Famous Dave’s Bar-B-Que

Just all right BBQ.
I had a chicken sandwich. It was good but I’ve have had better.
The potato salad wasn’t very good at all. Still bummed I ordered it. YUCK!
My friend ordered brisket. Very fatty.
It’s not that I would never come back here but I probably won’t. Much better BBQ places out there. Just saying

The lunch specials are a steal for the amount they cost
Highlights include Dave’s Burger on Mondays and Pulled Pork Sandwich on Fridays.
Must have.

This place was great!
Great place to be with friends and watch the game!
The BBQ was great. Rib tips and brisket with cornbread! Yum!
I sampled all the sauces at the table but ASK for their spicy sauce that’s not on the table made with habanero pepper! If you like spicy that sauce is for you! I really enjoyed their mustard sauce even though I’m not a fan of mustard! It was tasty!
I look forward to the next visit!

No frills, just really good food at a reasonable price.
Portion sizes are just right, not too overwhelming. I usually get the one meat combo plate & I leave full.
The tri-​tip & ribs are ALWAYS delicious! The mac & cheese has a bit of jalapeño, which I love. The cornbread & beans are equally as good.
I really like the selection of BBQ sauces they provide. I also like the comfortable picnic style ambiance in the dining area. Plenty of paper towels at each table, unlimited refills of beverages. The even have a sink in the dining area to wash your hands.
The staff has always been very friendly.
I don’t live in Orange County, but I make a point of stopping by when I’m in the area.
Looking forward to more locations.

Had a coupon for my birthday so I decided to try it out before it expired.
A young man helped me at he takeout counter. He gave the 2 famous items they are known for –ribs & brisket– so I ordered a brisket sandwich with an order of bread pudding. He also appreciated the honest answers he gave me.
I waited for my order and it was ready in less than 10 minutes. Every items was wrapped separately in its own box and instructions located on the dessert box on heating the bread pudding. How helpful!
The food was great and they had hearty portions for the sandwich. We received sides with our meals and I ordered a side of mac & cheese, was only ½ cup worth — only downside, which had jalapenos and corn. My husband and I loved it!
WE will definitely be back!

First «American-​Style» BBQ I tried in Cali.
Food:
We brought 3 people and ordered the «Feast for 2». (2 guys and a female)
Selected the BBQ chicken, sausage, and the Burnt End Ribs.
Roasted mashed potatoes, mac n cheese (was a 4 cheese jalapeño deal), 3 – 4 corn on a cob (light but sweet), 3 – 4 corn muffins (terrific), 1 golden toast, crunchy fries (delicious, light and crispy!)
Since I’m from Texas I had some good eats down there. Here it was good no extremely special.
The arrangement of sauces was superb. Had about 11 – 12 different kinds you could try with your food.
For 3 hungry people the feast for two was a perfect amount.
Service:
–Walked in… hostess was kinda not there… waited 5 – 8 minutes. The waitresses were good. One saw us alone waiting and immediately seated us. Our waitress was super nice and accommodating. Very upbeat and into the culture they have of mentioning the word «sauce» in her phrases. Very fun person.
Place:
–Pretty empty but would be ready for apocalyptic lunch rushes, summer dinners, and big sporting nights. Lots of big tables and even nice benches outside.
–Had a cool sink in the dining area so you would nice have to wash up in the RR
Overall:
–Was ok, food was not terrible; it was good but I would try El Pollo Loco for budget-​sake.
IT AIN’T TEXAS BBQ BUT IT AIN’T SHIT.

I’m picky about my BBQ and I need my BBQ to be SMOKED.
None of this boiled meat business and hid it in sauce. Yuck.
This place smokes it. I have yet to find a BBQ place in CA that just smokes their meat and then the sauces are to the side.
This is the place.
If you just want basic smoked meat and sauces (which are pretty good here too!), then this is the place for you!
I had the rib tips and beef brisket. Cornbread was pretty good too! Sweet (no corn bits, thank goodness) and a crunchy crust with a soft/​freshness.
Yay!

