Elaine’s Cafe

Great Hamburger Special for 6 dollars you get a good sized Hamburger with fries and a drink, 10 to 15 minutes after ordering that right off the grill. Great for lunch.

Elaine’s is a tiny hole in the wall located right next to the railroad tracks. Literally. The sign says «World’s tastiest hamburgers and we have Chinese food, too». Huh??? Really? Yeah!
We were slightly skeptical at first, but sure enough the menu was part hamburger joint, part Chinese food. There is an outside, walk-​up burger window, and there is also an indoor, sit down restaurant section.
One of my sons had a bacon burger and fries. The others in our group had Chinese. Two in our party had Kung pao chicken (one order with rice, the other with noodles). I had shrimp soup. The Chinese food was authentic and cooked to order with visibly fresh and tasty chicken and vegetables. This was NOT preprocessed food. It was light and clean. We were very happy with the meal. It was also very reasonably priced.
I gave it 3 stars because it is an older place and when we walked in, our sever was on the phone and distracted.
If you happen to travel through Fowler, and you’re up for something off the beaten path, I encourage you to stop by and enjoy some authentic Chinese food and tasty burgers!

This place is awesome! And they have it all! Burritos to hamburgers to amazing Chinese food

I like this place. It’s sort of a hole in a wall but this is mine and hubby’s go to place. We like the breakfast and the burgers there and the egg fried rice – and talking with Vicky. She’s fun!

I ordered to go so I can’t review the physical establishment. The service was friendly, the food was less than mediocre. I ordered the chicken chowmein; it was a large portion which was about $ 7. The size could have easily fed 3 people, unfortunately it wasn’t good. It was basically just chowmein noodles drenched in soy sauce with chicken jerky. I also ordered an eggroll. The exterior texture was great (which I normally don’t care for), but the inside of the eggroll was just bland and mushy vegetables with a sad strip of either chicken or pork– too little to differentiate. I was looking forward to trying this place because I’ve lived in the area for over 20 years and had never stopped in. Everyone would talk about it as such a great place to eat but I was very disappointed. I will try it again at a later time and re-​evaluate, but my expectations are low.
* Note: My coworker ordered with me and felt the same about her kung pow chicken and beef n broccoli so sadly, it wasn’t just me.

They say best burger in town, even though the town is the size of a postage stamp. It was decent, but nothing to write home about. Service was great. The owner came to table and was very nice with a good sense of humor. Haven’t tried Chinese food yet. Good small town atmosphere. Will return.

Best place to get food in fowler.
Everything is good from the burgers, to the fried fish, and Chinese food.
The lady who is usually working is also always very sweet. (:

If you are looking for a great meal in Fowler, here it is. Big proportions and friendly service. I have been eating here for over 14 years and still enjoy every meal. I take Every family member who visits us from the east coast here for a true taste of Fowler. This restaurant always helps the town with fund raisers and is always helping the local non-​profits. All in all, a great tasting restaurant owned and operated by a great family.

I spent 11 years frequenting Oakland and San Francisco Chinese restaurants back in the 80s and 90s. Since then it’s been tough to find decent Chinese food elsewhere in California outside large metropolitan areas. There seems to be no shortage of «Americanized» Chinese food wherever you go, which for me, spoiled by authentic Cantonese, has always been disappointing. Elaine’s was a delightful surprise. I’ve ordered the Chicken Chop Suey twice and now that I’ve read other reviews, I see there are other things to try. My Chop Suey was not overly salty or greasy and the flavors of fresh vegetables and chicken came through just fine. The serving was ample. The shabby interior of cheap 70s design was for me an added plus. Interesting locals come in adding to the ambiance.

Average food, average service and scary interior.
There’s not much to say for this place other than I didn’t get sick or heartburn so that’s a win. It’s a small restaurant with weird 70’s interior and kinda of a turn off.
Food was alright but the chicken was delicious, frying and batter was on point. Restroom was clean tho, that matters a lot also.
Asian waitress was your typical «hurry up and buy» type that was normal I guess (well for me). Good size portions. My only problem was the presentation of the food. This waitress totally covered my Chow Mein in sweet and sour sauce and I do mean drench in sauce. Only reason is because she topped the sweet and sour pork on top and that to me was the biggest problem and laziness I ever seen in a while.
Other than that like I said it was a cool lunch, I’ll probably return just for the chicken or the soup, that’s about it.
I rate this place 3.0

Been eating here on and off for over 13yrs, definitely a good place to eat. I mean Alot of the food is frozen but the burgers are pretty delicious, and then Chinese food is decent.

A funky little drive-​in with an attached indoor dining area. The service was fast, the food tasty (chili and a tuna sandwich) and the staff gracious. We left with a smile on our faces.

Did not like the fried chicken it looks good but I didn’t like the fact that the chicken ended up making my stomach upset and it tasted like it was boiled then fried. The fried rice was alright. The soda was about the only thing I really enjoyed from here.
Heard the Hamburgers here are awesome though!

Okay I am bias. I grew up in Fowler and my parents still live there but I always go to Elaines for a cheese burger and fries. It’s good food and if you go for lunch (inside), you will see a lot of town folks chatting about the latest gossip. I agree that this place needs a pick me up but in the 20 years that I have known this place, nothing has changed much.

Ok, I know this place has been reviewed for the Chinese food… but ya gotta try the fried chicken! Served over steamed rice… this is a great treat. I have been here with friends on 3 different occasions, and have had the chicken each time. You can have it with either a mild or hot sauce served with it.
While the place could use an interior decorator… the chicken dish won’t disappoint you. I have to admit, I do need to try the Chinese food or even a hamburger. They did look good… as other patrons ordered them.
While the place is not fancy by any means, it beats the heck out of going to a fast food joint. The food is very affordable and the wait staff is very friendly… heck if you love rice as I do, they will bring more to you if you want more with your chicken meal.
I would give them a try if you want a good meal at bargain prices. Fowler is a small town in the central valley that reminds me of a small midwestern friendly place… and Elaine’s fits right in!

Family responsibilities require us to be in Bakerfield 2 – 3 times a month, and on the drive down from Clovis we usually stop in this place for a bowl of noodles and/​or some Chinese. The place is housed in a converted ice cream shop; you can place your order at the walk-​up window or have a seat inside and be served there. The menu is your basic burgers/​fries and Chinese stirfries with rice.
The only reason to eat there, in my opinion, is the Hong Kong style wonton soup. All of the other Chinese dishes (sweet and soup pork, cashew chicken, etc.) were pretty bland, and honestly a a little greasy, but their wonton soup is quite good, flavored as it is with garlic, ginger slivers, and big chunks of bok choi.
Be warned, however — the food is served center-​of-​the sun hot. Each time we’ve been there we’ve had to leave the food sit for 10 minute before we could even begin to eat it, and once I had to resort to putting ice cubes in my soup because we were in a hurry and I just couldn’t put it in my mouth other wise.
I’ve by no means recommend driving all the way from Fresno to eat here, but if you’re on I-​99 anyway, it beats McDonalds.
Oh, and the homemade Best Hamburger in the World signs plastered all around the parking lot are a bit off-​putting.