Dirk’s Signature Chicken & Bar — Restaurant in Lubbock

I’ve been here several times and lately only when it’s very busy. The food is phenomenal when they aren’t packed busy. 50/50 when they are. Atmosphere is great but very very loud. Aside from that, there are some things they need to fix.

1. Sometimes they say they don’t take reservations, sometimes they do, sometimes only under special circumstances, it seems to just depend on who you talk to or who you are. For the love of God, get all your staff on the same page with reservations. I called in the early afternoon to try and get a reservation and was told they don’t take reservations. I show up to stand in line for a table and I’m asked if I’m part of the 40-person reservation. Then half the restaurant fills up with those 40 people and there are no tables left. Not cool

2. My friend got served bloody chicken, didn’t eat it and they refused to take it off the ticket. They had a small baby and couldn’t wait another hour to have it remade (on account of the table of 40 people all ordering at the same time and slowing down the kitchen) the rest of us had no issues other than some slightly burnt Nashville chicken which we ate anyways because it is still great.

3. They automatically add 18% gratuity? We had a table of 7….not 20…. Cmon

4. if they lowered the price of the cocktails they would sell more of them and people would be more inclined to order them. $14 for a small cocktail is ridiculous

5. they used to have appetizers but seem to no longer have any. They have oysters but when we tried to order them they said there was an issue with their delivery and they didn’t feel comfortable serving the ones they had, which I understand. But appetizers and affordable cocktails keeps people in your restaurant longer and...

Had a great experience here. Some friends brought us here for dinner when we were visiting Lubbock. I grew up in LBK (19 years) and I'll be honest. I never really found myself downtown very much. As most of the attracts in the depot district are adult oriented there wasn't much reason to visit the area for a young teenager.

Thankfully, I'm now grown and have discerning friend with good taste to introduce me to gems like Dirk's. Some say "you can't teach an old dog new tricks." Well if fried chicken were an old dog, then most assuredly it has learned for than a few new "tricks." I found myself enjoying perfectly crispy and juicy chicken tenders with a side of mashed potatoes topped with jalapeño gravy and hand cut seasoned fries. Both sides were amazing and the chicken itself was outstanding. I will want they are not an allergy-friendly restaurant (though they don't advertise to be) and one of my party had to unfortunately drink only water as they had not a single dish that was safe for them to eat. That's not their fault though so don't hold it against them, just be aware that if you have allergy related dietary restrictions such as celiac's disease you may want to pass on this restaurant.

Overall, service was prompt. Seating was slow but it was packed at 8:30pm. Food was exquisite. Atmosphere was pleasant albeit loud. Oh and to boot a top Food Network critic was spotted having lunch there the day before I went. No doubt he was there to assess the nature of the buzz surrounding Dirk's...

We have been trying to eat at some of the locally owned restaurants in Lubbock rather than franchise locations. Together with some friends we headed over to Dirks on Saturday evening around 5 to beat the crowd. We did a great job and got there before the crowds showed up. We sat just inside not too far from the entrance. The waitress was good. Between the four of us three had the chicken fried steak and one had chicken tenders. I'm not sure why they call it Chicken Fried Steak as it is just steak fingers. That entree comes with two sides and the three of us got the mashed potatoes and fried okra. It came with gravy as well. I'm not sure who is calling what they serve Southern food. I grew up on a farm in this area and I have never seen anyone cook fried okra by frying the whole okra. That is what they do. Remember that if you go. The gravy was not like ANY southern gravy I have ever eaten. I believe it had ham in it. Another fail. Our friend ordered the chicken strips and she said that they were good. I can't remember what sides she had but it was so mediocre and weird that we won't go back. By the time we left it was evening and there were full tables of drunk patrons and it was so noisy that you could not hear yourself think much less visit. Lubbock is full of mediocre restaurants and our visit gave us the impression that this is just another...