The Great Friday Night Dinner Debate started around 6:20 last night. Where should we go? You pick. No, you pick. Ugh, ok. So I threw out like five places. No, I don’t want sushi, no I don’t want Mexican. No, I don’t want Greek. Then what DO you want? I dunno.
Sigh. So we just drove. We ended up on Tustin Ave and I said I thought there was a BBQ place at the mall now. LOL, come to find out it’s been there a couple years, shows how much we eat at the Orange Mall. I usually don’t care for BBQ but at this point, we’re now at about 7:30, I just wanted to eat. Luckily, he agreed to BBQ.
I have never been to a Famous Dave’s. I see some reviews are knocking it for being more of a to-​go/​fast food place, but I didn’t mind, especially since I have nothing to compare it to. We ordered at the counter, took our number, and went and sat in a booth. They were pretty busy but there were a few tables left. The restaurant was very clean, always a good thing.
Food was out pretty quickly. He ordered the Burnt Ends Sandwich, which he did like, but thought it was kind of plain. And it was. It was just a hamburger bun with the ends on it. No condiments or veggies or anything. But he liked the flavor. His side was coleslaw and he said it was really good.
I had the combo with burnt ends, brisket, and mac and cheese. It was served with a piece of cornbread. Everything was good! The burnt ends were super flavorful and didn’t need any sauce. The brisket was tender and had a nice flavor, although I did try some of their sauces with it. I liked Texas Pit and Georgia Mustard sauces a lot. The mac & cheese was good, with jalapeños and corn in it. The cornbread was very sweet and moist. The portion looked pretty small, but he ended up eating a bunch of my food and I was still full, so I think the portion was spot on.
Even though this place is kind of fast food like, we had people stop by and check on us twice, which was nice. I think we will eat here again, maybe even get it to go since that is what this place seems to specialize in.

First off, the food isn’t «bad», it’s tasty and cooked right, etc. But it’s just lacking something special, and at the prices they charge, it should be real special.
For instance, I ordered the combination platter, ribs and chicken, I think my dinner total was in the 14 dollar range. So, if I go to say, El Pollo Loco, I can get a three piece dark meat platter with 2 sides for 7 bucks. Three nice pieces of very decent chicken.
Here I get one very small amount of chicken, and bottom line, if I’m paying good money for chicken I don’t want a piece of breast meat, it’s usually too dry and compared to thigh meat, just lacks flavor. Now, if I’m getting a dinner with half a chicken (like at my favorite of all places, Rosines) I’m fine with getting a breast, but even at Rosines, with the best chicken in Orange County, you get a large portion of chicken (a half a chicken) for less than what I paid for dinner at Dave’s.
Now, the ribs were good, but again, for the price it’s not worth it because the portion is like an appetizer, a couple ribs have enough meat to just get you hungry.
I don’t eat certain things, like wheat, so getting a muffin without a way to substitute it for something else is a bummer for me, I want choices so I can eat what I“m paying for.
For me to go back and enjoy a place like this, the portions need to be bigger for the prices and the menu should be more accommodating, allowing more choices of substitution and giving larger portions for the prices they charge.
I understand slow cooking meat makes it a bit more expensive, but if I’m paying this much money, I can go to a sit down restaurant like Wood Ranch and get a full menu and waitress to serve it and feel like I’ve received a fair value, I left here thinking I was taken advantage of, I was still hungry and I’d just paid nearly double what I’d have paid for if I’d gone to El Pollo Loco and gotten a three piece meal, which would have been sans the ribs, but far more protein and two sides that fit my diet requirements.

