Chickie & Pete’s

Good food for amusement park but they can do better with their service… so darn slow

So I must have asked 6 people what crab fries were. No one knew. It’s crinkle cut fries. No crab. Basically it’s frozen fries with Old Bay. Okay.. .their menu online for other locations looked awesome but at this amusement park don’t expect seafood — it’s all fried chicken stuff and a «philly» cheesesteak. Incredibly overpriced for the same stuff you can get everywhere in the park but with a fancy name. Don’t bother. Just get a pretzel. That’s the best deal.

Absolutely zero system to get you your food, and no desire to get you your food in any type of hurry. Avoid.

The theme park chain has pulled in this outside food source. The food was acceptable but the service was ridiculously slow. We ordered fries and a sprite. Total was $ 13.62. I gave the cashier $ 15.02. He returned the two pennies unclear on what to do with the change. We watched the kitchen staff fumble to put together orders. One woman could answer where the ketchup was (a bottle on every table). We waited for 15 minutes for one order of fries… which say on a shelf just out of arms reach the whole time. Fries were decent but even on a slow day, prepare to wait. Reasonable beer selection, including Natty Greene’s.

Chickie’s & Pete’s is a sports bar /​restaurant chain based in the Philly area that is rapidly expanding by popping up in amusement parks across the country. This one opened in Carowinds earlier this year. The restaurant sits in the back of the park across from the Goldrusher coaster.
While their regular restaurants most likely have table service, at this one you ordered at the counter, presented your ticket for drinks at the next window and picked up your food at the 2^nd window.
The restaurant is famous for their crab fries and philly cheesesteaks. I only tried the former and a beer. The fries are a crispy crinkle cut fry with old bay seasoning and a cup of a cheese sauce. For $ 8 you get a huge cup of fries so it’s almost like getting your money’s worth at an amusement park (if that ever happens). The fries were crisp and seasoned well and quite good (not as good as Boardwalk Fries though). The cheese sauce was disappointing. And it was hard to find ketchup anywhere here.
There are different options for beer including some craft beers from Victory (Downingtown, PA) and Big Boss from Raleigh. The Victory beer was a Belgian ale specially made for Chickie’s and Pete’s called Crabbey Ale. It’s not the best beer I’ve had from Victory but still better than the Budweiser crap and it was the same price as the other beers, $ 7.99.
There is plenty of seating inside in the A/​C and a few tables outside.
Still I am glad to see Carowinds adding places like this as alternatives to regular amusement park food.