World Famous HOTBOYS Chicken — Restaurant in Oakland

Tasty, but poor experience with staff, unsanitary cooking environment, a staff that asks the homeless for help in their work responsibilities, along with dark meat chicken nuggets.

Super tasty chicken sandwich that I’d love to order again if it weren’t for what I saw at their restaurant location. Take one look through their windows and you wouldn’t be blamed if you thought the flour all over their neon signs was paint chalk from poor drilling. We also dealt with a staff member who couldn’t communicate effectively when trying to take out order (he didn’t know chicken nuggets were on the menu and tried to charge us for chicken tenders that were $13 dollars more). I also witnessed a staff member downing HI-C in plain site from their Coke Freestyle machine and asking the homeless for help in bringing trash around their fence. This is not “oh that’s Oakland for you” type of stuff - it’s stuff a place with a current high rating that managers should focus on improving.

Lastly, they use dark meat for their chicken nuggets which if you didn’t know, is the lazy way to make nuggets as you have a low chance of overcooking dark meat - which explains the lack of crunch we experienced in the batter.

I’d be surprised if this place passes their next health inspection… which is worth trying to find as it’s hidden from...

My friends hyped up Hotboys and they were right! All the food is delicious and has a kick, so I come back at least once a month.

Hot is extremely spicy. You think you're fine for a minute, then suffer for the next 10 minutes. It previously used to be overwhelming and powdery, but it's more bearable now. I know my tolerance has become higher, but my friends also think the spice levels have gone down. Medium Plus is much more restrained and flavorful for me, and is far less powdery. I also appreciate how the spice adds a lot of flavor in addition to heat.

The food options are varied and delicious. The sandwich has cole slaw that perfectly balances out the grease - I prefer the tender version because it has breast meat, but others might be okay with the texture of dark meat. The mac n cheese is excellent, with a unique cheese flavor and good texture. The etouffee is a nice change-up with a mild kick. The bonuts are good but expensive. Sausage gravy is delicious on both bonuts and fries. And the veggie sandwich is okay, with an adequate texture and flavor but breading that falls off too easily.

This location only has outdoor seating, and during one visit we were downwind of some vomit or decomposing trash. We haven't smelled anything during the other half doesn't visits. I love the...

Placed our order online and set out on Sunday afternoon; food was ready in about 15 minutes, as predicted by the order confirmation page!

Finding the store was easy, since its colorful exterior stands out so much, and it's prominently positioned in the neighborhood! Be aware that the parking lot adjacent to the store isn't actually free parking for customers, though. Went up to the window and got our food immediately with no wait from a friendly staff member.

The food itself was super hearty and flavorful! We got an original chicken sandwich and Guap fries, both with Mild+ (spicy) heat levels. I enjoy the occasional spicy kick in my meals and felt this was a perfect level, personally. The fries are very generous, and was enough for one standard person's portion IMO. The sandwich wasn't quite as sizable, so you might wanna get a side with it (or just order the combo option!).

Both options were delicious and filling, though I felt a bit too heavy after the punch of cheese+spice+carb packed in my fries. The chicken in the sandwich was juicy and well-seasoned.

I don't think the flavor and composition of the sandwich were exactly what my own tastes were looking for, but no complaints nonetheless! I'd definitely recommend trying them out to see if they'd happen be YOUR new fav chicken...