Champy’s Famous Fried Chicken

Chicken was served fresh and hot and the spices were great. The fries were hot and crispy. The service was spot on and friendly. Far better than the Chattanooga location.

This is my first review ever. Had a nice server, there was old food all over the floor. I had the tamale which tasted like eating pure salt and inedible. Wife had a fish poboy which was ok. The youngest had a kid’s meal which he wouldn’t eat due to old greasy. We Had the fried jalapeño which were fried in same very old grease and oversalted. Other son had a nasty frozen shrimp poboy. Took over 45 min to get our food with only one other couple there. Bill was $$ 67 plus tip. Worst food I ever paid $ 67 for. This was my second visit. The first last year was not good either with long wait and overly old greasy chicken. Will never be back.

We will come back — great service and atmosphere. The live music was an unexpected treat.

When we came in with kids and we’re having trouble getting through the door, there were 3 servers sitting and looking at the door and they continued to sit there and a fellow customer got up and helped hold open the door for us. Restaurant had two other tables occupied in it and still took over 40 minutes to receive our food. The turnaround time was disappointing, especially considering the lack of people there when we ordered. The Poboy was delicious but $ 8.50 for 5 shrimp seemed a bit overpriced. My husband got the fried chicken and said it was flavorless– as though it only had minimal salt to flavor it, and that’s it. All in all, we won’t be returning.

Skip it! Slow service… flavorless chicken… overpriced… food is average at best. I would recommend a Swanson frozen chicken dinner as a better alternative.

I had the two piece white meat chicken meal. Not sure why they place the breast in a piece of stale white bread? You can’t eat it. The chicken was so bland and tough I couldn’t even finish it. Glad I ordered a side if taters and gravy cuz it was the only thing edible. Beans and Cole slaw was gross. I won’t be back.

Food was great (for a Fried Chicken place)…waitress was sweet, but our food took 45 minutes to get after we ordered. Appeared that our order somehow got bumped behind others… I recommend. I think it was an honest mistake. I’d go back. The Sausage, Cheese, and pickles appetizer was great. Wife had 2-​piece white plate. Said it was great.

The chicken is the best, right up there with church’s and Popeyes probably better imo.

Always high quality chicken fried perfectly.
Great place for kids also, with outdoor seating that is fenced in so the kids can run around!

I ended up with food poisoning! I had 2 pic chicken with mash and gravy, also coleslaw! I also had the tamales. It wasn’t a fun night:(

Came here later in an evening. Ate delicious fried chicken with my husband. The ambiance is fun southern campy but when we went the place seemed a bit desolately empty with live music playing to an unenthusiastic few (as I recall he was pretty good though!).
It’s not ultra cheap or fast, but it’s good.

As a born and raised southern foodie, I take my fried chicken seriously. I first had Champys in Chattanooga several years back and since they came to Alabaster it is hard for me to get chicken anywhere else. It is cooked to order so it is still sizzling with hot oil. The batter is great flavor and the dipping sauce (sweet and spicy) hits all the right notes! Add the funky juke joint vibe and great service and Alabaster is lucky to have this gem!

I’m soon moving out of the Pelham area and therefore away from Champy’s. It’s like someone cut a huge hole in my heart. This is a regular weekend lunch date for my husband and me, though I’m sure we’ll make the trek from our new neck of the woods. It’s worth it.
Where to start? Their menu is pretty straight forward. You better come craving chicken! But they have some seafood, too. But the chicken! My husband loves the chicken tender basket, which has three HUGE chicken tenders and fries. You can also get the tenders tossed in barbecue or buffalo sauce. Their fries have that beer battered taste to them. The chicken tender po-​boy with buffalo is my go-​to. Their smoked wings are out of this world, too; incredibly flavorful without that deep-​fried, dripping in sauce bar food thing going on. The only thing I’ve gotten that hasn’t been super impressive was the chicken salad sandwich, but to be honest I’m pretty picky about my chicken salad. I mean, let’s be honest — I still inhaled it.
They regularly have live music, though I could take it or leave it. There’s also an arcade for kids and an awesome patio. And of course they serve beer, and a surprising number of local drafts at that! I can imagine this place being ideal for a night out, or a family get-​together.

On two return trips, the service has been spot on and the food fantastic. Simple food executed exceptionally well in a comfortable, no frills environment.

My boyfriend and I went to Champys to see what it was all about… Honestly it’s a great addition to Alabaster, but being from a southern household who cooks fried chicken faithfully, Champys was ok… The service was mediocre our server seemed scared and unsure of some of the menu items… I had the chicken salad sandwich it was so so and my boyfriend the 3 pc meal, overall it was an okay experience nothing special

This by far the best fried chicken in Alabaster. The dipping sauce has just the right amount of heat and spices to add even more flavor to the chicken. The side items are like cooking at your own home. We had take out today and I love the chicken in the paper bag with the bread under the chicken. You must dine here asap.

Love love love their fried chicken and green beans!!! Great causal sit down place to converse with friends. Kid friendly. Only reason it’s not five stars is everytime we order take out and get the two piece breast meal we end up getting a thigh and not a breast. It’s happened twice and if we order take out again we will be checking the food before we leave. Other than that no complaints from eating there!

Fried food, and lots of it. Really enjoyed the live music and relaxed atmosphere. The only downside is you’ll smell like fried food after you leave. Great wings and great chicken tenders. Worth a visit when you’re in the area!

It’s a shame Champy’s is located where it is in because given another more visible, trafficked location its business would probably just explode. It’d been forever since I’d been back to Champy’s, first after thinking my wife and I were trying a local place and stopping there while visiting Chattanooga, and then next after discovering it in Alabaster shortly following that TN trip. We thought the food was great in both locations at that time, and I guess the only reason we never really got back there is due to my not being the recurring fried chicken eater. But we finally made it into Champy’s again this week after such a long time, and I’m happy to say that the food is just as delicious as I remember. The chicken itself is cooked-​to-​order so there’s a bit of a delay between ordering and chowing down, but it’s not unreasonable and is totally worth it. Once the wait’s done, good ol’ yardbird comes out piping hot and as crispy as the doctored fried chicken fast food chain commercials show on TV. :) Fantastic flavor, hearty pieces, and excellent sides (baked beans and mashed potatoes — *boom*) are the name of the game at that point, and good luck if you can handle any dessert afterwards.
Looking around, other reviews of the place seem to give the impression that the experience here (food and service) can be inconsistent, and that could be true. (I can’t speak on that since I’ve only been a handful of times within the span of a year or more.) I will say though that the wife and I walked in on this past Tuesday night and, even though there was only a single other table there at the time and the restaurant gave the impression of a lazy night, our server (Jodi I think) worked just as quickly and attentively as if the whole place was packed. We had absolutely no complaints walking out the door after dinner, and will definitely be back sooner this time as a result.
As with any restaurant, YMMV when giving it a first or follow-​up visit, but as far as my own experiences are concerned, Champy’s is a great dining option for southern fried chicken lovers, and beats the pants off of the fast food chain offerings. ;)

Great chicken, sides, and service! We found this restaurant on Unilocal and are we glad we stopped. The chicken is hand breaded upon order, so give yourself 15 minutes for hot, mouth watering chicken. The waitress was friendly and more than accommodating.