Here's Everywhere You Can Find Dave's Hot Chicken Outside The U.S.

Dave's Hot Chicken was founded in 2017 in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, out of a parking lot, where a crew cranked out Nashville-style hot chicken tenders absolutely doused in a signature spicy seasoning. Having since exploded onto the fast casual scene, Dave's Hot Chicken is expanding at a breakneck pace. I can tell you that Dave's Hot Chicken lives up to the hype, after trying it myself in 2023. First of all, everyone loves chicken tenders, and second, it's unapologetic in terms of flavor. The menu is pretty simple; Aside from the starring chicken tenders (which you can get in varying levels of spice), you can also get chicken in slider form, along with smaller chicken bites and sides like fries, mac and cheese, and kale slaw.

Dave's Hot Chicken is also an international operation, and for a chain that only went brick-and-mortar at the end of 2017, its cross-border expansion has been going for a while now. You'll find international Dave's Hot Chicken locations in Canada, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and London.

Some celebrities are big fans of this chain; Even rapper and actor Drake is an investor in Dave's Hot Chicken, along with actor Samuel L. Jackson. Apparently those two stars enjoy sweating over a pile of massive chicken tenders, because they both reportedly plunked down some serious cash to help the chain grow. In 2021, Bloomberg reported that Drake had said in a statement, "I tried the food and it was amazing. After meeting the founders and hearing their story, I jumped at the opportunity to invest." 

Apparently that seed money has gone a long way, because the rest of the world is slowly getting its chance to try "Reaper"-level chicken tenders; A spice level that's so hot that customers are required to consent via a waiver and release of liability that states, "I acknowledge that eating the Reaper can cause me harm, including, but not limited to, bodily injury, property damage, emotional distress, or even death." For anyone new to the Dave's Hot Chicken experience, I really liked the "hot" level spice, in case you need a place to start. Maybe wait on Reaper-level until you're ready to take the heat.