by Visit Middle Georgia
Why did the chicken cross the road? It’s an age-old question for which we don’t have the answer. However, in this article, we will tell you why we crossed the road, traveled the highways, and trekked many miles, it was all to find the Best Fried Chicken in Middle Georgia. We started this adventure in 2023 and found a winner, but Middle Georgia has grown a lot since then, and so have we. So, we thought we’d renew this journey with the same mission as before, to find the No. 1 Fried Chicken in Middle Georgia. We discovered new places, became reinvigorated with old legends, and even added a couple of new entrants to the list. If it’s your first time to our page and this list, we welcome you. Hop aboard this poultry perusal, there’s plenty of room. If you read the 2023 list and are back for a second helping, thanks for coming back. You’ll find this offering familiar, but with some changes, yet the journalistic recipe is mostly the same. No matter who you are or where you call home, we hope you enjoy this listicle (article in list form) and that it encourages you to go out and Visit Middle Georgia and give all these fine fried chicken eateries a taste. Here y’all go Middle Georgia, it’s our:
2025: Top 10 Fried Chicken Restaurants
in Middle Georgia
Landing at Number 10 and located in downtown Warner Robins, just two blocks away from the city’s soon to be revamped Commercial Circle district, is Gigi’s Comfort Food. This locally owned eatery, serves up some of the best southern-style comfort food in Middle Georgia. Situated just a few minutes away from Georgia Military College, Middle Georgia State University, Warner Robins City Hall, and Robins AFB, Gigi’s is a favorite lunch spot for many in the community. We’ve heard many rave views about their tasty pork chop and scrumptious catfish, but for this article, it’s their fantastic fried chicken that we want to bawk about! It’s lightly breaded, airy and crispy, and the chicken meat is sufficiently juicy. We like to pair it with their yummy mac-n-cheese, collard greens, a piece of corn bread and a nice, cold sweet tea. It’s the kind of fried chicken meal, that says to your taste buds, “Y’all come on’ back now, ya’ hear.” With good comfort food like that, and topped off with their phenomenal customer service that makes you feel like family, we’ll be coming back to Gigi’s quite often.
The Gigi’s location in Warner Robins was formally a burger place called “The Snack Shack.” They served up delicious litter sliders, with a special sauce, that were a carbon copy of burgers served at our Number 9 selection, Troy’s Snack Shack in Montezuma. Now, to clarify, the Snack in Shack in Warner Robins closed down after a few years and while we were initially shocked and sad (cause they were good and we don’t wish restaurant closure on anyone), we are very thankful Gigi’s came in and set-up shop. However, the original Troy’s Snack Shack, the one in Montezuma that’s been open for 65 years, they’re still slinging succulent sliders and frying-up phenomenal fried chicken and don’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.
We’ve notched them in our nine spot. Their fried chicken has a somewhat flakey breading, a nice crispy texture, and flavorful meat that is pretty much juicy throughout. It’s just dang good chicken. It comes served in an old-school brown paper lunch bag and has their tangy homemade sauce with it. It’s the kind of no fluff, no frills meal that just stands on it’s own quality.
VMG Recommendation: Any sunny Saturday is a good day for a trip to-and-through Macon County for Troy’s. However, we also recommend going on the last Saturday in October; that way you can enjoy Montezuma’s Great Beaver Creek Festival and Duck Race. Eating fried chicken from Troy’s, while watching 2,000 yellow rubber ducks float down a creek on a crisp fall day, is a fine southern and Middle Georgian thing to do.
Macon garners a lot of praise in Middle Georgia for it’s wide selection of privately owned restaurants, gastro pubs, and eateries. The always-growing Warner Robins, gathers tons of restaurant traffic and attention because there are dozens of franchises and quality options to choose from. The city of Dublin, on-the-other-hand, is very underrated for its’ food, and offers top-notch eateries and delicious dining that rivals any other city in the region.
