Chickie’s & Pete’s Cafe

The Food…
Chickie’s & Pete’s has been serving up exceptional food for as long as I can remember — around 25 years — and most likely longer. The highlight of the menu and all-​time favorite of any regular customer is the Crab Fries. Fundamentally, these are crinkly fries with old bay seasoning; however the texture of the fry, the unique ingredients in the spice, and the creamy cheese dip make these fries phenomenal and a staple side to any Chickie’s & Pete’s entrée. What’s more, whether you are ordering the Buffalo Wings or the King Crab Legs, you will find that Chickie’s & Pete’s has a knack for elevating basic ingredients to new heights.
Personal recommendations: Crabfries, Buffalo Chicken Wings, Buffalo Chicken Sandwich, King Crab Legs, Mussels in White Sauce w/​Bread (dip that bread!!)
The Atmosphere…
Here’s the deal: the café location was the original, a small Philly tavern-​like corner restaurant with relatively tight seating and an inviting bar with a local sports crowd. Nothing fancy. But this is where it began, this is where many Philadelphia’s residents had their first crab fries, this is where you will feel the nostalgia. And props to Chickie and Pete for not trying to change a dang thing about it! Bottom line, although it may be a little cramped, it is most definitely welcoming and still doing what it does best.
The Price…
Prepare to spend $ 10−20/person for a meal, regardless of lunch or dinner (excluding alcoholic bevs). The food definitely fulfills the price-​point.
The Service…
If anything could be improved about this particular location for Chickie’s & Pete’s, it is possibly the service; but even then, it really isn’t all that bad. The waiters/​waitresses are a little bit slow to bring out orders, and your greeting at the front door is essentially non-​existent. This is not to say that the staff are unfriendly, just a little disorganized.

This is the original one and I kind of expected a little more. I had the boneless wings and crabby fries with there amazing cheese dip. The chicken was overcooked but I really like the buffalo sauce. There service was extremely lacking and the waitress was borderline rude. We actually had to get our check from the bartender because she disappeared. Solid food

Ok, I’m a regular at this place. I frequent going here with my wife at least every other week. We have gone to other C&P throughout the city but this is by far our favorite. The staff here is great. The guys working the bar make you feel like a regular and are on top of your needs. Food is great. Hands down haven’t had a bad experience with either the food or the staff here. We always get the mussels white and crab fries to start. Depending if it’s a «snow day» (all you can eat crab legs $ 35 per) or a quick stop in we tend to stick to the same food. The tailgate burger, the little neck clams, crab bisque, etc. Everything on this menu comes out quick, hot, and delicious. The staff pays attention to you as you eat and are quick when it comes to getting you a refill, getting napkins, or just checking to make sure your happy. Beer selection here is great. Prices are reasonable. The only downfall with coming here is the seating. We were once seated next to the women’s bathroom. Yea, that sucked. Hopefully this place gets the seating arrangements worked out a little better because it is a bit cramped at time. All in all its a great spot to go to. Quick service, great staff, and great food will have me coming back here.

Hit or miss with this place. First time was a charm – mussels In red sauce was «finger licking» good however… since then, the quality is horrible. The mussels are way over cooked (to the point they taste burnt and have ans deep orange tint to them) sauce is definitely not the same. The calamari — cold, stale tasting and half breaded. Ugh – now where am I gonna go for mussels. –meh.

Great place to watch sports game. I come here just for their crab fries! It’s the best fries to eat while enjoying the game! Also I usually share mussels with my friends cus they give you a lot.
Service here is great. They always come by and check on you and see how everything is. The atmosphere is great with philly fans enjoying the same sport games as you. Definitely recommend coming here!

Of course when we have a long layover in Philly we are going to hit this place up. I get the cheesesteak and crab fries. Possibly some booze as well :) The servers are grumpy old Philly men that have a permanent frown and I highly enjoy watching them mill about. It’s not too big. They have plenty of TV’s to watch whatever game is on. I’ll be back!

ALWAYS love this place. Super casual restaurant and sports bar with killer seafood. I love the mini lobster tails and even their lobster cheesesteak. But my favorite, by far, are their lobster rolls. I order it with a full bed of the arugula (instead of the small side it comes with). Probably the best lobster rolls in Philly next to Lukes.

this is the original location… whoo hoo… however, this location is still majorly over priced and the food itself is only mediocre. Obviously, they’re known best for their crab fries, but half the time they come out either over seasoned or under seasoned. you’re lucky if they come out piping hot… more like lukewarm. I would honestly say that the only time the food is good is when you’re drunk and hungry.

The best fries in Philly!
Always has been consistent in there service and food at all the locations that I’ve been to.
Highly recommended!

I still go back to the original. It is more quaint then the others. The food is good depending what you like. The service is always good. This is not a 5 star restaurant… this is a corner bar with good food. I always go with friends to change it up and it never disappoints. The upstairs is a great place to get away… I got to know some of the staff since I’ve been going and they are a bunch if good people… parking is never a problem.

