Just moved into the area and was looking for a good fried chicken restaurant. We had the chicken oysters, the hot nuggets, and the 10 piece with a few different sauces on the side. The chicken oysters were perfect - they were tender and juicy and crispy and all the best things. The fried chicken was INCREDIBLE. The breast was so tender I almost thought it was a thigh - and the chicken is very obviously of great quality. So glad to have found a great fried chicken place with such good vibes! read more

The Crack Shack - Chicken Oysters, 10 Pieces Fried Chicken, Hot Chicken Nuggets - New American Near Me - Encinitas, California

Great ambiance by the fire pit, had lunch with friends and throughly enjoyed each of our meals. We will certainly be back!

I've been wanting to check out this place for the longest time, and I'm so glad I was finally able to. The wait wasn't too long at around 11:30am on a Sunday. You order at the front counter, take a number, and grab a seat inside! Since there's absolutely no way I will ever pass up a spicy fried chicken sandwich, I ordered the Firebird, and I thought it was pretty good, but not extraordinary. I wish the chicken, itself, was crunchier and a bit spicier, but I definitely give it a 5/5 for the overall sandwich's variety of texture and its abundance of flavor! The chicken thigh was super juicy, the potato rolls were sweet, and the pickles added a crunch that made the sandwich seem less greasy. So good!! My friend ordered the Cali Dip, which is a roasted chicken sandwich with a side of posole, which is a pork soup. I didn't taste the pork flavor of the posole :/ I thought it tasted more like a vinegar sauce with a bunch of spices, but it's still really good. I recommend ordering this is if you want something on the lighter side because it tastes healthy! There are so many other options on the menu, and I'm excited to come back to try them all!! Especially the fried chicken! - Oh also, the Cracksup is ketchup (I originally thought it was a special sauce, and was a bit disappointed when I realized it was just ketchup. Clever name tho!) read more

Amazing food and great atmosphere for families! Highly recommend the biscuits. It's easy to order for pickup which we do often.

This is the third time I have been here. I live in PA. Ok I know good versions of this kind of food. Great Sandwichs fry's salad bread. I did not love the nuggets. Get a sandwich and your mouth will thank you. read more

they gave my boy a cookie for his birthday. ss. cc.

I was so skeptical seeing this recommended on travel blogs but it's worth the hype. Everything was great and their gluten free chicken is fantastic. It definitely doesn't taste like normal fried chicken as the breading is a bit heavier but it's really good still and the chicken is juicy. Their dips were really good as well. read more

Watch out when you order $5 side coleslaw. Couple of times it was mostly pickles! Where is cabbage?! read more

The Crack Shack - Classic slaw? - It was mostly pickles. It happened twice. I don't like pickles so I put those aside. The whole bowl was basically pickles. - New American Near Me - Encinitas, California

Good moist (mostly fried) chicken sandwich. Some with fried egg and bacon, while other options include avocado. It hits the spot when you are looking for a fried chicken fix. Not the cheapest but the taste justifies the price. Outdoor fun seating and play area for the kids. read more

The fried chicken here is the best tasting chicken around! Each piece is perfectly fried and there's a ton of meat. The jidori chicken they sell is the reason for this. You gotta go! read more

the sandwich was bomb but the fries needed more seasoning! overall the service was great and even tho it was packed , it came out super fast. read more

The Crack Shack - New American Near Me - Encinitas, California

The service is great here and there's a lot of seating. It's a great place for group meetups- there are long tables and plenty of parking outside. I ordered the firebird, fries, and bloody mary. While I enjoyed the firebird, it was a bit too oily for my taste. It definitely is a huge sandwich and packs a bit of heat as well. The fries were oookay but it was fun to try some of the different kinds of ketchup they offered. Nothing in particular really stood out to me though. I can't speak for the bloody mary- I actually don't usually order them. I'm not sure what possessed me to order it this time because I didn't like it. My husband said it wasn't bad though and drank the rest of mine. I want to give the place four stars just because I loved the friendly atmosphere but the food was just okay and everything was really expensive for what we got. read more

