Dave's Hot Chicken

Passed by the Mira Mesa 📍 location of Dave’s Hot Chicken and thought to myself, fine, I’ll give it a try. Oh, bruh!! Dave took the idea of a chicken sandwich 🐣 and turned it into an experience everyone should try at least once in their lifetime. A rainbow of flavors. Hope 🙏 all of you get to experience it.

10-27-25 Loved the background music, very upbeat! It made the meal more enjoyable. As for the food, I liked it (tried it at PB location) so much that I was the one who suggested to my friend to eat here. Not only I recommended it, but I also enjoyed it even though it was fried food, very surprising. First time being at this location; our experience was chicken licking good! Service: Staff welcomed us with a greeting once we entered the door. They also kept the restroom and dining area clean. Ordered: -Dave’s #2 $14.99 S- mild S- lite mild

Greeted immediately after walking in, the person taking my order was very helpful and nice, and the service was really fast, only about 5 min wait time when I was expecting 15 mins or so. As for the food itself, I went with Dave's number 2 with medium spice, and the chicken was hot and crispy and the fries were really gooey with cheese, and it was delightful. Would definitely reccomend and will be coming back soon!!

Highly recommend Dave’s! It’s so fresh and yummy. I got a slider (mild) and cheese fries and the guy recommended I put honey on it which I did and the flavors just mixed so perfectly! I loved it. The slider isn’t typical slider size.. it’s more like a regular sandwhich! Kris was so kind when taking my order. They also kept the place clean.. I seen another lady coming out periodically wiping tables and picking things up. The only thing I would say is a downfall is it was warm and there’s no fans or anything but there’s also outside seating! Highly recommend giving it a try!

First time, won't be the last. Great flavored chicken, awesome Fallout collab, good sides, didn't try the shakes but they look awesome.

I'm never disappointed. I love the not-chicken sliders (cauliflower). Only room for improvement is consistently adding a good amount of slaw to the sliders. Sometimes it's enough and other times barely any.

You’ve got to try this fried chicken burger! It’s packed with juicy, well-seasoned chicken, and the combination of textures and tastes is pure perfection.

Service was great, super kind and helpful. However, there were only three tables in the whole restaurant, when there were many more people (there was seating outside but it was cold), other than that good vibe, nice background music, they played some Oasis, some Elton john... tasteful music. Food was slightly underwelming, milkshake was nice and thick, amazing texture, but it wasn´t alright taste. I got the hot chicken, which was the second spiciest without signing the waiver, and it was just a mild kick. fries were cripy but glutaneous, you could feel the oil in ever bite, they weren´t soaked, the potato was just imbued with oil. the kale slaw and pickles went nicely with the chicken which was very moist, but it was hard to eat which I am personally fine with. Everything felt so glutenous though, I am used to eating alot, I am an athlete so roughly 6000 calories a day. Still, it just felt like my stomach was expanding at an insane rate... Idk, I would reccomend probably going spicier than you think, it is good food, not great food, do with this what you will.

Best fried chicken in the area i love this place with all my heart it is very good. I love the milkshakes and all it has to offer in this fast food establishment.

Immaculate chicken. The chicken was very crispy and the spice level was perfect the fries were very good too. I didn't wait too long for the order and the prices were good.

10-27-25 Loved the background music, very upbeat! It made the meal more enjoyable. As for the food, I liked it (tried it at PB location) so much that I was the one who suggested to my friend to eat here. Not only I recommended it, but I also enjoyed it even though it was fried food, very surprising. First time being at this location; our experience was chicken licking good! Service: Staff welcomed us with a greeting once we entered the door. They also kept the restroom and dining area clean. Ordered: -Dave's #2 $14.99 S- mild S- lite mild

Sunday treat! I get The usual and it's Just perfect! The girls working are friendly and helpful! Thank u for making my day!

