Overall (4/5) A consistent and dependable hot chicken chain that delivers bold flavors at a fair price. First Impressions (4/5) This was a return visit. Dave's maintains a familiar and casual fast food vibe. What We Got (4/5) Hot Tender and Chicken sandwhich plus a Mac and cheese sub for fries Taste and Quality (4/5) Tenders are flavorful and usually a good size. Crispiness can be inconsistent. Sauce is a standout. Mac and cheese is a better option than the fries, which feel generic. Service (4/5) Efficient and organized with reasonable wait times. Space and Atmosphere (3.5/5) Functional and casual, best for quick meals. Was It Worth It (4/5) Good value for portion size and flavor. Final Thoughts Best for reliable hot chicken cravings. I would return, especially when craving something spicy and quick. read more

Dave's Hot Chicken - Chicken Shop Near Me - Irvine, California

I placed a catering order well in advance, received a confirmation receipt but on the day of the birthday, when we went to pick it up, they said they never received the order and did not have anything ready for us to pick up. Despite me having proof of the order, they took no responsibility for their system failure. There was also no apology for for the massive inconvenience. I had a room full of guests and no food to serve them. It was like an "it is what it is" attitude. After the party, I called to speak with the manager and was told "corporate will contact you" - which we all know is code for "no one will contact you." It's sad because we really liked this place - we liked it enough to have our event catered from here, but lesson learned. They clearly don't care about their customers or the impact of their mistakes. Not worth the stress or the money. read more

We ordered 70 of the Dave's #2 menu item for work and it was hit! The amount of food was so filling. The chicken on the sliders were ginormous, crispy with an amazing batter. I love spice and the medium was not too spicy. There was tasty cabbage and crispy dill pickles on each slider. The crinkle cut fries had a Cajun spice and everyone was stuffed and satisfied. This was my first time trying Dave's and I'm disappointed I waited so long. I can't wait to have it again and maybe try other menu items. Highly recommended! read more

Dave's Hot Chicken - 2 Mild Chicken Dave's #2: 2 Sliders w/ Fries - Chicken Shop Near Me - Irvine, California

Came here because I saw that the Hot Mozz was back on the menu. The hot mozz was amazing as to be expected, but the standout was actually the cashier that helped me out. His name is Austin and he went above and beyond to greet my fiancé and I, he made sure our order was perfect, and he also checked in after to make sure we didn't need anything. I will definitely come back to this location. Great staff and very clean for a fast food place which I appreciate! read more

I keep passing by Dave's locations, and so one day I decided to pull the trigger and give it a try! Overall we enjoyed our experience. Pros: - open 'til midnight (nice to have more late-night options in Irvine) - seating area is pretty clean - chicken strips are pretty hefty and well-seasoned - staff is friendly and accommodating (surprised to see negatives reviews on this!) - happy to see a somewhat healthier option for sides with the kale slaw Cons: - Spice levels are inconsistent, ironic given that's their M.O.. "Medium" not spicy at all, but one level up as "Hot" was damn spicy! - Not a huge fan of their slider/sandwich option. Seems kinda thrown together as an afterthought rather than a considered menu item. read more

Dave's Hot Chicken - Slider strip combo w/ kale slaw - Chicken Shop Near Me - Irvine, California

The two piece tenders combo box is the way to go with the hot seasoning. Spices could be spicier here but it's always great service and so quick too. Ambience is your usual Dave's with the street art. read more

Dave's Hot Chicken - Two piece tender - Chicken Shop Near Me - Irvine, California

Delicious chicken, mediocre service. The chicken sandwich and tenders were flavorful and juicy, and the fries were excellent, but it took over 10 minutes for the food to come out, and everything was only slightly warm instead of hot. I really enjoyed the Dave's sauce, and the meal was definitely filling. The staff were very friendly as well and gladly provided extra sauce when asked. Overall, I loved the taste of the food, but I just wish the chicken had felt fresh out of the fryer. read more

Dave's Hot Chicken - Dave's #3 1 Tender & 1 Slider w/ Fries - Chicken Shop Near Me - Irvine, California

We waited for 30 minutes for the order of (1)Flight of Saucy Bites and (2) loaded spicy buffalo mac. Buffalo mac was for other person, so I made sure to check the quality before leaving, but my chickens were half sauced and some not even breaded properly. Front was understaffed, back was crowded with smirks and flying boxes. Front being frustrated, was rude and couldn't even hand us sauces as she was too busy. I understand there is busy hours, but food quality and worker's attitudes should not fluctuate. read more

Dave's Hot Chicken - One of the three boxes from Flight of Saucy Bites - Chicken Shop Near Me - Irvine, California

I love the food but the wait time can be a bit excessive. Service is a hit or miss and the cleanliness of the place depends on what time of day you go tbh. I think the good is really tasty but not sure if its worth the price. Definitely good to check out but won't become a staple for me. read more

