Yo, those fries!!!! Have heard tale of this establishment (as they're coming soon to my home town), so I was excited to see what the fuss was about while vacationing for the week. Whooooooa boy, let me tell you, if you have other "to do " spots on your list while visiting town, hit them first, because once you try these fries, you'll be comparing every subsequent meal to this one for the rest of the trip. Or, if you're like me, you'll wind up missing several other spots as you come back here instead. Decent beer list, great sandwiches, but life changing fries. Don't miss this one. read more

Unfortunately this place doesn't live up to all the hype. The environment and design were super cool. The ambience is loud and lively. (If this weren't the case probably 1 Star) The chicken is good, but the dishes are not complimentary. They have an ok selection of beer. Nothing stands out. I can tell you I live on greasy food and this was just way tooo greasy for me. The sauces were cool, but nothing to freak out over like chick-fil-a sauce. When I got the menu I was underwhelmed at the selection not to mention how similar most of the food was. I actually thought the salads seemed to be the Best Buy at this place. Crack shack is an over-glorified expensive fast food joint, posing as a grill/bar. It seems to me as if they spent more money on the way the place looks than creating good food. Honestly I'd rather spend my money somewhere else. read more

Ok. I never imagined that I would spend like $30 for 10 pieces of fried chicken until Crack Shack. My buddy got Crack Shack and brought it to the company lunch. Dude, this Jidori chicken they were talking about, I thought it was BS, but after I taste it dude. I believe in Jidori bro. JIDORI FTW!! I was like why would I pay $30 for chicken?! Cuz I normally destroy 6 fried chicken pieces easily, and I'm just too used to get 8 pieces of grocery fried chicken at 8 bucks or cheaper. Dude, this chicken fills you up so fast. I was full w 4 pieces of Jidori fried chicken. I was like, this reminded me of the Whole Foods $10 sandwich that filled me up so much. The fried chicken had so much meat in it and was cooked perfectly, really juicy, not dry at all. I'm going back here for more. And I'm going to bring more friends w me. 4 star just cuz I have to think twice before spending $30. But dude, it's worth it. read more

Crack Shack is one of the best fried chicken places I have ever been to. I wasn't overly impressed with it the first time I came, but that's mostly due to not ordering the right thing for myself. The only advice I will relate from that experience is do not get the coleslaw with the Fresno chiles unless you are seriously into spice. I think I almost died. When you come to Crack Shack, do yourself a favor and bring a group of people and get an order of the fried chicken, chicken oysters, and schmaltz fries. Fried chicken: Juicy, flavorful pieces of Jidori chicken with a wonderfully zesty seasoning. Great crunch, very satisfying. Chicken oysters: Something of an oddity for sure! The chicken oyster is a small piece of chicken located near the thigh. Their name comes from their visual similarity to oyster meat. These come battered and fried with a great mustard dipping sauce. Crispy and delicious! Schmaltz fries: Crispy and super flavorful from their dip in chicken fat. Goes wonderfully with their various dipping sauces! About those dipping sauces: they have a wide variety of them, from kimchi barbecue to ranch to house-made ketchup, they compliment both the fries and chicken incredibly well. The atmosphere is pretty laid back and casual, with a spacious dining room with an upstairs section, a fireplace, and a very nice and well stocked bar. They also have a little patio type area with cornhole, completing the "hang out" vibe. If you're looking for some spectacular fried chicken, you really cant go wrong here. read more

This is some good food theyre selling. Parking sucks though as there is either valet or against the wall where there's only like 10 spots. Anywhere else inside the parking lot is tow-away zone. This means you gotta park on the street Inside is really roomy, theres a bar and an upstairs so finding a seat isnt a problem. You order from outside and the line usually wraps around the side of the building About 10-15$ a burger and 5$ for sides. My friend got the firebird and i got the senor croque and boy they were both amazing. The burger had a fluffy brioche bun and the bacon was extremely crisp. Their flavor of milkshake at the time was strawberry shortcake and that was also fire. They put crumbs of cake in it so it was like they literally blended up a slice of cake. Their biscuits were meh to me though. 5$ for 6 small biscuits wasnt really satisfying read more

Not bad at all! I know for a fact that the line can get long. I came here with a few coworkers for lunch. I got the firebird sandwich and it wasn't too spicy but it was enough to give it a nice kick. The small biscuits are definitely worth getting! I would confidently say they are the best biscuits I've ever had. Especially with the maple spread that it comes with! Parking can get filled quickly but they have complimentary valet. read more