Fast service this wasy second time here and I still love it. Great food great people and I love the décor. The guy even remembered my order from the first time I was there. Places like this make me miss loving in this wonderful city!

I like this location the best out of all the other chickies. FIrst, because they are the original and second, because the wait time isn’t as long as the others on a busy night. Sure, the other ones are bigger and is more hyped up, but I’m here for the food.
When I’m in the mood for some fatty extra delicious seafood, this is one of the spots I think about. My go to favorites are:
Mussels with red sauce — So Good! My wife doesn’t really eat mussels, so I get to be a hog and eat the whole thing to myself. If she did eat it, I’d probably have to order a second batch.
Crab legs — What do they use as a sauce!!! It’s so delicious. I like to get some bread and dip it in that buttery goodness.
Chickies Cheese fries — it’s a must when you come to a chickies. No need to really explain why on here. Just get it!
There are other things I have tried too, but the above three are a must!
Overall: I haven’t been back in a long time, but since I’m writing this, I’m craving it now, so maybe this weekend? I can’t wait to dig into more seafood!

This is the best Chickie’s & Pete’s around and it is the original. I’ve been to the one near the stadium but I like this one far better. The staff here makes you feel at home, where at the others I just feel like another number. They stick to the original menu here so it is smaller than the rest but it is still very good. I recommend the cheesesteak and crab fries. They have the best fries around. Even PJs famous fries don’t compare to these. They have a full bar as well. If you’re going into the city stop here for food first and you won’t regret it!

This is the absolute best chickie and Pete’s by far and they are the original! I’ve been to the south Philly location and Roosevelt Blvd location as well but this one right here has the best service and amazing food. We live near the south Philly location but often drive up this way (due to service).
The servers and bartenders are very accommodating and even knows where we want to sit. Since we order so much food for a group of 3 adult and 1 child… the server would often give us the biggest table.
A must try is the baby lobster tail… they are cooked to perfection and oh so scrumptious! We would order 3 orders of those since no one wants to share!
Definitely order the clams in white sauce and the hot shrimp in spicy garlic sauce. Why am I craving these as I’m writing this review!!! All of the yummy garlic sauces are perfect for bread dipping.
The clams casino and crab legs are amazing too. Everything that I’ve mention… i would love as my last meal on Earth! That is no lie!

I’ve been to five Chickie’s and this is clearly the best one. The atmosphere is great, and either the atmosphere makes the food seem better, or the food is actually better than at the other locations. The moules white were the best we’ve had in a long time, and Joel hooked us up with some crunchy bread for soaking up the brothy goodness, which we really appreciated. Next time we need moules frites we know where to go!

I was here for about 2.5 hours. Ordered a buffalo chicken sandwich, it was tiny on a huge roll, I was there with 10 – 12 people. I ran a tab and bought two beers for 2 friends as well as my 4 – 5 vodka tonics. when the tab came it was 80 bucks (that seemed really high)! I added 20 for a tip (not sure why?).
Reviewed my statement a few days later and found the $ 100 charge as well as a second $ 56.00 charge! Don’t ever run a tab here.
The atmosphere is cool, food is so-​so to bad and you obviously can’t trust them to run a tab.

Thief! Perv! Creep! The owner definitely deserves to lose his shirt and All his patrons
Stealing from his employees probably for the past decade. Imposing a «Pete’s Tax» and paying servers a flat shift rate… Bullshit
I’ll never step foot in a C&P again.
I don’t care if I’m starving and dying of thrust on boardwalk, in Mayfair or any where
I hope all his employees, past and present get their money. Effed Up what he did and I’m glad someone had the balls to speak up!!! We commend You

Everything they have is super yummy!
My personal faves are mussels in white sauce (which has huge chunks of garlic), the mixed crab fries (half regular crab fries with cheese dipping sauce and half sweet potato fries with a syrup sauce), and crab legs.
But truthfully, everything I’ve ever eaten from here was delish. Pizza, roast beef sandwich, buffalo chicken fingers, everything is yummy.
They have a great selection of drinks too. Nothing like a nice cold beer and crab fries.

Always great to go back to the original and see that where it all started still measures up.
Reasonable prices, cold beer and some great hard shell crabs! Sorry I was not hungry enough to order the mussels as well but there is always next time.
I recommend this to anyone wanting local flavor and good food.

First time at the original location. Enjoyed crab fries (excellent) and buffalo cutlets (yummy!) for a 12 noon lunch date with a friend! Good service, nice place. I just wish I knew how pricey they’d be before heading there. $ 8 for the buffalo cutlets? Yikes. Gal pal and I split the crab fries. That cheese was just heavenly. The order of crab fries is enough for three people! I really liked the size/​shape of them. They were crinkle cut fries, but not thick like you’d find in your freezer section. I like my fries soggy-​ish, so it was nice having a mix of crunchy and some soggy. But oh, that cheese.
I think if you’re here at night or during a sporting event, expect it to be loud and crowded. But if you wanna check out the place and the food, come here on a weekday for lunch.