Clem’s Chicken Shop

Love it! A Newtown institution. The fried chicken is hands down the best fried chicken I have ever tasted. I am salivating as I write this.

Aside from the manager yelling at the young employees? Pretty good chicken with a heaping helping of chips drowned in gravy.

New Orleans Creole here. The chicken is really good and served HOT. Idk if its all of Australia but the serving size is huge for the price, which is a really good thing if you’re on a budget. The people working are also really nice.

Nothing beats a quarter chicken chips and gravy from this iconic Newtown favourite. Marinated charcoal roasted chicken never tasted so good! Their fried chicken is to die for as well. Staff are efficient and are always smiling. There was a rumour that they were going to start home a delivery service! I can’t wait for that day to happen!

Excellent food and a great place for carry-​out too. Beware, he closes early!

I’ve heard about this place for so long on Unilocal that when I walked past it I had to go in.
$ 5.50 for a fried chicken roll!!!
Brilliant little old style milk bar type place with a super friendly feel probably because they know their fried chicken is up there with the best in Sydney.
Thanks to Ingrid Sharn Mela Geenie and Howard et al for a great recommendation!

I love you Clem’s chicken shop. I love your fried parts of chickens, your grand selection of salads, and other vegetable sides.
Bacon and egg roll on a sugar filled hamburger bun. Yes.
Hangover over.
You can sit in at Clems and do some very interesting people watching. There is always one or two transient types either inside or just outside.
Forget KFCrap. Get into Clems.
If youre not a fan of fried chicken you can still get a chicken and mayo and lettuce roll or wrap and pretend youre being healthy about it.

Arguably one of the best fried chicken joints in Sydney and this is coming from a guy born and raised in the South where fried chicken is a way of life. Located in Newtown, Clem’s isn’t fancy by any means, but their food is legit.
I have yet to try their charcoal chicken, but their fried chicken is amaze balls. Perfect seasoning and fried to perfection. The skin is crispy and delicious with the meat being juicy and tender. Great chips as well with that damn addictive chicken salt. Australia you have made chips crack with that seasoning. The sides are all pretty good and there are lots to choose from… veggies to yummy casseroles.
It’s worth the trip to Newtown alone and the prices are more than fair for what you get.

As far as charcoal chicken goes there is no competition for Clems. A Newtown institution, they regularly sell out of my favourites. garlic potatoes to die for, there’s a selection of roasted vegetables, charcoal or fried chicken and crisp chips. They have a good selection of salads and desserts too. Tasty week night food when you can’t be bothered cooking. There’s a reason they’ve been there and a success for 30+ years.

Me gusta.
Came here after the Fried Chicken thread and my eyes were bigger than my stomach. Ordered the fried chicken family pack (8 pieces of fried chicken, medium chips, choice of veggies or sides, and a 1.25L) not for a family but TWO people… for $ 31
Fatasses unite!
The medium sized chips were definitely not medium… they encompassed a whole takeaway box. I was meant to order a salad (to be healthier of course,) but I misread the combo as veggies + salad, not one or the other. Ended up getting potatoes+ham, mushrooms, and a cheesy cauliflower.
The chicken was really good, definitely similar to KFC but better. My only wish is that they have a spicy version.
Pretty awesome joint for a cheap and unhealthily awesome feed.

This place is amazing. Wholesomely simple, yet amazing quality.
I tried both the fried and BBQ chicken, had their garlic potatoes, mushrooms, and mash with gravy. Wowzaa.
The fried chicken. Hauntingly familiar, like KFC’s original recipe chicken but with greater care, the chicken was succulent, moist, and crispy… yet somehow not greasy. I could work through a whole bucket on my own and was really really tempted to, except this was actually ‘tea’, and I had to save space for dinner.
The BBQ chicken was, I’m loathe to admit, even better than the fried chicken. Now I love fried chicken, but this BBQ chicken was much more memorable. If you compare Clem’s fried chicken to other fried chicken, and their BBQ to other BBQ, there’s a greater gap for the BBQ, if you get what I’m trying to convey. Flavourful, moist with a crispy paper thin skin, it was, in a word, delicious.
And those garlic potatoes. Wow. Garlicky buttery starch goodness. The mushrooms admittedly weren’t mindblowing, and the mash was good, tasty, but not as ahead of the curve as their chicken. They also do a whole range of salads and other sides that I didn’t try, but would love to head back and work my way through the selection bit by bit.
What can I say! Clem’s is the sorta place you wish was on the corner of your block, but yet you’re secretly glad it isn’t because you’d be eating fried chicken so often that you’d start to worry about the health implications.
Instead, I’m glad that Clem’s is a bit far away. That way I can indulge without worries… for now at least. :)

