Fryer Tuck Chicken is GONE! This was the last one and I'm guessing the other reviews are new and have no idea what it should have tasted like. This place only deserved ONE STAR since they had the order done when we went to pick it up. Had we known what they did to the original recipe we would have walked out and not wasted $35.00 on tasteless crap! We left a tip is why it added up to that amount since the cook did finish the order. Got ripped off for four thighs, six wings, one order of spuds, one pint of dip and coleslaw for $35.00?????? The spuds were so disappointing as they were missing an important spice or this new owner is just being cheap in leaving it out! Will NEVER use this lousy food business again! The coleslaw use to come in TWO PARTS which the buyer put together for better freshness. Either we didn't get the SECOND part or this place is making the worst tasting coleslaw that has NO TASTE! The dip was okay, but it didn't even enhance the tasteless spuds that use to be one of kind taste. Chicken was so-so since they still seem to use Oregon chicken, but it was missing the marvelous taste of Fryer Tuck's missing flavor which is sad. Will be buying the chicken from the store in their deli section that at least has a decent taste.
(1)
Jeff R.
Aside from the fact that the chicken is salty- and has no other flavor to speak of. Their Cole Slaw is also tasteless. The final straw was a pebble in the (also flavorless) baked beans. You KNOW you're in a shitty restaurant when the staff doesn't ask "how was everything" at ANY point. The rolls were edible if a dry super-market roll with a little margarine is your style. The "spuds" are basically deep fried, greasy and disgusting potato wedges. You couldn't pay me to eat there again..
(1)
Paul T.
Fryer Tuck's fried chicken is pretty darn good. Cooked to perfection, not too greasy, large breasts, and crispy wings...yummy! I would highly recommend calling ahead for take out as seating is very limited. Their website features a menu.
(4)
Ajia T.
I must lament, with all sincerity, that I do not crave fried chicken, nor do I especially enjoy fried food. Sometimes, though, when a girl is in her last couple of weeks of pregnaciousness and has been carefully avoiding high-sodium foods for weeks to reduce water retention...some fried goodness must be had. Hence, my decision to get take-out from Tuck's. Having lived near Multnomah Village for 8 years, I am familiar with the legend of said chicken, but have (gasp!) never actually eaten it. Let me assure you, it's everything you could want in a fried piece of birdie...a light, crispy coating envelops tender, juicy, meat. Watch for bone fragments at the joints, though - I found one in a breast piece. Speaking of which, the breasts are so huge, I could only eat 1 piece. It was seriously gigantic and nearly entirely took up it's own box! The sides are also quite good at Tuck's. I particularly enjoyed the macaroni salad, which was uniquely spiced and tasted damned fresh. Not made with creamy crap, it was refreshing and light. The baked beans were yummy, too - my husband actually wolfed them down before the rest of his food. The soft rolls were bleh. Now, the spuds....ah, the spuds! Those were incredible, especially with the dill dip everyone has raved about. Not heavily battered and just the right texture...mmm! I can't say this is the best fried chicken I've ever had, but I'm sure I'll return to Tuck's someday for fried goodness, when the mood strikes me. At only $15 for a complete, not-entirely-unhealthy meal for two people, it's definitely easy on the pocketbook, too.
(4)
Kevin J.
I might be biased as I used to frequent this place as a child when it was out in the Beaverton area over 20 years ago. But oh man do they have the crunchiest and largest pieces of fried chicken. The big reason I enjoy the place so much though has to go to the Little John spuds; crunchy coating on the outside, soft and yummy in the middle...and don't forget the dill dip to tag those luscious logs of goodness with! You will be satisfied...very affordable as well.
(5)
Tina P.
So sorry to say it but this place used to be so much better. I remember riding in the car with my dad--"all the way out there" (from the eastside) back in the 70s--to get their chicken and tators. It was such a treat in my childhood! Last time I ate here was in 2002-2003 and it was nothing like I remember. :(
(1)
Misty L.
I was in Portland just for the weekend and started craving some of Seattle's Ezell's chicken. In an effort to satisfy the craving I checked out Fryer Tuck chicken because of some of the reviews on Yelp. The service took FOREVER. They say you will wait 20 minutes for your order, we waited at least an hour and then when we finally did get our food, it was mediocre. The chicken was sort of meh, and the rest of the massive pile of food they put in front of me was inedible. I am a carbohydrate addict and I took one bite of the roll they gave me - thinking it's pretty hard to mess up a roll - and was just done with my meal. Sadly disappointing experience.
(1)
Kim B.
Spuds are amazing! I wasn't very fond of the house dipping sauce but the chicken and potato salad was yummy. Again expect a wait bit it is quality chicken.
(4)
NANCY H.
This is the best friend chicken I've had in long time. Eat your heart out KFC! We ordered the dinner for two plus onion rings which include a side of choice, baked beans, two sweet rolls, 4 pieces of very large chicken pieces, jojo's, and a dip for your potatoes. After waiting practically 30 minutes (they were busy), we received one big box full of the crispiest onion rings I've ever had AND another huge box of this mound of jojo's and chicken. I was like...all this for just $14 bucks. I'm in love! The wait was all worth it. I love fried chicken and this was seasoned spicy and everything was big and gooood! I would recommend this place for take-out and order ahead. Great for picnics, games, or some at home grubbin' (so you can lick your fingers without shame)! Good For: best fried chicken in Oregon, picnic lunch
(5)
Betsy C.
My husband and I made the mistake many before us have made. We were even warned not to do it, but we just couldn't stop ourselves. Instead of ordering takeout, we ate in. And apparently it was a bad night. One of the fryers apparently broke during dinner service, causing all fried chicken to take 5 billion years to cook, causing many tables to leave, and many to go customers to stand there angrily. Thankfully we didn't enter the building absolutely DYING to eat, so we made ourselves at home in the "restaurant" that is really more like a bar with pool tables, lotto games, etc. As that's not really my style, I was a bit nervous, but no one else was really there so it was all good. We changed the channel to whatever we wanted, laid back, and waited for our food. (We were warned the chicken would take 30-45 minutes, but we've also heard it'd be worth it.) While we waiting, we had multiple conversations with the waitress concerning topics such as her angry customers (one claiming the swiss cheese wasn't "real" swiss) to my own personal food poisoning a few weeks earlier to the waitress' case of food poisoning that ruined her trip to Spain and she'll never go back. Only by the time we DID get our food, we had waited about 1.5 hours, which was a tad annoying because by that point, we WERE dying to eat. On to the food! MAN did it make up for how long it took to get it! Since it was still happy hour (the hours of which had changed the day before) we got a dozen hot wings for $6. Not too shabby. They weren't worth four stars, but they WERE worth $6. It wasn't what I was there for, anyway. The fried chicken. Oh, the fried chicken. It was fried to a dark, rich color and right away I knew it'd be heavenly. And it was. So crispy and juicy and all that fried chicken should be! The spuds weren't too shabby either. They are the battered and wedged variety which is really pretty tasty. These two items alone are worth five delicious, greasy stars. I have to admit, however, that before I was even finished eating, I felt a rumbling in the stomach, and we all know what that means. Typically I hold my friend chicken well, but not here. It is some serious (and seriously tasty) heavy food! In the end, neither of us would eat in again, but we weren't sorry we did the first time. We left feeling like we were over at our new BFF's (i.e. the waitress) place making ourselves at home. A home that would've been totally obnoxious had it been full of bar-type people doing bar-type things. I'd definitely get some chicken and spuds to go, though, and hope for a better outcome in the stomach department, because MAN was it good! Oh, and my husband got a pulled pork (or was it chicken?) sandwich which was super juicy and came with a homemade sauce that was to die for. It came on a nice ciabatta roll, though, which was greatly appreciated because it held the runny sauce very well.
(4)
Denise D.
LIke several of the other reviewers, I've been going to Fryer Tuck's (the one on Walker and Cedar Hills that's no longer there) since I was a kid. We didn't want KFC when I was a kid, we wanted Fryer Tuck! Who else had Little John Spuds and Fryer Tuck Sauce (okay, it sounds a little wrong, but tastes so right!)? I wasn't into any of the other food as a kid, except maybe the rolls, but my family loved everything else on the menu. So, fast forward 40 years. My neighborhood restaurant is gone, the remaining one has changed owners many times, and it seems the magic of Fryer Tuck has worn down a bit. Admittedly, my 4-star rating is heavily padded with nostalgia. Still, even without nostalgic influences, I've not had the bad experiences described by fellow reviewers. Tonight I wanted some Little John Spuds. I haven't eaten at Fryer Tuck's since the new owners took over. I called the restaurant, placed my order and was told it would be ready in 20 minutes. I hopped in my car, got there about 15 minutes later and everything was ready and waiting for me. The young man waiting on me was friendly and thoughtful. I ate my food at home and the spuds were as amazing as ever. The sauce tasted like the recipe might have changed but I'm not sure about that. I was so full after a few spuds and a bottle of pop that I'll have to have the baked beans, macaroni salad and rolls for another meal. So, overall I'm still a huge fan of the place. It's definitely not gourmet or super healthy fare, so if that's what you're after, you're at the wrong place. But if you're willing to dig into some grease and know that you either have to call ahead or plan to wait if you dine in, then you won't regret it.
(4)
Gregg A.
This place is fantastic. If you love fried chicken this is the place for you. I would only recommend ordering your food by phone and taking it home. The bar attached to the takeout restaurant is a pretty disgusting dive bar...very smoky and ruins the dinner. I've only tried to eat there once and it ruined the great food. We get a box of breasts, wings, and Jo-Jo's. Finger licking good! It's perfect for a late evening dinner at home with beer while watching the game.
(5)
Kenneth H.
The fried chicken here is damn good. I have only done takeout, and you can take home a huge amount of food for super cheap. Not only does Fryer Tuck satisfy in the quantity department, but also in the quality! The chicken is always juicy, well seasoned, perfectly cooked and practically dripping off the bone. The Jo-Jo's (Little John Spuds) are joygasmic, and make me feel dirty just for continually shoveling them into my mouth. They also serve the typical sides...various slaws, and salads, but I wasn't overly impressed with any of them. I have never really been a fan of take out chicken (popeyes or KFC, etc) but I am smitten with Fryer Tuck. Thank you Fryer for helping me re-discover my love of fried chicken! Warning: When you eat this well, be prepared for a little battle with the bowel gods the next day as this much grease is not actually for human consumption.
(4)
Jey R.
Great fried chicken. Some of the most delicious potatoes.
(5)
Violet T.
The fried chicken was decent, but not as special as I had hoped. I heard a lot of hype about this place, and my favorite thing was the jojos. I asked the waitress if the chicken wings as an appetizer were super spicy, she said she could make them really mild... even my boyfriend, who eats spicy food, was struggling they were so hot. Some people like this, but we wouldn't have ordered them, we would have picked something else. And the wings took just as long (35 minutes) to come out as our fried chicken. We ordered an appetizer because we heard the wait was long... My drink was nice an strong though, so that helped. I will probably just make my fried chicken at home from now on, and maybe call in an order for the spuds.
(3)
John M.
This place should be revisited by the food press in town. It's fried chicken, not health food. But it's some of the best fried chicken you'll ever have--and the pieces are LARGE and inexpensive. This dude Mark S. doesn't know what he's talking about. KFC and Popeyes are mass-produced garbage.
(4)
Mark G.
I've been eating take out here for at least 35 years, and I've never had a bad meal. The other comments are spot on....delicious, crunchy and juicy fried chicken and great spuds. Never a fan of the "dip"...kind of bland and I prefer to use ranch....but the baked beans have always more than made up for it. Unlike any I've ever had, with a deep mahogany color and a rich molasses flavor. Yesterday, I decided to eat in at the attached bar. Big mistake. At first, I was enthused...the menu has been expanded and I saw an article on the wall about a new owner. Great! Good to see someone young taking over, and the new menu items indicated some ambition to succeed. Unfortunately, my enthusiasm was short-lived. The service was atrocious and slow, with my waitress getting my order wrong twice. But, even worse, the food was really bad. While my chicken breast was good, the spuds were overcooked and dry...just crunchy dry shells with nothing inside. And the beans I've loved for a lifetime are gone. In their place, some really generic, out of the can baked beans that I didn't even finish. If I had never been here before, I would give it one star and never return, however, 35 years of good food earns them an additional star and a second chance. I'm worried, though, that the new owner has lost what has made this place great for so long. An expanded menu is fine, but there's a reason Fryer Tuck has been in business for this long, so don't screw it up! Do the basics right. I hope I'm wrong about this place going downhill, because I love(d) it. One more chance.
(2)
Matthew H.
This place was legendary for so long buy every year for the last 5 it has gotten worst. How do you over cook a chicken breast so bad and then still need to cut a big gash in it to make sure it's done is beyond me. What a joke!!!
(1)
L S.
Very inconsistent. Fabulous one time, tastes like old oil the next. Sometimes perfect ... Sometimes way overdone. They need quality control to keep me coming as the prices are increasing.
(3)
Karen P.
Fun local bar with regularly scheduled activities for locals. Plus the chicken & spuds are the best!
(5)
L. C.
I just had a birthday party for my two year old and we bought a huge box of jojo potatoes and chicken legs and I've already had four friends ask where I got the joes. The chicken legs were gone in 10 minutes and someone ended up taking the box of joes when they left. WTH? They are so good that my friend asked me to bring some to her party and my pregnant friend asked me to bring some to her shower but not to share with her guests :). Best Joes in Portland! My son ended up only getting one leg and he freaked out because he wanted another. Bottom line... Make sure you buy enough legs to circumvent a tantrum and enough joes so your pregnant friends don't eat yours :). One thing though... The people that work there are super rude like, if their chicken sucked, I would never go in again. That's just an FYI.
(5)
Lisa E.
Total white trash bar with said white trash patrons singing along to the country music jukebox. Run-down inside and somewhat sketchy but pretty typical for a dive bar. The service was good--our waitress was really nice. The food? It was decent but not the best fried chicken I've ever had. The jojos and mac n' cheese salad were AMAZING. So so so good! The chicken was pretty good but again, not the best fried chicken I've ever had. The one bonus: the chicken was juicy and not dried out (like Delta Cafe has been for me!).
(3)
Clay H.
This will be short. We walked in and were greeted by a person on the chicken side of the place, but were told to sit in the restaurant if we wanted to stay. We sat at a table in a bar section next to some people who were cussing about something. Then after about 5 minutes of listening to them and some game we didn't care about, we moved into a different section hoping for someone to notice us. Well, that attention we desired never appeared. We left after 10 more minutes without seeing another employee. One made a half assed attempt to retain us when we were heading out the door, but it fell on deaf ears. Maybe she should visit with her friends less?
(1)
Rebecca H.
Staff is nice and attentive. Location is decent. Happy hour is average, at best. Sucks if you're not a smoker because the place stinks of fresh cigarettes. Smoke is continuously coming in from the back patio. BTW patio is ok, kinda dirty. NOT a good place to watch any game!!! Here's why: 1. Not enough TVs 2. Sound is terrible 3. The channels are on different stations. So some TVs are 10 to 20 seconds ahead of others. I will not watch another game here.
(2)
Mark C.
Not good. Just go to KFC.
(1)
Scott H.
I took my dad here from out of town today because the way I remembered it, the chicken was fantastic. We ordered a 12 piece with two breasts, five thighs, and five legs. Somewhat disappointing, the breasts were dry and they threw in 4 wings along with 3 legs two thighs, and one unidentifiable item. When I asked about the wings, the answer was that he must not have read the order right so he just put in the usual for a 12 piece. She didn't ask if we wanted our missing thighs and legs, so I just blew it off. We ordered a side of gravy too, that when it finally came (after our second time asking for it), was cold and thick like paste. The jojos were as awesome as ever, really amazing, but the chicken was average, so I probably wont bother going back.
(3)
Steve K.
Fryer Tuck is probably my favorite fried chicken...Little John spuds (Jo-jos) are the best! I've been a patron since 1969 and it's never disappointed me.
(4)
Robert H.
People think there are no dives in SW Portland, but they are wrong. Where there are people there are dives. And Fryer Tuck and its Cider Mill Restaurant is a dive with fried chicken on the side. My design savvy friend with the cool glasses holds her secret meetings there because she knows there would never in a million years be an agency-type spying at Fryer Tuck's, as opposed to, say, Clyde Common. The fried chicken has a medium thick and crunchy breading, unfortunately with little flavor. The chicken tenders are from another source, thicker a bit, but likewise unspicy. They do a unique jojo recipe, 3/8" French fries are breaded and fried with the same coating as the chicken. Another option is to have your fries prepared as "garlic fries" with a thinner coating of the same batter. It does make them crunchier, but not in any way garlic. For the fried chicken there is a standard ranch dip and the fries come with a sour cream and dill dip which is not that interesting. They have about a dozen taps, half macro, some war horses from Deschutes, and for Summer, some other light undistinguished micros. The place is filled with screens showing sports events and as I was leaving a band was setting up, so maybe it turns into a hot spot on Saturday night? It's a dark 80 year old building that has grown bit by bit with no plan, and filled with years' worth of promotional beer signs. Unlike many dives, it's clean, and like many dives it is a mashup of remodeling over 80 years. On the vast patio were a group of bearded guys in tee shirts and girls in summer thrift store dresses with their bikes. Inside there was a 60-something guy trying to make a move on a 40-something lady. He was talking about various friends or relatives getting out of or going into jail and taking highly important sounding calls on his feature phone. You heard it here, feature phones are going to make a comeback! At the bar was a medical professional from the local hospital relating jokes from anesthesiologists about 65-70 years ago in Germany, unimaginably offensive, I won't repeat here. People talking about misplaced passports after years of disuse. Talking about male ideal body image in relation to Iggy Pop and sharks swimming up the Columbia River. Others talking about their mobile service being cut off at midnight and the String Cheese Incident. As I was leaving, something was about to begin at the JCC, and the street was filled with nattily dressed gentlemen with white shirts and black suits in yamakas and their lady friends in finely tailored Summer dresses. If you are in the Hillsdale, Multnomah, Capitol Hill area, you're in the force field of Friar Tuck and the Cedar Mill Restaurant. If you want democratic and real, they serve it. What a great Summer microcosm in a little corner of SW Portland literally perched between Hillsdale and Multnomah.
(3)
Jonathan S.
Oh my, this was horrible. There was absolutely nothing of redeeming value from this chicken. The sign says that you'll have to wait 25 minutes for your chicken. Seems like they throw the chicken in for that FULL 25 minutes. They make no differentiation for the size of the pieces and the big breast is cooked just as long as the tiny wing. They seem to throw the fries in at the exact same time. The result? An inedible mess. I know what your thinking, but the homemade chips and salsa were good, right? Well, not in this lifetime. It was like eating a plate of salt. I knew right away this wasnt colonial times because that amount of salt would have made me a rich man in those days. I can't stress enough how much you should STAY AWAY from eating here.
(1)
Warren C.
I've gone to Fryer Tucks a few times with my friend Mario that loves this place. The service is like what most people have stated which is lacking. Kind of to be expected when it comes to a bar atmosphere. When we received our food order the gizzards are delectable. The potato wedges are complimented well with the dill sauce they provide. The chicken itself doesn't really standout for me but I will say that corporate environments such as Popeyes, Churches, and KFC have tainted my idea of what Fried chicken is supposed to taste like and I'm under the assumption that Fryer Tucks is really what chicken is supposed to taste like once sentenced to death by batter. Would definitely come again but with the same lower expectations that I have come before. One thing that I do want to mention is that being a minority, the regulars there really have a way to make you not feel welcome in this environment. That is one thing that is very interesting about living in the Portland metro area that you don't need to go too far to be discriminated by in regards to your ethnic background.
(3)
Wrecks M.
I just got back from this place and I have to say I am Impressed. I read the reviews and there were some good and bad ones, So I went to see for myself. The Place is kinda run down, BUT The Burger I got was Humungous! It was so Huge and GOOD! It hwas the Farmhouse Burger and it had tomatoes and oinions, but it also had an egg and some ham and bacon, the bacon was nice and Thick too! One of the best burgers I have had in portland. I dont usually eat burgers, but I was Super Hungry today. The waiting area where you place your order is small and the chairs are hard and high up. The Customer service was Great, The guy who took my order was really cool. It didnt take long for my order and there is also a bar in the restraunt. But I took my order to go.I wish I would have came in here sooner. I am leaving soon to another state and if I was staying, I would definately come here again.
(4)
Andrew S.
This spot has really good fried Chicken and JoJo's. More on the greasy side, but classic and original. Served in medium size cardboard box, loaded with JoJo's Chicken and batter is okay. Service is good. Never tried their Burger, so this is strictly on Chicken/JoJo/Ranch. Ranch dip is also good.
(3)
Shane N.
Albertson's deli is better. Seriously. I've heard so many good things about this place from so many people that I finally tried it and the food was terrible. I ordered the 3 piece snacker box and the chicken was over cooked, the batter was bitter, there were no seasoning to speak of...have these guys heard of salt? Unfortunately, the spuds were cooked in the same fashion. They were so thick that had it not been for the batter, the fries would have been soggy all the way to the surface. And the dipping sauce? Bland, bland, bland, it's as if they took ranch dressing, extracted all of the flavor and served it. Go to Albertson's deli, trust me, you'll get better food for half the price. By the way, I waited the full 20 minutes.
(1)
Cherise F.
Fryer Tucks Chicken is the best chicken around. The pieces are huge and always cooked perfectly. The potato spikes with dill sauce are the stuff of dreams. However, the sides such as the coleslaw and beans I can take or leave. Betsy is right that the in-house dining experience isn't the best but I have been known to go eat a $5.00 2 piece snack box there (an extra $1.00 if you want a breast but they are huge!). If you go to Fryer tucks to eat in remember its a bar so no one under 21 allowed. Nothing beats the experience of driving home with your large cardboard crates of piping hot chicken and trying to keep your self from jimmying open the boxes for "just one" potato spike. If you do take out, do yourself a favor and buy twice as much as you need. Its just as good as left overs on day two!
(5)
Tirzah N.
fries, little john spuds and fried chicken are so good never had anything else and never will.
(4)
Rick W.
Great place to watch a game. The chicken is okay, I've definitely had better. Their mini corn dogs and tater tots were a little over deep fried. However their potato chips and fries were fantastic. (I didn't order all of this for myself, I was with a large group - I swear.) I probably wouldn't make a special trip, but if it was suggested by someone else, I might be up for trying it again.
(3)
Mark A.
Just remembered to review this place. I went a little over a year ago cuz I was in the neighborhood buying beers @ John's Market. I always wanted to try this place, & I was not disappointed. First off the beers I had while I was waiting were cold. I like that. Alaskan Amber if you are keeping score. It took me two beers until my chicken & JoJo's were ready. Don't expect fast, but expect delish. I drove all the way to Sherwood before actually eating the chicken & the stuff was still hot & good. I am a super huge fan of the JoJo's. Best I ever had. The dill sauce that came with it is not my choice, but it was not too bad if you like dill. I'll stick with Ranch & Tartar sauce myself. Chicken was right up there with anything I have ever had. LArge pieces too. I will definitely go back the next time I am in the neighborhood. It's worth it every time.
(4)
SD W.
We gave this place a try after living in the neighborhood for about 8 months. We ordered the chicken legs and thighs with spuds. What we got was an enormous box of "spuds" or thick, fried potatoes with just a few TINY pieces of fried chicken. The chicken would barely have made a decent portion for one person, let alone two people and there were enough spuds to feed 8-10 people. The flavor was incredibly disappointing - very bland, almost dry. The spuds were bad, too - they tasted exactly like the chicken, as I'm pretty sure they just fry it all together in the same vat of oil. It didn't appear to look or taste any healthier than KFC, either (not that you'd go here for health food, but if you're going to go all out for fried chicken and such, KFC tastes wayyy better and is cheaper). Not only that, but they force you to pay an extra $1 for the large, greasy, non-recyclable box that they give you for take-out orders. Seriously - who does that? They can't figure out a better packaging system than that? Anyway, glad we tried it, so we know we don't ever need to order from here again.
(1)
Eric L.
First thing I have to say is...plan ahead!! Never in my life have I had to wait 40 minutes for fried chicken and wings! I'm serious, no exagerating here. Got there at 8:45pm and ended up leaving with my food at 9:25pm!!! Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that they got my order wrong. Not acceptable, especially since there was no one else in there. Ok, now that I've vented, let's move on to the chicken. This place is great minus the long wait. The fried chicken reminded me so much of this place back home in Hawaii called Alice's Chicken. The pieces are huge and they're battered and fried to crispy perfection. The jojo's are to die for with ranch and/or their special dipping sauce. Their wings are good but nothing special. Typical Frank's Red Hot sauce and butter spicy sauce. I personally think I make better wings myself, but of course I'm biased. I would've given Fryer Tuck's a 5 star rating had it not been for the bad service, messed up order, and the super long wait. The food is definitely the best fried chicken I've eaten here in Oregon, but the counter is horrible. I hope they work on their customer service skills and work on getting the food out a bit faster. This place has so much potential if they actually try.
(4)
R T.
I don't get the hype here, the bar has no atmosphere I want to partake in and the chicken shops chicken isn't that good. Sorry but this place doesn't hold up to it's reputation. I'd come to expect great fried food from all my friends great reviews. blahh
(2)
MIKE J.
Fryer Tuck is the best fried chicken i have ever had .. sure i have never been to the south but i know good food and there chicken with little john spuds kick butt.. i have been eating there since the 70's and haver never left disapointed.get it to go and eat at a near by park are eat it in your car with a few napkins..love it love it love it
(5)
Joseph H.
Pretty decent fried chicken. Imagine what the old chicken restaurants were like and you have the fryer. A road side diner, serving up fried chicken in a family style. Good fried chicken can be a lost art form, and reasonably priced fried chicken is as populated as the Dodo bird. Fryer Tuck has stuck to his guns serving up greasy crisps of chicken for decades. They definitely have it down pat, and even the pubescent kid on the phone who took our order had a handle on every inch of the fried bird. He quickly rattled off selections, gizzard pieces, and finally sides. Overall they were quick, inexpensive and pretty finger lickin' good as that Colonel used to say. All they would have to do to garner 5 stars on their to-go orders is touch up the ingredients. Is that Tyson chicken I detect under that crust? Please say it isn't? If they upgrade to a little more organic style, or had the offering, I'm sure it would be a crowd pleaser. Either way, it reminded me of younger days, baseball games, and hearty boxes of chicken after. If you're in the mood, it's great for a fix.
(4)
Mark S.
First time we went there we didn't order anything, turned right around and walked out because of the cigarette smell coming from the bar next door. Nothing against smokers, just don't like the smell of it mixed with my food. After the ban on smoking inside bars we decided to give it another try. Chicken tasted just like the potato wedges, burnt, stale, grease and was expensive. We could have got a better tasting chicken, more of it and for less at KFC or Popeye's. Looking at the reviews I guess you either love it or hate it. If you want bar food chicken well then here you go, have at it, I won't be back. How long have they been in business and why?
(1)
Well-Traveled I.
When we arrived (around 11:45 am - lunch workday), place was empty. But, as we waited for our food, the place started filling up. Ordered a snack box - breast, leg, and jojos. Portions are huge and everything is homemade. Sampled coworker's onion rings; very tasty - fresh onions, too! Chicken was fried a little longer than I like (for example, the skin was darker and definitely very crisp, the latter I love), but the chicken itself was so tasty and juicy. Staff was very friendly; it takes about 20 minutes to cook your food, so if you're expecting KFC time, go elsewhere - you won't appreciate the goodness that comes to those who wait.
