Well Fat Tuesday's has not changed its appearance since I used to hang out here while going to GMU in the late 80s / early 90s. That's a good thing - you can always count on this place as being stuck in a time warp (same is true about Fairfax's other dive bar, Patriot's). The only difference is, now they play The Dark Knight and Meet the Parents on their TVs instead of Repo Man and Blue Velvet. The food is decent, the environment is pure college bar (in the middle of Fairfax County), the beer list is okay (nothing to write home about). The problem is the juke box. Someone decided to load up on bad modern country music and that shit is played full blast when certain folk enter the bar. It's enough to kill the mood for the entire evening. read more

Favorite bar in Fairfax. If you don't expect much out of a bar beside cheap drinks, chill atmosphere and good food this is your kinda place. If you have ever lived in Radford, Va it is similar to BTs! Great experience, great staff, great live music! read more

Went to Fat Tuesday's while I was in Fairfax on a business trip... My friend and I both ordered the jambalaya and thought it was delicious... We also ordered the onion rings and they were very good... Love the sauce that came with them... We will definitely go back if we're ever in Fairfax again! read more

I've been here many times, but not because of the food, but because they have live music every once in a while (for this, they get 1 star). However, the food has been getting worse and worse. They claim the food is made fresh, but that is certainly not the case. The last time I was there, the baskets of shrimp and chicken fingers they brought to the table, were ice-cold in the middle. A sign they were frozen. There are many other better places to spend your money in the area than here. read more

Great little dive bar, awesome spot to watch a Redskins game if, like me, you'd rather ensure that there won't be a ton of idiot Cowboys/Eagles/Giants fans at the bar than have a bunch of cool flatscreens. Every time the 'Skins score, they play hail to the Redskins and spin a wheel of drink specials. The food is alright, maybe a little overpriced, and the Natty Light on tap is incredibly cheap. However, they seem to run out of Natty all the time, and I can't help but feel this is somewhat intentional. The rest of the beer is not priced appropriately to how divey the bar itself is. Still for watching a Redskins game, this bar is great. read more

Great dive/college bar, good vibe weekend nights, never eaten here so can't comment on the food but happy with the beer (very good selection on draft) and not to expensive, well at least for fairfax service is always prompt and very friendly, a little quirky but has become our local pub read more

True dive bar with high end prices. Double vodka and 7-up is $14 each!!! If your at a nice place with a Great ambience then I can understand paying for that, but when you're at a place that allows you to throw peanut shells on the floor and has terrible karaoke on Friday nights the last thing in the world you would expect is to pay premium pricing for a drink! When I questioned the bartender about this she became extremely hostile and rude! Overall a terrible experience and it was my pleasure to tip her a big fat zero! read more

Great food and prices were very reasonable, just what my husband and I were looking for while being in town for a short trip. Customer service was awesome and staff was friendly. We will be visiting again before continuing our journey. read more

Great service at the bar. Very friendly. It was a little louder than I like but overall good place to relax before a movie.

This is a great place to visit. Not sure why it's categorized as a "Dive Bar". It has a great atmosphere with awesome drinks at great prices. I highly recommend this as a stop on your way through Fairfax!! They have an awesome Raw Bar and nice patio. Good selection of live music. Make sure you try the gator bites!! read more

One of the last true gems around the Fairfax / Burke area. Typical dive bar, however, really relaxed. Nice people, decent local music acts play on occasion. The food is 50/50, its a bar so if you expect top quality go elsewhere. Drinks are reasonably priced and the parking lot is pretty safe...I say give it a chance before bashing it... Jay read more

The bad reviews are laughable; I agree with Becca H. down there. Best bar in Fairfax, hands down, and the only one of it's kind in Fairfax. 5 stars for ambiance. It's a dive, but then again, I love dives. Don't go if you're looking for the staff to kiss your toes. Anyway...beer selection is grand (Yeungling, my favorite, on tap) and the cheese fries are f'n great!! read more

