I've been going here with my dad and family since I was a kid and it's a great little place. I love the shrimp basket, chicken strips, cheeseburgers, nacho cheese sauce for my fries, and the milkshakes. The butterscotch milkshake is my favorite. This place will always have a special, nostalgic spot in my heart. Something that still remains from when I was a kid is their gumball machines have some little money balls inside too. read more

A friend wanted to grab Lunch and he recommended this place. From the outside it has a nostalgic feel to it. Like there was once a bunch of people standing at the walk-up window ordering all types of tasty items to devour. You can also walk into the establishment which i chose to do. I'm not sure of the history of the "Drive-In" part of it. Maybe back in the day it had some sort of Drive-In movie theater. But none the less I ordered a Patty Melt with fries and no drink. It was less than 50 cents shy of being $10. Honestly I REALLY REALLY want to give this place 4 stars just because it's so cute and the women at the counter were polite and the food came out quickly. I just wasn't anywhere near impressed at all. The Patty Melt was flat, I ate more bread than anything. Lacked any flavor what so ever. The fries were plain, not sure if there was even salt on them? My friend's meal was a measly hamburger that looked like something out of a Mcdonalds kids meal. I do understand it's supposed to be cheap and "like the good ole' days" but man for dang near $10 I wouldn't return. I think you guys can keep the cheap burger feel but just help the entree out a tad bit, like somethings missing. Not sure what. Maybe portion size? Speaking of missing, I had no napkins in the dispenser at the table and neither did the other two tables adjacent to mine. Overall, the service was nice. The food was bland and just not something I enjoyed. But thank you guys, I do appreciate making Lunch for me yesterday! read more

Big Al's Drive In - Patty Melt w/ Fries - American Near Me - Chico, California

This place was exactly what we wanted it to be. Great burger. I highly recommend the mini corn dogs. Great fries. Had take out and the food traveled well back to the hotel room. Should have ordered a milkshake. read more

Bland is how I would describe the fish and chips, not sure if someone forgot a step in preparing them (like seasoning). My daughter got a plain cheeseburger that she could not finish and it wasn't because of its size. The burger actually looked sick. It was flat, looking like it had been stepped on, and the color of the burger was more like pottery clay. We were in town for only one night at an Airbnb and in the rental description was "across the street from the best burgers in town" well if Big Al's is the benchmark then I'll pass on the rest of what Chico has to offer. The shakes however were very good, loved the flavor options and they are the only reason I would give Big Al's anything above one star. Some of the past reviews of this place are very good but evidently new ownership may not be as particular about the product they put out. (That's my guess anyway) read more

11 in the morning and we can't even break a hundred? My bad I guess? Cash should be used...I'll take the business elsewhere from now on regardless for the attitude at me just asking for a split. I sat waiting for 10 minutes after shorting my order for a measly two hot dogs. (No other customers in sight) since when does cooking a hot dog take 10 minutes? Yikes Big Al's. Nothing like standing too long waiting in the weather for half the order you wanted because they won't accept your payment type read more

Love this old fashioned drive in for the charm & best soft serve in town! You don't come here to eat healthy, but you do leave happy :) read more

Big Al's Drive In - An unsalted burger patty makes a great treat for the pup when we drive in! - American Near Me - Chico, California

Our favorite place to get soft serve ice cream! I love the drive up feel, it's always so fast and easy.

Delicious Fish & Chips. Best milk shakes around! Not crazy about the super slushy coleslaw. read more

Great food ! Friendly service and old fashion vibe , will definitely return soon. Don't miss out on this great all American classic stop ! read more

Big Al's Drive In - Front of restaurant - American Near Me - Chico, California

Horrible ass "workers" especially the old lady never going back again. Burger/ bun was smashed they didn't give me my fries I paid for Asked for a deluxe and it wasn't so I asked the lady she was just straight rude about it. I wouldn't even give them one star. read more