(4)
Shaun O.
The bartender wouldn't break from her story long enough to greet us after standing there for nearly 10 minutes, thanks Mary..won't be back.
(1)
Elle H.
I was SO DISAPPOINTED with the Fryer ?Tuck chicken I got yesterday..it's been over 4 years since I last had and and - well you know how something very good can be anticipated in your mind and set the taste buds for that wonderful flavor? It didn't happen. the chicken, I ordered a breast and a thigh, was very dry with little of the old seasoning I remember so well from past years. Absolutely no juiciness, even with the thigh there was little flavor. After one bite of the huge breast, I decided to chunk it up into chicken salad-it didn't have any flavor at all. IMO it was very overcooked. Dunno whats going on with that place but it isn't nearly the great chicken I've had for many years. I had a good draft at the restaurant part while I was waiting and the spuds and dill dip were good. I won't go back..yet one more thing that seems to have headed southwards in quality..Damn it.
(2)
Cydney M.
If I could give this place less stars I would. Shame on them for making something delicious like fried chicken disgusting. Why does this place even exist, is it a drug front?
(1)
John J.
Here is the story... if you want great fried chicken and fries, this is THE place! Our recommendation is to do a takeout order, go home or to a park and enjoy. Forget about the Cider Mill Bar (it is not a restaurant, just a dive bar with lots of television screens that no one pays any attention to). It is kind of sad as this is the last of the Fryer Tucks for those of you who are old enough to remember when there were more than one of these in our fair city.
(4)
Marcellus J.
Ok so the spuds are good but the chicken was pretty subpar... Ordered a breast specifically (along a thigh and wing) since that's typically the bench mark for how well you handle a fryer. In a word it was poor. They told me it would take about 40 minutes for the breast which was fair since it's the thickest piece. When i picked it up every piece was overcooked to burnt. The taste was pretty bland once i got past the taste of degraded oil. The color also led me to believe that they hadn't changed their fryer oil in a while... Being born and raised in the south (the epicenter for all food related heart-attacks) I like to think that I know a bit a frying some chicken. One day I'll give it another shot, but haven't mustered up the courage for that potential disappointment. If you're willing sacrifice that calorie load and a few dollars I wouldn't completely write off this place, could of just been an off day.
(2)
Mike N.
It's always really frustrating to order food at a place and watch other people who came in after you arrived be fed, pay their bill, and then leave before your waitress even acknowledges that your food will eventually make its way out of the kitchen. Thirty minutes went by before our waitress came by and informed us that the food would be another 20 minutes. She blamed this on the kitchen, we accepted this, good-natured, and she asked us if maybe we would like something to tide us over. We asked for just some chips & salsa as my wife was starving at this point. Other people's fried chicken came by and smelled amazing, but ours was nowhere in sight. We proceeded to eat some of the chips but were trying to not ruin our appetite. Finally, about an hour after we ordered, the chicken did arrive. It was quite tasty. The jojo fries were good. Portions are massive. Bill arrived and they decided that charging us $5 for the chips and (canned) salsa that they served us because they forgot to place our order was a reasonable thing to do. I informed the waitress that I am not about to pay for something we barely ate and would not have ordered if we were not starving and they had not forgotten about us. Long story short, the chicken is good, but I can't deal with waiting that long and then being expected to pay 5 bucks for a half-eaten order of unwanted chips and Pace salsa.. I live close by but I can't imagine I will come back. This was our first time coming in and you lost two customers who love dive bars and fried chicken.
(2)
M S.
Always good chicken been coming here for over 30 years including the old building.. never a bad meal the spuds are the bomb.. if you dont use all the chicken let it cool and shred it and make a chicken salad so yummy
(5)
Kai F.
This is good honest fried chicken. Not fancy schmansy hipster stuff. However they do use Draper Valley chicken - so feel good about that Portlandia. 2 piece lunch box (one breast, one thigh) comes with enough potato planks for at least 2 meals, and served with a yummy dill-sour cream sauce, for $8.95. I think people here call them Jojos, because they seem to be battered and then fried. real good and they heat up well the next day. I ate on the patio on the Cider Mill side on a sunny day, and the wine pours by the glass were large and cheap. Love the plentiful outside seating, and a tented area for sunblock. The smokers were courteous...I suspect this area is mostly for them with the smoking laws. A few people eating but mostly just a bunch of low key people drinking beer, listening to some tunes, and kibitzing. There is also a fire pit which would be nice on a chilly evening. Kindof a dive-bar locals place, where "everybody knows your name".
(4)
Dave C.
Moist and juicy....can I write that on Yelp? If you like good fried chicken this is the place for you. The decor is pretty eclectic and the dining area is tucked in between a bar, sitting down for lunch with my young kids in a bar was a little different. We also split an order of garlic fries which were tender and flavorful. It's way out of the way for us but definitely worth the trip, but if I am with my kids again I'll probably do take out.
(5)
tim a.
We tried this looking for the best chicken in Portland. Although the staff was courteous and quick, the food was totally sub-par. Chicken was really greasy, although moist inside, potato salad was undercooked and crunchy as well as weird sour tasting (spoiled?). Dill dipping sauce wasn't mixed. Altogether a poor performance. Will not repeat.
(1)
Dylan A.
Ols school Portland fried chicken goodness. Just had a work fuction catered at the office. All the goods dropped off hot and fresh! Man that's some good chicken and taters! Just like I remeber them as a kid. There was a lot of happy folks heading back to their desks.
(5)
Nick H.
A rock solid 4. Fryer Tuck and I go back a long ways. I remember my grandparents bringing me here in the 1960s. My first time eating jo-jos was here and in my mind, I always compare all others to these. Few others make the cut. Here's what I ate and what I thought of it; Jo-jos : wonderful. I'm quite sure I'm tasting the memories more than the food itself. Perfectly allowable as a geezer. Chicken : the dark pieces were all right but the breast was kind of dry. I ended up taking it home and topping a salad with it. Coleslaw : sorry but if it ain't my Babushka's, I ain't liking it. My Babushka was one of those little 4'9" ladies from the Old Country. A pint-sized pioneer, if you will. Her typical old-school type of day was something like this; Wake up, pick flowers and brew them into tea. Light housekeeping, start planning lunch. Defeat Hitler. More tea. Make wonderful coleslaw for Nicky. All in all, it's probably a place that is more appealing to old-school type eaters. Having said that, I would (and did) travel to have some of their jo-jos.
(4)
Jevan W.
I'm another who has a long-term, intermittent, relationship with Fryer Tuck. For me, I would travel a long way for dipping sauce - the Jo-Jo's are exactly what I think of when you say Jo-Jo, okay so far, a 5...the chicken, is...alright, it's fried chicken, it's kinda bland for me, nothing special. I come here for the Jo-Jo's and that dip, did I mention the dip? Get the dip!
(4)
Anica S.
I will admit I wasn't sure how good the chicken would be but again I was reminded why you can't take reviews as face value, Fryer Tucks chicken is awesome! Great staff, dive bar, awesome happy hour menu & specials, tons of TV's on the Cider Mill side which is a plus for sports fans like myself. Their taters and dill dip.... To die for! Prices are totally reasonable, not to mention the portions are huge and I will definitely be back.
(4)
Robert C.
This review is from a portland native that grew up on this stuff. The food is great. great in regards to what it is. It's a grease trap. Don't come here expecting to have a salad or anything vegan...it's just not that kind of place. Through the years like any long time portland institution it's had its highs and it's lows. I must say that over the past couple of years the food has been very consistent and the place is way cleaner then years past. I suspect a new owner. If you want deep fried chicken and Jo Jo's go here. The dill dip is also amazing. While waiting for your food drop into the cozy old bar next door and check out the copper ceiling. I
(5)
Tres B.
Gloriously slow. The chicken and potatoes take forever. Henry Penny cookers are not quick. But the chicken here is fantastic, the potatoes are amazing and huge orders! This is a venerable spot is an in-the-know Portlandia tradition. A little treasure you've got to find if you've never been!
(4)
Craig H.
Best fried chicken I've ever had. Don't expect anything too fancy, just a plate of amazing chicken and some spuds.
(5)
carly d.
I've lived in SW for nearly 8 years, and over time have heard Fryer Tuck mentioned as a great source for picnic fare. I found myself staring at blue skies without an inkling of desire to cook dinner, and thought it would be the perfect opportunity to check it out. In a word... awful. Sure, the portions are huge, but with food this bad all you'll find yourself with is a huge amount of guilt from all the food you'll end up tossing, rather than the leftovers you'd enjoy. To be fair, I did find some of the assorted chicken pieces to be cooked appropriately...but fried chicken really can't be a one-time-fits-all methodology. The potato salad was inedible... so vinegary in taste, it seemed to border on rancid. The macaroni salad was only slightly better. I could see potential in the spuds, or Jo-Jo's, but the batter is so flavorless that the provided dill dip becomes necessary, rather than optional. Needless to say, I won't be returning. Had I done my research prior to going, I would have found out that a change of ownership in recent years drastically changed the quality of the Fryer Tuck experience.
(1)
Lindsey T.
Went there last night for a date night.... Customer service was great. Friendly service... The food was DISGUSTING! Seriously, spuds and chicken was the worse. Tasted like fried dirt. No flavor at all. No seasoning... Will not be returning. Atmosphere was great.
(1)
Mike N.
It's always really frustrating to order food at a place and watch other people who came in after you arrived be fed, pay their bill, and then leave before your waitress even acknowledges that your food will eventually make its way out of the kitchen. Thirty minutes went by before our waitress came by and informed us that the food would be another 20 minutes. She blamed this on the kitchen, we accepted this, good-natured, and she asked us if maybe we would like something to tide us over. We asked for just some chips & salsa as my wife was starving at this point. Other people's fried chicken came by and smelled amazing, but ours was nowhere in sight. We proceeded to eat some of the chips but were trying to not ruin our appetite. Finally, about an hour after we ordered, the chicken did arrive. It was quite tasty. The jojo fries were good. Portions are massive. Bill arrived and they decided that charging us $5 for the chips and (canned) salsa that they served us because they forgot to place our order was a reasonable thing to do. I informed the waitress that I am not about to pay for something we barely ate and would not have ordered if we were not starving and they had not forgotten about us. Long story short, the chicken is good, but I can't deal with waiting that long and then being expected to pay 5 bucks for a half-eaten order of unwanted chips and Pace salsa.. I live close by but I can't imagine I will come back. This was our first time coming in and you lost two customers who love dive bars and fried chicken.
(2)
M S.
Always good chicken been coming here for over 30 years including the old building.. never a bad meal the spuds are the bomb.. if you dont use all the chicken let it cool and shred it and make a chicken salad so yummy
(5)
L S.
Very inconsistent. Fabulous one time, tastes like old oil the next. Sometimes perfect ... Sometimes way overdone. They need quality control to keep me coming as the prices are increasing.
(3)
Karen P.
Fun local bar with regularly scheduled activities for locals. Plus the chicken & spuds are the best!
(5)
Matthew H.
This place was legendary for so long buy every year for the last 5 it has gotten worst. How do you over cook a chicken breast so bad and then still need to cut a big gash in it to make sure it's done is beyond me. What a joke!!!
(1)
L. C.
I just had a birthday party for my two year old and we bought a huge box of jojo potatoes and chicken legs and I've already had four friends ask where I got the joes. The chicken legs were gone in 10 minutes and someone ended up taking the box of joes when they left. WTH? They are so good that my friend asked me to bring some to her party and my pregnant friend asked me to bring some to her shower but not to share with her guests :). Best Joes in Portland! My son ended up only getting one leg and he freaked out because he wanted another. Bottom line... Make sure you buy enough legs to circumvent a tantrum and enough joes so your pregnant friends don't eat yours :). One thing though... The people that work there are super rude like, if their chicken sucked, I would never go in again. That's just an FYI.
(5)
Kai F.
This is good honest fried chicken. Not fancy schmansy hipster stuff. However they do use Draper Valley chicken - so feel good about that Portlandia. 2 piece lunch box (one breast, one thigh) comes with enough potato planks for at least 2 meals, and served with a yummy dill-sour cream sauce, for $8.95. I think people here call them Jojos, because they seem to be battered and then fried. real good and they heat up well the next day. I ate on the patio on the Cider Mill side on a sunny day, and the wine pours by the glass were large and cheap. Love the plentiful outside seating, and a tented area for sunblock. The smokers were courteous...I suspect this area is mostly for them with the smoking laws. A few people eating but mostly just a bunch of low key people drinking beer, listening to some tunes, and kibitzing. There is also a fire pit which would be nice on a chilly evening. Kindof a dive-bar locals place, where "everybody knows your name".
(4)
Lisa E.
Total white trash bar with said white trash patrons singing along to the country music jukebox. Run-down inside and somewhat sketchy but pretty typical for a dive bar. The service was good--our waitress was really nice. The food? It was decent but not the best fried chicken I've ever had. The jojos and mac n' cheese salad were AMAZING. So so so good! The chicken was pretty good but again, not the best fried chicken I've ever had. The one bonus: the chicken was juicy and not dried out (like Delta Cafe has been for me!).
(3)
Clay H.
This will be short. We walked in and were greeted by a person on the chicken side of the place, but were told to sit in the restaurant if we wanted to stay. We sat at a table in a bar section next to some people who were cussing about something. Then after about 5 minutes of listening to them and some game we didn't care about, we moved into a different section hoping for someone to notice us. Well, that attention we desired never appeared. We left after 10 more minutes without seeing another employee. One made a half assed attempt to retain us when we were heading out the door, but it fell on deaf ears. Maybe she should visit with her friends less?
(1)
Rebecca H.
Staff is nice and attentive. Location is decent. Happy hour is average, at best. Sucks if you're not a smoker because the place stinks of fresh cigarettes. Smoke is continuously coming in from the back patio. BTW patio is ok, kinda dirty. NOT a good place to watch any game!!! Here's why: 1. Not enough TVs 2. Sound is terrible 3. The channels are on different stations. So some TVs are 10 to 20 seconds ahead of others. I will not watch another game here.
(2)
Mark C.
Not good. Just go to KFC.
(1)
Robert H.
People think there are no dives in SW Portland, but they are wrong. Where there are people there are dives. And Fryer Tuck and its Cider Mill Restaurant is a dive with fried chicken on the side. My design savvy friend with the cool glasses holds her secret meetings there because she knows there would never in a million years be an agency-type spying at Fryer Tuck's, as opposed to, say, Clyde Common. The fried chicken has a medium thick and crunchy breading, unfortunately with little flavor. The chicken tenders are from another source, thicker a bit, but likewise unspicy. They do a unique jojo recipe, 3/8" French fries are breaded and fried with the same coating as the chicken. Another option is to have your fries prepared as "garlic fries" with a thinner coating of the same batter. It does make them crunchier, but not in any way garlic. For the fried chicken there is a standard ranch dip and the fries come with a sour cream and dill dip which is not that interesting. They have about a dozen taps, half macro, some war horses from Deschutes, and for Summer, some other light undistinguished micros. The place is filled with screens showing sports events and as I was leaving a band was setting up, so maybe it turns into a hot spot on Saturday night? It's a dark 80 year old building that has grown bit by bit with no plan, and filled with years' worth of promotional beer signs. Unlike many dives, it's clean, and like many dives it is a mashup of remodeling over 80 years. On the vast patio were a group of bearded guys in tee shirts and girls in summer thrift store dresses with their bikes. Inside there was a 60-something guy trying to make a move on a 40-something lady. He was talking about various friends or relatives getting out of or going into jail and taking highly important sounding calls on his feature phone. You heard it here, feature phones are going to make a comeback! At the bar was a medical professional from the local hospital relating jokes from anesthesiologists about 65-70 years ago in Germany, unimaginably offensive, I won't repeat here. People talking about misplaced passports after years of disuse. Talking about male ideal body image in relation to Iggy Pop and sharks swimming up the Columbia River. Others talking about their mobile service being cut off at midnight and the String Cheese Incident. As I was leaving, something was about to begin at the JCC, and the street was filled with nattily dressed gentlemen with white shirts and black suits in yamakas and their lady friends in finely tailored Summer dresses. If you are in the Hillsdale, Multnomah, Capitol Hill area, you're in the force field of Friar Tuck and the Cedar Mill Restaurant. If you want democratic and real, they serve it. What a great Summer microcosm in a little corner of SW Portland literally perched between Hillsdale and Multnomah.
(3)
Jonathan S.
Oh my, this was horrible. There was absolutely nothing of redeeming value from this chicken. The sign says that you'll have to wait 25 minutes for your chicken. Seems like they throw the chicken in for that FULL 25 minutes. They make no differentiation for the size of the pieces and the big breast is cooked just as long as the tiny wing. They seem to throw the fries in at the exact same time. The result? An inedible mess. I know what your thinking, but the homemade chips and salsa were good, right? Well, not in this lifetime. It was like eating a plate of salt. I knew right away this wasnt colonial times because that amount of salt would have made me a rich man in those days. I can't stress enough how much you should STAY AWAY from eating here.
(1)
Scott H.
I took my dad here from out of town today because the way I remembered it, the chicken was fantastic. We ordered a 12 piece with two breasts, five thighs, and five legs. Somewhat disappointing, the breasts were dry and they threw in 4 wings along with 3 legs two thighs, and one unidentifiable item. When I asked about the wings, the answer was that he must not have read the order right so he just put in the usual for a 12 piece. She didn't ask if we wanted our missing thighs and legs, so I just blew it off. We ordered a side of gravy too, that when it finally came (after our second time asking for it), was cold and thick like paste. The jojos were as awesome as ever, really amazing, but the chicken was average, so I probably wont bother going back.
(3)
Warren C.
I've gone to Fryer Tucks a few times with my friend Mario that loves this place. The service is like what most people have stated which is lacking. Kind of to be expected when it comes to a bar atmosphere. When we received our food order the gizzards are delectable. The potato wedges are complimented well with the dill sauce they provide. The chicken itself doesn't really standout for me but I will say that corporate environments such as Popeyes, Churches, and KFC have tainted my idea of what Fried chicken is supposed to taste like and I'm under the assumption that Fryer Tucks is really what chicken is supposed to taste like once sentenced to death by batter. Would definitely come again but with the same lower expectations that I have come before. One thing that I do want to mention is that being a minority, the regulars there really have a way to make you not feel welcome in this environment. That is one thing that is very interesting about living in the Portland metro area that you don't need to go too far to be discriminated by in regards to your ethnic background.
(3)
Wrecks M.
I just got back from this place and I have to say I am Impressed. I read the reviews and there were some good and bad ones, So I went to see for myself. The Place is kinda run down, BUT The Burger I got was Humungous! It was so Huge and GOOD! It hwas the Farmhouse Burger and it had tomatoes and oinions, but it also had an egg and some ham and bacon, the bacon was nice and Thick too! One of the best burgers I have had in portland. I dont usually eat burgers, but I was Super Hungry today. The waiting area where you place your order is small and the chairs are hard and high up. The Customer service was Great, The guy who took my order was really cool. It didnt take long for my order and there is also a bar in the restraunt. But I took my order to go.I wish I would have came in here sooner. I am leaving soon to another state and if I was staying, I would definately come here again.
(4)
Andrew S.
This spot has really good fried Chicken and JoJo's. More on the greasy side, but classic and original. Served in medium size cardboard box, loaded with JoJo's Chicken and batter is okay. Service is good. Never tried their Burger, so this is strictly on Chicken/JoJo/Ranch. Ranch dip is also good.
(3)
Mark A.
Just remembered to review this place. I went a little over a year ago cuz I was in the neighborhood buying beers @ John's Market. I always wanted to try this place, & I was not disappointed. First off the beers I had while I was waiting were cold. I like that. Alaskan Amber if you are keeping score. It took me two beers until my chicken & JoJo's were ready. Don't expect fast, but expect delish. I drove all the way to Sherwood before actually eating the chicken & the stuff was still hot & good. I am a super huge fan of the JoJo's. Best I ever had. The dill sauce that came with it is not my choice, but it was not too bad if you like dill. I'll stick with Ranch & Tartar sauce myself. Chicken was right up there with anything I have ever had. LArge pieces too. I will definitely go back the next time I am in the neighborhood. It's worth it every time.
(4)
Steve K.
Fryer Tuck is probably my favorite fried chicken...Little John spuds (Jo-jos) are the best! I've been a patron since 1969 and it's never disappointed me.
(4)
Joseph H.
Pretty decent fried chicken. Imagine what the old chicken restaurants were like and you have the fryer. A road side diner, serving up fried chicken in a family style. Good fried chicken can be a lost art form, and reasonably priced fried chicken is as populated as the Dodo bird. Fryer Tuck has stuck to his guns serving up greasy crisps of chicken for decades. They definitely have it down pat, and even the pubescent kid on the phone who took our order had a handle on every inch of the fried bird. He quickly rattled off selections, gizzard pieces, and finally sides. Overall they were quick, inexpensive and pretty finger lickin' good as that Colonel used to say. All they would have to do to garner 5 stars on their to-go orders is touch up the ingredients. Is that Tyson chicken I detect under that crust? Please say it isn't? If they upgrade to a little more organic style, or had the offering, I'm sure it would be a crowd pleaser. Either way, it reminded me of younger days, baseball games, and hearty boxes of chicken after. If you're in the mood, it's great for a fix.
(4)
Mark S.
First time we went there we didn't order anything, turned right around and walked out because of the cigarette smell coming from the bar next door. Nothing against smokers, just don't like the smell of it mixed with my food. After the ban on smoking inside bars we decided to give it another try. Chicken tasted just like the potato wedges, burnt, stale, grease and was expensive. We could have got a better tasting chicken, more of it and for less at KFC or Popeye's. Looking at the reviews I guess you either love it or hate it. If you want bar food chicken well then here you go, have at it, I won't be back. How long have they been in business and why?
(1)
Shane N.
Albertson's deli is better. Seriously. I've heard so many good things about this place from so many people that I finally tried it and the food was terrible. I ordered the 3 piece snacker box and the chicken was over cooked, the batter was bitter, there were no seasoning to speak of...have these guys heard of salt? Unfortunately, the spuds were cooked in the same fashion. They were so thick that had it not been for the batter, the fries would have been soggy all the way to the surface. And the dipping sauce? Bland, bland, bland, it's as if they took ranch dressing, extracted all of the flavor and served it. Go to Albertson's deli, trust me, you'll get better food for half the price. By the way, I waited the full 20 minutes.
(1)
Cherise F.
Fryer Tucks Chicken is the best chicken around. The pieces are huge and always cooked perfectly. The potato spikes with dill sauce are the stuff of dreams. However, the sides such as the coleslaw and beans I can take or leave. Betsy is right that the in-house dining experience isn't the best but I have been known to go eat a $5.00 2 piece snack box there (an extra $1.00 if you want a breast but they are huge!). If you go to Fryer tucks to eat in remember its a bar so no one under 21 allowed. Nothing beats the experience of driving home with your large cardboard crates of piping hot chicken and trying to keep your self from jimmying open the boxes for "just one" potato spike. If you do take out, do yourself a favor and buy twice as much as you need. Its just as good as left overs on day two!
(5)
Tirzah N.
fries, little john spuds and fried chicken are so good never had anything else and never will.
(4)
Well-Traveled I.
When we arrived (around 11:45 am - lunch workday), place was empty. But, as we waited for our food, the place started filling up. Ordered a snack box - breast, leg, and jojos. Portions are huge and everything is homemade. Sampled coworker's onion rings; very tasty - fresh onions, too! Chicken was fried a little longer than I like (for example, the skin was darker and definitely very crisp, the latter I love), but the chicken itself was so tasty and juicy. Staff was very friendly; it takes about 20 minutes to cook your food, so if you're expecting KFC time, go elsewhere - you won't appreciate the goodness that comes to those who wait.
(4)
Shaun O.
The bartender wouldn't break from her story long enough to greet us after standing there for nearly 10 minutes, thanks Mary..won't be back.
(1)
R T.
I don't get the hype here, the bar has no atmosphere I want to partake in and the chicken shops chicken isn't that good. Sorry but this place doesn't hold up to it's reputation. I'd come to expect great fried food from all my friends great reviews. blahh
(2)
MIKE J.
Fryer Tuck is the best fried chicken i have ever had .. sure i have never been to the south but i know good food and there chicken with little john spuds kick butt.. i have been eating there since the 70's and haver never left disapointed.get it to go and eat at a near by park are eat it in your car with a few napkins..love it love it love it
(5)
SD W.
We gave this place a try after living in the neighborhood for about 8 months. We ordered the chicken legs and thighs with spuds. What we got was an enormous box of "spuds" or thick, fried potatoes with just a few TINY pieces of fried chicken. The chicken would barely have made a decent portion for one person, let alone two people and there were enough spuds to feed 8-10 people. The flavor was incredibly disappointing - very bland, almost dry. The spuds were bad, too - they tasted exactly like the chicken, as I'm pretty sure they just fry it all together in the same vat of oil. It didn't appear to look or taste any healthier than KFC, either (not that you'd go here for health food, but if you're going to go all out for fried chicken and such, KFC tastes wayyy better and is cheaper). Not only that, but they force you to pay an extra $1 for the large, greasy, non-recyclable box that they give you for take-out orders. Seriously - who does that? They can't figure out a better packaging system than that? Anyway, glad we tried it, so we know we don't ever need to order from here again.
(1)
Eric L.
First thing I have to say is...plan ahead!! Never in my life have I had to wait 40 minutes for fried chicken and wings! I'm serious, no exagerating here. Got there at 8:45pm and ended up leaving with my food at 9:25pm!!! Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that they got my order wrong. Not acceptable, especially since there was no one else in there. Ok, now that I've vented, let's move on to the chicken. This place is great minus the long wait. The fried chicken reminded me so much of this place back home in Hawaii called Alice's Chicken. The pieces are huge and they're battered and fried to crispy perfection. The jojo's are to die for with ranch and/or their special dipping sauce. Their wings are good but nothing special. Typical Frank's Red Hot sauce and butter spicy sauce. I personally think I make better wings myself, but of course I'm biased. I would've given Fryer Tuck's a 5 star rating had it not been for the bad service, messed up order, and the super long wait. The food is definitely the best fried chicken I've eaten here in Oregon, but the counter is horrible. I hope they work on their customer service skills and work on getting the food out a bit faster. This place has so much potential if they actually try.
(4)
Ajia T.
I must lament, with all sincerity, that I do not crave fried chicken, nor do I especially enjoy fried food. Sometimes, though, when a girl is in her last couple of weeks of pregnaciousness and has been carefully avoiding high-sodium foods for weeks to reduce water retention...some fried goodness must be had. Hence, my decision to get take-out from Tuck's. Having lived near Multnomah Village for 8 years, I am familiar with the legend of said chicken, but have (gasp!) never actually eaten it. Let me assure you, it's everything you could want in a fried piece of birdie...a light, crispy coating envelops tender, juicy, meat. Watch for bone fragments at the joints, though - I found one in a breast piece. Speaking of which, the breasts are so huge, I could only eat 1 piece. It was seriously gigantic and nearly entirely took up it's own box! The sides are also quite good at Tuck's. I particularly enjoyed the macaroni salad, which was uniquely spiced and tasted damned fresh. Not made with creamy crap, it was refreshing and light. The baked beans were yummy, too - my husband actually wolfed them down before the rest of his food. The soft rolls were bleh. Now, the spuds....ah, the spuds! Those were incredible, especially with the dill dip everyone has raved about. Not heavily battered and just the right texture...mmm! I can't say this is the best fried chicken I've ever had, but I'm sure I'll return to Tuck's someday for fried goodness, when the mood strikes me. At only $15 for a complete, not-entirely-unhealthy meal for two people, it's definitely easy on the pocketbook, too.
