Reviews of Lee's Chicken Restaurant (Restaurant)

Jeff Hatfield

Sydney our waitress was awesome. Super friendly and very helpful. Our very first time here. We are from Michigan yes the Green team Go State but we are nice Spartans. Thanks so much Lincoln and Sydney for your kind hospitality. We would strongly recommend this place.

Sandra Bridger

Best chicken in town.

ron fuehrer

All the food got there after 2 hours after I ordered it so after 2 hours of waiting I was very unsatisfied

Jeff Ziegler

Nice friendly service, and great food

John Adams

Still good chicken. Good wait staff. Over all a good experience.

Barbara

A delicious indulgence.

tami sintek

So kind and friendly great food!!!

Jim Steider

Our waitress was very good.

kevin lewis

Chicken is spot on. My wife and I loved it

Alicia RInehart

The food was really greasy.

Mark Yost

Outstanding, great fresh food

DEAN S

I give this place three stars because I grew up going here and I enjoyed it from time to time throughout growing up their staff was very friendly however one of the things they do not tell you is that they automatically put a gratuity into your bill also known as an automatic tip so I was quite surprised to have to spend $40 for a couple of chicken dinners other than that the visit was very pleasant with the extremely large group that we had the chicken however were very small pieces even for breast meat about the size of two chicken legs and it was a little dry ever I would visit here again because of the friendly staff and because this was a place I grew up going to.

Kathi Sikyta

Lee's chicken is one of our favorite places in lincoln to eat. We have both lived here all our 50 some years and would die if they ever closed down. The food is awesome and the servers are so friendly. People don't know what real chicken is until they have had Lee's. Wonderful.

Roberta Gilleland

Great service.. great food.. friendly atmosphere

Epic Bacon

Was a great experience brought back many pleasant childhood experiences

Gary Pavel

My wife loves this place !! The food was good , service was good !! Thank you!

April Mora

Great chicken great onion rings

Doug Shockley

My favorite place in Lincoln Nebraska. And it was like going back in a time machine and we were treated great.

Tammy Thompson

First time Lee’s visiter here! Good food, good environment. Piano is a nice touch. Had a very sweet server- young girl with black hair, she was very on top of making sure we had everything we needed, gave good suggestions and very friendly. Will definitely return (if nothing else for the chicken noodle soup). Only thing we weren’t a fan of was hearing some foul language from the bar. The family-establishment-feel and history made up for it. Overall would rate a 4.5.

Linda Schultz

Was disappointed with the service. Was really busy yesterday and the waitress was not happy sweating running off her face . Trying to do a table of 8,4,and2. Kept forgetting stuff gave us our bill before we even got the chicken dinners. Then looking o er at a filthy fan next to the tea and water and butter was gross.

Lynx Venge

Loved the food plus amazing service would recommend to everyone that wants a great dinning experience

Alyiah Parks

Lee's chicken was amazing, I think it's a great for family's to come and enjoy a meal. The service was amazing not exactly fast but all good things take time. Would definitely recommend eating here!!

Jeanne Wilke

OMG!!! The best food!!! Great prices, awesome flavor, nice people, homemade salad dressings, huge portions.

John Ulrich

I hate to bash Lee's, because I've eaten there literally all my life, but the food really needs to get better. My chicken breast was tiny compared to ones from the Super Saver Deli. Sadly, it was also dry. They had run out of baked potatoes at 6:30 on a Friday night, (Huh!?!?) so I had the hash browns. They were so average I didn't even finish them. Our server was a delightful young lady, and took care of our large group with friendly efficiency. I hope Lee's can improve the quality of the food, before people stop going there.

Travis Smith

Oldest restaurant in Lincoln, NE? I'll take it. Any day of the week. Amazing food. Great heritage and ambiance. Don't decline the gum.

Maria T. Kennedy

I took my husband to this place because he never been here .But what a disappointment he ordered a potato salad that has mold I'm not sure how long that potato bean in fridge but overall not coming back .