Went in today and had a great experience. Quick pick up by mobile order and drive through everything tasted great and warm. Employee Austin was amazing and had the best customer service which is hard to find these days. Very enthusiastic and helpful. read more

There was this young guy behind the counter. Presumably Caucasian, some arm tattoos. He was amazing. Super positive, helpful. Brought the whole room up. Such an anomaly in today's day in age. We'll gladly eat here again. Thanks for the great vibes! read more

Placed an order with them through DoorDash and they sent a wrong order! Contacted DoorDash they are telling me to contact the restaurant and when I called the restaurant they told me they can't do anything because the order was placed through DoorDash! I'm getting a run around for something I paid for! read more

Been going to Dave's since their OG location in LA was the only location! Always got combo #2- hot and drizzled honey on always! Recently had a great experienced with the sandwich portion- where the chicken is cutlet size and width rather than ck tender size in sandwich. Staffs are always so friendly and nice- never any complaints with their customer service :) The only complaints now compared to the OG location are fries no longer loaded up but is measured by the small paper plate & they don't offer complimentary sides with a yelp check in. read more

Dave's Hot Chicken - Best sandwich chicken size ever made at Dave's !! - Chicken Shop Near Me - Irvine, California

would've been five but I ordered two sliders with fries, then I got 1 slider with a tender and 1 slider bare naked no tender. I go in and ask for my tender and they were very nice about it, but then when I get my order back, they took my fries in this economy it's only no tender or no fries I guess. writing from my car fryless sliders are fine read more

Tried Dave's for the first time today and I can't say I was disappointed. I had the mini sliders which was good and my order was ready when I came to pick it up. The sliders are very mini but it's ok it was good. read more

Dave's Hot Chicken - Chicken Shop Near Me - Irvine, California

So let's just start with.. SERIOUSLY STARBUCKS??? You have to incentivize your employees to be nice to customers?? Dave's Hot Chicken employees are doing it naturally without having to be rewarded for doing their jobwith a smile!! One employee at the counter but he had time to come ask me how my meal was and stand long enough to listen then clean the glass on the front door...basit came to my table from behind the counter to ask how my food was and No he is not getting paid extra to be nice to customers.. he just is!! 12 separate tables of customers he is the only face behind the counter and still nice without prompting. So I asked Basit if he was being paid extra to be nice to his customers his response was no.(which is figured but thought for the purpose of this review to make sure) my food was delicious, hot and well portioned for the cost. The store is neat and clean despite the hordes of teen boys almost always present. read more

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Love Dave's Hot chicken! My faves are the cauliflower tenders. Love the drive through at this location and our man, Ricky in the night shift. He's super affable with great customer service! read more

Dave's is among my top 5 places to go in Irvine for a quick lunch. The food is ready fast, and they sometimes give an extra chicken tender if they're on the small side. I usually drive-thru, but it's an interesting atmosphere on the inside with the painted chicken figures on the wall. One thing to note, they don't put napkins and forks in the drive-thru to-go bag. You have to ask before you drive away. read more

Dave's Hot Chicken - Tenders (Medium Spice) - Chicken Shop Near Me - Irvine, California

Easy to order via the app and picked up my order. I was greeted as soon as I walked in and the food was ready. The chicken sliders and fries were delicious. And so were the chicken tenders. I like how you can choose your spice levels for each tender and slider. There's construction going on outside so parking is available but not directly outside the restaurant. read more

Ever since they brought back their Cauli bites, I am Dave's #1 fan!! The loaded fries with Dave's NOT chicken (the cauliflower) are amazing, I like to add extra slaw or Mac and cheese to it as well. Truly consider it as one of my "last meals" --it's insanely good. I hope they can keep this vegetarian option, and would love to see a mixed option (half chicken half cauli) for those curious about reducing their meat intake. Highly recommend! read more

Absolutely wonderful... We love Dave's chicken... Always fresh always hot... Perfect... I wanna shout out to the employees of Dave's chicken off Culver in Irvine... Excellent service... They always go above and beyond .... thank you read more

Dave's Hot Chicken - Irvine culver the best employees!!! - Chicken Shop Near Me - Irvine, California

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Garbage establishment. I place an order online. Come 5 minutes after the promised time. They say they don't know where my order is but to wait. I wait 5 min, no word. I ask to speak to the manager to see where my order is. Wait another 5 minutes for the manager to finally come. He gives me attitude saying that they're busy. He says I just need to wait but I clearly see that my order is not being made on the screen. Turns out my order had already been sitting there, so if I didn't speak up again, i would've been waiting indefinitely. Way to waste my time. 15 minutes after promised and would've been more. If this place had any self respect, they'd try to make it right for wasting a customer's time. Portions sizes definitely shrinking as well. Go somewhere else that isn't corporate owned and actually cares read more

Fantastic service! Placed the order online and was ready by the time we arrived to pick it up. The sliders were pretty huge and we loved the slight kick of the fried chicken. Love the Dave's sauce too! read more

