Bolton’s Spicy Chicken & Fish

The food is ALWAYS on point. The service is hit or miss. I wouldn’t have it any other way though. Boltons has the best fish and fries in the city.

Bolton’s is one of my favorite hot chicken joints. I love the location, the environment, and the heat. It feels so real when you order and eat. I like being able to bring my own drink as well.

We should have tried more spice as the fish is quite bland. Spice pallets don’t work the same as the other hot places.

If you are an adrenaline junky, or a heavy smoker with no more active tastebuds, you’ll love place. no thought I was had decent spice tolerance. I love to cook with chipotle peppers in almost everything, but this was well beyond my tolerance level.

Have lived down the street for over and year and finally made my way into the new lil building they have in the back! I ordered the chicken tenders, mild. I took the advice of another Unilocaler and ordered one heat level down from what I usually order. He was right! The batter is perfectly light and crispy. The rub is dry, but so tasty. I has now taken my spot for best hot chicken in Nashville. I usually like saucier, but this flavor was so delicious. My bf was sad he ordered the medium heat and suffered through the dining. He did love the flavor, though.
As far as sides go, I got mac and cheese and turnip greens. The bf got turnip greens and fries. Mac and cheese was delish and had a good spice. Creamy and little elbow pastas. The greens were just okay. I wish I had some spicy vinegar to put on them. The crinkle fries were nice and crispy!
The staff working there was so friendly and welcoming. Luckily no line and the place was not busy. Come with cash! I cannot wait to come back and try the fish! That grouper is calling my name.

This is pretty much a whole in the wall but locals say it’s the best hot chicken in Nashville. We ordered our food to go but the place was empty. Just fellow customers getting their food to go as well. We wanted to try a bit of everything so the whiting fish sandwich, wings and breast were our choices. Out of the 3 the fish wins hands down and the wings are second. The breast was not very juicy or flavor. On the spice grid we did medium and mild. My choice would be to stick with the mild if you can’t handle really hot things. I would normally get medium for my spiciness level but after reading the reviews I decided mild is the way to go for me. The crispness of the batter is utterly to die for. It’s something I’ve never experienced with any other fried chicken dish so this is done to perfection here.

THIS PLACE ROCKS! Super friendly service, deliciously spicy chicken and fish, (i got mild and it was HOT!), and Tom and Jerry on TV!!! Also, $ 6 for a big fat breaded catfish sandwich. THAT, my friends, is what I call one dollar sign. Oh, also THEY HAVE OUTLETS UNLIKE SOME OTHER PLACES IN NASHVILLE*.
*see review for Crema.

Bolton’s on Main is the go-​to for hot chicken and fish. The chicken and fish are great! Mild is spicy, medium will make you sweat, and I’ve never ventured to the hot or hotter. The food is always cooked to perfection. What’s more is that the staff here are crazy friendly. The new store (right behind the old location) is open, bright, and friendly. I visited on their first day in the new building, and they were very accommodating. One in my party let the woman spice his chicken up a bit. It was a little too hot for him, so she offered to make him a new plate. It was really a great experience. The new building is a completely different atmosphere, but I’ll get used to it! They also have food trucks, which I was excited to see! I always recommend this store to friends looking to try hot chicken.

Hottest chicken in Nashville.
Pro Tip: If it is your first time, knock on the door for service. Someone will come to the window to take your order.

uhhhhhh NO!!!
We were travelling through Nashville on our way to Texas and I really wanted some Hot Chicken. I checked Unilocal to make my decision. Usually, Unilocal is right on but this time it was wildly wrong! :-(
I had the chicken leg quarter, mild, with mac n cheese and green beans. The Hubster had the breast quarter, mild, with the same sides. I saw them cooking the chicken, had I not, I would have sworn that they pulled mine out from under the heat lamp as it was SOOOOOO dry. There were places on the quarter that were so tough that I couldn’t bite it. The breast quarter was not as dry, but there was so much fat on it that it was mostly inedible. On a positive note, the green beans were delicious, but the mac n cheese was nasty.
For such great reviews, I was sorely disappointed.

