Frank Fat's — Restaurant in Sacramento

If you were thinking of ordering Chinese food from your local orange chicken mill, please don't. It is difficult to find an amazing restaurant in the turgid swamp of modern Chinese victuals, and I'm very pleased to say this is one. Avoid any buffet-style offerings, and enjoy an authentic Sacramento experience at Frank Fat's.

From the moment their concierge took our vehicle away from our meager, hungry hands--to the moment our server, Luis, held the door for us on our way out--my grandmother and I had a fantastic evening we won't soon forget. She has been coming to this Sacramento hotspot since the year after it opened. (They opened in 1939)

Luis, our server, was amazing. It was my first time in the restaurant, despite my grandmother's incorrigible tenure. Luis explained to the both of us the exquisite delicacies we were soon to enjoy, and also a few that I will have to return and sample on a later occasion. We ordered the half Peking duck, the honey walnut prawns, and the delectably spicy Singapore rice noodles. It was absolutely to die for. Turns out you make a saucy little taco out of the rice buns that come with the duck. It was absolutely more awesome than I could ever describe.

We've all had honey walnut shrimp right? No, you haven't. I hate to gatekeep like that, but unless you've had this one, you legitimately haven't had the proper dish.

Right as we were winding up, and as I thought bursting my stomach open in a public place would be worth it just to taste the amazing food for a moment longer, Luis brought us a special gift: a slice of their famous banana pie. Now, although my grandma says it's different every time (she's been going for 84 years, anyone know a solid banana pie supplier?) she did say it was one of the best she has ever had. If I hadn't had the need to escort my toddling grandmother out of the restaurant as she used to do for me at Charles Cheddar's Fun Factory and the like, I would have crammed nearly that entire slice of pie in my face. I had to resign the majority to my grandmother, despite it being a sacrificial offering for my first time in the establishment.

It took like, I don't know, 3-5 minutes between when Luis dropped off our check, to when he was holding the door open for us as we left the restaurant. How was he not there and then suddenly there?? He was like Batman. My grandma has to hold on to me and we kind of have to do ballet to get through narrow spots and doorways without her loosing her balance, so this was a godsend in itself. If the service up until this point hadn't been amazing already, this would have secured Frank Fat's a spot in my heart.

Thank you, Luis, you rock. Managers you better read this and give that dude a raise. I'm serious, I'll come back and ask about it; I don't wanna be a Karen, but I will for Luis. I'm just joking, but really. Guys. Recognize that man's amazing service. In fact, everyone there was absolutely amazing. Our busboy or whatever his job title is got my grandma her coffee order, and I could tell that's not really his gig. But, she got it as fast as an amazing coffee could be brewed and delivered. Thanks dude, wish I got his name.

I hope I got Luis' name right. Oh jeez. Ohhh jeez.

I had my leftovers and got the inspiration to write this. Full disclosure here: I've never felt more free and loose. A meal here might help your marriage. Idk, I'm not a doctor, and I went with my grandma.

Frank I'm guessing is no longer with us, wild assumption (85 years), but my oh my if he didn't birth the most amazing Chinese food restaurant I've ever been to, then I'll be a...

Meh. Been waiting a while for a good night to come to this place. Parking is the first bummer, the valet messed with the drivers seat settings and left the window down while we ate and told my lady to go inside while the man pays, which got me fired up, nobody tells my lady what to do, she’s a kind, grown woman and deserves to be spoken to respectfully. Then upon entry the vibe is just terrible, but we were famished so we decided to move forward and eat. The paint on the walls is not old and quaint, it’s like being in someone’s weird sex dungeon in the 80’s. The carpet is disgusting and it feels like you are in a casino on a cruise ship. The staff is really nice but they all look like they should have retired 10 years ago. Not one Asian person to be found which should have been my first red flag, and I am including the customers inside the restaurant. The place was packed so we assumed the food must be THAT good. It wasn’t. We ordered 4 or 5 plates thinking we’d take home leftovers. Half the stuff was cold when it arrived. Not one thing had any sauce on it. Let me be clear: tossed in sauces, but not one bite had an extra drop so be prepared for dry rice and dry meat. The drinks are on the high priced side, they were mediocre and the garnishes were pretty boring. Nobody wants those gross neon red fake maraschino cherries. A real maraschino cherry is deep purple like a luxardo. I would recommend finding another spot like Yang Kee in Davis if you want a real culinary experience. You can watch their staff cook from your table and it’s clean.

I gave an extra star for the bathroom which had stalls that go floor to ceiling. Classiest part of the entire experience.

If you choose to eat here I recommend getting a table, the bar has this oversized brass tubing along the edge and it keeps you 12 inches from your plate…but it’s round so you can’t set anything on it and it was sticky when we were sat. The host should be doing a final look over of the cleanliness when seating. Edit: I forgot to mention when I asked about the sticky bar I was handed a wet towel by the bartender to clean the last customers mess myself. I still left a 20% tip but it’s very unlikely we will be back or mention this...

My bad experience started with the moron I had to talk to in order to make a reservation. They should make employees take an IQ test and drug test before allowing them to interact with the public. A very frustrating experience. When they led us to a table, they seemed to get a little bent out of shape because we asked for the larger adjacent table. For that matter, everyone seemed to have an attitude problem except for the busboy, the only one who could muster a smile. Well, the waitress seemed to force a tiny smile at times.

This place is a complete fraud. We got there during their advertised Martini hours but they refused to honor their advertisement. We had planned on ordering one of the $35 Dine Downtown specials but, again found they would not honor this special either. They will only provide two dinners for $70. We saw the skimpy portion of unappetizing food others were getting and decided it was not a good choice.

We decided to order a couple of their more popular dishes. The wontons in the soup were very large and very tough. I had to eat my soup with a knife and fork. The vegetables were crunchy. I could taste mustard in my walnut shrimp. Not bad but, I've had much better for much less money. I tried the Immigrant's Beef. OMG, were the immigrants forced to use the rotten beef the natives threw out? I paid $20 for this? $3.33 for each thin medallion? My opinion is not good but, my dog ate 5 of the medallions and disagrees. At least the Beef Chow Fun was good.👍

One issue was the extremely loud noise. They should never allow such obnoxious loud mouths to ruin the dining experience for the rest of the diners. I have no respect for management that does not have the backbone to throw a group out. I am sure the volume was well over the legal limit. I had to scream to communicate with the person next to me.

I certainly see no reason to come back. Much better Chinese food is available for a fraction of the price and, it comes with a smile.

Number of stars in each category in order of weight: Cleanliness:3 Food:1 Service:2 Friendliness:1 Price:1 Atmosphere:1 Decor:4 Restrooms:3 External...