Came into this location on a Monday afternoon for lunch. The staff were friendly and helpful, first time I mixed the sauce with honey, per the employees' suggestion (10/10 would recommend). Ordered the Slider/Tender combo, both hot. Chicken was perfectly cooked, fries were tasty. I enjoy spicy food, and "hot" was the perfect temp to get some spice, but not unbearable. With tip, no drink, I spent $18. There's plenty of food in there to keep most people full. Unfortunately there's not a ton of seating in this location. I think two 4-tops and one 2-top. So keep that in mind

Tried Dave's Hot Chicken for the first time today! I ordered the number 3 which came with a slider and a strip along with fries. I ordered a drink too. I thought that the chicken was good....moist and good texture. I got the Dave's sauce and some honey on the side. The food took a good amount of time to come out. I noticed that this was the case with everyone so it generally takes a few to get your order. The inside of the restaurant is not conducive to having a good amount of people inside. Hardly any tables and not very well laid out. Food was good but not spectacular. I will try it again but it isn't a place I'll be craving.

I love Dave's Hot Chicken! The staff at this location are really nice and attentive. Their portions are huge as well and the chicken is always crispy / flavorful. Whenever I am craving hot chicken I want Dave's!

Omg this was my first time trying Dave's hot chicken. It was amazing. I got the hot one tender and sandwich combo and it was actually hot( I love spicy food and everything that says spicy is not actually spicy iykyk).

Note: Delivery review only Their tenders and sandwiches are crispy, flavorful and juicy. One of the best things about Dave's is their sauce and pickles!! If you like pickles, it adds such a nice crunch and cuts the oily-ness of the food. I also like that their fries are a wavy fry, I do wish that their fries were a bit crispier. Overall, their food is pretty solid. Great choice for a casual meal.

Came back to Dave's last night and really enjoyed it. It's nice that they were open late and there was a lot of people there. Definitely a good sign. We ordered a couple of orders of chicken tenders (two no spice, one lite mild and one mild) and they were all really good. The chicken was cooked perfectly and was delicious. My favorites were the lite mild ones and I will get these again.

So I FINALLY gave in to the hype and tried Dave's for the first time last night because I'm getting my wisdom teeth out on Thursday and I was thinking about what foods I wanted to eat before my surgery. Of course everyone talks about Dave's but I just lived in Atlanta for 3 1/2 years and never got into fried chicken but maybe because I don't eat things on the bone. Anyway, tbh the commercial came on and the location 2 min from us is open late so I ordered 1 medium slider and 1 hot slider. Definitely hot was better, I have a high spice tolerance so the medium was flavorless imo but the hot was great. I don't like crinkly fries so I can't attest to those but the mac and cheese is also delicious. We ordered online for pickup and I approached the counter just as Z was packing up my order. I told him it was my first time so he gave me extra sauce and honey packets, recommending I mix them. He was spot on!! Thanks Z! Anyway, I resisted for so long bc I thought $5 for a tender w/ Texas toast and a slider for $7 was expensive but it's really a terrific deal considering the size, flavor and quality. I'll be back once I'm able to chew again!

This is decent spicy rub chicken if you live close by. The chicken sandwiches are good but the bread and the coleslaw don't really add much to it. Waited 15 mins on a Saturday night for two chicken sandwiches, not too bad. They gave us a good amount of napkins and sauce. The sauce is more on the mayo side.

The food was super delicious! The workers were super kind and the ambiance of the whole place was amazing!

The food is very good! I have been here a lot and it's very good, especially with honey and medium spice

The food was absolutely delicious! The employees were very welcoming and helpful, the environment around felt comfortable. The chicken was tasty and service was just great in general.

Food is good but the wait is pretty long. They recently got kiosks to order on which is sooo helpful but after ordering I still waited 20 min for my order. I ordered the two sliders with fries, one mild and one medium. Sliders: 5/5 - I added Dave's sauce and honey Fries: 4/5 - a little soggy

*This is an updated review, not influenced, I paid for the whole meal myself (like I do in every review, but I wanted to make it clear since I gave a terrible review last time & the manager reached out to me, but I just ignored them)* I returned for a second try of Dave's. I was in the neighborhood after getting my flu shot at CVS, and I thought I deserved a savory treat. Taste-wise, there is a clear improvement in flavor since the last time I visited. The chicken itself is tender. The batter is coated with seasoning that conveys just the right amount of heat. The bread was soft and fluffy. I love the beautifully seasoned crinkle cut fries. I really enjoyed Dave's sauce, which has more sweetness than the average hot chicken restaurant and was a great condiment for the fries. Price is great for the portion size! I ordered the 2 sliders with fries combo for $13.99. The amount of chicken is greater than compared to that of the Popeyes chicken sandwich, and the price is quite comparable (if y'all relied on Popeyes for your fried chicken needs prior to the arrival of Dave's). Parking is a huge free lot. Definitely order from their website before you arrive because the wait time can be a bit long. The inside of the restaurant is pretty crowded, mostly with people loitering while awaiting their food.

