Bottom line: Best hamburger I've ever had. Boyfriend and I took a day trip to visit the Salton Sea and the highlights were the abandoned homes, Salvation Mountain, and that BURGER. I got the Cowboy Burger(?) and coleslaw as a side. Both were amazing. They use fresh ground beef and instead of grilling the patties they bake them in their pizza over. The main street is a little ghost town'y but that was the purpose of the trip. The restaurant had great historical pics of the town and the lake and the staff was very friendly.
Review Source:Nice little eatery on the main drag (err, only drag!) of Niland. Located next to a scenic burned down building, this has some good eats at decent prices. We both ordered up the Niland Burgers quarter pound size, for about $5 something. They are small, and you can get a half pound, but I found this a great burger and tasty on a fresh bun. The seasoned fries I got were much better than the crinkle cut fries my friend got.
They served up a huge glass of ice tea, not sure if they do free refills. The sides of the booths have maps and pictures and info about the Salton Sea, Leonard Knight of Salvation Mountain, and neat stuff about a railroad that ran through Niland. If you're hungry and in the area, this is a pretty good place to swing by for sandwiches and burgers.
Nasty little area, but this place stood out with all the cars outside for people to eat here. Â Food was fairly good, including the homemade nachos. Â Prices were fair and staff was polite. Â Adjacent merchants had burned down and there was a lot of riff-raff inside, as well as in the street and sidewalk. Â Scary town that made me think I was in a Children of the Corn movie that was moved to the Dead Sea area in little no name towns like this. Â Yikes!
Review Source:The entire town and surrounding areas literally gross me out. So the thought of having to eat something in this town frightened me. I was thinking wait NOTHING else is around where do they get the food from? There was this homeless man in the front with some Scruffy dogs and dirty mules and I just had my mind set against this place from the get go. So we go in and this nice woman comes up and takes our drink orders and lets us know its only cans...Now around Orange County I wouldn't like that but for Niland I felt it was safer coming from a can. The people inside were locals one table was full of hunters in full out camo gear who gave me and my friends some interesting looks (I could almost hear them saying "You sure do gotta purdy mouf") *shivers* The menu was cheaply made and laminated in plastic. My friend ordered a Pizza and me and my other friend both got Chicken and fries. The food came pretty quick and the Chicken was odd looking I kept thinking it was actually Tilapia from the Salton Sea and that I'd be in the toilet crapping my brains out in about 10 minutes. It taste ok so did the Fries I was using Ketchup and Ranch to dip my fries and my friend out of nowhere goes THIS KETCHUP TASTE WEIRD!!! So I stopped eating the ketchup and mentally prepared to get sick..........I'm happy to report I never got sick!!! Then we went up to pay and met the owner and she was totally normal........I thought WOW If I met her first I would have been more at ease. She said she goes into "town" to get the food...Where is a town? Palm Springs??? I dunno.....I wouldn't say anything here was delicious I'd rather eat at Mcdonalds but I guess it was a true "Niland" experience!
Review Source:If you're passing through Niland, Bobby D's is a great spot to stop for a bite to eat.  The place is small, but friendly, even to us foreigners!  The food is good and filing.  Pizza is their specialty.  The burgers are great, but the 1000 Island Burger can be deliciously  sloppy, so be sure you have enough napkins.  The little parking strip out front is small, but the spaces turn over fast.  This is the real deal on a homey local place.
Review Source:Update January 2012: There was a fire in the row of buildings that houses Bobby D's. The two shops on the east end are burned out with ceilings of sky and walls of charcoal. Bobby's is still there and still open for business. The food tastes better now, more Salton Sea-ish.
This is THE place for breakfast whenever you find yourself hungry and alone on the south end of the Salton Sea. I bought biscuits and gravy to go and shared it with my dog at a bird sanctuary down the road. The staff was friendly and the place is a true Salton Sea experience.
I've been to Bobby's several times, usually dragging in with camping hair, dirty, grumpy and not wanting to talk to anyone after a weekend of photographing rotting trailers, extraterrestrial landing pads, and dying talapia. But when I go inside and clumsily place my order with Bobby - the guy with slicked back hair I assume is the owner because he's always there - and he is cool in a remedial christian sort of way, you know Bobby has lived an interested life and survived, and he is friendly then he calls my order to the blonde, thin woman in the kitchen and 5 minutes later brings my food AND tabasco (without even asking). I love this place.