They have a good atmosphere to bring the family to. Plenty places to eat outside or inside. Don't forget to take a selfie with the rooster outside! They have their own twist on chicken and flavor is delish. Good variety of drinks and beers. read more

The Crack Shack - Belching Beaver Peanut Butter Stout - New American Near Me - Encinitas, California

I came in on 11/4/21 to pick up a Baja chop salad for my girlfriend on my way home from a late night at work. It is her favorite, and it was her birthday week. I decided to try the bartender's choice cocktail, 'Fitz's Flare Gun' while I waited. The cocktail was phenomenal. I will be telling my friends and family to visit the Crack Shack to try it. The food came out quickly and I was ready to go, but I was so pleased with the cocktail and the friendly bartender that I decided to order another and hang out for a bit longer. This is when things took a bit of a turn. The bartender insisted that I order a single nugget to pair with my cocktail. I had enjoyed our interaction and the high level of service thus far. I trusted him and eventually obliged. I patiently waited just a few minutes for my nugget to arrive. When it came out, my first impression was that the nugget was a bit light on the salt. I decided to look past this and give it a bite. I was BLOWN AWAY by the perfect pairing. I expect Fitz's Flare Gun + one single nugget will be a regular order for me after future late evenings at the office. I want to thank the evening bartender on 11/4/21 for the suggestion, and give kudos to the back of house staff who prepared my order lightening quick. - Chris read more

Food is great, i Keats go for their chicken oysters, service is fast and waiters are friendly. They have great interior with lots of TVs to watch your favorite games. read more

I love this place! Not only is the food delicious and orginal ... the vibe here is phenomenal. This was my first time at the Encinitas location. It's very big and has a ton on space for kids to play while you eat. I got the coop DeVille ... omg... I would have licked the inside of the bag if it didn't make me look crazy. So Good!! The Frose was very refreshing.. wish we were here mon-fri at 4 for happy hour since specialty cocktails $4 off.. great deal! Their fries are very tasty and there are a lot of appetizer options. One of the girls was unhappy with the choice since she hates fried but cheered up when she saw many salad/healthy options too. Overall good for any type of food lover! read more

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The place was awesome and the food was delicious. If your in Encinitas I would recommend stopping in and get a bite. It's a little bit of a drive but no problem there's one downtown San Diego. Both places is casual dinning with a great atmosphere. Try it for your self and see if it's like it. read more

all I could say is WOW. just WOW. My husband and I tried this spot for the first time with some friends who hyped the hell out of this place so we just had to try it. My husband got their wings and I got their Firebird sandwich. I loved their sandwich! It was pretty massive and it got everywhere! I tried my best not to eat messy but I just couldn't help it. I thought the sandwich came with fries and it didn't so I was pretty upset with myself because their fries looked pretty good. We also got their Cookie Monster milkshake...HANDS DOWN! the best milkshake I've ever had. My husband can also agree on this. We were pretty amazed how GREAT it tasted. Employees were super nice, made sure we were all taken care of, food was great. 11 out of 10. read more

This spot never disappoints. Here are a few tips. This is no average chicken spot. The menu is an eclectic mix of rare home style cookin matched up with a little local SD flavor. The staff is always courteous and attentive. My favorite is the senior croke.. I get it with no bun and double egg to lower the carb load... the mini biscuits are divine. The deviled eggs and downright devilish with their sweetened toppings and down home original flavors. The drinks are great. Don't get all weird about it but their drinks are natural cane sugars. If your weird about your sodas you can always ask for a sprite at the bar or grab a Pepsi at the fountain.. I've been here over a dozen times. We even held our corporate event here with about 60 people and everyone loved it. My vote.. Must try... read more

Great service. Delicious cocktails and some of the most memorable fries I remember. The chicken is WOW. Also good spice and flavoring all around for every part of the sandwich and poutine. This place did not disappoint! read more

Great family friendly place for food and drinks. Big family chicken dinner is a great value with something for everybody.