Dave's Hot Chicken - Dave's #2 2 Sliders w/ Fries - Chicken Shop Near Me - Irvine, California

Shrinkflation is here. New private equity ownership at the corporate level and they have shrunk the size of their chicken and not chicken portions. Next will come price increases and finally drop in quality. Note: ever since I posted this there have been a bunch of new 5 star reviews from accounts with 0 other reviews specifically praising employees by name. Suspicious behavior. read more

Underwhelming experience overall. The menu is pretty limited -- mostly chicken sandwiches and tenders, without much variety. I'm not sure what all the hype is about. On top of that, you have to keep asking for extra sauces, which gets a bit annoying. Nothing really stood out for me. read more

Great service! Misael C was very kind and friendly. Fast service, great attitude, and a very pleasant experience overall. Highly recommend! read more

Dave's Hot Chicken - Great service! Misael C was very kind and friendly. Highly recommend! - Chicken Shop Near Me - Irvine, California

Well, I guess viral ad marketing works because I saw the Dave's Hot Chicken ad like 18,000 times and eventually it did indeed bring me to Dave's. The service was wonderful and the person at the front was helpful and even informed me of a cinnamon toast crunch milkshake that was not yet on the menu so or course I got that. Did it live up to thehype? For me it did. I didn't shout, "Oh my God," like the girl in the ads and my eyes didn't pop out of my head, but it was really good. Our party agreed - it's definitely made it into our rotation. It might just be because we got a little carried away, but the bill was extremely high. It ended up averaging over $26 per person and I don't think we got that much food, so just be mindful when you're ordering. The ambience was of a fast food place but roomier and more hip! I dug the soundtrack. I'll definitely go back, but I'll probably order a little bit less next time. You should check it out! read more

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One of my favorite thing about Dave's is their slider buns, soft, chewy, and always warm. Another favorite thing is how their chicken is always juicy and tender, easily tearing apart. My last and final compliment is their sauce, which compliments both the fries and chicken so well. My friend's chicken tender had way too much breading and seasoning on it so she asked if they could substitute it with another single tender to which they sincerely apologized, offering to remake the entire thing for her. The overall restaurant was clean and well-maintained. My friend and I were so into eating our meals we didn't even really talk or pay attention to anything else. I'd rate this 4/5 however because they do go a little overboard with the seasoning. read more

Dave's Hot Chicken - Dave's #3: 1 Tender & 1 Slider w/ Fries - Chicken Shop Near Me - Irvine, California

Our favorite Nashville style Halal chicken . We come here often to get our fast food craving fixed. The prices are on a higher side for a fast food. The customer service is good and the place is spacious. They have a drive through as well . They recently introduced chicken bites which are perfect for young kiddos. They have halal certification on display as well. read more

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It shouldn't take 20 min in a drive thru with only 3 cars... and they charge almost 2 dollars for ranch?! Food was boring as well. Don't recommend this place. read more

They gave my son rotten chicken last night in Culver Plaza, Irvine, CA!!! I had a bite after he had done. It tasted weird bitter and salted. This morning he woke up at 4 with diarrhea. Do not give rotten chicken to harm people again!!! read more

Service was amazing , I often forget that combos do not come with a drink and Enrique the person that had been serving me at the time reminded me. Good service and fast and attentive. 5/5 read more

Shout out to Ricky!! He took my order in a professional manner and made sure I got all the extra utensils and sauces! I'm definitely coming back here! Great service and even better food! read more

As far as hot chicken goes, Dave's in general is good enough. I don't think there's anything special at all about the food and it's overpriced in my opinion. The spice levels are decent, and they're exactly as advertised. I don't have much to say about it because it's really as middle of the road as it gets. The location is nice and clean though and the staff are nice. read more

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My boy Ricky, who works the drive-through is the man!!!! Best customer service in all the land. Such a friendly guy with a great attitude.

I came in like 15 mins before close to try the new mozzarella sticks. Unfortunately tho they were out, but Kaya really helped answer all my questions and was really patient with my party as we tried to figure out what to order instead! Been coming to this location for a long time and really appreciate Kaya and the Dave's team at culver for making the experience still enjoyable :) read more

Chicken was good to perfection and I loved the pickles on the side. We were also given some fun paper bibs to wear. Great service, super clean with a funky yet crisp decor. We ordered Chicken Sliders and Chicken Tenders. We gobbled them up, so no pics. read more

Dave's Hot Chicken - Store front - Chicken Shop Near Me - Irvine, California

Good food, great service! Mo is the best. It's a busy Friday night and he ran almost the entire front on his own. He was very attentive and checked in if everything was okay twice during the whole time. I always view Dave's as a fast food, but today's experience is more of a fast casual restaurant. Thanks Mo! read more

My boy Zain displayed exceptional customer service great dude awesome service out of this world food!!

I really like this place! They get our order right every time. The food is great. The chicken is juicy and tender. Large portions and the "crinkle" fries are amazing. Love the sauce too. Caring staff...it shows. Highly recommend! read more