A tiny restaurant in the Treme that serves what the James Beard Foundation designated as America's best fried chicken, and which the people of New Orleans had known was America's best fried chicken long before the award confirmed it. The recipe — a seasoned, battered, deep-fried bird of extraordinary crunch and improbable juiciness — has not changed and does not need to. Miss Willie Mae Seaton built this place; her family runs it now. The space is small, the wait is real, and the chicken is the only reason you need.
Location
Treme, New Orleans
Insider Intel
The fried chicken. That is the order. Red beans and rice on the side. Butter beans if they have them. Do not overthink this — the chicken is the reason the restaurant exists and the reason you are here. Accept no substitutions and no compromises. A second piece is not unreasonable.
Arrive when they open to minimise the wait — the line forms before doors open and moves at the speed the kitchen dictates, which is the speed of proper frying. Weekday lunch is marginally less crowded than weekends. The restaurant closes mid-afternoon, so this is a lunch destination, not a dinner one.
The original Treme location suffered a fire in April 2023 and has been undergoing reconstruction — check current status before visiting, as the restaurant may be operating from the St Ann Street address or a temporary location. When open, the wait is real and unavoidable — budget 30-60 minutes. Miss Willie Mae Seaton opened the restaurant in 1957; her great-granddaughter Kerry Seaton-Stewart runs it now. The James Beard Award for America's Classic Restaurant (2005) is the formal recognition, but the locals' consensus predates it by decades. Cash helps but cards are accepted.