Quick Take:
Location: Mulberry (Depot 303)
What Mike ordered: Chicken Sandwich Combo (With Fries)
Extra Order
(Katie's Order): Kids Box (2 Jumbo Tenders, Fries & Drink)
Final Score: 4.5/5
Price: ~$10–20 per person
For our fifteenth stop on our Polk Food Quest, we visited Chicken & Pig in Mulberry inside of Depot 303.
We have been to Depot 303 before this trip, and were hoping for a little more (considering how much we love The Joinery in Lakeland, and knowing it comes from the same team who put that together) ... but it's still worth checking out and has some great spots.
I was actually really surprised that this is only the second chicken place we have reviewed (the first one being review of Lovebird Chicken) — but then I realized a lot of the chicken places around Polk are chains — and I don't know THAT many good chicken spots that are locally owned.
So, that said, if you have any recommendations: please comment below or email them in!
It's hard to get a "best chicken in Polk County" article done for The Best Food In Polk with only two chicken spots.
By the way: if you're new here, the concept of my Polk Food Quest is simple: every week I try a local spot, order the most common thing people get, try a few extras, and rank it on taste, value, vibes, and overall.
This week: Chicken Sandwich!
Which means I ordered a chicken sandwich combo with fries, and Katie got a kid box, which came with 2 jumbo tenders, fries and a drink.
How Does This Work?
I order the standard item for that category (for chicken that's a regular chicken sandwich), plus a few extras so I can get a full feel for the menu.
Then I rank the experience on four things:
Taste | Value | Vibes | 
Overall
Taste focuses on the standard item.
The rest reflects the entire experience.
Taste: 5/5
The owner and chef behind Chicken & Pig is Joe Dodd, who started with his original Nashville hot chicken brand in Tampa in 2019 called King of the Coop.
That brand won "Best Fried Chicken" in Best Of Tampa in 2025.
So that should tell you a little about the taste of the chicken he is bringing to Chicken & Pig!
Here's a quick breakdown for my quick scanners, though:
- Chicken Sandwich: This was great! It was extremely hard to hold together in a sandwich, but the taste was really really good.
- Jumbo Tenders: I almost feel silly saying the tenders were also incredible because it seems so obvious; but I'm adding it here nonetheless.
- French Fries: Great! I didn't fall out of my seat over these, of course, but they were good.
My one note here is that Chicken & Pig probably faces off with Lovebird Chicken when it comes to their chicken tenders, but if we're scoring it up against the chicken SANDWICHES they have a much harder time (only one chicken sandwich on the menu; so it's a bit of an unfair comparison, though).
All that to say, the taste gets a 5/5 and is something I would definitely have again.
Vibes: 4/5
This one is a bit out of Chicken & Pig's control being that they're based inside of Depot 303.
Depot 303 is gorgeous, but it just doesn't live up to The Joinery [in Lakeland].
Every time we've been there it has been dead, and it feels like the spots in there are going to have a hard time staying being that the foot traffic is so low.
It's all the way out in Mulberry, in a spot that feels like it's in the middle of nowhere, with no good signage or directions to pull you in — but unfortunately, as I said, there's not much Chicken & Pig can do about this.
Overall Depot 303 is still great inside and Chicken & Pig has good branding and great staff and service all around.
That said, I'm giving it a 4/5 for vibes just because it's a bit out there for most of Polk County and not sure I'd want to make the trip again.
Value: 4.5/5
For value I'm coming in with a 5/5.
I actually had to think about this one being that the positioning is a bit different than what you might find at other spots.
I got a combo box that came with a chicken sandwich, fries and a fountain drink for $15.
Where-as a Lovebird sandwich is $9, fries are $2.95 and a drink is $2.75, which brings you to $15 as well.
To compare that another way, Katie got a Kid Box for $12, which is 2 jumbo tenders, fries and a drink.
Compare that to 2 tenders at Lovebird which is $12, without a drink or fries (which would add an additional $6) and it's looking pretty good...
The difference really comes down to the fact that you're able to choose to combo it all up for $15, as opposed to ONLY being able to get the box (or at least that's how it's written on the menu...).
That said, either way I am knocking it down to 4.5 being that the only thing that it gets hit for is really the location and the fact that the menu doesn't have much diversity.
Overall: 4.5/5
Overall Chicken & Pig comes in with a solid 4.5/5.
I wouldn't necessarily drive all the way to Mulberry just for their chicken (especially competing with some other spots in Polk); but if I was headed to Depot 303 for some reason they would definitely be at the top of my list.
Would I bring my visiting family there?
I think if my family as visiting and we specifically wanted a food hall type spot to go where each of us could choose something different, and we wanted to be 100% sure it wasn't going to be packed, we might head out to Depot 303. In that case, I would definitely recommend them trying Chicken & Pig!
Here’s how I’d sum up Chicken & Pig:
Chicken & Pig is a really solid chicken spot tucked inside Depot 303 in Mulberry.
The chicken sandwich was messy, a little hard to hold together, but genuinely really good. The jumbo tenders were also a standout, and the fries were exactly what you’d want with a chicken combo.
For the price, I think they do a great job; especially because you can get the combo box with fries and a drink for around $15, or the kid box with two jumbo tenders, fries, and a drink for $12.
The biggest thing working against them is the location. Depot 303 is a beautiful space, but it’s a bit out of the way for most of Polk, and the whole place still feels like it needs more traffic and momentum.
That said, if you’re already in Mulberry, heading to Depot 303, or looking for a locally owned chicken spot to try, Chicken & Pig is absolutely worth checking out.
It’s not a place I’d personally drive across the county for every week, but it’s definitely good enough to be on the radar — and it gives us another real contender as we start building toward a Best Chicken in Polk County list.
Before You Go....
Hey!
I want to know what you think of Chicken & Pig.
Leave a comment below.
The more you share, the better, but anything is appreciated.
Each comment helps The Best Of Polk articles and eventually, the yearly awards!
Have a place you want me to try?
Make sure to comment that as well.
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