Dave’s Hot Chicken Menu Prices 2026: Full Menu With Calories

Dave’s Hot Chicken runs one of the smallest menus in American fast food — tenders, sliders, fries, kale slaw, mac and cheese, shakes — and that is the whole point. A Dave’s #1 with two tenders, fries, kale slaw, bread and sauce runs $12.49–$12.99 at most stores, and every piece of chicken comes in seven spice levels, from No Spice to the waiver-signing Reaper. This guide covers the full 2026 menu with prices and calories, from the numbered combos to the Hot Boxes.

About the prices: Dave’s Hot Chicken publishes no national price list — each franchised restaurant sets its own. The figures below are November 2026 reference ranges built from the official ordering menu at the Melrose Park, Illinois location (checked November 3, 2026), a Denver check the same week, and multi-state tracker captures. One tracker (usafoodmenu.com) lists the combos about $2 higher — the #1 at $14.49 against $12.49 at Melrose Park — and delivery apps add roughly 20–30% on top of in-store prices. Where sources disagree, the range is shown and the conflict is stated, not smoothed. Prices do not include tax. Three companion guides go deeper: the Dave’s Hot Chicken secret menu guide collects the fan builds regulars order by recipe, the Dave’s Hot Chicken nutrition guide breaks down every item with protein and sodium from the chain’s own chart, and the Dave’s Hot Chicken coupons guide explains Frequent Fryer rewards and the real savings.

Numbered Combos

Order by number. Every numbered combo includes fries, kale slaw, a slice of white bread, pickles and Dave’s Sauce — what changes is only how much chicken you get and in what form. The #2 is the most-ordered item on the menu; the #4 is the cheapest full combo.

Price conflict, stated plainly: the Melrose Park official ordering menu (November 3, 2026) lists the #1 at $12.49, the #2 at $14.49, the #3 at $13.49 and the #4 at $9.99, while usafoodmenu.com’s November 2026 multi-state check lists the same four at $14.49, $16.99, $15.49 and $10.99. California and Northeast stores run above the national middle, and delivery apps add roughly 30%. Dave’s #5 was not listed on the Melrose Park menu on November 3, 2026, or on the Denver and Chicago menus checked the same week, so its price is not published here — check the app. Calories are from Dave’s official nutrition chart (revised 3/16/26); the low end is Not Hot / Lite Mild, the high end is Mild through Reaper.

Tenders & Dave’s Bites

Tenders are the core product. They are brined, hand-breaded and fried to order, which is why the wait runs longer than a standard drive-thru. Dave’s Bites are the same chicken in bite-size pieces — and at $7.99 for ten pieces with 41g of protein, they are the best protein-per-dollar item on the menu.

Value note: a single tender plus a side of fries costs $8.88–$8.98 and lands around 990 calories — the same chicken as the #1 for about $4 less, giving up one tender, the slaw and the bread. The Bites + Fries price reads $10.49 at most trackers and $10.99 at one; the single tender reads $4.89 at Melrose Park and $4.99 in the national reference range.

Sliders

A slider is a tender on a potato bun with kale slaw, pickles and Dave’s Sauce. Sliders cost more than tenders because of the bun and the build, and they carry more calories for the same amount of chicken. The XL Slider is the bigger-tender version; the Mac Loaded Slider tops the slider with mac and cheese.

Dave’s does not publish calories for the XL Slider, the Mac Loaded Slider or the Hot Mozz Slider with fries — the table shows “–” where the official chart is silent, not a guess. The Mini Sliders price reads $7.49 at Melrose Park and $7.99 at another tracker; the single slider reads $6.69 at Melrose Park and $6.99 in the national reference range.

Dave’s NOT Chicken (Cauliflower)

The cauliflower line mirrors the chicken combos: breaded cauliflower tenders and sliders in the same numbered combos, plus Cauli Bites, at all seven heat levels. It is vegetarian by ingredient — but it is fried in the same oil as the chicken at most locations, so it is not vegan and not safe for a strict vegetarian who needs separate fryers. Ask at the counter; a small number of restaurants run a separate fryer.

Cauliflower cuts calories modestly and protein sharply: the Not Chicken #1 carries 10g of protein against 56g in the chicken #1. The cauliflower combos run about $4 more than their chicken equivalents at the same numbers. One tracker lists the Cauli #1 at $16.99 and the Cauli #4 at $12.49 against $16.49 and $11.99 at Melrose Park; the single cauli tender reads $6.69 at Melrose Park and $7.99 in one multi-state tracker. Not Chicken #5 was not listed on the Melrose Park menu, so its price reads Varies. Dave’s does not publish calories for the Cauli Bites.

