Solid consistent joint that I've been visiting since my forays from college into the mean streets of Alhambra. Portion size- huge. I love me some fries. Chili with cheese? Yes. Chili is the creamy varietal, a little bland but oddly comforting. Every once in a while I'll revisit these and forget that while they come in a little diner paper rectangle the put that paper rectangle into a recycled drink caddy and overflow half of it with thick fries slathered generously in chili with melting cheese. Properly done. I live under a rock and am old enough to predate the era of social media so I just learned about the pastrami fries version. Wtf. Pastrami sandwich is consistently fat and burdened with a wealth of protein. I'm a sucker for a French dip so sometimes I do order the beef with au jus. Noticeably smaller in mass than the pastrami but still a good bite. Friend still says Portillos beats it but I'm happily content with this one. Today I saw one of cashiers light up and unbidden, pass two cups to a lady with her daughter. She was tickled " you remember me!" While she cradled her daughter's shoulders. Super cute. read more

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I personally like this location of the Hat. Always busy when I'm here. My personal favorites are pastrami fries and pastrami burger. It's delicious!!! You won't regret it!! read more

This is for the poor service, quite frankly we love the Hat, decided to go with family for lunch. We order a few burgers, a pastrami that are now $11.99, onion rings and chili fries - all in with drinks it was about $60 for the food for four.....when they called our number, we asked for the yellow chilies and the girl told us--2 chilis per sandwich! And, And that the hot dog isn't considered a sandwich so we can't get any for the Hot Dog!!! Wth! Is happening here?? Are you kidding me! see the pictures! okay, we'll 2 things, the girls not only said only 2 chilis but was extremely rude about it! The funny part of the story is that she was worried about only giving us 2 measly chilies for a total of 6 for three sandwiches BUT check the pictures out! she threw in about 30 packs of ketchup....30! So the moral the story, only two cheap chili peppers but tons of more expensive Ketchup packs! Sorry, this is so ridiculous! Like I said $11.99 for a pastrami but you can only get two chili peppers, I guess you bring your own or go to In-n-out where they gladly give them to you with a smile. read more

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OMG. I went here a few weeks ago and the food is amazing. A little pricey, however, it's best to split your order with someone. The fries are huge, enough for probably 3 people. The pastrami sandwich is heavenly, it's big enough to share between two people. Definitely will be coming back and definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a late night snack and or a new food place read more

fast service, clean place, affordable prices, and ultimately a delicious pastrami dip. read more

The Hat - Menu (July 2023) - Sandwiches Near Me - Brea, California

Cholesterol and calories be damned. The Hat makes one hell of a cheat day! This is usually our go-to when we're having a pastrami craving. We get the dip that comes on a steamed roll and lathered with yellow mustard, loaded with a mountain of meat, and then garnished with pickles before being wrapped in layers of yellow paper to make sure it stays in tact before your next destination. And lets not forget their chili cheese fries. As a newbie to the restaurant, you might be inclined to order a separate one for each person... but don't. It's a mountain of fries, heaps of of chili, and cheese, and will make even the biggest eater kneel in submission. Sharing is definitely caring for this one. I recommend utilizing the drive-thru, but give yourself some time as it gets packed. Luckily it's located in a big parking lot and the line moves fairly quickly. Can't beat the prices, the portions, and not having to leave your car to enjoy. To make things easier, you're able to call in your order or place it online via their website ahead of time. read more

We've been coming here for YEARS as this place has been a family favorite, but was super disappointed last night at our order. Our BBQ beef sandwich barely had any meat in it, and we always get a small fry to share because they are famous for giving a generous portion in a bag. The following photo is how the fries came to us. A small pouch that wasn't even full. Is there a potato shortage or something? I almost turned around to return my order and say forget it, but it was so late we didn't have the energy. For $30 for 2 sandwiches and 1 fry they need to do better. We'll stick with the Lake Forest location from now on since my husband works down that way anyway. read more

The Hat - A small sack not even full?! Never in my 10 years of going here have I seen this. - Sandwiches Near Me - Brea, California

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Omg I been waiting for 30 minutes I haven't even move yet. Food was basic bit over priced , thank god it's open late I thought it's had less ppl going unexpectedly Still taking forever! read more