(4)
Kevin J.
I might be biased as I used to frequent this place as a child when it was out in the Beaverton area over 20 years ago. But oh man do they have the crunchiest and largest pieces of fried chicken. The big reason I enjoy the place so much though has to go to the Little John spuds; crunchy coating on the outside, soft and yummy in the middle...and don't forget the dill dip to tag those luscious logs of goodness with! You will be satisfied...very affordable as well.
(5)
Tina P.
So sorry to say it but this place used to be so much better. I remember riding in the car with my dad--"all the way out there" (from the eastside) back in the 70s--to get their chicken and tators. It was such a treat in my childhood! Last time I ate here was in 2002-2003 and it was nothing like I remember. :(
(1)
Misty L.
I was in Portland just for the weekend and started craving some of Seattle's Ezell's chicken. In an effort to satisfy the craving I checked out Fryer Tuck chicken because of some of the reviews on Yelp. The service took FOREVER. They say you will wait 20 minutes for your order, we waited at least an hour and then when we finally did get our food, it was mediocre. The chicken was sort of meh, and the rest of the massive pile of food they put in front of me was inedible. I am a carbohydrate addict and I took one bite of the roll they gave me - thinking it's pretty hard to mess up a roll - and was just done with my meal. Sadly disappointing experience.
(1)
Denise D.
LIke several of the other reviewers, I've been going to Fryer Tuck's (the one on Walker and Cedar Hills that's no longer there) since I was a kid. We didn't want KFC when I was a kid, we wanted Fryer Tuck! Who else had Little John Spuds and Fryer Tuck Sauce (okay, it sounds a little wrong, but tastes so right!)? I wasn't into any of the other food as a kid, except maybe the rolls, but my family loved everything else on the menu. So, fast forward 40 years. My neighborhood restaurant is gone, the remaining one has changed owners many times, and it seems the magic of Fryer Tuck has worn down a bit. Admittedly, my 4-star rating is heavily padded with nostalgia. Still, even without nostalgic influences, I've not had the bad experiences described by fellow reviewers. Tonight I wanted some Little John Spuds. I haven't eaten at Fryer Tuck's since the new owners took over. I called the restaurant, placed my order and was told it would be ready in 20 minutes. I hopped in my car, got there about 15 minutes later and everything was ready and waiting for me. The young man waiting on me was friendly and thoughtful. I ate my food at home and the spuds were as amazing as ever. The sauce tasted like the recipe might have changed but I'm not sure about that. I was so full after a few spuds and a bottle of pop that I'll have to have the baked beans, macaroni salad and rolls for another meal. So, overall I'm still a huge fan of the place. It's definitely not gourmet or super healthy fare, so if that's what you're after, you're at the wrong place. But if you're willing to dig into some grease and know that you either have to call ahead or plan to wait if you dine in, then you won't regret it.
(4)
Gregg A.
This place is fantastic. If you love fried chicken this is the place for you. I would only recommend ordering your food by phone and taking it home. The bar attached to the takeout restaurant is a pretty disgusting dive bar...very smoky and ruins the dinner. I've only tried to eat there once and it ruined the great food. We get a box of breasts, wings, and Jo-Jo's. Finger licking good! It's perfect for a late evening dinner at home with beer while watching the game.
(5)
Kenneth H.
The fried chicken here is damn good. I have only done takeout, and you can take home a huge amount of food for super cheap. Not only does Fryer Tuck satisfy in the quantity department, but also in the quality! The chicken is always juicy, well seasoned, perfectly cooked and practically dripping off the bone. The Jo-Jo's (Little John Spuds) are joygasmic, and make me feel dirty just for continually shoveling them into my mouth. They also serve the typical sides...various slaws, and salads, but I wasn't overly impressed with any of them. I have never really been a fan of take out chicken (popeyes or KFC, etc) but I am smitten with Fryer Tuck. Thank you Fryer for helping me re-discover my love of fried chicken! Warning: When you eat this well, be prepared for a little battle with the bowel gods the next day as this much grease is not actually for human consumption.
(4)
Jey R.
Great fried chicken. Some of the most delicious potatoes.
(5)
Kim B.
Spuds are amazing! I wasn't very fond of the house dipping sauce but the chicken and potato salad was yummy. Again expect a wait bit it is quality chicken.
(4)
NANCY H.
This is the best friend chicken I've had in long time. Eat your heart out KFC! We ordered the dinner for two plus onion rings which include a side of choice, baked beans, two sweet rolls, 4 pieces of very large chicken pieces, jojo's, and a dip for your potatoes. After waiting practically 30 minutes (they were busy), we received one big box full of the crispiest onion rings I've ever had AND another huge box of this mound of jojo's and chicken. I was like...all this for just $14 bucks. I'm in love! The wait was all worth it. I love fried chicken and this was seasoned spicy and everything was big and gooood! I would recommend this place for take-out and order ahead. Great for picnics, games, or some at home grubbin' (so you can lick your fingers without shame)! Good For: best fried chicken in Oregon, picnic lunch
(5)
Violet T.
The fried chicken was decent, but not as special as I had hoped. I heard a lot of hype about this place, and my favorite thing was the jojos. I asked the waitress if the chicken wings as an appetizer were super spicy, she said she could make them really mild... even my boyfriend, who eats spicy food, was struggling they were so hot. Some people like this, but we wouldn't have ordered them, we would have picked something else. And the wings took just as long (35 minutes) to come out as our fried chicken. We ordered an appetizer because we heard the wait was long... My drink was nice an strong though, so that helped. I will probably just make my fried chicken at home from now on, and maybe call in an order for the spuds.
(3)
John M.
This place should be revisited by the food press in town. It's fried chicken, not health food. But it's some of the best fried chicken you'll ever have--and the pieces are LARGE and inexpensive. This dude Mark S. doesn't know what he's talking about. KFC and Popeyes are mass-produced garbage.
(4)
Mark G.
I've been eating take out here for at least 35 years, and I've never had a bad meal. The other comments are spot on....delicious, crunchy and juicy fried chicken and great spuds. Never a fan of the "dip"...kind of bland and I prefer to use ranch....but the baked beans have always more than made up for it. Unlike any I've ever had, with a deep mahogany color and a rich molasses flavor. Yesterday, I decided to eat in at the attached bar. Big mistake. At first, I was enthused...the menu has been expanded and I saw an article on the wall about a new owner. Great! Good to see someone young taking over, and the new menu items indicated some ambition to succeed. Unfortunately, my enthusiasm was short-lived. The service was atrocious and slow, with my waitress getting my order wrong twice. But, even worse, the food was really bad. While my chicken breast was good, the spuds were overcooked and dry...just crunchy dry shells with nothing inside. And the beans I've loved for a lifetime are gone. In their place, some really generic, out of the can baked beans that I didn't even finish. If I had never been here before, I would give it one star and never return, however, 35 years of good food earns them an additional star and a second chance. I'm worried, though, that the new owner has lost what has made this place great for so long. An expanded menu is fine, but there's a reason Fryer Tuck has been in business for this long, so don't screw it up! Do the basics right. I hope I'm wrong about this place going downhill, because I love(d) it. One more chance.
(2)
Betsy C.
My husband and I made the mistake many before us have made. We were even warned not to do it, but we just couldn't stop ourselves. Instead of ordering takeout, we ate in. And apparently it was a bad night. One of the fryers apparently broke during dinner service, causing all fried chicken to take 5 billion years to cook, causing many tables to leave, and many to go customers to stand there angrily. Thankfully we didn't enter the building absolutely DYING to eat, so we made ourselves at home in the "restaurant" that is really more like a bar with pool tables, lotto games, etc. As that's not really my style, I was a bit nervous, but no one else was really there so it was all good. We changed the channel to whatever we wanted, laid back, and waited for our food. (We were warned the chicken would take 30-45 minutes, but we've also heard it'd be worth it.) While we waiting, we had multiple conversations with the waitress concerning topics such as her angry customers (one claiming the swiss cheese wasn't "real" swiss) to my own personal food poisoning a few weeks earlier to the waitress' case of food poisoning that ruined her trip to Spain and she'll never go back. Only by the time we DID get our food, we had waited about 1.5 hours, which was a tad annoying because by that point, we WERE dying to eat. On to the food! MAN did it make up for how long it took to get it! Since it was still happy hour (the hours of which had changed the day before) we got a dozen hot wings for $6. Not too shabby. They weren't worth four stars, but they WERE worth $6. It wasn't what I was there for, anyway. The fried chicken. Oh, the fried chicken. It was fried to a dark, rich color and right away I knew it'd be heavenly. And it was. So crispy and juicy and all that fried chicken should be! The spuds weren't too shabby either. They are the battered and wedged variety which is really pretty tasty. These two items alone are worth five delicious, greasy stars. I have to admit, however, that before I was even finished eating, I felt a rumbling in the stomach, and we all know what that means. Typically I hold my friend chicken well, but not here. It is some serious (and seriously tasty) heavy food! In the end, neither of us would eat in again, but we weren't sorry we did the first time. We left feeling like we were over at our new BFF's (i.e. the waitress) place making ourselves at home. A home that would've been totally obnoxious had it been full of bar-type people doing bar-type things. I'd definitely get some chicken and spuds to go, though, and hope for a better outcome in the stomach department, because MAN was it good! Oh, and my husband got a pulled pork (or was it chicken?) sandwich which was super juicy and came with a homemade sauce that was to die for. It came on a nice ciabatta roll, though, which was greatly appreciated because it held the runny sauce very well.
(4)
Dylan A.
Ols school Portland fried chicken goodness. Just had a work fuction catered at the office. All the goods dropped off hot and fresh! Man that's some good chicken and taters! Just like I remeber them as a kid. There was a lot of happy folks heading back to their desks.
(5)
Nick H.
A rock solid 4. Fryer Tuck and I go back a long ways. I remember my grandparents bringing me here in the 1960s. My first time eating jo-jos was here and in my mind, I always compare all others to these. Few others make the cut. Here's what I ate and what I thought of it; Jo-jos : wonderful. I'm quite sure I'm tasting the memories more than the food itself. Perfectly allowable as a geezer. Chicken : the dark pieces were all right but the breast was kind of dry. I ended up taking it home and topping a salad with it. Coleslaw : sorry but if it ain't my Babushka's, I ain't liking it. My Babushka was one of those little 4'9" ladies from the Old Country. A pint-sized pioneer, if you will. Her typical old-school type of day was something like this; Wake up, pick flowers and brew them into tea. Light housekeeping, start planning lunch. Defeat Hitler. More tea. Make wonderful coleslaw for Nicky. All in all, it's probably a place that is more appealing to old-school type eaters. Having said that, I would (and did) travel to have some of their jo-jos.
(4)
Jevan W.
I'm another who has a long-term, intermittent, relationship with Fryer Tuck. For me, I would travel a long way for dipping sauce - the Jo-Jo's are exactly what I think of when you say Jo-Jo, okay so far, a 5...the chicken, is...alright, it's fried chicken, it's kinda bland for me, nothing special. I come here for the Jo-Jo's and that dip, did I mention the dip? Get the dip!
(4)
Anica S.
I will admit I wasn't sure how good the chicken would be but again I was reminded why you can't take reviews as face value, Fryer Tucks chicken is awesome! Great staff, dive bar, awesome happy hour menu & specials, tons of TV's on the Cider Mill side which is a plus for sports fans like myself. Their taters and dill dip.... To die for! Prices are totally reasonable, not to mention the portions are huge and I will definitely be back.
(4)
Robert C.
This review is from a portland native that grew up on this stuff. The food is great. great in regards to what it is. It's a grease trap. Don't come here expecting to have a salad or anything vegan...it's just not that kind of place. Through the years like any long time portland institution it's had its highs and it's lows. I must say that over the past couple of years the food has been very consistent and the place is way cleaner then years past. I suspect a new owner. If you want deep fried chicken and Jo Jo's go here. The dill dip is also amazing. While waiting for your food drop into the cozy old bar next door and check out the copper ceiling. I
(5)
Tres B.
Gloriously slow. The chicken and potatoes take forever. Henry Penny cookers are not quick. But the chicken here is fantastic, the potatoes are amazing and huge orders! This is a venerable spot is an in-the-know Portlandia tradition. A little treasure you've got to find if you've never been!
(4)
Elle H.
I was SO DISAPPOINTED with the Fryer ?Tuck chicken I got yesterday..it's been over 4 years since I last had and and - well you know how something very good can be anticipated in your mind and set the taste buds for that wonderful flavor? It didn't happen. the chicken, I ordered a breast and a thigh, was very dry with little of the old seasoning I remember so well from past years. Absolutely no juiciness, even with the thigh there was little flavor. After one bite of the huge breast, I decided to chunk it up into chicken salad-it didn't have any flavor at all. IMO it was very overcooked. Dunno whats going on with that place but it isn't nearly the great chicken I've had for many years. I had a good draft at the restaurant part while I was waiting and the spuds and dill dip were good. I won't go back..yet one more thing that seems to have headed southwards in quality..Damn it.
(2)
Cydney M.
If I could give this place less stars I would. Shame on them for making something delicious like fried chicken disgusting. Why does this place even exist, is it a drug front?
(1)
Craig H.
Best fried chicken I've ever had. Don't expect anything too fancy, just a plate of amazing chicken and some spuds.
(5)
carly d.
I've lived in SW for nearly 8 years, and over time have heard Fryer Tuck mentioned as a great source for picnic fare. I found myself staring at blue skies without an inkling of desire to cook dinner, and thought it would be the perfect opportunity to check it out. In a word... awful. Sure, the portions are huge, but with food this bad all you'll find yourself with is a huge amount of guilt from all the food you'll end up tossing, rather than the leftovers you'd enjoy. To be fair, I did find some of the assorted chicken pieces to be cooked appropriately...but fried chicken really can't be a one-time-fits-all methodology. The potato salad was inedible... so vinegary in taste, it seemed to border on rancid. The macaroni salad was only slightly better. I could see potential in the spuds, or Jo-Jo's, but the batter is so flavorless that the provided dill dip becomes necessary, rather than optional. Needless to say, I won't be returning. Had I done my research prior to going, I would have found out that a change of ownership in recent years drastically changed the quality of the Fryer Tuck experience.
(1)
Lindsey T.
Went there last night for a date night.... Customer service was great. Friendly service... The food was DISGUSTING! Seriously, spuds and chicken was the worse. Tasted like fried dirt. No flavor at all. No seasoning... Will not be returning. Atmosphere was great.
(1)
John J.
Here is the story... if you want great fried chicken and fries, this is THE place! Our recommendation is to do a takeout order, go home or to a park and enjoy. Forget about the Cider Mill Bar (it is not a restaurant, just a dive bar with lots of television screens that no one pays any attention to). It is kind of sad as this is the last of the Fryer Tucks for those of you who are old enough to remember when there were more than one of these in our fair city.
(4)
Marcellus J.
Ok so the spuds are good but the chicken was pretty subpar... Ordered a breast specifically (along a thigh and wing) since that's typically the bench mark for how well you handle a fryer. In a word it was poor. They told me it would take about 40 minutes for the breast which was fair since it's the thickest piece. When i picked it up every piece was overcooked to burnt. The taste was pretty bland once i got past the taste of degraded oil. The color also led me to believe that they hadn't changed their fryer oil in a while... Being born and raised in the south (the epicenter for all food related heart-attacks) I like to think that I know a bit a frying some chicken. One day I'll give it another shot, but haven't mustered up the courage for that potential disappointment. If you're willing sacrifice that calorie load and a few dollars I wouldn't completely write off this place, could of just been an off day.
(2)
Rick W.
Great place to watch a game. The chicken is okay, I've definitely had better. Their mini corn dogs and tater tots were a little over deep fried. However their potato chips and fries were fantastic. (I didn't order all of this for myself, I was with a large group - I swear.) I probably wouldn't make a special trip, but if it was suggested by someone else, I might be up for trying it again.
(3)
Glenda S.
Fryer Tuck Chicken is GONE! This was the last one and I'm guessing the other reviews are new and have no idea what it should have tasted like. This place only deserved ONE STAR since they had the order done when we went to pick it up. Had we known what they did to the original recipe we would have walked out and not wasted $35.00 on tasteless crap! We left a tip is why it added up to that amount since the cook did finish the order. Got ripped off for four thighs, six wings, one order of spuds, one pint of dip and coleslaw for $35.00?????? The spuds were so disappointing as they were missing an important spice or this new owner is just being cheap in leaving it out! Will NEVER use this lousy food business again! The coleslaw use to come in TWO PARTS which the buyer put together for better freshness. Either we didn't get the SECOND part or this place is making the worst tasting coleslaw that has NO TASTE! The dip was okay, but it didn't even enhance the tasteless spuds that use to be one of kind taste. Chicken was so-so since they still seem to use Oregon chicken, but it was missing the marvelous taste of Fryer Tuck's missing flavor which is sad. Will be buying the chicken from the store in their deli section that at least has a decent taste.
(1)
Jeff R.
Aside from the fact that the chicken is salty- and has no other flavor to speak of. Their Cole Slaw is also tasteless. The final straw was a pebble in the (also flavorless) baked beans. You KNOW you're in a shitty restaurant when the staff doesn't ask "how was everything" at ANY point. The rolls were edible if a dry super-market roll with a little margarine is your style. The "spuds" are basically deep fried, greasy and disgusting potato wedges. You couldn't pay me to eat there again..
(1)
Paul T.
Fryer Tuck's fried chicken is pretty darn good. Cooked to perfection, not too greasy, large breasts, and crispy wings...yummy! I would highly recommend calling ahead for take out as seating is very limited. Their website features a menu.
(4)
Dave C.
Moist and juicy....can I write that on Yelp? If you like good fried chicken this is the place for you. The decor is pretty eclectic and the dining area is tucked in between a bar, sitting down for lunch with my young kids in a bar was a little different. We also split an order of garlic fries which were tender and flavorful. It's way out of the way for us but definitely worth the trip, but if I am with my kids again I'll probably do take out.
(5)
tim a.
We tried this looking for the best chicken in Portland. Although the staff was courteous and quick, the food was totally sub-par. Chicken was really greasy, although moist inside, potato salad was undercooked and crunchy as well as weird sour tasting (spoiled?). Dill dipping sauce wasn't mixed. Altogether a poor performance. Will not repeat.
(1)
Kai F.
This is good honest fried chicken. Not fancy schmansy hipster stuff. However they do use Draper Valley chicken - so feel good about that Portlandia. 2 piece lunch box (one breast, one thigh) comes with enough potato planks for at least 2 meals, and served with a yummy dill-sour cream sauce, for $8.95. I think people here call them Jojos, because they seem to be battered and then fried. real good and they heat up well the next day. I ate on the patio on the Cider Mill side on a sunny day, and the wine pours by the glass were large and cheap. Love the plentiful outside seating, and a tented area for sunblock. The smokers were courteous...I suspect this area is mostly for them with the smoking laws. A few people eating but mostly just a bunch of low key people drinking beer, listening to some tunes, and kibitzing. There is also a fire pit which would be nice on a chilly evening. Kindof a dive-bar locals place, where "everybody knows your name".
(4)
Lisa E.
Total white trash bar with said white trash patrons singing along to the country music jukebox. Run-down inside and somewhat sketchy but pretty typical for a dive bar. The service was good--our waitress was really nice. The food? It was decent but not the best fried chicken I've ever had. The jojos and mac n' cheese salad were AMAZING. So so so good! The chicken was pretty good but again, not the best fried chicken I've ever had. The one bonus: the chicken was juicy and not dried out (like Delta Cafe has been for me!).
(3)
Clay H.
This will be short. We walked in and were greeted by a person on the chicken side of the place, but were told to sit in the restaurant if we wanted to stay. We sat at a table in a bar section next to some people who were cussing about something. Then after about 5 minutes of listening to them and some game we didn't care about, we moved into a different section hoping for someone to notice us. Well, that attention we desired never appeared. We left after 10 more minutes without seeing another employee. One made a half assed attempt to retain us when we were heading out the door, but it fell on deaf ears. Maybe she should visit with her friends less?
(1)
carly d.
I've lived in SW for nearly 8 years, and over time have heard Fryer Tuck mentioned as a great source for picnic fare. I found myself staring at blue skies without an inkling of desire to cook dinner, and thought it would be the perfect opportunity to check it out. In a word... awful. Sure, the portions are huge, but with food this bad all you'll find yourself with is a huge amount of guilt from all the food you'll end up tossing, rather than the leftovers you'd enjoy. To be fair, I did find some of the assorted chicken pieces to be cooked appropriately...but fried chicken really can't be a one-time-fits-all methodology. The potato salad was inedible... so vinegary in taste, it seemed to border on rancid. The macaroni salad was only slightly better. I could see potential in the spuds, or Jo-Jo's, but the batter is so flavorless that the provided dill dip becomes necessary, rather than optional. Needless to say, I won't be returning. Had I done my research prior to going, I would have found out that a change of ownership in recent years drastically changed the quality of the Fryer Tuck experience.
(1)
Lindsey T.
Went there last night for a date night.... Customer service was great. Friendly service... The food was DISGUSTING! Seriously, spuds and chicken was the worse. Tasted like fried dirt. No flavor at all. No seasoning... Will not be returning. Atmosphere was great.
(1)
John J.
Here is the story... if you want great fried chicken and fries, this is THE place! Our recommendation is to do a takeout order, go home or to a park and enjoy. Forget about the Cider Mill Bar (it is not a restaurant, just a dive bar with lots of television screens that no one pays any attention to). It is kind of sad as this is the last of the Fryer Tucks for those of you who are old enough to remember when there were more than one of these in our fair city.
(4)
Marcellus J.
Ok so the spuds are good but the chicken was pretty subpar... Ordered a breast specifically (along a thigh and wing) since that's typically the bench mark for how well you handle a fryer. In a word it was poor. They told me it would take about 40 minutes for the breast which was fair since it's the thickest piece. When i picked it up every piece was overcooked to burnt. The taste was pretty bland once i got past the taste of degraded oil. The color also led me to believe that they hadn't changed their fryer oil in a while... Being born and raised in the south (the epicenter for all food related heart-attacks) I like to think that I know a bit a frying some chicken. One day I'll give it another shot, but haven't mustered up the courage for that potential disappointment. If you're willing sacrifice that calorie load and a few dollars I wouldn't completely write off this place, could of just been an off day.
(2)
Dylan A.
Ols school Portland fried chicken goodness. Just had a work fuction catered at the office. All the goods dropped off hot and fresh! Man that's some good chicken and taters! Just like I remeber them as a kid. There was a lot of happy folks heading back to their desks.
(5)
Nick H.
A rock solid 4. Fryer Tuck and I go back a long ways. I remember my grandparents bringing me here in the 1960s. My first time eating jo-jos was here and in my mind, I always compare all others to these. Few others make the cut. Here's what I ate and what I thought of it; Jo-jos : wonderful. I'm quite sure I'm tasting the memories more than the food itself. Perfectly allowable as a geezer. Chicken : the dark pieces were all right but the breast was kind of dry. I ended up taking it home and topping a salad with it. Coleslaw : sorry but if it ain't my Babushka's, I ain't liking it. My Babushka was one of those little 4'9" ladies from the Old Country. A pint-sized pioneer, if you will. Her typical old-school type of day was something like this; Wake up, pick flowers and brew them into tea. Light housekeeping, start planning lunch. Defeat Hitler. More tea. Make wonderful coleslaw for Nicky. All in all, it's probably a place that is more appealing to old-school type eaters. Having said that, I would (and did) travel to have some of their jo-jos.
(4)
Jevan W.
I'm another who has a long-term, intermittent, relationship with Fryer Tuck. For me, I would travel a long way for dipping sauce - the Jo-Jo's are exactly what I think of when you say Jo-Jo, okay so far, a 5...the chicken, is...alright, it's fried chicken, it's kinda bland for me, nothing special. I come here for the Jo-Jo's and that dip, did I mention the dip? Get the dip!
(4)
Anica S.
I will admit I wasn't sure how good the chicken would be but again I was reminded why you can't take reviews as face value, Fryer Tucks chicken is awesome! Great staff, dive bar, awesome happy hour menu & specials, tons of TV's on the Cider Mill side which is a plus for sports fans like myself. Their taters and dill dip.... To die for! Prices are totally reasonable, not to mention the portions are huge and I will definitely be back.
(4)
Robert C.
This review is from a portland native that grew up on this stuff. The food is great. great in regards to what it is. It's a grease trap. Don't come here expecting to have a salad or anything vegan...it's just not that kind of place. Through the years like any long time portland institution it's had its highs and it's lows. I must say that over the past couple of years the food has been very consistent and the place is way cleaner then years past. I suspect a new owner. If you want deep fried chicken and Jo Jo's go here. The dill dip is also amazing. While waiting for your food drop into the cozy old bar next door and check out the copper ceiling. I
(5)
Tres B.
Gloriously slow. The chicken and potatoes take forever. Henry Penny cookers are not quick. But the chicken here is fantastic, the potatoes are amazing and huge orders! This is a venerable spot is an in-the-know Portlandia tradition. A little treasure you've got to find if you've never been!
(4)
Elle H.
I was SO DISAPPOINTED with the Fryer ?Tuck chicken I got yesterday..it's been over 4 years since I last had and and - well you know how something very good can be anticipated in your mind and set the taste buds for that wonderful flavor? It didn't happen. the chicken, I ordered a breast and a thigh, was very dry with little of the old seasoning I remember so well from past years. Absolutely no juiciness, even with the thigh there was little flavor. After one bite of the huge breast, I decided to chunk it up into chicken salad-it didn't have any flavor at all. IMO it was very overcooked. Dunno whats going on with that place but it isn't nearly the great chicken I've had for many years. I had a good draft at the restaurant part while I was waiting and the spuds and dill dip were good. I won't go back..yet one more thing that seems to have headed southwards in quality..Damn it.
(2)
Cydney M.
If I could give this place less stars I would. Shame on them for making something delicious like fried chicken disgusting. Why does this place even exist, is it a drug front?
(1)
Craig H.
Best fried chicken I've ever had. Don't expect anything too fancy, just a plate of amazing chicken and some spuds.
(5)
Warren C.
I've gone to Fryer Tucks a few times with my friend Mario that loves this place. The service is like what most people have stated which is lacking. Kind of to be expected when it comes to a bar atmosphere. When we received our food order the gizzards are delectable. The potato wedges are complimented well with the dill sauce they provide. The chicken itself doesn't really standout for me but I will say that corporate environments such as Popeyes, Churches, and KFC have tainted my idea of what Fried chicken is supposed to taste like and I'm under the assumption that Fryer Tucks is really what chicken is supposed to taste like once sentenced to death by batter. Would definitely come again but with the same lower expectations that I have come before. One thing that I do want to mention is that being a minority, the regulars there really have a way to make you not feel welcome in this environment. That is one thing that is very interesting about living in the Portland metro area that you don't need to go too far to be discriminated by in regards to your ethnic background.
(3)
Wrecks M.
I just got back from this place and I have to say I am Impressed. I read the reviews and there were some good and bad ones, So I went to see for myself. The Place is kinda run down, BUT The Burger I got was Humungous! It was so Huge and GOOD! It hwas the Farmhouse Burger and it had tomatoes and oinions, but it also had an egg and some ham and bacon, the bacon was nice and Thick too! One of the best burgers I have had in portland. I dont usually eat burgers, but I was Super Hungry today. The waiting area where you place your order is small and the chairs are hard and high up. The Customer service was Great, The guy who took my order was really cool. It didnt take long for my order and there is also a bar in the restraunt. But I took my order to go.I wish I would have came in here sooner. I am leaving soon to another state and if I was staying, I would definately come here again.
