Yard House Nashville Hot Chicken

Nashville Hot Chicken is a style of fried chicken with a storied past, tracing its origins to Nashville, Tennessee's Black communities in the 1930s. Legend holds that it was created by a scorned lover seeking revenge on Thornton Prince, but he enjoyed the intensely spicy dish so much that he opened Prince's Hot Chicken Shack, the dish's iconic home. Yard House, a modern American restaurant on Denver's 16th Street Mall known for its extensive beer list and global menu, has adopted this classic dish, offering the Nashville Hot Chicken in several formats to suit different appetites.

The restaurant provides three distinct ways to enjoy their take on the dish. The Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich ($16.99) comes with a side of fries and the meal amounts of 1,100 calories. The Nashville Hot Chicken and Pancakes ($21.99) consist of chicken with sweet potato pancakes, pickles, and a honey hot sauce at 1,600 calories. For groups, the Nashville Hot Chicken Platter ($89.00) offers a large-format version of the chicken and pancakes, amounting to 8,230 calories.

Diners consistently praise the chicken for being juicy and well-seasoned. The chicken and pancakes option is a particular favorite, with guests highlighting the delicious, cinnamon-flavored sweet potato pancakes that provide a pleasant contrast to the chicken's heat. While the dishes are flavorful, some guests note that the spice level is more balanced compared to the fiery heat in traditional preparations. This popular version is often compared to the offerings at Denver restaurants specializing in the style, such as Music City Hot Chicken, The Post Chicken & Beer, and Lou's Hot-N-Spicy.