Mac McGee

Sadly the blush is off this rose. The soul has departed....
Gone is the friendliness and the conviviality that made this watering hole a standout.  Staff is largely disengaged;
they will serve your drinks promptly to be sure - but it feels like a dark airport bar.

Food is good, and beer is varied but prices have risen.  Seems to be a bar of last resort anymore....

Mac McGee, you get 4 stars for food, but 2 stars for service, which in my opinion, evens you out to a 3 star experience overall.

My aunt and uncle were coming into town to visit my cousin who lives in Duluth, so as part of the visit, we managed to squeeze in a dinner together as well. When my cousin suggested Mac McGee I agreed knowing they'd love its pub-by atmosphere (dark wood, sporting events on the TV, Irish and English signs and sports teams decorating the walls, etc.), the Irish / English food, and the extensive drink list (they have a whiskey book with over 400 options).

But from the moment my boyfriend and I walked in the door (we arrived a bit earlier than the other half of our party), service left something to be desired. For a good five minutes we fiddled around on our own trying to push a couple of tables together toward the back to fit our party of six. Finally, the owner seemed to grasp we were doing something out of the ordinary and proceeded to assist us in this endeavor.

Ok, fine. No big deal. Once everyone arrived and hellos had been exchanged, and menus reviewed we all placed our drink and dinner orders: orders of burgers, fish and chips, shepherd's pie, and bangers and mash ensued.

When everything came out to the table, it was served up but no one had napkins or cutlery. When we alerted our waitress to this, she brought out three sets of silverware and left. She went to go take another table's drink order... Huh? Three people at our table still had no napkins or forks, but we were taken care of? I know the burger and fish could be eaten with one's fingers, but shouldn't the diners be given the choice, and a napkin to wipe their fingers on after? So after about three more tries, we secured enough napkins and silverware (seriously, we had to keep asking her over and over because she'd only bring us one extra set of napkins and silverware each time - not the best listener ever).

It also took some extra prodding to get water glasses refilled in a timely manner - so that's my beef with the service that night.

And now for the food. I had the shepherd's pie, and I was very impressed. My healthy serving came out in its own little crock that had been baked in the oven: the mashed potatoes on top were nicely toasted, and the lamb, peas, and carrots in a thick sauce underneath were very hot and tender and tasty. It came with a slice of warm dark rye bread with butter, and a salad of arugula with some cherry tomato slices, and croutons. Nice sides to go with the richness of the shepherd's pie.

Everyone else seemed to enjoy their meals too judging by the emptiness of all the plates afterwards. For a final Irish finish to the meal, both my aunt and uncle ordered Irish coffees (which they deemed better than their favorite restaurant back home), my boyfriend had a housemade Irish cream coffee (similar to the regular Irish coffee but richer), and we all shared a whiskey bread pudding with Bailey's ice cream and a drizzle of Guinness caramel.

I'm not gonna lie, I think the dessert was the best part of the dinner. It was brought out warm from the oven, the ice cream was cold (and I could actually taste a hint of Bailey's in the ice cream), the caramel was lovely. It was really great bread pudding, honestly.

And that's my take on Mac McGee. Service was severely lacking this time around, food did its best to make up for it, but I still don't know how soon I'll be going back all things considered.

Finally, an Irish pub that plays authentic Irish music and serves authentic food. Their chips and curry is exceptional, and their whiskey list is impressive. Check out this place for sure!