Food: 4/5 I ordered the Mac & Cheese Hot Dog, and it was everything I hoped for, loaded and satisfying. The portions are no joke! It was basically two meals in one. I enjoyed the first half there and happily finished the rest as a snack later that night. I also really appreciate that they offer chicken hot dogs in addition to the usual beef and pork options. They even have vegan choices, so there's something for everyone. The only thing that could have made the hot dog even better is adding another cheese and a little bit more seasoning. The red velvet cake was one of the best I have tried. Service: 5/5 The hospitality and the vibe here is what truly stands out and impressed me. The owner has a down-to-earth personality and made the whole experience genuinely welcoming from the moment I walked in. You can tell they care about their customers and take pride in creating a neighborhood spot where people feel at home. That kind of service keeps people coming back. Ambiance: 5/5 The vibe is casual, welcoming, and full of Oakland pride. It's the kind of place where you can grab some comfort food, enjoy good conversation, and feel like part of the community. And of course, shoutout to Mac Dre. Have to show love to a Bay Area legend while enjoying a great meal. Highly recommend this spot! read more

Winky Dinky Dogs - Mac n Chz Winky Dinky - Hot Dogs Near Me - Oakland, California

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I've been here once before and had their hot dog, which I actually really liked. So I decided to come back and try something different this time--I ordered the garlic pepper wings, fries, and a drink (about $35 total). Unfortunately, that turned out to be a big mistake. When I opened the container, the wings looked like they just had minced garlic thrown on top with the chicken sitting on chopped lettuce with no real seasoning. I gave them a try anyway since I paid so much. But they tasted like old oil--almost a fishy flavor--which was really off-putting. I instantly started feeling sick and ended up throwing the whole meal away. I broke the chicken just to make sure it was all cooked because of the taste and it was fully cooked. Super disappointing, especially since I had a good first experience with the hot dog. If I ever come back, I'll definitely stick to that. But I'm still feeling sick from it. read more

Winky Dinky Dogs - Winky Dinky Wings garlic pepper wings - Hot Dogs Near Me - Oakland, California

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I would love to give this pace 5 stars but I'm so sorry I just can't. This place fell short in 2 major ways. 1. The price of the food! Super expensive for what you get. The fact that the fries cost $9.50 was ridiculous for a hole in the wall. On top of that for 2 hotdogs and 1 fry we spent $48! We could have gone to a sit down restaurant for that price. No offense to this small local business but it's literally hotdogs and fries that's kinda hard to wrap your head around no matter how it's served. 2. The customer service was mid. Honestly the owner was super nice and very helpful but his staff was not so friendly. We asked for our fries to be seasoned and the owner was like I can do that for you with salt and pepper and that was good enough for us however once we received the fries they fell short so we asked the young lady upfront and immediately got dismissed. Also the food took so long and it gets you wondering why 2 hotdogs and 1 fry takes 30 minutes to make. I mean did they kill and stuff the dogs!? Just wondering. Will we come back is the big question!? It's probably a hard pass. If I'm gonna spend sitdown money at a hole in the wall then 9 times out of 10 I'm gonna just choose a sit down restaurant. Sorry to put down a local business but we have to do better so we can want to support one another. Times are too hard to pay this type of price for a hotdog read more

Winky Dinky Dogs - Hot Dogs Near Me - Oakland, California

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The owner is super nice and on our first visit I ordered the macaroni hot dog. It was really good. The owner even gave us a free side of fries. I went again today and ordered the fish sandwich. I was really disappointed. I don't think they should have a fish sandwich on the menu if it's going to taste horrible. I can't even tell what type of fish it is. It tasted like burnt old oil. The worst fish sandwich I ever had. The bun is super simple and taste like an ordinary bun you buy off the shelf. There is a sauce on the sandwich that is tasteless. You can't just put any ordinary fish sandwich on your menu if it's going to be lifelessness. Put the same effort and flavors in the fish sandwich as you do your hot dogs or take it off the menu. read more

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Came here with my boyfriend on a nice Sunday evening and we got the jerk chicken fries - I think they're called the Beastmode Loaded Fries. They're so good, have a nice kick to them, and the garlic sauce is great. The chicken was cooked really well too! Only thing we both thought was the chicken could be cut up a little more or there could be more chicken slices but overall I liked it! read more

Winky Dinky Dogs - Beast mode CHICKEN LOADED FRIES / JERK SAUCE - Hot Dogs Near Me - Oakland, California

They deleted my previous review with full details so I'll say this. Terrible customer service, terrible experience. Was cursed at by an employee or manager before we even got the chance to enter the building. I've never been disrespected like that in my life, especially for doing nothing but existing. I do think it was racism or wrongful stereotyping. Maybe try their other location (the red building) but 0 out of 10 for this one. Hopefully that person has been fired by now as my original review was a few months ago. read more

Pretty basic set up. Had the World Famous Hot Dog Co and a Mexican Coke. Dog was split and nicely seared, tucked with crisp bacon in a perfectly warmed sausage roll. Topped with sautéed onion, cherry peppers and spicy mayo. So good. Will be back fo sho! read more

Winky Dinky Dogs - World Famous - Hot Dogs Near Me - Oakland, California

10/10. Best hot dog I've ever had in my life. If I lived in Oakland, I would probably be there every day.

