What Is the Difference Between Prince’s and Hattie B’s?

February 19, 2026

The honest answer is that they are different restaurants serving the same dish with different philosophies, different atmospheres, different levels of polish, and somewhat different spice profiles. The debate between them in Nashville has lasted over a decade and remains unresolved because both sides have real arguments.

The Fundamentals

Prince’s opened around 1945 and is the originating restaurant of Nashville hot chicken. Andre Prince Jeffries, the great-niece of founder Thornton Prince, has run it since 1980. The recipe descends directly from the original and the technique is traditional: cayenne-lard paste applied post-fry, served on white bread with dill pickles. The atmosphere at most Prince’s locations ranges from no-frills to utilitarian. You are there to eat the chicken.

Hattie B’s opened in Midtown Nashville in August 2012, founded by father-and-son Nick Bishop Sr. and Nick Bishop Jr., who came from a background running Southern cafeterias and the Bishop’s Meat and Three restaurant in Franklin. It expanded to a second Nashville location in 2014, then to Birmingham, Memphis, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Dallas, and beyond. It is a fast-casual chain with consistent quality control, air conditioning, draft beer, creative sides, and a dining experience designed to be accessible and welcoming to anyone.

The Spice Paste Difference

Prince’s uses a traditional cayenne-heavy paste with a blend that includes garlic powder, salt, paprika, and black pepper alongside cayenne. The heat is complex and layered. Prince’s also marinates their chicken in pickle juice for days before frying, which gives the meat a distinct tang that carries through even after the paste is applied.

Hattie B’s uses cayenne as its primary spice and adds a touch of cinnamon, which some people love and some people find off-putting. Their paste is slightly more vinegar-forward in character. The chicken is excellent by any reasonable standard. It is not identical to Prince’s.

The Heat Level Difference

This is where the comparison gets practically important. Prince’s heat levels are labeled Mild, Medium, Hot, and XXX Hot. At Prince’s, Mild is already notable heat. Their Medium will test many people. XXX Hot has a genuine reputation.

Hattie B’s runs six levels: Southern (no heat), Mild, Medium, Hot, Damn Hot, and Shut the Cluck Up. The Shut the Cluck Up level uses a ghost pepper base and registers over one million Scoville units, four times hotter than a habanero. Hattie B’s Hot level is roughly what most people would call “Nashville Hot.” Their Damn Hot makes a noticeable jump with habanero-forward heat. Their scale is more granular and arguably more useful for first-timers navigating unfamiliar territory.

The comparison that matters: Prince’s Mild is roughly equivalent to Hattie B’s Hot. If you order Mild at Prince’s expecting the Mild level you know from Hattie B’s, you will be surprised.

What Locals Actually Think

Hot chicken purists go to Prince’s. People who want to eat comfortably in a well-lit room with good sides and a beer go to Hattie B’s. Hattie B’s gets called “tourist chicken” regularly, and the people calling it that are not entirely wrong. Hattie B’s has perfected the art of making hot chicken accessible to people who have never had it before, which is a genuine service but also a departure from the original context.

The Infatuation, Nashville’s most reliable restaurant guide, currently has neither Prince’s nor Hattie B’s at the top of their hot chicken rankings, citing inconsistency issues at both. Their current top pick is Red’s Hot Chicken, a smaller operation on the West End near the Parthenon with no significant lines.

Kahlil Arnold, chef and owner of the legendary Arnold’s Country Kitchen, votes for Prince’s. He tells it simply: it’s the OG. Multiple Nashville chefs make the same call for the same reason.

The only wrong answer is to skip hot chicken entirely on a Nashville visit.

Sources

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