It’s no secret that our kiddos, like most, could eat chicken tenders for every meal. Sometimes that means testing the goods ourselves. Where are the best chicken tenders in Central Florida? We’ve done the research and here’s what we loved as much as our kids.
Note: You will find that many of these restaurants are open for dine-in. If you’re comfortable with that – awesome! Dine-in, have a blast. But wear a mask and be extremely kind to the restaurant staff doing the most to serve you.
Chicken Fire
Food Truck
Chicken Fire has truly taken the city’s heart with their amazing Nashville Fried Chicken and incredibly nice staff. Be warned, their spice has a kick, I can only handle mild but have big plans to work my way up to medium. For the kids we get soulful which is delicious without the heat. Find the truck, wait in the line, eat this chicken. You will be so happy you did.
Chi-Kin
813 N Mills Ave, Orlando, FL 32803
Serving up Korean Fried Chicken, this is an excellent twist on traditional tenders. Kids tender meals can come without sauces but us grownups are very into trying out our options. The gochujang was sweet with a little kick of heat. We also tested the bulgogi beef fries which were fantastic loaded goodness. The kids ate everything in their baskets which is the ultimate nod to a superior tender meal.
The Coop
610 W Morse Blvd. Winter Park, FL 32789
Part of the 4Rivers family, the Coop is fantastic southern staples with the high quality Rivers tastes. We ordered a family dinner meal and took it over to a nearby park to have an outdoor picnic dinner. The tenders are juicy and delicious. And we loved chowing down on the sides too, hello hush puppies!
Huey Magoo’s
Multiple Locations around Central Florida
Our kids lovingly call this place, cheep cheep. It has been a fast-food standard of ours since they opened one nearby a few years ago. In pandemic times, we’ve loved the opportunity to order a family-meal online and then bring home all the tenders, fries, and Texas toasts. I mean look at the photo, it’s enough to feed a tiny army. When you order the tenders you can get them grilled or hand-breaded and tossed in a variety of sauces. Plus you get to choose a few for dipping as well. For the sake of the family order we got them all breaded with sauce on the side. Our go-to sauces are the buffalo, garlic parmesan, and honey mustard.
The Porch
643 N Orange Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789
There’s no doubt that the food here is great. But when you dine-in, the kids meals come on the cutest retro TV dinner trays. Delicious and adorable make a perfect combo. Also check out their second location in Longwood – The Back Porch!
Sanford Brewing
400 Sanford Ave, Sanford, FL 32771
160 Independence Ln Suite B, Maitland, FL 32751
Our family was looking for a way to have an outing with friends and be socially distant. So we visited Sanford Brewing in Maitland. Across the road there is a grassy area with picnic benches a plenty of shade (City Hall side). We brought a frisbee and football with us and camped out for a bit. We were able to go in to get drinks, food, and use the restrooms as necessary. The grown-ups all loved their food (I had a great blackened mahi sandwich!) and I admit I stole a tender or two.