I am so glad that something new came into this old Abandoned quirky, neglected former Kasper's hot dog stand! Great outdoor space, great dogs! I will say, and I don't want to damage the fragile start of a business's reputation, however, the french fries were a little undercooked and limp. They could use another six minutes in the fryer. Otherwise great overall!! Come down and support new business in Temescal!! read more

This is the kind of place i love where the owner is out there filling the air with that smoky aroma of goodness. Tyranny, the owner has a bbq grill set up outside just grilling the meats! Quality & delicious food made with love. Very friendly too. I stopped, dropped and ate a half rack of juicy charred ribs along with some potato salad. My tastebuds were busting with flavor- so scrumptious! Yummmmm mmmm mmm Loved the write up about Tyranny. Much respect to you! Great little spot. I love sitting in their window as people walk by showing off my food! Thank you Tyranny & Clarissa for my meal today. I look forward to trying something else off your menu next time I work in Oakland. ~Priscilla from Sacramento read more

Winky Dinky Dogs - Half rack of ribs. Plenty of meat.. some crunch, some tenderness & great bbq sauce. 5 stars! - Hot Dogs Near Me - Oakland, California

The manager is so nice, and the food is so good! I got the chicken sandwich. There are multiple sauce options! Ask! M Def will be going back. read more

Tried to come to this place several times, but they were always closed. Finally caught them while they were open. 2/10 fries was EXTRA oily and chicken very chewy and lacking flavor. 2/10 wings again way too oily and too much chunky garlic pieces. Wings was huge like on steroids. Needs a lot of improvement! read more

Winky Dinky Dogs - CHICKEN LOADED FRIES / JERK SAUCE and garlic pepper wings 2/10 - Hot Dogs Near Me - Oakland, California

Holy indulgence! My workplace ordered these for our lunch. I chose the mac n cheese hot link and strawberry lemonade. The hot link is huge, loaded with crispy baked mac n cheese. This meal looked like it was made for gaining weight. If you're on a diet, one bite will throw you off track. Which means everything tasted great. Instead of a regular hot dog I chose the beef hot link. It's got a kick to it, but it is mild. The paper it came on started getting soggy and with all the cutting (tried to be less messy by using fork and knife) and I ended up eating some of the paper on accident. So definitely remove the paper as soon as possible as to avoid soggy paper sticking to your hotdog. Strawberry lemonade is huge. It doesn't taste like fresh lemonade/fresh strawberries. Although I'd skip the drink next time, I'd recommend the mac n cheese hot link as long as you know what you're getting into..aka indulgent, over the top loaded hotdog! read more

Winky Dinky Dogs - Strawberry lemonade - Hot Dogs Near Me - Oakland, California

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Winky Dinky Dogs opened in Burma Bears' vacated space. Interior refurbished with mirrors, some Winky Dinky signage, a few stools, & a table. Ordered after asking a few questions re: menu. After ordering, "owner" asked me if i was a cook or a food critic. Told me i'm not a cook so i must be a food critic. Offers: vegan dogs initially, recently added soul food. All items labeled Winky Dinky ....no pricing. Food arrived 10ish minutes. Eats: oxtail (29.75) 3ish pieces over steamed long grain rice, with light sauce. Tabasco sauce. -oxtail "baked & basted" for hours. Also cooked in crockpot. Green peppers, sliced white onions too. Oxtail tastes semi-tender, parts near bone dryish. No flavas.. *told owner oxtail dryish, gravy like water. Response: no complaints. Guess he doesn't read reviews. -gravy looked/tasted ala thin water. *was coughing violently at one point, dryish food causes this. Owner gave me a bottle of san pellegrino water. Cough went away. 3.5 stars Dinky=small, insignificant. Foods named appriopiately **leftovers ate with housemade? Tabasco sauce. Dryness/blandness disappears read more

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Was here on Friday afternoon. Had the original Winky Dinky beef dog. Good flavor. Service was friendly. Nice patio seating. Good music. Think they should focus more on the hotdog options than having other food options. read more

Let me start out by saying I came here with no expectations other than a craving for a good chili dog. I got myself the Oaklandish Dog which outdid itself with its flavor, the amount of ingredients, and its overall presentation- fully loaded dog, I understand why forks are handed out like napkins. The chili alone could win awards, but the fact that it compliments an already amazing dog makes it all the more better. They are busy and it's a small kitchen, but the wait is worth it because you get a true dog that will satisfy whatever craving you have. To Mr. Allen, well done and congrats! read more

Customer service was awesome, hot dogs were good, but really too expensive. Wife had the catfish and it was expensive, but real good.

