My vote for the best burger in St. Louis. They're huge. They're juicy. If you prefer, they can be topped w/ FOUR DIFFERENT TYPES OF CHEESE AT ONCE!
The Southside is my goto: topped w/ BBQ sauce, cheddar, and fried onion straws.
The fries served with are A-OK, nothing too special, but very quaffable, as in, easy to stuff more than 14 in your mouth at a time.
The fried pickles are awesome. The nachos are MASSIVE and topped with everything you should love: cheese, chorizo, jalapenos.
Most importantly, burgers are 1/2 off on Mondays and Fridays.
They failed the ultimate test...carry out. We ordered a grilled chicken sandwich plain with pepper jack and cross-cut fries + a grilled chicken sandwich with everything and regular seasoned fries. Instead, we got a cheeseburger with regular fries and a plain chicken sandwich with regular fries.
We called to report the error and the staff was very nice, saying they mixed up our order with another customer's, and that they would remake our order and comp us if we came back up. The point of our carry out was to be lazy though, so we just ate what they gave us.
The burger was ok; just your average cheeseburger we thought. The grilled chicken sandwich was about the same, but the meat to bread ratio was too bread-y. The fries were pretty bad. We were only a 5-minute drive away, but they were limp and barely warm as soon as we opened the boxes.
We'll probably give them one more shot, but aren't in a hurry to do so. Maybe a dining in experience would be better.
Used to love this place and their steak sandwiches. We used to pick up all the time. Now since about a year the quality of the food seems to go down and some days you get hot food, others cold. i get that you take a chance with pickup but we do not live far and many times the steak was not cooked as ordered. We will try again sometime but for now there are many better places.
Review Source:I am a bit bias to The Mack because it is the first place I went when I began my love affair with South City. The Mack is one of my all-time favorite places, mainly because it is like a sports bar/dance club/townie bar all rolled into one. Â The mixed drinks are all served in pint glasses, which is dangerously fun. My favorite drink there is the "Ninja Water," which consists of water, berry vodka, and a splash of cranberry juice. Why do they call it the Ninja Water? Because these sneak up on you like a ninja. Pace yourself, I have fallen victim to the ninja water a few times.
If you like bar food, then the Mack is a good choice. If you are feeling like splurging, opt for the fried pickles, which are fried to perfection and served alongside a creamy ranch. The Mack also has an incredible buffalo chicken sandwich which is fried and served on a hoagie with pepperjack cheese and ranch. Dang.
The girls that work at The Mack are so friendly and they create awesome drinks. I love to run up to the bar and say ,"surprise me!" and they always do. Check out their shot menu above the bar for a list of nearly 100 different shots that they know by heart! This place is ideal for bachelorette parties that want to hang out without getting harassed. Â Anyway, chances are if you stop by the Mack, you might see me. Say hi!
I don't just like this place because I share the Mack name. I like it because it is just plain good. Great neighborhood bar atmosphere where people are friendly and it seems like everyone knows each other. Beer selection could be better but their menu is stellar. The Mack does bar food right! Two highlights of the menu are the Cheesesteak sandwich and the Killer Steak sandwich. Both are phenomenal. Â The burgers here are also a go-to on the menu. Even the fries they serve with the sandwich are yummy. They are slightly seasoned, thin and crispy.
Eat there once and you'll want to "Return to The Mack."
As I sat down in front of my computer to create a new Yelp List for Fried Pickles, I realized I have not updated my "The Mack" review to highlight their Fried Pickles. Â How could this be, one of the first places I experienced the decadent appetizer and I did not mention in a review. Proof that it is important to keep your Yelp reviews up to date with your experiences.
The Fried Pickles at The Mack are crinkle cut dill chips covered in a thick crisp batter and served with a Southwest type Ranch dipping sauce. The SW Ranch gave an  extra kick, to an already tasty pickle. As Jennifer T. suggested, keep some of the dipping sauce for your fries as well.
The Mack already is on my list for burgers and chicken wings and now it is on my new Fried Pickles list.