(4)
Andrew S.
This spot has really good fried Chicken and JoJo's. More on the greasy side, but classic and original. Served in medium size cardboard box, loaded with JoJo's Chicken and batter is okay. Service is good. Never tried their Burger, so this is strictly on Chicken/JoJo/Ranch. Ranch dip is also good.
(3)
Shane N.
Albertson's deli is better. Seriously. I've heard so many good things about this place from so many people that I finally tried it and the food was terrible. I ordered the 3 piece snacker box and the chicken was over cooked, the batter was bitter, there were no seasoning to speak of...have these guys heard of salt? Unfortunately, the spuds were cooked in the same fashion. They were so thick that had it not been for the batter, the fries would have been soggy all the way to the surface. And the dipping sauce? Bland, bland, bland, it's as if they took ranch dressing, extracted all of the flavor and served it. Go to Albertson's deli, trust me, you'll get better food for half the price. By the way, I waited the full 20 minutes.
(1)
Robert H.
People think there are no dives in SW Portland, but they are wrong. Where there are people there are dives. And Fryer Tuck and its Cider Mill Restaurant is a dive with fried chicken on the side. My design savvy friend with the cool glasses holds her secret meetings there because she knows there would never in a million years be an agency-type spying at Fryer Tuck's, as opposed to, say, Clyde Common. The fried chicken has a medium thick and crunchy breading, unfortunately with little flavor. The chicken tenders are from another source, thicker a bit, but likewise unspicy. They do a unique jojo recipe, 3/8" French fries are breaded and fried with the same coating as the chicken. Another option is to have your fries prepared as "garlic fries" with a thinner coating of the same batter. It does make them crunchier, but not in any way garlic. For the fried chicken there is a standard ranch dip and the fries come with a sour cream and dill dip which is not that interesting. They have about a dozen taps, half macro, some war horses from Deschutes, and for Summer, some other light undistinguished micros. The place is filled with screens showing sports events and as I was leaving a band was setting up, so maybe it turns into a hot spot on Saturday night? It's a dark 80 year old building that has grown bit by bit with no plan, and filled with years' worth of promotional beer signs. Unlike many dives, it's clean, and like many dives it is a mashup of remodeling over 80 years. On the vast patio were a group of bearded guys in tee shirts and girls in summer thrift store dresses with their bikes. Inside there was a 60-something guy trying to make a move on a 40-something lady. He was talking about various friends or relatives getting out of or going into jail and taking highly important sounding calls on his feature phone. You heard it here, feature phones are going to make a comeback! At the bar was a medical professional from the local hospital relating jokes from anesthesiologists about 65-70 years ago in Germany, unimaginably offensive, I won't repeat here. People talking about misplaced passports after years of disuse. Talking about male ideal body image in relation to Iggy Pop and sharks swimming up the Columbia River. Others talking about their mobile service being cut off at midnight and the String Cheese Incident. As I was leaving, something was about to begin at the JCC, and the street was filled with nattily dressed gentlemen with white shirts and black suits in yamakas and their lady friends in finely tailored Summer dresses. If you are in the Hillsdale, Multnomah, Capitol Hill area, you're in the force field of Friar Tuck and the Cedar Mill Restaurant. If you want democratic and real, they serve it. What a great Summer microcosm in a little corner of SW Portland literally perched between Hillsdale and Multnomah.
(3)
Jonathan S.
Oh my, this was horrible. There was absolutely nothing of redeeming value from this chicken. The sign says that you'll have to wait 25 minutes for your chicken. Seems like they throw the chicken in for that FULL 25 minutes. They make no differentiation for the size of the pieces and the big breast is cooked just as long as the tiny wing. They seem to throw the fries in at the exact same time. The result? An inedible mess. I know what your thinking, but the homemade chips and salsa were good, right? Well, not in this lifetime. It was like eating a plate of salt. I knew right away this wasnt colonial times because that amount of salt would have made me a rich man in those days. I can't stress enough how much you should STAY AWAY from eating here.
(1)
Cherise F.
Fryer Tucks Chicken is the best chicken around. The pieces are huge and always cooked perfectly. The potato spikes with dill sauce are the stuff of dreams. However, the sides such as the coleslaw and beans I can take or leave. Betsy is right that the in-house dining experience isn't the best but I have been known to go eat a $5.00 2 piece snack box there (an extra $1.00 if you want a breast but they are huge!). If you go to Fryer tucks to eat in remember its a bar so no one under 21 allowed. Nothing beats the experience of driving home with your large cardboard crates of piping hot chicken and trying to keep your self from jimmying open the boxes for "just one" potato spike. If you do take out, do yourself a favor and buy twice as much as you need. Its just as good as left overs on day two!
(5)
Tirzah N.
fries, little john spuds and fried chicken are so good never had anything else and never will.
(4)
Rick W.
Great place to watch a game. The chicken is okay, I've definitely had better. Their mini corn dogs and tater tots were a little over deep fried. However their potato chips and fries were fantastic. (I didn't order all of this for myself, I was with a large group - I swear.) I probably wouldn't make a special trip, but if it was suggested by someone else, I might be up for trying it again.
(3)
Mark A.
Just remembered to review this place. I went a little over a year ago cuz I was in the neighborhood buying beers @ John's Market. I always wanted to try this place, & I was not disappointed. First off the beers I had while I was waiting were cold. I like that. Alaskan Amber if you are keeping score. It took me two beers until my chicken & JoJo's were ready. Don't expect fast, but expect delish. I drove all the way to Sherwood before actually eating the chicken & the stuff was still hot & good. I am a super huge fan of the JoJo's. Best I ever had. The dill sauce that came with it is not my choice, but it was not too bad if you like dill. I'll stick with Ranch & Tartar sauce myself. Chicken was right up there with anything I have ever had. LArge pieces too. I will definitely go back the next time I am in the neighborhood. It's worth it every time.
(4)
Steve K.
Fryer Tuck is probably my favorite fried chicken...Little John spuds (Jo-jos) are the best! I've been a patron since 1969 and it's never disappointed me.
(4)
Joseph H.
Pretty decent fried chicken. Imagine what the old chicken restaurants were like and you have the fryer. A road side diner, serving up fried chicken in a family style. Good fried chicken can be a lost art form, and reasonably priced fried chicken is as populated as the Dodo bird. Fryer Tuck has stuck to his guns serving up greasy crisps of chicken for decades. They definitely have it down pat, and even the pubescent kid on the phone who took our order had a handle on every inch of the fried bird. He quickly rattled off selections, gizzard pieces, and finally sides. Overall they were quick, inexpensive and pretty finger lickin' good as that Colonel used to say. All they would have to do to garner 5 stars on their to-go orders is touch up the ingredients. Is that Tyson chicken I detect under that crust? Please say it isn't? If they upgrade to a little more organic style, or had the offering, I'm sure it would be a crowd pleaser. Either way, it reminded me of younger days, baseball games, and hearty boxes of chicken after. If you're in the mood, it's great for a fix.
(4)
Mark S.
First time we went there we didn't order anything, turned right around and walked out because of the cigarette smell coming from the bar next door. Nothing against smokers, just don't like the smell of it mixed with my food. After the ban on smoking inside bars we decided to give it another try. Chicken tasted just like the potato wedges, burnt, stale, grease and was expensive. We could have got a better tasting chicken, more of it and for less at KFC or Popeye's. Looking at the reviews I guess you either love it or hate it. If you want bar food chicken well then here you go, have at it, I won't be back. How long have they been in business and why?
(1)
Well-Traveled I.
When we arrived (around 11:45 am - lunch workday), place was empty. But, as we waited for our food, the place started filling up. Ordered a snack box - breast, leg, and jojos. Portions are huge and everything is homemade. Sampled coworker's onion rings; very tasty - fresh onions, too! Chicken was fried a little longer than I like (for example, the skin was darker and definitely very crisp, the latter I love), but the chicken itself was so tasty and juicy. Staff was very friendly; it takes about 20 minutes to cook your food, so if you're expecting KFC time, go elsewhere - you won't appreciate the goodness that comes to those who wait.
(4)
Shaun O.
The bartender wouldn't break from her story long enough to greet us after standing there for nearly 10 minutes, thanks Mary..won't be back.
(1)
Scott H.
I took my dad here from out of town today because the way I remembered it, the chicken was fantastic. We ordered a 12 piece with two breasts, five thighs, and five legs. Somewhat disappointing, the breasts were dry and they threw in 4 wings along with 3 legs two thighs, and one unidentifiable item. When I asked about the wings, the answer was that he must not have read the order right so he just put in the usual for a 12 piece. She didn't ask if we wanted our missing thighs and legs, so I just blew it off. We ordered a side of gravy too, that when it finally came (after our second time asking for it), was cold and thick like paste. The jojos were as awesome as ever, really amazing, but the chicken was average, so I probably wont bother going back.
(3)
SD W.
We gave this place a try after living in the neighborhood for about 8 months. We ordered the chicken legs and thighs with spuds. What we got was an enormous box of "spuds" or thick, fried potatoes with just a few TINY pieces of fried chicken. The chicken would barely have made a decent portion for one person, let alone two people and there were enough spuds to feed 8-10 people. The flavor was incredibly disappointing - very bland, almost dry. The spuds were bad, too - they tasted exactly like the chicken, as I'm pretty sure they just fry it all together in the same vat of oil. It didn't appear to look or taste any healthier than KFC, either (not that you'd go here for health food, but if you're going to go all out for fried chicken and such, KFC tastes wayyy better and is cheaper). Not only that, but they force you to pay an extra $1 for the large, greasy, non-recyclable box that they give you for take-out orders. Seriously - who does that? They can't figure out a better packaging system than that? Anyway, glad we tried it, so we know we don't ever need to order from here again.
(1)
Eric L.
First thing I have to say is...plan ahead!! Never in my life have I had to wait 40 minutes for fried chicken and wings! I'm serious, no exagerating here. Got there at 8:45pm and ended up leaving with my food at 9:25pm!!! Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that they got my order wrong. Not acceptable, especially since there was no one else in there. Ok, now that I've vented, let's move on to the chicken. This place is great minus the long wait. The fried chicken reminded me so much of this place back home in Hawaii called Alice's Chicken. The pieces are huge and they're battered and fried to crispy perfection. The jojo's are to die for with ranch and/or their special dipping sauce. Their wings are good but nothing special. Typical Frank's Red Hot sauce and butter spicy sauce. I personally think I make better wings myself, but of course I'm biased. I would've given Fryer Tuck's a 5 star rating had it not been for the bad service, messed up order, and the super long wait. The food is definitely the best fried chicken I've eaten here in Oregon, but the counter is horrible. I hope they work on their customer service skills and work on getting the food out a bit faster. This place has so much potential if they actually try.
(4)
R T.
I don't get the hype here, the bar has no atmosphere I want to partake in and the chicken shops chicken isn't that good. Sorry but this place doesn't hold up to it's reputation. I'd come to expect great fried food from all my friends great reviews. blahh
(2)
MIKE J.
Fryer Tuck is the best fried chicken i have ever had .. sure i have never been to the south but i know good food and there chicken with little john spuds kick butt.. i have been eating there since the 70's and haver never left disapointed.get it to go and eat at a near by park are eat it in your car with a few napkins..love it love it love it
(5)
Ajia T.
I must lament, with all sincerity, that I do not crave fried chicken, nor do I especially enjoy fried food. Sometimes, though, when a girl is in her last couple of weeks of pregnaciousness and has been carefully avoiding high-sodium foods for weeks to reduce water retention...some fried goodness must be had. Hence, my decision to get take-out from Tuck's. Having lived near Multnomah Village for 8 years, I am familiar with the legend of said chicken, but have (gasp!) never actually eaten it. Let me assure you, it's everything you could want in a fried piece of birdie...a light, crispy coating envelops tender, juicy, meat. Watch for bone fragments at the joints, though - I found one in a breast piece. Speaking of which, the breasts are so huge, I could only eat 1 piece. It was seriously gigantic and nearly entirely took up it's own box! The sides are also quite good at Tuck's. I particularly enjoyed the macaroni salad, which was uniquely spiced and tasted damned fresh. Not made with creamy crap, it was refreshing and light. The baked beans were yummy, too - my husband actually wolfed them down before the rest of his food. The soft rolls were bleh. Now, the spuds....ah, the spuds! Those were incredible, especially with the dill dip everyone has raved about. Not heavily battered and just the right texture...mmm! I can't say this is the best fried chicken I've ever had, but I'm sure I'll return to Tuck's someday for fried goodness, when the mood strikes me. At only $15 for a complete, not-entirely-unhealthy meal for two people, it's definitely easy on the pocketbook, too.
(4)
Kevin J.
I might be biased as I used to frequent this place as a child when it was out in the Beaverton area over 20 years ago. But oh man do they have the crunchiest and largest pieces of fried chicken. The big reason I enjoy the place so much though has to go to the Little John spuds; crunchy coating on the outside, soft and yummy in the middle...and don't forget the dill dip to tag those luscious logs of goodness with! You will be satisfied...very affordable as well.
(5)
Tina P.
So sorry to say it but this place used to be so much better. I remember riding in the car with my dad--"all the way out there" (from the eastside) back in the 70s--to get their chicken and tators. It was such a treat in my childhood! Last time I ate here was in 2002-2003 and it was nothing like I remember. :(
(1)
Misty L.
I was in Portland just for the weekend and started craving some of Seattle's Ezell's chicken. In an effort to satisfy the craving I checked out Fryer Tuck chicken because of some of the reviews on Yelp. The service took FOREVER. They say you will wait 20 minutes for your order, we waited at least an hour and then when we finally did get our food, it was mediocre. The chicken was sort of meh, and the rest of the massive pile of food they put in front of me was inedible. I am a carbohydrate addict and I took one bite of the roll they gave me - thinking it's pretty hard to mess up a roll - and was just done with my meal. Sadly disappointing experience.
(1)
Denise D.
LIke several of the other reviewers, I've been going to Fryer Tuck's (the one on Walker and Cedar Hills that's no longer there) since I was a kid. We didn't want KFC when I was a kid, we wanted Fryer Tuck! Who else had Little John Spuds and Fryer Tuck Sauce (okay, it sounds a little wrong, but tastes so right!)? I wasn't into any of the other food as a kid, except maybe the rolls, but my family loved everything else on the menu. So, fast forward 40 years. My neighborhood restaurant is gone, the remaining one has changed owners many times, and it seems the magic of Fryer Tuck has worn down a bit. Admittedly, my 4-star rating is heavily padded with nostalgia. Still, even without nostalgic influences, I've not had the bad experiences described by fellow reviewers. Tonight I wanted some Little John Spuds. I haven't eaten at Fryer Tuck's since the new owners took over. I called the restaurant, placed my order and was told it would be ready in 20 minutes. I hopped in my car, got there about 15 minutes later and everything was ready and waiting for me. The young man waiting on me was friendly and thoughtful. I ate my food at home and the spuds were as amazing as ever. The sauce tasted like the recipe might have changed but I'm not sure about that. I was so full after a few spuds and a bottle of pop that I'll have to have the baked beans, macaroni salad and rolls for another meal. So, overall I'm still a huge fan of the place. It's definitely not gourmet or super healthy fare, so if that's what you're after, you're at the wrong place. But if you're willing to dig into some grease and know that you either have to call ahead or plan to wait if you dine in, then you won't regret it.
(4)
Gregg A.
This place is fantastic. If you love fried chicken this is the place for you. I would only recommend ordering your food by phone and taking it home. The bar attached to the takeout restaurant is a pretty disgusting dive bar...very smoky and ruins the dinner. I've only tried to eat there once and it ruined the great food. We get a box of breasts, wings, and Jo-Jo's. Finger licking good! It's perfect for a late evening dinner at home with beer while watching the game.
(5)
Kenneth H.
The fried chicken here is damn good. I have only done takeout, and you can take home a huge amount of food for super cheap. Not only does Fryer Tuck satisfy in the quantity department, but also in the quality! The chicken is always juicy, well seasoned, perfectly cooked and practically dripping off the bone. The Jo-Jo's (Little John Spuds) are joygasmic, and make me feel dirty just for continually shoveling them into my mouth. They also serve the typical sides...various slaws, and salads, but I wasn't overly impressed with any of them. I have never really been a fan of take out chicken (popeyes or KFC, etc) but I am smitten with Fryer Tuck. Thank you Fryer for helping me re-discover my love of fried chicken! Warning: When you eat this well, be prepared for a little battle with the bowel gods the next day as this much grease is not actually for human consumption.
(4)
Jey R.
Great fried chicken. Some of the most delicious potatoes.
(5)
Kim B.
Spuds are amazing! I wasn't very fond of the house dipping sauce but the chicken and potato salad was yummy. Again expect a wait bit it is quality chicken.
(4)
NANCY H.
This is the best friend chicken I've had in long time. Eat your heart out KFC! We ordered the dinner for two plus onion rings which include a side of choice, baked beans, two sweet rolls, 4 pieces of very large chicken pieces, jojo's, and a dip for your potatoes. After waiting practically 30 minutes (they were busy), we received one big box full of the crispiest onion rings I've ever had AND another huge box of this mound of jojo's and chicken. I was like...all this for just $14 bucks. I'm in love! The wait was all worth it. I love fried chicken and this was seasoned spicy and everything was big and gooood! I would recommend this place for take-out and order ahead. Great for picnics, games, or some at home grubbin' (so you can lick your fingers without shame)! Good For: best fried chicken in Oregon, picnic lunch
(5)
Violet T.
The fried chicken was decent, but not as special as I had hoped. I heard a lot of hype about this place, and my favorite thing was the jojos. I asked the waitress if the chicken wings as an appetizer were super spicy, she said she could make them really mild... even my boyfriend, who eats spicy food, was struggling they were so hot. Some people like this, but we wouldn't have ordered them, we would have picked something else. And the wings took just as long (35 minutes) to come out as our fried chicken. We ordered an appetizer because we heard the wait was long... My drink was nice an strong though, so that helped. I will probably just make my fried chicken at home from now on, and maybe call in an order for the spuds.
(3)
John M.
This place should be revisited by the food press in town. It's fried chicken, not health food. But it's some of the best fried chicken you'll ever have--and the pieces are LARGE and inexpensive. This dude Mark S. doesn't know what he's talking about. KFC and Popeyes are mass-produced garbage.
(4)
Mark G.
I've been eating take out here for at least 35 years, and I've never had a bad meal. The other comments are spot on....delicious, crunchy and juicy fried chicken and great spuds. Never a fan of the "dip"...kind of bland and I prefer to use ranch....but the baked beans have always more than made up for it. Unlike any I've ever had, with a deep mahogany color and a rich molasses flavor. Yesterday, I decided to eat in at the attached bar. Big mistake. At first, I was enthused...the menu has been expanded and I saw an article on the wall about a new owner. Great! Good to see someone young taking over, and the new menu items indicated some ambition to succeed. Unfortunately, my enthusiasm was short-lived. The service was atrocious and slow, with my waitress getting my order wrong twice. But, even worse, the food was really bad. While my chicken breast was good, the spuds were overcooked and dry...just crunchy dry shells with nothing inside. And the beans I've loved for a lifetime are gone. In their place, some really generic, out of the can baked beans that I didn't even finish. If I had never been here before, I would give it one star and never return, however, 35 years of good food earns them an additional star and a second chance. I'm worried, though, that the new owner has lost what has made this place great for so long. An expanded menu is fine, but there's a reason Fryer Tuck has been in business for this long, so don't screw it up! Do the basics right. I hope I'm wrong about this place going downhill, because I love(d) it. One more chance.
(2)
Betsy C.
My husband and I made the mistake many before us have made. We were even warned not to do it, but we just couldn't stop ourselves. Instead of ordering takeout, we ate in. And apparently it was a bad night. One of the fryers apparently broke during dinner service, causing all fried chicken to take 5 billion years to cook, causing many tables to leave, and many to go customers to stand there angrily. Thankfully we didn't enter the building absolutely DYING to eat, so we made ourselves at home in the "restaurant" that is really more like a bar with pool tables, lotto games, etc. As that's not really my style, I was a bit nervous, but no one else was really there so it was all good. We changed the channel to whatever we wanted, laid back, and waited for our food. (We were warned the chicken would take 30-45 minutes, but we've also heard it'd be worth it.) While we waiting, we had multiple conversations with the waitress concerning topics such as her angry customers (one claiming the swiss cheese wasn't "real" swiss) to my own personal food poisoning a few weeks earlier to the waitress' case of food poisoning that ruined her trip to Spain and she'll never go back. Only by the time we DID get our food, we had waited about 1.5 hours, which was a tad annoying because by that point, we WERE dying to eat. On to the food! MAN did it make up for how long it took to get it! Since it was still happy hour (the hours of which had changed the day before) we got a dozen hot wings for $6. Not too shabby. They weren't worth four stars, but they WERE worth $6. It wasn't what I was there for, anyway. The fried chicken. Oh, the fried chicken. It was fried to a dark, rich color and right away I knew it'd be heavenly. And it was. So crispy and juicy and all that fried chicken should be! The spuds weren't too shabby either. They are the battered and wedged variety which is really pretty tasty. These two items alone are worth five delicious, greasy stars. I have to admit, however, that before I was even finished eating, I felt a rumbling in the stomach, and we all know what that means. Typically I hold my friend chicken well, but not here. It is some serious (and seriously tasty) heavy food! In the end, neither of us would eat in again, but we weren't sorry we did the first time. We left feeling like we were over at our new BFF's (i.e. the waitress) place making ourselves at home. A home that would've been totally obnoxious had it been full of bar-type people doing bar-type things. I'd definitely get some chicken and spuds to go, though, and hope for a better outcome in the stomach department, because MAN was it good! Oh, and my husband got a pulled pork (or was it chicken?) sandwich which was super juicy and came with a homemade sauce that was to die for. It came on a nice ciabatta roll, though, which was greatly appreciated because it held the runny sauce very well.
(4)
Glenda S.
Fryer Tuck Chicken is GONE! This was the last one and I'm guessing the other reviews are new and have no idea what it should have tasted like. This place only deserved ONE STAR since they had the order done when we went to pick it up. Had we known what they did to the original recipe we would have walked out and not wasted $35.00 on tasteless crap! We left a tip is why it added up to that amount since the cook did finish the order. Got ripped off for four thighs, six wings, one order of spuds, one pint of dip and coleslaw for $35.00?????? The spuds were so disappointing as they were missing an important spice or this new owner is just being cheap in leaving it out! Will NEVER use this lousy food business again! The coleslaw use to come in TWO PARTS which the buyer put together for better freshness. Either we didn't get the SECOND part or this place is making the worst tasting coleslaw that has NO TASTE! The dip was okay, but it didn't even enhance the tasteless spuds that use to be one of kind taste. Chicken was so-so since they still seem to use Oregon chicken, but it was missing the marvelous taste of Fryer Tuck's missing flavor which is sad. Will be buying the chicken from the store in their deli section that at least has a decent taste.
(1)
Jeff R.
Aside from the fact that the chicken is salty- and has no other flavor to speak of. Their Cole Slaw is also tasteless. The final straw was a pebble in the (also flavorless) baked beans. You KNOW you're in a shitty restaurant when the staff doesn't ask "how was everything" at ANY point. The rolls were edible if a dry super-market roll with a little margarine is your style. The "spuds" are basically deep fried, greasy and disgusting potato wedges. You couldn't pay me to eat there again..
(1)
Paul T.
Fryer Tuck's fried chicken is pretty darn good. Cooked to perfection, not too greasy, large breasts, and crispy wings...yummy! I would highly recommend calling ahead for take out as seating is very limited. Their website features a menu.
(4)
Dave C.
Moist and juicy....can I write that on Yelp? If you like good fried chicken this is the place for you. The decor is pretty eclectic and the dining area is tucked in between a bar, sitting down for lunch with my young kids in a bar was a little different. We also split an order of garlic fries which were tender and flavorful. It's way out of the way for us but definitely worth the trip, but if I am with my kids again I'll probably do take out.
(5)
tim a.
We tried this looking for the best chicken in Portland. Although the staff was courteous and quick, the food was totally sub-par. Chicken was really greasy, although moist inside, potato salad was undercooked and crunchy as well as weird sour tasting (spoiled?). Dill dipping sauce wasn't mixed. Altogether a poor performance. Will not repeat.
(1)
Rebecca H.
Staff is nice and attentive. Location is decent. Happy hour is average, at best. Sucks if you're not a smoker because the place stinks of fresh cigarettes. Smoke is continuously coming in from the back patio. BTW patio is ok, kinda dirty. NOT a good place to watch any game!!! Here's why: 1. Not enough TVs 2. Sound is terrible 3. The channels are on different stations. So some TVs are 10 to 20 seconds ahead of others. I will not watch another game here.
(2)
Mark C.
Not good. Just go to KFC.
(1)
Mike N.
It's always really frustrating to order food at a place and watch other people who came in after you arrived be fed, pay their bill, and then leave before your waitress even acknowledges that your food will eventually make its way out of the kitchen. Thirty minutes went by before our waitress came by and informed us that the food would be another 20 minutes. She blamed this on the kitchen, we accepted this, good-natured, and she asked us if maybe we would like something to tide us over. We asked for just some chips & salsa as my wife was starving at this point. Other people's fried chicken came by and smelled amazing, but ours was nowhere in sight. We proceeded to eat some of the chips but were trying to not ruin our appetite. Finally, about an hour after we ordered, the chicken did arrive. It was quite tasty. The jojo fries were good. Portions are massive. Bill arrived and they decided that charging us $5 for the chips and (canned) salsa that they served us because they forgot to place our order was a reasonable thing to do. I informed the waitress that I am not about to pay for something we barely ate and would not have ordered if we were not starving and they had not forgotten about us. Long story short, the chicken is good, but I can't deal with waiting that long and then being expected to pay 5 bucks for a half-eaten order of unwanted chips and Pace salsa.. I live close by but I can't imagine I will come back. This was our first time coming in and you lost two customers who love dive bars and fried chicken.
(2)
M S.
Always good chicken been coming here for over 30 years including the old building.. never a bad meal the spuds are the bomb.. if you dont use all the chicken let it cool and shred it and make a chicken salad so yummy
(5)
L S.
Very inconsistent. Fabulous one time, tastes like old oil the next. Sometimes perfect ... Sometimes way overdone. They need quality control to keep me coming as the prices are increasing.
(3)
Karen P.
Fun local bar with regularly scheduled activities for locals. Plus the chicken & spuds are the best!
(5)
Matthew H.
This place was legendary for so long buy every year for the last 5 it has gotten worst. How do you over cook a chicken breast so bad and then still need to cut a big gash in it to make sure it's done is beyond me. What a joke!!!
(1)
L. C.
I just had a birthday party for my two year old and we bought a huge box of jojo potatoes and chicken legs and I've already had four friends ask where I got the joes. The chicken legs were gone in 10 minutes and someone ended up taking the box of joes when they left. WTH? They are so good that my friend asked me to bring some to her party and my pregnant friend asked me to bring some to her shower but not to share with her guests :). Best Joes in Portland! My son ended up only getting one leg and he freaked out because he wanted another. Bottom line... Make sure you buy enough legs to circumvent a tantrum and enough joes so your pregnant friends don't eat yours :). One thing though... The people that work there are super rude like, if their chicken sucked, I would never go in again. That's just an FYI.