Paula’s Fried Chicken, a tiny drive-thru offering succulent southern comfort food, is one such example of Dublin’s food prowess. Located just on the outskirts of downtown, this little gem might get overlooked by traveling tourists making their way to some the city’s bigger establishments. However, the locals of Laurens County know what lies behind that inconspicuous drive-thru window. They’ll tell you it’s the best fried chicken in Dublin. We concur. It’s got an airy, crispy skin with bold flavor and good juiciness to the meat portion. We got a drumstick and breast piece and while both were very good, we found the leg to be slightly better. Be sure to grab their dinner plate. It’s a steal, ringing in at just under $9 and you get some delicious sides to pair with that yummy fried chicken.
A Middle Georgia fried chicken list wouldn’t be complete without Macon’s H&H Restaurant. Mama Louise’s famous soul food establishment has been serving up scrumptious fried chicken to Middle Georgians for nearly 65 years. She famously served it to southern rock legends, The Allman Brother’s Band, before they reached stardom. Unfortunately, Mama Louise Hudson, one of the orignal co-owners of the restaurant, passed back in November 2022. However, her memory still lives on through her iconic recipes and the phenomenal restaurant she helped to found. Now owned and historically preserved by Macon’s Moonhanger Group, H&H serves a super crunchy and subtly spice-seasoned fried chicken. It pairs best with collard greens and cornbread and is the kind of meal to make you say, “Mmm mmm! Now that’s some groceries!” And don’t worry, if you’re down to just “one more silver dollar,” they take debit and credit card too.
This new entry into the list, has flown all the way up to Number 6! One might think they did so on the wings of a Contour Airliner. However, Dab’s Cafe, located in Macon’s Middle Georgia Regional Airport, flew up our list on their fried chicken wings,… and on the breast, thighs, and drumsticks too. Mrs. Earlene Dab is serving her savory, crunchy fried chicken out of an unconventional location, a cafe in an airport terminal. It’s a location that makes sense; given Macon’s long standing history in serving southern styled food. It gives tourists and business travelers, who may be visiting Middle Georgia, a chance right off the plane, to try the local cuisine and experience a taste of Macon culture. Heck, even the locals come flying in for a taste, albeit by automobile on Highway 247. Despite it’s proximity to Robins AFB, it still can be a 30-45 minute round-trip for some base workers to come get their Dab’s fried chicken fix. Sometimes it takes superb, southern food such as this, to help lift your wings through an 8-hour shift on the flightline while, well, working on wings.
7
Sailing in at Number 5, in our 2025 edition of, “Top 10 Fried Chicken Restaurants in Middle Georgia” is Milledgeville’s The Shrimp Boat. Don’t be confused, this is no ‘Chicken of the Sea’, it’s just fantastically fried chicken at a seafood restaurant. If you’re wondering, the Shrimp Boat’s seafood is phenomenal, but this is an article about chicken. So, the bird is the word for now and apparently the word is out. The Shrimp Boat has some of the best in the central part of the state. True story, we first received word of the Shrimp Boat’s fried chicken, from a Baldwin County preacher’s wife. In the south, a fried chicken lunch on a Sunday afternoon after church, is kind of a staple. For those who say, The Shrimp Boat’s salty, crispy, tasty, fried chicken is a blessing to Middle Georgia, we say, “Amen.” Oh by way, be sure to get some of their coleslaw (probably the best we’ve ever had) and some of those delectable little biscuits too.
Next up, at No. 4 is Dawson’s Kitchen. This place is a big favorite among Maconites. It’s located in the Payne City area of Macon and sits right near the rail road tracks. Customers will be very pleased with Dawson’s moderately breaded and crispy chicken. The meat is very juicy and the skin is lightly seasoned, complimenting the juiciness just right. The meat was the main part of this show, with the crispy skin and it’s soft seasoning being a nicely paired opening act. It’s the best fried chicken in Macon in our opinion. After eating some of Dawson’s yummy soul food, patrons should definitely visit their market for some fresh produce or some scrumptious desserts. This place has a phenomenal comfort food selection.
