Ralphs Fried Chicken — Restaurant in Edmonton

Bad first experience/impression:

After Northern Chicken closed its doors downtown I’ve been on the lookout for my next fried chicken joint and this place came highly recommended - and the reviews seemed good.

I got in my car and drove 20 minutes to Castledowns and showed up at 5:45 pm ish this evening, expecting it would take no longer than say 20-25 min for food, as this place is busy and popular.

I paid for a 4 piece meal and decided to stay in to eat.

So, the place was overrun, some dirty tables and it was crowded with a lot of people taking up table seating while waiting for their food orders, which were endless parades of large order takeouts, some that seemed to be ordered even after I placed my order and they were walking out with hot food.

I waited patiently, but after my stomach told me to look at my watch — I had waited 35 min, and still no food.

I got up and went to the front and they sorted me out not too long after I said something, but still…

And my dine in order ended up in a to-go takeout box, which was just as well.

All they needed to do was manage my wait expectations when I was ordering at the front by saying “just so you know we’re super busy tonight and it will be about 30-40min for food- hang tight it’s worth it “ something of the sort.

When I suggested this at the front, I got attitude, and nothing else — not even a free pop or a 5$ off for next time or what not.

Now the chicken and spuds were good, crispy- the gravy was a bit bland though — but I do not think it was 40 min wait good— after a 20 min drive to get there, and I was already starving.

(For reference Northern Chicken was better quality and flavour , and my all time fave is Chicken on the Way in Calgary for quality and flavour. Ralph’s was just “ok” in comparison). No matter how good you think you are or how popular you are, all it takes is one bad experience (for every 1 bad experience folks tell on avg 9-15 people). Ralph folks, don’t forget that.

Tonight was not their best night and not a great...

We’ve been to Edmonton many times visiting from Toronto over the years. We always seek out new restaurants to visit at every price range. I saw a reel on Instagram months ago about the reopening of Ralph’s Chicken, we made a mental note that we should definitely try it. Today we did on May 21st, 2024 for lunch around 1pm. Wally the owner (huge blue jays fan) is the perfect owner, very affable & wants you to get the best of his food he and his wonderful staff work so hard to produce. It’s quality! We ordered the 15 piece meal with coleslaw & gravy. It was cooked fresh to order all of it. The chicken was so juicy & crispy, you can see in the photo I attached. I’m assuming it may be brined for a bit, because it’s a perfect balance. The wedge fries are the best we ever had, a light coating but crispy on the outside & soft in the middle. They really didn’t need gravy. The coleslaw is traditional with a Lebanese twist of pomegranate seeds added. I will replicate this at home. The restaurant is shiny clean & all the staff has a smile. If I lived in Edmonton we would visit often and refer it to all our family & friends. Great job Wally. Thx for being so welcoming. See you again soon when...

Best classic fried chicken place in the city! I was heartbroken when their Strathearn location closed and was hoping they'd pop up again. It's old news by now but they did open up a full-on restaurant in Castledowns. It's much more out of my way than before so I don't get to go as much as I'd like but it's definitely worth the drive still.

The fried chicken is perfectly crispy and juicy. the batter is flavourful and not disgustingly greasy. The wedges (they call them spuds) might even be better than the chicken sometimes, they have such a good taste and are perfectly soft on the inside. Their gravy is good, but I typically only like to eat small fries with my gravy so I don't get it much. They recently added tenders and a sandwich to their menu which is great. Haven't gotten the chance to try the sandwich yet but the tenders were not a disappointment. Offer ketchup as well as packets of hot sauce with your order if you want to add a bit of kick to your chicken.

Last of all prices are also reasonable! Comparable to most chains you've been to but for better quality chicken from a local business with great and...