Definitely good burgers here.  I put this place on my bookmark list from seeing other yelpers going and it is a good local bar but not anything more than that.  The wait staff is decidedly younger female and that would probably explain the heavily male customers.  The service was quick and attentive, the drinks pretty decent and good delivery was reasonable.  I read many of the reviews on the food and opted for the Southside burger, which seemed to be universally good to all, and it was a very good burger (4 stars for sure).   Will I go here again?  Probably not, unless someone wants to meet up but if you are nearby and want a good burger (and oh ya, the fried pickles were pretty good too) it is  worth a visit.
Review Source:I go to the Mack every Tuesday for trivia. Every Tuesday morning, I wake up knowing I will have a steak sandwich from there that evening. It is really something to look forward to! I've had the burgers too and they are good, just not as good as the steak sandwich.
Aside from the food, the waitresses, especially Kati, are attentive. It can get really busy, which is to be expected any night the Blues are on, so sometimes you have to be a little patient.
Overall, I feel very welcomed going there and have gone there consistently every Tuesday for almost a year.
Favorite Local Bar to hangout watch the game and eat some good bar food! I think they have the best 4 cheeseburger I have ever had and there wings are great. There staff is always nice and friendly I would highly recommend this place to stop in for lunch or dinner and have a few beers with your food.
Review Source:Four stars for a neighborhood sports/drinking bar. One star for terrible food. Â I'm not one criticize but my dear god the food is bad. Nachos remind me of concession stand nachos a tee ball game in south county. The fish and chips were slightly better ( i guess) even though the fish wasn't at all fresh and the fries were bunk. Â Maybe their pizza is the way to go though, who knows..... Â I would still stop by to catch a game and drink but no food for me at this joint
Review Source:Best burger in South St.Louis hands down. The 4 cheese cheeseburger is great and if you dine-in on certain Monday nights and every Friday night they are half price. Good drink specials and always looks like fun even when I am just picking up my to go orders
Update.... I drop the score on my review due to fact  they no longer take carryout orders on Friday nights well that was my night working in the area so I will no longer be back on the good side I discovered the Haven on Morganford and they have real good food any night.
We chose this place as our New Year's Day, boy I am craving a huge burger location.
If I were to pass by this place in a car I would never think about walking in.
Based on some Yelp reviews and closeness of its location, we decided to try it!
When you first go in, you enter in the bar, its small but has a decent amount of bar tables. There was a large group taking up most of them. So I noticed they had a secondary semi-separate dining room. We sat there.
I had read reviews of slow service, but we sat down, had our drink order taken right away.
I KNEW we were getting fried pickles after seeing a photo on yelp. No brainer on the appetizer. I chose the South-side burger and my buddy chose the Cheeseburger. Â I made a special request for my side to have both waffle fries and regular seasoned fries. They accommodated my request and notified that I would still have to pay the additional $1. Worth it to me so I can try both!
The fried pickles came out and they were delish! They are chip style, and came with a different southwest style of sauce vs just ranch. I enjoyed it and saved it for some fry dipping!
Our burgers came out and they were HUGE! I piled my optional LTO on top of the already high burger with onion straws, and bbq sauce. Cut it in half and dove in.
It was cooked to my perfect medium, pink all the way thru. It was delicious and exactly what I needed after a night of a few cocktails. Â The iceberg lettuce had an enjoyable crisp when biting into the sandwich. I even heard my buddies crisp as he took a bite.
The fries were great too. On my next visit I plan to stick with just the regular seasoned fries. I liked them a lot better than the waffle fries which were very large.
I ended up taking half of the burger/fries home as I could not finish it!
Only reason I didn't get it a full 5 star is it needs a bit of remodeling. It looks like they might be in the middle of some, with spackle on the ceiling and half torn up floors in the back of the room.
Had the most delicious Philly cheesesteak at the Mack! It was so cheesy and flavorful and did I mention cheese?? Yea, I had enough that I ended up eating every last French fry in an effort to "lick the plate" in a lady like manor. Should I thank them or curse them for being that good! Very friendly service too.
Review Source:Went here with a friend recently. I had mentioned that I drove by it, and he said he used to go there a lot. He then pined for it for a week before I agreed to go.