Takes Reservations : No Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Dinner Parking : Private Lot Bike Parking : No Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : No Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Loud Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : Yes Wi-Fi : No Has TV : Yes Waiter Service : Yes Caters : Yes
Glenda S.
Fryer Tuck Chicken is GONE! This was the last one and I'm guessing the other reviews are new and have no idea what it should have tasted like. This place only deserved ONE STAR since they had the order done when we went to pick it up. Had we known what they did to the original recipe we would have walked out and not wasted $35.00 on tasteless crap! We left a tip is why it added up to that amount since the cook did finish the order. Got ripped off for four thighs, six wings, one order of spuds, one pint of dip and coleslaw for $35.00?????? The spuds were so disappointing as they were missing an important spice or this new owner is just being cheap in leaving it out! Will NEVER use this lousy food business again! The coleslaw use to come in TWO PARTS which the buyer put together for better freshness. Either we didn't get the SECOND part or this place is making the worst tasting coleslaw that has NO TASTE! The dip was okay, but it didn't even enhance the tasteless spuds that use to be one of kind taste. Chicken was so-so since they still seem to use Oregon chicken, but it was missing the marvelous taste of Fryer Tuck's missing flavor which is sad. Will be buying the chicken from the store in their deli section that at least has a decent taste.
(1)Jeff R.
Aside from the fact that the chicken is salty- and has no other flavor to speak of. Their Cole Slaw is also tasteless. The final straw was a pebble in the (also flavorless) baked beans. You KNOW you're in a shitty restaurant when the staff doesn't ask "how was everything" at ANY point. The rolls were edible if a dry super-market roll with a little margarine is your style. The "spuds" are basically deep fried, greasy and disgusting potato wedges. You couldn't pay me to eat there again..
(1)Paul T.
Fryer Tuck's fried chicken is pretty darn good. Cooked to perfection, not too greasy, large breasts, and crispy wings...yummy! I would highly recommend calling ahead for take out as seating is very limited. Their website features a menu.
(4)Ajia T.
I must lament, with all sincerity, that I do not crave fried chicken, nor do I especially enjoy fried food. Sometimes, though, when a girl is in her last couple of weeks of pregnaciousness and has been carefully avoiding high-sodium foods for weeks to reduce water retention...some fried goodness must be had. Hence, my decision to get take-out from Tuck's. Having lived near Multnomah Village for 8 years, I am familiar with the legend of said chicken, but have (gasp!) never actually eaten it. Let me assure you, it's everything you could want in a fried piece of birdie...a light, crispy coating envelops tender, juicy, meat. Watch for bone fragments at the joints, though - I found one in a breast piece. Speaking of which, the breasts are so huge, I could only eat 1 piece. It was seriously gigantic and nearly entirely took up it's own box! The sides are also quite good at Tuck's. I particularly enjoyed the macaroni salad, which was uniquely spiced and tasted damned fresh. Not made with creamy crap, it was refreshing and light. The baked beans were yummy, too - my husband actually wolfed them down before the rest of his food. The soft rolls were bleh. Now, the spuds....ah, the spuds! Those were incredible, especially with the dill dip everyone has raved about. Not heavily battered and just the right texture...mmm! I can't say this is the best fried chicken I've ever had, but I'm sure I'll return to Tuck's someday for fried goodness, when the mood strikes me. At only $15 for a complete, not-entirely-unhealthy meal for two people, it's definitely easy on the pocketbook, too.
(4)Kevin J.
I might be biased as I used to frequent this place as a child when it was out in the Beaverton area over 20 years ago. But oh man do they have the crunchiest and largest pieces of fried chicken. The big reason I enjoy the place so much though has to go to the Little John spuds; crunchy coating on the outside, soft and yummy in the middle...and don't forget the dill dip to tag those luscious logs of goodness with! You will be satisfied...very affordable as well.
(5)Tina P.
So sorry to say it but this place used to be so much better. I remember riding in the car with my dad--"all the way out there" (from the eastside) back in the 70s--to get their chicken and tators. It was such a treat in my childhood! Last time I ate here was in 2002-2003 and it was nothing like I remember. :(
(1)Misty L.
I was in Portland just for the weekend and started craving some of Seattle's Ezell's chicken. In an effort to satisfy the craving I checked out Fryer Tuck chicken because of some of the reviews on Yelp. The service took FOREVER. They say you will wait 20 minutes for your order, we waited at least an hour and then when we finally did get our food, it was mediocre. The chicken was sort of meh, and the rest of the massive pile of food they put in front of me was inedible. I am a carbohydrate addict and I took one bite of the roll they gave me - thinking it's pretty hard to mess up a roll - and was just done with my meal. Sadly disappointing experience.
(1)Kim B.
Spuds are amazing! I wasn't very fond of the house dipping sauce but the chicken and potato salad was yummy. Again expect a wait bit it is quality chicken.
(4)NANCY H.
This is the best friend chicken I've had in long time. Eat your heart out KFC! We ordered the dinner for two plus onion rings which include a side of choice, baked beans, two sweet rolls, 4 pieces of very large chicken pieces, jojo's, and a dip for your potatoes. After waiting practically 30 minutes (they were busy), we received one big box full of the crispiest onion rings I've ever had AND another huge box of this mound of jojo's and chicken. I was like...all this for just $14 bucks. I'm in love! The wait was all worth it. I love fried chicken and this was seasoned spicy and everything was big and gooood! I would recommend this place for take-out and order ahead. Great for picnics, games, or some at home grubbin' (so you can lick your fingers without shame)! Good For: best fried chicken in Oregon, picnic lunch
(5)Betsy C.
My husband and I made the mistake many before us have made. We were even warned not to do it, but we just couldn't stop ourselves. Instead of ordering takeout, we ate in. And apparently it was a bad night. One of the fryers apparently broke during dinner service, causing all fried chicken to take 5 billion years to cook, causing many tables to leave, and many to go customers to stand there angrily. Thankfully we didn't enter the building absolutely DYING to eat, so we made ourselves at home in the "restaurant" that is really more like a bar with pool tables, lotto games, etc. As that's not really my style, I was a bit nervous, but no one else was really there so it was all good. We changed the channel to whatever we wanted, laid back, and waited for our food. (We were warned the chicken would take 30-45 minutes, but we've also heard it'd be worth it.) While we waiting, we had multiple conversations with the waitress concerning topics such as her angry customers (one claiming the swiss cheese wasn't "real" swiss) to my own personal food poisoning a few weeks earlier to the waitress' case of food poisoning that ruined her trip to Spain and she'll never go back. Only by the time we DID get our food, we had waited about 1.5 hours, which was a tad annoying because by that point, we WERE dying to eat. On to the food! MAN did it make up for how long it took to get it! Since it was still happy hour (the hours of which had changed the day before) we got a dozen hot wings for $6. Not too shabby. They weren't worth four stars, but they WERE worth $6. It wasn't what I was there for, anyway. The fried chicken. Oh, the fried chicken. It was fried to a dark, rich color and right away I knew it'd be heavenly. And it was. So crispy and juicy and all that fried chicken should be! The spuds weren't too shabby either. They are the battered and wedged variety which is really pretty tasty. These two items alone are worth five delicious, greasy stars. I have to admit, however, that before I was even finished eating, I felt a rumbling in the stomach, and we all know what that means. Typically I hold my friend chicken well, but not here. It is some serious (and seriously tasty) heavy food! In the end, neither of us would eat in again, but we weren't sorry we did the first time. We left feeling like we were over at our new BFF's (i.e. the waitress) place making ourselves at home. A home that would've been totally obnoxious had it been full of bar-type people doing bar-type things. I'd definitely get some chicken and spuds to go, though, and hope for a better outcome in the stomach department, because MAN was it good! Oh, and my husband got a pulled pork (or was it chicken?) sandwich which was super juicy and came with a homemade sauce that was to die for. It came on a nice ciabatta roll, though, which was greatly appreciated because it held the runny sauce very well.
(4)Denise D.
LIke several of the other reviewers, I've been going to Fryer Tuck's (the one on Walker and Cedar Hills that's no longer there) since I was a kid. We didn't want KFC when I was a kid, we wanted Fryer Tuck! Who else had Little John Spuds and Fryer Tuck Sauce (okay, it sounds a little wrong, but tastes so right!)? I wasn't into any of the other food as a kid, except maybe the rolls, but my family loved everything else on the menu. So, fast forward 40 years. My neighborhood restaurant is gone, the remaining one has changed owners many times, and it seems the magic of Fryer Tuck has worn down a bit. Admittedly, my 4-star rating is heavily padded with nostalgia. Still, even without nostalgic influences, I've not had the bad experiences described by fellow reviewers. Tonight I wanted some Little John Spuds. I haven't eaten at Fryer Tuck's since the new owners took over. I called the restaurant, placed my order and was told it would be ready in 20 minutes. I hopped in my car, got there about 15 minutes later and everything was ready and waiting for me. The young man waiting on me was friendly and thoughtful. I ate my food at home and the spuds were as amazing as ever. The sauce tasted like the recipe might have changed but I'm not sure about that. I was so full after a few spuds and a bottle of pop that I'll have to have the baked beans, macaroni salad and rolls for another meal. So, overall I'm still a huge fan of the place. It's definitely not gourmet or super healthy fare, so if that's what you're after, you're at the wrong place. But if you're willing to dig into some grease and know that you either have to call ahead or plan to wait if you dine in, then you won't regret it.
(4)Gregg A.
This place is fantastic. If you love fried chicken this is the place for you. I would only recommend ordering your food by phone and taking it home. The bar attached to the takeout restaurant is a pretty disgusting dive bar...very smoky and ruins the dinner. I've only tried to eat there once and it ruined the great food. We get a box of breasts, wings, and Jo-Jo's. Finger licking good! It's perfect for a late evening dinner at home with beer while watching the game.
(5)Kenneth H.
The fried chicken here is damn good. I have only done takeout, and you can take home a huge amount of food for super cheap. Not only does Fryer Tuck satisfy in the quantity department, but also in the quality! The chicken is always juicy, well seasoned, perfectly cooked and practically dripping off the bone. The Jo-Jo's (Little John Spuds) are joygasmic, and make me feel dirty just for continually shoveling them into my mouth. They also serve the typical sides...various slaws, and salads, but I wasn't overly impressed with any of them. I have never really been a fan of take out chicken (popeyes or KFC, etc) but I am smitten with Fryer Tuck. Thank you Fryer for helping me re-discover my love of fried chicken! Warning: When you eat this well, be prepared for a little battle with the bowel gods the next day as this much grease is not actually for human consumption.
(4)Jey R.
Great fried chicken. Some of the most delicious potatoes.
(5)Violet T.
The fried chicken was decent, but not as special as I had hoped. I heard a lot of hype about this place, and my favorite thing was the jojos. I asked the waitress if the chicken wings as an appetizer were super spicy, she said she could make them really mild... even my boyfriend, who eats spicy food, was struggling they were so hot. Some people like this, but we wouldn't have ordered them, we would have picked something else. And the wings took just as long (35 minutes) to come out as our fried chicken. We ordered an appetizer because we heard the wait was long... My drink was nice an strong though, so that helped. I will probably just make my fried chicken at home from now on, and maybe call in an order for the spuds.
(3)John M.
This place should be revisited by the food press in town. It's fried chicken, not health food. But it's some of the best fried chicken you'll ever have--and the pieces are LARGE and inexpensive. This dude Mark S. doesn't know what he's talking about. KFC and Popeyes are mass-produced garbage.
(4)Mark G.
I've been eating take out here for at least 35 years, and I've never had a bad meal. The other comments are spot on....delicious, crunchy and juicy fried chicken and great spuds. Never a fan of the "dip"...kind of bland and I prefer to use ranch....but the baked beans have always more than made up for it. Unlike any I've ever had, with a deep mahogany color and a rich molasses flavor. Yesterday, I decided to eat in at the attached bar. Big mistake. At first, I was enthused...the menu has been expanded and I saw an article on the wall about a new owner. Great! Good to see someone young taking over, and the new menu items indicated some ambition to succeed. Unfortunately, my enthusiasm was short-lived. The service was atrocious and slow, with my waitress getting my order wrong twice. But, even worse, the food was really bad. While my chicken breast was good, the spuds were overcooked and dry...just crunchy dry shells with nothing inside. And the beans I've loved for a lifetime are gone. In their place, some really generic, out of the can baked beans that I didn't even finish. If I had never been here before, I would give it one star and never return, however, 35 years of good food earns them an additional star and a second chance. I'm worried, though, that the new owner has lost what has made this place great for so long. An expanded menu is fine, but there's a reason Fryer Tuck has been in business for this long, so don't screw it up! Do the basics right. I hope I'm wrong about this place going downhill, because I love(d) it. One more chance.
(2)Matthew H.
This place was legendary for so long buy every year for the last 5 it has gotten worst. How do you over cook a chicken breast so bad and then still need to cut a big gash in it to make sure it's done is beyond me. What a joke!!!
(1)L S.
Very inconsistent. Fabulous one time, tastes like old oil the next. Sometimes perfect ... Sometimes way overdone. They need quality control to keep me coming as the prices are increasing.
(3)Karen P.
Fun local bar with regularly scheduled activities for locals. Plus the chicken & spuds are the best!
(5)L. C.
I just had a birthday party for my two year old and we bought a huge box of jojo potatoes and chicken legs and I've already had four friends ask where I got the joes. The chicken legs were gone in 10 minutes and someone ended up taking the box of joes when they left. WTH? They are so good that my friend asked me to bring some to her party and my pregnant friend asked me to bring some to her shower but not to share with her guests :). Best Joes in Portland! My son ended up only getting one leg and he freaked out because he wanted another. Bottom line... Make sure you buy enough legs to circumvent a tantrum and enough joes so your pregnant friends don't eat yours :). One thing though... The people that work there are super rude like, if their chicken sucked, I would never go in again. That's just an FYI.
(5)Lisa E.
Total white trash bar with said white trash patrons singing along to the country music jukebox. Run-down inside and somewhat sketchy but pretty typical for a dive bar. The service was good--our waitress was really nice. The food? It was decent but not the best fried chicken I've ever had. The jojos and mac n' cheese salad were AMAZING. So so so good! The chicken was pretty good but again, not the best fried chicken I've ever had. The one bonus: the chicken was juicy and not dried out (like Delta Cafe has been for me!).
(3)Clay H.
This will be short. We walked in and were greeted by a person on the chicken side of the place, but were told to sit in the restaurant if we wanted to stay. We sat at a table in a bar section next to some people who were cussing about something. Then after about 5 minutes of listening to them and some game we didn't care about, we moved into a different section hoping for someone to notice us. Well, that attention we desired never appeared. We left after 10 more minutes without seeing another employee. One made a half assed attempt to retain us when we were heading out the door, but it fell on deaf ears. Maybe she should visit with her friends less?
(1)Rebecca H.
Staff is nice and attentive. Location is decent. Happy hour is average, at best. Sucks if you're not a smoker because the place stinks of fresh cigarettes. Smoke is continuously coming in from the back patio. BTW patio is ok, kinda dirty. NOT a good place to watch any game!!! Here's why: 1. Not enough TVs 2. Sound is terrible 3. The channels are on different stations. So some TVs are 10 to 20 seconds ahead of others. I will not watch another game here.
(2)Mark C.
Not good. Just go to KFC.
(1)Scott H.
I took my dad here from out of town today because the way I remembered it, the chicken was fantastic. We ordered a 12 piece with two breasts, five thighs, and five legs. Somewhat disappointing, the breasts were dry and they threw in 4 wings along with 3 legs two thighs, and one unidentifiable item. When I asked about the wings, the answer was that he must not have read the order right so he just put in the usual for a 12 piece. She didn't ask if we wanted our missing thighs and legs, so I just blew it off. We ordered a side of gravy too, that when it finally came (after our second time asking for it), was cold and thick like paste. The jojos were as awesome as ever, really amazing, but the chicken was average, so I probably wont bother going back.
(3)Steve K.
Fryer Tuck is probably my favorite fried chicken...Little John spuds (Jo-jos) are the best! I've been a patron since 1969 and it's never disappointed me.
(4)Robert H.
People think there are no dives in SW Portland, but they are wrong. Where there are people there are dives. And Fryer Tuck and its Cider Mill Restaurant is a dive with fried chicken on the side. My design savvy friend with the cool glasses holds her secret meetings there because she knows there would never in a million years be an agency-type spying at Fryer Tuck's, as opposed to, say, Clyde Common. The fried chicken has a medium thick and crunchy breading, unfortunately with little flavor. The chicken tenders are from another source, thicker a bit, but likewise unspicy. They do a unique jojo recipe, 3/8" French fries are breaded and fried with the same coating as the chicken. Another option is to have your fries prepared as "garlic fries" with a thinner coating of the same batter. It does make them crunchier, but not in any way garlic. For the fried chicken there is a standard ranch dip and the fries come with a sour cream and dill dip which is not that interesting. They have about a dozen taps, half macro, some war horses from Deschutes, and for Summer, some other light undistinguished micros. The place is filled with screens showing sports events and as I was leaving a band was setting up, so maybe it turns into a hot spot on Saturday night? It's a dark 80 year old building that has grown bit by bit with no plan, and filled with years' worth of promotional beer signs. Unlike many dives, it's clean, and like many dives it is a mashup of remodeling over 80 years. On the vast patio were a group of bearded guys in tee shirts and girls in summer thrift store dresses with their bikes. Inside there was a 60-something guy trying to make a move on a 40-something lady. He was talking about various friends or relatives getting out of or going into jail and taking highly important sounding calls on his feature phone. You heard it here, feature phones are going to make a comeback! At the bar was a medical professional from the local hospital relating jokes from anesthesiologists about 65-70 years ago in Germany, unimaginably offensive, I won't repeat here. People talking about misplaced passports after years of disuse. Talking about male ideal body image in relation to Iggy Pop and sharks swimming up the Columbia River. Others talking about their mobile service being cut off at midnight and the String Cheese Incident. As I was leaving, something was about to begin at the JCC, and the street was filled with nattily dressed gentlemen with white shirts and black suits in yamakas and their lady friends in finely tailored Summer dresses. If you are in the Hillsdale, Multnomah, Capitol Hill area, you're in the force field of Friar Tuck and the Cedar Mill Restaurant. If you want democratic and real, they serve it. What a great Summer microcosm in a little corner of SW Portland literally perched between Hillsdale and Multnomah.
(3)Jonathan S.
Oh my, this was horrible. There was absolutely nothing of redeeming value from this chicken. The sign says that you'll have to wait 25 minutes for your chicken. Seems like they throw the chicken in for that FULL 25 minutes. They make no differentiation for the size of the pieces and the big breast is cooked just as long as the tiny wing. They seem to throw the fries in at the exact same time. The result? An inedible mess. I know what your thinking, but the homemade chips and salsa were good, right? Well, not in this lifetime. It was like eating a plate of salt. I knew right away this wasnt colonial times because that amount of salt would have made me a rich man in those days. I can't stress enough how much you should STAY AWAY from eating here.
(1)Warren C.
I've gone to Fryer Tucks a few times with my friend Mario that loves this place. The service is like what most people have stated which is lacking. Kind of to be expected when it comes to a bar atmosphere. When we received our food order the gizzards are delectable. The potato wedges are complimented well with the dill sauce they provide. The chicken itself doesn't really standout for me but I will say that corporate environments such as Popeyes, Churches, and KFC have tainted my idea of what Fried chicken is supposed to taste like and I'm under the assumption that Fryer Tucks is really what chicken is supposed to taste like once sentenced to death by batter. Would definitely come again but with the same lower expectations that I have come before. One thing that I do want to mention is that being a minority, the regulars there really have a way to make you not feel welcome in this environment. That is one thing that is very interesting about living in the Portland metro area that you don't need to go too far to be discriminated by in regards to your ethnic background.
(3)Wrecks M.
I just got back from this place and I have to say I am Impressed. I read the reviews and there were some good and bad ones, So I went to see for myself. The Place is kinda run down, BUT The Burger I got was Humungous! It was so Huge and GOOD! It hwas the Farmhouse Burger and it had tomatoes and oinions, but it also had an egg and some ham and bacon, the bacon was nice and Thick too! One of the best burgers I have had in portland. I dont usually eat burgers, but I was Super Hungry today. The waiting area where you place your order is small and the chairs are hard and high up. The Customer service was Great, The guy who took my order was really cool. It didnt take long for my order and there is also a bar in the restraunt. But I took my order to go.I wish I would have came in here sooner. I am leaving soon to another state and if I was staying, I would definately come here again.
(4)Andrew S.
This spot has really good fried Chicken and JoJo's. More on the greasy side, but classic and original. Served in medium size cardboard box, loaded with JoJo's Chicken and batter is okay. Service is good. Never tried their Burger, so this is strictly on Chicken/JoJo/Ranch. Ranch dip is also good.
(3)Shane N.
Albertson's deli is better. Seriously. I've heard so many good things about this place from so many people that I finally tried it and the food was terrible. I ordered the 3 piece snacker box and the chicken was over cooked, the batter was bitter, there were no seasoning to speak of...have these guys heard of salt? Unfortunately, the spuds were cooked in the same fashion. They were so thick that had it not been for the batter, the fries would have been soggy all the way to the surface. And the dipping sauce? Bland, bland, bland, it's as if they took ranch dressing, extracted all of the flavor and served it. Go to Albertson's deli, trust me, you'll get better food for half the price. By the way, I waited the full 20 minutes.
(1)Cherise F.
Fryer Tucks Chicken is the best chicken around. The pieces are huge and always cooked perfectly. The potato spikes with dill sauce are the stuff of dreams. However, the sides such as the coleslaw and beans I can take or leave. Betsy is right that the in-house dining experience isn't the best but I have been known to go eat a $5.00 2 piece snack box there (an extra $1.00 if you want a breast but they are huge!). If you go to Fryer tucks to eat in remember its a bar so no one under 21 allowed. Nothing beats the experience of driving home with your large cardboard crates of piping hot chicken and trying to keep your self from jimmying open the boxes for "just one" potato spike. If you do take out, do yourself a favor and buy twice as much as you need. Its just as good as left overs on day two!
(5)Tirzah N.
fries, little john spuds and fried chicken are so good never had anything else and never will.
(4)Rick W.
Great place to watch a game. The chicken is okay, I've definitely had better. Their mini corn dogs and tater tots were a little over deep fried. However their potato chips and fries were fantastic. (I didn't order all of this for myself, I was with a large group - I swear.) I probably wouldn't make a special trip, but if it was suggested by someone else, I might be up for trying it again.
(3)Mark A.
Just remembered to review this place. I went a little over a year ago cuz I was in the neighborhood buying beers @ John's Market. I always wanted to try this place, & I was not disappointed. First off the beers I had while I was waiting were cold. I like that. Alaskan Amber if you are keeping score. It took me two beers until my chicken & JoJo's were ready. Don't expect fast, but expect delish. I drove all the way to Sherwood before actually eating the chicken & the stuff was still hot & good. I am a super huge fan of the JoJo's. Best I ever had. The dill sauce that came with it is not my choice, but it was not too bad if you like dill. I'll stick with Ranch & Tartar sauce myself. Chicken was right up there with anything I have ever had. LArge pieces too. I will definitely go back the next time I am in the neighborhood. It's worth it every time.
(4)SD W.
We gave this place a try after living in the neighborhood for about 8 months. We ordered the chicken legs and thighs with spuds. What we got was an enormous box of "spuds" or thick, fried potatoes with just a few TINY pieces of fried chicken. The chicken would barely have made a decent portion for one person, let alone two people and there were enough spuds to feed 8-10 people. The flavor was incredibly disappointing - very bland, almost dry. The spuds were bad, too - they tasted exactly like the chicken, as I'm pretty sure they just fry it all together in the same vat of oil. It didn't appear to look or taste any healthier than KFC, either (not that you'd go here for health food, but if you're going to go all out for fried chicken and such, KFC tastes wayyy better and is cheaper). Not only that, but they force you to pay an extra $1 for the large, greasy, non-recyclable box that they give you for take-out orders. Seriously - who does that? They can't figure out a better packaging system than that? Anyway, glad we tried it, so we know we don't ever need to order from here again.
(1)Eric L.
First thing I have to say is...plan ahead!! Never in my life have I had to wait 40 minutes for fried chicken and wings! I'm serious, no exagerating here. Got there at 8:45pm and ended up leaving with my food at 9:25pm!!! Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that they got my order wrong. Not acceptable, especially since there was no one else in there. Ok, now that I've vented, let's move on to the chicken. This place is great minus the long wait. The fried chicken reminded me so much of this place back home in Hawaii called Alice's Chicken. The pieces are huge and they're battered and fried to crispy perfection. The jojo's are to die for with ranch and/or their special dipping sauce. Their wings are good but nothing special. Typical Frank's Red Hot sauce and butter spicy sauce. I personally think I make better wings myself, but of course I'm biased. I would've given Fryer Tuck's a 5 star rating had it not been for the bad service, messed up order, and the super long wait. The food is definitely the best fried chicken I've eaten here in Oregon, but the counter is horrible. I hope they work on their customer service skills and work on getting the food out a bit faster. This place has so much potential if they actually try.
(4)R T.
I don't get the hype here, the bar has no atmosphere I want to partake in and the chicken shops chicken isn't that good. Sorry but this place doesn't hold up to it's reputation. I'd come to expect great fried food from all my friends great reviews. blahh
(2)MIKE J.
Fryer Tuck is the best fried chicken i have ever had .. sure i have never been to the south but i know good food and there chicken with little john spuds kick butt.. i have been eating there since the 70's and haver never left disapointed.get it to go and eat at a near by park are eat it in your car with a few napkins..love it love it love it
(5)Joseph H.
Pretty decent fried chicken. Imagine what the old chicken restaurants were like and you have the fryer. A road side diner, serving up fried chicken in a family style. Good fried chicken can be a lost art form, and reasonably priced fried chicken is as populated as the Dodo bird. Fryer Tuck has stuck to his guns serving up greasy crisps of chicken for decades. They definitely have it down pat, and even the pubescent kid on the phone who took our order had a handle on every inch of the fried bird. He quickly rattled off selections, gizzard pieces, and finally sides. Overall they were quick, inexpensive and pretty finger lickin' good as that Colonel used to say. All they would have to do to garner 5 stars on their to-go orders is touch up the ingredients. Is that Tyson chicken I detect under that crust? Please say it isn't? If they upgrade to a little more organic style, or had the offering, I'm sure it would be a crowd pleaser. Either way, it reminded me of younger days, baseball games, and hearty boxes of chicken after. If you're in the mood, it's great for a fix.
(4)Mark S.
First time we went there we didn't order anything, turned right around and walked out because of the cigarette smell coming from the bar next door. Nothing against smokers, just don't like the smell of it mixed with my food. After the ban on smoking inside bars we decided to give it another try. Chicken tasted just like the potato wedges, burnt, stale, grease and was expensive. We could have got a better tasting chicken, more of it and for less at KFC or Popeye's. Looking at the reviews I guess you either love it or hate it. If you want bar food chicken well then here you go, have at it, I won't be back. How long have they been in business and why?
(1)Well-Traveled I.