Endless Mike Hellstrom

I’d heard good things about this restaurant and one night when I had the fried chicken hunger we decided to try it out. We ordered the onion rings, chicken livers, a family bucket with mashed taters and mac-n-cheese as the sides, and then an additional side of cole slaw. My overall impression - not transcendent, but not bad. The chicken was well-fried, juicy on the inside, crispy on the outside, good flavor - but somewhat bland. I agree with other reviews that I’d prefer it with more seasoning in the flour. Same impression of the livers - livers need seasoning. Even more salt would help. The sides were sides - they were tasty but nothing special, but I can’t fault them for that because that’s pretty much par for the course at many restaurants, particularly in Lincoln. The onion rings were AWESOME. Maybe the best I’ve ever had. The menu says it: “They’re ugly but great!” Enjoyed them quite a bit. I’ll come back for the chicken and the onion rings, and try a greater selection of items next time. I bet if you could get them to season the flour heavily before frying that chicken, it would be unbelievable.

Wendy Herrold

My extended family had dinner there last night for my grandma's birthday. We had the party room reserved for 30 people. There was only 1 wait staff as apparently the other one scheduled called in and they could not find a replacement. Thus, service was extremely slow and the waitress did not refill our drinks or ask if our food was okay or if we needed anything else. Additionally, we had to wait a pretty long time to get our food (which I understood since it was a large group) but then had to wait an additional 45 minutes for them to get us our bills and when we got them, they were all wrong which then took additional time to correct. The service just kept getting worse and worse and the food was okay at best. I will never return and would definitely not recommend.

Matt Hicks

Great atmosphere! Great food! Excellent service!

aaron wong

Food was not the best you can get. You can probably get some better food for a slightly cheaper price.

Mandie Qualls

We love this place!

Velora Wilson

I usually order 2 piece chicken dinner. Excellent. I order all wings so you get 4 wings. Tastes like what my Mom made.

Jason Hanson

Great place, good food, even better atmosphere. Been going there to eat as long as I can remember, and just keeps staying the same.

Jaleesa Williams

The staff was friendy and the food was okay. Lee's has a really old fashion environment.

Shawna Deck

I'm always a little trepidatious about my expectations of going to a favorite restaurant when I haven't been there in 20 years. Unbelievably, this place was exactly the same as it was the last time I was there. The food was fabulous and the service was great. We were not there at a peak time, but I would imagine that there would be fewer opportunities for great service at peak times, but having been a server at one time myself, I'm sometimes annoyed at people who have expectations of perfect service at a time when a restaurant is packed. Loved this place 40 years ago, 25 years ago, and I still love it now!

Jameison Cooper

The best place to go for fried chicken. Great onion rings! Has a sentimental spot in the hearts of locals. Live organ music. Edit: 5/28/18, Tried to order take-out. Got some kid. No customer service. Lots of, "Uh,...what? Do you …

Anrhony Romero

Not recommended we were the only ones there had to ask for refills had to ask for Sweet and Low wasn't very much impressed and I think it's way overpriced

Cory Ebke

Love this place...best chicken in Lincoln

Megan Riggert

Amazing service and delicious food! Great small town restaurant feel.

mary conway

A rite of passage in Lincoln, it's like stepping back in time with the red leather booths and live piano. In the many many times I've been there, I've never had anything bad--of course I've only had the chicken--the two piece white only. …

Kali Wathen

Did not even get served. Sat for 20 mins with no one acknowledging us and then the table next to us had their order taken so we walked out.

Shannon Dickmeyer

Good food staff is awsomehope you guys are ok from the other night. My friend and i go the restaurant alot. My thoughts are with you guys and the employees.

Matt Rinne

Even if the chicken and food wasn't delicious, I'd still go there for the 25¢ pinball. Great service and nostalgic atmosphere. If you haven't gone there yet you'd better make it a priority!

Sherry Teichroew

It is the bomb chicken and Mac and cheese

Barb Miller

Always enjoy going to Lee's. A Lincoln tradition.

Kim Harvey

Always love this place. The food is amazing.

Nick Bennett

Chicken Friend steak. Best I have ever had. I'm a big boy and I know my food.

Noe Eview

The food here is not seasoned at all, the chicken and fries barely had flavor had to dip it in a lot of ketchup to make it taste ok. Only senior citizens that like this place if youre 50+ youll enjoy it otherwise try somewhere else even KFC is way better then this food. It also had a weird nursing home smell I would not recommend this place.

Branch DeVries

Great food and service

Jon Hedges

Everything on the menu is delicious. Have ate there with my grandparents since the 70s when we came for a visit. Always try to stop by when traveling through. One of my all time favorite places to eat. Friendly staff.

