It’s only fitting that Cookie’s Country Chicken has found a home in Ballard, a neighborhood with strong nautical ties. Owner Brian Chandler spent 10 years in the maritime industry, including a stint spent perfecting his fried chicken recipe while feeding oil industry crews in Louisiana. Chandler started Cookie’s as a pop-up, having a consistent spot in Pioneer Square. The new Ballard location includes more menu offerings, with spicy and regular chicken and sides like mashed potatoes with gravy, mac and cheese, and collard greens.

One of the few places in the city to get true blue Nashville hot chicken, this hugely popular restaurant once drew crowds in Georgetown, and has since debuted a restaurant in the Lower Queen Anne-Interbay neighborhood. Whether the heat level is “mild” or “insane,” diners get hit with serious spice. Don’t forget about the sides, like collard greens, fried green tomatoes, and cabbage and pepper slaw.

When Phinney Ridge’s fine-dining restaurant Opus Co. shuttered last year, the restaurant’s chef, Paolo Campbell, took the opportunity to start his own Filipino fried chicken restaurant, which opened in October. The gluten-free batter on the chicken — wings, drumsticks, or 10-inch long cylinders of white meat on sticks — crackles under the teeth and has the puffy texture of Rice Krispies or Frosted Flakes. The meat is packed with flavor from soy sauce and garlic. Order the chicken with some toasty garlic rice and a side of tangy marinated eggplant and onions to cut the grease. The restaurant runs out of most of its dishes every day, so it’s a good idea to plan ahead and preorder online in the morning for a chicken dinner.

This Edmonds pub has built a reputation for slinging some seriously excellent Korean fried chicken, which diners can order “naked” or seasoned with garlic, sweet and spicy, extra spicy, or honey butter.

Mark Fuller recently closed the brick-and-mortar West Seattle location for Ma’ono, which serves what many consider the best fried chicken in Seattle. But he’s still operating the business as a pop-up inside of the Rachel’s Ginger Beer locations in U Village and South Lake Union, as well as at his newly reopened bar, Admiral Denbow Room, in West Seattle on Mondays and Tuesdays. The menu features drumsticks, chicken fingers, and fried chicken sandwiches with Kewpie mayo on a Hawaiian bun. Fuller also serves a number of Hawaiian-inspired sides including kimchi mac n cheese, a cucumber and wakame “poke” salad (which contains no fish), and potato mac salad.

This Chinatown-International District bar serves some of the best Chinese comfort food around, and its signature dish is fried chicken thighs and drumsticks. At Ganbei, the meat is seasoned mildly, and the batter is light and crackly, locking the juice inside. All orders come with warm five-spice gravy and rice. The XO-sauce green beans make a nice, umami-packed side to a chicken dinner.

This casual Hawaiian restaurant with locations in Maple Leaf and Lynnwood serves an perfectly-executed mochiko chicken, served with rice and mac salad. The light rice-flour batter on this popular Hawaiian dish leaves the pieces of chicken super tender while imparting just a touch of crispiness. Beyond the mochiko chicken, Kona Kitchen also serves good renditions of Korean fried chicken, katsu chicken, and chicken strips.

At his lively Capitol Hill restaurant and Osaka-style bar, star chef Shota Nakajima focuses on marinated, battered, and twice-fried karaage with dry and wet seasonings including curry, teriyaki, and salt and pepper. A “Fuckit Bucket” easily feeds three or four people with three full pounds of chicken over a pound of fries and some shredded cabbage, and a late-night dine-in-only menu with Japanese egg sandwiches and fried rice is available until 1:30 a.m.

There’s stiff competition when it comes to Korean fried chicken in Seattle, but this U District counter service restaurant doesn’t disappoint. The restaurant batters and sauces its chicken with a light touch, whether diners choose dry, parmesan-sprinkled snow wings or delicately glazed, crispy soy garlic wings.

For something a little different than the typical fried chickens dredged in flour, one might want to check out the mind-blowing birds at this Belltown restaurant from chef Trey Lamont. The famed half-fried chicken here is covered in jerk spices and pairs well with the tropical rum cocktails on the menu.

Given the breakneck pace of development around the Central District-Leschi area, here’s hoping Quick Pack is a holdout for years to come. When fresh out of the fryer, the oversized wings and juicy thighs at this unassuming convenience store rival the best birds in the city. Available for takeout only.

This longtime Columbia City destination serves up Caribbean and Louisiana soul food dishes. Among some of the must-try dishes is the fried Cornish game hen, which has a satisfying crunch and is a nice departure from some of the greasier fried poultry in the city.