Top-Loaded Fries

Loaded fries are crinkle-cut fries under cheese sauce, chopped chicken and Dave’s Sauce, sold in three sizes. The large is genuinely a sharing item — 1,760 calories — rather than a single portion. The cauliflower versions cost the same and run slightly lighter.

The Large Top-Loaded Buffalo Mac is the heaviest single item Dave’s sells at 2,960 calories, per the official chart — but it is built for sharing, and Dave’s does not publish a price for it, so it reads Varies here.

Sides & Sauces

Kale slaw is the item that surprises people: a vinegar-based slaw rather than a creamy one, it cuts through the heat better than anything else on the menu, and it comes with every numbered combo. Dave’s Sauce is a mayonnaise-based house sauce — creamy, a little tangy, mildly peppery — and a 1.5 oz cup is 270 calories, almost as much as a side of kale slaw.

Watch the sauce: a single cup of Dave’s Sauce is 270 calories in the official chart, and the large tub is 1,530. One tracker lists the side cup at 180 calories — the official chart’s 270 for a 1.5 oz cup is the figure used here, and the difference is stated rather than smoothed.

Shakes

The shakes are the other half of the Dave’s identity. The regular shakes come in vanilla, chocolate and strawberry; the Top-Loaded shakes arrive with cereal, cookies or candy piled on top. Milk fat clears capsaicin better than water or soda, so at Hot and above you will want a shake mid-meal.

Shake calories come from Dave’s earlier nutrition chart (revised 6/13/2024) — the current 3/16/26 chart covers food only, so shake sodium and other detail are not published. A large shake is heavy enough to count as a meal on its own.

Drinks & Slushers

Dave’s pours Coca-Cola products. The frozen slushers are the drink most people reach for at the higher spice levels, since something cold and sweet does more for the burn than water does.

Slusher flavors include Hi-C Flashin’ Fruit Punch, Hi-C Orange LavaBurst, Minute Maid Strawberry Lemonade, Powerade Mountain Berry Blast, plus Rocket Creme, Orange Creme and Strawberries and Creme.

Hot Boxes for Groups

Hot Boxes are the catering format, ordered ahead rather than off the counter. Each one comes with the sides and sauces built in, and you pick a single spice level for the whole box — unless you order the Roulette, where the levels are mixed and nobody knows which piece is which.

Hot Box prices conflict across sources: the Tenders box reads $45 at Melrose Park and $50 in one multi-state tracker; the Sliders box reads $65 at Melrose Park and $70 in the same tracker; the Box of Fries reads $10 at Melrose Park and $12 elsewhere; the Cauli Slider Box reads $85 at one tracker and $95 at another. The ranges are shown, not averaged away. For a group of four, the Tenders Hot Box undercuts four separate #1 combos by a wide margin.

Seven Spice Levels

Every tender, slider and bite comes in seven levels, and picking one costs nothing extra. The heat is applied as a dry rub and a spiced oil after frying, so the level changes the surface of the chicken rather than the chicken itself — which is why the calorie count barely moves between No Spice and Reaper. Heat per piece is allowed, so a combo can be one Medium tender and one Hot slider.

The Reaper waiver is real, not a marketing gimmick. Carolina Reaper peppers run into the millions on the Scoville scale, hundreds of times hotter than a jalapeño, and the restaurant will ask you to sign before it goes in the fryer. Some locations will not serve Reaper to under-18s at all. Regulars’ advice, which the menu does not print: go one level below what you think you can handle on your first visit. The heat builds rather than hitting immediately, so what feels manageable on the first bite is a different experience four bites in. Medium here is hotter than Medium at most places — and a tender feels hotter than a slider at the same level, because the slider has slaw, a bun and sauce to soften the rub.

Allergen Information

All Dave’s Hot Chicken food is prepared in a shared kitchen with shared cooking equipment, including fryers, so cross-contact with allergens is possible for every item. The tender’s published allergens are egg, milk, mustard and soy; the slider adds sesame and wheat. The chicken and the cauliflower are both breaded, the buns and bread contain wheat, and everything is fried in shared oil — so there is no gluten-free route through this menu and no vegan option. Read the chain’s allergen menu and confirm with staff before ordering.