Carolyn McInroy

Good food. Nice friendly people. Quiet.

Kathy Phillip

Just did carryout. Food was good, generous portions. They waited until I was there to cook up/ put food in boxes. So everything was hot.

Jasmine Brown

Just not good service food or good music ...A for angry

MARK MINTER

Good food and good service

Joyce Riley

Great chicken, onion rings. Our waitress was awesome. We will go back soon.

Breana Marlett

Good food & service!

Laurie Andreas

Wonderful chicken. The onion rings are out of this world. Prices have gone up some but is worth it.

Randy McClure

Fun friendly place but every time I have been I feel I was the youngest person there and I'm no kid.

Michael Black

Old-school awesomeness. I've been coming here since I was a kid - over 30 years. I have great memories of the piano players and awesome food throughout the years.

Scott Bennett

Hosted a party here. Great experience. Bring your own A/V setup.

JoAnn Alback

Lee's Chicken is THE best kept fried chicken (and the fish in the same batter!!!) secret in Nebraska....I've been fortunate to have been in on that secret since the early 70s when I lived in Lincoln...Since then we make frequent trips to Lincoln to get our chicken "fix". Omaha USED to have the Stockade, Rose Lodge....can't really get good chicken in Omaha anymore....but WE know about Lees.... We really enjoy Ahmad as our server....knows the menu and enjoys seeing us when we come in.. Extremely friendly and we love to talk to him.

Jason Miner

Just visited tonight and originally I was super excited to hear that my grandma, who said she's been coming here since the 50's, suggested Lee's Chicken for dinner! I've had great experiences at Lee's before dating back to when I was a child but tonight was not one of them! Things were going great until the salad showed up...I've never been server a more brown salad in my life and having worked in restaurants before I would never serve a paying customer a salad like this. There were parts of the lettuce that should never make it into a salad. I pushed it away half eaten and just gave it bad looks until the server took it away. Ok, bad salad I can live, bring on the chicken I remember being so good! The meal shows up and I decide to rip into this baked potato with that yummy Les's sour cream....the potato was terrible! This hunk of starch had been sitting in a warmer since early this afternoon before we even got the idea of going to Lee's, I guarantee it. The Lee's signature sour cream was warm!! WTH. Warm sour cream is an instant turn off! Having decided I'd rather be anywhere than Lee's Chicken for dinner at this point I turn to my chicken as the saving grace....it was so dry I was tempted to pour my water on it. I picked it apart and gave the rest to my 5 year old son. I've never left hungry from a restaurant until tonight. The water was the best part. Next time I'll grab a tall glass of ice water and quickly say NO when someone suggests Lee's Chicken to me again. It seems the chicken has lost it's head and is dying. Sadly there is a not a 0 star option and I'm left giving them a 1 star which is more than they deserve sadly.

Nestor Pelayo

To summarize: Don't buy into the hype. It isn't as glamorous as people are making it out to be. Part of the reason why I say so when when you look at the demographic that attracts this place, you see mostly some really fine elderly folks coming over to have a good time, and what I find is that their standards of what fine dining is compared to a little Gen Z'er like me finds as fine dining, differs quite a bit, which is why I don't really understand the hype for the place Now, onto the actual facility itself. The restuarant is need of some massive updates in order to make it look like 2019, but still have a very old-fashion, homey vibe to it. When I walked into the door, my first impression was the smell, which smelled like very old wood and it wasn't very pleasant at all. The place is also really cramped and that's really because of the amount of booths there are. This could be a chance to replace the booths and replace them all with seats and tables so that place can look bigger and can allow for more people to come in and dine. You can also tell that the place hasn't had a deep cleaning in a long time, since I noticed that the lamps were fairly dusty here and there and there were a lot of crumbs along the edges of the seats which I found to be gross. When it comes down to the environment if the dining experience here, the piano player is really the only thing keeping the place alive, otherwise it's dead silent and awkward. Really fine playing nonetheless and I thought it was a really nice touch to the place. However, if the pianist runs out of pieces to play, just whip up out radio so it can take over the silence. The food overall was okay, just not impressive. When I was reading the reviews prior to coming here I was really expecting some super fresh meat that came from newly slaughtered chickens. I had the chicken fried chicken with the hashbrowns and green beans. The chicken felt tender as I was cutting it but by the time I was getting towards the center it was quite tough, especially when I was chewing, it was probably frozen but I don't know. The gravy on top that came with it was rather running and just not thick enough. The flavor of the gravy seemed a touch overpowering for my taste. The hashbrowns were too mushy for me, I was hoping for something more crunchy and solid. The Mac and Cheese was absolutely superb, there was a really nice balance with the cheese and the noodles. I snagged some chicken tenders from one if my colleagues sitting with me. The tenders are ONLY amazing if you add some sort of sauce mainly because the plain tender just doesn't have much flavor. I added BBQ sauce to it and it ended up being one of the best things I've ever had. Service: Our service overall was okay. The old lady who greeted us seemed a little apathetic and slow. Our server was phenomenal and was very accommodating. My only tick was that I asked for lemonade but ended up getting Iced Tea, but I let it slide because I like Ice Tea and I flipped coin to decide if I wanted Ice Tea or Lemonade since I was feeling quite indecisive prior to walking in. The older guy at the bar talking to us as we were paying was kind of strange, I felt he was trying too hard to be personable and I also didn't appreciate how he just threw the bubble gum at us from a distance instead of handing it to us, but it really wasn't enough for me to beat the place up entirely. I would return only for the chicken tenders and take them to-go and/or if the restaurant made interior updates into a new look so it fits in 2019.

