World Famous Hotboys

    Claimed
    $$ Halal, Chicken Shop, Soul Food
    Open9:00 AM - 10:00 PM

    Updated over 3 months ago

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    Outside

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    Casual
    Trendy
    Moderate noise
    Dogs allowed
    Good for groups
    Outdoor seating

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    Location & Hours

    Map

    1601 San Pablo Ave

    Oakland, CA 94612

    17th St & 16th St

    Downtown Oakland

    Mon

    • 9:00 AM - 10:00 PM

    Tue

    • 9:00 AM - 10:00 PM

    Wed

    • 9:00 AM - 10:00 PM

    Thu

    • 9:00 AM - 10:00 PM

    Open now

    Fri

    • 9:00 AM - 12:00 AM (Next day)

    Sat

    • 9:00 AM - 12:00 AM (Next day)

    Sun

    • 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM

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    Amenities and More

    About the Business

    Oakland Halal Hot Chicken made with love…

    Ask the Community

    • Q:

      Is this a chain?

      A:

      Mini-chain, but that's the original. They have four or five locations

      Alex B. 
    • Q:

      Does anyone know if they use peanut oil?

      A:

      their website says "we use 100% halal chicken, peanut oil, wheat and soy products."

      Michele H. 
       1 person found this helpful

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    Overall rating

    1817 reviews

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    • Photo of M S.
      M S.
      San Francisco, CA
      0
      1
      Aug 5, 2024

      The food was sooooo good!!!! and halal! I thought the aesthetic was really cool as well

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    • Photo of Felinn A.
      Felinn A.
      Union City, CA
      425
      68
      98
      Aug 24, 2024

      This is one hefty sandwich. We got the combo with fries and I still couldn't finish everything. It also lives up to the name. We ordered mild spice and it still contained a good amount of heat on the chicken. More so seasonings instead of like a sauce or oil. They use the same thing on their fries as well.

      I also loved that you can order online, super easy pickup to take home and eat. The place was packed even though it's all outdoor seating on the corner of the street. Locals looked like they were having a good time, and staff were speedy with the orders.

      Will come back again when the craving hits and when I'm nearby!

      Chicken Sando Combo
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    • Aug 25, 2024

      Summary:
      Hot and flavorful chicken sando spice bombs

      Details:
      Somehow convinced the girlfriend to get fried chicken with me the other weekend, and we were both pleasantly surprised how much she enjoyed it, as fried foods, and fried chicken in particular, are a hard sell for her. WFH managed to win her over, both with portion sizing, and how flavorful their sandos are, both in terms of actual spices, as well as the level of spice: they describe their medium as very spicy, which I'd say is pretty accurate, and there are another four or so levels above that!

      That said, I do wish there was a bit more to balance out the sando, given that it was a bit on the salty side for both of us. Something like a couple slices of tomatoes or other veggies would have gone a long way to balancing things out, and I can imagine ourselves trying to bring this back home next time just so we can add that.

      Orders can, and should be, placed online if you'd like to avoid waiting around, since they can take upwards of 20 minutes even during off hours. Place your order, and then grab some ice cream at Miharu to help offset the incoming heat!

      Accessibility:
      While I didn't pop in to the shop myself, it seems more like a grab and go kind of place, though there looked to be a bit of bench seating outside that might have been somewhat accessible.

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    • Jul 30, 2024

      At World Famous Hotboys, you'll find a corner restaurant that has some really flavorful, tender, and moist chicken sandos that has a decent spectrum of spice levels. And if you go with some of the upper tiers, be prepared to have your mouth on fire.

      The chicken has a great bite to it with a crispy outside and a good amount of sauce that helps mellow the heat. Sandwiches come with a side of crinkle cut fries that work well with the sauce, has a good chew, and can help if you went a little high on the sando spice levels.

      There's a couple of outdoor tables if you want to dine at the establishment but easy for a takeaway as well. Chill vibes and quick service.

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    • Photo of Daniela J.
      189
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      424
      Aug 26, 2024

      Great spicy fried chicken sandwich. I ordered the mild plus spicy option and it was plenty hot for me. Between that and the spiced fries I was wishing I had ordered a side of Cole slaw to cool myself down. I also ordered the side of Mac and it was very creamy and tasty. Highly recommend.

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    • Aug 22, 2024

      This was some of the best Chicken I have had in a really long time. The chicken was moist and the breading had a light crunch packed with flavor. The fries were fried perfectly and the sauce that provided just made the meal a hell of a lot better. The watermelon aqua Fresca was refreshing and tasted like pure watermelon juice. There was a little bit of a line but it went by fast and the food took around 20ish minutes to be prepared. I definitely recommend trying them out

      Outside
      Chicken Tender Combo
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    • Photo of Chris F.
      Chris F.
      Castro Valley, CA
      0
      23
      11
      Aug 27, 2024

      There is no doubt Hot Boys serves up the best chicken in the Bay Area. Today was no different only today I had some difficulty with ordering thru the website. When I went to pick it up they had no record of my order. The team was incredibly helpful and courteous. They resolved the issue super quick and now I can say they serve up the best "service" in the Bay Area as well. Kudos to a team that kicks ass! Thank you!

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    • Jun 26, 2024

      Definitely worth the hype!! We tried their loaded fries and chicken sando combo with mac and cheese - both were absolutely delicious. The chicken was juicy and their breading was perfectly crispy and seasoned. I got the mild spice and it was the perfect amount of heat to still enjoy my meal.

      There is some parking and limited seating outside. The staff is super friendly and service is quick.

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    • Jun 22, 2024
      Updated review

      Finally got the chance to stop by here again. Can confidently give this a 5/5 now

      This time I got the chicken sando combo (with thigh instead of tender) at the hot hot spice level.

      Some updated notes - in my opinion the Thigh sandwich is WAY better than the tender Sando. It's a larger piece of meat and it was cooked perfectly.

      Anothe note -the Hot Hot is legit. It was arguably one of if not the spiciest things I've had in the Bay Area in my two years of living here. It's no joke but also super delicious. If you're a spice hunter, this is a must try.

      Last thing - that tofu sandwich is still bomb.

      I will definitely be back again.

      5/5

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      Sep 29, 2023Previous review
    • Jun 17, 2024
      1 check-in

      When you get here, you can order at the table stand where you're met with two menus. One menu has the combo meals and the other has a list of other items to order. There are definitely a lot of different options that I would love to try at a later time.

      I ordered their #1 combo which was a chicken sandwich with a choice of a side, which I chose fries for. I also went for a mild spice level based on recommendation. Opening up the container, you can tell that the chicken is huge and can barely fit in the sandwich itself. It's nicely packaged on top of a bed of crinkle-cut fries. The chicken is super crispy and had a good heat to it. Despite it being mild, it was a good spice level overall that was also enjoyable. Even if you have good spice tolerance, I think it's better to stay on the lower end of the scale, so that you can really get the flavor of the sandwich as a whole without having an overwhelming level of spice that masks that taste. The crinkle cut fries were solid and paired well with the sauce that came with the meal.

      There's outdoor seating with a few tables nearby. Parking is mostly going to be along the side streets that surround the area. The person working at the front was super nice and walked around to check on everyone who was eating at their establishment.

      #1 Combo: Sando Meal w/ Fries
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    65 other reviews that are not currently recommended

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