Probably the worst Dave's hot chicken I've been to in SoCal. Both times we came here, the wait after ordering was around 25 min and our food came out warm. The fries weren't even hot? For a medium the chicken could've been spicer. There aren't a lot of tables, it's just crowded in there with people who are waiting for orders. In San Diego, the best location is the one in pacific beach. Pb location has fast service and the food always comes out PIPING HOT!

The food was amazing. The cashier was kind and provided answers to any questions I had. The portion sizes were excellent and the store ambiance was nice I liked the decor and design of the store.

Soo good ! This was my first time my daughter and I tried Dave's Hot Chicken and we were not disappointed. When we arrived it was a few people inside but not crowded. There's the option of ordering with the staff or ordering on the kiosk which was pretty cool to see. There's even an area for online orders. The space seemed clean and primarily for Carryout although there were a few tables for those looking to dine in. There's a list of different spice levels depending on how "hot" you want your chicken. There's only three tables but again it wasn't crowded so there was an empty table available. I'm not sure how it is during their super busy times but we arrived around 730pm on a Saturday. My daughter tried the mild slider while I had the mild slider and tenders and my mom ordered the slider meal with No spice. We ordered and received our food in about 10-15 minutes. My daughter described her food as "so delicious not spicy to me but I can see how it could be spicy to somebody else" shes only 8 but loves spicy food so this maybe her new favorite spot. The food tasted freshly prepared, well seasoned and overall delicious ! I'm so happy my meal came with a slice of bread because the mold had a lil kick to it that calmed with the yummy toast The fries were soo good and the cheese was an added bonus to the flavor of the fries. We ordered 3 meals with an extra tender which came to a total of $45. We will definitely be returning.

It was our first time trying this restaurant. Ordered 2 sliders and fries. We absolutely loved it. They have flavorful sauces and option to choose spice levels. I highly recommend this place. Service was good. Nice ambiance, convenient location. Great food!!! We'll definitely visit again.

Decent food but as usual, very slow with bad service. This time i got a bit of extra attitude. I ordered from the kiosk and didnt get a receipt. We told them we didnt get one and then the interrogation proceeded, lol. Yes, me and my son are trying to steal food. I offered to show them my credit card and this staff walking by said i was rude. No, rude is not believing your customers and peppering them with questions. Few seconds later, i see the guy who said we were rude putting in a roll of receipts. I cannot make this up. I hate coming here bc of bad service every time but my kids like the food...

My friend and I split Dave's #2 combo which came with 2 sliders and fries. It was the perfect size for us to share. Friendly and quick service. Chill ambiance. Well packaged for a lovely picnic at the local park! Also love that it is a halal restaurant :)

great food great service great everything. i come back every day and i cant wait to comr back tomrw

I love this place! They are fast and it's so close to my job they are also reasonable.

Amazing food, and great service . A must grab it's amazing for everyone who loves burgers.

Before watching a movie, my friend invited me to try Dave's Hot Chicken in Mira Mesa. The place is unique, not very big pace but it has spacious tables and chairs outside. However, it's not ideal for winter evenings since it's open. The staff was friendly and helped me decide what to order even from the sauces. I got the tender and slider with fries, which were delicious! I loved that you can choose the spice level for the chicken, I went with mild. The strawberry lemonade, though, wasn't great since it was mostly ice, so I ended up drinking water instead. Overall, the meal was nice, and my tummy was happy.

The staff of this location was very organized and efficient in their work. I was also impressed with the well maintained restroom despite the heavy traffic. Although the flavor wasn't as impressive in my opinion, it was well prepared and received at a perfect temperature. Overall, a good place to try if you're craving chicken tenders and fries.

Visiting out of town. Amazing service. Just I I entered the establishment was greeted Was told they would be right with me. Drink brought to me by Jade. Great service! Thanks team!!!!!

I want to give a shout out to Chris (or Christa?) who I frequently see behind the counter here. She is a superstar! She is always super friendly, always hustling, and always smiling. I really look forward to seeing her when I come. Also, the rest of the staff is quite friendly and attentive.