Have you ever seen a movie called Hollywood Shuffle? I have. In fact, it is one of my all time favorite movies. One could say that it features Winky Dinky Dog. It is a documentary-comedy. I believed that Winky Dinky Dog was fictional until last year when I saw their cart at LakeFest. WinkyDinkyDog is real, y'all! They exist! You can go in person or order delivery. Did you know you can get a not-dog (vegan hotdog) from Winky Dinky Dog? I am so obsessed already. Plus, they have un-gentrified banana pudding! It was tasty. Get some! I really enjoyed their foood and friendly service. I plan to return. read more

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Support family owned, local business!!! I like it a lot! Vegan friendly-they prep and cook on separate griddles than the meats. Oh! They make their own dogs too! They have a large variety of options. Can handle large orders on the fly. Our team loves the gumbo, doggies and me of course the vegan. Great service. read more

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A year ago my hot link w/ cheese was covered w/ all the yummy condiments that I asked 4. My mac n cheese was SO good b4. I was mad about the price, but I had to have it!!!! 9/30/25: Today's staff & the lack of understanding of how WE get down, your food was trash!!! My hot link was dry & my mac n cheese had a poisonus aftertaste, plus it was!!!! bland,....YUK!!!!! read more

Food was cold no chilli just cause kool-aid taste like water for $60 could have been better 2 hot dogs fries 2 kool-aid never would I go back read more

I went to 19th st location and they were closed. Then I went to the Telegraph location and nothing on the menu was available. Will not be back. read more

Thoroughly pleased with their food! I had to comeback a second time to confirm I wasn't just hyping it. The service was exceptional and I can tell it's a priority here. Really loved the drink selection. I felt like a kid again drinking Kool-Aid. If you're ever hanging out in downtown I highly recommend you stop by. read more

I went to this establishment for lunch w my husband. The total for our food was $43 dollars. I had a hot dog and hubby had triple cheese burger, order of French fries, a lemonade. The Food was horrible, I do not recommend. Everything was nasty. My lemonade was watery. Too much money for nasty food. read more

Over priced. They don't even make their own chili they use chili out of a can .The food is mid

Good hot dogs but over priced . 2 basic hot dogs for 32.68 USD including tip is too much . Thank you but I will do my own hot dogs moving forward or go to Casper's . read more

Great outdoor patio. Food is good enough. BUT: $12.50 for the original dog, $15.00 for the "world Famous" dog, $9.50 for a relatively small order of not-crispy fries Top Dog and Caspers charge around $5.00 for a dog. I don't know how they will stay in business, but I hope they do somehow. read more

When I went, there was someone behind the counter that absolutely reeked of alcohol. He was speaking so slowly and not understanding what we were saying to the point where we almost left a few times. After we ordered, he went back to the kitchen and made our orders. Between the off conversation we had while ordering, his smell, and the fact that we couldn't see him make our food, I was unable to eat my hot dog. I completely lost my appetite and trust in the food. We tried to email the owner of the restaurant privately about this issue but got no response. After a month of waiting, we've decided to post on yelp. read more

The Best Chili Dog Ever. Premium price? yes. worth it YES. Patio new and cool. Service very sweet and caring if you like it.