He decided to try the pretzels appetizer, which was amazing. Word of caution: they may coat these in crack; they were pretty addictive. He had the steak sandwich entree, which is what he had been missing since his last visit. I tried a bite and liked it. I had the fried cod entree. I hate fish, yet somehow it was really tasty. I'm not sure what is in their tarragon vinaigrette, but it was the best vinaigrette I've ever had. Also, you can't beat paying $7.50 for a salad and entree.
The place was pretty empty when we went there, maybe 6 other people. The bartender came to our table and served us drinks promptly. Our appetizer and salad were out really fast. The entrees took maybe 10 minutes longer than it took us to eat the appetizer. Pretty much, the service was WAY quicker and friendlier than I expected after reading the reviews.
I will definitely go back to try other items. (And to check out their drink specials!)
OK so I'm going to be in the minority here. We wanted something different, Â close to home and decided to try The Mack. Â
The steak on garlic bread sounded really good so we both ordered that. OMG this place is sooooo damn slow. It was becoming an uncomfortably longwait. I did notice on the menu it said they had a small kitchen and to just be patient. Believe what they say, Â you will wait a very long time for a very mediocre steak sandwich. I would guess we waited close to, if not an hour. The waitress was sweet and did keep filling up our glass' but Jesus Christ! Â Just not worth the wait.
The steak sandwich was OK. The meat was tough and had to be cut into smaller bites which was really too bad because the garlic bread and cheese was very good.The skinny fries were awesome. If you have a lot of time to just hang out I guess you could wait an hour for a sandwich, Â but nothing impressed me enough that I would ever come back. Service was just horrendous waiting for that damn sandwich.
P.S. This was late afternoon and we were the only ones in the place. A couple of tables filled up as we were waiting.
I've been to the Mack plenty of times, and while I think my days of hanging out here in the evenings with the 27 and unders are over, I do like to come in during the day  or early evening hours and watch the old ladies or neighborhood regulars hangout, and have beer or two and some food. The steak sandwich is the best in the city that I've had, and the Pizza is one of my favorites in the area. I guess depending on the cook for the evening, if you order the deluxe, you have a good chance of getting a pizza with a perfectly crunchy bacon topping. OMG it's so good.
And side note, I was in there last night with the carp to pick up some dinner, and I had a craving for a buffalo chicken sammich but they didn't have one on the menu. I asked if they made one and the owner dude totes said that they would make me one! AND OMG, it was SO GOOD.
Thanks Mack Owner Dude!!
We enjoy The Mack for good food and beer buckets. Â The prices are very reasonable if not 'cheap'. Â We will pop in for late lunch and football on a Sat or Sunday. Â The Tuesday night trivia is fun. Â If it's busy, service can be a bit slow, but server/bartender is always friendly. Â Don't expect anything fancy, it's a City neighborhood bar, proably why I like it. Â It is non smoking, so good news for those of us that enjoy being in a non smoking environment.
Review Source:Went to The Mack because there was a coupon in some ad rag. We went there to have dinner, as we are not drinkers, although my husband will (and did) order a beer.
Advice: in a burger place with bar food, order a burger. My husband had a burger and he thought it was good, but not great. More bun than burger, but it looked ok to me. Fries were well seasoned, but spicy, so watch it if you don't like spicy.
I didn't feel like fried food, so there was my mistake. I got the pork chop and a baked potato. First, there was a salad, which I can say was not the worst salad I have ever had, but I am a little picky about salad. I can say the lettuce was fresh and crisp. A few croutons, THINLY sliced tomato (2 slices), provel cheese and the house dressing--both too sweet and too tart. No crackers, no bread. Then the pork chop: it looked right, but so tough. The baked potato was big and hot and baked, but not quite baked enough. I couldn't finish the potato and didn't want to finish the pork chop. SHoulda got the hamburger.
Our table was a rickety mess. My husband had to hold the table top when I was sawing through the pork chop, because I was shaking the table so much. They put some kind of gravy on it, and with the rickety table and my weak cheap fork and knife, I splattered the gravy on my neck while trying to cut it.