When we arrived (around 11:45 am - lunch workday), place was empty. But, as we waited for our food, the place started filling up. Ordered a snack box - breast, leg, and jojos. Portions are huge and everything is homemade. Sampled coworker's onion rings; very tasty - fresh onions, too! Chicken was fried a little longer than I like (for example, the skin was darker and definitely very crisp, the latter I love), but the chicken itself was so tasty and juicy. Staff was very friendly; it takes about 20 minutes to cook your food, so if you're expecting KFC time, go elsewhere - you won't appreciate the goodness that comes to those who wait.
(4)Shaun O.
The bartender wouldn't break from her story long enough to greet us after standing there for nearly 10 minutes, thanks Mary..won't be back.
(1)Elle H.
I was SO DISAPPOINTED with the Fryer ?Tuck chicken I got yesterday..it's been over 4 years since I last had and and - well you know how something very good can be anticipated in your mind and set the taste buds for that wonderful flavor? It didn't happen. the chicken, I ordered a breast and a thigh, was very dry with little of the old seasoning I remember so well from past years. Absolutely no juiciness, even with the thigh there was little flavor. After one bite of the huge breast, I decided to chunk it up into chicken salad-it didn't have any flavor at all. IMO it was very overcooked. Dunno whats going on with that place but it isn't nearly the great chicken I've had for many years. I had a good draft at the restaurant part while I was waiting and the spuds and dill dip were good. I won't go back..yet one more thing that seems to have headed southwards in quality..Damn it.
(2)Cydney M.
If I could give this place less stars I would. Shame on them for making something delicious like fried chicken disgusting. Why does this place even exist, is it a drug front?
(1)John J.
Here is the story... if you want great fried chicken and fries, this is THE place! Our recommendation is to do a takeout order, go home or to a park and enjoy. Forget about the Cider Mill Bar (it is not a restaurant, just a dive bar with lots of television screens that no one pays any attention to). It is kind of sad as this is the last of the Fryer Tucks for those of you who are old enough to remember when there were more than one of these in our fair city.
(4)Marcellus J.
Ok so the spuds are good but the chicken was pretty subpar... Ordered a breast specifically (along a thigh and wing) since that's typically the bench mark for how well you handle a fryer. In a word it was poor. They told me it would take about 40 minutes for the breast which was fair since it's the thickest piece. When i picked it up every piece was overcooked to burnt. The taste was pretty bland once i got past the taste of degraded oil. The color also led me to believe that they hadn't changed their fryer oil in a while... Being born and raised in the south (the epicenter for all food related heart-attacks) I like to think that I know a bit a frying some chicken. One day I'll give it another shot, but haven't mustered up the courage for that potential disappointment. If you're willing sacrifice that calorie load and a few dollars I wouldn't completely write off this place, could of just been an off day.
(2)Mike N.
It's always really frustrating to order food at a place and watch other people who came in after you arrived be fed, pay their bill, and then leave before your waitress even acknowledges that your food will eventually make its way out of the kitchen. Thirty minutes went by before our waitress came by and informed us that the food would be another 20 minutes. She blamed this on the kitchen, we accepted this, good-natured, and she asked us if maybe we would like something to tide us over. We asked for just some chips & salsa as my wife was starving at this point. Other people's fried chicken came by and smelled amazing, but ours was nowhere in sight. We proceeded to eat some of the chips but were trying to not ruin our appetite. Finally, about an hour after we ordered, the chicken did arrive. It was quite tasty. The jojo fries were good. Portions are massive. Bill arrived and they decided that charging us $5 for the chips and (canned) salsa that they served us because they forgot to place our order was a reasonable thing to do. I informed the waitress that I am not about to pay for something we barely ate and would not have ordered if we were not starving and they had not forgotten about us. Long story short, the chicken is good, but I can't deal with waiting that long and then being expected to pay 5 bucks for a half-eaten order of unwanted chips and Pace salsa.. I live close by but I can't imagine I will come back. This was our first time coming in and you lost two customers who love dive bars and fried chicken.
(2)M S.
Always good chicken been coming here for over 30 years including the old building.. never a bad meal the spuds are the bomb.. if you dont use all the chicken let it cool and shred it and make a chicken salad so yummy
(5)Kai F.
This is good honest fried chicken. Not fancy schmansy hipster stuff. However they do use Draper Valley chicken - so feel good about that Portlandia. 2 piece lunch box (one breast, one thigh) comes with enough potato planks for at least 2 meals, and served with a yummy dill-sour cream sauce, for $8.95. I think people here call them Jojos, because they seem to be battered and then fried. real good and they heat up well the next day. I ate on the patio on the Cider Mill side on a sunny day, and the wine pours by the glass were large and cheap. Love the plentiful outside seating, and a tented area for sunblock. The smokers were courteous...I suspect this area is mostly for them with the smoking laws. A few people eating but mostly just a bunch of low key people drinking beer, listening to some tunes, and kibitzing. There is also a fire pit which would be nice on a chilly evening. Kindof a dive-bar locals place, where "everybody knows your name".
(4)Dave C.
Moist and juicy....can I write that on Yelp? If you like good fried chicken this is the place for you. The decor is pretty eclectic and the dining area is tucked in between a bar, sitting down for lunch with my young kids in a bar was a little different. We also split an order of garlic fries which were tender and flavorful. It's way out of the way for us but definitely worth the trip, but if I am with my kids again I'll probably do take out.
(5)tim a.
We tried this looking for the best chicken in Portland. Although the staff was courteous and quick, the food was totally sub-par. Chicken was really greasy, although moist inside, potato salad was undercooked and crunchy as well as weird sour tasting (spoiled?). Dill dipping sauce wasn't mixed. Altogether a poor performance. Will not repeat.
(1)Dylan A.
Ols school Portland fried chicken goodness. Just had a work fuction catered at the office. All the goods dropped off hot and fresh! Man that's some good chicken and taters! Just like I remeber them as a kid. There was a lot of happy folks heading back to their desks.
(5)Nick H.
A rock solid 4. Fryer Tuck and I go back a long ways. I remember my grandparents bringing me here in the 1960s. My first time eating jo-jos was here and in my mind, I always compare all others to these. Few others make the cut. Here's what I ate and what I thought of it; Jo-jos : wonderful. I'm quite sure I'm tasting the memories more than the food itself. Perfectly allowable as a geezer. Chicken : the dark pieces were all right but the breast was kind of dry. I ended up taking it home and topping a salad with it. Coleslaw : sorry but if it ain't my Babushka's, I ain't liking it. My Babushka was one of those little 4'9" ladies from the Old Country. A pint-sized pioneer, if you will. Her typical old-school type of day was something like this; Wake up, pick flowers and brew them into tea. Light housekeeping, start planning lunch. Defeat Hitler. More tea. Make wonderful coleslaw for Nicky. All in all, it's probably a place that is more appealing to old-school type eaters. Having said that, I would (and did) travel to have some of their jo-jos.
(4)Jevan W.
I'm another who has a long-term, intermittent, relationship with Fryer Tuck. For me, I would travel a long way for dipping sauce - the Jo-Jo's are exactly what I think of when you say Jo-Jo, okay so far, a 5...the chicken, is...alright, it's fried chicken, it's kinda bland for me, nothing special. I come here for the Jo-Jo's and that dip, did I mention the dip? Get the dip!
(4)Anica S.
I will admit I wasn't sure how good the chicken would be but again I was reminded why you can't take reviews as face value, Fryer Tucks chicken is awesome! Great staff, dive bar, awesome happy hour menu & specials, tons of TV's on the Cider Mill side which is a plus for sports fans like myself. Their taters and dill dip.... To die for! Prices are totally reasonable, not to mention the portions are huge and I will definitely be back.
(4)Robert C.
This review is from a portland native that grew up on this stuff. The food is great. great in regards to what it is. It's a grease trap. Don't come here expecting to have a salad or anything vegan...it's just not that kind of place. Through the years like any long time portland institution it's had its highs and it's lows. I must say that over the past couple of years the food has been very consistent and the place is way cleaner then years past. I suspect a new owner. If you want deep fried chicken and Jo Jo's go here. The dill dip is also amazing. While waiting for your food drop into the cozy old bar next door and check out the copper ceiling. I
(5)Tres B.
Gloriously slow. The chicken and potatoes take forever. Henry Penny cookers are not quick. But the chicken here is fantastic, the potatoes are amazing and huge orders! This is a venerable spot is an in-the-know Portlandia tradition. A little treasure you've got to find if you've never been!
(4)Craig H.
Best fried chicken I've ever had. Don't expect anything too fancy, just a plate of amazing chicken and some spuds.
(5)carly d.
I've lived in SW for nearly 8 years, and over time have heard Fryer Tuck mentioned as a great source for picnic fare. I found myself staring at blue skies without an inkling of desire to cook dinner, and thought it would be the perfect opportunity to check it out. In a word... awful. Sure, the portions are huge, but with food this bad all you'll find yourself with is a huge amount of guilt from all the food you'll end up tossing, rather than the leftovers you'd enjoy. To be fair, I did find some of the assorted chicken pieces to be cooked appropriately...but fried chicken really can't be a one-time-fits-all methodology. The potato salad was inedible... so vinegary in taste, it seemed to border on rancid. The macaroni salad was only slightly better. I could see potential in the spuds, or Jo-Jo's, but the batter is so flavorless that the provided dill dip becomes necessary, rather than optional. Needless to say, I won't be returning. Had I done my research prior to going, I would have found out that a change of ownership in recent years drastically changed the quality of the Fryer Tuck experience.
(1)Lindsey T.
Went there last night for a date night.... Customer service was great. Friendly service... The food was DISGUSTING! Seriously, spuds and chicken was the worse. Tasted like fried dirt. No flavor at all. No seasoning... Will not be returning. Atmosphere was great.
(1)Mike N.
It's always really frustrating to order food at a place and watch other people who came in after you arrived be fed, pay their bill, and then leave before your waitress even acknowledges that your food will eventually make its way out of the kitchen. Thirty minutes went by before our waitress came by and informed us that the food would be another 20 minutes. She blamed this on the kitchen, we accepted this, good-natured, and she asked us if maybe we would like something to tide us over. We asked for just some chips & salsa as my wife was starving at this point. Other people's fried chicken came by and smelled amazing, but ours was nowhere in sight. We proceeded to eat some of the chips but were trying to not ruin our appetite. Finally, about an hour after we ordered, the chicken did arrive. It was quite tasty. The jojo fries were good. Portions are massive. Bill arrived and they decided that charging us $5 for the chips and (canned) salsa that they served us because they forgot to place our order was a reasonable thing to do. I informed the waitress that I am not about to pay for something we barely ate and would not have ordered if we were not starving and they had not forgotten about us. Long story short, the chicken is good, but I can't deal with waiting that long and then being expected to pay 5 bucks for a half-eaten order of unwanted chips and Pace salsa.. I live close by but I can't imagine I will come back. This was our first time coming in and you lost two customers who love dive bars and fried chicken.
(2)M S.
Always good chicken been coming here for over 30 years including the old building.. never a bad meal the spuds are the bomb.. if you dont use all the chicken let it cool and shred it and make a chicken salad so yummy
(5)L S.
Very inconsistent. Fabulous one time, tastes like old oil the next. Sometimes perfect ... Sometimes way overdone. They need quality control to keep me coming as the prices are increasing.
(3)Karen P.
Fun local bar with regularly scheduled activities for locals. Plus the chicken & spuds are the best!
(5)Matthew H.
This place was legendary for so long buy every year for the last 5 it has gotten worst. How do you over cook a chicken breast so bad and then still need to cut a big gash in it to make sure it's done is beyond me. What a joke!!!
(1)L. C.
I just had a birthday party for my two year old and we bought a huge box of jojo potatoes and chicken legs and I've already had four friends ask where I got the joes. The chicken legs were gone in 10 minutes and someone ended up taking the box of joes when they left. WTH? They are so good that my friend asked me to bring some to her party and my pregnant friend asked me to bring some to her shower but not to share with her guests :). Best Joes in Portland! My son ended up only getting one leg and he freaked out because he wanted another. Bottom line... Make sure you buy enough legs to circumvent a tantrum and enough joes so your pregnant friends don't eat yours :). One thing though... The people that work there are super rude like, if their chicken sucked, I would never go in again. That's just an FYI.
(5)Kai F.
This is good honest fried chicken. Not fancy schmansy hipster stuff. However they do use Draper Valley chicken - so feel good about that Portlandia. 2 piece lunch box (one breast, one thigh) comes with enough potato planks for at least 2 meals, and served with a yummy dill-sour cream sauce, for $8.95. I think people here call them Jojos, because they seem to be battered and then fried. real good and they heat up well the next day. I ate on the patio on the Cider Mill side on a sunny day, and the wine pours by the glass were large and cheap. Love the plentiful outside seating, and a tented area for sunblock. The smokers were courteous...I suspect this area is mostly for them with the smoking laws. A few people eating but mostly just a bunch of low key people drinking beer, listening to some tunes, and kibitzing. There is also a fire pit which would be nice on a chilly evening. Kindof a dive-bar locals place, where "everybody knows your name".
(4)Lisa E.
Total white trash bar with said white trash patrons singing along to the country music jukebox. Run-down inside and somewhat sketchy but pretty typical for a dive bar. The service was good--our waitress was really nice. The food? It was decent but not the best fried chicken I've ever had. The jojos and mac n' cheese salad were AMAZING. So so so good! The chicken was pretty good but again, not the best fried chicken I've ever had. The one bonus: the chicken was juicy and not dried out (like Delta Cafe has been for me!).
(3)Clay H.
This will be short. We walked in and were greeted by a person on the chicken side of the place, but were told to sit in the restaurant if we wanted to stay. We sat at a table in a bar section next to some people who were cussing about something. Then after about 5 minutes of listening to them and some game we didn't care about, we moved into a different section hoping for someone to notice us. Well, that attention we desired never appeared. We left after 10 more minutes without seeing another employee. One made a half assed attempt to retain us when we were heading out the door, but it fell on deaf ears. Maybe she should visit with her friends less?
(1)Rebecca H.
Staff is nice and attentive. Location is decent. Happy hour is average, at best. Sucks if you're not a smoker because the place stinks of fresh cigarettes. Smoke is continuously coming in from the back patio. BTW patio is ok, kinda dirty. NOT a good place to watch any game!!! Here's why: 1. Not enough TVs 2. Sound is terrible 3. The channels are on different stations. So some TVs are 10 to 20 seconds ahead of others. I will not watch another game here.
(2)Mark C.
Not good. Just go to KFC.
(1)Robert H.
People think there are no dives in SW Portland, but they are wrong. Where there are people there are dives. And Fryer Tuck and its Cider Mill Restaurant is a dive with fried chicken on the side. My design savvy friend with the cool glasses holds her secret meetings there because she knows there would never in a million years be an agency-type spying at Fryer Tuck's, as opposed to, say, Clyde Common. The fried chicken has a medium thick and crunchy breading, unfortunately with little flavor. The chicken tenders are from another source, thicker a bit, but likewise unspicy. They do a unique jojo recipe, 3/8" French fries are breaded and fried with the same coating as the chicken. Another option is to have your fries prepared as "garlic fries" with a thinner coating of the same batter. It does make them crunchier, but not in any way garlic. For the fried chicken there is a standard ranch dip and the fries come with a sour cream and dill dip which is not that interesting. They have about a dozen taps, half macro, some war horses from Deschutes, and for Summer, some other light undistinguished micros. The place is filled with screens showing sports events and as I was leaving a band was setting up, so maybe it turns into a hot spot on Saturday night? It's a dark 80 year old building that has grown bit by bit with no plan, and filled with years' worth of promotional beer signs. Unlike many dives, it's clean, and like many dives it is a mashup of remodeling over 80 years. On the vast patio were a group of bearded guys in tee shirts and girls in summer thrift store dresses with their bikes. Inside there was a 60-something guy trying to make a move on a 40-something lady. He was talking about various friends or relatives getting out of or going into jail and taking highly important sounding calls on his feature phone. You heard it here, feature phones are going to make a comeback! At the bar was a medical professional from the local hospital relating jokes from anesthesiologists about 65-70 years ago in Germany, unimaginably offensive, I won't repeat here. People talking about misplaced passports after years of disuse. Talking about male ideal body image in relation to Iggy Pop and sharks swimming up the Columbia River. Others talking about their mobile service being cut off at midnight and the String Cheese Incident. As I was leaving, something was about to begin at the JCC, and the street was filled with nattily dressed gentlemen with white shirts and black suits in yamakas and their lady friends in finely tailored Summer dresses. If you are in the Hillsdale, Multnomah, Capitol Hill area, you're in the force field of Friar Tuck and the Cedar Mill Restaurant. If you want democratic and real, they serve it. What a great Summer microcosm in a little corner of SW Portland literally perched between Hillsdale and Multnomah.
(3)Jonathan S.
Oh my, this was horrible. There was absolutely nothing of redeeming value from this chicken. The sign says that you'll have to wait 25 minutes for your chicken. Seems like they throw the chicken in for that FULL 25 minutes. They make no differentiation for the size of the pieces and the big breast is cooked just as long as the tiny wing. They seem to throw the fries in at the exact same time. The result? An inedible mess. I know what your thinking, but the homemade chips and salsa were good, right? Well, not in this lifetime. It was like eating a plate of salt. I knew right away this wasnt colonial times because that amount of salt would have made me a rich man in those days. I can't stress enough how much you should STAY AWAY from eating here.
(1)Scott H.
I took my dad here from out of town today because the way I remembered it, the chicken was fantastic. We ordered a 12 piece with two breasts, five thighs, and five legs. Somewhat disappointing, the breasts were dry and they threw in 4 wings along with 3 legs two thighs, and one unidentifiable item. When I asked about the wings, the answer was that he must not have read the order right so he just put in the usual for a 12 piece. She didn't ask if we wanted our missing thighs and legs, so I just blew it off. We ordered a side of gravy too, that when it finally came (after our second time asking for it), was cold and thick like paste. The jojos were as awesome as ever, really amazing, but the chicken was average, so I probably wont bother going back.
(3)Warren C.
I've gone to Fryer Tucks a few times with my friend Mario that loves this place. The service is like what most people have stated which is lacking. Kind of to be expected when it comes to a bar atmosphere. When we received our food order the gizzards are delectable. The potato wedges are complimented well with the dill sauce they provide. The chicken itself doesn't really standout for me but I will say that corporate environments such as Popeyes, Churches, and KFC have tainted my idea of what Fried chicken is supposed to taste like and I'm under the assumption that Fryer Tucks is really what chicken is supposed to taste like once sentenced to death by batter. Would definitely come again but with the same lower expectations that I have come before. One thing that I do want to mention is that being a minority, the regulars there really have a way to make you not feel welcome in this environment. That is one thing that is very interesting about living in the Portland metro area that you don't need to go too far to be discriminated by in regards to your ethnic background.
(3)Wrecks M.
I just got back from this place and I have to say I am Impressed. I read the reviews and there were some good and bad ones, So I went to see for myself. The Place is kinda run down, BUT The Burger I got was Humungous! It was so Huge and GOOD! It hwas the Farmhouse Burger and it had tomatoes and oinions, but it also had an egg and some ham and bacon, the bacon was nice and Thick too! One of the best burgers I have had in portland. I dont usually eat burgers, but I was Super Hungry today. The waiting area where you place your order is small and the chairs are hard and high up. The Customer service was Great, The guy who took my order was really cool. It didnt take long for my order and there is also a bar in the restraunt. But I took my order to go.I wish I would have came in here sooner. I am leaving soon to another state and if I was staying, I would definately come here again.
(4)Andrew S.
This spot has really good fried Chicken and JoJo's. More on the greasy side, but classic and original. Served in medium size cardboard box, loaded with JoJo's Chicken and batter is okay. Service is good. Never tried their Burger, so this is strictly on Chicken/JoJo/Ranch. Ranch dip is also good.
(3)Mark A.
Just remembered to review this place. I went a little over a year ago cuz I was in the neighborhood buying beers @ John's Market. I always wanted to try this place, & I was not disappointed. First off the beers I had while I was waiting were cold. I like that. Alaskan Amber if you are keeping score. It took me two beers until my chicken & JoJo's were ready. Don't expect fast, but expect delish. I drove all the way to Sherwood before actually eating the chicken & the stuff was still hot & good. I am a super huge fan of the JoJo's. Best I ever had. The dill sauce that came with it is not my choice, but it was not too bad if you like dill. I'll stick with Ranch & Tartar sauce myself. Chicken was right up there with anything I have ever had. LArge pieces too. I will definitely go back the next time I am in the neighborhood. It's worth it every time.
(4)Steve K.
Fryer Tuck is probably my favorite fried chicken...Little John spuds (Jo-jos) are the best! I've been a patron since 1969 and it's never disappointed me.
(4)Joseph H.
Pretty decent fried chicken. Imagine what the old chicken restaurants were like and you have the fryer. A road side diner, serving up fried chicken in a family style. Good fried chicken can be a lost art form, and reasonably priced fried chicken is as populated as the Dodo bird. Fryer Tuck has stuck to his guns serving up greasy crisps of chicken for decades. They definitely have it down pat, and even the pubescent kid on the phone who took our order had a handle on every inch of the fried bird. He quickly rattled off selections, gizzard pieces, and finally sides. Overall they were quick, inexpensive and pretty finger lickin' good as that Colonel used to say. All they would have to do to garner 5 stars on their to-go orders is touch up the ingredients. Is that Tyson chicken I detect under that crust? Please say it isn't? If they upgrade to a little more organic style, or had the offering, I'm sure it would be a crowd pleaser. Either way, it reminded me of younger days, baseball games, and hearty boxes of chicken after. If you're in the mood, it's great for a fix.
(4)Mark S.
First time we went there we didn't order anything, turned right around and walked out because of the cigarette smell coming from the bar next door. Nothing against smokers, just don't like the smell of it mixed with my food. After the ban on smoking inside bars we decided to give it another try. Chicken tasted just like the potato wedges, burnt, stale, grease and was expensive. We could have got a better tasting chicken, more of it and for less at KFC or Popeye's. Looking at the reviews I guess you either love it or hate it. If you want bar food chicken well then here you go, have at it, I won't be back. How long have they been in business and why?
(1)Shane N.
Albertson's deli is better. Seriously. I've heard so many good things about this place from so many people that I finally tried it and the food was terrible. I ordered the 3 piece snacker box and the chicken was over cooked, the batter was bitter, there were no seasoning to speak of...have these guys heard of salt? Unfortunately, the spuds were cooked in the same fashion. They were so thick that had it not been for the batter, the fries would have been soggy all the way to the surface. And the dipping sauce? Bland, bland, bland, it's as if they took ranch dressing, extracted all of the flavor and served it. Go to Albertson's deli, trust me, you'll get better food for half the price. By the way, I waited the full 20 minutes.
(1)Cherise F.
Fryer Tucks Chicken is the best chicken around. The pieces are huge and always cooked perfectly. The potato spikes with dill sauce are the stuff of dreams. However, the sides such as the coleslaw and beans I can take or leave. Betsy is right that the in-house dining experience isn't the best but I have been known to go eat a $5.00 2 piece snack box there (an extra $1.00 if you want a breast but they are huge!). If you go to Fryer tucks to eat in remember its a bar so no one under 21 allowed. Nothing beats the experience of driving home with your large cardboard crates of piping hot chicken and trying to keep your self from jimmying open the boxes for "just one" potato spike. If you do take out, do yourself a favor and buy twice as much as you need. Its just as good as left overs on day two!
(5)Tirzah N.
fries, little john spuds and fried chicken are so good never had anything else and never will.
(4)Well-Traveled I.
When we arrived (around 11:45 am - lunch workday), place was empty. But, as we waited for our food, the place started filling up. Ordered a snack box - breast, leg, and jojos. Portions are huge and everything is homemade. Sampled coworker's onion rings; very tasty - fresh onions, too! Chicken was fried a little longer than I like (for example, the skin was darker and definitely very crisp, the latter I love), but the chicken itself was so tasty and juicy. Staff was very friendly; it takes about 20 minutes to cook your food, so if you're expecting KFC time, go elsewhere - you won't appreciate the goodness that comes to those who wait.
(4)Shaun O.
The bartender wouldn't break from her story long enough to greet us after standing there for nearly 10 minutes, thanks Mary..won't be back.
(1)R T.
I don't get the hype here, the bar has no atmosphere I want to partake in and the chicken shops chicken isn't that good. Sorry but this place doesn't hold up to it's reputation. I'd come to expect great fried food from all my friends great reviews. blahh
(2)MIKE J.
Fryer Tuck is the best fried chicken i have ever had .. sure i have never been to the south but i know good food and there chicken with little john spuds kick butt.. i have been eating there since the 70's and haver never left disapointed.get it to go and eat at a near by park are eat it in your car with a few napkins..love it love it love it
(5)SD W.
We gave this place a try after living in the neighborhood for about 8 months. We ordered the chicken legs and thighs with spuds. What we got was an enormous box of "spuds" or thick, fried potatoes with just a few TINY pieces of fried chicken. The chicken would barely have made a decent portion for one person, let alone two people and there were enough spuds to feed 8-10 people. The flavor was incredibly disappointing - very bland, almost dry. The spuds were bad, too - they tasted exactly like the chicken, as I'm pretty sure they just fry it all together in the same vat of oil. It didn't appear to look or taste any healthier than KFC, either (not that you'd go here for health food, but if you're going to go all out for fried chicken and such, KFC tastes wayyy better and is cheaper). Not only that, but they force you to pay an extra $1 for the large, greasy, non-recyclable box that they give you for take-out orders. Seriously - who does that? They can't figure out a better packaging system than that? Anyway, glad we tried it, so we know we don't ever need to order from here again.
(1)Eric L.
First thing I have to say is...plan ahead!! Never in my life have I had to wait 40 minutes for fried chicken and wings! I'm serious, no exagerating here. Got there at 8:45pm and ended up leaving with my food at 9:25pm!!! Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that they got my order wrong. Not acceptable, especially since there was no one else in there. Ok, now that I've vented, let's move on to the chicken. This place is great minus the long wait. The fried chicken reminded me so much of this place back home in Hawaii called Alice's Chicken. The pieces are huge and they're battered and fried to crispy perfection. The jojo's are to die for with ranch and/or their special dipping sauce. Their wings are good but nothing special. Typical Frank's Red Hot sauce and butter spicy sauce. I personally think I make better wings myself, but of course I'm biased. I would've given Fryer Tuck's a 5 star rating had it not been for the bad service, messed up order, and the super long wait. The food is definitely the best fried chicken I've eaten here in Oregon, but the counter is horrible. I hope they work on their customer service skills and work on getting the food out a bit faster. This place has so much potential if they actually try.
(4)Ajia T.
I must lament, with all sincerity, that I do not crave fried chicken, nor do I especially enjoy fried food. Sometimes, though, when a girl is in her last couple of weeks of pregnaciousness and has been carefully avoiding high-sodium foods for weeks to reduce water retention...some fried goodness must be had. Hence, my decision to get take-out from Tuck's. Having lived near Multnomah Village for 8 years, I am familiar with the legend of said chicken, but have (gasp!) never actually eaten it. Let me assure you, it's everything you could want in a fried piece of birdie...a light, crispy coating envelops tender, juicy, meat. Watch for bone fragments at the joints, though - I found one in a breast piece. Speaking of which, the breasts are so huge, I could only eat 1 piece. It was seriously gigantic and nearly entirely took up it's own box! The sides are also quite good at Tuck's. I particularly enjoyed the macaroni salad, which was uniquely spiced and tasted damned fresh. Not made with creamy crap, it was refreshing and light. The baked beans were yummy, too - my husband actually wolfed them down before the rest of his food. The soft rolls were bleh. Now, the spuds....ah, the spuds! Those were incredible, especially with the dill dip everyone has raved about. Not heavily battered and just the right texture...mmm! I can't say this is the best fried chicken I've ever had, but I'm sure I'll return to Tuck's someday for fried goodness, when the mood strikes me. At only $15 for a complete, not-entirely-unhealthy meal for two people, it's definitely easy on the pocketbook, too.