The Hat - Sandwiches Near Me - Brea, California

Always. Check. Your. Bags. The girl at the drive thru checked mine TWICE so I didn't think I had to double check again and when I got back to my office I realized she forgot half the order. Called to complain and they said they can get the food ready in 5 minutes or I can get a refund. I asked if they can bring the food to me and they said I have to go back so I said I'll just take the refund and they said I have to go back to get the refund. Excuse me? You messed up and I have to go back? Horrible way of handling things. read more

Excellent roast beef and pastrami. I usually get the beef dip, but also had the gravy, & the BBQ sauce versions. They also have very good golden fries in a huge bag. Good place to get stuffed! read more

The service was great! Ordered the pastrami sandwich and chili cheese fries, all of it was good! Can't wait to visit again and try other stuff! read more

The food is absolutely disgusting ! The idea of putting burger with pastrami meat is revolting. The bun was depressing and soggy. Pastrami meat was tasteless. Pastrami looked and tasted like processed supermarket Hilllshire farm finely chopped pastrami. If you ever had pastrami any decent deli place in NYC, you will know in the name of food what they are selling is scam. read more

This establishment is amazing! Although a little pricey, the sandwiches are amazing! Our favorite is the pastrami dip. Piled high on a fresh bun with mustard and pickles. So delicious! There's multiple locations and they are consistent with their offerings! read more

The Hat - Outside - Sandwiches Near Me - Brea, California

-Welcome back to Your Last Review, it's a SoCal delicacy, and this week we are doing The Hat -You know this place has to be good when the dinner line gets so long every night it blocks traffic getting onto the freeway. I haven't seen lines this big since my college days cocaine Let's go Racers!) -If you go to the hat you have to get their pastrami, it's so good that I'll never get why guys complained that it looked like a pastrami sandwich -If you feel like getting your stomach pumped or drastically changing your weight like Jonah Hill then you have to get the pastrami chili cheese fries. (you ever gone into cardiac arrest while eatin son??) -Overall the hat is an amazing food coma waiting to happen totally worth the price, 4.5/5 stars, and see you next time on your last review! read more

I went to the hat for some great pastrami great fries and wife got a hamburger. The food is great!!! The employees are the worst when it comes to having a customer service set of values. I can get pastrami other places for less money and have nice people serve it to me. That's all read more

Who doesn't love a dipped, Italian beef sandwich? This place takes it up a notch by substituting the beef with pastrami! Believe me.. it's as good or better than you could ever imagine. Top it off with homemade wild cherry soda and your basically transported to fast food paradise! I wish they would expand into AZ, but for now, I'll only be able to get my fix when visiting Cali. I'm sure the other items on their menu are equally as delicious, but will have to wait until the next time to see. read more

The Hat - Front entrance - Sandwiches Near Me - Brea, California

I had been meaning to try this place out for a while now. We notice the "World Famous" claim most of the times we go to the Brea Mall. Since, we want to try out new restaurants in 2017, we gave it a try one night. We took the drive through option. It took a good 15 minute for us to place and receive our order. I had their World Famous Pastrami Dip and a Pina Colada bang. Total with taxes came to $12.59. Pros: Very good Pastrami. As advertised. Pina Colada was decent. Cons: Drive through like an In & Out. Very time consuming. (-1) read more

The Hat - Drive through menu 1/2 - Sandwiches Near Me - Brea, California

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This was my first time trying the Hat after hearing amazing reviews. Today I was disappointed. I was impressed most with the onion rings. Crispy, breaded well and not too greasy. Very well balanced and I would order these again. The biggest con came with the roast beef sandwich. I did NOT receive both the aus jus and the gravy. This reduced my sandwich to a soggy, messy and overpriced lump of food. I would have purchased a cold sandwich if this is what I wanted (and I would have paid a few bucks less). The quality of meat was decent, but it was nothing impressive. The fries, although piled on high, did not have nearly enough (if any) chili in them. Pastrami, touted as their specialty, was mid rate. Lacking flavor and any kind of personality. Don't come in with high expectations. Save yourself some time and just order online. It isn't worth waiting in line for. read more

Best bang for your buck!!! So much pastrami. Love this place. The restaurant has a lot of tables too so no need to worry about having to wait. read more

