“At Harold’s, fried chicken makes you happy.”
A little piece of New Orleans in the heart of Chamberí: the only restaurant in Madrid specialising in Southern fried chicken, always fried to order and coated in homemade family-recipe sauces. All of it inside a three-room colonial house where, one night a month, there is live jazz.
Harold’s was created by Jackson Howard, an American chef born in New Orleans and trained in some of Louisiana’s best-known restaurants. He spotted an obvious gap: Madrid did not have a single place specialising in homemade Southern fried chicken. We are still an independent family house, with the same recipe and no franchises.
“We do not sell franchises and we do not want to grow. There is only one Harold’s.”
Total specialisation in Southern fried chicken: marinated, hand-breaded with cajun spices and fried only when you order it. Never reheated in a display case. The potatoes are cut daily and the sauces are traditional Louisiana slow-cooked family recipes more than 70 years old.
A French Quarter colonial house moved to Alonso Cano: three balconies dressed with ferns, William Morris wallpaper, antique mirrors and a mid-century refrigerator. Three dining rooms, and no two chairs, plates or tablecloths alike.
One night a month the upstairs room becomes a jazz club: small capacity, the audience a metre from the band and Southern food on the table. We are the only restaurant in Madrid bringing together real Creole cooking and live jazz in the same evening.
Southern fried chicken was not invented by a fast-food chain. It was born in the kitchens of Louisiana, where Creole, Cajun and African-American cooking meet: a Sunday dish, for family gatherings and celebrations. Everything we serve comes from there.
Jackson Howard grew up in New Orleans with that recipe: a long marinade, hand breading with Cajun spices and frying to order, never before. When he opened Harold’s he did not adapt it to local taste or make it quicker. He brought it over as it was, and that is how it stays.
The sauces are the other half of the story: traditional Louisiana stews from a family recipe more than seventy years old. If you want the long version, we tell it in our guide to soul, Creole and Cajun cooking.
Everything revolves around the chicken. These four are what first-timers order — and what brings them back.
Homemade American waffle over ranch fries and crispy bacon, topped with strips of fried chicken. Sweet and savoury in the same bite.
Six different homemade sauces, from hot bourbon to Hot Louisiana with habanero. We sell more wings than any other restaurant in Madrid.
Bone-in, in the thick, heavily spiced crust of the original recipe. Crunchy outside, juicy inside, fried to order.
The most Southern drink on the list, made fresh in house every day. Nothing else goes with fried chicken quite like it.
Our sauces are not industrial: they are slow-cooked in our own kitchen following family recipes more than 70 years old. It is the part of the menu we are proudest of.
Our signature sauce. A traditional Louisiana slow-cooked sauce with the fruity, sweet notes of bourbon, served hot.
Smoky barbecue notes with habanero heat. Spicy enough to lift the flavour, never to hide it.
The American classic, with its tang of vinegar. Served with ranch or blue cheese on the side.
Sweet honey, butter and a light smokiness. The one first-timers usually fall for.
Our own homemade ranch: creamy and herby. It also comes with our fries.
Our spiced cajun crust on its own, no sauce added. For anyone after the pure taste of the chicken.
The Alonso Cano facade has three balconies dressed with ferns — the most characteristic plant of New Orleans — and French-style awnings that at night make it look like an American club. Before you see the menu, the smell of spices has already greeted you.
Upstairs, three dining rooms open up, each with its own character: wallpaper by the designer William Morris, antique mirrors, Budweiser neon signs over wood-panelled walls, plates illustrated by New Orleans painters. No two chairs, plates or tablecloths are the same. That lack of uniformity is deliberate: every piece tells its own story, and together they give the warmth of a house with a memory.
The light is low on purpose.
This is what the house looks like inside. Press play whenever you like: nothing downloads until you do, so having it here costs the page nothing.
One night a month, the upstairs room becomes a French Quarter club: a band a metre from the audience, Southern fried chicken on the table and bourbon lemonade in the glass.
The room is small, so there is no bad seat — and tickets go fast. Dates go out first to people subscribed to our alerts.
An average rating of 9.4/10 on TheFork. These are real, unedited reviews from Google and TheFork.
What they serve you at Harold’s is not just fried chicken: it is soul food, it is tradition, it is history.
The crust is the perfect thickness and heavily spiced, and the pieces beautifully cooked and juicy. A real Southern experience — the restaurant looks like a colonial house in the French Quarter.
Harold’s is without doubt the best and most authentic fried chicken in Madrid. They have a technique that keeps the chicken from being greasy, with a crunch you find nowhere else.
We loved the jazz concert while eating New Orleans fried chicken. The whole thing really works — it is like being in a jazz club.
This place is perfect for surprising someone: it is the only restaurant in Spain doing real Southern fried chicken, decorated like a colonial house.
If you want to leave happy every time, with good service and no surprises on the bill, I recommend Harold’s. My family and I come once a month.
The most famous chicken wings in Madrid.Un buen día en Madrid
Real Southern fried chicken in a jazz club atmosphere.Madrid Más Chic
The best fried chicken in Madrid.Tripadvisor review
Right in the Ponzano area of Chamberí. Alonso Cano and Ríos Rosas metro stations are a couple of minutes away.
Monday 2 November: public holiday, we open from 13:00 to 16:00 and from 20:00 to 23:00.
Monday 9 November: public holiday, we open from 13:00 to 16:00 and from 20:00 to 23:00.
At weekends, yes — the restaurant usually fills up. Book right here on the site — it takes a minute and you get an instant confirmation — or call us on 622 00 76 33. On weekdays there is usually room and the room is quieter.
Because we fry it when you order it, never before. We are the only place in Madrid that does not keep chicken warm in a display case: that costs you a few extra minutes and buys you a genuinely crunchy crust and meat that is still juicy.
The average bill is €15–20 per person. That is about half of what a restaurant with this level of decoration, service and attention to detail would cost in Madrid, and the portions are generous.
Yes, we are dog friendly. Dogs are welcome in our dining rooms.
Yes. We put tables and chairs together for big groups — it is one of the things we are asked for most, for birthdays and celebrations. Tell us when you book so we can set the room up. There is a minimum spend of €20 per person for groups.
One night a month, in the upstairs room. Capacity is small and tickets go fast, so dates go out first to people subscribed to our alerts. Sign up on the live jazz page.