Best Fried Chicken at The Well: Chen Chen's vs BHC vs HG
Key Takeaways
- Chen Chen's Nashville Hot Chicken wins for bold, spicy sandwiches with a unique Szechuan option and crispy texture that holds up under the sauce.
- Honestly Good Chicken Fingers is your pick for classic, no-frills comfort with hand-breaded tenders, Texas toast, and their signature sauce.
- BHC Chicken Toronto takes the crown for adventurous eaters with Korean-style double-fried chicken in flavors like Bburinkle cheese dust and Matcho-King soy glaze.
- Price-wise, all three sit around the same range (roughly $12-$17 for a meal), so your choice comes down to flavor style, not budget.
- All three spots are in The Well food court, open roughly 11 AM to 9 PM most days, so you can hit more than one if you're feeling ambitious.
I've spent the last decade chasing down Toronto's best bites, and The Well's food court has turned into an unexpected fried chicken battleground. Three wildly different spots are slinging three totally different styles, and picking a favorite feels like choosing between your kids.
Three fried chicken spots, three totally different styles
The Well food court has become my go-to testing ground for fried chicken cravings. Chen Chen's Nashville heat with an Asian twist, Honestly Good's classic hand-breaded tenders, and BHC's Korean double-fried crunch aren't competing with each other so much as they're serving completely different moods.
Your pick depends entirely on what kind of chicken experience you're craving that day. I've been rotating through all three over the past few months, and each one scratches a different itch.
Some days I want heat that makes me reach for water, other days I'm chasing nostalgia, and sometimes I just want flavors I can't pronounce but can't stop eating.
Chen Chen's Nashville Hot Chicken: Spicy sandwiches with serious crunch
Chen Chen's delivers exceptionally crispy Nashville hot chicken sandwiches that stay crunchy under the sauce, which is the hardest trick to pull off. The owner, Chen Chen, was born in China, raised in Nashville, and studied culinary arts at George Brown College here in Toronto.
That background shows up in the food in the best way.
The standout is the Szechuan Hot Chicken Sando at $13.50, which blends his Chinese heritage with Southern technique in a way that feels natural, not gimmicky. The regular Nashville Hot Chicken Sando runs $12.50, and both come with sweet pickles and pickled slaw that cut through the heat.
The texture is what gets me every time. That exterior stays audibly crisp even after sitting under sauce, and the chicken inside stays juicy.
The heat builds and lingers without punishing you, and if you need a cooldown, the sides like mac and cheese do the job. If you're not ready to commit to a full sandwich, the Lil Nashville Hot Chicken Sando (snack size) is $7.00 and gives you a solid preview.
Honestly Good: Pure nostalgia
Honestly Good keeps it simple with hand-breaded tenders, Texas toast, and their signature sauce, while BHC brings Korean-style double-fried chicken in wild flavors like Bburinkle cheese dust and Matcho-King soy glaze that you won't find anywhere else. These two couldn't be more different if they tried.
Honestly Good is pure nostalgia. Their chicken fingers are hand-breaded and cooked to order, so everything arrives hot and crispy.
The Trio (three fingers, fries, Texas toast garlic bread, pickle spear, and your choice of dipping sauce) runs $14.99, and the Duo (two fingers with the same setup) is $12.99. The Honestly Good Sauce is the real star here, a proprietary blend that customers rave about.
The Golden Skin on Fries are solid, and if you're feeling extra, the Crispy Chicken Poutine with Quebec cheese curds and Honestly Good Gravy is $7.50.
BHC: Korean flavors and serious crunch
BHC Chicken Toronto is a completely different animal. This is South Korea's number one fried chicken franchise by sales, and they brought their A-game to Toronto.
The chicken gets marinated for 15 hours, double-dipped in seasoned wheat and rice flour breading, then fried in sunflower oil until it's golden and audibly crunchy. You can get tenders, wings, or boneless thighs in four, eight, or ten pieces.
The Bburinkle Boneless Thighs (10 pieces for $20.00) are dusted with BHC's proprietary cheese seasoning that's been their top seller since 2014. It's got this weird charm with hints of cheese, yogurt, onion, and garlic that somehow works.
The Matcho King Boneless Thighs (10 pieces for $20.00) come glazed with aged soy sauce and fresh chili peppers for a heat that's more pleasurable than punishing. And the Gold King Wings (8 pieces for $14.00) are slicked with honey, Korean soy sauce, and garlic in a way that'll have you licking your fingers clean.
BHC also throws in some non-chicken options like BHC Cheese Balls ($8.00), which are crunchy orbs stuffed with stretchy cheese and available with that bburinkle seasoning. The Classic Chicken Lasagna ($17.00) and BHC Poutine ($10.00) with tteokbokki and beef gravy are there if you want something different, but stick with the chicken.
How to pick your spot and what to order
Go to Chen Chen's for heat and a sandwich, Honestly Good for tenders and nostalgia, or BHC for Korean flavors and crunch. Plan to spend $12-$20 per person with all three open roughly 11 AM to 9 PM most days.
If you want a sandwich with serious spice and texture that holds up, Chen Chen's is your spot. Order the Szechuan Hot Chicken Sando if you're feeling adventurous, or stick with the regular Nashville if you want the classic.
Add the coleslaw salad ($5.00) if you need extra cooling power.
If you're craving straightforward comfort food that reminds you of being a kid, hit Honestly Good. The Trio gives you the full experience with three tenders, and make sure you get extra Honestly Good Sauce for dipping.
The Texas toast is perfect for soaking up any leftover sauce.
If you want flavors you can't get anywhere else and don't mind getting messy, BHC is the move. Start with the Bburinkle Boneless Thighs if you've never tried that cheese dust situation, or go for Matcho King if you want something saucier with a kick.
The Gold King Wings are my personal favorite when I'm really hungry.
All three spots are clustered in The Well's Wellington Market Food Hall at 486 Front Street West, so you can bounce between them if you're with a group and everyone wants something different. Hours vary slightly, but most days you're looking at 11 AM to 9 PM windows.
No reservations needed since it's a food court setup. Just walk up and order.
Author
Maya Thompson