Bolton's Spicy Chicken & Fish

This was my second trip to Bolton's, and I gotta say, I am once again very impressed. When you enter the parking lot, you're met with beautiful street art surrounding the building.

Inside, you'll find a quaint and cozy dining area, reminiscent of the "good ole days" when smaller locally owned businesses weren't overtaken by franchises.

The staff is very accommodating, making sure that you know what you're getting into with the spices!

Food is VERY good. I highly recommend this establishment.

PSA: If you go anywhere near Bolton's, walk, do not drive. If you do drive, do not park in the lot that they rent next door. There's a high likelihood that your car gets towed, no matter if you're a customer of Bolton's or of Hawkers next door.
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Here's what I know:
1) Bolton Matthews and his wife Dollye opened Bolton's Spicy Chicken & Fish in 1997. They grew and earned the distinction of quality hot chicken and fish over the following ~24 years.
2) Bolton was named after his uncle Bolton, who was a staffer at Prince's Hot Chicken. Now that's a lineage to grow from.
3) Bolton Matthews passed away in 2021, and his wife, Dollye, started a couple of new ventures during the pandemic, including Bolton's Spicy Cafe (Bell Road) and an establishment in Midtown Foods near Marathon Village (Source: Nashville Scene)
4) This original Bolton's Spicy Chicken & Fish, appears to be managed (perhaps owned) by people who are not maintaining the original vision and original customer service.
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Here's our experience, with the management, not the food.

We recently met a friend for lunch at Hawkers, next door to Bolton's. While the small Hawkers lot was full, there was room in the parking lot adjacent to Bolton's, a short walk over to Hawkers.
We proceeded to park in an unmarked parking spot. The others, along the Bolton's property were each marked by the sign you can see in the pictures below. Our spot (now occupied by the charcoal Hyundai) was not marked at all.

Upon returning to our car, it was missing. It was towed to Copeland's impound yard. I went inside Bolton's, waited about 15 mins for the group in front of me to order their food. When I asked about our vehicle and stated that it was not in a marked spot, the person behind the counter said, "Take me to court," and walked away.

Copeland's tow truck returned to the lot as we were arranging a rideshare to their yard, and they actually seemed a little embarrassed, or sheepish, at best. The proprietor of Bolton's actually came out during that time to identify more cars to be towed.

To conclude:
a) We retrieved our vehicle for the $231 mentioned in prior reviews ($21 or 10% more for a fuel surcharge).
b) Overall, Copeland's was pleasant to deal with despite our frustration with the situation.
c) I do understand that mis-use of personal/business parking can be a challenge. I'm sure that Bolton's has some arrangement (lease) with the parking lot owners (nearby church), but the tenacity of towing customers, innocent parkers or intentional parkers if excessive.
d) This appears to be a revenue generator for Bolton's, given how much energy they put into getting cars towed. Some commission, or kick-back, perhaps. My speculation of course.
e) While originally enticed to try Bolton's Chicken in the future, given it's history of quality chicken, we will not be doing so. No need to pad the pockets there any more than we already have.

R.I.P. Bolton Matthews. God rest his soul.

This is my second time at Bolton's. Had to make it back to the renowned chicken and fish spot while I was in Nashville! This is the south, so no one was in a rush to get our order, but I didn't mind since it's small and staff is limited. It's a homey restaurant, and the gentleman that took our order was quite pleasant. They have a walk up window to order and available seating inside and tables outside as well. Everything is served to go.

Don't rely on the menu items you might find online, as options may be different once you get there. I ordered a catfish plate with coleslaw and potato salad. Alright, let's talk spice....the options are non-spicy (there's a reason for that), light mild, mild, medium, hot, and extra spicy. I can normally handle some spice, but erred on the side of caution and went with mild. I got my order fairly quickly after placing it.

It was time to dig in as soon as we got back home. The fish was fried to perfection and boy am I glad I got mild; it was definitely hot enough. Others got medium, and said it was on the hotter side. The plate also comes with raw onions and pickles (which I got on the side), and bread. The coleslaw and potato salad were pretty good.

Bolton's will always be a Nashville staple, and is definitely worth trying if you haven't had a chance to swing by.

Pretty decent chicken, haven't had the fish (yet). Boltons is great for sit down or take away. I get the medium spice, but I will say, I think Boltons spice level is a little hotter than others such as hattie bs and princes hot chicken. Theie fries are great, I want to try their corn on the cob too!

Listen... are you hungry, and have the taste for some hot fish?! This is the spot. Can't decide on a side, they might help you figure it out, or cause more confusion by making them all sound good... and they are! This place will treat you, and feed you, like family! (*at a reasonable price.)

Walk in your order your food, you can have chicken, fish, ribs, and a variety of sides. I didn't have to wait long for my order. Service was very nice. The gentleman at the registered help me take my bags to my car because I'm on crutches. That don't happen everywhere! The food is really good. I was quite surprised. I would highly recommend Mende this place. And I will be back.

While the service was good, the whiting fish sandwich was not good. The fish was not properly breaded and the two pieces of small fish had an unusual number of bones. finally, it appears the price has increased to $13 plus taxes.

It was my last visit and I will no longer recommend this place.

The fish is amazing. I am not a spicy fan. I had the plain fried fish and it was super flavorful. The sides were not tasty to me. My friends had different levels of heat and all said it was amazing and super spicy. One friend said they felt the fish going through every bit of digestion lol. The restaurant is the definition of a greasy spoon. I would not eat inside but there is a cute outside area. They only have soda bottles and water bottles and that was unfortunate with the amount of spice attached to the food, unlimited refills are necessary. Overall I would go back and get fish or chicken only.

The tv was blasting, it was hot, the food will WRECK you. It is spicy. They will not warn you. Even medium is insane spicy. Very authentic experience but I personally would not return. They are excellent at what they do and not a tourist trap.

This place is kind of a dive, but that's what makes it fun. It's in East Nashville off the highway, not close to much else. At its core, it's fried chicken between two pieces of white bread, but what makes it famous is its spiciness, which it is! I tolerate spicy foods pretty well, but even the medium had me sweating. There's no A/C in this place, but they do have fans and you can also eat outside. Be prepared to wait. When I went they were understaffed and a little behind, but I felt it was worth the wait. They also leave all of the bones in the chicken so be careful when taking a bite!