Fat Daddy’s Burger House

Well, I loved this place when it first opened years ago, but apparently times (and ownership) have changed…
I read the latest reviews and it makes me sad that it went downhill. And now it’s closed (or moved? I heard they were moving). I hope a place on par with this place when it first opened comes in and occupies the empty space soon…

Terrible. so-​so burgers. Really poor turkey burgers… but so what? It’s closed! Locked up tight… thank goodness now maybe something better will move in (something good and special move in to Casa Linda? Good luck on that!)

I didn’t get sick. And that’s best thing I can say about this place.
The free beer enticed me to try Fat Daddy’s. However, even FREE BEER isn’t enough to eat here. It had horrible service and the worst hamburger meat I’ve ever had anywhere.
The restaurant smelled like burned meat as we waited in line for about 30 minutes to order. There were only 10 people in front of us, so that was a little odd.
I ordered a jalapeño cheeseburger without ranch and chips and queso.
We sat down with our free beer and noticed a bag hanging from the ceiling. It was a fly trap. We know that because of all the dead flies in the bag hanging above our table. And it said «FLY TRAP.»
When our order is called, I tell the attendant we never received our chips and queso.
«They usually bring that out immediately.» she said.
«Well, look at our table. It isn’t there.»
«Okay. I’ll get it.» she said.
It never came.
Oh and I ordered my burger without ranch.” I told her.
«You said without cheese. I would have written it down if you didn’t order with ranch.» the attendant said.
«I ordered a cheeseburger. Cheese usually comes on a cheeseburger. I said no ranch. And you only would have written that down if I said no ranch?»
«Yes.» she said.
«Could I have another beer?»
«No. Wine only. We are out of beer.» said the surly worker with a rhinestone cross in her cleveage.
We ate our burgers. The meat was falling apart and earthworm like. It was really disgusting.
The queso never came, so I asked to be refunded for that. It was also quite the ordeal to get the refund for something I never received. I’ll spare the details.
There are too many good restaurants in that very same shopping center to waste your money, time or dignity at Fat Daddy’s. Go anywhere else.

I have to agree with previous reviewers that the quality of product has gone way down over the last several months. And that’s a shame because this used to be a favorite of mine. My last two visits I’ve ordered a bacon cheeseburger. What I received was a burger with crumbled up bacon underneath a small dollop of cheese neither of which covered more than ¼ of the burger. Also, over the last several visits I’ve seen the quality of the salad bar decline — especially the tomatoes. Normally I could overlook such things but with a tight dollar and the explosion of other options in the Casa Linda area Fat Daddy’s just doesn’t make the cut. Fat Daddy’s, please get your act together, we need you.

We wanted to check this place out after we were done with an event across the street. This a small burger place. The restaurant looks like it hasn’t been taken care of. We go up to order our food and asked to add onions to our burgers. The staff was rude telling us you can do it yourself. We didn’t know there was a fixin’ bar to the side as it was our first time here. I ordered the Garden Burger. Lets just say it was the most disgusting Veggie burger I’ve had. The patty appeared to be the frozen kind that you just warm up in the microwave. There was no flavor. A friend ordered the Spicy Chicken sandwich. It was much better than my Veggie but it was very greasy that it just threw me off. The fries were horrible as it had no flavor and was not fresh. I will not be returning here. I wasted my calories on a burger I did not even enjoy. I did enjoy the Diet Dr. Pepper they offered at the soda fountain LOL.

All I can say is digusting, and the service made me give this place one star. I was across the street and came across this place, it looked interesting. We walked inside, and the cashier was hating life because she was completely rude. Don’t ask her for sauteed onions, she will tell you that you can get it yourself. I was like, where? I didn’t realize there was a side bar that had all the fixins!!!
Things I do not recommend:
Garden Burger — tastes like the stuff that’s pre-​made and sitting in the freezer for months
Spicy chicken — didnt realize it was breaded and fried, so it was a bucket of grease
Fries — frozen kind, not good.
The only good thing about this place is that they serve diet dr. pepper. The place was dirty and you can tell it’s been neglected.

Burgers were average. Fries deserve one star. I am not a fan of frozen fries in general but these wern’t even good frozen fries. Iced tea was good.

