Fried chicken in Palo Alto

Palo Alto does not have an old fried chicken shack, but it has something more varied: a halal Nashville hot chicken counter downtown, a Bay Area chain that breads its chicken in gluten-free flour, a Thai chicken shop serving the bone-in style of southern Thailand and a New Orleans restaurant with chicken and waffles. Add a diner breakfast and a chicken and waffle truck that parks on the Stanford campus and you can eat fried chicken at almost any hour.

Every place on this page was confirmed as operating in October 2026 through its own website or a verified page in our business directory. Menus and heat levels change, so check before you order for a group.

Fried chicken styles in town

Zingsters, 220B University Avenue

Zingsters is a casual counter for Nashville style hot chicken and smash burgers. Three friends, Ibrahim, Nasir and Ruman, started it to pair fast food speed with a casual dining room. It has a second location in Fremont.

The headline for many diners is that all of the chicken is Zabiha Halal and hand slaughtered, according to the restaurant. The menu is short. The Zing-1 is a hot chicken sandwich with pickles, coleslaw, cheese and house Zing sauce. The Zing-2 is two sliders. The Zing-3 and Zing-4 are tenders, alone or with a slider, served with pickles and white bread. Six heat levels run from No Spice to Volcano, so start low if you are unsure. Zingsters serves its full menu until midnight on weeknights, one of the latest kitchens downtown. Our halal food guide lists more halal restaurants.

Starbird, 2515 El Camino Real

Starbird is a Bay Area fast-casual chain founded in 2016. Its pitch is lighter, more interesting fried chicken. The company says it uses all-natural chicken that is never frozen and raised without antibiotics. Each piece is hand-breaded in a blend of gluten-free flour and spices and fried to order. The kitchen makes 11 sauces from scratch every day.

Tenders come classic, Nashville hot with pickles and Greek yogurt ranch, lemon garlic or sweet Thai glazed. Sandwiches include the Big Star and a Nashville HotBird. Salads, wraps, wings and a kids menu fill out the board. A plant-based protein called Gardenbird covers non-meat eaters. It is in Suite 102 on El Camino Real, a short drive from California Avenue. See our gluten-free guide for more options.

Roost and Roast, Town & Country Village

Roost and Roast calls itself a Thai-inspired chicken shop. The signature is southern Hat Yai-style fried chicken, named for the city of Hat Yai near Thailand's border with Malaysia. It comes as a three-piece plate over rice with cucumbers, pickled carrots and daikon and crispy shallots, or as two pieces with papaya salad and roti. Another combo pairs the chicken with rice, roti and massaman curry. For groups there are buckets of 8, 12 or 16 drumsticks and thighs.

The shop is in Suite 157 at 855 El Camino Real. The same group, Kurated Kitchens, runs Hatched, a breakfast counter a few doors away. It also runs a food hall in Sunnyvale with a second Roost and Roast counter. Curry bowls and wok dishes cover anyone who wants something other than chicken. Our Thai food guide covers the rest of the city's Thai kitchens.

Chicken and waffles

Nola, 535 Ramona Street

Nola serves New Orleans food on the car-free block of Ramona Street. Fried chicken and waffles is one of its Nola Classics, alongside gumbo, jambalaya and étouffée. Weekend brunch runs from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Nola does not take reservations except for private parties.

Palo Alto Creamery, 566 Emerson Street

The 1923 diner serves breakfast all day, but its chicken and waffle is a morning-only dish. A milkshake from the fountain is the classic partner.

The Waffle Roost truck

The Waffle Roost says chicken and waffles is what it does. It appeared on Stanford's School of Medicine food truck schedule for Friday, November 6, 2026, serving from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Discovery Walk and Governor's Lane. The truck says its other locations are sporadic, so follow its social pages. Our food trucks guide explains the Stanford schedule.

Other fried chicken sandwiches

• The Melt, Stanford Shopping Center. A spicy crispy chicken sandwich alongside burgers and grilled cheese, served until 3 a.m. daily.
• Nola po' boys. Nola also makes a spicy fried shrimp po' boy if someone at the table wants seafood instead.

We did not confirm a Korean fried chicken restaurant inside Palo Alto for this guide. Restaurants open often on University Avenue, so this may change.

Which one to choose

Each of the main three suits a different meal. Zingsters is the pick for heat, late hours and halal chicken. Its thick milkshakes and smash burgers cover anyone who does not want chicken. Starbird is the calmer, family-friendly option, with salads, a kids menu and breading that suits gluten-free diners. Roost and Roast is the one for a shared spread, since the bone-in chicken comes with rice, roti, papaya salad and curry. For a sit-down meal with drinks, Nola is the only full-service restaurant of the group.

Dietary and spice notes

• Halal. Zingsters says all its chicken is Zabiha Halal. None of the other restaurants here states halal certification on the pages we checked.
• Gluten-free. Starbird's breading uses gluten-free flour and most tenders are marked gluten-free. Shared fryers are common elsewhere, so ask.
• Heat. Nashville hot can be very spicy. Zingsters lets you choose from six levels. Roost and Roast marks spice levels on many dishes.
• Allergies. Peanuts, sesame and shellfish appear in Thai and Southern cooking. Tell staff when you order.

Ordering tips

1. Order a bucket for a crowd. Roost and Roast's buckets of 8, 12 or 16 pieces are the easiest way to feed a group.
2. Go late downtown. Zingsters serves until midnight on weeknights, after most kitchens close. See our late-night food guide.
3. Order ahead at lunch. Starbird and Zingsters both take online orders, which saves time near offices.
4. Ask for sauce on the side if you are taking tenders home, so the crust stays crisp.

Frequently asked questions