Mrwizard96 Games

Service was great, loved how it felt like home, amazing piano playing. And all ways made sure we we're doing good

randy roti

Menu has changed a little. Chicken wasn't as good as I remember....seems like they skipped over something...? Like the "original " batter....something was just different. They still have that cool "curb side" ordering at the back door. I always thought this was cool.

Jeff Kohout

Pat is always there to help you find a nice seat at the bar.

C M Roth

Very nostalgic restaurant for Lincoln. Great friend chicken!

James Sly

Great food & service

dana boyce

Still the best place in town to get great food in a wonderful setting! Went for my birthday & the piano player came up personally & wished me a happy birthday & asked if I had any requests. Plus I got a free sundae with a sparkler in it! Great birthday meal & entertainment! Thank you

Lisa Miller

Lincoln's must go at least once restaurant.... oldie but still has good chicken

Gina Florentine

Great as always. One of the best chicken places around.

Jamie Irwin

The atmosphere and the food were wonderful!! Felt like being in a small town restaurant.

Todd Francisco

Good food, service was great. Just takes a while to get your chicken because the cook to order so it's fresh and hot.

Breckin Killingsworth

Really good service, the wait staff got our food out quickly and efficiently. Everybody there was nice and the food was hot and tasted good.

Steve Meyers

The chicken was amazingly good!

Dean Vavra

Great chicken.

Bob Hutt

I absolutely love the atmosphere here. It is just as I remember it from almost 20 years ago. I have heard people say the same thing dating back many years ago. The food is really a simple menu and the quality seemed a little less than what I remembered, but it was still good. The prices are very reasonable and I will return for the atmosphere. Take the time to read the history on the menu. Also, ask the staff for more historical nuggets if you wish! The organ is one of my favorite parts.

Amy Lange

We had a large party, but still thought it unusual to wait an hour for drinks and and hour and a half for food.

Natalie Gordon

Great food! Service just depends on the night. Normally there is no music playing if they do not have their pianists taking requests, which can make dining in a bit awkward.

christina payne-johnson

Great food and great service. It was my first time and I will be back.

DAVID WEIPERT

Great food and service, a must place to eat if in Lincoln

Tony Underwood

Excellent food great staff

Kenneth Calnan

Lee's is an old historic restaurant here in Lincoln. Our family made it a birthday tradition to bring the kids here for dinner and the reason we came, the sparkler cake! If you tell them it's your birthday they will bring out a cake when you want them to with a sparkler burning in it and clapping and singing Happy Birthday. It's a scene and everyone looks, but that part of the fun! Very cozy environment with nice staff, and good fried chicken. They use peanut oil which gives it a unique taste. My favorite is the greesy onion rings for an appetizer. Reasonable prices. Good parking. And Idk how many times the big Chicken statue outside has been stolen and returned or replaced. It's no wonder this place has been open so long. If you haven't had Lee's Chicken then you're missing out!

