Dave’s Hot Chicken vs Hattie B’s: The L.A. Upstart vs the Nashville Original

Most fast food chicken fights are about price and drive-thru speed. This one is different. Dave’s Hot Chicken vs Hattie B’s is a matchup between the two chains people name first when they talk about Nashville hot chicken, and they come at it from completely opposite directions.

Hattie B’s grew up in Nashville, where hot chicken was born. Dave’s started in a Los Angeles parking lot and turned hot chicken into a fast-casual chain with more than 500 restaurants. Here’s how they actually differ, so you know which one fits what you’re craving.

This is an independent comparison and is not affiliated with either restaurant. Menus and prices vary by location.

Two Very Different Starting Points

Hattie B’s opened in 2012 in Nashville, run by Nick Bishop Sr. and his son Nick Bishop Jr. The family had been running a meat-and-three style restaurant, added hot chicken, and the dish took over. Its roots are Southern, and you can taste that in the menu.

Dave’s Hot Chicken began in 2017 when four friends from East Hollywood pooled a few hundred dollars for a parking lot stand. Co-founder Dave Kopushyan had trained in fine dining kitchens, and the group built a tightly focused menu around tenders and sliders. You can read the full story on our about page.

Heat Levels Side by Side

Both chains let you pick your heat, but the ladders aren’t the same.

The rows don’t line up perfectly. Heat is personal and changes from batch to batch at both places. Still, Dave’s has the finer steps at the low end and one more level on top. Its Reaper level is built around Carolina Reaper pepper and asks you to sign a waiver first, which is why we wrote a whole guide to the Reaper challenge. Hattie B’s tops out with ghost pepper, which is still seriously hot.

If you’re new to either place, the safe start is Medium at Hattie B’s or Mild to Medium at Dave’s. Our Dave’s spice levels guide breaks down each step.

What’s on the Tray

Dave’s: small menu, all boneless

Dave’s keeps things tight. You get tenders, sliders (a tender on a bun with kale slaw, pickles and Dave’s Sauce), and bites, plus fries, cheese fries, mac and cheese and kale slaw. Shakes and limited-time items rotate in. The upside is speed and consistency. The downside is less variety. See the full lineup on our Dave’s menu prices page.

Hattie B’s: bone-in chicken and real Southern sides

Hattie B’s feels more like a Southern restaurant. Besides jumbo tenders and a hot chicken sandwich, you can order bone-in white or dark meat, wings and half birds, which are great for sharing and mixing heat levels. Sides are a big deal here: pimento mac and cheese, greens, baked beans, red skin potato salad, black-eyed pea salad and more. Banana pudding is the usual dessert pick, and some locations serve beer.

Taste and Texture

Taste is the hardest part to settle, and reviews go both ways. In a side-by-side sandwich test, Tasting Table found Dave’s had good flavor but drier meat, while Hattie B’s was juicier but greasier. Fans of Dave’s usually point to the thick, crunchy crust and the sweet-smoky heat. Fans of Hattie B’s talk about juicy bone-in chicken and a more traditional Nashville taste.

A simple way to put it: Dave’s is built for people who want a big, crunchy tender with heat they can fine-tune. Hattie B’s is for people who want classic Nashville hot chicken with a full Southern plate around it.

Price

Hattie B’s doesn’t publish a national price list, and both chains charge more in tourist spots like the Las Vegas Strip. In general, a Hattie B’s sandwich costs more than a Dave’s slider, but it comes with a side you choose. Dave’s combos are easier to predict because the menu is so small. If price is your main concern, check our guide to Dave’s orders under $10 and $15.

Where You Can Find Them

This is where Dave’s pulls far ahead. It has more than 500 restaurants across most U.S. states, plus stores in Canada, the U.K., Ireland and the Middle East. Find your closest one on our locations page.

Hattie B’s is much smaller. Most of its restaurants are in the South, including Nashville, Memphis, Birmingham, Atlanta and Dallas, plus Las Vegas, with a few new markets opening. For a lot of people, the real question isn’t which one is better but which one is nearby.

Quick Comparison

So Which Should You Pick?

Pick Dave’s if you love tenders, want to dial heat up or down in small steps, need something quick, or want to try a Reaper-level challenge.

Pick Hattie B’s if you want bone-in chicken, care about sides as much as the chicken, or want the hot chicken experience closest to Nashville.

If you live near both, try each at the same heat level on the same week. In the Dave’s Hot Chicken vs Hattie B’s debate, that’s the only test that really counts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Hattie B’s spicier than Dave’s?

At the very top, no. Dave’s Reaper level is the hotter of the two top levels. In the middle, it depends on the batch and your own tolerance.

Is Dave’s Hot Chicken real Nashville hot chicken?

It’s Nashville-style. The recipe was developed in Los Angeles, not Nashville, but it uses the same idea of fried chicken coated in a spicy, cayenne-heavy seasoning.

Does Hattie B’s have sliders like Dave’s?

Not in the same way. Hattie B’s offers a hot chicken sandwich and jumbo tenders rather than slider-sized buns.

Which one has better sides?

Most people give this one to Hattie B’s because of the variety. Dave’s sides are fewer, but the mac and cheese and cheese fries have their own fans.

Sources: Tasting Table, Dallas Observer, Restaurant Business.