‹ The Fried Chicken 100 › Atlanta

No. 11 in the world · November 2026

Busy Bee Cafe

Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, West End · Atlanta, United States

Southern fried chickenNo. 11
A photo like it · milo-photo (CC BY 2.0) (Southern fried chicken, not from Busy Bee Cafe) · source

The one piece to order

The fried chicken plate with collards and mac and cheese

The line to expect: A line at lunch, longest on Sundays. Beat it: 2 to 4pm on a weekday.

On MLK Drive since 1947 and a James Beard America's Classic; a semifinalist in the AJC's 2026 blind tasting.

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Make it at home

Buttermilk Southern fried chicken

Buttermilk Southern fried chicken

Overnight brine, 1 hr to fry · 4 to 6 (one 1.6 kg / 3 1/2 lb chicken). The one most of the chart is built on: chicken soaked overnight in seasoned buttermilk, dredged in peppery flour with a few spoonfuls of the buttermilk worked in for craggy bits, and fried low and slow so it's cooked to the bone with a crust that cracks.

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Fried chicken near it

No. 20 Mary Mac's Tea RoomAtlanta
No. 91 Five & TenAthens
No. 1 Prince's Hot Chicken ShackNashville

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Checked November 11, 2026. Hours and lines change; check before you cross town.

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