Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que — Restaurant in Billings

Major decline in quality and service for a great national chain.

For an online pickup order I arrived at the time stated when food would be done. It wasn’t ready, and it took a while for them to box it. — I thought no biggie, it’s fine, I was on the dot on time so maybe they underestimated the time needed to make some good food.

And I did see the staff box our meal...no gloves on while it was being done. Hey, it’s coronavirus season globally guys, even in Montana. There should also be masks and gloves on the staff in the back. No one I saw had them, and I saw at least two cooks and four wait staff in and out of the back handling food. And everyone was chatting while our boxes were being filled. We all spit when we talk, it’s an anatomic and physiologic certainty.

I double checked order at my car to make sure I got it all. Boxes were dirty with smears of grease and sauce all over them : ( —ok so big deal I thought.

I saw the chicken tenders appetizer for ~$10.50 for a very very skimpy four-small chicken tender dish. I ordered it for my son as a meal with a side of fires. And the fries he got were the bottom of the basket dried up anemic tiny ones that none of us likes. I went in and asked the cashier/wait staff to let management know that this chicken appetizer isn’t worth the price. (I forgot that we ordered it in the past and my little big guy was like, “Dad, did you eat my chicken in the way home?!”) I could tell the wait staff had that look in her eye like she knew it wasn’t worth it. She said she would tell them, she was kind. And I was very cordial by the way.

I went home, only 4 minutes away, and started the meal. And our food was not hot, it was barely warm; a barely warm Cajun chicken sandwich for me left me double checking it for doneness (see below). Those chicken sandwiches used to be piping hot before so that you needed to let them cool before chowing down on them! What happened? Cold fries for us all too. Seven meals.

Our meal order was about $100 total and I am always generous with tips, always at least 20% and often I give more. We didn’t get the napkins, cutlery, sauce or whatever else we usually get when we order.

I don’t really often complain when stuff goes wrong. I just put up with what seems like little things, it’s an imperfect world after all. But this was a lot of stuff that added up tonight. It was our anniversary dinner for my wife and I for 17 years and we didn’t want to go out so we planned the order to go. We haven’t had famous Dave’s in a while, see why below.

And with coronavirus going on, the staff should have had gear on. Even the Albertsons staff has masks on, and all their food is protected by packaging. This one is a no brainer. Keep us safe from virus, Dave!!

Or at least our food should have been hot.

Or maybe we could have had clean looking boxes, but bbq is messy!

Or maybe they could have better value for portion on that chicken tender appy.

Or maybe that side of fries could have been filled with healthy non-anemic looking spuds. Taters are not an expensive food.

Listen all, I love famous Dave’s food!! Good old Dave can be held directly responsible for packing on several pounds of my body weight over the years from several midwestern, western and southern states. But there is only one franchise that has let me down more than once : ( And I just had to write a review.

And at our very first visit to Famous Dave’s in Billings in 2016...my wife had a very, very raw Cajun Chicken sandwich with undeniably pink mushy squishy meat—which she had eaten about half into before realizing. She didn’t get sick, thank goodness. We did tell staff at the time. We didn’t hit them up again until 2018.

I can’t recommend this spot to anyone. Sorry.

Maybe we’ll give it another go in a couple of years. But I’ve had my fill of this house of Dave’s. Very sad about it, I do miss Dave’s good food. What’s up guys? I’ve spent an easy $1000 here on our trips for food over a few years, we have a family of seven, so one family...

great customer service and the best steaks you can never get!

When we got there we ordered two rib-eyes and then 6 other meals for the non-steak eaters. After about 30 minutes, they informed us they only had 1 steak left. Note: it wasn't a Friday or Saturday and only 5:30 pm (how can you run out of steaks that fast? Maybe order more if that is a popular item)? However, it was just so nice that they notified us so quickly! Needless to say, i had to do the polite thing, relinquished mine and ordered something forgettable; like a cheeseburger. However they charged us for 2 steaks anyway. What is most important to note about this entire experience is that the manager actually came out when we caught that they charged us for 2 steaks, instead of one, and after deliberating about it for a while with the waiter decided it would be okay to refund the charge, in a few days (which they did). I can't believe how they went out of their way to refund us what they overcharged us for and completely and graciously offered their sincerest apologies. What an amazing experience. For a minute there i figured we would be treated like the IRS or a bank would do when they overcharge you and just arrest you, but no, they did the right thing and refunded our money that they almost stole! HOW AMAZING OF CUSTOMER SERVICE IS THAT?! Great job there Famous Dave's. This is the 2nd birthday in a row where you have ran out of steaks. Can you even imagine anyone else ever refunding your money after charging you for something they ran out of and making it right by giving you a refund? Five stars, all the way! I wouldn't expect anything more than that from such a fine establishment. Maybe someday they will serve pig brains on the menu too and then not even have to worry about offending anyone, since a good order of pig brains would improve everyone's intelligence (unless they run out and then do the right thing by charging you for it and then make it right by saying, "Oh, so sorry - we will be sure to refund your credit card in a few days since you caught it -...

In the many years that Fat Boy Eats has done reviews of restaurants, there has been only one other 5/5 Fat Boy’s rating, until today.

Tonight’s dinner started with a sampler platter that included catfish fingers, chicken tenders, ribs, wings, and fried pickles. Everything on this platter was perfectly cooked, the fish was flakey, the ribs were succulent, the chicken tenders were just that, tender. The fried pickles were crispy and the wings were perfectly cooked and the dry rub was immaculate.

The main course was the Ultimate Burger with fries. The burger was perfectly cooked and the pork was tender and juicy but not greasy. The bun was fluffy but not soggy. The bacon was crispy.

But while Fat Boy Eats has always weighted the food quality higher than other categories, the service is also an important factor. Very few instances of services have ever resulted in a tip above 15%, but tonight changed that. Tonight, the waiter was prompt and extremely personable. A refill of the drink was provided prior to the drink reaching half empty. A box was provided quickly and the bill was quickly taken care of. While Fat Boy Eats was preparing to leave, the waiter could be heard at another table greeting a new table of guests where it was stated that “ladies order first”. This was an amazing lesson being taught to the children at the table and made the waiter endearing. The waiter was by far the best experience that Fat Boy Eats has experienced in the Billings dining scene in the last three years.

On top of the great food and service, the atmosphere was equal quality. The rustic decor was pleasant and the spacing out of the dining guests provided a personal dining experience that was exceptional.

All this leads to the very second time that Fat Boy Eats has rated a restaurant 5/5 Fat Boy’s.

Please keep up the exceptional work.

Highly...