Dont know if there is a new owner or not but this place has changed. They get overwhelmed fast, the shakes are more milk than shake, and the food has gone down hill. We used to come here all the time for the drive thru feel, old school fast food and the shakes. Now i dont want to come here at all. Last night (8/19/22) i went there to get a shake, at 730, and there was a normal sized line of 5 to 6 people. It took the cashier 10 mins to get one families order right so i left(no big deal). Tonight, 8/20/22, i went back for a milk shake and it was the most thin shake ive ever had from there. Ive 100% decided to take this place off my list of quick dinner ideas. read more

Big Al's is awesome, just everything a good ole Diner would have, the half and half ice cream is really great, we eat here every couple weeks !! Chico is tough because there are to many choices to pick from !! read more

Wonderful staff working very hard to serve the public. No complaints about the menu. But please clean up outside!

save your money this place sucks, food os pretty bad and the patties are something out of grocery outlets reject meat... the service is shit as well, everything is yelling and i cant hear you.. ill never come back and i hopeyou never try it.. vut if you do please leave a review read more

Got there and waited for about five minutes at the window just to be told after I order that it's too late and they can't. This was about 20 minutes before actual closing so I'm not sure what the point of business hours are. It would have been fine if the staff wasn't extremely rude. It sucks now that I hesitate to go somewhere I've been going since I was a kid because of bad service. read more

They should rename it Small Al's. The burgers are half the size (more like sliders) and they charge the same amount of money.... Never again! read more

Big Al's Drive In - My Big Al's Deluxe burger, now half sized..... - American Near Me - Chico, California

Just the other day, I got a cheeseburger and fried zucchini. The zucchini was delicious - fresh, not frozen. The regular cheeseburger was very dry & flavorless. Similar to a McDonald's basic hamburger -- meat & bun. I should have ordered a cheeseburger with all the toppings. The service was extremelyyyyyyy slow. 20 minutes for 2 burgers, fries & zucchini. It wasn't crowded, just slowwwwwww. For what we ordered, I thought $22 was a bit pricey. Will I be back? Maybe for a milkshake. That's about it. read more

This is what McDonald's wishes it could be. Haven't had a burger this good and fries this crisp since I was six years old.

Called in to big Al's ask them for the flavors of their milkshakes the girl said why don't you go online and figure it out yourself. Went in to the restaurant I'll speak to the manager told them how rude whoever was on the phone with me was and he goes so what the fuck do you want me to do about it. Food absolutely horrible stuff young I have no idea what they're doing will never ever return here for food ever again. read more

Burgers are great, but the best food that keeps bring us back is the fish an chips. As good as most of the food of the food you get on the coast and the drive is a lot less. Get your fish an chips here, save gas. read more

My husband and I shared fish and fries and a chocolate malt. I got the runs right after and his stomach bothered him- it wasn't the cleanest inside. The food tasted good so I'll give it another try some day. read more

the deluxe burger is usually good but this time it was just okay. i also got the blt and i can't even lie.... that was the worst blt i've ever had in my life. it was on wheat bread which was a first and it was almost $8 for half a sandwhich. also in between the the slices of wheat bread, their was another two slices of wheat bread in the middle of it. the two slices in the middle sucked up any juices from the tomato and mayo and made it wet and dry at the same time? also got a vanilla milkshake and fries. those were good read more

I just I ordered a medium dipped cone. The cashier who is managing the cash and other things made My cone. The cone itself does not come with a paper around the cone. So after touching money serval times and other things. Never changed his gloves and just grabbed the cone. I Stopped him and said you should at least grab a napkin and cover the cone as you just touched money etc. I won't be getting cones there again. read more

Horrible experience! Showed up for a late night treat. And this was my experience. 1. It was 9:40 pm and they were closed. Google says 10:30 and last time I was there the employee said they have winter hours and close at 10 pm. 2. At first I didn't notice they were close. Because I was there 50 minutes before they close on Google and 20 minutes before they close based on what their last employer said . As I sat there, I realized that they were closednot because an employee told me that they are closed but because three employees continue to walk past me at the window and not even tell me that they are closed. what a horrible experience to be sitting there having people completely ignore you literally one foot away. I stopped buying food at this place because of all the horror cockroach stories I heard from previous employees but I guess guess I'm not getting a milkshake from here either. read more

