Gus’s Fried Chicken
505 Highway 70 W, Mason, TN, 38049
Gus’s Fried Chicken Menu
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Address :
505 Highway 70 W
Mason, TN, 38049 - Phone (901) 294-2028
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Opening Hours
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Specialities
- Takes Reservations : No
Delivery : No
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Lunch, Dinner
Parking : Private Lot
Bike Parking : Yes
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Noise Level : Average
Alcohol : Beer & Wine Only
Outdoor Seating : No
Wi-Fi : No
Has TV : Yes
Waiter Service : Yes
Caters : Yes
WE SERVE THE FOLLOWING STATES
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Marina B.
The spicy chicken is delicious. The service is the worst. I tried to preorder at 3 o'clock today & no one answered the phone. My friend tried to call after 5 and no answer. When he arrived at the restaurant at 6, an hour before they closed he was told that they were closed after waiting in line behind 3 people that arrived at the same time as him. They were allowed to place their order. If you running out of chicken an hour before you close, make more. That's just very poor customer service. Your chicken is good, but you won't have any return customers if you continue to run your business that way @ in such a small town that would be devastating.
(2)Jim Q.
I am not a big fried chicken fan. I was in Gus's about a week ago and the fried chicken was awesome. Will definitely be back when in the area.
(5)Kris M.
So I saw this place on Best Thing I Ever Ate, and the host said we had to go to the original spot. We drove into rural Mason, TN from Memphis. The place is a shack but I loved their chicken, slaw, and baked beans. The grilled cheese, not so much. What we didn't like was the hour long wait for our food because we went there starving! I'm glad they cooked the food as you order but an hour was a very loooonnng wait. It was a good experience overall.
(4)April R.
I read/hear/see things about many different places. Sometimes I check out these places and sometimes not. During my recent trip to Tennessee I made a trip out to get some "World Famous" fried chicken from Gus's. This ended up being the best thing I ate during my trip. The chicken was fantastic, the best I have ever had. The restaurant is a total dive and if you are picky you may even think it was kinda yucky. The service was good and the food came fast. The sides were good but the chicken was seriously amazing. I am a chicken freak and this made me so, so happy. I wish I had some Gus's right now! If I am ever in the area again I will make another stop here, no question.
(5)Stephen S.
This chicken is hands down the best I've had. Flavorful, not over battered, and just a little spice for a nice kick. "It'll make you wanna slap yo mama," as the trucker next to me told me.
(5)Phil A.
Go for the fried chicken, fantastic - 5/5 stars! Slaw is a bit runny, beans are good, 3/5 We will keep coming back for the breasts, succulent, perfectly-seasoned, DO NOT put anything on them until you have eaten one as is... Service is good, y'all do need better utensils, the plastic forks are flimsy and I like a knife to cut the meat...really a use-ur-hands place!
(4)Michael U.
Items Selected: Four Piece + a Breast with Beans, Slaw, Bread Pecan Pie Chess Pie Banana Pudding Now available in a few US Cities, with more to come, the story of Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken began in Mason Tennessee, and located a bit off the beaten path between Nashville and Memphis along Hwy 70 a pilgrimage to the place where it all started is perhaps not on everyone's agenda, yet for those willing to make the thirty minute diversion a rewarding experience is available, the small hall steeped in as much history as it is in oil and spices. Officially built and opened in 1973 by Gus's father, a carpenter named Napoleon who handed a recipe much older than the space down to his son, the small house containing an open kitchen and dining area with décor that seems unchanged since long before Gus's 2007 passing is a homey sort of place and with nothing but locals present as three women cooked while a fourth provided charming service the order essentially wrote itself - one half a bird with sides and two desserts, a complimentary third as an added bonus to take on the road. Fried to order, but merely a fifteen minute wait compared to the hour-long lines at the famous Memphis location, it was largely listening to locals kibitz with one another that we waited and no sooner had we finished our beverages that refills were offered along with the object of our desire, each bite of the juicy bird rife with seasoning and spice without being "hot" and the skin literally shattering to tooth, any bits that fell off placed on a piece of white bread with a dash of hot sauce making a sandwich every bit as delicious as it was debaucherous. Personally finding the slaw to be a bit too one-note and creamy, but impressed by baked beans with a nice nose of smoke, it was onward to desserts that the meal progressed and with each pie emerging from the oven no more than a half hour prior to service the creamy custard of the Chess was just set while the warm Pecan slice was almost entirely lacking in 'filler,' both texture and flavor benefitting tremendously with a buttery nuttiness as opposed to overt sweetness - a descriptor no one would rightfully apply to a jar of pudding that featured bananas at their peak of ripeness in a creamy housemade base with whipped cream and 'Nilla wafers not for lack.
(5)Amanda F.
UNBELIEVABLE! I've never had such terrible service and treatment. I came to this location to visit the original, having already been to the Memphis location. 1. They don't have the same items available on the menu 2. They don't even SERVE half the sides that ARE on the menu 3. It's a dump in here. It's filthy, chairs laying sideways in the floor? Don't even look at the "kitchen", BTW... 4. Terribly rude service. No one came to refill our beverages (or bevrages as printed on the menu), I had to go to the counter to ask for a check, got told I needed to wait while she ignored me. Then threw my check at me, no thank you, not even a hint of acting like a humane person. If this is the original, I have no idea how they ever even got a second location, let alone have this junk pit stay open and become a franchise. My parents are locals and you've lost them for good. I was visiting, but surely won't be patronizing your new location in my town. Good luck surviving with your crap service.