Hold Up, Hold Up!!! You ain’t messing with Bolton’s Hot Chicken. If you think you can just roll up there and disrespect the chicken, you going to be in a world of hurt!!! I have seem to many fools who think they can handle the «Hot» or «Extra Hot» chicken and end up soaked in their own sweat… The «Mild» chicken at Bolton’s is the equivalent of «Damn Hot» at most other places, so you better check yo-​self before you wreck yo-​self!!! Real talk, the chicken here is phenomenal!!! It’s prepare just right with enough seasoning, it’s crispy but juicy at the same time! The side dishes are very good too, many places only focus on chicken and they neglect their sides, but Bolton’s had everything down right! You got to give this place a try!!! Brink Milk lol!!!

Holy crap. I could talk for an hour about this tiny place.
1. My abdomen is still on fire from a week ago.
2. The ‘dining room’ (for lack of a better term) is tiny. Like 4 tables.
3. The meat is incredible. All 4 of my friends would agree, it’s some of the best we’ve had.
4. On fire. Seriously. Get some ranch dressing or some milk from the shop next door.
In what my friend calls a ‘religious experience’, he had some of the hottest food of his entire life (which Bolton’s merely calls «hot»). By the time we stumbled out of there, he was drenched in sweat, and I’m pretty sure his tear glands were empty. I used to think I could handle spicy food reasonably well, but just licking a couple crumbs off my fingers from the «medium» wings was enough to make me re-​think my stance.
My ONLY complaints about this place are that it’s tiny, it took a while for the food to come out, and they don’t have much of a drink selection. Having to choose from a selection of bottled sodas really isn’t a good option when you need something to wash down spicy food.
I have to conclude by saying the meat was amazing. The rib meat literally fell– off– the– bone. I highly recommend the «chicken on a stick», and my friend swore by the catfish sandwich. Whatever you order, make sure to get it at least a spice level below what you would expect. You won’t regret it. No refunds. Hahaha

This place is FAN-​TASTIC. I found Bolton’s on Unilocal because it was like a 5-​minute drive from our hotel (by the Titans stadium). We were looking for some quick take-​out food to bring back to our hotel room and Bolton’s fit the bill because it was on the way to the drug store we needed to go to and had take-​out.
Boy were we happy about our decision to come here. I’m just going to put this out here right at the beginning: I went here FIVE times in 24 hours. Granted, I loved the food so much that we took friends here after they started arriving at our hotel but I ordered and enjoyed FIVE meals from this place in a day and it was glorious.
In response to some other reviews: Every time we came in here, it was pretty empty. I see that sometimes the lines get long and the orders back up, but we were here on Friday night and early Saturday afternoon and there were only 1 – 3 people ahead of us every time we ordered. The wait was about five minutes, which is nothing considering how long we all sometimes wait for brunch.
If you’re new, you’re likely going to read the menu. Once you’ve read the menu, you’ll see the sign that says something like ‘ORDER SPICE AT YOUR OWN RISK’. Since I was NOT familiar with «hot chicken» before I read reviews, my dumb friend and I figured «medium» was a good spice level that was in the middle of five different spice levels. BEWARE: It is HOT. Medium is hot for inexperienced hot chicken eaters. Like REALLY HOT.
So now you’re likely thinking: why did you give this place five stars, Jenna?! Because even that incredibly hot chicken is SUPER TASTY. Like the kind of tasty you can’t stop eating even though the burning is hurting your mouth and lips and making your nose run. Like so good that you eat some and complain aloud about how hot it is and then pick up more and keep eating it a few minutes later. That’s how good this chicken is.
Get the chicken. Get the fish. Get anything with that spice on it. If you’re not used to heat, even the «Light Mild» will give you enough heat to burn which is DELICIOUS. The plates are a steal since they come with two sides plus chicken for $ 8 (plus tax). The baked beans are FANTASTIC since they’re super sweet and the mac and cheese is pepper-​y, which some people (like my friends and me) enjoy.
Note: there’s tons of parking and credit cards are accepted for orders $ 10+.
I will FOR SURE ABSOLUTELY 100% come back here when I visit Nashville since my in-​laws just moved here. This restaurant isn’t fancy, the service is casual and there’s like no place to sit and eat-​in, but this is worth a visit.

Hmm. Well, we enjoyed our meal and the service was friendlier than at Princes. Chicken was good if a bit over cooked and getting the Hot it was HOT! Greens were very good, beans pretty good also. Mac n cheese was just ok and the potato salad was nothing to write home about. I will absolutely come back though and want to try some of the fish. It was a good 3 star place and I’m sure on another day can easily be 4 stars.