Great chicken, great fries, great shakes. The chicken is phenomenal. Love the tenders and especially when paired with the daves sauce. Ordering was easy with the kiosk inside. Choose what you want and they call you name when ready. Everyone was friendly and polite. It was pretty fast even though it was busy when we arrived. Lots more seating outside in the courtyard. Always a good time for DHC.

Ehh, sorry but I'm not a fan. I know they have their loyal customers but it's not for me. It's not only the chicken that for me it's too over seasoned but it's over priced considering the portions. For the prices they have I might as well go to a sit down restaurant. The customer service ain't that good, workers look over whelmed, frustrated & tired the both times I went & it took a long time to get our food. Bread was good, Mac & Cheese a bit bland tho I did love their Crinkle Fries but if I want good crinkle fries I can just go to Canes or Arby's. Over all this chicken & place ain't for me but if you like waiting for over seasoned chicken then this place is for you. Me, I rather go to Church's, Popeyes or Canes.

I finally got the chance to try Dave's after living in the area for quite some time. It's not my favorite chicken spot as I've been to several around San Diego. I felt like the chicken wasn't so flavorful and underwhelming. The service however, was great. The shop had about 5 tables. It seems more like a grab and go type place.

A place I crave every now and then. We tend to see them busy at nights, finally this time we tried it. The chicken was tender and juicy, overall yummy. They suggested putting honey on the chicken and at first I was reluctant, but I guess it's like chicken and waffles. Since writing this draft to finally posting it, I've been here a few more times already LOL.

Not only is the food delicious, the staff is super friendly, honest and trustworthy. My daughter left her purse at this location and two weeks later when we came looking for it, Aziz was holding it in the back and returned it to us with everything still in it! My daughter was sooo happy to have it back. Thank you!

Online ordering worked just fine but pick up was disorganized and slow. Family said the food was good but not for those watching their sodium intake.

I always get the tender strip sandwich with honey on the side--it's fire. Crispy, juicy chicken with that sweet honey drizzle just hits different, especially with a little heat. It gets super crowded, so I always preorder online to skip the wait. Totally worth it if you're craving something bold and satisfying. One of my favorite go-to spots. The sweet and spice combination is 10/10

Omg just had Dave's Hot Chicken for the 1st time lastnight and I'm a fan! I went with the Dave's #3 which is a slider and tender. I substituted the slider for the "Not" Chicken (cauliflower) slider and soooo glad I did!!! First off, no one mentioned the spice levels to me prior to ordering so I went with Hot as most places to me arent as hot as I can handle. Ummm NOT here! The Hot is HOT!! I was literally dying! But God it was good!!! ADD ONE STAR: The portion was big and everything was sooo good! I am in love with the "Not" Chicken slider and will be back for more and more. ADD ONE STAR: The fries were the BEST fries I've had probably ANYWHERE! Omg they were good. So crispy and flavorful. Not sure what spice they put on them but I could eat a meal of those fries only!! ADD ONE STAR: The spicy did not disappoint and was damn Hot! I think I will go down to the next level so I can really taste more of the chicken and cauliflower next time. Sometimes heat just overpowers the food. ADD ONE STAR: The staff was nice and got my order ready in no time. ADD ONE STAR: One of the best 1st time experiences I've had in a long time. I was not disappointed by the Tik Tok sensation this time! Dave's Hot Chicken will definitely be my Go-To in the very near future! Thank you!!

I absolutely LOVE your chicken. A++++++ But maybe rather than apologizing EVERY TIME for the super LOOOOONG wait for the food... come up with a faster system. Seems ridiculous to wait 30+ minutes for chicken tenders. I'll come once every couple months because they're THaT good, but I'd eat there once a week if the wait wasn't so long.

My daughter and I have been wanting to come here for the longest time and somehow never did, considering it's in our neighborhood. Well, this past week we finally gave it a try. The place was packed! We both ordered Dave's #1 combo (hot) which came with 2 tenders and fries. One of the employees, Kai, was very friendly and quick in preparing our order. It's nice to see that fast food places like this have great customer service! The restaurant's decor is kinda wild with a space chicken theme. There are some tables inside and outside for dining, but most of the orders were for take out. They have special combos or you can order individual items. Hot boxes are also available to feed a large crowd. We ordered ours to go and ate it at home. The chicken was super juicy and the skin very crispy and bold in flavor. "Hot" was just the right amount of heat for us. Note: We can handle spicy. If you don't typically eat spicy food, then you may want to consider ordering "medium." Two thumbs up, we'll be back!