Very cheap bill, though. Shoulda got the burger, as on Fridays, the burgers are half price, all day. What's wrong with me! If I want a burger in a place with no atmosphere at all, will go back. Otherwise, there are nicer places!
The Mack is a great place to hang out. I'm normally there on Thursday night; money permitting. Now, Thursday's crowd is very laid back. Grab a friend or a gal and pick up a bucket of beer, Prices are not too bad.
However, Saturday nights are a little different breed of animal. There was another review somewhere on here about the crowd getting very "bro-ish" and they are absolutely correct. Since I don't know too many people around where I live, I normally lone wolf it; and on Thursday's it's cool. However if you decide to go Saturday, DO NOT GO ALONE! Unless your Mystery from that pick up artist show, you will not fit in.
Other than the crowd on Saturday (which I know the bar has no control over) its a great place!
Recommended.
I REALLY enjoyed this burger. But the service was so bad. We went on a Tuesday night and there was literally A person working. She was both bartending and waiting on tables, and it was pretty packed for a Tuesday night. I don't fault her for being behind, she was alone, but they clearly need work in the staffing department.
The fries and burger were amazing, I thought, but my husband was so put off by service that he felt it was only OK and has not wanted to return.
Our first visit to The Mack was this 4th of July after the Macklind Mile. We hung out here after our run for a couple bloody marys and a few beers. It was different than what I expected but definitely worked for me. The bloody marys were good and the beers are cheap. We decided to try it out again last night for dinner, beers, and the Cards game since on our last visit we realized it had a good TV setup for watching a game.
There was a good crowd in the bar area with 1 open table, which we picked as it was perfect for viewing the game. We were greeted right away and ordered a $10 bucket of Natty Light bottles (6 in a bucket). We started off with an order of the spinach artichoke toasted rav (1/2 price and very good, never had this before) and I ordered the steak sandwich for my entree and my girlfriend got a burger. Both were great and I was pleasantly surprised by how tender and juicy the steak was in the sandwich.
The only reason it doesn't get 5 stars is b/c of the lack of beer selection. I'm fine w/ the beers they have but if I'm feeling like some different beers, I'll have to go somewhere else. I will go and get a $10 bucket of Natty and watch a game though.
The service was friendly and on top of everything and the food and drinks are cheap. It's a place where regulars hang out but we felt right at home. We will definitely be back.
Specials:
Sunday - 1/2 price 16" pizza and $9 domestic buckets
Monday - 1/2 price burgers from 5-10
Tuesday - Trivia at 8
Wednesday - $10 domestic buckets, $4 bombs 8-close
Thursday - 1/2 price apps 5-10
Friday - half price burgers all day
Saturday - DJ from 10-1am
$2 Natty Light all day everyday
They also had $10 Natty buckets and $12 domestic buckets on the daily specials board
And every time I hear the name of this place, all I can think of is the song "Return of The Mack" by Mark Morrison
It's not you Mack, it's me.
I dragged the beautiful wife here last weekend for lunch because she was in a burger mood. I had remembered reading that the Mack has positive reviews for their burgers and they had a steak sandwich that I was destined to try.
I'll start off the with positives:
1) Really, really, really friendly bartender/server. I felt bad that he had to walk all the way around the bar each time to help us, but he always had a smile on his face and seemed to actually care if we were happy or not.
2) The wings are pretty good -- they serve them on a plate in the sauce, so if you like your wings extra saucy, this is the place.
3) They had two of the bar televisions showing soccer.
4) The steak in my steak sandwich was perfectly cooked (medium rare)
5) The accompanying fries were hot and crisp. Nicely salted as well.
Now the ehhhs:
1) I didn't see any beer taps, just bottles. Basically all macros (including the Irish and Mexican macros). Do they have taps? Am I going to kick myself later for simply not asking?
2) The garlic bread of my steak sandwich was completely mushy. I was hoping for something a bit more crispy, not droopy. Not that I ate much of it (see below)
And finally, the dealbreakers:
1) This is a Den of Provel. Yes, other cheeses are available on certain dishes, but for things like pizzas, you're likely screwed.