Stopped here from out of town hoping for a good burger and fries, the burgers are a joke, smallest thinnest patty I've ever seen, inside is dirty and hot and filled with flies!!! Would NEVER recommend this place! read more

Big Al's Drive In - American Near Me - Chico, California

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This is like the old fashion 1950-70s burger joints, without the classiness though, the service was excellent, prompt and friendly. I got the double patty burger, fries, and onion rings. I also got the butterscotch milkshake extra large, I would have to say the food is greasy but it's a burger joint, the milkshake alone is worth the stop in, they have restrooms, and an inside dining area. Prices are reasonable for the amount of food you get. I would definitely eat here again. read more

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Really cool place. It's been here forever and has that feel to it that takes you back in time. The food has always been good here every time I've been here. If you like old school burger joints this is a good choice. read more

If big AL can't make a good burger we must be near the end of civilivation as we know it The burger is perfect for a drive in burger. Civilization had been saved. read more

Big Al's Drive In - American Near Me - Chico, California

This spot is a landmark of Chico to me. The staff is always friendly. There are a few items here that are hard to find elsewhere that they do well, like chilli cheese fries, deep fried corn dogs, shakes and malts, and soft serve ice cream. I gave 4 stars instead of 5 because I think the menu is a little too big and as a result some foods are just not great and not worth ordering imo, like the burger. But considering this is a fast food place I think its better than the 3 star average it currently has on here. read more

Man, has this place gone downhill. Sad too, considering it is a Chico icon. I used to LOVE the tacos they used to make. I guess the new management went the Jack In the Box route, offering these rather disgusting, hard, small, bland things (that they had the gall to charge something like $2.79 EACH for!) Seriously, do NOT order the tacos. Ever. You will be wishing you had spent that money on FOUR JITB tacos that are actually much better quality. They apparently still have no air conditioning, so if you are thinking about eating there during the summer, be prepared to sweat. The one improvement I found was that if you are short on cash you do not have to hit the ATM machine they used to have--they now take debit/credit cards. So there's that... read more

Big Al's Drive In - Only advice I can give about this "taco" is to save your $$ and don't buy it. - American Near Me - Chico, California

This is by far my favorite restaurant in Chico. The food is consistently good, the service is quick, and the staff is always friendly.

I understand sometimes they just have an off day and I believe that explains my last review. Every time since I've gone and enjoyed my meal very much and so has my family read more

At the end of my fish and chips meal I found a long hair in the batter of my food,, in my mouth :) wow, ummm OSHA wanna come through and give them a check? read more

Rad burgers great shakes can't go wrong with this place they always seem to have hot french fries no matter how long you been waiting read more

Big Al's Drive In - Out front of the restaurant Josh - American Near Me - Chico, California

Pulled into the parking lot at 815 tonight wanting a famous big als shake and as I got out of truck and walked up to window the guy inside flipped the sign to off slammed the window then ignored me until asked are you really close and he snapped were closed What happened to this family friendly business? read more

They took hours to just get a burger and fries done when they aren't even busy. Just sitting in the parking lot is enough to make you want to take the loss of money and go eat elsewhere. And then I found out I payed newrly 10$ for a tiny burger, could get a cheaper and bigger one anywhere in Chico, and literally a smidge of fries. read more

I heard amazing things about this place but the burgers are not seasoned at all and are comparable to a Mac Donald's quarter pounder. The fries were very good (hence the 3 stars). Would not recommend getting the burger but the rest of their menu may be good. read more

i actually really like big als, the food is very good and one of the only places in town to get a good milkshake, their chocolate banana is my favorite one to get read more

Love them!! The line is usually not too long and the wait typically is not bad. The food is delicious every time and I can feed my family of rice for under $50! read more

Way over priced for what you get. The key to Big Al's was "Yeah, the food is just ok, but it's so cheap and you get so much food, who really cares?" It's been that way since forever. Now, not so much. read more