I've wanted a place like this to exist for so long, especially at those later hours in the night after leaving a concert when the folks start grilling the hotdogs with bacon, and in spite of the delicious smell I just don't care for hotdogs. A hot link with bell peppers, onions, and mustard though?! Absolutely. Anyway, before I get your entire hopes up about this spot being open late night, the hours are early. They close at 3pm as far as I know during the week. If you work nearby, live nearby, visit the lake often or plan to, give this place a try. Here's why. Okay soooo is it just me or have we never ran into a spot that serves grape kool-aid? Collectively, I think most of us can agree that it's not common, at the very least. Seeing this space was open and wanting to try it since seeing the postcard size flyers on my car + my bf's extreme excitement for it, we gave Winky Dinky a try. They do serve hotdogs, of course, but they have hot links and chicken andouille sausages (insert drool emoji, seriously) as substitutes which. I ordered a hot link, blackened - IYKYK - with everything. Everything included bell peppers, onions, mustard and their aioli sauce. Seeing grape kool-aid on the menu I had to have it. Oh gawd, it was so good and ice cold. As someone who just adds pickled jalapeños and mustard to my hot link when making it at home, I do like their twist with aioli sauce. Next up, their gumbo. I have to give the gumbo a 3/5. Don't get me wrong, it's good and the portion is quite large, but I attribute that to all of the rice that is in the container. It'll run you about $32. Inside of the gumbo there's shrimp, chicken, sausage and the regular veggies/herbs that are made with it. Two things - I wish it had crab legs AND I wish it was more soupy. I'm accustomed to having much more chicken broth and about a scoop of rice with it. Anyway, both of those things missing would have taken it up a notch - crab, shrimp AND chicken would have knocked me off of my feet but nonetheless, I was satisfied. The interior is small, but there is some seating. As stated above, they do close early but that is completely understandable. It's across the street from Snow Park, which is across the street from the lake (Lake Merritt to all the Bay Area visitors). Parking? Meh. Service? Good. Anyway, I'm not making gumbo any time soon. I don't have a stock pot large enough at the moment so with that said, I'll be back. It was good, plentiful and I had to come back to it the next day to finish - it was a lot. read more

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Tia's customer service was amazing! Good, nice energy. I called in a pick up order & got the j Jerk Fries, they were really good had a nice flavor to them. I will be back soon to try a hot dog! read more

So I often forget about this place but I remembered today. There was parking out front so that's cool. The owner was sooo nice answered questions and was fully accommodating with our requests. Ordered the world famous fish sandwich 9.5 (first off they give you like three prices of fish so it's a big portion. The fish is seasoned well, I think it's fried in cornmeal which I love it has a nice crust to it. I love my fish fried hard and it was the perfect crunch. The reason for the .5 is just because I would prefer the bread to be toasted but that's my own personal preference. The sandwich has onions, peppers, pickles tomatoes which there plenty so every bite is g Spicy hot dog with grilled onions/peppers 10/10 (this hot dog is like grilled butterfly style which I love. The sauce plus the heat from the dog balances out and then the onion has the right balance. The beast mode fries with shrimp (my fiancé ordered this and almost licked the bowl lol, just kidding but the sauce on the fries is sooo good, the garlic has a nice balance to it and the fries are FRESH not frozen so you know it's sooo good Pickles 9/10 I got a fresh made pickle it was soooo good and a little spicy you can tell it was made fresh. Homemade lemonade 10 you can taste the lemon, and then it's sweetened perfectly because it still has that lemony kick Grape koolaid 10 this is classic. Grape koolaid I like my koolaid a little tangy so this was perfect to me I think everything above cost about 70.00 minus which people may say it's pricey but I think with the portion size and flavors it was spot on and worth every penny. read more

Omg! Was hoping this was super hot dog spot like the ones in LA! And it is so official! The jerk sauce on my hot link dog was so good!! This was a good quality link! So I'm excited to try the vegan dog next! The buns are a great vehicle for these high quality meats! They will toast the bun on request! Service was great, easy and quick! The vibe are so Oakland! Chill for a bit and watch some tv, or stop in for take out! I love this addition to downtown Oakland! Winky Dinky!!! read more

Winky Dinky Dogs - the front of winky dinky - Hot Dogs Near Me - Oakland, California

Prices aren't posted anywhere deliberately to obscure consumer choice. They should rethink this practice

The menu is fun and has a good variety other than hot dogs! The owner was super friendly, and just made the overall experience great. It's a small space, with a few tables and bar stools inside, but there are tables outside as well! I definitely plan on going back read more

Food: on point, flavorful, tasty, filling. Service: welcoming, friendly, prompt. Ambiance: chill, comfortable, plenty of places to sit. I came to grab food to go, but I felt so welcome and comfortable to stay so I did. The owner was super kind and thoughtful. I got the BeastMode loaded fries. Chicken, jerk sauce. read more

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I love all the different takes on hot dogs and sausages. You won't get bored of the variety. It you can't decide.

Winky Dinky Dogs. I feel very happy about this place. I had my first dog there today and I enjoyed it, the place and the people who run the place a lot. You should go too. It may be a little rough around the edges at the moment, but it's a benefice. read more

I went to the new one yesterday the old Casper hot dog spot I was disappointed the texture of the hot dog was mushy it should be called Winky Dinky soggy Gourmet dogs. I ordered a beef chilly and cheese I had all these bell peppers and onions I didn't ask for that I love my Casper hot dogs staring up chilli & cheese classic tomatoes onion chopped not grilled read more

I just don't get how onions and green onions go with Mac and cheese I felt completely ripped off for some slop food it was disappointing