2) I was so intent on getting the steak sandwich that I didn't notice the part on the menu where it was "served on cheese garlic bread." Erin thought I was having a stroke or something, because she automatically knew what "cheese" meant. And much to my horror, when my sandwich arrived, the bread was indeed covered with a coagulated Plasticine mess of Provel.
Fortunately, the steak wasn't contaminated, so it was eaten by itself. But consider yourself warned -- a nameless cheese is never a good cheese!
I suspect if I had gotten a burger instead (and controlled my cheese destiny), I'd be writing a 4 star review. But alas, I did not.
I can see why some people love this place, but between the distance from home base, the Proveliness of the food, and the uninspired bottled beer, it's likely not a place we'll ever return to.
The worst thing about The Mack is the heavy smoke smell, so if you're anti-smoke, get the food to go. Â Only went for lunch once and the service was awful so we couldn't go back because it took almost 1 1/2 hours. Â However, they have the best pizzas I've ever had. Â The deluxe is loaded with bacon (how can you go wrong with bacon??) Â The steak sandwich is incredible. Â Even the chicken tenders are outstanding and the order is HUGE. Â The fabulous food almost outweighs the horrible smoke, but on the bright side, in January 2011, St. Louis City goes NO SMOKING. Â And the beer is COLD. Love The Mack, and will love it even more when I can breathe in there.
Review Source:Started off a 7-bar pub crawl on Saturday at "The Mack". Â It was a little after 3 and none of us had eaten lunch in anticipation of the steak sandwich, which was vouched for by a Southampton native. Â With the spectacular storm brewing outside we prepared to hunker down for some pub grub and brews.
Three ordered the steak sandwich and I went with the 1 lb "Man Burger" (I knew I'd score some of the steak from my petit bride).
The burger was fantastic. Â If you've read my recent O'Connell's burger review you'll see I was none too fond of their offering. Â The Mack's burger blows O'Connell's burger away. Â Ironically, O'Connell's was just named the number 1 St Louis area burger according to the RFT. Â I challenge anyone to try them side by side and prefer O'Connell's flavorless bloodbath of ground-beef. Â Anyway, huge props for this massive, tasty cheeseburger, nicely priced at $7.50.
That all said, I should have gone for the steak sammy, as was the original plan. Â From what I tasted of my lady's sandwich, it was the best cutlet of steak I've had in all of St Louis. Â Yes, it was better than anything I have tasted at Tucker's Place (and I've had a steak or ten there). Â Trimmed of fat and gristle, the 5 chunks of perfectly-seasoned steak served between two pieces of cheese garlic bread were a steak-lover's dream. Â At $9 for the sandwich and side, I'd challenge anyone to find a better or larger cut of steak in the land. Â I have had dozens of mediocre steak sandwiches in my day. Â You know the ones where you take a bite and the entire piece of steak comes off in your teeth as you try to bite through the sinew and gristle, then inevitably have to spit a chunk of it into a napkin because there's no way it's fitting down the gullet? Â None of that here. Â I would estimate that the total weight of the 5 chunks of steak after cooking to be around 16 oz (or more). Â This is a bargain by anyone's standards.
Golden Tee on the widescreen. Â SilverStrike antiquated 2007 version. Â Nice side room for steel tip darts (5 boards). Â Friendly staff. Â Several flat screens.
Bon appetit!
We've passed by The Mack a few times and after reading the Yelp reviews I made a mental note to check it out.  We finally  went on a Thursday night for dinner and a couple drinks.
As we sat up to the bar we noticed that it was definitely a 20-30's hangout with a lot of regulars, like Kelly B. mentioned. Â Okay atmosphere, nothing too spectacular, but they do have a separate game room that's good for large groups.
I ordered the burger and Zack got the steak sandwich (what they're known for). Â Both entrees were delish! Â The steak sandwich was cooked perfectly medium, juicy, and massive. Â The burger was tender and flavorful. Â We were both satisfied. Â (BTW, They use the same seasoning on their fries as Tin Can)
I really wish they had a pool table - they have the room! Â Anyway, we left after a couple drinks and we'll definitely be back for more dinners!