I came to this restaurant last Wednesday and I had the worst experience. The service was awful, food was bland, and overall it was disappointing. I have been here before but this is establishment has gone completely downhill. I wish i could give negative stars. WILL NOT BE BACK! read more

They were most likely ground zero for rona. Absolutely disgusting when it comes to cleanliness. The floor is always too gross to step on, even with shoes, and the bathrooms are even worse. Terrible customer service and the co-managers are rude as hell. Save your money. read more

I went to see a friend's band play. I arrived a tad bit later than my friends but still in time to see the band. My friends had already ordered food and it was delivered by the time I got there. I ordered one draft drink. I later ordered another one for a friend. So two draft drinks. Not too expensive, right? I admit, I forgot to close my tab at the end of the night (I don't go out too often so I'm not fluent in the ways of "bar."). But when I saw my bank statement 3 days later saying that I spent more than $40.00 there, I was furious. To make a long story short, after many phone calls, I got the explanation that the waiter got me mixed up with one of my friends that ordered a ton of food. They thought the girl had walked out without paying (she did pay, and has the CREDIT CARD RECEIPT for it), so they charged my card. They kept insisting I was this other girl, which I had to explain that no, I am single, and no, I was not with a guy there, that was my friend. They refused to refund me, saying that my friend is responsible for paying me back. I find it absolutely infuriating that they will not fix their own mistake. Their charging my card ended up making my account go negative and getting an overdraft fee (I'm poor...which is why I don't go out often). I will never visit this place again and I have been telling my friends about my issue there. I can't believe anyone would treat their customers this way. read more

Ew! Hell to the NO! To be fair, we didn't know we were going to that um...restaurant? We thought we were going to the Fat Tuesday that's found in places like Florida, Nevada--the frozen daiquiri chain. We walk up and find a dark place with crazy crap on the walls, dirty peanut shelled floors, and of course no one half way smiles, says hi, or even can I help you? they just creepily stare at you. I can honestly say I would not of been shocked if I marched right up to the bartender and asked him for a drink, BUT first watch him spit in the glass to clean it. *shudders* ...this place is a HUGE PASS! read more

Don't waste your time. Yes, they have great live entertainment and cheap drink specials, but good luck getting anyone to notice you. I guess I am not young and hot enough to get waited on or something because I sat for 30 minutes and then the waiter was totally annoyed the entire time... The food has ZERO flavor and it's just a bunch of annoying college kids. There's ALWAYS someone barfing in the bathrooms. I've been there at least five times and there's always someone puking. Gross. For those of us who don't binge drink at every opportunity, it's not the atmosphere you want to be in or dine in. I've finally said enough is enough, if my husband wants to go, he can go without me. I am perfectly happy eating elsewhere. read more

I'm going to second the prior opinions: Dive Bar. There are only two redeeming qualities - they have good bands and free peanuts. Otherwise, it's dirty, messy, and smoky, with the strangest mix of people ever put together in one cramped space. read more

Great establishment the invokes unity through community. Great prices and superior owners who take care to know their patrons.

I've been going to Fats for almost 10 years and know several other people who have been going for even longer. That should tell you something about what kind of restaurant/bar it is. It's a fun relaxed place where you can go to have a couple great beers (tons of micros on tap) or watch some good live music. They have a great raw bar on Tuesdays (one of the best in the area) and tons of drink specials almost every night of the week. The food is good and the portions are generous. Very mixed crowd of young college age students and adults but the most laid back crowd i've pretty much ever seen at a bar in the DC area. Always a good time! read more

I love reading all the bad reviews of this place. It shows me how snooty most people are. This place is a DIVE BAR!! DUH! You'e not gonna get good service unless you're hot or you know the bartender. And quite honsetly, you're not going to have as fun of a time if you go by yourself. Be smart. The outdoor area is a really nice place to chill and they even have heavy-duty heaters for the harsh winter. The drinks are reasonably priced, but check your statement at the end of the night. read more

