Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken — Restaurant in Mesa

Ok so this place has been on my list of places to try for quite some time as everyone keeps raving about it and I really do love me some fried chicken. So was it worth all the hype? I mean yeah… but its a bit more complicated than that for me anyway. So I will say this, Gus’s Fried Chicken is indeed the best fried chicken I have ever eaten. The skin is KWISPY the meat succulent and perfectly seasoned with just the right amount of spice but be prepared as people that are sensitive to spice might be in for more than they bargained for. Seriously though the chicken isn’t your conventional breaded chicken but still that skin delivers a near impossible crunch that's so satisfying to bite into or peel or what have you. As for the sides… I was never a big fan of baked beans so this didn’t do anything for me but just kind of remind me of past trauma involving past canned baked beans. The mac and cheese was just… also on the bland side not really bringing anything to the table as well as losing to the blue box which felt tragic. Fried okra was 100% swag central and you should definitely get that every time no questions asked as it is nice and crunchy but also juicy. Unfortunately this brings me to a weird part of the experience. See for me fried chicken was the defacto family dinner where you buy a bucket or box or vessel of chicken and bring it home to feed the crew, so i thought that this place would be a simple go in and order at the front counter, only this is a sit down place. Make no mistake that you can still do carryout and all that business but I just felt that it was a bit off than my usual expectations which goes with the second part. Now if you want the best fried chicken in the business then you will have to dish out some skrill with my fave the 3 dark piece being about 13 bones which is about half of the usual family meal at a chicken joint. The argument here is that this aint no regular chicken joint which puts it in a weird spot for me because they deserve to charge the amount for their food but for fried chicken its a bit iffy. Another problem I did encounter was that I had an unusually long wait time for my food, to the point where actually the food was brought to me when the place closed which was a long time since I ordered. Regardless I’ll chalk that up to a fluke and really this place to me feels like more of a definitive lunch place than anything and I will definitely be back and you should...

I recently returned from a foodie trip and had looked up good chicken places with Gus's popping up as a popular place. To my surprise, there is one in Mesa AZ. I decided to try it out. It was crowded, which was a good thing. I asked if the place was the same Gus's Chicken and I was told it was. The menu was a little pricey and the combinations all came with baked beans and coleslaw. If you wanted to substitute for any other side, it was $0.50 per substitution. Talk about squeezing extra money out of patrons. Here's a news flash, not everyone likes baked beans and coleslaw. Why not just have combinations with two sides, unless the baked beans and coleslaw are not that good and you have to give them away. Anyway, it took 20 to 25 minutes for my food to come. I must say, the chicken was crispy and well seasoned, however, I could taste the burned grease it was cooked in. I remember the owner of my favorite hotwings place in Mesa told me, "the key to good chicken is to change your grease often." My substitutions were seasoned french fries and collard greens. The portion sizes were OK. The fries were crispy and flavorful, but the greens were on the sweet side with a lot of stems. You have to be careful with putting too many stems, as you may end up chomping down on a hard one as in my case. Overall, the chicken was tastey, but due to the substitution option on top of the price and the hard stem in my greens, it gets a 3-stars rating in my book. If I go back, it will just be for the chicken, but hopefully it will be during the first batch of cooking so as to not have that burned...

I was on a search for good fried chicken.. I found this place and let me tell you this place is DELICIOUS! We went in earlier tonight (Sunday Labor Day weekend) upon arriving it was busy. There were only two tables open and people coming and going with takeout orders so I already knew it was going to be good. They definitely exceeded my expectations. Having a mother from Tennessee and tasting food that literally took me back to my childhood was nothing short of amazing🤩. We tried almost everything on the menu because why not?? Everything was good but our favorites were the chicken of course…the fried okra, the greens and the potato salad (which I’m pretty sure is my mom’s recipe 😉) the pecan pie and coconut pie. Let me describe the chicken for you because this is why you came. Super crispy, crunchy and juicy while not being greasy at all somehow (magic?) and seasoned to perfection with a slight kick. It takes a little time for the chicken because it’s obviously made FRESH to order..be patient because it is worth every minute.. There was little to no breading which is something I definitely prefer. My boyfriend was actually saying mmmmmm after every bite! It’s so good! You absolutely cannot miss this place. Our server was friendly and attentive. I do not know her name but she has dark hair and was wearing a red shirt tonight and glasses maybe? Thank you sweetheart for the...