Proposition Chicken Review: Fried Chicken for Him, Crispy Tofu for Me

All PostsSan Francisco Eats
Written By Amy Suto
Crispy fried strips like the chicken and tofu at Proposition Chicken in San Francisco

A fried chicken restaurant is a strange place for a mostly-plant-based person to keep returning to, and yet here we are: Proposition Chicken on California Street, again, receipts in hand.

Proposition Chicken is the rare fried chicken spot in San Francisco where the crispy tofu is actually good — not “good for tofu,” not good-with-an-asterisk. Good the way fried chicken is good: crackly outside, custardy middle, built to carry sauce.

What to Order at Proposition Chicken

This is our house divided, solved. My husband Kyle gets the fried chicken strips and has never once had a note. I get the strips with crispy tofu subbed in — and they’ll do it on gluten-free strips, which matters to me (my gluten policy is documented at length in my remission essay).

The honey mustard does not discriminate between us. Last run: two orders of strips, one honey mustard, about $31 out the door. Fast casual math at its finest.

The Verdict on Proposition Chicken

  • Best for: Mixed carnivore/plant-based households; gluten-free fried cravings
  • My order: Strips, crispy tofu subbed, gluten-free, honey mustard
  • Kyle’s order: The fried chicken strips, no notes, ever
  • Where: 3465 California St (Google Maps) · propositionchicken.com

Proposition Chicken is on my best fast casual in San Francisco list and the best restaurants in SF. Bonus: it shares a block with Q Specialty Coffee, so dessert is a yuzu matcha twenty steps away.

For more of where I actually eat, start with the best restaurants in San Francisco — and subscribe to my newsletter if you want the new reviews (plus my writing life) in your inbox. I spent five years rating restaurants around the world in my travel guides; now the fork points at my own city.