Fat Daves

Fat Dave’s is nearby my house, I drive by it every day, and I love dive-​y restaurants/​bars. So naturally, I had been wanting to eat there for a while. I got a simple egg, hashbrown, and toast breakfast, and while it wasn’t gross or anything, it certainly wasn’t anything special. I would have been fine with this simple breakfast, but the service which we received from our cranky waitress was standoffish and unwelcoming.

Open 24/​7, Fat Dave’s is a classic diner. friendly staff, good food. Décor is straight out of the 70s

I like that they are open 24 hours. It gives a graveyard shift person more options than fast food, Shari’s or IHOP.
I can 100% vouch for the breakfast fare. I haven’t had any lunch or dinner items, so I honestly can’t say anything about those. Omelettes are great, biscuits and gravy are great, french toast is BOMB (and they give you PLENTY of butter)…you really can’t go wrong with any of their specials, too. Lorna’s is a definite favorite.
The coffee is good but seems like it could be stronger. Bathrooms need some love, but it’s a diner, so it’s expected. I would love to see this place get some updated tables, booths, etc.

Fast and friendly service. Great for a post night out meal! Always get the chicken strips and fries and they never disappoint.
HIGHLY recommend the honey mustard, best in Vancouver.

Great place for breakfast and soup. I usually get the french fries with a milkshake. Theyre open 24 hours a day so thats pretty convenient. If you decide to come here you must try their honey mustard sauce. It goes well with everything on the menu.

After a night at a Kid Rock concert, this place topped off the experience. No updates since 1965, but hey… it’s a diner. Typical greasy spoon food! I’d eat there again, but my wife would not join me.

We’ve been eating at Fat Dave’s for 16 years now. True the interior is dated but we’ve always had pretty quick service. This is a good old fashioned Diner, that has a counter to sit at and is open 24 hrs. The food is really good 95% of the time and portions are generous. In all these years their Breakfast Special has only increased from $ 2.99 to $ 5.99. They have great liver & onions and for comfort food the «best cheeseburger and fries» in the area. And for coffee lovers they serve only the best (and my favorite), BOYDS COFFEE, smooth with no bitterness. If your looking for a relaxing, satisfying meal, try Fat Dave’s in Hazel Dell WA.

I come here every week 3 times a week so far fir about 2 years now… I have no complaints.

Expected this to be an old fashioned greasy spoon, and it was, it just wasn’t a good one. The décor was old and dated which is to be expected. We sat down at a clean booth only to find the food was just wiped onto the seat.
Service
Took about 15 minutes before an older waitress came over and acted like she was doing us a favor helping us. They had milkshakes on the menu but no flavors listed so I ordered a chocolate peanut butter milkshake, figuring that since they had peanut butter and jelly on the menu would be a safe bet. The waitress simply said «No can only do chocolate.» Did not offer any options or apology so I said to forget the shake. My wife and I ordered a bacon cheeseburger and the kiddo got the chicken nuggets. Surprisingly the food was delivered quickly and accurately.
Food
The portions were big for the price, so if your only requirement is volume you will be happy. However the food was not great. The fries were limp and clearly cheap frozen school cafeteria caliber fries. They didn’t even bother to salt them. The burger was better than the fries but it was really sloppy and oozing 1000 island dressing. It tasted alright, but not good enough to go back. Even the kiddos chicken nuggets were bad. Also clearly frozen and not even as good as McDonalds. My 8 year old is not a picky eater and even she wouldn’t finish the meal.
All in all was hoping to find a great local place that was all about homemade food and friendly staff. Instead I got a worn down dining room with a unhappy server and premade bland food. If I wanted frozen food I could get that for much cheaper at the grocery store and could eat it home without having to put on pants.

A community restaurant that has certain dishes they make very well such as their chicken fried steak, homemade mashed potatoes and their breakfasts. Serving size is big enough you can split a omelet with your friend. Chef salad has a lot of Turkey and ham in it, a half order is big enough for one. Don’t go there looking for trendy low calorie foods and you’ll love this place.

My mom and I really like this place. Food is good, price is very reasonable, and the portions are way more than enough. The staff is very friendly and fast as well.

I love this dive bar/​restaurant. You walk up to come through the restaurant and you see all the daily weekly specials with it full of blue hairs eating their early dinner. Then you hard to the back bar, where your greeted by the 68 yr old woman bartender, who says you don’t need a double, I pour a great drink, and only $ 4 for a well. I love it already!

If you want to hear grandma’s talking and be called dear when you order then this is the place to go. Breakfast was great but atmosphere was even better!