Been here multiple times now to get a single tender and their chicken never disappoints! I have to say that their customer service is always consistently good. I do recommend that you order ahead because the wait can be long depending on how crowded it is. Single tender extra hot (5/5): costs around $5. Comes with a slice of bread and some pickles! Perfect amount for a snack. The chicken itself also is a good size. Juicy, flavorful, and crunchy! if you love spicy, try the extra hot! there are not a lot of seats indoors but you can most likely get seats outside. The parking can also be crowded but it is big so shouldn't be an issue.

Sucks! No manager no leader nothing. Our order has been late 40min. Last time we will get from this place!!! If I can give you a negative I will. Maybe good food but sucks customer service!!!

The food was not bad , but I did wait 1 hour just to get 2 orders of the #2 combo my online order said it would be done at 7:03 it ended up being done at 7:40 or so and I was there at 6:40 ... honestly this makes me want to go to canes instead. Hopefully the online ordering timing will be better next time because it doesn't look like the follow the times.

The cauliflower sando was sooo yummy! My vegetarian heart and stomach were happy. Now I crave it everyday!

The lady who took our order was very up beat...maybe too much for me but good for her having all that enthusiasm. I was only there to order for my son who loves this place. My check ins are always for him. He craves this place all the time after school. His go-to is the sandwich with fries. I did take a bite of his sandwich and it was pretty decent. Definitely better than Chik. Fries, too were really good. Next time I need to remember to order my own set of fries. Something about their fries! Seating is limited inside but there's plenty of shared seating space outdoors. Parking is spacious but I gotta admit on prime nights like Friday and Saturday parking lot is busy.

Service sucks.. waiting time is about 40 minutes to get chicken. Have only 30 minutes on my break . They should have a good system like raising canes or McDonald's or in n out . They are super slow in serving customers. I understand if it's currently busy but at least give the customer a heads up especially if there are about 20 people doing online orders are ahead of me when there are only 2-3 people waiting inside. Food is great but to wait 30 to 40 minutes for a chicken tenders.. this is my 3rd time and I'm done waiting :( Goodbye ! I cancelled my order . Seriously people that works there are kinda slow. Sorry :( The manager said he would refund me with my cancelled order and I just found out today that it was never cancelled and on top of that they charged my card a second time yesterday for the same amount :| Will go and complain today I didn't want to post a review but not refunding my cancelled order and then charging it a second time is fraudulent activity . Now I have to go there and waste my time again and hope they don't charge me a third time for a meal I never received.

Come on Dave's Hot Chicken corporate since you bought Dave's you have raised the prices twice 5% and the 4% and you took away the drinks from the menus. I heard of prices gouging your new customers but this is insane. You don't have to get all your money back in one year. Food is still good but not worth the price anymore.

I have gone to Dave's more times than I can count. They have to be one of my favorite places to get some hot chicken in San Diego. Well-seasoned, crispy, and often at a good temperature. The chicken meat is flavorful. Their fries are also fantastic! The medium spice is an enjoyable spice level. At the most extreme, the chicken itself was still good and the spice was definitely up there. I highly recommend coming to this Mira Mesa location. All the staff members that I have met are great! Very friendly, considerate, and helpful despite how very busy they all are. For example: Kris, TK, Caesar, and Andre are always working very hard to deliver kind and quick service. I'm always happy to see them.

I randomly decided to pull up to the area because the traffic was so bad. I love chicken so I was naturally gravitated towards the signage that says "Chicken"! I got the #3 1 Tender & 1 Slider w/ Fries. The chicken tender was amazing with the sauce (you ask for extra sauce) - tender and juicy. The fries were wonderfully seasoned that my boyfriend, who is picky about fries, inhaled his portion and went on to my portion. You can eat the fries without ketchup and sauce because of how godly seasoned they are. The slider obviously stole the show - love the combination of chicken, carrot, and cabbage. It's so refreshing from the common option of lettuce and tomatoes. The vegetables that they chose enhances the crispy texture of the slider. It's a relatively small store with 2 tables for 4 and 1 table for 2. To-go is highly recommended. Outstanding service. The lady at the front greeted us with a gorgeous smile.