Nutrition

The full breakdown is in the Dave’s Hot Chicken nutrition guide: every combo and à la carte item with calories, protein and sodium from Dave’s own chart (revised 3/16/26). The short version: a single tender is 490–550 calories with 25g of protein; the #1 is 1,230–1,350 calories with 56g; the #2 is 1,500–1,620 with 68g; the lightest chicken combo is the #5 at 930–990 calories; the lightest combo of any kind is the Not Chicken #5 at 790–830. Sodium is the real story — the #3 carries 3,400–3,950mg at the hotter tier, more than a day’s worth, and choosing No Spice does not reduce sodium meaningfully, because the salt is in the brine rather than the rub.

Hours

Dave’s runs later than most fast casual, because much of its trade is evening and late night. Typical hours are 11:00 AM to 10:00 or 11:00 PM Sunday to Thursday, and to midnight or later on Friday and Saturday; some urban locations run to 1:00 or 2:00 AM on weekends. There is no breakfast menu at any Dave’s. Hours are set by the franchise and vary by location — use the store finder on daveshotchicken.com for the restaurant you are actually visiting. Because everything is fried to order, the wait at peak times regularly runs 15 to 25 minutes even when the queue looks short.

Reviews

Dave’s Hot Chicken has no single national rating — it is franchised, and Yelp scores swing by location. The Rowland Heights, California store sits at 3.9 stars from 91 reviews; Beaverton, Oregon at 4.1 from 260; Seattle’s Capitol Hill store at 3.7 from 276; West Palm Beach at 3.5 from 29; Lee’s Summit, Missouri at 2.6 from 14. Google reviews aggregated for the Los Angeles stores run around 4.4 out of 5. The pattern across locations is consistent: the chicken itself is praised, the wait and the price are the complaints.

“The chicken is SUPER juicy too!!!” — a Yelp reviewer at Rowland Heights, California. “The chicken at Dave’s is so good. Each tender had a crunchy exterior and tender interior. The fries were also crispy and flavorful. Very slow service!” — another Rowland Heights reviewer. “The sliders were big, made fresh and the chicken was hot and tender,” a Beaverton reviewer wrote, adding: “I’ve been getting the hot mozzarella combo once a month or so as a treat since it came out.” On Google, Joseph S. wrote of the Los Angeles store: “They have HOT chicken. I would say comparable to Hattie B’s Nashville Hot chicken… Medium and Hot is great.” And a Seattle reviewer summed up the first visit: “HECK YEAH!! Dave’s Hot Chicken is definitely an experience, and I was happy with the portion size…”

For the closest Nashville-style comparison, see the Raising Cane’s menu and the Zaxby’s menu; for the chicken-sandwich benchmark, the Chick-fil-A menu and the Popeyes menu.

Dave’s Hot Chicken Menu Facts

1. Dave’s Hot Chicken started in May 2017 as a parking-lot stand in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, set up by four childhood friends — Dave Kopushyan, Arman Oganesyan, and brothers Tommy and Gary Rubenyan — with about $900 pooled between them.
2. Dave Kopushyan trained as a chef in Thomas Keller’s organization, which includes The French Laundry.
3. The founders borrowed the idea of a very short menu from In-N-Out and pointed it at Nashville-style hot chicken.
4. Celebrity investors include Drake, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Strahan and Maria Shriver.
5. In June 2025, private equity firm Roark Capital acquired the company in a deal reported at about $1 billion.
6. By 2026, Dave’s operated more than 390 locations across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and the Middle East; one tracker counts 400+.
7. The menu has stayed narrow on purpose: tenders and sliders at seven heat levels, bites, a cauliflower line, a few sides, Top-Loaded fries and shakes, and party Hot Boxes.
8. There are seven spice levels: No Spice, Lite Mild, Mild, Medium, Hot, Extra Hot and Reaper.
9. Reaper is made with Carolina Reaper pepper, and stores typically ask you to sign a waiver before serving it. Some locations will not serve it to under-18s.
10. Heat per piece is allowed — a combo can be one Medium tender and one Hot slider, at no extra charge.
11. Choosing a spice level is free at every level, including Reaper.
12. The #2, two sliders with fries, is the most-ordered item on the menu.
13. The #4, one slider with fries, is the cheapest full combo at $9.99–$10.49.
14. The 10-piece Dave’s Bites is the best protein-per-dollar item on the menu: 41g of protein for $7.99.
15. A single tender has 25g of protein for 490–550 calories — the best protein-per-calorie item Dave’s sells.
16. The Large Top-Loaded Buffalo Mac is the heaviest single item at 2,960 calories, but it is built for sharing.
17. A 1.5 oz cup of Dave’s Sauce is 270 calories — almost as much as a side of kale slaw (270) and nearly as much as mac and cheese (290).
18. Kale slaw has 170mg of sodium; a side of fries has 1,200mg.
19. Moving from Lite Mild to Mild adds 40–120 calories and 270–560mg of sodium to a combo, per Dave’s own chart.
20. There is no breakfast menu, no drive-thru at most locations, and no kids’ menu — the Cub Meal equivalent here is the Mini Sliders.
21. Dave’s does not publish a national price list. The same #1 was $12.49 at Melrose Park, Illinois and $12.99 in Denver on the same morning in November 2026.
22. The Dave’s NOT Chicken line is vegetarian by ingredient but fried in the same oil as the chicken at most locations.
23. Dave’s Hot Chicken has no official secret menu — the fan builds in the Dave’s Hot Chicken secret menu guide are ordered by recipe from real menu components.
24. The chain’s loyalty program is called Frequent Fryer: 10 points per $1, with free food at 300, 600 and 1,200 points. Details are in the Dave’s Hot Chicken coupons guide.
25. For more chicken boards, browse the Chicken category.