My fiancé and I have decided to review restaurants based on five criteria: Food, Alcohol, Cleanliness & Ambiance, Service and Value/Price. My sister is in town and I finally managed to get my fiancé to come to Crack Shack with me. We have had the food before but this was the first time we ate in together. This is a relatively new location but Chef Richard Blais third location. FOOD We shared a 5 piece fried chicken dish and Schmaltz Fried Fries and Mini Biscuits. The fries are incredible they fry them in chicken fat right before serving. Also they hold their crunchiness very well. The biscuits were good but probably mainly due to the maple butter served with them. The chicken was fantastic. Probably close to the best fried chicken I have had. The chicken is incredibly fresh and you can tell they take care in the preparation. My sister and her husband both had sandwiches the Malibu Barbie Q and the Coop Deville respectively. The Coop Deville is definitely the better sandwich. Although my opinion is the bread and sauces on the sandwiches takes away from the flavor of chicken's freshness. On a previous occasion we have tried the deviled eggs here and they are fantastic. Probably the best or second best I have had. They are sprinkled with pieces of bacon which elevated the flavor greatly. The dishes we tried specifically the chicken and fries were great and deserve one star. ALCOHOL This restaurant has a full bar and the selection is impressive for a place that is basically casual dining with alcohol. We both had Bloody Marys and they were pretty good. There is a good amount of alcohol in the drink and a decent amount of spiciness. We are looking forward to trying a number of additional drinks in the future. Based on the beverages we did have and the extensive selection they have in the store the alcohol deserves one star. CLEANLINESS & AMBIANCE The restaurant is relatively new maybe three weeks so it is still very clean. I have noticed that the staff takes extra care to make sure the place is clean including wiping down the sauce counter which can get messy. The ambiance is great it's a great mix of families and young couple out for a quick bite and a drink. This restaurant totally feels like Costa Mesa and is located in a great location. My fiancé originally thought that having corn hole and places for kids to play while serving alcohol to adults would be a problem but she agreed it is a great environment. The one thing I really like here is they have dual sinks near the exit where you are able to wash your hand without going to the bathroom. For a place where you eat with your hands and might not need the restroom it is a fantastic idea. Since I always comment on the bathroom I will say this location has a clean bathroom for guests. We are big fans of the ambiance here and think Crack Shack deserves one star. SERVICE The service here was fantastic from the staff taking your order, to the staff helping out in the restaurant, to the staff bringing the food to the table, and finally the staff cleaning the table as you finish. This clearly comes from the top. One time I was here for lunch and Chef Blais was here. The people I was with asked for a picture and he said he would be back when we were all there. He came back maybe 10 minutes later with a staff member to take the picture. Chef Blais was very gracious and even though it must be super stressful running a restaurant took the time to take the picture. You can see this type of attention to the guests throughout the staff and that definitely deserves one star. VALUE/PRICE The overall value is great. Sandwiches are about $12 each, fried chicken is $15-$30 and sides are $5-$10. Dinner for 4 with two drinks came out to less than $80. This may appear pricey but for the service and ingredients you are getting it might actually be a steal. Overall the value/price receives one star. In conclusion this is a fantastic addition to Costa Mesa and as a future resident of the city I am glad Chef Richard Blais choose this location for his third stop. We are clearly fans but this place is worthy of the hype. We will be back many times I am sure. The restaurant earned 5 stars on this night. read more

Great atmosphere, dog friendly, friendly staff. Food was good. Over hyped but good. Order outside and then go in. There's 2 stories for seating and free valet during peak hours like lunch time. read more

Me and my boyfriend decided to eat here after seeing the crazy line every time we drove by. Though we had to wait in line, it went by pretty quick. We ordered the 5 piece fried chicken a la carte, Firebird sandwich, Border slaw, and the mini biscuits. You get a number and go inside the restaurant which had a ton of seating downstairs with an upstairs seating area as well. They also had many TVs all around so it was convenient for my boyfriend who wanted to watch football. They had a large variety of dipping sauces that you can get and try. They also had a pretty decent beer selection with beers from a lot of SoCal breweries. Overall our favorite was the Firebird sandwich. The dipping sauces seemed like a great idea because there were so many and they were all housemade but our favorites ended up being the basic hot sauce (which tasted like Cholula) and ranch lol. The Border slaw was essentially a fruit salad which I really liked but my boyfriend didn't - it is strange that it is advertised as a "slaw". I was also underwhelmed with the miso-maple butter with the biscuits. read more

Nearly a week later, still thinking bout this place. From the valet to the bar (where we ate)...excellent service! But the FOOD IS SLAMMING!! OMG - no way to exaggerate. The chicken is mesmerizing. Get the chicken oysters for a fun treat. The jicama salad refreshing. The drinks --- YUM. Not sure how I feel about the name of the restaurant, glorifying a a drug that decimated so many communities. But taking my PC hat off for a minute. This place rocks. Simple. End of story. read more

