry them. Also slightly disappointing were the Mac n cheese balls. They were more like disks but the real issue is it was too much cheese and not enough mac. It was like a fried velveeta ball with two small macaroni noodles hidden inside. As a result it had an exceedingly artificial taste. The breast was just a long roll that split. It was meh. Ok for a sandwich (although should toasted) but just not quite right for a meal. We did have ice cream after but I'll put that info on the drip house review. Overall pretty average, but I would say in like 2 months I'd come try again so see if they could solve most of these issues, cause it easily could be 5 stars if they mix these things which are all hopefully easy. read more

Chicken! Chicken! Chicken ! Dave and Cynthia have captured the essence of Turnpike and Hollister with 3 Iconic eateries . Their story began in High school and continued with marriage and 3 daughters and 3 eateries later they are thriving. J's Hot Chicken presently featured for a Yelp Elites event. Although my Elite status is pending I decided to join Mickey A and Amy C for the event and bought a meal. Cynthia was our host with the most. Taking care of my order the amazing Chicken sandwich combo. Although the restaurant also is the Ice Cream shoppe. The signage tells the story of both spots with bright and cheerful decor. Being able visit with others makes the experience that much more enjoyable. Thanks to Cynthia and Dave for an Amazing Chicken sandwich along with the tasty coleslaw and fries to round out the meal Ronnie S read more

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First time here, great experience overall. I came for the Yelp Elite event, but I'll definitely be back. I had the spicy chicken sandwich meal- they asked me to pick a spice level referencing the chart on the wall. Having no idea how hot Hot would be, I opted for mild. I will definitely get Hot next time, because mild was not very spicy and I do love spicy chicken. The meal came with a drink, coleslaw, and pink sauce, which was nice to dip the fries into. A few things I noticed here and there: the fries were excellent but I wish there were more of them. There was maybe 11 fries with my sandwich. They were very thick cut fries, in all fairness. The chicken sandwich itself was delicious but a little difficult to eat without making a mess (thankfully there was a napkin dispenser on our table). There were pickles provided on the side, and as someone who does not like Pickles, I appreciate this. So many places put pickles on the sandwich directly, and then when you take them off your sandwich, it still taste like pickles. If you like pickles, you can put them on the sandwich yourself, or just eat them separate (which is I guess something that people who like pickles do). A few odd things I noticed: their default tip percentages on their POS are shockingly low. I think it was like 5%, 8%, 10%, 15% or something like that. I'm used to seeing 15%-18% being the lower option and 22%-25% on the upper end at most counter service places. They could up these to 10/15/18/20 if they wanted and I don't think anyone would complain. Actual service this visit was great. There was only one person working and he was both the cashier and the cook I believe so it took a little bit for my food to come up but it was still pretty fast considering. The entire place feels like it was designed to be an Instagram post. Felt very geared towards gen-z, and as a millennial I felt a little old in there. Fountain drinks are Pepsi products. Sundae was good, big for what it was but adequately priced at $12. Better than the one at Ghirardelli downtown, which is almost twice the price. Lastly, they have an ENTIRE beverage fridge filled with branded bottled water. Stressing that the whole fridge was full and of only one choice in terms of both size and type of bottled water. I wonder if they get a lot of people buying bottled water or if it's there just to fill space. I didn't indulge personally, opting for a Diet Pepsi from the soda fountain. But if you're in need of hydration, they've got you covered it seems. read more

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I was in Santa Barbara for the day so I had to stop by for a yummy lemon pepper sandwich. The sauce is so good! And the fries! I'm drooling right now. I also ordered some mild tender fries and it had a kick. My kids are a fan of spicy so they convinced me to get the inferno it was such a fun experience AFTER the burning went away hahaha. So thankful they had icecream because it was a delicious way to put out the fire in mouth. The staff was really helpful and patient as I got up to order multiple times adding did and dessert haha. read more

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Terrific chicken and the level of heat is adjusted to your liking. I also recommend the fried mac & cheese!

I had the chicken combo with the hot spice level. It came with fries and pink sauce. The chicken had good flavor. The texture was different, but in a good way. The fries were good as well, and the pink sauce complemented the chicken and was great for dipping the fries. read more