I've been to this bar for almost 7 years. It used to have quick service with friendly staffs. Man, that's all changed. First of all if you are not into raw bar or Dive bar, this is not going to be your primary choice for first date. If you are with your work buddy or couple of college friend just want some cold one after work... maybe it will work out for you,,,, ONLY if waiter or waitress knows you. Very inconsistant service. Price is good during Tuesday with raw oyster, clam, and shrimp... But this place will stop selling food to customer if you order too much. They will flat out tell you that they ran out. Weird~ I think this is the first resturant that ever did that. Not very impressive. This is a family run business that has been in Fairfax for long time.. with New Orlean food, which is very unique and some times it's very good. Also, they have very good choice of micro brews. 2 thumbs on that... However, if you ever walked in and trying to ask for food or drink, prepare yourself to wait for good 20minutes. Good Luck~ read more

On this Thursday, November 20th, I went to Fat Tuesdays for the first time after hearing about a music show taking place. Having never been to Fat Tuesdays I wanted through the wrong open door at the patio. An African-American bouncer of twenty some years of age asked me to go around the fence to check in with him. I was happily going to comply before he grabbed me by the shoulder without any sort of need. I immediately asked him not to touch him, and I walked out of the patio around the fence to go in with my friend who was also brand new to the bar. As I was asking the other bouncer whether there would be a cover charge, the African-American guy who had grabbed me without any reason refused to let me in. When I politely inquired as to the reason why, he stated that he did not have to give me any reason whatsoever. I felt at the moment discriminated from the establishment despite it being 10:30 PM, being completely sober, and having made an honest mistake I was correcting. I have never been forcefully grabbed by a bouncer for no reason whatsoever in all the many bars I have been to in the past. I can not stress enough, my experience at Fat Tuesdays as a GMU senior was disgusting. I felt discriminated. When I called the bar a couple of hours after to speak to the general manager, a very impolite lady refused to give me any information, stated that I must have been drunk or without two forms of ID, and hung up on me before I could ask her what the general manager's name was (Kelly) so I could speak to her. I am disgusted at this unwarranted treatment, lack of care and common decency and respect. This establishment has lost any and all respect because of their treatment of people and smug, presumptuous attitude of their bouncers. read more

This place is what it says it is. It's a dive bar and it's very unclean in the bathrooms. The place has friendly staff but it looks in rough shape. There's nothing fancy about this bar. I did try gator bites here and they were different but good. The beer tastes fresh. read more

It's a college bar, don't expect service like a restaurant sometimes they're busy and you need to let them know what you want or servers won't come to you . Very affordable drinks and a patio for smoking. Get your id! Or you won't get in. Food is ok , music ... well there's a jukebox so you can pick . Live music and karaoke nights . Fun bar and nice happy hour . read more

Food is pretty average and a tad soggy. A 2 star dive bar for ER refueling if you are in a bind. Do not expect 4 star treatment- the service is casual and slow. We didn't really get the New Orleans vibe at all - mostly a dark openspace bar with a mixer of huge and mid-size flat screen televisions to watch spots. Fat Tuesday is best for a quick pit stop for drinks and munching on the free peanuts. One palm down. read more

We went here lastnight, all the food was overpriced and they made us pay a $10 entrance fee for a bad band. Our server was very nice! We tried the fried alligator, onion rings and chicken tenders. Everything but the chicken tenders were alright. They fried the chicken tenders to an almost burnt brown. Very nasty taste. By the time we went home we spent the evening and this morning in the bathroom sick to our stomachs! Never going there again! read more

Tonight I had the worst experience that you could ever have at a restaurant. My family was originally promised dinner at fat Tuesdays and unfortunately lost power and we were acceptance of this. We were advised by a manager of Fat Tuesday that we could redeem our dinner meal at another time gradas of the restaurant. We attempted to redeem this offer of great customer service by an obviously capable manager but unfortunately we met a part owner Kelly and she proceeded to call me a liar name dropper and so on. I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone that is looking for valued customer service and an honest environment. read more