This was my first ‘hot chicken’ experience — and I do mean EXPERIENCE. I’ve been visiting Nashville my entire life, and I’ve had many a great meal there, but after going to Bolton’s, I am a changed man, I think.
I’ve generally taken pride in my ability to tolerate VERY spicy /​picante foods of many types and from many places, but Bolton’s Spicy Chicken & Fish humbled me, to say the least. I ordered the Leg Quarter Plate (mild), paired with greens and mac ‘n cheese. Everything was DELICIOUS, but that chicken (ha!) kicked. my. ass. Phew! Pardon the turn of phrase, but I mean it in the BEST possible way; I couldn’t BELIEVE how HOT it was — from the tender, juicy inside, to the perfectly cracker-​crisp outside — the spice was REMARKABLE. I should’ve known what I was in for as I looked behind the register into the small kitchen while paying, and saw the perfectly cut pieces of the bird frying (sizzling!) in a huge cast iron skillet of oil on the stove top; the contents almost seemed to be glowing — no, PULSING — red, emanating heat.
After a few bites, it was obvious to me that this was no ordinary fried chicken, and to simply call it «hot chicken» felt like an understatement. For the next half hour, I went on what you might call an epicurean «trip» — a spice-​induced, hot chicken «high,» if you will. I laughed. I cried. I sweated bullets in one of the vinyl booth seats as my friends periodically asked me if I was «ok.» It was almost like a spiritual awakening; as I was eating, my thoughts turned to other experiences which tend to trigger our body chemistry (e.g., yoga, sex, exercise), and I began to wonder if I might a.) lose control of some of my muscles, b.) have an orgasm, or c.) throw up. Lucky for all of us at Bolton’s that evening, none of the above occured. All I can say is… three cheers for capsaicin + endorphins!
This is GAME-​CHANGING food. If you just want fried chicken, you can probably find it at a dozen places within a 2-​mile radius. But if you want HOT CHICKEN — an authentic Nashville EXPERIENCE — go to Bolton’s, and don’t think twice about it. The food is FANTASTIC, and the folks who run the place are INCREDIBLY kind and good-​humored (not to mention wickedly skillful in their culinary art).
I’d go back on the worst of days; how many places can you say THAT about?

So I’ve been to hole in the wall places. This place is really hole in the wall and dingy. However, the food was good enough to make it a «Yay! I’m a fan» experience.
I was a little bit concerned by some of the previous Unilocal reviews of the medium spiced chicken that made people’s lips swell or made them cry. Therefore I opted for a «very mild» catfish platter with pepper mac n cheese and baked beans.
The fried catfish was quite good. It was spicier than you would think «very mild» spiciness should be, but it was just right for me. Mac n cheese and baked beans didn’t stand out that much, but they weren’t bad.
All in all, I enjoyed the food, but if I had the option, would probably take it to go next time.

3.5
Bolton’s is a real Nashville experience. While tourist after tourist line up at Hattie B’s Midtown location (no shade; I can throw down at Hattie B’s), odds are you’ll only find locals (or, friends of locals) at this Bolton’s location. It’s small. It’s decidedly pre-​hipster Edgefield. It still has a good amount of regulars who seek out a hot hot plate on a Saturday night. These are all great things and add to the Bolton’s mystique. The ‘problem’ is coming from a growing number of people searching for a more ‘authentic hot chicken experience.’ It’s gumming up the works. The kitchen can’t keep up with orders. Bolton’s runs out of food (forget getting dinner after 8 on a Friday or Saturday) and the newbies ask question after question at the window while growing numbers of regulars grow impatient behind them. On my last visit, four of us walked out.
Here’s the thing: keep it moving. Newbie’s, do your homework. Know what you want to order. Order it. Pay with cash. Keep it moving. Bolton’s, stock your product. You’re getting more and more popular with a crowd that comes from outside the neighborhood. Meet the demand. Bolton’s isn’t Hattie B’s. It’s teeny tiny. It can’t keep up the crushing crowds Hattie’s handles on the regular. Therefore, both patron and business need to meet in the middle and decide how to best handle the restaurant’s size and supply issues.
Consulting aside, I see the root of the growing pains: the food’s really good and the word (beyond locals) is getting out. Helpful hint: take whatever heat level you’re used to and go one down here. Unless my order gets routinely confused, I find that the mild still has a respectful level of burn to it. I can’t imagine going higher. That can’t make for a very fun next couple of days. As mentioned earlier, this Bolton’s is very small. Use your imagination… and now go smaller. Although there are tables, unless you enjoy elbows and other body parts in your face, take it to go. But, a leg quarter plate with mac & cheese and potato salad is just what the doctor ordered after a long week. Well, not the *real* doctor. A real doctor would be horrified at what you’re about to consume. We’re talking about the food-​as-​therapy doctor. That’s the doctor that would order this food. The upshot of the supply/​demand conundrum is that the Bolton’s experience has gotten a bit less… stressful. I’ve lived in DC, New Orleans, Philly, and Chicago and I’ve gotta say: there were times I was a wee bit concerned at Bolton’s. It’s small (have I mentioned the size), the Edley’s trickle hasn’t come this far east on Main and the later the night gets, well, yeah. So, there’s that.
Bolton’s is presently at a crossroads. I don’t want things to change so much that the charm and feel of the location goes away. But something’s gotta give, as the experience within the past four months has been on a downward slide. And if you’re new to Bolton’s, please please please please please do your homework beforehand and keep things moving. No one’s got time for you to do otherwise — and Bolton’s doesn’t have the space.

