Uncle Fatty’s Drive-In

Really like the décor of Uncle Fatty’s. I would describe it as a contemporary urban interpretation of the 1950s soda shop.
Server greeted me upon entering and asked if this was my first visit, and did a great job of explaining what was available. I like that the price includes the beverage and side with the burger or hot dog.
I ordered the Southern Burger (8 oz. size) without slaw or onions. Server smiled and said «so you really want a chilli cheeseburger!», which was rather accurate.
The menu mentions that the burgers are fresh, not frozen, and are hand formed patties. After a few minutes my order was brought to the table. It included a large portion of hot shoestring cut fries and a delicious burger. The burger was a four-​napkin special (do I really need to explain that?) Chilli was to my liking for a burger, meaning not too spicy or filled with stuff I don’t like in burger chili such as beans or too much heat.
Very good value and a pleasant lunch.

Stopped by for a quick late lunch and a cool-​down on a hot afternoon. I was greeted and waited by very friendly staff. I had the «dirty dog» with slaw, chili, and mustard, which was okay, but a bit bland. I rather enjoyed the onion rings and would recommend those. Overall, I could see myself revisiting for for the burger and onion rings and friendly service.

This place had the worst food ! Hambuger, Hot Dog, Fries how bad can it be you ask. Lets just say the worst food ever and very over priced for what you get. Do not waste your money!

With a name like Uncle Fatty’s you expect big food with big taste. However, I was quite disappointed when I received a processed turkey burger (not fresh) and frozen onion rings. A coworker had the fatty burger and was equally disappointed. I won’t be coming back as there are other better burger joints in town. Still disappointed.

Good but not great burger. Fries decent. Grilled pimento cheese horrible — very soggy, laden with butter. Big O reminded me of Orange Julius.

I purchased a Living Social or Groupon deal for this restaurant, and I think I probably got my money’s worth, but I probably wouldn’t go back.
I purchased a hot dog and a hamburger, both Southern style, and I had great expectations. The slaw was very good, but the chili left something to be desired. I also had the onion rings, also with great expectations. They also left a bit to be desired.
My friend likes the place a great deal more than I do, and he had the home made orange drink. I tasted that, and it was very good, but I don’t drink sugared beverages. He also had fries. Their fries are very good when they are hot, but my friend mentioned that the previous times he’d been, the fries were tepidly warm. He mentioned this to the waiter, who promised they’d be hot, only to bring tepid fries. To his credit, he did bring us a fresh batch, and those were good.
Service was generally above average, and the food was good enough; but I prefer 5 Guys and Char-​grill for burgers and The Roast Grill, Dog House, and King Sandwich Shop for hot dogs. And NO, I do not hold any financial stake in ANY of those businesses.

Tator tots were mushy, seemed like they were out of a frozen bag. hamburger was not cooked all the way and the bottom bun was soggy. The service was horrendous. It took over 20 min for them to serve takeout. I was told 5 minutes and waited 20 minutes!

This is good for what it is. Reliable burgers and dogs.
The milkshakes aren’t wonderful. But, you can do much worse.
Portion sizes are amazingly appropriate (meaning not huge).
My only complaint is that the service is spotty. First time the personality of our bar server was so good it made the food better. This time the kids (literally) didn’t appear to have any prior employment experience.
It would be nioce to see an owner/​operator there at least during peak times.

I ate here with my teenage bottomless pit tonight and was very pleasantly surprised at how good the burgers were. I have not been a big fan of burgers for awhile and ordered the standard cheeseburger with cheddar. You can order either a 4oz or an 8oz and I went ahead and got the 8oz, thinking I’d save most of it as leftovers but it was so good I ate the whole thing. And I ate all the onion rings which were thin and crispy, quite good. The order took quite awhile to come out thought, the waiter said it was the onion rings that were holding up the order.
Some others have commented on the prices but I’d like to point out that the burger prices include a side and a fountain drink. Apparently there are some sides and some drinks that do have «upcharges». My son got the loaded fries which was a little extra and someone mentioned getting the Big O drink that was extra for some reason. I guess the menu needs to be redesigned to clarify which items have upcharges.
My son did get the milkshake which did resemble the milkshake described in another post but I didn’t taste it. I was disappointed they didn’t have malts but I guess you have to use real ice cream if you’re going to make a malt, not soft serve.
We were there on a Thursday night and it wasn’t at all busy. Great place to take the family and they have outdoor seating.