Dan F (read his angry "now I have kids and life sucks" review) loves the place until they decide not to let his crummy kids hang out. GUESS WHAT....there have to be some places where screaming kids aren't allowed. Where I can go, get a cheap beer, eat free peanuts and bitch about my life. This is that place. Decent food, tv's ugly decorations and a video game or two. We need these places more than we need another potbelly or pnc bank. They always have some good beers on tap and make a roast beef sandwich with real aujus on the side. read more

A few friends took me to Fat Tuesdays for my birthday and I had a great time. It's more of a dim, quiet (before the band showed up) kind of place, which appeals to me. They have a nice beer selection and the wait staff gives good recommendations. My friend ordered the frog legs and he said they were very good. I didn't like them but I think that's more of a personal preference than the way they were cooked. Good beer and friendly people, I'll definitely be going back. read more

Ordered a $15 Fried Oyster Basket. Got "6" fried oysters and some fried bits (meant to represent oysters) along with more fries than I could eat. It should have been listed on the menu as a basket of fries with a few oysters, and priced about half as much. read more

The drink was very watered down, and they take away chairs to fit capacity. It's a bar. It's perfect if you're looking for college kids to commune with but other than that I can't recommend this place. Overpriced and not worth the time. read more

Went to their Tuesday Happy Hour. By far the most ridiculous Happy Hour I've heard of. 2 dollars for a quarter pound of shrimp or six oysters, or for a rail drink or most things on tap. By the way, did I mention that they don't have the traditional boring things on tap, but things like Angry Orchard and Sapporo? Ridiculous. Even though it's a hike, I'll be back the next time I hit up VA to visit friends for sure. read more

So I would agree that I would not come there for the food but the bands were fun! 4 local bands played the whole spectrum of music. Was a lively crowd with great service from the bar staff. Great find! read more

They have an excellent happy hour and surprisingly good food for a longtime local dive. The raw oysters are super fresh. Avoid Thursday nights starting around 6 if you don't want to be around throngs of rowdy, loud college kids - it's "college night". $2 Tuesdays rock and they have great food and drink deals! read more

Had a great happy hour here with their Friday night raw bar special ($7.95 for a dozen oysters!). Joe took care of me as soon as I sat down at the bar and made great drink suggestions to go with my oysters (daily drink specials too; $3.75 for microbrew drafts till 7pm). To top things off, my delicious beer was served up in an ice cold glass. Service was quick and friendly. Was a bit hesitant to go thinking it would be crowded with college kids, but was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't at all (I guess they have better things to do on a Friday night haha). It definitely had more of a neighborhood bar vibe with a lot of "adults" (at least when I went). It ain't Old Ebbitt's, but they have better drinks on tap and is a bit easier on your wallet. read more

Not going to lie... I've been to Fats too many times to remember. Mainly because I'm cheap and during college I would go there for their drink special on Tuesdays. This place is a serious dive. It smells like urine and has peanut shells covering the entire floor on any given day. The food was very mediocre. Bottom line:If you want cheap drinks enjoy the stink. read more

Came here on a Thursday around 9 ish, it was not too busy, sat at the bar, got service right away. Got to know a few of the bartenders. They were very friendly and talkative. Looking at the menu I saw the appetizer gator bites, I believe that is was called. The bartender recommended them and so I gave them a try. They were awesome, it was freshly cooked, hot, chewy and tasty. I would highly recommend this bar. It was reasonable priced and everyone was having a good time, definitely will be back again and again :) read more

A fun dive bar right near Mason. It has a fun vibe and usually is quite busy. Cheap drinks and great place cause you can walk back to campus and the townhouses nearby. read more

Not that bad of spot but if it didn't have music I probably wouldn't go here. I get the theme the idea of a bar in new Orleans. Only problem in new Orleans there's a party up and down the street to return to. Here there's not. I do have to say the music is almost always solid, whether it's a reggae, heavy metal , or good old rock and roll, the talent is there. The beers are a bit over priced. The atmosphere is a little dirty but not a bad spot to hear some tunes if you don't mind standing. read more