(4)Kevin J.
I might be biased as I used to frequent this place as a child when it was out in the Beaverton area over 20 years ago. But oh man do they have the crunchiest and largest pieces of fried chicken. The big reason I enjoy the place so much though has to go to the Little John spuds; crunchy coating on the outside, soft and yummy in the middle...and don't forget the dill dip to tag those luscious logs of goodness with! You will be satisfied...very affordable as well.
(5)Tina P.
So sorry to say it but this place used to be so much better. I remember riding in the car with my dad--"all the way out there" (from the eastside) back in the 70s--to get their chicken and tators. It was such a treat in my childhood! Last time I ate here was in 2002-2003 and it was nothing like I remember. :(
(1)Misty L.
I was in Portland just for the weekend and started craving some of Seattle's Ezell's chicken. In an effort to satisfy the craving I checked out Fryer Tuck chicken because of some of the reviews on Yelp. The service took FOREVER. They say you will wait 20 minutes for your order, we waited at least an hour and then when we finally did get our food, it was mediocre. The chicken was sort of meh, and the rest of the massive pile of food they put in front of me was inedible. I am a carbohydrate addict and I took one bite of the roll they gave me - thinking it's pretty hard to mess up a roll - and was just done with my meal. Sadly disappointing experience.
(1)Denise D.
LIke several of the other reviewers, I've been going to Fryer Tuck's (the one on Walker and Cedar Hills that's no longer there) since I was a kid. We didn't want KFC when I was a kid, we wanted Fryer Tuck! Who else had Little John Spuds and Fryer Tuck Sauce (okay, it sounds a little wrong, but tastes so right!)? I wasn't into any of the other food as a kid, except maybe the rolls, but my family loved everything else on the menu. So, fast forward 40 years. My neighborhood restaurant is gone, the remaining one has changed owners many times, and it seems the magic of Fryer Tuck has worn down a bit. Admittedly, my 4-star rating is heavily padded with nostalgia. Still, even without nostalgic influences, I've not had the bad experiences described by fellow reviewers. Tonight I wanted some Little John Spuds. I haven't eaten at Fryer Tuck's since the new owners took over. I called the restaurant, placed my order and was told it would be ready in 20 minutes. I hopped in my car, got there about 15 minutes later and everything was ready and waiting for me. The young man waiting on me was friendly and thoughtful. I ate my food at home and the spuds were as amazing as ever. The sauce tasted like the recipe might have changed but I'm not sure about that. I was so full after a few spuds and a bottle of pop that I'll have to have the baked beans, macaroni salad and rolls for another meal. So, overall I'm still a huge fan of the place. It's definitely not gourmet or super healthy fare, so if that's what you're after, you're at the wrong place. But if you're willing to dig into some grease and know that you either have to call ahead or plan to wait if you dine in, then you won't regret it.
(4)Gregg A.
This place is fantastic. If you love fried chicken this is the place for you. I would only recommend ordering your food by phone and taking it home. The bar attached to the takeout restaurant is a pretty disgusting dive bar...very smoky and ruins the dinner. I've only tried to eat there once and it ruined the great food. We get a box of breasts, wings, and Jo-Jo's. Finger licking good! It's perfect for a late evening dinner at home with beer while watching the game.
(5)Kenneth H.
The fried chicken here is damn good. I have only done takeout, and you can take home a huge amount of food for super cheap. Not only does Fryer Tuck satisfy in the quantity department, but also in the quality! The chicken is always juicy, well seasoned, perfectly cooked and practically dripping off the bone. The Jo-Jo's (Little John Spuds) are joygasmic, and make me feel dirty just for continually shoveling them into my mouth. They also serve the typical sides...various slaws, and salads, but I wasn't overly impressed with any of them. I have never really been a fan of take out chicken (popeyes or KFC, etc) but I am smitten with Fryer Tuck. Thank you Fryer for helping me re-discover my love of fried chicken! Warning: When you eat this well, be prepared for a little battle with the bowel gods the next day as this much grease is not actually for human consumption.
(4)Jey R.
Great fried chicken. Some of the most delicious potatoes.
(5)Kim B.
Spuds are amazing! I wasn't very fond of the house dipping sauce but the chicken and potato salad was yummy. Again expect a wait bit it is quality chicken.
(4)NANCY H.
This is the best friend chicken I've had in long time. Eat your heart out KFC! We ordered the dinner for two plus onion rings which include a side of choice, baked beans, two sweet rolls, 4 pieces of very large chicken pieces, jojo's, and a dip for your potatoes. After waiting practically 30 minutes (they were busy), we received one big box full of the crispiest onion rings I've ever had AND another huge box of this mound of jojo's and chicken. I was like...all this for just $14 bucks. I'm in love! The wait was all worth it. I love fried chicken and this was seasoned spicy and everything was big and gooood! I would recommend this place for take-out and order ahead. Great for picnics, games, or some at home grubbin' (so you can lick your fingers without shame)! Good For: best fried chicken in Oregon, picnic lunch
(5)Violet T.
The fried chicken was decent, but not as special as I had hoped. I heard a lot of hype about this place, and my favorite thing was the jojos. I asked the waitress if the chicken wings as an appetizer were super spicy, she said she could make them really mild... even my boyfriend, who eats spicy food, was struggling they were so hot. Some people like this, but we wouldn't have ordered them, we would have picked something else. And the wings took just as long (35 minutes) to come out as our fried chicken. We ordered an appetizer because we heard the wait was long... My drink was nice an strong though, so that helped. I will probably just make my fried chicken at home from now on, and maybe call in an order for the spuds.
(3)John M.
This place should be revisited by the food press in town. It's fried chicken, not health food. But it's some of the best fried chicken you'll ever have--and the pieces are LARGE and inexpensive. This dude Mark S. doesn't know what he's talking about. KFC and Popeyes are mass-produced garbage.
(4)Mark G.
I've been eating take out here for at least 35 years, and I've never had a bad meal. The other comments are spot on....delicious, crunchy and juicy fried chicken and great spuds. Never a fan of the "dip"...kind of bland and I prefer to use ranch....but the baked beans have always more than made up for it. Unlike any I've ever had, with a deep mahogany color and a rich molasses flavor. Yesterday, I decided to eat in at the attached bar. Big mistake. At first, I was enthused...the menu has been expanded and I saw an article on the wall about a new owner. Great! Good to see someone young taking over, and the new menu items indicated some ambition to succeed. Unfortunately, my enthusiasm was short-lived. The service was atrocious and slow, with my waitress getting my order wrong twice. But, even worse, the food was really bad. While my chicken breast was good, the spuds were overcooked and dry...just crunchy dry shells with nothing inside. And the beans I've loved for a lifetime are gone. In their place, some really generic, out of the can baked beans that I didn't even finish. If I had never been here before, I would give it one star and never return, however, 35 years of good food earns them an additional star and a second chance. I'm worried, though, that the new owner has lost what has made this place great for so long. An expanded menu is fine, but there's a reason Fryer Tuck has been in business for this long, so don't screw it up! Do the basics right. I hope I'm wrong about this place going downhill, because I love(d) it. One more chance.
(2)Betsy C.
My husband and I made the mistake many before us have made. We were even warned not to do it, but we just couldn't stop ourselves. Instead of ordering takeout, we ate in. And apparently it was a bad night. One of the fryers apparently broke during dinner service, causing all fried chicken to take 5 billion years to cook, causing many tables to leave, and many to go customers to stand there angrily. Thankfully we didn't enter the building absolutely DYING to eat, so we made ourselves at home in the "restaurant" that is really more like a bar with pool tables, lotto games, etc. As that's not really my style, I was a bit nervous, but no one else was really there so it was all good. We changed the channel to whatever we wanted, laid back, and waited for our food. (We were warned the chicken would take 30-45 minutes, but we've also heard it'd be worth it.) While we waiting, we had multiple conversations with the waitress concerning topics such as her angry customers (one claiming the swiss cheese wasn't "real" swiss) to my own personal food poisoning a few weeks earlier to the waitress' case of food poisoning that ruined her trip to Spain and she'll never go back. Only by the time we DID get our food, we had waited about 1.5 hours, which was a tad annoying because by that point, we WERE dying to eat. On to the food! MAN did it make up for how long it took to get it! Since it was still happy hour (the hours of which had changed the day before) we got a dozen hot wings for $6. Not too shabby. They weren't worth four stars, but they WERE worth $6. It wasn't what I was there for, anyway. The fried chicken. Oh, the fried chicken. It was fried to a dark, rich color and right away I knew it'd be heavenly. And it was. So crispy and juicy and all that fried chicken should be! The spuds weren't too shabby either. They are the battered and wedged variety which is really pretty tasty. These two items alone are worth five delicious, greasy stars. I have to admit, however, that before I was even finished eating, I felt a rumbling in the stomach, and we all know what that means. Typically I hold my friend chicken well, but not here. It is some serious (and seriously tasty) heavy food! In the end, neither of us would eat in again, but we weren't sorry we did the first time. We left feeling like we were over at our new BFF's (i.e. the waitress) place making ourselves at home. A home that would've been totally obnoxious had it been full of bar-type people doing bar-type things. I'd definitely get some chicken and spuds to go, though, and hope for a better outcome in the stomach department, because MAN was it good! Oh, and my husband got a pulled pork (or was it chicken?) sandwich which was super juicy and came with a homemade sauce that was to die for. It came on a nice ciabatta roll, though, which was greatly appreciated because it held the runny sauce very well.
(4)Dylan A.
Ols school Portland fried chicken goodness. Just had a work fuction catered at the office. All the goods dropped off hot and fresh! Man that's some good chicken and taters! Just like I remeber them as a kid. There was a lot of happy folks heading back to their desks.
(5)Nick H.
A rock solid 4. Fryer Tuck and I go back a long ways. I remember my grandparents bringing me here in the 1960s. My first time eating jo-jos was here and in my mind, I always compare all others to these. Few others make the cut. Here's what I ate and what I thought of it; Jo-jos : wonderful. I'm quite sure I'm tasting the memories more than the food itself. Perfectly allowable as a geezer. Chicken : the dark pieces were all right but the breast was kind of dry. I ended up taking it home and topping a salad with it. Coleslaw : sorry but if it ain't my Babushka's, I ain't liking it. My Babushka was one of those little 4'9" ladies from the Old Country. A pint-sized pioneer, if you will. Her typical old-school type of day was something like this; Wake up, pick flowers and brew them into tea. Light housekeeping, start planning lunch. Defeat Hitler. More tea. Make wonderful coleslaw for Nicky. All in all, it's probably a place that is more appealing to old-school type eaters. Having said that, I would (and did) travel to have some of their jo-jos.
(4)Jevan W.
I'm another who has a long-term, intermittent, relationship with Fryer Tuck. For me, I would travel a long way for dipping sauce - the Jo-Jo's are exactly what I think of when you say Jo-Jo, okay so far, a 5...the chicken, is...alright, it's fried chicken, it's kinda bland for me, nothing special. I come here for the Jo-Jo's and that dip, did I mention the dip? Get the dip!
(4)Anica S.
I will admit I wasn't sure how good the chicken would be but again I was reminded why you can't take reviews as face value, Fryer Tucks chicken is awesome! Great staff, dive bar, awesome happy hour menu & specials, tons of TV's on the Cider Mill side which is a plus for sports fans like myself. Their taters and dill dip.... To die for! Prices are totally reasonable, not to mention the portions are huge and I will definitely be back.
(4)Robert C.
This review is from a portland native that grew up on this stuff. The food is great. great in regards to what it is. It's a grease trap. Don't come here expecting to have a salad or anything vegan...it's just not that kind of place. Through the years like any long time portland institution it's had its highs and it's lows. I must say that over the past couple of years the food has been very consistent and the place is way cleaner then years past. I suspect a new owner. If you want deep fried chicken and Jo Jo's go here. The dill dip is also amazing. While waiting for your food drop into the cozy old bar next door and check out the copper ceiling. I
(5)Tres B.
Gloriously slow. The chicken and potatoes take forever. Henry Penny cookers are not quick. But the chicken here is fantastic, the potatoes are amazing and huge orders! This is a venerable spot is an in-the-know Portlandia tradition. A little treasure you've got to find if you've never been!
(4)Elle H.
I was SO DISAPPOINTED with the Fryer ?Tuck chicken I got yesterday..it's been over 4 years since I last had and and - well you know how something very good can be anticipated in your mind and set the taste buds for that wonderful flavor? It didn't happen. the chicken, I ordered a breast and a thigh, was very dry with little of the old seasoning I remember so well from past years. Absolutely no juiciness, even with the thigh there was little flavor. After one bite of the huge breast, I decided to chunk it up into chicken salad-it didn't have any flavor at all. IMO it was very overcooked. Dunno whats going on with that place but it isn't nearly the great chicken I've had for many years. I had a good draft at the restaurant part while I was waiting and the spuds and dill dip were good. I won't go back..yet one more thing that seems to have headed southwards in quality..Damn it.
(2)Cydney M.
If I could give this place less stars I would. Shame on them for making something delicious like fried chicken disgusting. Why does this place even exist, is it a drug front?
(1)Craig H.
Best fried chicken I've ever had. Don't expect anything too fancy, just a plate of amazing chicken and some spuds.
(5)carly d.
I've lived in SW for nearly 8 years, and over time have heard Fryer Tuck mentioned as a great source for picnic fare. I found myself staring at blue skies without an inkling of desire to cook dinner, and thought it would be the perfect opportunity to check it out. In a word... awful. Sure, the portions are huge, but with food this bad all you'll find yourself with is a huge amount of guilt from all the food you'll end up tossing, rather than the leftovers you'd enjoy. To be fair, I did find some of the assorted chicken pieces to be cooked appropriately...but fried chicken really can't be a one-time-fits-all methodology. The potato salad was inedible... so vinegary in taste, it seemed to border on rancid. The macaroni salad was only slightly better. I could see potential in the spuds, or Jo-Jo's, but the batter is so flavorless that the provided dill dip becomes necessary, rather than optional. Needless to say, I won't be returning. Had I done my research prior to going, I would have found out that a change of ownership in recent years drastically changed the quality of the Fryer Tuck experience.
(1)Lindsey T.
Went there last night for a date night.... Customer service was great. Friendly service... The food was DISGUSTING! Seriously, spuds and chicken was the worse. Tasted like fried dirt. No flavor at all. No seasoning... Will not be returning. Atmosphere was great.
(1)John J.
Here is the story... if you want great fried chicken and fries, this is THE place! Our recommendation is to do a takeout order, go home or to a park and enjoy. Forget about the Cider Mill Bar (it is not a restaurant, just a dive bar with lots of television screens that no one pays any attention to). It is kind of sad as this is the last of the Fryer Tucks for those of you who are old enough to remember when there were more than one of these in our fair city.
(4)Marcellus J.
Ok so the spuds are good but the chicken was pretty subpar... Ordered a breast specifically (along a thigh and wing) since that's typically the bench mark for how well you handle a fryer. In a word it was poor. They told me it would take about 40 minutes for the breast which was fair since it's the thickest piece. When i picked it up every piece was overcooked to burnt. The taste was pretty bland once i got past the taste of degraded oil. The color also led me to believe that they hadn't changed their fryer oil in a while... Being born and raised in the south (the epicenter for all food related heart-attacks) I like to think that I know a bit a frying some chicken. One day I'll give it another shot, but haven't mustered up the courage for that potential disappointment. If you're willing sacrifice that calorie load and a few dollars I wouldn't completely write off this place, could of just been an off day.
(2)Rick W.
Great place to watch a game. The chicken is okay, I've definitely had better. Their mini corn dogs and tater tots were a little over deep fried. However their potato chips and fries were fantastic. (I didn't order all of this for myself, I was with a large group - I swear.) I probably wouldn't make a special trip, but if it was suggested by someone else, I might be up for trying it again.
(3)Glenda S.
Fryer Tuck Chicken is GONE! This was the last one and I'm guessing the other reviews are new and have no idea what it should have tasted like. This place only deserved ONE STAR since they had the order done when we went to pick it up. Had we known what they did to the original recipe we would have walked out and not wasted $35.00 on tasteless crap! We left a tip is why it added up to that amount since the cook did finish the order. Got ripped off for four thighs, six wings, one order of spuds, one pint of dip and coleslaw for $35.00?????? The spuds were so disappointing as they were missing an important spice or this new owner is just being cheap in leaving it out! Will NEVER use this lousy food business again! The coleslaw use to come in TWO PARTS which the buyer put together for better freshness. Either we didn't get the SECOND part or this place is making the worst tasting coleslaw that has NO TASTE! The dip was okay, but it didn't even enhance the tasteless spuds that use to be one of kind taste. Chicken was so-so since they still seem to use Oregon chicken, but it was missing the marvelous taste of Fryer Tuck's missing flavor which is sad. Will be buying the chicken from the store in their deli section that at least has a decent taste.
(1)Jeff R.
Aside from the fact that the chicken is salty- and has no other flavor to speak of. Their Cole Slaw is also tasteless. The final straw was a pebble in the (also flavorless) baked beans. You KNOW you're in a shitty restaurant when the staff doesn't ask "how was everything" at ANY point. The rolls were edible if a dry super-market roll with a little margarine is your style. The "spuds" are basically deep fried, greasy and disgusting potato wedges. You couldn't pay me to eat there again..
(1)Paul T.
Fryer Tuck's fried chicken is pretty darn good. Cooked to perfection, not too greasy, large breasts, and crispy wings...yummy! I would highly recommend calling ahead for take out as seating is very limited. Their website features a menu.
(4)Dave C.
Moist and juicy....can I write that on Yelp? If you like good fried chicken this is the place for you. The decor is pretty eclectic and the dining area is tucked in between a bar, sitting down for lunch with my young kids in a bar was a little different. We also split an order of garlic fries which were tender and flavorful. It's way out of the way for us but definitely worth the trip, but if I am with my kids again I'll probably do take out.
(5)tim a.
We tried this looking for the best chicken in Portland. Although the staff was courteous and quick, the food was totally sub-par. Chicken was really greasy, although moist inside, potato salad was undercooked and crunchy as well as weird sour tasting (spoiled?). Dill dipping sauce wasn't mixed. Altogether a poor performance. Will not repeat.
(1)Kai F.
This is good honest fried chicken. Not fancy schmansy hipster stuff. However they do use Draper Valley chicken - so feel good about that Portlandia. 2 piece lunch box (one breast, one thigh) comes with enough potato planks for at least 2 meals, and served with a yummy dill-sour cream sauce, for $8.95. I think people here call them Jojos, because they seem to be battered and then fried. real good and they heat up well the next day. I ate on the patio on the Cider Mill side on a sunny day, and the wine pours by the glass were large and cheap. Love the plentiful outside seating, and a tented area for sunblock. The smokers were courteous...I suspect this area is mostly for them with the smoking laws. A few people eating but mostly just a bunch of low key people drinking beer, listening to some tunes, and kibitzing. There is also a fire pit which would be nice on a chilly evening. Kindof a dive-bar locals place, where "everybody knows your name".
(4)Lisa E.
Total white trash bar with said white trash patrons singing along to the country music jukebox. Run-down inside and somewhat sketchy but pretty typical for a dive bar. The service was good--our waitress was really nice. The food? It was decent but not the best fried chicken I've ever had. The jojos and mac n' cheese salad were AMAZING. So so so good! The chicken was pretty good but again, not the best fried chicken I've ever had. The one bonus: the chicken was juicy and not dried out (like Delta Cafe has been for me!).
(3)Clay H.
This will be short. We walked in and were greeted by a person on the chicken side of the place, but were told to sit in the restaurant if we wanted to stay. We sat at a table in a bar section next to some people who were cussing about something. Then after about 5 minutes of listening to them and some game we didn't care about, we moved into a different section hoping for someone to notice us. Well, that attention we desired never appeared. We left after 10 more minutes without seeing another employee. One made a half assed attempt to retain us when we were heading out the door, but it fell on deaf ears. Maybe she should visit with her friends less?
(1)carly d.
I've lived in SW for nearly 8 years, and over time have heard Fryer Tuck mentioned as a great source for picnic fare. I found myself staring at blue skies without an inkling of desire to cook dinner, and thought it would be the perfect opportunity to check it out. In a word... awful. Sure, the portions are huge, but with food this bad all you'll find yourself with is a huge amount of guilt from all the food you'll end up tossing, rather than the leftovers you'd enjoy. To be fair, I did find some of the assorted chicken pieces to be cooked appropriately...but fried chicken really can't be a one-time-fits-all methodology. The potato salad was inedible... so vinegary in taste, it seemed to border on rancid. The macaroni salad was only slightly better. I could see potential in the spuds, or Jo-Jo's, but the batter is so flavorless that the provided dill dip becomes necessary, rather than optional. Needless to say, I won't be returning. Had I done my research prior to going, I would have found out that a change of ownership in recent years drastically changed the quality of the Fryer Tuck experience.
(1)Lindsey T.
Went there last night for a date night.... Customer service was great. Friendly service... The food was DISGUSTING! Seriously, spuds and chicken was the worse. Tasted like fried dirt. No flavor at all. No seasoning... Will not be returning. Atmosphere was great.
(1)John J.
Here is the story... if you want great fried chicken and fries, this is THE place! Our recommendation is to do a takeout order, go home or to a park and enjoy. Forget about the Cider Mill Bar (it is not a restaurant, just a dive bar with lots of television screens that no one pays any attention to). It is kind of sad as this is the last of the Fryer Tucks for those of you who are old enough to remember when there were more than one of these in our fair city.
(4)Marcellus J.
Ok so the spuds are good but the chicken was pretty subpar... Ordered a breast specifically (along a thigh and wing) since that's typically the bench mark for how well you handle a fryer. In a word it was poor. They told me it would take about 40 minutes for the breast which was fair since it's the thickest piece. When i picked it up every piece was overcooked to burnt. The taste was pretty bland once i got past the taste of degraded oil. The color also led me to believe that they hadn't changed their fryer oil in a while... Being born and raised in the south (the epicenter for all food related heart-attacks) I like to think that I know a bit a frying some chicken. One day I'll give it another shot, but haven't mustered up the courage for that potential disappointment. If you're willing sacrifice that calorie load and a few dollars I wouldn't completely write off this place, could of just been an off day.
(2)Dylan A.
Ols school Portland fried chicken goodness. Just had a work fuction catered at the office. All the goods dropped off hot and fresh! Man that's some good chicken and taters! Just like I remeber them as a kid. There was a lot of happy folks heading back to their desks.
(5)Nick H.
A rock solid 4. Fryer Tuck and I go back a long ways. I remember my grandparents bringing me here in the 1960s. My first time eating jo-jos was here and in my mind, I always compare all others to these. Few others make the cut. Here's what I ate and what I thought of it; Jo-jos : wonderful. I'm quite sure I'm tasting the memories more than the food itself. Perfectly allowable as a geezer. Chicken : the dark pieces were all right but the breast was kind of dry. I ended up taking it home and topping a salad with it. Coleslaw : sorry but if it ain't my Babushka's, I ain't liking it. My Babushka was one of those little 4'9" ladies from the Old Country. A pint-sized pioneer, if you will. Her typical old-school type of day was something like this; Wake up, pick flowers and brew them into tea. Light housekeeping, start planning lunch. Defeat Hitler. More tea. Make wonderful coleslaw for Nicky. All in all, it's probably a place that is more appealing to old-school type eaters. Having said that, I would (and did) travel to have some of their jo-jos.
(4)Jevan W.
I'm another who has a long-term, intermittent, relationship with Fryer Tuck. For me, I would travel a long way for dipping sauce - the Jo-Jo's are exactly what I think of when you say Jo-Jo, okay so far, a 5...the chicken, is...alright, it's fried chicken, it's kinda bland for me, nothing special. I come here for the Jo-Jo's and that dip, did I mention the dip? Get the dip!
(4)Anica S.
I will admit I wasn't sure how good the chicken would be but again I was reminded why you can't take reviews as face value, Fryer Tucks chicken is awesome! Great staff, dive bar, awesome happy hour menu & specials, tons of TV's on the Cider Mill side which is a plus for sports fans like myself. Their taters and dill dip.... To die for! Prices are totally reasonable, not to mention the portions are huge and I will definitely be back.
(4)Robert C.
This review is from a portland native that grew up on this stuff. The food is great. great in regards to what it is. It's a grease trap. Don't come here expecting to have a salad or anything vegan...it's just not that kind of place. Through the years like any long time portland institution it's had its highs and it's lows. I must say that over the past couple of years the food has been very consistent and the place is way cleaner then years past. I suspect a new owner. If you want deep fried chicken and Jo Jo's go here. The dill dip is also amazing. While waiting for your food drop into the cozy old bar next door and check out the copper ceiling. I
(5)Tres B.
Gloriously slow. The chicken and potatoes take forever. Henry Penny cookers are not quick. But the chicken here is fantastic, the potatoes are amazing and huge orders! This is a venerable spot is an in-the-know Portlandia tradition. A little treasure you've got to find if you've never been!
(4)Elle H.
I was SO DISAPPOINTED with the Fryer ?Tuck chicken I got yesterday..it's been over 4 years since I last had and and - well you know how something very good can be anticipated in your mind and set the taste buds for that wonderful flavor? It didn't happen. the chicken, I ordered a breast and a thigh, was very dry with little of the old seasoning I remember so well from past years. Absolutely no juiciness, even with the thigh there was little flavor. After one bite of the huge breast, I decided to chunk it up into chicken salad-it didn't have any flavor at all. IMO it was very overcooked. Dunno whats going on with that place but it isn't nearly the great chicken I've had for many years. I had a good draft at the restaurant part while I was waiting and the spuds and dill dip were good. I won't go back..yet one more thing that seems to have headed southwards in quality..Damn it.
(2)Cydney M.
If I could give this place less stars I would. Shame on them for making something delicious like fried chicken disgusting. Why does this place even exist, is it a drug front?
(1)Craig H.
Best fried chicken I've ever had. Don't expect anything too fancy, just a plate of amazing chicken and some spuds.
(5)Warren C.
I've gone to Fryer Tucks a few times with my friend Mario that loves this place. The service is like what most people have stated which is lacking. Kind of to be expected when it comes to a bar atmosphere. When we received our food order the gizzards are delectable. The potato wedges are complimented well with the dill sauce they provide. The chicken itself doesn't really standout for me but I will say that corporate environments such as Popeyes, Churches, and KFC have tainted my idea of what Fried chicken is supposed to taste like and I'm under the assumption that Fryer Tucks is really what chicken is supposed to taste like once sentenced to death by batter. Would definitely come again but with the same lower expectations that I have come before. One thing that I do want to mention is that being a minority, the regulars there really have a way to make you not feel welcome in this environment. That is one thing that is very interesting about living in the Portland metro area that you don't need to go too far to be discriminated by in regards to your ethnic background.
(3)Wrecks M.
I just got back from this place and I have to say I am Impressed. I read the reviews and there were some good and bad ones, So I went to see for myself. The Place is kinda run down, BUT The Burger I got was Humungous! It was so Huge and GOOD! It hwas the Farmhouse Burger and it had tomatoes and oinions, but it also had an egg and some ham and bacon, the bacon was nice and Thick too! One of the best burgers I have had in portland. I dont usually eat burgers, but I was Super Hungry today. The waiting area where you place your order is small and the chairs are hard and high up. The Customer service was Great, The guy who took my order was really cool. It didnt take long for my order and there is also a bar in the restraunt. But I took my order to go.I wish I would have came in here sooner. I am leaving soon to another state and if I was staying, I would definately come here again.