I must say that I was disappointed with my experience at Uncle Fatty’s. While the service was quick and the staff was friendly… this was a poor attempt at duplicating Five Guys. The burger was similar to a Five Guys burger, just not as tasty. The fries were a huge let down, both the portion size and the quality. (Coming form a foodservice background I know that french fries are the most profitable food item on any menu… so for the $ 1.99 that they charge, why not give an impressive portion like Five Guys does?) The iced tea was strange, not good or bad… just different.
I don’t think I’ll be trying them again because I know I can get a consistently good meal elsewhere.

Went to Uncle Fatty’s as a recommendation from a friend.
I got the Hickory Burger which was a special that night. As described by the cashier it had, «two patties, pepper jack cheese, bacon, chili, BBQ sauce and maybe slaw.»
Sounded good to me so I got the Hickory Burger, fries, and a «Big O.»
The Burger came out sans chili and slaw, but I was OK with that. I did want more than a tablespoon of BBQ sauce so I requested extra. All in all the burger was good. Definitely plenty big and sloppy enough where I needed a few extra napkins.
The fries were enjoyable. Hot out of the fryer with a light salty seasoning.
The Big O was delicious. Basically this is Orangeade and was definitely the best part of my meal.
This cost me $ 10 which I though was a smidgen too high. Apparently there was an up charge for the Big O even though it costs the same as a regular soda on the menu. Oh well.
The ambiance was that of a diner and certainly played the part. I sat at the bar/​counter and watched the basketball game on TV. Overall it had a Five Guys feel. It felt like a huge chain except it wasn’t. I’ll let you decide if that is a good thing or a bad thing.
I topped it all off with a chocolate Reese’s milkshake. Uncle Fatty’s followed the ever popular soft-​serve in a cup plus a mix-​in equals a milkshake recipe. Umm.. . no. That’s just soft serve with candy. If I can’t use a straw to consume it, it isn’t a milkshake.
Despite the mistake with the burger the staff was friendly and fairly attentive.
Finally the girl sitting next to me got a salad. Why in the world would you go to a place called «Uncle Fatty’s» and get a salad? Why are they even on the menu? I don’t care if they are the best salads in Raleigh, that is just wrong.
I would return and I’m very tempted to try the pimiento cheese sandwich with tomato and bacon.

I have to say, I stopped in here the other day while in Cameron Village, had a burger, and I really enjoyed it! It tasted like how I make them at home.
Therein lies the rub … I found the burger priced a bit too high. I believe a standard burger and a Coke cost me somewhere close to $ 7.
It was nice to sit at the counter and watch ESPN on the big HDTV though.
I find it interesting that it is called a drive-​in, as there is no drive-​in aspect to the place. It is simply decorated as a 1950’s era drive-​in soda and burger shop.
Of course I committed the sin of going to Cameron Village during the holiday season, so parking was atrocious! But then, that is just Cameron Village.
Other than the parking issues at Cameron Village, Uncle Fatty’s seems like a great, albeit pricey, lunch/​burger place.

Hmmm. I just moved back to Raleigh and my taste buds must of completely changed within my 10 year absence in relation to the other Raleigh Unilocalers.
First of all, this place is a straight up fast food joint. Which is great — I live in the Cameron Park area, so any cheapish and quick junk food option other than McDonald’s is more than welcome. The décor is cute and the service was quick. I ordered an Oreo shake, fries, and a cheeseburger.
At this moment I have an almost full shake sitting next to me. The whip cream on top was confusing. It was like a tasteless cool whip. I scooped it off as soon as I got home. The shake itself is not much better. Tastes like it was made with ice milk rather than ice cream.
The fries were just okay — a slight step up from Burger King and a bit over-​salted. Would’ve preferred to have had an option on size, like the burgers (they offer a small and a regular size of the burgers, but only one size of fries and shakes. That seems a little backwards to me, but whatever.)
The cheeseburger was decent except for a couple issues — the bottom of the roll seemed hard and stale, not toasted. I peeled it off. The tomato seemed mushy, the sign of an old tomato. The patty itself was the only saving grace. It was pretty tasty. But I paid $ 9.75 for all of it. As much as I like being able to walk a couple of blocks for a burger fix, I think I’d be better off jumping in my car and heading toward Cook-​out or Five Guys.

Great new place in Cameron Village, not really a drive-​in, but the food is very good. Have eaten there several times already and can say its the best Hamburger in town, certified black angus burger for 3.50! It seems to get busier and busier each time I got, so better get there while you still can get in the door