This place was interesting. They have a full bar, but I was in the mood for a beer. Turns out that they only have crappy beers on tap so I ended up passing on that (PBR, Bud and I think Coors). If I am in the mood for a cheap beer in the future this would be my go to.
I ordered the fish and chips. It was good, but I would probably go for something else next time. Fries left a lot to be desired; they could have been fried a tad longer. Fish was really tasty. The batter was thin so didn’t overwhelm the fish. I wanted malt vinegar instead of tartar sauce. They still brought tartar sauce so I asked for malt vinegar again, and they brought me a totally brand new and unopened bottle which was sort of funny.
My husband got the chicken fried steak. He forgot to get the gravy on the side so it was literally overflowing with gravy. Had it been on the side for dipping I think it would have been much better. I might go for the chicken fried steak whenever we go again.
The chicken fried steak had a mountain of mashed potatoes which were pretty tasty, and it also came with a side of corn. Canned corn. My face winces with despair just thinking about it again. Yuck.
The clam chowder was top notch. No clue if they make it themselves, but it was indeed yummy.
The person that gave us our seats and ran the register was very nice and pleasant, but our waitress was something else. She seemed very unhappy with life in general.
We got a slice of chocolate pie to top everything off. Definitely save room for pie. A++

I wish I could mark this rating with ZERO stars. Took my wife for lunch here today, we are new to Vancouver and trying out the local places. First, the service was really bad, second the staff was very unprofessional, and third, my wife found a hair in her hamburger! We will NEVER go there again!

S side of NE 99 just E of NE HW 99
It’s «ok» to get Fat… Dave’s
I was warned about this place… I was told that it was a Grease Pit, that the food wasn’t that good, and that I should avoid it, but alas I listened to that person attentively and went anyway. It wasn’t really their food so much that garnered a rating just below fandom so much as the service (or lack thereof!)
I went in at a time that most would consider a later breakfast, but still not quite even an early lunch. I wasn’t really in the mood for breakfast food even though this 24 hour diner servess a full menu all day and night. I looked at the specials board and was intrigued by two thing. The first was an Eggs Benedict (two issues here… first I I had never had them before and wasn’t in the mood for breakfast anyway and two I figured I’d wait to get them somewhere «better») and a Philly Cheesesteak.
After careful thought I had decided I was in the mood to try one of their burgers so I ended up ordering their Rustler Burger:
which is basically a regular American Cheeseburger with all your normal fixins plus the addition of a Fried Egg and Ham. I really enjoyed this burger as it proved to be both juicy and flavorful. I actually found myself eating slowly and savoring every bite… especially because it was cold and rainy outside and I really had no other plans on this day.
Now to my biggest concern and why Fat Dave’s basically gets a «Get Out of Jail Free» card: I went in on New Year’s Day so there was only 1 server holding down the Fort. I don’t know if this is normal for that time of day or because it was a holiday or what, but she came around a couple times in the beginning when I didn’t really need her, but then basically forgot about me? I’m pretty low maintenence so really the only thing I truly like while I’m dining is for my drink to remain filled. Mine didn’t here at all. I received no refills at all or even an inquiry for one even though I put my empty glass on the edge of my table sort of as a hint to my thirs. Also I had to request my bill after sitting patiently done for awhile.
I figured all of this might of been a fluke so instead of forgetting about this place I’d give them one more shot out of curiosity.
The décor inside although very nostalgic is also very dated. They are badly in need of a make-​over. At least it’s clean though. Unfortunately not clean enough to leave someone with any sort of feeling of freshness upon leaving!
They have booths or low bar top seating.
There is plenty of parking in their dedicated parking lot.
You can’t miss this place. Their sign has HUGE letters spelling out their name.
NYD:

This place has pretty damn good two in the morning drunk food. One day, I will go back and try it during the daylight.

Mediocre food, ATROCIOUS brown water passed off as coffee, high prices for the quality. To be fair, this meal was from years ago, and I’m downright afraid to go back based on our experience. Our waitress KNEW the coffee was bad, but didn’t dare say anything to anyone for fear of reprisal!

Fat Dave’s rocks!
Every time we go there, we have a great meal! The service is awesome, even when the place is busy and the food is wonderful! Amanda (Mon-​Thurs, 2−10pm) is our favorite server, and the cooks are willing to work with you to make your meal exactly what you want.
The coffee never seems to run out, the portions are large and priced right, and the clientele is always entertaining people-​watching.
The menu runs with normal diner-​food, the breakfasts and burgers are what we like best on the menu, but we always get a side salad (only $ 1.99!) and usually get the soup, because it is hearty and tasty!
We wander in any time of day or night, and the restaurant is open, but the bar usually closes before midnight. It beats the heck out of the rest of the places we have tried in the evenings, and it is every bit as good as the other restaurants we go to during the more normal dining hours.
Cheap, tasty, great service, large portions, open all hours, and quiet enough to have a conversation even if the jukebox is playing and the place is packed. We love it! Five stars, it’s as good as it gets for us!

I’ve driven by this restaurant many times but never stopped in till I Googled «fried fish» and the reviews on Unilocal popped up. Fat Dave’s isn’t for everyone. In fact, my brother called it a dive. I happen to think of it as atmosphere and character. From the gold Naugahyde seats to the chicken collection to the jukebox to the cook who looks like he’s had his nose broken at least once– it all adds to the charm. The waitress was very friendly and even explained some of her tattoos when we asked about them.
The fish and chip dinner was around $ 10 and included three very large pieces of fish, a mountain of fries, slaw, and cheesy toast. One order would be enough for two meals for one person or a couple folks to share. (The Caesar salad was also good-​sized and made more than one meal.) The fish itself did not taste greasy or heavily battered. It tasted like it had been fried in fresh oil and was flaky and delicious. The coffee was reasonably priced and the waitress graciously put the rest of mine in a to-​go cup and even refilled it before I left.
I’d never been to Fat Dave’s before this visit but I will definitely be back. Maybe for the fried chicken or to see what wonders they do with bacon and eggs.