J's Hot Chicken - Heat Level - Chicken Shop Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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J's hot chicken is located inside an ice cream shop next to Kin. I was actually waiting in the super long line for Kin today and started getting hungry as it was around lunch time. I saw the sign for hot chicken and decided to give it a try and I'm so glad I did! I ordered the 4 tender combo and it was done in a little less than 10 minutes. It comes with a drink, fries, mac and cheese bites, and toast. This is honestly one of the best tenders that my girlfriend and I have ever had. It doesn't have an extremely thick batter so you could taste the chicken and they were each huge portions of chicken. The chicken was extremely juicy and seasoned well. There are 4 levels of spice (something along the lines of No spice, Mild, Hot, Extra Spicy) and we got the "Hot" flavor. It was a little spicier than I expected actually - I was hoping there would be a medium option, that would be perfect. The fries were solid and hit the spot; maybe not as crunchy as I would've wanted but regardless it was a good side and helped me handle the spice. I didn't really like the toast just because it ended up being soggy from one of my tenders laying in the box. Also comes with 2 mac and cheese bites - these were alright but honestly unnecessary. I didn't think they were that good and I forgot about them... Great sauce; I wish I got another sauce cup; I really only had enough for two of the huge tenders. I ordered my food to go and ate it while waiting in line for Kin. Food was packaged well and easy to eat while standing. read more

J's Hot Chicken - Chicken Shop Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Great food! Come eat the best fried chicken in town. Don't forget to get a dol whip. The mild is warm. The hot is really hot. And the atomic is scary. read more

Very good! I wasn't expecting the dry rub on the tenders HOWEVER they were fantastic. Ask for the extra sauce. The service is absolutely incredible and the space was very fun to be in! The lemon pepper has become my new favorite for sure! read more

Nice spot to take your kids. The chicken was very good and came with some great sides. You can upgrade your drink to a really good milkshake, which i would highly recommend. The only thing I would caution about is the spice level on the chicken is pretty high. There were a few levels. Original, lemon pepper, mild, hot and inferno. I like a bit of spice, so I got hot. It was extremely spicy and I had a hard time eating it. I still enjoyed it, but definitely didn't expect that level of heat. You would be in for a world of hurt with the inferno. The guy behind the counter was nice and offered a quick turnaround for being a one man show. I got my order before hords of high schoolers rolled in, so be aware of school schedules. read more

We ordered our meals on Door Dash, and by the time the food got here, it was still super hot and fresh, which is rare! The combos are huge and a pretty good deal. The chicken is cooked and fried well. However... it was soooo salty! I'm kind of a salt fiend and it was too salty for me to eat more than 1 tender. We were bummed because the seasoning was great and the mild, hot, etc. had good spice levels. The lemon pepper seasoning was great too! But when there's too much salt, it kind of ruins the whole experience. I would try it again to see if it was maybe someone with a heavy hand preparing the food today, because everything else was spot on. read more

We went here on a Saturday night during sandwich week and were unfortunately pretty disappointed. We ordered one of the sandwich week specials, which included a one-tender sandwich, pickles, a drink, and pink sauce, and one of the combo meals which included all that plus fries and mac&cheese balls for an extra $3. We were the only ones ordering yet waited about 25 minutes for our food and when it came out the mac&cheese balls were missing, so those came out about 7 minutes later. The chicken was delicious, but that's about it. The bun wasn't toasted, the lettuce was wilted, the fries were cold and undercooked/soft and squishy and not seasoned at all (they were pale yellow and looked nothing like the fries on the menu photo), and the mac&cheese balls were lukewarm and very small. Hopefully this was just a one off experience, but I don't think we'll be back. read more

Santa Bárbara needed this chicken spot! I ordered the 2 finger combo, it came with fries , toast, pickles, "pink sauce" chicken and a drink, the chicken pieces are HUGE, compared to Canes the size of the chicken fingers here is insane! Food was nice and fresh and the service was great. The vibe of this whole shop is instagram worthy with an ice cream sandwich swing and neon wall with a giant ice cream cone, 10/10! read more

J's Hot Chicken - 2 Finger Combo - Chicken Shop Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

I was so pleasantly suprised to find out that there was hot chicken when I visited Dave's drip house. The fires were perfectly season and crispy and the chicken was so much better than every other spot in Santa Barbara. Perfectly cooked perfectly seasoned food. On top of all of that the service was quick and it was amazing. I enjoyed sitting down listening to music and enjoying my chicken combo so much I will be most definitely coming back very often. read more

Daves hot chicken is one of my favorite foods, but the nearest one is an hour away, ive been looking for anything simuler in sb, thats when i found this place, It was so good and im going to get from this place so many times in the future. The chicken tasted so good and the sause was on another level. I will say that the mild was way to spicy, and im a spicy lover, My tolerance is pretty good id say but this was alot. probably as spicy as the hot from daves. There where was also too much bread to chicken, other then that this place is perfect. read more

Very delicious food! The chicken is very welled seasoned with my favorite the pink sauce. Definitely recommend 1000%, I really enjoy canes but this is my new favorite chicken spot, I won't have to go to vta anymore. Customer service is great, very sweet and helpful, he made sure to greet every person who would walk in. I'm so happy for this place, 10000/10 recommend!:) read more