Their chili does not have beans, so I love it. Here's what you do: Be a party of four. Send a reliable person in your crew to scout a table. It is always packed in here, so your table scout needs to have good eyes to see who's about to leave. Then they grab that table while you are in line to order for everyone. Get two orders of chili cheese fries. One regular ch. ch. fries and another one with pickles, tomatoes, and pastrami (this is the one for people who like to pretend they're eating a healthy salad). Order two fountain drinks (you guys can share). Pay. Listen for your number to be called. In the meantime, get some mustard packets, plates, forks, and napkins for your table. When they call your number, have two strong people go fetch the food and two people stay at the table. The ch ch fries are mountains and the pastrami ones could easily have an avalanche if you send kids to do this job. Strong adults must carry the food. You should squirt some mustard on your plate and dip your pastrami ch ch fries in that with your fork. This should be enough food for everyone. When you don't finish it all, put the fries all in one container and invert the now-empty container and place it on top as a cover. This works. It's how they do it when you take it to go anyhow. Tip: don't go here on a first date. Your delicious food will get cold because you're too embarrassed to pig out. I hate seeing this happen to food. read more

The Hat - CH Ch fries with pastrami pickle tomato on the left. Reg ch ch fries on the right. - Sandwiches Near Me - Brea, California

Food was great but let me explain what I went through. I placed an online order at 7:09pm, order was promised for 7:30pm. I arrived at restaurant at 7:20pm 19 mins early so I figured no big deal I'll wait 10mins. At around 7:40pm I went to the pick up counter and asked if my online order was ready, gave my name and promised time and was told that order was not ready. 7:50pm my wife asked a young lady again and apparently order hasn't been even looked at. She asked the cooks to prepare my order as I had been waiting for while. Finally at around 7:55pm my order was ready. The food was great but the experience of online ordering was not great as I saw a lot of customers ordering at cashier, getting their orders and leave so please avoid the headache and DO NOT order online as I have a feeling that employees do not check online orders. Also wanted to point out that even though employees saw me waiting for almost an hour, no one bother to check my order or to at least offer me a glass of water. Also, no apologies for making me wait. read more

I went for the first time today and had an awesome experience so far. My friends and I tried the Pastrami Dip and the Double chiliburger with cheese. Our order was ready in less than 5 minutes and the food was delicious! The pastrami dip was the first time I tried thinly sliced pastrami and it wasnt too salty at all. The thin sliced pastrami made it easier to eat and more fatty in taste. The only down side of that sandwich was that it was smaller than I expected for the price, but the pastrami meat made up for the size. The double chiliburger was delicious as well, even though it was a little messy (I suggest grabbing a fork and scooping all the chili back into the burger if its falling out). For sure will come back again, and probably will try the chili fries which we saw a lot of people get (with pastrami on top too!) read more

The Hat - Pastrami Dip!!! - Sandwiches Near Me - Brea, California

I crave the Hat since I've left SoCal. Every time we visit, it's usually first on my list. Get the pastrami, the chili fries, ask for the banana peppers on the side and enjoy the sweet Pink Ole. You'll thank me later. Now, go. Feast! read more

The Hat - Pastrami sandwich - Sandwiches Near Me - Brea, California

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Feel bad posting this but after being a regular costumer there for years, I am no longer happy going there. "World Famous" Pastrami Sandwich not as good as Brea's Best down the street ,in my opinion . Left feeling "Ripped Off " after last visit with what I spent. That's all read more

world famous pastrami, chili, onion rings. thats all she wrote and thats all you need. get a pastrami dip, sandwich, or burger, add chili cheese fries, and a large order of onion rings and you got yourself an epic meal. place is always crowded so you know the food is fresh every single time. they have feast like portions so be prepared to share. you can eat this for hours and still not make a dent. the pastrami is cut so thin and so tender. the chili cheese fries is huge and the added pickles and tomatoes just makes it even better. the onion rings is the best fast food onion rings ever made, so crispy. i wish the hat was everywhere and not just in socal... read more

Tonight I ordered the chili cheese fries with pastrami on it and it was just sprinkled on very finely chopped up pastrami. Paid a lot of money $16.95 for sprinkles of tiny pieces of pastrami. It is an illusion the way they serve you making you think you have enough meat when it's very very little. Its a rip off actually. It tasted good but not worth the money. It was mostly French fries. Will not be back. Shame on them cheating the people in these days. Boo two thumbs down. read more

