Dave’s Hot Chicken Menu Prices + Free Shake Offer (2023)

Dave’s Hot Chicken is one of the many restaurants riding the popularity wave of the hot chicken sandwich since opening in 2017.

Here are the updated updated menu prices for this fast-growth chicken chain in 2023. I even share how you can get a free shake and other discounts on your next visit.

Follow Dave’s Hot Chicken on social media.

Combos

Sides

Drinks

Why are hot chicken sandwiches so popular?

Nashville hot chicken sandwiches (and chicken sandwiches in general) have become so popular they’ve led to shortages in recent years. But why? 

First, they are delicious. Nashville hot chicken sandwiches are made with crispy, juicy chicken that is coated in a flavorful, spicy sauce. The chicken is fried to perfection and the spicy sauce is flavorful and addictive.

Second, they are unique. Nashville hot chicken is a regional specialty that is not widely available, which makes it a sought-after dish. Third, they are affordably priced for the masses. You can usually order a Nashville Hot Chicken sandwich with sides between $9 – $18 depending on where you dine. 

Finally, they are portable and easily customizable based on flavor preferences. Nashville hot chicken sandwiches are easy to eat on the go, making them a popular choice for lunch, dinner, or drive-thru order. Adding different levels of spiciness, providing add-ons, and giving consumers the privilege to choose if they want to add greens, pickles, a secret sauce or tomatoes these are easy to add or remove.  

Dave’s Hot Chicken menu poster.

Since almost every single soul has an Instagram or Facebook account now, ads and photo / video posts of Nashville hot chicken sandwiches have increased awareness and interest in this meal nationally and globally. 

What is the Reaper at Dave’s Hot Chicken?

The “Reaper” is the spiciest level available at Dave’s Hot Chicken. The spice level is so hot you need to sign a liability waiver before you can order it. There are 7 levels of spiciness from the “No Spice” to the “Reaper”, one can only imagine how spicy the “Reaper” if you’ve never tried it. The Reaper’s flavor comes from the name of the world’s hottest pepper, the Carolina reaper pepper. This ultimate level of spiciness in Dave’s Hot Chicken has been described as insanely hot.

The main attraction of the menu is that one can choose the level of spiciness or hotness of the chicken which the entrepreneurs cleverly termed “Choose Your Heat”, from chicken tenders or sliders without any spice at all (“No Spice) to orders that will surely make one sweat and be teary-eyed with every bite, the “Reaper”. Whether you like things insanely hot or not hot at all, Dave’s Hot Chicken has you covered. 

Is there a gluten-free menu at Dave’s Hot Chicken?

There are only two sure gluten-free foods on Dave’s Hot Chicken menu: the fries and kale slaw. More research must be made to ensure that the cheese sauce used in the cheese fries is gluten-free.

The gluten-free drinks are the Coca-Cola products, the Gold Peak sweet tea drinks, Sprite, Fanta, Hi-C, and Powerade. 

For people with gluten allergies, all fried chicken and bread options must be avoided, as well as the cheese fries. Also, it should be noted that Dave’s Hot Chicken does not have a segregated area for gluten-free food preparation and that means that cross-contamination may occur. If you adhere to a gluten-free diet, you won’t have many options to choose from here. 

What are the spice levels at Dave’s Hot Chicken?

This customization of spice levels is one of the unique elements of Dave’s Hot Chicken.  There are seven levels of spiciness, ranging from the lowest level which is “No Spice” to “Lite Mild”, then to “Mild”, and to “Medium”, then to “Hot”, to “Extra Hot” and the last but not the least, the “Reaper”. What heat level will you choose? 

Is the Rapper Drake a part-owner of Dave’s Hot Chicken?

A number of well-known personalities have invested in Dave’s Hot Chicken, and one of them is the rapper Drake. The rapper is said to have a large stake in the restaurant chain, as per an interview with one of the co-owners, Arman Oganesyan, on September 21, 2021.

Rapper Drake is believed to further increase the sales of the restaurant chain. According to Oganesyan, the participation of rapper Drake in Dave’s Hot Chicken started when the rapper’s team asked Dave’s Hot Chicken to be the caterer for Drake’s party celebrating his receipt of the Artist of the Decade award from Billboard.

Hot chicken is all the rage.

Oganesyan added that they “vibed well” with Drake’s team and that “they expressed a little bit of interest in partnering up with the company because they liked the food so much”.  

Per Oganesyan, the partnership with rapper Drake is aimed to “bring cool experiences to his fans and our customers”. The other celebrity investors of this well-known chain are actor Samuel L. Jackson, athlete, and TV personality Michael Strahan, former First Lady of California Maria Shriver, and Boston Red Sox owner Tom Werner.

What oil does Dave’s Hot Chicken use?

Dave’s Hot Chicken uses soybean oil for cooking. Why would a restaurant use soybean oil? For one, it has a neutral flavor that doesn’t overpower the taste of food. Second, soybean oil is affordable so the restaurant can keep costs lower.

Third, soybean oil can be used for a variety of cooking methods, including frying, sautéing, and baking. This makes it a convenient choice for restaurants that need to be able to prepare a variety of dishes.

Finally, soybean oil has a high in smoke point. The smoke point of an oil is the temperature at which it begins to smoke. This is important for restaurants that need to cook food at high temperatures, like when frying chicken. 

Does Dave’s Hot Chicken deliver?

The Nashville-style hot chicken from Dave’s Hot Chicken can be delivered at the buyer’s specified place or picked up at a chosen branch. Delivery or pick-up is offered by Dave’s Hot Chicken and by other delivery services like DoorDash, GrubHub, and Uber Eats, depending on the delivery destination. For DoorDash, there is no delivery charge for the first online order.

