Harold's Chicken Shack #36 (Wicker Park)

While visiting Chicago I was able to visit Harold’s Chicken #36. I ordered it the “Chicago way” — salt, pepper, mild sauce. It was fresh out the fryer, which already earned it points before the first bite. I was the very first customer so the order took some time which they warned me of when I placed my order.

The chicken itself was the highlight. Super crispy on the outside — Juicy and cooked perfectly. It was fresh and made to order.

Once you got past the outer crisp, the meat itself was a bit plain. Not bad by any means — just… lacking the flavor I'm use to. I assume this is because the sauce is the overall highlight.

Now let’s talk about that mild sauce. I know it’s a Chicago tradition and a Harold’s signature, but it didn’t really do it for me. It had a slightly sweet, tomato-forward taste that reminded me a little too much of ketchup that's diluted with vinegar. Not terrible, just not the flavor bomb I was expecting. It kind of coated everything without elevating it. I prefer MUMBO sauce wayyyyyy more.

All in all, I’m glad I tried it. It’s part of the culture, and the freshness and texture alone made it worth the stop. But if we’re talking strictly about flavor, it didn’t quite live up to the hype for me.

Final Verdict: Worth the experience, but not a must-have repeat.

Rating: 7.8/10

Terrible

Worst service

The worst costumer service you can ever experience in your life, rude in a way i can't even describe it.

The normal behavior of a black owned business. Open when they want, close when they want, refuse to take phone orders, terrible service. What's new.

Wasted my time completely. When I arrived it was 3 other people in the store already waiting on their food . The young lady at the register told me it’ll be about 10 minutes before she takes my order which I was ok with . After 20 minutes goes by she completely forgot, when she did take my order she told me it’ll be 20 minutes which actually turned into over 40 minutes just waiting on the order . I literally completely wasted over a hour for nothing just for the food not even to be fully cooked . WHAT A WASTE ‼️

The food taste good but for the 25 minute wait I ordered wings/ catfish dinner and got perch fish instead, no coleslaw. There is also no dining in, no chairs/tables

Slowest place ever, the cook clearly dont want to work!
5:20 pm 05/18

Took over an hour for food!!!

When you look beyond the exterior and the restaurant itself and just focus on the food this place is the almost perfect place for fried chicken , the portions in comparison to the price is amazing , the tenders are HUGE and juicy and their bbq is AMAZING. And the fries are also tasty, I would eat from there over and over again. It is good to note it is a TAKE OUT place. Don’t expect to sit in.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 5

Service: 4

Very bad 👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Was very pleased with the staff as well as the food. Definitely going back to have it again. Very reasonably priced for the amount of wings they give you. Highly recommend to not wear a white shirt. It doesn't matter how careful you are. You're going to get some sauce on it😁 came right out though

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Chicken Wings, Wings

We come here maybe twice a year. Because we're from out of town. I must say every time I come here it's a different person every time. And that attitude gets worse every time. The lady that takes the orders is always nasty but this particular time around she didn't open her mouth and said how may I help you or anything? I came up. She just stood there and looked at me and waited till I said something. I don't know what type of customer service that is. But I proceed with my order. She was a nasty and snatched the money out of my hand. When I came back for my order she threw all my stuff on top of each other in a box. Didn't say have a nice day. Didn't say anything like I said I don't even know what her voice sounds like. That's how nasty she was. Overall the food was great. The cook in the back there. I know he stays busy but he always waves to say hello. And they had the same cook for a long time.

Parking: The restaurant is clean, stepped up and wiped down. That I must say it's pretty good. It smells cleaning it other than the food that you were smelling that was cooking. Other than that it smells clean.

Kid-friendliness: No

Wheelchair accessibility: Yes

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 4

Service: 1

Recommended dishes: Fried Chicken, Sauce, Mild Sauce

Everything you want in fried chicken - crispy, meaty, and served hot with great seasoning. Fries were average but went well with mild sauce. You can stand and eat inside but there is a park bench down the street if you want to enjoy your food hot. Took 20 minutes to prepare. Will be back 👍

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 5

Service: 4

Recommended dishes: Wings, Mild Sauce

The customer service was terrible. Almost rude. Lady at the register did not want to be there.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 4

Service: 1

Recommended dishes: Chicken Wings