I’d give this place another shot if I was from around here, but I’m not. The chicken itself was good, moist, cooked well, but the seasoning was over the top hot… and I ordered «medium». The sides were lackluster, and because of being stuffed into the same Styrofoam container as the chicken, got contaminated with the super hot chicken rub.
Did I enjoy my meal here? Not really. But some of that may have been my fault for not knowing what to order.
I can enjoy spicy hot food, but this «medium» chicken was almost off my chart, and certainly hotter then I could enjoy. Heed the warnings you’ve read here. Order mild and stress the «mild» when ordering and hope for the best, I guess.

So my friend and I had quite an adventure on Sunday afternoon. Needed a place to eat after church and decided on hot chicken and Bolton’s was actually our fourth choice but I’m sure glad we ended up here. In a tiny shack on Main St. it really gave a strange authentic feel to the food we were about to eat.
Staff was super friendly and welcoming. I got the chicken breast mild and my friend got the catfish fillet mild. They were NOT mild but still amazing. I think I have a relatively good spice tolerance but I could feel myself burning up from the mild. If you’re afraid to try spice, I would go with the light mild.
The mac and cheese was also decent and their corn on the cob was really good too. I highly recommend Bolton’s. Definitely a place I’ll be going back to when considering hot chicken or hot catfish.

Are all of you crazy? Do none of you have taste buds? Are you just «buying into the hype» of this place and repressing your traumatic experience at Bolton’s?
DO NOT EAT HERE
I’m officially traumatized by fried chicken. Dear god, never effing eat at bolton’s chicken in Nashville. I pride myself in loving spicy food having grown up in SoCal and being married to an Indian guy. So we ordered MEDIUM chicken at this place just to have a nice spiciness and enjoy the flavor.
I’m pretty sure I have PTSD now.
To say that my mouth was on fire is an understatement. My mouth felt like a swarm of red ants invaded and stung every inch of my mouth and lips. I was trying to laugh it off and suffer through it, but in my pain my eyes started watering and I wiped the tears streaming down my face. And you can guess it. The minuscule amount of dust/​oil on my fingers incited a fire tornado in my eyes. I cried and laughed and struggled for minutes to blink it out.
I then went to the gas station next door to get milk to drink and calm the inferno. Once there, I asked the girls at the register if they ate there. One immediately replied «oh! That’s why your lips look like that!» Yes, I immediately went to the bathroom to see that I looked like the fanfiction description of lips red and puffy from kiss swollen passion. However, mine came from the torture that is medium chicken from bolton’s. I was walking back to see my husband pull up in the car and yell «GET IN» as we literally ESCAPED from the hellhole that was Bolton’s chicken in Nashville. Perhaps it is karma as I’m frequently classed as a Stark on buzzfeed quizzes, hence a Bolton being my demise seems appropriate…

If you wanna eat real southern spicy chicken that is the place to be!
There are just three tables — that maked it nice and cosy. You also can get everything for take-​away which takes not long!
Great place to eat chicken!!!