Around Christmas time it is often said, “Jesus is the Reason for the Season.” We agree. However, it can also be said, in Perry at Skipper Johns, “Chicken is the reason for the season-ing.” Boy do they pack it on too! It’s their recipe trademark that keeps people coming back. We suspect the seasoning is some mixture consisting mostly of Lawry’s Seasoned Salt. The chicken itself is great, the breading and skin are both crispy and crunchy, depending on the bite. In one of our visits to this Perry poultry place, we had a 15 minute wait for our order. In those 15 minutes, they received 7 more in-store customers and the phone rang off-the-hook to the tune of close to 20 carry-out orders. The wait quickly jumped to 1 hour! So if you’re looking to order your chicken for dinner, call early. Also, all orders, whether made on the phone or in person, are carry-out. There is no seating in this fried chicken on-the-g0 establishment.
Side Track Cafe.
Side Track Cafe.
Side Track Cafe.
Nothing could knock this runaway fried chicken train off its’ flavorful tracks. Pittman’s Side Track Cafe is in the top 2 for a second time! On Sunday afternoons, Pittman’s Side Track Cafe is a booming place! The hard-working staff are cleaning and turning tables as fast as possible, because it seems like everyone in the county is looking for a seat at the southern-f00d buffet. What makes it such a popular place? One chief reason, would be their absolutely, phenomenal, fried chicken. It is so good, we placed it at No. 2 on our list. Truth be told, it could be 1B. It’s 100 percent juicy; there were no dry bites at all. It’s nicely fried and crisp, everything fried chicken should be. When asked what makes their chicken so good, Side Track owner, Wynon Pittman claimed, “It’s the heart that goes into it. The lady that cooks it, gives it her all. And our staff, they make this place what it is.” Well, whether it be work ethic, recipe, or a combination of both, we certainly think Pittman’s Side Track Cafe and their fried chicken are worth a stop and try.
It took a lot traveling, bites, and calories consumed to get an accurate assessment of the fried chicken in the central part of our state. We enjoyed our visits to each town and restaurant, and we sincerely thank each owner and their respective staff for their great fried chicken and their kind customer service. The quality of that food and service, is a testament to the greatness of the people, culture, and tourism, in our area. However, this is a top ten list and we do have a winner in this article.
So, without any further-ado, here is Visit Middle Georgia’s No. 1 choice for our
2025: Top 10 Fried Chicken Restaurants in Middle Georgia:
The Steak House Restaurant – Hawkinsville, Georgia
W
Commerce Street in Hawkinsville
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” There’s definitely nothing that needs fixin’ at Lewis Fowler’s famous, Steak House Restaurant in Hawkinsville. In fact, pun intended, he’s got all the “fixins” for the famished Middle Georgian. Mr. Fowler offers juicy steaks and tons of southern sides. Our favorite? It’s his super macaroni-n-cheese and crispy, flat hoe cake (cornbread). VMG Recommendation: Take two slices of hoe cake and put a spoon full of mac-n-cheese in between, to make what we call
“The Hawkinsville Hoe Cake Sandwich.”
Even though we think The Steak House Restaurant’s macaroni is arguably the best in Middle Georgia, it’s Mr. Fowler’s famous fried chicken that keeps people coming back. The seasoning isn’t too light or too over-done, it’s just right. And as for the chicken meat, somebody in the kitchen must be checking the pH balance, because it is juiced perfectly. The flavor of the whole bird is well-blended and balanced, with not one taste overshadowing another or overpowering the palate. He truly has, perfect fried chicken and a perfect name for being a chicken restaurateur, “Fowl-er.”
Even though we’ve given Mr. Lewis Fowler a lot of mention and credit for his fantastic fried entree, which we think is well deserved, he’s also the humble kind of restaurant owner and man, that would just give that credit back to his staff. In fact, we even heard that he let him them all fly the coup for a week off vacation. Well, after all the hard work that The Steak House Restaurant has put in over the years, serving the Middle Georgia community, day in and day out, and after winning their second No. 1 Fried Chicken Restaurant in Middle Georgia award, we at Visit Middle Georgia say, “Well deserved, congratulations, and have a happy vacation!” We are sure Middle Georgia will be glad to have y’all back and of course to get another bite of that fried chicken.
Visit Middle Georgia 