This place is a very different experience from most restaurants. It's a little confusing for a first timer. It has an open air vibe with a bar set up where you can get alcoholic drinks. They have assortment of gourmet sodas, lemonade and Iced Tea to choose from. There is patio seating outside. One of the really nice qualities of this restaurant is they actually encourage you to bring your dog into resturant and as well as out on the patio. They provide water bowls for your dog. We brought Bichon with us and he sat at our table inside the resturant. We weren't sure how to order. One of the servers who brought the food out to the other tables was kind enough to explain how to order from the menu. I got the Baja Chop salad bowl with an additional boneless chicken thigh. My husband got the BAE egg sandwich. We shared small fries, which were delicious. Both of us really enjoyed the flavors.......they were so well put together. The food was amazing. It is well worth the experience and cost. Now that we have discovered this place, we will be back! My only complaint is how they make their Iced Tea. It was made with tap water and that "concrete" taste comes through in the Iced Tea. I would suggest using the filtered water from the soda machines. It would improve the flavor of the Tea greatly. This is not a break-it deal...... I would come back either way just to enjoy the food. read more

The most sanitary crack operation you will ever witness. CS is crushing coronavirus restrictions with tons of space between tables for saliva droplets to aerosolize. Trust me...everything here is so delicious that drool is a very likely occurrence. All the employees are masked and gloved up, they have tons of sanitizer around, and there's even a hand washing station. Definitely one of the safest restaurants I've visited since the start of this whole thing and I'm happy to see they're back in business. read more

We're addicted. Weekly. Gotta have Crack Shack. Consistent service, lush menu options. Who knew -- amazing chicken, open ambience, comfort food in a really comfortable environment. read more

My family and I found this spot on whim. We decided to try it out after driving from an hour away and being disappointed by another local restaurant waiting 1.5 hours for and still didn't have a table. Let me tell you, they did not disappoint!!! Me, my 3 sons, and husband loved this place. We were greeted kindly at the front, received out food in good timing, the fries were amazing, the chicken is crunchy, piping hot (internal temperature) which is fantastic because who wants cold or warm food when it comes to your table? Flavors are great all around. The bar tender was very kind and friendly (full bar by the way!). Oh, and their side dips are just right in flavor as well. We look forward to eating here again! read more

The Crack Shack - Firebird Sandwich - New American Near Me - Encinitas, California

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This was my go-to restaurant/stop down the street from my at-the-time place in Encinitas. I was told to try the coop deville sandwich and that was life changing, so I ended up coming here pretty often for that. Then I was introduced to the 5-piece chicken here and the salad, and the rest was history... I finally understood why this place is called the crack shack. The chicken is pure crack, you can't just have one piece, especially with the different dipping sauces they offer. When I wasn't having it, I was craving it, or inviting a date or friend to come here and eat with me, or I would just do take out and indulge. No matter what I did, the chicken was consistently delicious and addicting. Also, the dine-in experience is even better when there's multiple televisions for your sports-viewing pleasure and a play area for the kids, there's a little bit of everything for everyone ad I love it. read more

The Crack Shack - 5-piece chicken and asian salad - New American Near Me - Encinitas, California

My go to for messy af but dangerously delicious chicken! Not only that but the fries is always the make or break for me and they have ranch 20/10 read more

This place is really good. The À la carte style menu will make the final total of the bill add up quite quickly, but if you are looking to find tasty food and drink, then look no further. The place Is set up to order food and drink right before you enter the restaurant. Easy ordering without waiting for a waitress, but they do ask you to include tip before any services have actually taken place. After ordering you will find your own seating. Plenty of Covid distance tables available. The kids meals are a bit small in portion and come with a giant cookie, but they are only $7 each. I suggest you buy and extra side if you have more than 1 kid. My 9 year old kept saying, "Looks like I ordered carrots with a side of chicken." Lol. Still the food was good. Service was decent. If I'm tipping, which I did, I would expect someone to come around more often and see if I needed anything else, instead of me getting up and getting extra sauce myself. Good food but a little pricey for the atmosphere. I may go back, but not in any hurry. read more

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First time here. Had the Mexican Poutine...one word...AMAZING! Love the fact the fries are cooked in chicken fat. DELISH! Cleaned the plate read more