This was one of our stops along the way for a birthday party Saturday night (see my review of the Stl Road Pony for more details).
We arrived around 8:30 pm, all dressed in 80's garb. The "regulars" definitely gave us some strange looks and even made some loud comments as we walked past. Who cares? We looked GOOD! OK, good maybe wasn't the right word. Authentic might be better :)
Regardless, there was power in numbers and we were ready to have a good time. Bellied up to the bar and were served right away. Before the DJ came on at 9:30, we were able to find plenty of 80's rock on the  jukebox to dance around to. And the guys who didn't want to dance played air hockey. Nice!
By 10:15, we were mingling with the regulars and they bought us a round of shots. Maybe by that time, they had gotten used to our strange getups. Or they had just enough to drink that everything was starting to make more sense. One guy tried to tell me that my bedazzled denim dress wasn't quite 80's enough for him...shows what he knows.
Got my tab before hopping back on the Road Pony - it was less than $20. That includes buying the b-day girl a beer, the bf a few drinks and a few beers for myself. That's a deal!
Can't wait to go back. In normal clothes, of course :)
This review may be a little skewed just because I never had any food, but rather, just traveled here with my husband for an evening drink.
We don't usually venture out of our quiet, comfy, Southampton house after 9pm on any given evening anymore, especially just for a drink, but the Mack is within walking distance of our home. After living in the area for almost 6 months, we thought it was time to at least try some of the bar establishments located near us.
He had a new castle because the beer he wanted wasn't on tap. I don't actually remember what it was, but he didn't seem too dissapointed. I had my current favorite, Red Bull and vodka. Mine was large and tasty and neither seemed too pricey.
The bar atmosphere is just that, a bar. There's a juke box, some cocktail tables with chairs, a divider between rooms, etc... Though, one of the rooms contained darts which I'm sure we'll be back with our friends for.
I've heard the food is pretty good if you're looking for pizza, burgers, fries...etc, which I'm totally up for more often than not. As I mentioned earlier, it is walking distance from my house, which makes it a pretty great local hang-out spot, though I wasn't totally impressed. I'm sure I'll be back another night when my husband and I are entertaining some buddies.
If you're not familiar with the concept of the term "Bro" then let me explain: They infest The Mack, which I thought was just a really cool neighborhood sports bar. You know, a place where it's ok to chow down on fried food wonders (toasted ravioli, chicken strips, etc.) and make fun of the Cardinals for not making it to the playoffs. Well, this is that kind of place... To an extent.
But the night I visited offered not only that sort of environment, but also offered a haven to Bros: popped collars, vacant conversation revolving around how wasted they got the other night, and a general sense of Bro-itude; I felt like swimming in Bro testosterone where they were all waiting to get into a fight... Or high-five each other all the time, while tacking on "Bro!" to the ends of their statements.
I went towards the back to check out their game room. Lo and Behold! A dart room! Immediately, my happiness pointes went up. It seemed like they were hosting dart leagues there.
The beer selection is mainstay Anheuser-Busch product, which in my opinion, adds to the Bro-ness of the place. But the service is pretty swift and on their game, since I basically mumbled my order.
They're good, South St. Louis folks there, it's just not my crowd. However, I'll consider going here with, say, my old college roommates, or a bachelor party prior to visiting the "Sauget Ballet."
The Mack is a Southampton neighborhood restaurant and bar. Â It's located in a quiet residential area that has a strip of eateries and bars right through it (Onesto, Keith's Tavern, The Murdoch Perk, etc.).
The Mack is a hang out for locals and good looking casual 20-30 somethings.  It's divided into three rooms and features a bar, juke box, low tables, cocktail tables, DJ's and other entertainment , and a game room in the back with dart boards and  bubble hockey. Â
Bar-food includes sandwiches, pizzas, salads and appetizers, with special attention given to steak sandwiches (what they are known for). Â I like their taco pizza.
Overall, The Mack is a fun, low-key hangout that is worth checking out. Â The only drawback I see is that the front and middle room are divided and fractured. Â It would work better if the wall was gone and it was more open.