The name of DownLow Chicken Shack, Toronto's first location of a Vancouver fried chicken favourite, is a bit of an oxymoron: there's no chill way to eat this stuff.

Also known as simply DownLow Chicken or shortened, as the kids do, to DL Chicken, this fried chicken chain has been keeping Vancouver fed since 2018, and as of March 2026, it's officially made landfall in Toronto.

It all started when partners Doug Stephen and Lindsey Mann began serving hot chicken at their restaurant, Merchant's Workshop, back in 2015. Almost immediately, the chicken, available exclusively on the restaurant's late-night menu, became the most popular thing they served, Doug joking with regulars that they should have kept it on the down-low.

Lightbulb!

It was evident that Lindsey and Doug had struck crispy, juicy, spicy gold with their recipe, which non-negotiably uses hormone and GMO-free, halal-certified chicken from local farms, and, three years later, DownLow Chicken Shack was born.

Nowadays, the pair operates three B.C. locations and, most recently, one in Toronto's Harbord Village, auspiciously perched right across the street from Harbord Collegiate, ready to serve scores of hungry high schoolers. They've even got a special lunch deal for students.

If you want to experience the magic of DownLow Chicken in its purest form, the tenders are the way to go. Available by the piece in counts of four ($16.99), seven ($28.99), 15 ($48.99), or 20 ($65.99), these impressively large tendies come dusted in the spice level of your choice.

We opted for hot and, though the paprika-red spice coating stained our fingertips for days (just look at those sloppy fingies), we felt sound in our decision.

Similarly, the juicy breast at the centre of the OG Sando ($16.99 or $23.99 in a combo) can be dusted in one of five spice levels, served in the classic style, with crunchy housemade coleslaw, tart pickles, pickled onions and signature DL sauce.

Though Nashville-style hot chicken is the restaurant's bread and butter, the Paisano ($23.99) is a surprising standout. Italian-inspired without leaning all the way into the digestion-demolishing territory of a chicken parm sandwich, this option features sauteed onions and pepper with pesto mayo. For a sandwich centred around fried chicken, it strikes a surprisingly fresh chord.

If you ask staff at the restaurant for their recommendations, you'll likely be encouraged to try the OG first, which I would agree with, but if you can, stop by with a friend and go halfsies on one of each.

If you promise to keep it on the down-low, I'll let you in on a little secret. A secret menu item, that is. Fries on the DownLow ($16.99 to $24.99) is so excessive, so hedonistic, so utterly gluttonous that you may feel shame ordering it just for yourself.

I advise you this: override any potential shame and just do it. I promise you won't want to share.

The dish is built on a base of seasoned fries, coated generously with melted cheese. The whole thing is then topped with the same toppings as those on the OG sando, finished with a chopped fried chicken breast.

Sometimes you simply need to eschew concerns for arterial health in favour of healing your spiritual health with French fries, cheese, coleslaw and fried chicken, and that's okay.

DownLow Chicken Shack is located at 538 Manning Ave.