I think this is a solid place. Went on a Thursday night, and it was practically empty.
Food prices seem a bit high for the portion sizes, although everything we had was enjoyable. You get 2 (literally 2 bones) in a rib portion with the «Pick 2» combo, which is a bit absurd. However, they were good, as were the beef tips, chicken, and most of the sides. Corn bread muffins are also tasty and not dry, which is a huge plus.
There’s also a big selection of sauces to choose from at the table, which is a great addition that some BBQ places are lacking.
Just a note: You order food, then grab a table and your own drinks, so no table service… but I can’t complain, it speeds things up.

I stumbled out of The Village Mall and smelled BBQ, I walked around a little and found Famous Dave’s billowing smoke from its stacks.
I had to stop and grab something because it smelled so good.
I shared a 2 item combo with my gf and there was plenty of food for both of us.
We ordered the naked rib tips and their award winning ribs… Mmm. Talk about wanting more…
Their Burnt Ends are bombbbb as well.
This was last month that i discovered Famous Dave and I have already gone back 3 times for more.
I recommend you stop by Famouse Daves for some great BBQ dishes

Love how they give various sauces for us to sample with our meats… the Sweet and Sassy one was my ultimate favorite! I ordered the BBQ chicken and the ribs. Both were cooked just right and I was definitely satisfied by meal’s end. They don’t offer wet wipes for afterwards, but that’s what getting up to use the restroom is for. While I still am partial to Lucille’s only because of their Honey Butter, I wouldn’t mind coming back here again for the friendly customer service and the sauces!

First time at Dave’s place… I buy his pickles at Win Co for like 2.39 a jar and they are great so I figured give his joint a try.
It is hard to find good BBQ in So Cal but Dave’s just didn’t deliver. We tried everything we ordered but left most of it on the plate.
I don’t do a lot of reviews and most are positive but this was particularly disappointing. I’ll often give a place a second chance but most likely not with Dave’s.
I’m still all about Johnny Rebs for BBQ (and Southern) in OC.

Order at the counter, take a pig stand number to an empty table, an they bring the food out to you. I like the one ($ 9.99) and two ($ 12.99) meat combos because they come with 8oz of each type of meat, a side, and a corn bread muffin. It is an extra $ 1 if you get the ribs or beef brisket. We tried the following:
–rib tips: soft but not overcooked and flavorful without extra sauce. There is a decent amount of meat on them. However, some pieces are pretty fatty. Our favorite meat.
–St. Louis style ribs: each combo comes with 3 bones and it was good. Moist, smoky, and very good. I like the option of getting just a couple of pieces in a small combo rather than by the full/​half rack. I would get this again.
–beef brisket: this is supposedly one of thei best items but I don’t care for it. It was dry, tough, salty, and not very good. Combo came with 3 pieces on some bread. Skip!
–chopped pork: meat was tender but there was a lot of sauce on it so that was all I could taste. I would pass on this too.
–mac&cheese: has corn an jalepanoes to give it a bit of a crunch and mild spice. Not bad. Would be better a little warmer.
–Wilbur beans: includes pieces of sausage and meat. Came out steaming hot. Pretty good but can bea bit much with all of the meat.
–corn bread muffin: warm with a crispy top. This was pretty good.
–bread pudding ($ 6.49): family size is a generous size and comes with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and pecan caramel sauce. However, the bowl was filled half full with sauce so the bread pudding was swimming in it and was way too sweet. Ask for the sauce on the side!
Most tables also got some BBQ chips. They forgot to bring us some but we were done when we noticed and too full to ask. Otherwise, the people there were very friendly and helpful. They also have a tray of sauces on the table. Texas pit was our favorite. It has a slight kick to it. Overall, a great stop for BBQ in the Village in Orange!

Good service, friendly service, and clean location. Prices aren’t bad. $ 12.99 for a 2 item combo with one side. The chicken was a little dry, but the ribs were good.
Plenty of parking too
Overall: B+

The Manhandler is a freaking joke. $ 11 for a tiny sandwich that has three thin slices of what looks to be Hillshire Farm keilbasa sausage.
And where are the Hellfire pickles? The pickles in my pic are gross sweet pickles that came with another sandwich (which was also bleh at best).
The sides are lacking as well. The mac and cheese is way mushy. Cornbread was ok, but I wouldn’t return to this place just for the cornbread. The only plus I see to this place is you don’t have to wait long to get your food, but the food’s not good, so what’s the point?

