Frank Fat's

Americanized or not, Franks offers a great family style dining experience with large and small groups, great ambiance, decent service, great spot for birthdays and celebrations

Our group got a few items, most notably was the Chicken Chow Mein, sounds basic, simple, but it is really well made, perfect seasoning and good cook on the vegetables, proteins, and noodles. Cannot recommend it enough

The combination appetizer platter was pretty good as well, everything aside from the beef and pork dumplings we could pass on those. Put the complimentary black bean chili oil on EVERYTHING.

Braised Tofu with Vegetables was solid, ask for a side of rice. Fried firm tofu (not battered) great flavors

Food was great. Very crowded for a Wednesday.

The service left a lot to be desired. Our server Heather hardly checked on us, looked pissed when we asked about the happy hour special and I asked her for a chilled white and she gave me the most expensive one on the menu. Rookie mistake on my part but it was a 28 dollar glass of very mediocre wine.

Hmm this review was the hardest. I don't think it's the worst I've had but it wasn't the best. It was a bit different than I expected. I think it was an interesting spin to each dish but didn't quite hit.

First and foremost, each dish is basically big enough to do family sharing (or at least big enough for 2-3 people). We ordered the house rice, imperial chow mein, ribs, eggplant, and dumplings. Bill came out to be about 120 dollars and we still had leftovers. So that's a plus. But the food was just average the day of. I had some the next day and it tasted a lot better for some reason. The only thing that was good the day of was the ribs.

Service was quick. Came on a Saturday night around 8pm and it was about a quarter fill. When you walk in, there's the bar and a few tables, then the middle section with most of the seats, and then the back section which is all booths and access to the kitchen. Felt like 3 separate places and each had slightly different lighting and a vibe. The booth we sat at towards the very back needs some extra padding because there was a group behind us and anytime they leaned back we would feel them. And they were violently (like with force but not maliciously) leaning back.

Was supposedly one of the better Chinese restaurants. It's okay. I'd say if you're in a group. You should come so you can get a lot of food to share and try. But if it's date night, you can probably find somewhere else. Most plates are around 22 dollars. Street parking only.

This is my second time at this famous restaurant and it continues to be a place that I love to visit. The food is just so yummy and it leaves you always wanting to come back. The staff is very friendly and accommodating.

As I wrote before, this is a wonderful, classy old-school Chinese place which we love.
We went back here for the first time since shortly before the Covid shutdown and loved it as much as always before, with nothing noticeably changed in decor or food.

It still has the same nice, stylish decor with a bar area in front, a middle room with tables, and a back room with booths, all nicely appointed. On this occasion, we got the Yu Kwok (fried meat dumplings), imperial chow mein with noodles dry and pan-fried, Szechuan eggplant, Chicken Wingo. All were excellent. The vegetables in the chow mein could have been cooked a little longer but the sauce was outstanding, light and subtle but very flavourful. 4.5. The others were all perfect - 5 stars for all. The eggplant was absolutely incredible as iin the past, with excellent fried flavour and crispy texture, the eggplant cooked to a creamy yet firm texture, the sauce excellent.

The mai tais, though not like a proper Trader Vic's Mai Tai, were very good and went well with the food. 4.

The banana cream pie was excellent as always before. 5 stars.

Service was great.

Overall, I'd give Frank Fat's a 3.5. The food is okay - good for Americanized Chinese food, but not impressive if you're expecting the flavors, textures, and cohesion of authentic Chinese cooking. The ambiance is also interesting (Speakeasy vibes?), making it a spot that was cool to experience once but probably not a spot I'd feel compelled to return to.

Dishes I tried:

- SINGAPORE NOODLES were tasty and probably my favorite dish of the night. The curry flavors are well-balanced and the spiciness level was perfect for me. The portion was also very decent (family-style sized). My only critique is the ratio of bell peppers was a bit high in the dish, and they were pretty big slices, too. After some time, I started picking them out so that I could taste the other flavors rather than just bell pepper in every other bite.

- PINEAPPLE SWEET & SOUR PORK was a bit chewier than I expected, but the dish tasted decent overall. I thought the lychee was an interesting addition to the dish - I'm guessing it was added to add sweetness to the sauce, but not sure how I felt about the lychee pieces in the dish itself.

- SZECHUAN EGGPLANT was okay. I didn't taste much spice at all, which was a bit disappointing considering the name of the dish. The batter around the eggplant was also a bit bland for my taste. But, the texture of the eggplants was nice, and the sauce on top was tasty.

Tasty food. Citrusy drinks.

The whole experience was very cool. This restaurant has a speakeasy vibe. Looking at it from the outside, you wouldn't know what the place is.

The ambiance is really nice. The temperature was perfect. So many locals were eating here when I went.

They refilled my water.

The immigrant's beef is quite good. It is marinated flank steak. It is not too sweet and packed with flavor. They serve it with several thin slices of zucchini.

They provide a sweet and sour as well as a spicy sauce to go with your food. This is on the side. The house special spicy sauce was quite good.

The downfall are the drinks. I ordered the Asian pear, and it was just too acidic for me. However, if you like citrusy drinks, you'll probably like it.

The service was excellent. Frank Fat's is knows for their tasty food and excellent service.

I would return.

The food was good but not great, I was a little bit disappointed. It is a downtown institution of Sac but the food also seemed dated. There was information about Frank and his friends and his ability to get things done around tow. Fantastic perso! As far as the service, he did not seem like ha wanted to be there. Ambient dark, everything was old and dated. Sorry Frank, but time for a make over, yawnnnn. Not going back, just too much great food out there. Thanks Frank for your service in the community, great man. Very proud of your hard work, making Sacramento what it is today

All I can say is every time I visit Sacramento I make reservations ahead of time to go have dinner at this place. The food is delicious. Wait times are very long but once you get your table, the service is pretty fast. The food is delicious fresh not greasy, and the drinks are amazing.

Fat's has been located in downtown Sacramento CA since the 1930's. The decor is classic and vibrant Chinese themed.
The food wonderful and a large menu of items to choose from. Staff are exceptional.