Charles Pan-Fried Chicken - Soul food restaurant in New York - 146 W 72nd St, USA

We went to the 72nd Street location. The meal was outstanding. Service was quick, staff was professional and the food was well prepared. The location is small and there is a counter with three seats. We were lucky they were open so once we ordered we quickly occupied. Pan Fried chicken is a southern technique. It is unlike other restaurants which deep fry or the outcome is on a thicker batter. The sides are incredible but be careful as you don't try and order everything as they are so tempting. Prices are affordable. Overall, we had a very pleasant experience.

Great service !!!! Great atmosphere. The kid in the front was very polite and he explained the meal and was very patience but my gawd the food was disgusting!!!! The fried chicken was horrible. It wasn’t fresh at all and it was just old chicken from few days ago . The Mac and cheese was horrible also . I threw my food out . The white rice and collard greens was good . I’m upset that we walked this far and food was a big disappointment. Look at the picture dry chicken !!!!

As far as soul food goes, it just doesn’t get better than this below 116th street. A true gem, Charles Pan Fried joint brings Harlem to the rest of Manhattanites. Whenever I’m in the neighborhood, I cannot resist stopping by even if I had just eaten. The chicken is top-notch, but don’t sleep on the southern style veggies!

Their pan-fried chicken was amazing! We walked by this place a lot, and it smelled really good all the time. Some customers commented how delicious the pan-fried chicken was when we were placing the order. Highly recommend to try that plate, which came with two sides and one cornbread.

The Girls and I visited NYC this week and had the pleasure of grabbing some of the BEST comfort food EVER! I had been following Charles Pan Fried Chicken on IG, and I wanted to make sure we were able to enjoy this experience! We had been shopping and dropped our bags off on our room and hopped on the Subway at 42nd St and took it out to Central Park West and 72nd. We followed 72nd about 3 blocks and went in! It's a VERY small location (1 of 4; Flagship in Harlem; Another one at 125th; this one on 72nd and another on the upper East side). There were 3 chairs at a counter and 4 of us. So, 3 of us sat in the chairs and 1 in the window pane opening. We all ordered the same thing (3 piece chicken, 2 sides, corn bread, and a drink); this totaled about $22, including tax. I had black-eyed peas and collards as my sides; two of my friends had okra/white rice and green beans, and the other had mac and cheese and collards. The food was delicious and the portions generous! I took it down a star, as I really wish the were a couple more chairs/tables. We ate and had plenty left over to snack on as we packed to return home! I highly recommend if you are in the city!

TLDR: I am from the south. This place puts most southern restaurants to shame. Everything in here was amazing. 11 out of 10. We will be back even though we are only in New York a couple of days. As a preface, I see 3 stars as an average. I only use 5 stars for something that goes above and beyond. 1 star is reserved for not good but doable in a pinch. I put 0 stars in some reviews in this section. If there is a 0 star it is explained. The lowest rate I give Charles Pan-Fried Chicken is a 5. Let's start with the food. The chicken was perfect. Juicey on the inside with a perfect level of crispness on the out. Flavor like you wouldn't believe. The collard greens are not comparable to any I have had before. The mac and cheese was perfect.The black eye peas and lima beans went so far as to be better than my father-in-law's. Most places in the south can serve decent to great soul food. The best always come from a home kitchen. These were still better. The ocra and rice were on par with our home cooks. That's still leaps above most restaurants. The employees working made us feel like we are regulars. Friendly and helpful doesn't even start to describe them. After my mother finished her meal she was chatting it up with the founders granddaughter. Communication is a skill they have in abundance. The atmosphere of the place is great. I enjoyed seeing the pictures of the founder and reading a little piece of his story while eating. The saddest part was we were at the only sitting area in the place. Three stools at a bar to the side. All their plates are made to go so as not to encourage people to eat in. I don't blame them for it but I like the experience we had with the decor. All in all I give the place an 11 out of 10. Would recommend. We will be back. They say hunger is the best spice but I dont want to have to wait that long to get another of their drumsticks.

I been hearing about it for years, so i took a trip uptown to see what the fuss about. I was tasting flour somehow. The mac and cheese yelled kraft to me. But to end on a postive note. I did enjoy their sauces. I would buy a bottle of the hot sauce and barbeque.

Great value - the meal comes with three fried chicken pieces, a corn bread and two sides. The chicken was super juicy and crispy. The okra and coleslaw sides were both good.