We came for Tom’s bday since we had an email for a free birthday entrée. The free part was good and the manager here is really nice. But… both of our Combo barbecue entrees were missing the corn on the cob. Tom didn’t get silverware. Their iced tea was out. The servings were smaller than I remember and as pictured on the menu. What can I say, one of the entrees was free so …

Famous Daves is a pretty good chain. I’ve eaten at the Orange spot a few times. And never had a complaint other than my stomach hurts from eating too much.
They got a a decent menu with the usual suspects like ribs, brisket chicken and they are all pretty good but my fav is the rib tips.
Burnt ends.
Got turned on to these at the Rio in Vegas several years ago at a now defunct Q spot. Fell in love with them right off. Since then I always look for them on BBQ menus. The most flavorful part of the pork rib is the meaty boneless end pieces with all of the extra bark and chewy flavorful meat. I’m also a jerky fan so a little extra chew is good! When burnt ends can not be found I love me some rib tips just as well.
Daves has a variation of the classic rib tips. The rib tips here are just the way I like ‘em, except they got some bones and cartilage. Smokey, well done and full of flavor. Plus Daves has a bunch of different BBQ sauces. I prefer the Devils Spit sauce mixed ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ with the Texas Pit sauce. 4.5 stars
Would probably give them a higher rating but almost every time I’ve been here the corn on the cob is crap. Soaked forever and not fresh. The beans are pretty good but the cole slaw is weak and the fries are pretty decent. 3.0 stars
Clean restaurant, fairly quick service, cold bottled beer. Some local craft on tap would be nice.
Give me my tips!

Came here after receiving a coupon for my birthday. It was a buy one entrée, get one free up to $ 15. I’ve had it before after eating it at my uncle’s house, but I wanted to try it fresh and eat it at the place. Came in around 4 and it wasn’t crowded at all. There was probably 5 other tables besides ours. The place isn’t small, but it isn’t that big either.
What we got:
Regular Ribs w/​Coleslaw and Potato Salad ($ 14): I didn’t really like it… it was dry and didn’t have much flavor to me. After dipping it in the different sauces, it still didn’t taste that good to me. There was like 5 different sauces and I still couldn’t decide which one I liked. Coleslaw was pretty good. Nice crunch to it. Potato salad tasted like celery… not enough potatoes or mustard.
Country Roasted Chicken & Southside Rib Tips w/​Famous Fries ($ 13): chicken was dry. Rib tips didn’t look that appetizing, so I didn’t try it. BF didn’t even finish it. Famous fries were whatever.
Service:
The cashier lady that took our order was nice and patient since it was our first time and we didn’t know what to order. But I guess there isn’t really service? There was a guy that walked to every table to ask the customers how everything was, but he just walked right passed us!
I’d still rather go to Phil’s even though it’s so far away from me…

This is not like the other Famous Dave’s locations. This is an «express restaurant», which feels more like a fast food restaurant, with little to no service (a customer takes a number and then waits for the food), than a full service restaurant.
I ordered a salad with the BBQ chicken. It was good, but the portions seemed skimpy.
My mom ordered the salad with Texas beef brisket. As a southern girl, my mom knows barbeque. She thought the brisket on her salad was dry and salty. She said it literally left a bitter taste in her mouth. I tried a piece of it myself, and I had to agree. It looked (and tasted) like beef jerky on bed of lettuce. My mom even joked that even beef jerky would have tasted better than the beef on her salad here.
I was disappointed that my mom had such a poor meal on the first day of her visit here, but we both hope this little restaurant was just having a bad day. We just won’t be going back for a while to find out.