Roberta Cordato

What a gem!! Best chicken ever and I have been in all 50 states and abroad. Go there immediately and tip the organ player. ( may sound strange but really adds to the ambiance)

T G

Great fried chicken!! Right on the way to PINEWOOD BOWL AMPITHEATER

Dan Sis

Awesome Chicken dinner tonight, very busy cause of Mother's day weekend!

Terry Andersen

Great food! Great service!

Tammy Porterfield

Great place to eat. The chicken is always wonderful and the homemade onion rings are the best ever. The service is friendly and fast. I have been coming here since I was a kid. I live a couple hours away but we always make it a point to come here when in town.

Sabah Qasim

Good place for kids

Michelle

Good food, good prices.

Ben Boelter

Great food and friendly service i would recommend Lee's chicken to everyone

Kenneth Havlat

So good and greasy the onion rings are a must. The chicken has a special breading if you don't care for breading avoid it. I always thought the seafood was above average. Get the special sour cream for your baked potato.

Kathleen Moss

Been dining here since the 60’s, great memories of birthday cakes with sparklers! Love the special sour cream for baked potatoes and Italian dressing for the salads.

Roy Anderson

Deep fat fried chicken. Plus great onion rings. Only place I know where u get deep fried lobster. Been coming here for over 50 yrs. They have a piano and or organ player.

Valerie Fisher

Lee's has always been one of our favorites. Last night our baked potatoes were left over from the night before and the waitress did nothing. My husband ordered Chicken Fried steak and it had a lot of gristle he could not eat much of it. Did not get rolls with our salads and when we did they were dried out and hard. When we paid I was asked how was every thing I said terrible, and never asked if I wanted to talk to a manager or compensated and never got senior discount. Meal was 42.00 and it wasn't worth half of that. We won't go back.

Aaron Rogge

Nice laid back location to grab a bite. The food is decent. Until this last visit I had never tried their chicken, yes I know it is their signature dish. I was VERY impressed. I'll be ordering it next time. I've done the all-you-can-eat fish fry and it is good. Flavors tend to be on the milder side. If you catch the right time, they have someone who plays the organ for background music. A nice place to enjoy a family meal.

Jasmin Ozolins

The best ever classic restaurant in Lincoln. The customer service is the best and the chicken, shrimp, everything... Can't be beat! And there's someone playing the organ while you eat! What is cooler than that?!

Joseph Gulick

This place was disgusting. It had dead flies and cobwebs on the window sil. We were the only ones in at. Almost noon. The service was bad.we had to keep asking for refills. The fish and chips were soggy with no flavor. The Cole slaw was cabbage. And mayo. The fries were just frozen out of the bag. The mashed potatoes were instant. The chicken was so so but not much flavor. We really wanted to like this local institution. Dirty, bad service and bad food. What a waste of $30

Kathy Anderson

Went there for Thanksgiving. Wonderful buffet. Always good food.They take reservations!!

freddy

Great chicken salad rings and service

Candace Moore

Went for family gathering, good as when I was young

Jennifer Held

Yummy!!! Loved this little hideaway restaurant. The food was great with great prices. It was very close to our concert venue. Our server was very nice and took very good care of us.

James Saitta

Drove from Omaha after reading an article about how good this place was. Everything in the article was true-the atmosphere, the old school setting and decor, was exactly how the writer said it would be- except one very, very important thing: the food was mediocre, not great... Mashed potatoes were instant potatoes, as was the gravy, and the cooked corn tasted like it came out of 5 gallon can that was harvested shortly after the place opened 70 years ago. I think a place that hangs its hat on being "true" to its past, should never, ever use instant, anything. The chicken itself, was just OK... It was hot, juicy and even golden brown, but the breading had no flavor, at all. None..it was boring, boring, boring. The server, Kelly, was very pleasant and fun, and they had Pepsi, which is why I gave it 3 stars instead of two. Bottom line - if you're on that side of Lincoln, eat there.. If not, save your gas.

Jeremy Kirby

Great chicken and a lincoln icon. Would recommend to anyone for dine in, take out or catering.

Raylene Portz

Not what is cracked up to be

thad alexander

This place advertises the longest running restaurant in Lincoln. I believe this to be true from the visual outside and the same decor from the very first day it opened. I've tried the chicken, i won't order it. The fish is good stuff!

Gerry Kluch

Great "at home" atmosphere fish and chips are superb....

Lori Anderson

Delicious food been going here since I was a kid great place