So, if you’re not in the mood to cook something up on a busy weeknight, call up Dave’s Hot Chicken. Don’t forget to order one slider combo and their kale slaw. These are some of top rated menu items among Dave’s Hot Chicken’s aside from their chicken sandwiches of course.

Is there a secret menu at Dave’s Hot Chicken?

Many have wondered what their secret menu is at Dave’s Hot Chicken. Unfortunately, the chicken chain does not have any secret menu. I’ll let you know if that ever changes. 

Free Shake Offer and Other Discounts

Want a free vanilla or chocolate shake that you can use on your next visit to Dave’s Hot Chicken? All you need to do is download Dave’s new mobile app to claim this offer. But hurry because this offer is only available for a limited time. All you need to do is scan the bar code on your app during the next visit to claim this offer.

Free shake offer at Dave’s Hot Chicken.

When you download Dave’s App, you’ll also be registering for the restaurants customer loyalty program. Like other rewards programs, the more points you accumulate. At Dave’s Hot Chicken you earn 10 points for every $1 you spend. Here’s a break-down of the rewards and point requirements to help you save even more:

• 300 points or $30 in spend: Free fountain drink (any size), fries, kale slaw, or Mac & cheese.
• 600 points or $60 in spend: Any size shake, cheese fries, slider or tender.
• 1200 points or $120 in spend: Dave’s #1 ($10.99 value with 2 tenders and fries), Dave’s #2 ($12.99 value with 2 sliders and fries), Dave’s #3 ($11.99 value with 1 slider + 1 tender and fries) Dave’s #4 (1 slider with fries).

Of course, if you want to be really frugal, you could attempt to create your own Dave’s Hot Chicken Slider at home. First, mix red rooster Louisiana hot sauce and cultured buttermilk, then add chicken breast tenders and marinate in the fridge overnight.

Get Cayenne Pepper, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Kosher Salt, and Black Peppercorns seasonings to create a dry spice mix. Take one tablespoon of the dry spice mix and put it on a bowl with brown sugar to create a hot oil mix.

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Add flour to a bowl, dip the tender to the mix and back to the flour. This will get the skin of the tenders nice and crispy. When you’ve done all the tenders, let them sit in a while then dip, fry, and enjoy. 

After dip-frying the tenders, get half a cup of the oil and add it to the hot oil mix. Then brush the chicken with the mix and sprinkle some of the dry spice mix unto the chicken for that nice, last touch.

One more menu hack that’s popular on social media right now. The next time you’re at Dave’s Hot Chicken, order a mac n cheese, get a hot chicken tender and place it on the mac n cheese. Drench your tendie with Dave’s sauce and taste what you’ve made. 

Is Dave’s Hot Chicken overrated?

Does Dave’s Hot Chicken Live up to the Hype for You?

There are many opinions on whether or not Dave’s Hot Chicken is overrated that you can find on social media websites like Facebook or Reddit. Some people believe that the chicken is delicious and worth the price, while others think that it is overpriced and not as good as other hot chicken restaurants like Chick-fil-A or Popeyes. Here are some of the main reasons customers think Dave’s Hot Chicken is overrated. 

• The prices are high, especially for fast food.
• The lines can be long, especially at peak times.
• The chicken can be a bit greasy.
• Some people prefer competitor chicken sandwich chains like KFC. There are lots of other options.

People rave and crave for their chicken because of its taste, its quality, and reasonable prices. But it’s impossible to please everyone on the internet. 

Can you franchise a Dave’s Hot Chicken? 

Dave’s Hot Chicken is currently open for franchising to experienced, multi-unit restaurant franchisees only. Here are the primary requirements to be considered as a franchisee: 

•   Must be willing to invest $615,000 to $1,825,000 per restaurant
•   Must have $2,500,000 liquid assets
•   Must have $5,000,000 net worth
•   Must pay an initial franchise fee of $30,000
•   Must currently own or operate five or more QSR or Fast Casual Franchise Restaurants in the market area of interest
•   Cannot currently have ownership in a fried chicken concept
•   Must have strong operational metrics and referrals from the current franchise system
•   Should be willing to have a 10-year term of agreement where the franchise term is renewable

How did Dave’s Hot Chicken get started? 

Dave’s Hot Chicken is a popular American fast casual restaurant chain providing the consuming public with appetizing Nashville-style hot chicken. It was opened in May 2017 by 4 childhood Armenian-American friends, Dave Kopushyan, Tommy Rubenyan, Gary Rubenyan and Arman Oganesyan, who had $900 in savings. 

Once just a food stand selling the hot combo plate in a parking lot in the East Hollywood area of Los Angeles, Dave’s Hot Chicken has spread its fried wings not only in the United States but also in Canada, Dubai, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Kuwait in this short time period. 

Co-Founders of Dave’s Hot Chicken.

Dave Kopushyan, a Thomas Keller former chef, was the one who created the perfect Hot Chicken recipe. Arman Oganesyan opened an Instagram account for the brand. The simple pop-up restaurant on that parking lot got the attention of the public after an amazing review came out from the popular Eater blog editor Farley Elliott. In 2019, franchising of Dave’s Hot Chicken began as the team came to an agreement with Bill Phelps, Wetzel’s Pretzels co-founder and former CEO, and John Davis, a movie producer. Bill Phelps is now the CEO.

The restaurant’s fast growth began in 2021 where it started the year with 7 stores and ended the year with 40. This was the year when rapper Drake joined the company as an investor. Since the company used digital marketing, specifically Instagram, to advertise, the reach of the famous investor-rapper Drake helped market the brand. In the following year, another 62 restaurants were opened.

In 2022 Dave’s Hot Chicken was also recognized as the fastest-growing chain in the United States. In March 2023, Dave’s Hot Chicken has more than 120 locations in the United States and is expected to open around 700 new restaurants over the next 5 years.