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    Dave's Hot Chicken

    3.9 (96 reviews)
    Closed 10:30 am - 11:00 pm

    Order Dave's Hot Chicken Takeout or Delivery

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    DAVE'S HOT CHICKEN ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Dogs allowed

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    Single Slider and Fries
    Carrie M.

    My Muslim friends rave about how Dave's is halal, and I think this is so great as it is rare for a fast food chain to be halal in the US. I read another review that said the logo is "incredibly ugly," and I am offended on Dave's behalf. I think the logo is so funny and cute. My friend from Waco brought me here, and I kept commenting that I loved the logo. I got the #4 combo, which includes one slider with fries for a total of $11. Their special Dave's sauce was really good. I thoroughly enjoyed the slider with chicken and kale slaw. The fries were alright. I felt like the whole portion wasn't as large as I would expect for the price, especially the slider. I ate half of my friend's fries too because I felt that I was not full from my meal, and he was going to throw them away. This is their smallest meal though, so I might get a larger and pricier one next time.

    Tender slider and fries
    Chucky H.

    We've driven past Dave's Hot Chicken dozens of times while traveling north on I-35 through Waco and last time we made a planned stop on a little casino road trip. The exterior is eye-catching with some unique artwork and murals. It definitely stands out in a city like Waco. I wasn't there to enjoy the artwork, however. I was on a mission to try the Reaper tender. My wife and I chose to eat inside. It's not a very large restaurant so it was crowded and rather loud. At least it was somewhat clean in the dining area. We ordered and I dutifully signed the waiver to be able to try the Reaper. I got a meal with a tender slider, one tender, and fries. I'm a registered French Fry Expert (FFE) and these crinkle cut fries (usually one of the worst) just barely passed muster. The 'slider' was what most restaurants would consider a whole sandwich. It was pretty good but I've had better. Their pickles are fantastic and the kale slaw is a good topping to compliment the spicy tenders. I went for medium spice on the tender in my slider. My wife enjoyed a mild tender slider and some of the hot hot honey flavored boneless wings/nugs. She gave her overall rating of a 7 out of 10. I was excited and a little nervous to move on to the main event of the afternoon - the infamous Reaper tender. It came in a separate box. As soon as I opened it and laid eyes on the abomination I was about to ingest, my buttonhole tightened and my liver quivered. The tender was COATED in seasoning, as if they had used their hands to smash as much of the Carolina Reaper dust onto the surface of the tender as possible. The color was off-putting. It was almost brown while the regular tenders have an appetizing red-orange color. In fact, I did my homework and watched several youtube videos of others trying the Reaper and their tenders did not look like this one. I love spicy food. I'm not one of those crazy people that seeks to punish myself with the hottest foods or hot sauces on a regular basis, but every now and then I get a craving for something intensely spicy. This Reaper tender was no joke. It was easily the spiciest thing I've ever eaten. I was hopeful that it would be tasty as well as spicy, but it honestly tastes like wood or dirt. As soon as I put the first bite in my mouth it was simply pure pain. I could only handle a couple of bites before throwing in the towel. My wife said my face looked like it was breaking out in hives. I could feel the pain all the was down my throat and then in my stomach for hours afterward. You know when you burn your skin and have to hold it under the cool water from the faucet and as soon as you take it out the pain comes rushing back? That was how my mouth and stomach felt. Ice cubes, cold soda, water, and even a McDonald's milkshake a few miles down the road couldn't squelch the heat and pain. I had even brought pepto bismol thinking I probably wouldn't need it, but it ended up being a life saver. The pain of the Reaper stayed with me for the rest of the drive and by dinner time I could still barely eat anything. I'm still glad I tried it and no longer have to wonder if it's good or not. My rating of 3 stars isn't because of the hotness of the tender and the discomfort it caused but rather the terrible taste of the Reaper spice and the hectic atmosphere inside the restaurant. Aside from the Reaper tender experience, Dave's Hot Chicken is just another chicken joint like a Tumble 22, cane's or Bojangles.

    Aayan U.

    I love Dave's. Food is great. Ambiance is family ish I guess. Service is great everyone's happy. Dave's makes me happy

    Dave's #2 2 Sliders w/ Fries
    Steven H.

    One of the best Hot Chicken places around! This is refreshing to have such a master blend of spices to bring some life back to your tastebuds. Service was excellent, the line to the door was handled promptly. The style and atmosphere was really cool and the cool designs done were sick!