(1)Art C.
Yes, I've been to the original. My dad's family happens to yield from Mason, TN so I grew up eating at this place back when the original "Gus" was manning the fryers (my grandma used to live down the street). My dad used to bring me here and I would sit on a stool while he would go back in the back and chat up Vernon while he was making the chicken. I didn't eat here as much as you might think because I'm convinced while my dad was chatting up Gus he was also watching exactly how the chicken was made (I believe there's a sixth person who knows the world famous recipe). My dad's chicken tasted remarkably similar but sadly that recipe died with him long ago. In any case, this place is damned good and holds a special place in my childhood. Try the original and leave happy.
(5)Heath G.
If this place was solely based on chicken, I would give it 4 stars but its a restaurant , so there are other things to consider. First off the restaurant itself has the feeling of an old greasy country shack...that is cool! It fits the nature of a southern fried chicken diner. I like the feel and trashy decor. You would feel like a fool eating greasy crisco fried chicken on white linen unless at a country club or an antebellum home in the heart of Mississippi. The chicken was great...very crisp crust, spicy, juicy, perfect. Pieces were a little small but still great! What is not good are the sides... They suck! Slaw- you can get better from Kroger, Potato salad- just ok, Baked BBQ Beans- runny and flavorless, and two pieces of plain white bread- really? Now for the gimmicks.... Paper plates, plastic forks, and paper napkins. Come on guys! Plastic and cheapest napkins ever....I know it's part of the image but it sucks. Plastic and paper is made for picnics, if even then. I have eaten at many Gus's so wanted to try the Original... Same food, different location, same gimmicks. Still ok though! Even though there are negatives... I would still go back many times because it is better than KFC and I love fried chicken.
(3)Mimi L.
I know there are all different types of fried chicken in this world and I enjoy most of them, but I have found my dream fried chicken at Gus's. I love well-seasoned chicken that doesn't need a sauce and both the meat and skin were so flavorful. The recipe is a family secret (if you want to franchise, they'll send the batter pre-made), but I think the meat is soaked in a brine or buttermilk since even the white pieces were moist. I like that the chicken has only a hint of heat, not like that hot chicken in Nashville. The skin was perfectly coated, crispy and not super greasy. The chicken still tasted good after a few days and flying back across the country... I wish I could have another bite because I think I've already forgotten the taste. For having so much press, I thought Gus' would be packed but it was quiet during lunch. Nobody rolled out the welcome mat to us tourists. The waitress didn't want to put her lunch down or stop watching Jerry Springer which made me love the place more. She also got the order wrong but that worked out so I could bring the extra chicken home. The other lady was a lot nicer, maybe she's in the family. She told us the location burned down twice and she caused the last one... but at least it gave her some time off. The prices aren't cheap since the 2-piece meals were at least $7. I see they have a few locations outside of TN, so hopefully I'll be able to eat at one of those someday.
(5)Philip D.
I went here on Wednesday afternoon for lunch. It was about a 35-40 min ride each way. Upon arrival we were told it would be 20 min and 45 min later I was still waiting on my food. The chicken was ok, but not worth the drive or the wait. Now, on the other hand they have a dessert called a checked square (I think that's what it is) and now that was worth the drive but they are prepared and always ready for pickup. NO wait!!!
(3)Don S.
Totally not impressed after making the extra effort to get here from the interstate. The place was deserted at noon on Wednesday. Staff was completely unfriendly. Forced to eat with a tiny, flimsy, plastic toddler fork. Food wasn't amazing. The biggest problem was the unfriendliness of the staff, along with a creepy male worker giving me the stink eye. WTF!!
(1)Sherrin N.
I grew up eating Gus's fried checked Mason. Now when I visit from FL I never seem to catch them open. Tonite I was so happy when I pulled in and saw they were open until 7 pm. We were in hopes of take out. When we walked in the woman working there hollered something indiscernible to us. As I continued in she said more clearly "closed!". We were there at 6:12 and close sign says 7. The sign says no sit down customers for the last 45 mins. We weren't SITTING plus we were there before the 45 minute mark. As much as I looked forward to that fried chicken, in the future I will go to the numerous wonderful restaurants in our Mid South area who APPRECIATE people's business!!
(1)Hattie J.
Heard a lot of good reviews about this restaurant so I decided we had to stop and check it out. The chicken was very good not greasy glad we stop on our way back to Ohio.
(5)Ben B.