(4)Andrew S.
This spot has really good fried Chicken and JoJo's. More on the greasy side, but classic and original. Served in medium size cardboard box, loaded with JoJo's Chicken and batter is okay. Service is good. Never tried their Burger, so this is strictly on Chicken/JoJo/Ranch. Ranch dip is also good.
(3)Shane N.
Albertson's deli is better. Seriously. I've heard so many good things about this place from so many people that I finally tried it and the food was terrible. I ordered the 3 piece snacker box and the chicken was over cooked, the batter was bitter, there were no seasoning to speak of...have these guys heard of salt? Unfortunately, the spuds were cooked in the same fashion. They were so thick that had it not been for the batter, the fries would have been soggy all the way to the surface. And the dipping sauce? Bland, bland, bland, it's as if they took ranch dressing, extracted all of the flavor and served it. Go to Albertson's deli, trust me, you'll get better food for half the price. By the way, I waited the full 20 minutes.
(1)Robert H.
People think there are no dives in SW Portland, but they are wrong. Where there are people there are dives. And Fryer Tuck and its Cider Mill Restaurant is a dive with fried chicken on the side. My design savvy friend with the cool glasses holds her secret meetings there because she knows there would never in a million years be an agency-type spying at Fryer Tuck's, as opposed to, say, Clyde Common. The fried chicken has a medium thick and crunchy breading, unfortunately with little flavor. The chicken tenders are from another source, thicker a bit, but likewise unspicy. They do a unique jojo recipe, 3/8" French fries are breaded and fried with the same coating as the chicken. Another option is to have your fries prepared as "garlic fries" with a thinner coating of the same batter. It does make them crunchier, but not in any way garlic. For the fried chicken there is a standard ranch dip and the fries come with a sour cream and dill dip which is not that interesting. They have about a dozen taps, half macro, some war horses from Deschutes, and for Summer, some other light undistinguished micros. The place is filled with screens showing sports events and as I was leaving a band was setting up, so maybe it turns into a hot spot on Saturday night? It's a dark 80 year old building that has grown bit by bit with no plan, and filled with years' worth of promotional beer signs. Unlike many dives, it's clean, and like many dives it is a mashup of remodeling over 80 years. On the vast patio were a group of bearded guys in tee shirts and girls in summer thrift store dresses with their bikes. Inside there was a 60-something guy trying to make a move on a 40-something lady. He was talking about various friends or relatives getting out of or going into jail and taking highly important sounding calls on his feature phone. You heard it here, feature phones are going to make a comeback! At the bar was a medical professional from the local hospital relating jokes from anesthesiologists about 65-70 years ago in Germany, unimaginably offensive, I won't repeat here. People talking about misplaced passports after years of disuse. Talking about male ideal body image in relation to Iggy Pop and sharks swimming up the Columbia River. Others talking about their mobile service being cut off at midnight and the String Cheese Incident. As I was leaving, something was about to begin at the JCC, and the street was filled with nattily dressed gentlemen with white shirts and black suits in yamakas and their lady friends in finely tailored Summer dresses. If you are in the Hillsdale, Multnomah, Capitol Hill area, you're in the force field of Friar Tuck and the Cedar Mill Restaurant. If you want democratic and real, they serve it. What a great Summer microcosm in a little corner of SW Portland literally perched between Hillsdale and Multnomah.
(3)Jonathan S.
Oh my, this was horrible. There was absolutely nothing of redeeming value from this chicken. The sign says that you'll have to wait 25 minutes for your chicken. Seems like they throw the chicken in for that FULL 25 minutes. They make no differentiation for the size of the pieces and the big breast is cooked just as long as the tiny wing. They seem to throw the fries in at the exact same time. The result? An inedible mess. I know what your thinking, but the homemade chips and salsa were good, right? Well, not in this lifetime. It was like eating a plate of salt. I knew right away this wasnt colonial times because that amount of salt would have made me a rich man in those days. I can't stress enough how much you should STAY AWAY from eating here.
(1)Cherise F.
Fryer Tucks Chicken is the best chicken around. The pieces are huge and always cooked perfectly. The potato spikes with dill sauce are the stuff of dreams. However, the sides such as the coleslaw and beans I can take or leave. Betsy is right that the in-house dining experience isn't the best but I have been known to go eat a $5.00 2 piece snack box there (an extra $1.00 if you want a breast but they are huge!). If you go to Fryer tucks to eat in remember its a bar so no one under 21 allowed. Nothing beats the experience of driving home with your large cardboard crates of piping hot chicken and trying to keep your self from jimmying open the boxes for "just one" potato spike. If you do take out, do yourself a favor and buy twice as much as you need. Its just as good as left overs on day two!
(5)Tirzah N.
fries, little john spuds and fried chicken are so good never had anything else and never will.
(4)Rick W.
Great place to watch a game. The chicken is okay, I've definitely had better. Their mini corn dogs and tater tots were a little over deep fried. However their potato chips and fries were fantastic. (I didn't order all of this for myself, I was with a large group - I swear.) I probably wouldn't make a special trip, but if it was suggested by someone else, I might be up for trying it again.
(3)Mark A.
Just remembered to review this place. I went a little over a year ago cuz I was in the neighborhood buying beers @ John's Market. I always wanted to try this place, & I was not disappointed. First off the beers I had while I was waiting were cold. I like that. Alaskan Amber if you are keeping score. It took me two beers until my chicken & JoJo's were ready. Don't expect fast, but expect delish. I drove all the way to Sherwood before actually eating the chicken & the stuff was still hot & good. I am a super huge fan of the JoJo's. Best I ever had. The dill sauce that came with it is not my choice, but it was not too bad if you like dill. I'll stick with Ranch & Tartar sauce myself. Chicken was right up there with anything I have ever had. LArge pieces too. I will definitely go back the next time I am in the neighborhood. It's worth it every time.
(4)Steve K.
Fryer Tuck is probably my favorite fried chicken...Little John spuds (Jo-jos) are the best! I've been a patron since 1969 and it's never disappointed me.
(4)Joseph H.
Pretty decent fried chicken. Imagine what the old chicken restaurants were like and you have the fryer. A road side diner, serving up fried chicken in a family style. Good fried chicken can be a lost art form, and reasonably priced fried chicken is as populated as the Dodo bird. Fryer Tuck has stuck to his guns serving up greasy crisps of chicken for decades. They definitely have it down pat, and even the pubescent kid on the phone who took our order had a handle on every inch of the fried bird. He quickly rattled off selections, gizzard pieces, and finally sides. Overall they were quick, inexpensive and pretty finger lickin' good as that Colonel used to say. All they would have to do to garner 5 stars on their to-go orders is touch up the ingredients. Is that Tyson chicken I detect under that crust? Please say it isn't? If they upgrade to a little more organic style, or had the offering, I'm sure it would be a crowd pleaser. Either way, it reminded me of younger days, baseball games, and hearty boxes of chicken after. If you're in the mood, it's great for a fix.
(4)Mark S.
First time we went there we didn't order anything, turned right around and walked out because of the cigarette smell coming from the bar next door. Nothing against smokers, just don't like the smell of it mixed with my food. After the ban on smoking inside bars we decided to give it another try. Chicken tasted just like the potato wedges, burnt, stale, grease and was expensive. We could have got a better tasting chicken, more of it and for less at KFC or Popeye's. Looking at the reviews I guess you either love it or hate it. If you want bar food chicken well then here you go, have at it, I won't be back. How long have they been in business and why?
(1)Well-Traveled I.
When we arrived (around 11:45 am - lunch workday), place was empty. But, as we waited for our food, the place started filling up. Ordered a snack box - breast, leg, and jojos. Portions are huge and everything is homemade. Sampled coworker's onion rings; very tasty - fresh onions, too! Chicken was fried a little longer than I like (for example, the skin was darker and definitely very crisp, the latter I love), but the chicken itself was so tasty and juicy. Staff was very friendly; it takes about 20 minutes to cook your food, so if you're expecting KFC time, go elsewhere - you won't appreciate the goodness that comes to those who wait.
(4)Shaun O.
The bartender wouldn't break from her story long enough to greet us after standing there for nearly 10 minutes, thanks Mary..won't be back.
(1)Scott H.
I took my dad here from out of town today because the way I remembered it, the chicken was fantastic. We ordered a 12 piece with two breasts, five thighs, and five legs. Somewhat disappointing, the breasts were dry and they threw in 4 wings along with 3 legs two thighs, and one unidentifiable item. When I asked about the wings, the answer was that he must not have read the order right so he just put in the usual for a 12 piece. She didn't ask if we wanted our missing thighs and legs, so I just blew it off. We ordered a side of gravy too, that when it finally came (after our second time asking for it), was cold and thick like paste. The jojos were as awesome as ever, really amazing, but the chicken was average, so I probably wont bother going back.
(3)SD W.
We gave this place a try after living in the neighborhood for about 8 months. We ordered the chicken legs and thighs with spuds. What we got was an enormous box of "spuds" or thick, fried potatoes with just a few TINY pieces of fried chicken. The chicken would barely have made a decent portion for one person, let alone two people and there were enough spuds to feed 8-10 people. The flavor was incredibly disappointing - very bland, almost dry. The spuds were bad, too - they tasted exactly like the chicken, as I'm pretty sure they just fry it all together in the same vat of oil. It didn't appear to look or taste any healthier than KFC, either (not that you'd go here for health food, but if you're going to go all out for fried chicken and such, KFC tastes wayyy better and is cheaper). Not only that, but they force you to pay an extra $1 for the large, greasy, non-recyclable box that they give you for take-out orders. Seriously - who does that? They can't figure out a better packaging system than that? Anyway, glad we tried it, so we know we don't ever need to order from here again.
(1)Eric L.
First thing I have to say is...plan ahead!! Never in my life have I had to wait 40 minutes for fried chicken and wings! I'm serious, no exagerating here. Got there at 8:45pm and ended up leaving with my food at 9:25pm!!! Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that they got my order wrong. Not acceptable, especially since there was no one else in there. Ok, now that I've vented, let's move on to the chicken. This place is great minus the long wait. The fried chicken reminded me so much of this place back home in Hawaii called Alice's Chicken. The pieces are huge and they're battered and fried to crispy perfection. The jojo's are to die for with ranch and/or their special dipping sauce. Their wings are good but nothing special. Typical Frank's Red Hot sauce and butter spicy sauce. I personally think I make better wings myself, but of course I'm biased. I would've given Fryer Tuck's a 5 star rating had it not been for the bad service, messed up order, and the super long wait. The food is definitely the best fried chicken I've eaten here in Oregon, but the counter is horrible. I hope they work on their customer service skills and work on getting the food out a bit faster. This place has so much potential if they actually try.
(4)R T.
I don't get the hype here, the bar has no atmosphere I want to partake in and the chicken shops chicken isn't that good. Sorry but this place doesn't hold up to it's reputation. I'd come to expect great fried food from all my friends great reviews. blahh
(2)MIKE J.
Fryer Tuck is the best fried chicken i have ever had .. sure i have never been to the south but i know good food and there chicken with little john spuds kick butt.. i have been eating there since the 70's and haver never left disapointed.get it to go and eat at a near by park are eat it in your car with a few napkins..love it love it love it
(5)Ajia T.
I must lament, with all sincerity, that I do not crave fried chicken, nor do I especially enjoy fried food. Sometimes, though, when a girl is in her last couple of weeks of pregnaciousness and has been carefully avoiding high-sodium foods for weeks to reduce water retention...some fried goodness must be had. Hence, my decision to get take-out from Tuck's. Having lived near Multnomah Village for 8 years, I am familiar with the legend of said chicken, but have (gasp!) never actually eaten it. Let me assure you, it's everything you could want in a fried piece of birdie...a light, crispy coating envelops tender, juicy, meat. Watch for bone fragments at the joints, though - I found one in a breast piece. Speaking of which, the breasts are so huge, I could only eat 1 piece. It was seriously gigantic and nearly entirely took up it's own box! The sides are also quite good at Tuck's. I particularly enjoyed the macaroni salad, which was uniquely spiced and tasted damned fresh. Not made with creamy crap, it was refreshing and light. The baked beans were yummy, too - my husband actually wolfed them down before the rest of his food. The soft rolls were bleh. Now, the spuds....ah, the spuds! Those were incredible, especially with the dill dip everyone has raved about. Not heavily battered and just the right texture...mmm! I can't say this is the best fried chicken I've ever had, but I'm sure I'll return to Tuck's someday for fried goodness, when the mood strikes me. At only $15 for a complete, not-entirely-unhealthy meal for two people, it's definitely easy on the pocketbook, too.
(4)Kevin J.
I might be biased as I used to frequent this place as a child when it was out in the Beaverton area over 20 years ago. But oh man do they have the crunchiest and largest pieces of fried chicken. The big reason I enjoy the place so much though has to go to the Little John spuds; crunchy coating on the outside, soft and yummy in the middle...and don't forget the dill dip to tag those luscious logs of goodness with! You will be satisfied...very affordable as well.
(5)Tina P.
So sorry to say it but this place used to be so much better. I remember riding in the car with my dad--"all the way out there" (from the eastside) back in the 70s--to get their chicken and tators. It was such a treat in my childhood! Last time I ate here was in 2002-2003 and it was nothing like I remember. :(
(1)Misty L.
I was in Portland just for the weekend and started craving some of Seattle's Ezell's chicken. In an effort to satisfy the craving I checked out Fryer Tuck chicken because of some of the reviews on Yelp. The service took FOREVER. They say you will wait 20 minutes for your order, we waited at least an hour and then when we finally did get our food, it was mediocre. The chicken was sort of meh, and the rest of the massive pile of food they put in front of me was inedible. I am a carbohydrate addict and I took one bite of the roll they gave me - thinking it's pretty hard to mess up a roll - and was just done with my meal. Sadly disappointing experience.
(1)Denise D.
LIke several of the other reviewers, I've been going to Fryer Tuck's (the one on Walker and Cedar Hills that's no longer there) since I was a kid. We didn't want KFC when I was a kid, we wanted Fryer Tuck! Who else had Little John Spuds and Fryer Tuck Sauce (okay, it sounds a little wrong, but tastes so right!)? I wasn't into any of the other food as a kid, except maybe the rolls, but my family loved everything else on the menu. So, fast forward 40 years. My neighborhood restaurant is gone, the remaining one has changed owners many times, and it seems the magic of Fryer Tuck has worn down a bit. Admittedly, my 4-star rating is heavily padded with nostalgia. Still, even without nostalgic influences, I've not had the bad experiences described by fellow reviewers. Tonight I wanted some Little John Spuds. I haven't eaten at Fryer Tuck's since the new owners took over. I called the restaurant, placed my order and was told it would be ready in 20 minutes. I hopped in my car, got there about 15 minutes later and everything was ready and waiting for me. The young man waiting on me was friendly and thoughtful. I ate my food at home and the spuds were as amazing as ever. The sauce tasted like the recipe might have changed but I'm not sure about that. I was so full after a few spuds and a bottle of pop that I'll have to have the baked beans, macaroni salad and rolls for another meal. So, overall I'm still a huge fan of the place. It's definitely not gourmet or super healthy fare, so if that's what you're after, you're at the wrong place. But if you're willing to dig into some grease and know that you either have to call ahead or plan to wait if you dine in, then you won't regret it.
(4)Gregg A.
This place is fantastic. If you love fried chicken this is the place for you. I would only recommend ordering your food by phone and taking it home. The bar attached to the takeout restaurant is a pretty disgusting dive bar...very smoky and ruins the dinner. I've only tried to eat there once and it ruined the great food. We get a box of breasts, wings, and Jo-Jo's. Finger licking good! It's perfect for a late evening dinner at home with beer while watching the game.
(5)Kenneth H.
The fried chicken here is damn good. I have only done takeout, and you can take home a huge amount of food for super cheap. Not only does Fryer Tuck satisfy in the quantity department, but also in the quality! The chicken is always juicy, well seasoned, perfectly cooked and practically dripping off the bone. The Jo-Jo's (Little John Spuds) are joygasmic, and make me feel dirty just for continually shoveling them into my mouth. They also serve the typical sides...various slaws, and salads, but I wasn't overly impressed with any of them. I have never really been a fan of take out chicken (popeyes or KFC, etc) but I am smitten with Fryer Tuck. Thank you Fryer for helping me re-discover my love of fried chicken! Warning: When you eat this well, be prepared for a little battle with the bowel gods the next day as this much grease is not actually for human consumption.
(4)Jey R.
Great fried chicken. Some of the most delicious potatoes.
(5)Kim B.
Spuds are amazing! I wasn't very fond of the house dipping sauce but the chicken and potato salad was yummy. Again expect a wait bit it is quality chicken.
(4)NANCY H.
This is the best friend chicken I've had in long time. Eat your heart out KFC! We ordered the dinner for two plus onion rings which include a side of choice, baked beans, two sweet rolls, 4 pieces of very large chicken pieces, jojo's, and a dip for your potatoes. After waiting practically 30 minutes (they were busy), we received one big box full of the crispiest onion rings I've ever had AND another huge box of this mound of jojo's and chicken. I was like...all this for just $14 bucks. I'm in love! The wait was all worth it. I love fried chicken and this was seasoned spicy and everything was big and gooood! I would recommend this place for take-out and order ahead. Great for picnics, games, or some at home grubbin' (so you can lick your fingers without shame)! Good For: best fried chicken in Oregon, picnic lunch
(5)Violet T.
The fried chicken was decent, but not as special as I had hoped. I heard a lot of hype about this place, and my favorite thing was the jojos. I asked the waitress if the chicken wings as an appetizer were super spicy, she said she could make them really mild... even my boyfriend, who eats spicy food, was struggling they were so hot. Some people like this, but we wouldn't have ordered them, we would have picked something else. And the wings took just as long (35 minutes) to come out as our fried chicken. We ordered an appetizer because we heard the wait was long... My drink was nice an strong though, so that helped. I will probably just make my fried chicken at home from now on, and maybe call in an order for the spuds.
(3)John M.
This place should be revisited by the food press in town. It's fried chicken, not health food. But it's some of the best fried chicken you'll ever have--and the pieces are LARGE and inexpensive. This dude Mark S. doesn't know what he's talking about. KFC and Popeyes are mass-produced garbage.
(4)Mark G.
I've been eating take out here for at least 35 years, and I've never had a bad meal. The other comments are spot on....delicious, crunchy and juicy fried chicken and great spuds. Never a fan of the "dip"...kind of bland and I prefer to use ranch....but the baked beans have always more than made up for it. Unlike any I've ever had, with a deep mahogany color and a rich molasses flavor. Yesterday, I decided to eat in at the attached bar. Big mistake. At first, I was enthused...the menu has been expanded and I saw an article on the wall about a new owner. Great! Good to see someone young taking over, and the new menu items indicated some ambition to succeed. Unfortunately, my enthusiasm was short-lived. The service was atrocious and slow, with my waitress getting my order wrong twice. But, even worse, the food was really bad. While my chicken breast was good, the spuds were overcooked and dry...just crunchy dry shells with nothing inside. And the beans I've loved for a lifetime are gone. In their place, some really generic, out of the can baked beans that I didn't even finish. If I had never been here before, I would give it one star and never return, however, 35 years of good food earns them an additional star and a second chance. I'm worried, though, that the new owner has lost what has made this place great for so long. An expanded menu is fine, but there's a reason Fryer Tuck has been in business for this long, so don't screw it up! Do the basics right. I hope I'm wrong about this place going downhill, because I love(d) it. One more chance.
(2)Betsy C.
My husband and I made the mistake many before us have made. We were even warned not to do it, but we just couldn't stop ourselves. Instead of ordering takeout, we ate in. And apparently it was a bad night. One of the fryers apparently broke during dinner service, causing all fried chicken to take 5 billion years to cook, causing many tables to leave, and many to go customers to stand there angrily. Thankfully we didn't enter the building absolutely DYING to eat, so we made ourselves at home in the "restaurant" that is really more like a bar with pool tables, lotto games, etc. As that's not really my style, I was a bit nervous, but no one else was really there so it was all good. We changed the channel to whatever we wanted, laid back, and waited for our food. (We were warned the chicken would take 30-45 minutes, but we've also heard it'd be worth it.) While we waiting, we had multiple conversations with the waitress concerning topics such as her angry customers (one claiming the swiss cheese wasn't "real" swiss) to my own personal food poisoning a few weeks earlier to the waitress' case of food poisoning that ruined her trip to Spain and she'll never go back. Only by the time we DID get our food, we had waited about 1.5 hours, which was a tad annoying because by that point, we WERE dying to eat. On to the food! MAN did it make up for how long it took to get it! Since it was still happy hour (the hours of which had changed the day before) we got a dozen hot wings for $6. Not too shabby. They weren't worth four stars, but they WERE worth $6. It wasn't what I was there for, anyway. The fried chicken. Oh, the fried chicken. It was fried to a dark, rich color and right away I knew it'd be heavenly. And it was. So crispy and juicy and all that fried chicken should be! The spuds weren't too shabby either. They are the battered and wedged variety which is really pretty tasty. These two items alone are worth five delicious, greasy stars. I have to admit, however, that before I was even finished eating, I felt a rumbling in the stomach, and we all know what that means. Typically I hold my friend chicken well, but not here. It is some serious (and seriously tasty) heavy food! In the end, neither of us would eat in again, but we weren't sorry we did the first time. We left feeling like we were over at our new BFF's (i.e. the waitress) place making ourselves at home. A home that would've been totally obnoxious had it been full of bar-type people doing bar-type things. I'd definitely get some chicken and spuds to go, though, and hope for a better outcome in the stomach department, because MAN was it good! Oh, and my husband got a pulled pork (or was it chicken?) sandwich which was super juicy and came with a homemade sauce that was to die for. It came on a nice ciabatta roll, though, which was greatly appreciated because it held the runny sauce very well.
(4)Glenda S.
Fryer Tuck Chicken is GONE! This was the last one and I'm guessing the other reviews are new and have no idea what it should have tasted like. This place only deserved ONE STAR since they had the order done when we went to pick it up. Had we known what they did to the original recipe we would have walked out and not wasted $35.00 on tasteless crap! We left a tip is why it added up to that amount since the cook did finish the order. Got ripped off for four thighs, six wings, one order of spuds, one pint of dip and coleslaw for $35.00?????? The spuds were so disappointing as they were missing an important spice or this new owner is just being cheap in leaving it out! Will NEVER use this lousy food business again! The coleslaw use to come in TWO PARTS which the buyer put together for better freshness. Either we didn't get the SECOND part or this place is making the worst tasting coleslaw that has NO TASTE! The dip was okay, but it didn't even enhance the tasteless spuds that use to be one of kind taste. Chicken was so-so since they still seem to use Oregon chicken, but it was missing the marvelous taste of Fryer Tuck's missing flavor which is sad. Will be buying the chicken from the store in their deli section that at least has a decent taste.
(1)Jeff R.
Aside from the fact that the chicken is salty- and has no other flavor to speak of. Their Cole Slaw is also tasteless. The final straw was a pebble in the (also flavorless) baked beans. You KNOW you're in a shitty restaurant when the staff doesn't ask "how was everything" at ANY point. The rolls were edible if a dry super-market roll with a little margarine is your style. The "spuds" are basically deep fried, greasy and disgusting potato wedges. You couldn't pay me to eat there again..
(1)Paul T.
Fryer Tuck's fried chicken is pretty darn good. Cooked to perfection, not too greasy, large breasts, and crispy wings...yummy! I would highly recommend calling ahead for take out as seating is very limited. Their website features a menu.
(4)Dave C.
Moist and juicy....can I write that on Yelp? If you like good fried chicken this is the place for you. The decor is pretty eclectic and the dining area is tucked in between a bar, sitting down for lunch with my young kids in a bar was a little different. We also split an order of garlic fries which were tender and flavorful. It's way out of the way for us but definitely worth the trip, but if I am with my kids again I'll probably do take out.
(5)tim a.
We tried this looking for the best chicken in Portland. Although the staff was courteous and quick, the food was totally sub-par. Chicken was really greasy, although moist inside, potato salad was undercooked and crunchy as well as weird sour tasting (spoiled?). Dill dipping sauce wasn't mixed. Altogether a poor performance. Will not repeat.
(1)Rebecca H.
Staff is nice and attentive. Location is decent. Happy hour is average, at best. Sucks if you're not a smoker because the place stinks of fresh cigarettes. Smoke is continuously coming in from the back patio. BTW patio is ok, kinda dirty. NOT a good place to watch any game!!! Here's why: 1. Not enough TVs 2. Sound is terrible 3. The channels are on different stations. So some TVs are 10 to 20 seconds ahead of others. I will not watch another game here.
(2)Mark C.
Not good. Just go to KFC.
(1)Mike N.
It's always really frustrating to order food at a place and watch other people who came in after you arrived be fed, pay their bill, and then leave before your waitress even acknowledges that your food will eventually make its way out of the kitchen. Thirty minutes went by before our waitress came by and informed us that the food would be another 20 minutes. She blamed this on the kitchen, we accepted this, good-natured, and she asked us if maybe we would like something to tide us over. We asked for just some chips & salsa as my wife was starving at this point. Other people's fried chicken came by and smelled amazing, but ours was nowhere in sight. We proceeded to eat some of the chips but were trying to not ruin our appetite. Finally, about an hour after we ordered, the chicken did arrive. It was quite tasty. The jojo fries were good. Portions are massive. Bill arrived and they decided that charging us $5 for the chips and (canned) salsa that they served us because they forgot to place our order was a reasonable thing to do. I informed the waitress that I am not about to pay for something we barely ate and would not have ordered if we were not starving and they had not forgotten about us. Long story short, the chicken is good, but I can't deal with waiting that long and then being expected to pay 5 bucks for a half-eaten order of unwanted chips and Pace salsa.. I live close by but I can't imagine I will come back. This was our first time coming in and you lost two customers who love dive bars and fried chicken.
(2)M S.
Always good chicken been coming here for over 30 years including the old building.. never a bad meal the spuds are the bomb.. if you dont use all the chicken let it cool and shred it and make a chicken salad so yummy
(5)L S.
Very inconsistent. Fabulous one time, tastes like old oil the next. Sometimes perfect ... Sometimes way overdone. They need quality control to keep me coming as the prices are increasing.
(3)Karen P.
Fun local bar with regularly scheduled activities for locals. Plus the chicken & spuds are the best!
(5)Matthew H.
This place was legendary for so long buy every year for the last 5 it has gotten worst. How do you over cook a chicken breast so bad and then still need to cut a big gash in it to make sure it's done is beyond me. What a joke!!!
(1)L. C.
I just had a birthday party for my two year old and we bought a huge box of jojo potatoes and chicken legs and I've already had four friends ask where I got the joes. The chicken legs were gone in 10 minutes and someone ended up taking the box of joes when they left. WTH? They are so good that my friend asked me to bring some to her party and my pregnant friend asked me to bring some to her shower but not to share with her guests :). Best Joes in Portland! My son ended up only getting one leg and he freaked out because he wanted another. Bottom line... Make sure you buy enough legs to circumvent a tantrum and enough joes so your pregnant friends don't eat yours :). One thing though... The people that work there are super rude like, if their chicken sucked, I would never go in again. That's just an FYI.
(5)