    Dave's #2 2 Sliders w/ Fries

    We got the sliders with fries and it is honestly so filling that it becomes two meals! The chicken was perfectly cooked and came out hot. The fries are also consistently crispy at this particular location which I appreciate alot! The staff was friendly and service was pretty fast even during the lunch rush!

    ceiling
    Cassirae R.

    I really hate that I liked this place so much, but it's good chicken. I heard the story on a podcast and happened to drive by one, so we stopped in. The sliders are the size of a regular chicken sandwich, the tenders are the size of a breast fillet and the flavor slaps. Chicken was moist and crispy with the prefect spice level. (I got the second to hottest) Spice was perfectly spicy, my kids got the medium which was still tasty. The pickles are perfectly crispy/sour as they compliment the chicken bite!! Fries are dusted with some of the spice powder and every bite was crispy with flavor. The slaw was a classic slaw, just your ordinary slaw; slap it in a sandwich and the perfect compliment!!! 9/10 would recommend! Try it on for size if you like fried chicken tenders all ways! I would love some bone in chicken but this was good!

    Menu
    Isaiah A.

    First time, went with a "hot" heat level sauce on a sandwich, fries and a Coke Zero. Damn those fries were good. Sandwich was good too, but I messed up and only asked no pickles and I didn't realize they put coleslaw on them too, even after scraping coleslaw off it was still pretty damn good. Most places around central Texas when they say Hot they mean Taco Bell hot not actual hot, this hot has some kick to it thankfully. I will come back again!

    Cool art
    Dane S.

    I was lucky to spy a Dave's Hit Chicken as I traveled through Waco Tx. I hadn't seen one of their restaurants since I was in Oklahoma City in October. Their food is fantastic. I ordered the Dave's #1 which is 2 chicken tenders (Hot), fries, white bread, dill pickles, and Dave's sauce. Service was quick. The tenders are huge, lightly breaded, and perfectly cooked. They had a great flavor and spice level... Shout out to Stacey and Isaah B. who we're working the front counter and getting the customers through the line quickly. Dave's Hot Chicken is definitely on 'My Keepers List'!

    Dining Room
    Alex V.

    I love trying new franchises on road trips and this is one we don't have where I live so I couldn't pass it up. It looks like a relatively new construction and everything was clean and fresh looking. The employee at the counter was extremely friendly and helpful since this was our first time, so she went over all the details. We ended up doing sandwiches that came with a decent sized piece of fried chicken with coleslaw underneath and some pickles on top, all held together on a bun. We picked the mild which was moist and tasted nice enough, though not spectacular. They also offered honey packets which made for a nice change as suggested. And of course the sandwiches were served with crinkle cut fries which were tolerable, and some "special sauce" that was roughly ketchup/mayonnaise mixed. The interior is completely covered with graffiti which is a very off-putting design idea. Their incredibly ugly logo is also off-putting and looks like it was finger-painted by a small child. The chairs are rather uncomfortable too. But the bathroom was clean and everything was well lit. I'd say just go for the drive-through and bypass the terrible decor if you can. Overall, the service was great, the food was solid, and it's a decent place to visit again and maybe try some other menu items.

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    2 months ago

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    Thanks from Dave himself!

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    3 years ago

    Great place our first time made me try a second time and then a third time. We prefer the mild it's just the right amount of heat for us.

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    1 year ago

    This place sucks. Guy couldn't look at me in the eyes. Places food was worse than my grilled chicken with no seasoning at the house.

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    Ask the Community - Dave's Hot Chicken

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    Old & Cold Chicken...Cold Rolls... Bad manager with no customer service skills named L. Our order…read morewas $44 and food was old & cold.

    Cannot say enough bad things about them here. Every other Bush's is incredible but this one always…read moremesses up your order and tastes weird. Biggest complaint I have is today they gave my card to someone else who proceeded to take 45 minutes to get back and give the card to me when they said they'd only take 20 max. What could they have done with my card in that time due to carelessness among the Bush's employees?? To add insult to injury, the manager then ASKED ME WHAT I ORDERED TO RECHARGE IT TO MY CARD. The jerk didn't even refund me for the other person's meal which they already charged me for. This was entirely the manager there. The only good things he had to say was about how he knows a lot of people. Was he trying to make me thankful for him after his careless mistake that led to my credit card information being stolen? The manager barely apologized and after taking almost a hour and a half out of my day over this mistake, he didn't do anything to make up for it and all that happened was I received cold food, was out for meals I didn't even order or receive and lost my credit card information. This manager needs to be fired, that is no way to do good customer relations. I will never be coming back to this location unless major employment changes occur.

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