Heading back from Memphis on Sunday afternoon, I found myself in Mason Tennessee. Little more than a wide spot in the road northeast of Memphis on Highway 70, there are a couple of gas stations, a Dollar Store and what seems to be the main attractions, Bozo's Hot Pit BBQ and Gus's Fried Chicken. I had eaten at the Collierville franchise location of Gus's the day before, so was really looking for some BBQ. Bozo's is closed on Sundays, so I decided to go to the place that started the legend of Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken. The building was just what I expected; a not-so-modern version of the roadside restaurant you see on the backroads everywhere throughout the South. Modeled after the original building, which was probably a repurposed house, it still had the same down-home feel that separates these places from all the retro-imposters. The staff were friendly enough, although I could tell I had come on the downhill run of what was probably a busy week and they were all tired. I ordered my standard two piece dark plate with beans, slaw, and a drink and sat down to wait. There were quite an interesting mix of patrons in the place; several well dressed middle-aged church goers, a dad with his two young daughters, a couple of camouflaged good ole boys and a drunk guy drinking a 40 and arguing with his girlfriend who was trying to get him to come home. All the makings for a bad reality TV show! My plate came out and I got down to business. The chicken was on the smallish side, but what really disappointed me was the fact that the chicken obviously had been cooked a while ago and then re-heated to the point it that is was way overcooked. It wasn't spicy at all and the color was a disturbing dark brown. It didn't taste bad, it just that I was looking forward to what was supposed to be some of the best fried chicken ever. This was not that chicken. The beans and slaw were nothing special, but I can live with that because that's not what this place is about. The Fluffy brand white bread was an authentic touch though. If I happen to be traveling through Mason again, I will stop, get another two piece dark plate and update my review. Only the potential of this place will cause me to go out of my way to return. This could be the first time I found that a franchise was better than the original.
(2)Mitch H.
I've been lucky enough to eat this location's chicken many times. My dad works at the Mason Prison and grabs some Gus's on his way home if he knows I'll be intown. It's the original Gus's, which automatically makes it the best location. The chicken is spicy and crispy on the outside.. juicy and tender on the inside. By far the best fried chicken I have ever eaten. Its greasy and fattening... what's not to love?
(5)Bella A.
We were recently driving back from Nashville to Memphis and were told to stop at Gus's for excellent fried chicken. Now I had gotten used to a friendly response throughout the Tennessee area, that I was surprised how unfriendly the staff was here. No greeting, no acknowledgment, no one asking for our order..and the place was empty..completely. We ordered to go and sat and waited, and waited and waited. They finally asked what we ordered (15 minutes after we ordered). Got our chicken--not what we ordered-and left. I felt like George Castanza at the soup nazi. The chicken was good, but not worth the animosity this place gives off.
(3)Daniel B.
Dan D. 7/24/09 said it well... Don't let the one room shack with the rickety front porch intimidate you. This is THE OG (original) Gus's, so don't expect bright flashing lights and expensive modern amenities, but do expect an amazing experience and even better fried chicken.
(5)Dint I.
Better than other copy versions of other Gus's in downtown area.
(5)Khon T.
When I first walked in it felt kind of shady and you wouldn't expect any good food from here, but once you order and get your food, it will probably be the best fried chicken you have ever had. The breading sticks perfectly to the chicken and isn't too overpowering. The cook on the chicken is cooked perfectly and juicy all over. I have nothing to complain about the chicken. The only thing that would need to be better would be the sides that I got. I got the fries and they were just normal fries with nothing spectacular compared to the chicken and the bread is just plain white bread. It would be nice to get some better sides to compliment the chicken. The atmosphere could be better as well, but honestly the chicken is so good that it off sets all the negatives.
(5)Mahendra P.
I'm sorry, the fried chicken tastes just like any ordinary fried chicken. Popeye's and Church's tastes better, and KFC is roughly the same quality. As a kid, my dad would always take me driving on the rural highways around Memphis in Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi, and we'd stop by local restaurants all the time on the road. Of all the restaurants that have gotten a huge reputation, this blows my mind. There have been so many better ones.
(3)Dakarai T.
This place was horrible burned chicken the server attitude was just as bad. I asked to get fresh chicken and she refused to. Her answer " I don't cook no fresh chicken less all the chicken I cooked already is gone." Gus' s downtown Memphis is a million times better. No wonder this location wasn't chosen for food network. Absolutely the worst experience ever.
(1)Collins B.
The greasy good stuff! Classic West Tennessee hole in the wall. Chicken wasn't spicy, however it was flavorful and the slaw was a great accompaniment. The best accompaniment was the cold corporate domestic barley pop that washed it all down.
(4)Brent P.
Nothing like it. Stands alone, best fried chicken ever. Yard bird...whatever you want to call it, they know how to fix it RIGHT..
(5)dan d.
Fried chicken that lives up to it's reputation, Gus's recipe calls for a light batter with just enough spice to tingle the taste buds and enhance the natural flavor of the chicken. As for ambiance, it doesn't get any better than dime store decorations, Jerry Springer on TV and folks ordering forties to wash down their lunch. While the Memphis location may have been able to recreate most of the look and feel, it's well worth a trip up to Mason for the original.
(5)Chick L.
If I lived in Memphis, I would probably do a regular drive out to Gus's. The chicken was great, the beans were good and the pecan pie was incredible. Now, if you don't like your chicken and beans with spice, this may not be your place, because it has a kick to it. The people there were very nice and it's just a great little place to go to.
(5)