Clem’s is a remnant of the Old Newtown, when the streets were filled with students, punks and musos, all poor, and all fed by Clem’s, the Happy Chef, Singapore Gourmet and seemingly countless kebab shops.
Although the original Clem has moved on the shop (and his name) is still there and they are still making delicious food to the original recipes. The fried chicken pieces are to die for (large, crisp, and moist) but the roast chicken is pretty amazing too.
Then there are the side dishes. Choose between Greek Salad, peas and corn, creamed potato, roasted vegetables and several others to round out your meal. If you can fit in any more there are also desert options.
Clems remains great value, with large overflowing serves, and one of the best takeaway dinner options in Newtown.
BTW, Clem’s should get 5 stars except they stopped doing the fried chicken livers a few years back. I still haven’t got over that loss :-(

I hate to say this as I love KFC, but I think this place is definitely better in terms of the fried chicken!
I had hesitation at first as truthfully it looks like any other average place. However, after trying the fried chicken, I no longer care for looks and keep coming back for more. The fried chicken is amazing! They’re huge pieces of chicken with skin which probably actually does have 11 herbs and spices. The chicken is also amazingly cheap, a what would be F cup sized chicken breast piece is only $ 2.50. Value for breast which would make the KFC old man jealous.
Their sides are also in par with the tastiness and probably also the calories of their fried chicken. The ceasar salad has everything full of fat and taste through being loaded with chicken, crispy bacon, Parmesan cheese and croutons. The chips are also wonderfully salted and like everything else here, they give huge portions.
The only downfall I can think of is the gravy, KFC wins, but I’m still addicted to Clem’s and am always willing to sabotage my diet which starts tomorrow anytime I accidentally (purposely) pass by the yellow corner store with god like, f cup breasted, fried chicken.

They do the best hot chippies in Newtown.
Plus their chicken is pretty awesome too.
As are their salads and the rest of their hot food.
I don’t believe that I’ve had a bad meal here yet and I’ve been going for years.

Excellent food and a great place for carry-​out too!

My favorite fried chicken place in Sydney! :)
The skin is nice, crispy, and flavorful. I love it! The sides are pretty good, too. I usually get the Greek salad, potatoes au gratin (I think), or this lasagna-​type thing. They always fill the containers to the brim and sometimes give out free chicken! (They usually give out free pieces when you’ve ordered a lot or are made to wait… though I’ve noticed that the girls don’t seem to give out free chicken pieces, only the guys do. Just an observation!)
The only things I’m not too ecstatic about are the gravy and the BBQ chicken. They’re still pretty good, but I don’t get too obsessed about them like I do with the fried chicken and other sides. :P

I’ve loved clems for over 10 years! It’s consistent. Prices are right for great quality BBQ chook, veggies and salad. Certainly wouldn’t eat in (they only have room for a few people at the window) but for an instant roast dinner or chicken and chips clems is your spot!

Clem’s chicken is the ultimate when it comes to chicken shops. If your hangover can’t be cured by Clem’s, then nothing can. Not sure exactly who Clem is, but he got the right idea with chicken when he started, lots of grease for juicy chicken pieces. There is also a range of vegies and salad, with lots of people coming to get a whole baked dinner with all the trimmings to take home.
There will be people in Clem’s from opening until closing, getting their fix. Don’t go here if you are on a diet, there’s no point eating salad when chicken and chips are the house specialty. Clem’s is in demand so make sure there are cooked chickens available when you rock up, otherwise you might have to wait. (It’s worth the wait).

Clem’s is the place to go for chicken!!! It’s always got people in there no matter what time of the day, and for good reason. They’ve got good food at good prices and with friendly service too. This place is better than you’re local chicken and chip shop, unless you live in Newtown in which case this is your local. Apart from the bbq or fried chicken pieces here, you can choose from roast vegetables, salads, potato and gravy, awesome trifle for dessert, rice puddings and I think they even have soup too. I recommend getting either the fried chicken or bbq chicken, the chips and potato and gravy, the trifle and the roast veggies. They’re all good. The hardest thing is deciding what not to get! Everything is at a very reasonable price, a large salad costs $ 9.50 (although you have the option to go up or down a size) and will make sure you’re full and satisfied, small chips for $ 3.40 (that are more of a medium or large size than a small) and 2 fried chicken pieces for $ 4.90. I’m sure once you go here you’ll most likely become a regular like the rest of the customers.