I've been to the Southend location several times and have always enjoyed the food. Â The Cornelius location has left me disappointed. Â I've given it 2 or 3 tries but the food portions seem smaller and the quality much worse than what I remember about the Southend location. Â Perhapsthe quality at both locations have decreased as its been a few years since I've been to Southend. Â One thing for sure, the quality at Cornelius is lacking.
Review Source:Have had many great meals at this location of Mac's. Tender bbq and interesting sauces, excellent hushpuppies, potato salad is great too - green bean casserole is a fave, though sometimes crazy salty? Sitting outside on a cool evening is terrific, as it can get really loud indoors on nights when the joint is hopping. We often meet friends here - kids at one table, adults at a nearby table. Everybody's happy.
Review Source:I have a hard time with this Mac's location- it just doesn't live up to the others. I've had Mac's famous Mac N Cheese many times now at both of the Charlotte locations and they consistently deliver. This Mac N Cheese was a mushy,watery mess. What saddens me is that people think THIS is the place people rave about when it really isn't even close. The other complaint I have is the salad lettuce which is thinly veiled taco iceburg lettuce with one cherry tomato cut in half and a couple bacon-bits. The AC was also not working and I spent my dinner very uncomfortable.
If I had to go to this location again I'd stick to what they did well, the appetizers. I liked the nachos, pickle chips, and the wings were pretty tasty too. If you want the real Mac's experience head to another location...
A laid back, fun and friendly place. Â
The have a lot of BBQ and I think the best way to sample their variety is via the "A little bit of Stuff" plate. Its a combo plate, and you can pick 4 meats and 2 sides. Â I had their pull pork and that was good. Â Their ribs were kinda tough. The Sausage was FANTASTIC. Their brisket was also pretty good.
Lots of beer choices as well.
Overall, a fun place with good BBQ and beer.
Was visiting my sister in Cornelius. Â She called this spot a Biker Bar you can take your kids too. Â Seemed pretty apt. Â They have a pretty extensive menu so you should be able to bring a big crowd here and everyone will find something they like. Â I had a BBQ sandwich. Â The Que was ok, but the slaw was kind of boring. Â Also got a pimento cheese dip which sounded like a great idea, but didn't work so well in application. Â They had a pretty extensive beer selection. Â Solid 3 star joint. Â There's probably better options, but this place was pretty good.
Review Source:Wow, this place is great. Talk about flavor! The food, the people, the atmosphere. Loved it.
Let's start with the food. I live in California, so it might be that my BBQ standards aren't as high as the Carolina locals, but this place blew me away. Everything was fresh, hot, and incredibly flavorful and delicious. I've been craving the food ever since my visit.
We had:
* Mac's Chili - among the best I've had
* Smoked Pork Wings - never had these before; what a treat!
* A Whole Lot of Stuff (pulled pork, beer can chicken, smoked turkey, ribs) - everything was so tasty and delicious
* Sides (mac 'n cheese, baked beans, fries, green bean casserole) - again, everything was flavorful and delicious
The red sauce was so amazing, I ordered some online. I'm anxiously awaiting delivery.
The service was also perfect. Our waitress was friendly, attentive, competent, knowledgable, and she handled a few minor errors with style and grace.
I can't wait for a return trip to NC so I can return to Mac's!
We have been going to Mac's on Sunday night for years. Â This will be our last visit due to the slow service and food issues. Â We waited 20 minutes for a drink order then another 30 for our food. Â When we got our food we were missing a few things and the wings were undercooked. Â Drink refills? Â Forget about it. Â Hush puppies? Â If your lucky. Â What happened to the Mac's we used to love?
Review Source:I ordered the "St. Louis Ribs". They were the worst Ribs I've had in 20yrs! I was amazed that my teeth didn't break off trying to pull the meat from the bone. Both people at my table who ordered these ribs couldn't believe how dry and tough they were. We couldn't cut the ribs appart with a steak knife. Manager did refund 1 order but I will not be coming back.
Review Source:Mac's is good but not great, especially when it comes to most of the food. Â As some others have said, the bar, beer, atmosphere, etc. is at minimum 4 stars, same on the service side.
The food, especially their BBQ, is just 2 stars, well below middle of the road though. Â The brisket is generally dry and sliced WAY too thick while the pulled pork has a mild smoke flavor but not as much as one would expect, it also tends to come out with too much fat vs. being pulled properly. Â The coleslaw is hit or miss. Â When it's properly dressed, it has a really nice, slightly spicy flavor but, too many times (like my visit this weekend) it comes out almost like dry shredded cabbage mix that got spritzed with vinegar.