Ventured over to this place for lunch today. Much bigger inside then I would have thought. Staff was awesome and helpful! Very casual place with lots of dogs. Tried the Senor Croque. That's some damn good chicken. But you got to try the biscuits. The only reason why I didn't give it a 5-Star, cause getting a chicken sandwich, fries and soda shouldn't cost me $20. $15 max. read more

The Crack Shack - Chicken Shop Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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Food is amazing, full of flavor. Parking is avaliable in the back, but it fills up fast. Place is very popular! Prices are a little high, but you pay for what you get. Icecream is from afters, which is a nice option for the milkshakes. Worth checking out! read more

Yummm The Crack Shack!! I've been craving this for a while now. Bomb chicken sandwiches always hit the spot. Got the Firebird. Tastes great, but not spicy :( The chicken is juicy and tender. The fried onions give it a great crunch. Only problem is, theres no slaw inside. It was a bit too heavy woth no veggies to balance it out other than the pickles. Must get slaw or salad with it. The Mexican Poutine! Pollo asada fries! Pretty decent! Lots of food! Just a bit too heavy to eat with the Firebird. There are 6 different sauces, but the one that I used the most was the Crackin sauce. Like a sweet spicy bbq sauce! Would come back again but once they open one up in Century City, probably will go thataway! read more

The service was great the food was good! I had no idea it had a full service bar. The inside is really cool and would be fun to come with a group. The only down side was a customer with her barking dog inside the restaurant. This dog was just a little yappy thing with an owner that did nothing to control. It very much took away from the laid back atmosphere. read more

Man. If your in the HB area, and you want fried chicken goodness, forget KFC go here. Juicy chicken that has flavor down to bone. Which is hard to do. Chicken fat fried fries is money, especially with that seasoning they embodying it with. Down side is price unfortunately, but it is quality.just feels a bit inflated still. Will go back though. read more

My family and I ate dinner on their opening night. It's was great! Friendly staff, great atmosphere, and delicious food. I had previously been to another location and think this food is consistently delicious! I'm excited to have this in our area. We had the fried chicken and coleslaw!! read more

Appropriately named. Can't get enough of this delectable chicken. Yes it's super hipster but so what! The food and service is impeccable. There's not much more to say beyond come hungry for chicken! read more

Heard good things about this place so I decided to check it out. Ordered the Fire Bird and the Coop Deville and found them both to be pretty average. I don't think it's worth the $12, better off going to Chick-fil-A. They do have a nice indoor area and bar though. read more

Great and fun place to go. The best thing is that they allow dogs. Great food and they also have full bar. They only problem is the parking, they only have valet parking. read more

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My experience at the Crack Shack was absolutely perfect. My girlfriend and I ordered the Señor Croque and split it, and we ordered a side of fries. The portion size meant that was it was a perfect size to split between the two of us without stuffing ourselves silly and losing all things in our wallets. The chicken actually tastes like chicken. It's almost weird, because I've gotten so used to chicken sandwiches at fast-food places tasting a certain way and just accepting that it's a different taste to what an actual cooked chicken tastes like, but this tastes like actual chicken. All the ingredients were superb. And on top of all that, they have several sauces available on tap which were DELICIOUS. I tried the ranch, the sriracha 1000 island (my favourite), the sweet heat, and their version of ketchup, and they were all fantastic. The decor is also just really great, the place feels casual and it's clean, modern, and there's plenty of seating. Frankly, I can't wait to go back. 4 (standard) - 0 (nothing bad) + 1 (exceeding expectations and excellent sauces) = 5 stars read more

So. Freaking. Tasty. Can't wait for them to open up seating again because takeout fries get a little on the soggy side but everything is delicious! My favorite is the Firebird, it's just spicy enough to make your nose run but not overwhelming to where you can only taste spicy! Shmaltz fries had great flavor, looking forward to trying them fresh out of the kitchen! All of their dipping sauces are delicious and I can't wait to try their cocktails when this is all over! Also has a very cool vibe inside and out! read more

Delicious! I had the fire bird and definitely recommend. My favorite sauces were the crack ketchup, sweet bbQ and sriracha 1000 island.The mini biscuits and honey butter were wonderful, I would solely come back for that. Portions were big enough to share from the fries, the biscuits and deviled eggs. I have a large appetite and the sandwich was more than enough to split as well. Will 100% be back, great atmosphere. read more

The Crack Shack - Chicken Shop Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

This place is a pretty cool, and has a super fun vibe. The food was OK, it looked better then it tasted. Very salty, and extremely greasy. The chicken was also very tough. read more

Would I wait in a 20 minute line for this food? No. Food was decent. But just that. We ordered the spicy chicken sandwich, 5 piece, fries and biscuits. I personally didn't like the sandwich as the thigh meat was tough and chewy. The bread was soft and sauce and pickles were good. The fried chicken was seasoned really well and nice and crispy. But again, the meat was chewy; all pieces. At one point my boyfriend had to take a piece of the leg meat out of his mouth. The biscuits are good. As are the fries, however they came out completely cold. Won't be back by happy to have checked out what all the hype is about. And love Richard Blais so happy to support him. read more