I stopped at Fat Daddy’s before heading over to the Dallas Arboretum for the Chihuly Nights exhibit.
I loved it! The young woman that took my order was efficient and reasonably friendly. If we’re reviewing «service,» let’s keep in mind that this is an inexpensive burger house. Of course it’s going to be staffed mostly by younger workers… if you want fine dining service, why are you here?
I ordered a burger and the sweet potato fries. Both my burger and fries were quite good. In fact the fries were downright yummo! The burger was not overcooked as in some of the dry hockey pucks you get these days because of «undercooked meat mania.» The bun was fresh, as were the condiments at the build-​your-​own bar. Was there a choice of twenty or more things to pile on my burger? No. But I had no trouble putting together a basic, fresh, great-​tasting burger.
For some folks, the fries might be a bit heavy, but I like spice on my fries. As in I’ll take Fat Daddy’s seasoned fries any day over Five Guys bland potato slabs. Fat Daddy’s sweet potato fries actually tasted like sweet potatoes with some very interesting seasoning… including a bit of black pepper I think, which gave them a nice zing. I made it through my fries with no ketchup… and that’s unusual for me. Often ketchup is about the only taste you can get with fries.
The bathroom was reasonably clean, as was the rest of the restaurant. I was there around 5:45 PM on a Wednesday evening, so perhaps it was a slow time, but I have not complaints about service or cleanliness.
I’ll be back to Dallas in a few weeks to bring friends to the Chihuly exhibit, and we’ll be back to Fat Daddy’s for burgers. :D

I don’t know what is going on here, but they have really let this place go. For starters, it used to be clean. Not so much now. The bathrooms were dirty too with no paper towels. Just gross.
The food quality seems to have gone down too. I am really disappointed in our East Dallas local restaurant.

I second Melissa J’s review. We just had lunch at Fat Daddy’s and they serve an adequate burger, the fixings bar is always fresh, and free beer… you would think that would be enough, but really the only reason we keep going back is the mini arcade that our kids love. It has both a squishy vending machine and a silly bandz machine… the currency of Lakewood Elementary.
We went today because the son really wanted to. There were coupons in the Entertainment passbook, and it was easy, so we thought «why not.» I got the cobb salad, which was better than any burger or chicken sandwich I’d gotten before, but still…
I like it better than Fudruckers, but not as well as Burger House. Funny, as a read over what I have written… even this review is uninspired… kind of fitting.

After having visited the Southlake Fat Daddy’s, we were excited to learn that Dallas has one in the Casa Linda shopping center. The food was excellent. I had the Margarita Salad, which was tasty and fresh and a good value considering the generous amount of chicken and avocado on top. As a mom, I love the option of grilled chicken tenders on the kids menu. Not many places offer that as an option.
The service was also outstanding. We were greeted with a friendly hello upon entering the restaurant and the person who took our order was very personable. She later checked on us to see how our meals tasted, which is a rarity at this type of order-​at-​the-​counter place. The owner was extremely outgoing and made sure our visit was perfect.
We will be back!

If you’re looking for an incredible burger, for the hometown burger connoisseur, then go to Fat Daddys Burger House! With a full array of options from bleu cheese to cheddar to hickory smoked bacon and jalapenos you can always make your dream burger!
Also if you’re visiting the one in Dallas they offer free beer with the meal! Can’t beat that when adding on calories after a run near White Rock lake!
I highly recommend them from many many times of personal experience! :D

Tasty veggie burger you can dress yourself. I like self serve places like this. Who else can you blame if you don’t like how your burger tastes? You dressed it. I didn’t refill my glass of tea fast enough…
Love tater tots and how they cook them crisp. Not like Sonic’s soft tots. Sweet pots were good too with a hint of chili powder?
Cheesy 80’s music adds to the charm.
Glad this place is in my neighborhood.
Only a snob would have something bad to say about free beer. What do you want? Free heineken or michelob ultra? Lame.

It’s ok. I like Burger House on Mockingbird better. The burger was ok, nothing special. I remember it had bone chips in it or something weird. The fries were nothing special. We went once and I am in no hurry to return. I like Jake’s, Goff’s, and Keller’s better.

As their sign says «we have the best beer in the world… free». But do not let that be the reason you go… it’s a bonus. I’ve been here several times after running at White Rock Lake. You dress your own burger with fixins. The chipotle mayo is the bomb! I LOVE the tater tots & the sweet potato fries are good too. Make sure you try this place… several times!

