Dave’s Hot Chicken — Restaurant in Temple Terrace

⭐️ Avoid Dave's Hot Chicken on Fowler!

I ordered at 1 PM and received a buzzer. Instead of waiting inside (it was packed), I chose to wait outside. When the buzzer went off, I entered only to find out the buzzer “just activated” to prepare me to come in. Confusing, right?

I waited again, and when the buzzer went off a second time, I approached the register. I informed them my number was buzzing, and was told it wasn’t my order yet my number will be called. After three frustrating trips to the counter, a new customer, with receipt 112, kindly asked about my order, and promptly received it. I then stepped up asking why I had been left waiting and asking about my food for 30 minutes!

After finally addressing my concerns, I was told my order had been there the whole time while those at the register insisted it wasn’t mine and he said I was told no it wasnt my order because my receipt and buzzer numbers didnt match, remember the receipt and buzzer eas giving to me by the woman on the register, so O asked him how am i to control what she gave me. The food I finally took home was not fresh, lacked the extra sauce and cole slaw requested, and had to be brought back in as proof adter 2pm when I was then able to get it home to my husband. My husband ended up going back to the location and asked for what was missing only to end up getting 2 cups of pickles instead of what he actually ordered.

The staff was overwhelmed with their own side conversations and antics, leading to a chaotic atmosphere where customer service seemed completely neglected. I won't be returning—this was my first and last visit, the concept and how eveything is laid out should imply that setvice is in order and could have been had the side placing the order conversed and spone with the side passing out the food, the right hand talking to the left hand method works wonders for team work, and Dave's Hot Chicken wouldn't have left such a bad taste in our mouths!! 0s...

This is not worth the hype. The Popeyes hot chicken sandwich is better than these sliders. Hey maybe I'm at fault and don't know what a good chicken sandwich should be, but this wasn't extra ordinary in anyway. The heat of the reaper spice was the only remarkable thing. The sandwich doesn't have enough umph in any direction to really stand out. Even the chicken is not actually flavorful, it's just hot. The remaining components of the sandwich are just underwhelming theres not enough coleslaw to actually enjoy it, and i have my suspicions of the sauce. Crinkle cut fries are at least not exactly the same as every other chicken spot, but it's nothing to write home about. Having the seasoning on them was a nice touch but there is just distinctly not enough seasoning to make them stand out. The sauce. This was the whole focal point of the hype right? But what even was that? Again, it's not significant enough to combat the heat of the chicken, so it's just lost in the sandwich, I'd rather have saved those 70calories for a food I can taste. The sauce was ok on the fries. I don't want this to be true, but I have my suspicion the sauce is just mayo and ketchup... like I said I hope its not true but I can't get that thought off my mind. Also I belive that Dave's Hot Chiken must have invested millions into researching the smallest possible container to give you the sauce in. If the sauce is supposed to be the selling point, I'd like enough to truly enjoy. Why is ketchup the only other sauce I can get on the side? I'll be honest I was a bit scared of the reaper spice and wanted ranch just in case it was too much, but I should have brought it from home I guess? Weird, not worth the hype.

Thanks for the bonus pickels that was a nice touch.

Also big thank you to Taylor for making my ordering...

This was my first experience at a Dave’s, and overall it was pretty good. The staff was VERY friendly (probably because they just opened this location), and were moving through orders quickly.

The quality of the chicken was the biggest surprise for me, the tenders were both very large and flavorful. The sauce was a little disappointing comparatively, a little sweeter than I like. I prefer Cane’s and PDQ’s over it, but better than Chic-Fil-a. It pairs well with the fries. The bread is kind of an odd choice, like don’t try to compete with Cane’s Texas toast, no one will come close to that. But you’re not here for bread, you’re here for hot chicken.

I was pleasantly surprised by the spice level of the chicken. The “hot” level was actually hotter than I expected, but still felt like I could eat a plate without being too affected by the heat. The spices they use also seem to be good quality, the heat lulls you in with a nice taste of flavor before building to it’s hottest point.

With how they make you sign a waiver for the “reaper” level, I was expecting melt-your-face-off levels of hot. It was not. If you are inexperienced with spicy food, this will be the spiciest thing you’ve ever eaten, and will probably have a bad time. The group of college guys next to me couldn’t finish one reaper tender collectively. But if you are someone familiar around hot sauces (not sriracha/basic Tabasco, actual hot sauces), or puts habaneros in dishes for fun, you’ll be fine. It’s probably the hottest meal I’ve had at a restaurant, but the whole waiver thing probably set my expectations too high. It’s a funny gimmick and more of a mind game.

Definitely give Dave’s a shot, just for the service and quality of chicken alone. The whole spicy factor is the cherry, or should I say Carolina...