When you think of the best fried chicken spots, the South may be the first region that comes to mind. But in the Midwest, you’ll find an unexpected food haven. Cincinnati brings together Southern flair and Midwestern charm to cook up delicious fried chicken. One of the best ways to explore a new city is to eat your way through it, and Cincinnati is a great place for that, ranked as one of the most affordable, entertaining destinations of 2025.
To compile a list of the best fried chicken joints in Cincinnati, we researched which restaurants were the most highly rated and reviewed, and selected local favorites from hometown publications. We selected restaurants representing a variety of styles, including traditional options and saucy creations, and even included a surprising gas-station fried-chicken find. There is no specific order to the list, just the top-five fried chicken spots we found in the Queen City.
CM Chicken – Korean Fried Chicken
Korean fried chicken made it to the top of the list in Cincinnati, with the Liberty Township location of CM Chicken – Korean Fried Chicken named as the best fried chicken spot in Ohio by Yelp Elites. The Korean fried chicken spot has a large menu with flavors of fried chicken ranging from original to garlic soy and cheese monster. CM Chicken – Korean Fried Chicken was rated highly on Yelp, with reviewers writing that the chicken comes out hot and crunchy. And, many reviews mentioned not only the fried chicken, but their positive experiences with customer service.
CM Chicken is a chain restaurant with several locations. Joey S on Yelp says he usually wouldn’t prefer fried chicken from a chain restaurant. “Small mom and pop places are my favorite,” he wrote. “With that said, wow this is some yummy crispy chicken.”…