08/01/09

A landmark in the city

by WilliamFrog

Restaurant - Family owned business, with attention to detail. Meat is as fresh as it could be (all meat for hamburgers and steaks is delivered from Angus Barn each morning, and cut/ground by a butcher who comes into the store each morning). When ordering, you can have food cooked your particular way, for example asking that the cook to not smash all of the flavor out of your burger, or ordering the buffolo wings and having then put on the char-grill for a few moments after being drowned in the sauce (DELICIOUS) Huge beer selection (Mary does a great job with this and I believe there are around 200 available) The restaurant donates tons of food for the Thad Eure Walk for Hope (The families who own Fat Daddy's and Angus Barn have a long history together) Gotta love the "community" feel of the place. No corporate this or that going on. The management is quite friendly and down home enough to have a friendly chat with the patrons.

Bakery - Hamburger buns are baked fresh throughout the day, but with all of the topping/options you have for the burger, most never appreciate the freshness of the bun. Aside from buns, the bakery bakes fresh cookies, brownies, sweet rolls, and serves ice cream as well.

Bar - The bar is awesome also, with many pool tables, darts, pinball machines, jukebox, live bands on weekends, and plays host to a foosball tournament every year. Though the bar stocks the most popular beers, any of the microbrew/specialty beers available upstairs can be brought down to the bar upon request (Flying Dog is the best)

Catering is available, but also you can stock up raw burgers/dogs/ steaks, etc, for your own backyard parties. It is a regular stop before heading out to the tailgating at a Buffett show to load up on patties and steaks for grilling with the Parrotheads!

All in all, a good mix of down home family style atmosphere (although most of the workers you will see are not NC natives) and a bar that is what a bar should be, a place to drink and have a good time. Thumbs up for Fat Daddy's.

• Pros: Almost everything
• Cons: Not many, only the decor of the upstairs restaurant

08/04/08

Need to make more chains

by dana90

i wish there was a fat daddy's in the apex/cary/holly springs/ or fuquay varina area. i love this place. awesome for people to just hang out and have fun.

05/18/08

Exceptional Service!!!!!!!!!!!!

by starclassic

#1 attribute - SERVICE in the downstairs bar! They rock! And the band this Sat ROCKED as well! Jct 299 all the way! Seriously, every time I have been there, the service and food is great and reasonably priced. . Pool, people watching, a danceable band - a great evening out!

• Pros: Bartenders are great
• Cons: smokey, but hey, it's a bar

01/26/08

GREAT service! Relaxing hangout.

by jerzdevil17

They have an excellent fish sandwich and great service! I have been coming here for years, and even after not walking in for over a year, I was amazed that Kevin even remembered me when I last walked in, much less had my favorite beer waiting for me when I got down to the other end of the bar. This is more of a place for the 30-something and up, so it's comfortable enough that you don't have to worry about drug-trafficking, brawls breaking out, etc. Prices are good, bands are pretty decent, something for everyone every night of the week. Definitely my kind of jeans and T-shirt kind of relaxed atmosphere.

• Pros: Service, Value, Parking, Atmosphere, Selection, Nightlife
• Cons: Smoke

10/31/07

Great pool hall, darts, beer!

by euncapher

I honestly have only eaten at Fat Daddy's once and it was quite good. We typically go to the lower part to play pool, darts, and drink beer. The bands that they have come in are mediocre, but if there isn't a band, the juke box is always blaring with good music. There are plenty of pool tables, both electronic and steel tip darts, and beer. Yay for beer!

This is a good place to hang out!

• Pros: Plentiful pool tables, both kinds of darts, good beer selection, prices!
• Cons: Sometimes gets smokey in the bar downstairs.

08/10/07

Good Burger

by chrisd4

You have to say they are fresh and always consistent. I would stick to the burger, they are not a wing place.

The ribeye steak sandwich is good. They do have a kids night, and I have kids, but I would stay away. the people that go have no control of their kids! Not a good eating enviroment on kids night.

• Pros: good burger

06/19/07

Cheap beer, nice pool tables and dart boards, trashy clientele, god awful bands

by mcqdogg

patrons like to act tough and get punched in the brain. lots of pool tables, though. sketchy parking lot.

06/07/07

Get your food quick and customize it yourself

by tarheelnation

I've been going to Fat Daddy's since they opened the North Raleigh location near Millbrook High in the 80s, which had the insanely cheap $2.99 1/3 lb. burger (with the classic Fat Daddy's fresh bun and unlimited condiment/toppings bar), fries and a free-refills drink student lunch special. Those items are a bit more expensive than $2.99 at Fat Daddy's nowadays, but they remain an excellent value for the fair price they currently charge.

Walking into this place always makes me smile: the giant pictures of vegetables on the walls with the huge text captions, the "Death Star Bathrooms" that actually won Best in the Triangle awards by themselves back in the day (I still want one of these in my house), the signature wall and floor tiling, the great beer selection, the management that's worked there so capably for so many years, the generous and fresh toppings and condiments bar, the bar in the basement (with 3 pinball machines, some arcade videos and loads of pool tables!), and most importantly, consistently satisfying meals.

If you want a casual burger or some grill fare that you can customize yourself, and you're short of time, you can't do much better than Fat Daddy's, a Raleigh institution that I hope remains open for many decades to come.

• Pros: Excellent burger buns, unlimited/customizable toppings and condiments, unique ambience
• Cons: Frequent trips to the drink counter for refills if you're thirsty, interior could use a refurb (but don't change anything at all!)

02/13/07

Best burger in Raleigh

by amyoung1

We have been going to Fat Daddy's since I was born. Much better than any Fuddruckers I've ever been to because it's not a chain and the food doesn't taste like it was just defrosted... because it wasn't. They bake their bread fresh daily. They have the best hamburgers and hot dogs in Raleigh, by far.

• Pros: Food, Freshness, Choices of toppings, Comfortable Atmosphere
• Cons: none

11/29/06

Really good burgers, cheap for families

by wndrmdgt

Burgers are not same quality, IMHO, as Fuddruckers or Red Robin. Sauces not as good either, but they have a great cheese sauce for burgers, fries, or as a "fondue". However, they more than make up for it with their prices, and their truly outstanding fixings bar, with fresh lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, celery, and more (I make a little salad). Also, they have REALLY tasty ice cream and desserts that are dirt cheap with awesome service. Very kid friendly, lots of child seats. Fries are good!

• Pros: Great burger, great price, kid and adult friendly
• Cons: Parking, few sauces