FAQs

How much is Dave’s Hot Chicken?

Most combos run about $10–$15. The #4 (one slider with fries) is $9.99–$10.49, the #1 is $12.49–$12.99, the #3 is $13.49–$13.99 and the #2 is $14.49–$14.99 at typical U.S. stores. A single tender is $4.89–$4.99 and a single slider $6.69–$6.99. Prices vary by store and run higher in California and the Northeast and on delivery apps.

What are Dave’s Hot Chicken’s spice levels?

Seven: No Spice, Lite Mild, Mild, Medium, Hot, Extra Hot and Reaper. Reaper is made with Carolina Reaper pepper and stores typically ask you to sign a waiver before serving it.

What is the difference between the #1 and #2 at Dave’s?

The #1 is two tenders on bread with pickles and Dave’s Sauce; the #2 is two sliders — tenders on buns with kale slaw, pickles and Dave’s Sauce. Both include fries. The #2 is heavier: 1,500–1,620 calories against 1,230–1,350.

Does the spice level change the calories?

Yes. Dave’s official chart lists two numbers for each spiced item: one for Not Hot and Lite Mild, and a higher one for Mild through Reaper. On the #2 the difference is 120 calories and 560mg of sodium.

What is Dave’s Sauce?

Dave’s house dipping sauce — creamy, a little tangy and mildly peppery. A 1.5 oz side cup is 270 calories in the official chart, and a side cup costs $0.25.

Does Dave’s Hot Chicken have vegetarian options?

Yes. Dave’s NOT Chicken is a full line of breaded cauliflower tenders, sliders, bites and combos at all seven heat levels. It is vegetarian but not vegan, and it is fried in the same oil as the chicken.

Is Dave’s Hot Chicken gluten-free?

No. The chicken and cauliflower are breaded, the buns and bread contain wheat, and everything is fried in shared oil.

Is there a cheaper way to order?

A single tender plus fries costs about $8.88–$8.98, against $12.49–$12.99 for the #1. The app runs 2026 deals on $1 drinks, $3 fries and $5 bites, and new members get a free drink with their first order. Details are in the Dave’s Hot Chicken coupons guide.

Conclusion

Dave’s Hot Chicken earns its reputation by doing very little and doing it consistently: the tender is thick and crunchy, the heat scale is genuinely graded rather than three shades of the same thing, and Dave’s Sauce ties it together. The weak points are value at the top of the price range — the #2 can clear $17 in high-cost markets — and how heavy the combos are: the #2 carries more than a day’s sodium at the hotter tier. If you are going once, order the #3 with the tender at Medium and the slider at Hot, plus a vanilla shake: it covers both formats and two heat levels for roughly $17–$18 at a typical store. If you want the fan builds, the Dave’s Hot Chicken secret menu guide has them; for the numbers, the Dave’s Hot Chicken nutrition guide; for the savings, the Dave’s Hot Chicken coupons guide.

Sources: official Dave’s Hot Chicken nutrition chart (revised 3/16/26) and allergen documentation; official ordering menu, Melrose Park, IL, November 3, 2026; Denver menu check, November 2026; tracker captures from daveshotchickenmenusprices.com, usafoodmenu.com, menupricesusa.com and daveshotchickenguide.com (November 2026); Yelp location reviews. Prices vary by location; calories are Dave’s published figures for the standard recipe.