Prince's Hot Chicken Shack South — Restaurant in Nashville-Davidson

My husband and I took a trip with my sister and brother in law up to Nashville over the weekend to visit the zoo. 3/4 of us enjoy spicy food and EVERYONE loves fried chicken, so it seemed appropriate we hunt some down while in town, especially since the only place to get hot chicken at home recently shuttered.

Prince's is, I'm told, the progenitor of hot chicken in Nashville, though this location is not the original Prince's location. It had better reviews and was closer to the zoo, though, so kind of a win-win there! This Prince's is in a kind of nondescript shopping center near a gyro restaurant and a few other businesses. The parking lot was a little difficult to navigate, but we found a spot.

We got there early on Saturday, about 11:30. Business was already starting to pick up, but we only had to stand in line behind two other parties, so not a bad wait. The inside is somewhat dimly lit, with lots of Music City memorabilia and some Prince's swag, too. It doesn't feel gimmicky or touristy though, so that's nice. The ladies working the registers who took our orders were pleasant and fun. One of them correctly warned my BIL about the extra hot level of heat for the chicken. He didn't listen, lol, but she was right to warn him.

One major mark against Prince's for this visit, though: despite only having just opened (on a Saturday, which I can only presume is one of their busiest days), they were out of ranch. Ranch is a MUST for us, especially with spicy chicken. Mercifully, my husband came up with the brilliant idea of walking over to the next door Papa John's and getting some ranch there. The staff member at PJ's gave him some ranch and said he was the third person to come by already, lol.

Once that was settled, the food was really good. Hubs ordered some kind of breast meal combo, medium; I had chicken tenders, also medium; SIL had a chicken sandwich, medium; and BIL had the chicken tenders, which he ordered extra hot. We all ordered crinkle fries as our sides. The non-sandwich chicken comes on a slice of white bread to soak up any residual goodness.

Look: they are sincere about their heat levels. I thought medium was an apt description for my tenders. They are, most definitely, spicy. My nose ran a tiny bit and the tingling lingered on my lips and mouth for about 15-20 minutes after finishing. I very much enjoyed it. The tenders are large and juicy and had a good ratio of breading to meat. Hubs thought the medium was spicier than I did (odd, since he usually likes spicy a bit more than I do), but perhaps bone-in chicken comes off a little hotter than tenders. Medium was too much for poor SIL, who couldn't finish her sandwich. She's not a big heat person, though, so that was probably not her best decision, lol.

BIL almost lost it eating the extra hot. His eyes watered, he got the hiccups, he could feel it in his throat and stomach, the whole nine yards. He ate maybe 65% of his meal and declared it the spiciest chicken he'd ever eaten. There are still two levels of heat above extra hot, so that's not even the hottest. They are NOT playing about the heat here. Be advised!

The fries had a good seasoning on them and were crispy. Not mind blowing, but definitely tasty. The sweet tea I drank came off pretty floral at first but mellowed out once some of the ice melted into it. Prices are fairly high, but portions are also large and quality is good, so overall I think fair.

I would definitely return here if I found myself in the area. Hot chicken is a unique Nashville classic and you should try it...

their parking situation is horrible. they keep the line moving but when you get to the front they give you attitude and roll their eyes just for you existing! the food is incredibly expensive seeing as how it doesn’t come with any sides and when you do order sides they are very tiny and straight from the grocery store! Their pickup system is horribly outdated because when they call your name and you go to pick it up, they kind of just ignore you and pretend they don’t see you and when you finally tell them your name was called, they give you attitude! They make you feel so unwelcome and unappreciated! On top of that, like others have said, they will nickel and dime you for everything and at the time of order it is never once made clear that ranch is an up charge! It’s a little ridiculous to charge what they charge especially for hot chicken and not provide free ranch like their competitor. Their owners just seem money hungry. Their chicken was good and spicy, but definitely overrated and definitely NOT the best around. it’s massively overhyped due to being the “original” but it fell short. Expectations were high and while decent, did not completely deliver. their food was not bad but at Hattie B’s at least you get a FULL side that actually tastes homemade. not to mention free ranch unlike Princes. I ordered a side of potato salad with my meal but it came in a tiny sauce cup and that was enough for MAYBE 3 bites. maybe. what a huge scam. and at Hattie B’s their customer service is miles better whereas here at Princes it’s nonexistent. This place makes you feel so unwelcome and they are not friendly at all. The restaurant was pretty clean but reeked of marijuna which nobody really wants to smell when they’re trying to eat a meal. Maybe I just came at a bad time or day but that doesn’t mean I don’t want a good experience! I hadn’t been here in over 5 years and I visited on 11/04/2023 around like 2 or 3pm. All in all, massively underrated and poorly ran. Too expensive with no quality beyond its chicken to back it up. I would just recommend everyone save their money and go to Hattie Bs instead where they actually appreciate your business and aren’t miserable at you for being a customer! I think the owners of Princes are trying to convince people of Nashville that Hattie Bs is “tourist chicken” but that’s not true at all! It is miles better and...

I've been to Prince's 3 or 4 times now, but my experience has been roughly the same each time.

To get it out of the way, their chicken is delicious. I personally always get bone in, but I'm sure their tenders are good. I order Hot, which is appropriately spicy. If you come here and don't get the chicken, you missed the point.

With the chicken being so good, under normal circumstances, I would come here pretty often. However, every time I come here, there is always some sort of blatantly unacceptable miss of service. The most recent time (today), they didn't include my fries in my order. They read it back to me correctly when handing it to me, but they weren't in the bag. Pretty annoying considering they are $3.00 for a side. The previous time, they told me it would be a 30 minute wait. After 30 minutes, I inquired about how long much longer it would take, and was told "it should be ready soon". It took another 30 minutes for them to finally call my name. The time before that, after being told it would be a 45 minute wait, they just never called my name. I was in the restaurant the whole time, and around ~40 minutes went to ask, and apparently my order had just been sitting there, for my guess is around 15 minutes. I have tried ordering online to try to prevent some of this, but their online ordering system just does not work. They expect you to order fries in person, and the wait times listed on their website are inaccurate.

Other things to note, the sides are not very exciting. I'd say the green were the best I've had, the worst is probably the coleslaw or the fries (they were extremely soft and not salted). They offer you sauce for a $1 upcharge, but then hand you a generic salad dressing honey mustard pack. Admittedly haven't tried the desserts, but they don't look too enticing.

So overall, the chicken gets them to two stars, but that's it. I don't know why I forget every ~4-6 months about how bad these experiences are, but every time I try it again I am immediately reminded why I don't want...