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Who doesn’t love a restaurant that calls you, practically crows out to you, to come inside? At the almost 5-month-old Gary Rack’s Fat Rooster, the fun spills out to the sidewalk with a dozen open-air bar seats and nine tables on the patio.

Inside, the place is the size of an old-fashioned diner with an open kitchen on one side of the room. It’s a very tight fit. Stacks of plates and a brood of ceramic roosters sit on a shelf that divides dining room from kitchen. The ceiling and walls are covered in reclaimed wood. Reproductions of tin advertising signs cover those walls. Stick around long enough, and you’ll hear Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Jackson 5, even some Willie Nelson.

Settle in with Tailgate lemonade ($10), one of a baker’s dozen of specialty cocktails. This one’s made with Knob Creek rye, Veev Acai Spirit, peach, lemonade and mint. It goes down like an alcoholic Arnold Palmer.

But after having brunch and dinner at the Fat Rooster, I have one big piece of advice: Stick with the bird.

Four pieces of gloriously fried chicken ($18) are served with a tiny pitcher of whiskey honey and a pile of house pickles. The chicken’s breading is heavy enough that you get some crunch with each bite, but not so heavy that you find yourself looking for chicken. As with all good fried poultry, the flavor of cooking oil mysteriously disappears. Upgrade to the so-called “Generous” serving and you’ll get enough coleslaw and fries for a table of four. The curly fries were anemic. The coleslaw fell awkwardly between creamy and vinegary. Coleslaw is always better when it takes a stand.

At dinner and brunch, you can also order fried chicken tenders and buttermilk waffles with that whiskey honey ($17). There’s something to be said for the uniformity of boneless fried chicken, especially when it’s this meaty.

But stray from fried chicken, and the Fat Rooster suddenly gets, well, scrawny.

We ordered the 18-ounce bone-in rib-eye ($34) at one meal and received a steak so fatty that most of it was left on the plate. A special snapper with three sides ($25) might have been better blackened. The grilled fillet delivered to our table was virtually tasteless and all one texture. Shouldn’t it at least have a crisp edge? Short rib meatloaf ($19) sounds like an excellent idea, but an even better idea would be to add some ground sirloin or chuck. Short rib makes for an off-putting texture, somewhere between wet cardboard and overcooked fish.

Why not offer the incredible fried chicken in other guises? What about spicy Korean-style? Sriracha or curry? Try some nontraditional — red velvet? — coatings. Why not add a few more sandwiches?.

Side dishes, a staple of Southern-style cooking, also fell short. Call me old-fashioned, but I still like my kale and collards ($5) cooked until tender. None of this crunchy collard stuff for me. Honey-bacon Brussels sprouts ($5) like as if they had a slightly caramelized flavor, but I believe they were only tossed with bacon and honey. They needed a deeper roast. Fresh corn ($5) was fine as fresh corn goes.

Starters fared better. Deviled eggs ($9) feature a delightfully creamy filling, made even better when topped with candied bacon and pickle-pepper relish. Fried green tomatoes ($12) were delicious with a big dollop of blue-crab remoulade. Southern nachos ($13), however, were forgettable with tortilla chips, chili, cheddar, red onions and pickled jalapeno.

Not much on the menu compares to that fried chicken, until you get to milkshakes. The chocolate shake ($7) is made with dark chocolate, whole milk, whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles. Ask that it be served in a to-go cup, since it’s so rich you’ll have a hard time finishing it. One night, banana pudding ($8) was served almost elegantly in what looked like a rock glass. The only problem was the pudding. It had very little banana flavor, leaving us with creamy but flavor-free pudding, whipped cream and vanilla wafers.

Then, there’s the service. In a word, it’s exceptional. When we arrived half an hour early to meet another couple, we explained our predicament to our server. Would it be OK to sit at a table for 30 minutes — which turned into 40 — while we wait for the rest of our party?

“No problem.”

In their checked shirts and blue aprons, they embrace the Southern hospitality that the menu and cozy interior were designed to evoke.

Fat Rooster has its fried chicken and service down pat. Now, it’s time to work on the rest of the menu.

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Gary Rack’s Fat Rooster

204 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach

561-266-3642, TheFatRooster.com

Cuisine: Southern-style American comfort food

Cost: Inexpensive/moderate/expensive

Hours: Dinner daily, lunch weekdays, brunch Saturday-Sunday

Reservations: Not accepted

Credit cards: All major

Bar: Full service

Sound level: Very noisy when full

Outside smoking: No

For kids: Highchairs, boosters, menu, menu items on request

Wheelchair accessible: Yes

Parking: $10 valet or street parking