The Crack Shack - New American Near Me - Encinitas, California

Food was amazing the service was good , did not have any wait on bringing out my order definitely recommend this place

Me and my boy Matthew came here for the first time after passing it hundreds of times going to the beach. We were out scavenging for clothes to up his drip game and surprisingly stopped at the shack. After a quick deliberation we ordered and tipped the cute cashier. My boy ended on the "coopdeville" while I went for the sophiscated "Cali drip". After dredging it thru sauce after sauce after sauce we took our first bites. Before I knew it, I was a kid again. I was swinging on a swing on a hill being pushed by my late grandfather, some times getting scared at being pushed too high. Eating the shacks decadents was thrilling. I love the shack and you should too. read more

The Crack Shack - Move the truck and it says "The Crack Shack" - New American Near Me - Encinitas, California

Love this place. And because my daughters' school was doing their first virtual back-to-school night right in the middle of the first football game of the season I was able to use my phone at the bar to dial into it while watching the game (multi tasking!). The bartender had no problem with me propping my phone up against the lid of her little lemon/lime container for awhile. The chicken is fantastic and their dipping sauces are very unique and delicious. Great drink selection (the hard kombucha is better than I imagined it would be!). One of my favorite local hangout spots. read more

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The food here has always been good. Went to the downtown SD location first and then this location. Service was pretty good as well. Ordered and got our food super fast. Can't go wrong here. read more

Fun Spot for all ages. Good drinks, nice bartenders. Food is delicious and abundant. Fried Chicken & being Gluten free is too good to be ignored! Spot outside for little ones to run around in. read more

Ordered the big flock on Uber eats. The chicken tasted under seasoned. The fries and nuggets were ok. The biscuits were surprisingly the best thing about the order. Overall I wouldn't say it was worth the price and to stick to Popeyes. read more

Had to stop for the best fried chicken in California! This location has a playful decor, full bar, chicken coop and sandbox for the kiddos! And don't forget to pick up A cookbook by celebrity chef Richard Blais! My companion had a Bloody Mary with her Senior Croque, a crispy fried chicken thigh sandwich with bacon, fried egg, cheddar, miso-maple butter on perfect abrioche bun. My choice was the coop Seville sandwich with a fried chicken breast, pickles Fresno chilies, lime mayo and Napa cabbage slaw on brioche. The slaw was perfectly creamy and complemented the crispy chicken. I had the iced tea to drink and it was good, it was steeped slightly too long making it bitter with tannins. read more

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Some of the best food I have ever had. As simple as a chicken sandwhich may seem, the Crack Shack brings it to a whole new level. There's fries were perfectly seasoned and cooked. Their shake was sooo good and they salted caramel choco chip cookies are amazing! This is a must eat! read more

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We came back! 11/16/20 oh my goodness why have I not gotten the poutine before, a little spicy I love that it's dark meat and the cheese whiz amazing. I am blown away at the service, cleanliness, is it a little pricier than in and out across the street? Sure but you're getting amazing quality. Jidori chicken! Chicken that's humanely raised in small farms fed grains all organic non-GMO. You cannot beat that for the prices and how they serve the chicken here at the Crack Shack. I may have to even put up a tent weekly here so I can have it more frequently. I'd go broke for this place. I'm a little bummed they don't do the Monday meal deal but i understand these are trying times. The limited addition sandwich is savory sweet and tastes of fall the apple and spices really comes through and it's on a biscuit not a bun. Crack shack you have the way to my heart! read more

The Crack Shack - Chicken oysters and pollo soprano with ranch and kimichi. BBQ sauces - New American Near Me - Encinitas, California

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Can't say I've had a bad experience here yet. Food is consistent and service always seems great.

I have been to this location various times now, a great upscale casual vibe. Food is always great and fresh. I recommend the Fried Chicken, any of their salads, THE BISCUITS and the SAUCES!!!! Their tequila cocktails are my go-to, ask for the Paloma!! Staff is super friendly and helpful, Johnny is always welcoming and remembers my favorite drink. Suitable for large and small parties. read more