The food is the best comfort during the winter time! They provide the food choice beyond any other fast food restaurant! You will feel be satisfied by enjoying the food in The Hat! read more

Well the sign says it all. World famous baby. This is the last great pastrami place around. The pastrami fries get um but make sure you're hungry or have backup. I get the regular pastrami sandwich dry with gravy on the side if you don't tell them dry the put the gravy on the sandwich and that can lead to soggy bread. NO GOOD but I guess you could try anything else on the menu but I won't be. read more

The Hat - Sandwiches Near Me - Brea, California

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Home run all the way turn my brother in-law on to it he said best pastrami sandwich he ever had this was from the original hat

Dine in is now available but with limited seating. The drive in line was all the way to cocos when I arrived. I made the executive decision to park and order inside... and it was a great gamble. When I entered I realized there's was no one in line. SCORE! read more

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I am beyond lost for words! The drive thru line wasn't busy, only 2 cars in front of me but it took at least 10-15 mins just to order! I went around 9 pm on a Thursday night! The cashier was so rude to me and my boyfriend. I asked for extra napkins in a very nice and polite way and the cashier said out loud "Are you kidding me?!!!" That ruined my night. I called corporate but nobody picked up and I had to leave a voicemail! I usually have an awesome experience here but I can't believe that I would get such horrible customer service from such a reputable place. I might give a different hat location another chance but not sure if I would go back to this location. :(( read more

The Brea Hat has the worst customer service. Do not ask for a napkin, or any other condiments. Workers are all VERY RUDE. Never coming here again. read more

Late night snack craving from my hubby. Still there were lots of same craving customers after 10 pm. At the drive thru. But the lines were moving faster than expected. We ordered chili tamales and their famous pastrami sandwich. The portions were huge. My husband loved it but for me it was bit heavy greasy for late night. But the overall the quality, taste & service was good. read more

The Hat - Sandwiches Near Me - Brea, California

Ordered through the drive thru and when she told me the total, I realized she was missing 1 of my 2 items. I said "hello" multiple times and waited to add the item she was missing and got no response. When I got to the window and told her I needed the 2nd item added and was not able to get her attention, she gave me an attitude. I heard her speaking in Spanish saying that I never said anything when she confirmed my order. My chili dog had no cheese and was cold. I've never had a problem here but I will not be returning with such rude employees. read more

I come here for one thing and one thing only, the Pastrami Chili Cheese Fries. Yes, if you're looking on the menu, you'll notice that it's not on there, but in my opinion, it's the best item they have. I usually share one order with at least 2-3 people, sometimes even more if we're getting other items as well. I've also gotten the Pastrami Burger and the Pastrami Dip, both delicious too. The moment you get your fries, you'll notice that your jaw will drop a bit due to the sheer massiveness of it. The pastrami at the very top, covering up a generous layer of chili cheese and on top of their thick cut fries. The perfect way to satisfy your late night drunchies. The chili with the pastrami is a match made in heaven. There's not too many locations in Southern California, so I'm glad that I live near one of them. Definitely worth a try, you won't regret it! read more

We always order the pastrami sandwich and it's not the same. Less pastrami and tasteless roll. I asked for extra pickles, and they only gave me 5. I tried 3 different drinks from the self service drink machine, and all had a funny taste. The end result was that we wish we wouldn't had lunch someplace else. read more

Great food! Good price! Consistently good! My personal favorite is the pastrami dip!! Yummo!!'

The Hat is like an old friend. it's comforting, comfortable, and you know what you're getting yourself into. Their portions are out of this world so normally my husband and I can share an order of pastrami fries and call it a day. We've also had the Pastrami Dip and the Roast Beef, both solid choices as well if you're feeling extra hungry. The drive-thru line is always long so we usually place an order online and pick it up. It ends up being faster or just about the same amount of time if you sit through their normal busy times (lunch/dinner). read more

Meh meh meh, it's supposed to be great but the pastrami isnt all that. The one in Glendora is better. This one is dirtier, greasy, and meh. Its also overpriced, so this 3 star is generous. MEH read more

Good Roast Beef Sandwich, Great Pastrami and Chili Fries. Very large portions. The inside is kept very clean. read more

The Hat - Menu - Sandwiches Near Me - Brea, California