Awesome sandwiches and a great selection of beers! Order at the counter outside or at the bar. Cool open space with a space for corn-hole and plenty of TVs. There is an upstairs seating area perfect for a private party, however I didn't ask if possible. read more

We went once and it was yummy and we went once and it wasn't as yummy and we went once and it was yummy. Why is not always yummy???!!??????? Mommy loves pickles read more

Firebird + Fries + ice cold beer. I have no had anything here I did not like. If the line outside is long check out the bar inside. You can order the entire menu there. My wife really likes the bowls and we recently split the Seared Ahi Fish sandwich which was great. Food - 5/5 Drinks (both cocktails and beer) - 5/5 Ambiance - 5/5 (Roof is retractable and downstairs is dog friendly!) read more

Cool place. Bright and open, just here for drinks but will definitely come back for food. read more

The Crack Shack - Vodka scramble with fresh ginger. Yum! - Chicken Shop Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Came here for Happy hour. Pretty good deal, 2-3 dollars off beer, wine, and cocktails. First, it looks awesome! Inside is very open and fun with large tv's , a fire place, and corn hole. Def a place to eat and then just hang out. We ordered the Cali dip sandwhich and the loaded fries. The sandwhich was really good. It came with a rd dipping sauce that alone I was t crazy about but when paired with the sandwhich is transformed the flavors. The best part were the fries covered in chicken and cheese wiz. Just go. Get the loaded fries. Your welcome. Bonus! Saw the owner, love watching him on tv. read more

First time for Costa Mesa locale but the San Diego location is a must every time I am there! Love love Love this new place and decor! Staff equally informative helpful and upbeat! Must for anyone! Fried chicken and eggs! Can not be beat! Schmaltz fries killing it! read more

First time here & I really enjoyed it! Cool atmosphere with Bag-O and other games. I ordered take out that I picked up on a Friday night. It was warm & ready when I got there. Spicy chicken sandwich was amazing! Very spicy though - be careful!! read more

The Crack Shack - Entrance - Chicken Shop Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

The firebird sauce is on fire. The chicken is so darn good. Get the 10 pieces, you won't regret it.

Love the place and the food is generally good. They tend to under salt the chicken so it can be bland at times. The Vegas location doesn't have that problem. read more

The biscuits were good, the breakfast sandwich tasty but have to say the spices on the fried chicken were not my style. read more

The Crack Shack - Always drove by and thought it was a breakfast place. But no ... more of a bar / fried chicken place. - Chicken Shop Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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Had a great experience here. The best fries I've ever had. Really enjoyed my spicy chicken sandwich. Look forward to going back. Appreciate their craft beer offerings. The sauces really add to the experience. read more

Very very good product, all-around. The slightly higher price-point than fast-food is used in all the right places. High-quality ingredients and delicious sauces here read more

Yes the food was good. Yes the ambiance is fun and fresh. But the stand out is the staff! They were so attentive friendly and professional while we ate. Once we got home, my boyfriend realized he had lost 2 of his rings somewhere between the restaurant and Home. We went back and even though they were closing up, the staff let us in to look all over for the rings. We gave up and retraced our footsteps across the street, when an employee ran over with one of the rings he found! They helped us look again all over. Although we didn't find the second one, they really made an effort to help look and totally had empathy for our search. I can't think of another time where I felt like the staff really treated me so personally like a human. Since I live around the corner, I will definitely be back many more times! read more

When I come hear I usually have to leave in a wheel barrow. The deviled eggs are amazing...for the price, they are worth it at least once....so just do it!!! Reviewed By: Jeremy Duenas - Newport Beach, Ca read more

Menu's not very extensive and the chicken wasn't too memorable in my opinion. Nothing really stood out to me...Their sandwiches are good though. The decoration and ambiance is nicer than San Diego's in my opinion and it's still a spot worth visiting for just those aspects. I wish I had known that there's complimentary valet parking. read more

Happened to be in the area a week ago and stumbled across this place. The offer free valet parking, makes it easy. The guys (separate vendor) were really nice and friendly. Ordering: stand in a line outside the restaurant. Line wasn't too long and didn't take much time to get thru. The food was great. We had the Senor Croque, Firebird, and Fries. The chicken was cooked perfectly and very flavorful, it's not over done with other sauces to get flavor. Fries came out crispy, how they should be. All the food was delicious, hot, and cooked well. Will definitely go back to try out more items! They also have house made sauce bar, if you'd like. They have some games, TVs, and an outdoor/indoor feel, as well as an area for dogs. read more