The words «free beer» are very powerful motivation…
You will like this restaurant EXACTLY as much as you like free Bud Light. Nothing else distinguishes it. My burger and fries were not elaborate but were good if you favor the «home made» style. It was probably most similar to Fudruckers, but not quite as good. My girlfriend had a salad, and found it disappointingly bland.

I like free stuff as much as the next person, but I won’t wait in line forever for freebies and I won’t sell my soul for them. However, I may be in the increasingly shrinking minority. I can’t help but feel like Fat Daddy’s skewed many sets of Unilocaler taste buds with free beer.
Part of me wants to phone this review in or simply cut and paste Deno’s perfectly written one which captures Fat Daddy’s to a tee because: 1) she’s a genius and I certainly can’t hold a candle to her, and 2) Fat Daddy’s is so «meh» I feel guilty expending the energy to capture THAT in print. However, I will suck it up and soldier on
Here it goes:
**Flavorless patty, which actually got thinner around the edges so it was medium well in the middle and burnt/​crunchy around the perimeter– check!
** Wafer thin slice of cheese that could not be detected in any mouthful — check
** Condiment bar — Check! What? I get to put my own lettuce on my burger? How original! Wait until I tell Fudd’s or Purdy’s! Won’t they be jealous?
** Fries — cold with weird grease flavor — check!
**Atmosphere: Dingy? check! unsurpervised kids? check!
** Prep time: 15 minutes– check!
** Meal enjoyment: no check!
Essentially I paid $ 10 to eat a Burger King meal but at least BK has its Playland outside. Two star rating? Check! Of course maybe if I drank the two beers I would have been inclined to add on 2 – 3 more stars. It is Bud Light after all. Worth every penny that you don’t pay for it.

We just moved over in this area and I probably would’ve never went by if it weren’t for a friend mentioning a place nearby to pick up a quick bite. The first time I ordered a ½ pounder and it was delicious and juicy… I was actually surprised how good it was– the only down side it was so juicy it made my bun a little soggy– which I hate– they just needed to grill the bun a bit more to toast it up. Fries were okay nothing special but still good. If you love juicy burgers you might want to try this place.
I also had their spicy fried chicken salad (also recommended by a friend) and I haven’t ordered a fried chicken salad for years… this was really good– great flaky spicy batter. Also surprised about how good it was.
Yeah they still serve you 2 free beers– the owner said it was cheaper for them to do it that way then get a liquor license.
I think if your in the neighborhood its worth a stop.

Two free beers. Awesome. Now that that’s out of the way…
The burgers are pretty good here. I mean… it’s not spectacular, but it’s good as burgers go.
The fried pickles made me want to puke. I like fried stuff, so a fair mount of grease is to be expected, but come ON, people.
The worst part of this place is the «family» atmosphere. I have never seen a restaurant in Dallas, even in the hood, with as many children running around completely unattended while their parents drink beer. While we were there this evening, a kid broke the glass in the front door. The parents carried on with their dinner and visiting as if it had never happened. I understand being «family-​friendly», but be friendly to the rest of us, too, and utilize that good old «We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone» policy.

Written on the wall over the pass through window to the kitchen it says «Never trust a skinny cook.» A thin grinning young adult stared blankly though the window at me as I tried to explain all the ways my order was messed up.
I wanted Fat Daddy’s to be better. But the hamburger, while obviously hand formed was not that tasty. It lacked flavor. The bun was nicely grilled. The Swiss cheese tasted good. You get to add your own toppings which is always a plus. The tomatoes, lettuce, jalapenos, red onions – all tasted fresh.
Instead of fries I ordered the Texas Toothpicks – thin sliced onions and jalapenos battered and deep fried. They tasted good till you’d had about ten, and then your stomach reels at the amount of grease involved.
The atmosphere is loud, I mean really really loud. This is a family place. And I don’t mean kid friendly in a good way. I mean people get there and tell their children to run like free range chickens. There’s always a little league team in there somewhere, perhaps because by the time the game is over the coach really needs a beer.
But my biggest complaint is that you cannot purchase just a burger. You have to get a basket. They do not sell burgers by themselves. You WILL pay $ 8 for a ½ pound listless burger and fries or you will not have a burger at all. BTW… fries were dry, sweet tea was super thin. C’mon guys, tea bags are cheap. Wave it in the water a little longer.