The good of the food for me includes the onion rings which are fresh made and really tasty dipped in BBQ sauce. I also like their salad which is pretty basic shredded lettuce and not much else but, you get lots of blue cheese and bacon. Â The burgers taste good too but are a bit dry. Â That is on ridiculous NC state food preparation laws though, not as much on Mac's. Â Lots of toppings to choose from as well which is nice.
While there are better food options around, I like the rest of the package enough to go hang out at the bar and grab a bite every once in a while.
Stopped in for dinner this evening and was extremely disappointed. Â Having visited the Southend location several times, I'm fairly certain that the Cornelius location can not compare in anyway.
First, the $4 margarita special is a joke. It tasted like straight sour mix and ice and fortunately my husband figured out that adding water to the drink may it drinkable.
The complimentary hushpuppies and service was o.k., and my small "lil pig" sandwich was pretty good.
Mac and Cheese lacked flavor...similar to a previous review, the macaroni was slimy and the cheese was non-existant. Â
Husband ordered the brisket and I felt so bad for him. Â I tasted it and it was very much over cooked and tough as cardboard. Â DISGUSTING! Â And for $16?!?! C'mon Mac's get it together!! Â
Safe to say that we will never return. Â Guess it is worth the 30 minute wait at Taco Mac next time.
I've been to the other two Mac's locations and they were both really good. Unfortunately I was pretty disappointed with the food here. The brisket was extremely dry and they water down their sauces. It's like they reheat their food in the microwave. This is a poor addition to the Mac's family.
Review Source:I really wanted this place to be a lot better, but I feel like the aura and reputation of "Mac's" have unfortunately allowed them to slip a bit when it comes to the food.
The beer, service, & atmosphere are GREAT, and that is what bumped the review up to 3 stars for me, however I'll explain why I continue to remain unimpressed by their food at this particular location.
Every time I order, the food comes out in about 2 minutes. While for some people this is a good thing, it just makes me wonder how much of their food they're cooking ahead of time. I think they precook a lot of their meats & sides, and it's just like cafeteria style when it's served. This method, unfortunately, caused the meat on my Ribs to be really tough & chewy, and my mac & cheese came out so hot (microwaved) that I couldn't even eat it at first, I had to wait like 3-4 minutes for it to cool down. For my money, I'd much rather wait and have something that's fresh off the grill or out of the smoker...
The food and menu have tremendous capability, I just think they are slipping a bit on execution; there's no doubt I'll continue to go back, as I've been a fan of their Southend location for years. I just hope that the kitchen staff at this location can begin to change their ways.
I love this place. My boyfriend is in the military and they give 50 percent off for military (with your id of course). Everything we have ever ordered here has been excellent. Their bbq is sweet and savory and so is the beef brisket. The rotisserie (beer can) chicken will melt in your mouth. I love their green bean casserole as well. Can't wait to go back. Now I'm getting hungry, yum.
Review Source:Macs has proven to be one of my tougher reviews. There's a lot to like about it and a bit to not like about it. My mixed experience there makes for quite a mixed review.
The miss' and I went for dinner on a Saturday night at 6:00pm. It was not busy and we were greeted and sat immediately. The waitress came over soon after and asked what we wanted to drink, but there were no beer lists on the table, so we had to wait for her to find some and bring them over. Why there just wasn't one on each table is beyond me. Anywho, once I had the beer list in my hands I was blown away. I would guestimate that Mac's keeps over 100 different beers on hand, be they draft, bottle or can. The vast selection of beer was definitely a huge plus and something that would definitely bring me back.
After taking our orders the waitress dropped off the complimentary hush puppies. They were pretty darn good...firm, sweet, and not too doughy. For an appetizer we split an order of a half dozen wings ($4.50) in honey BBQ sauce. The wings are grilled, not fried, and having that smokey, char taste and texture to them worked wonders in my mouth. I fell in love with these meaty wings and I would highly recommend them as a nice, light appetizer.
Then came the dinners. The miss' went with the beer can chicken ($9.00) and it was very good. The chicken was juicy and not dried out...simple yet very effective. Being a BBQ fanatic I wanted to try as many of their things as I could to see what they did best, so I ordered the "A Little Bit of It All" combo platter. It's a custom platter where you select four meats and two sides. I went with the smoked turkey, ribs, brisket and sausage. Right off the bat I have to say that the ribs and brisket were cold like they had been sitting on a counter for quite some time. This was a huge turn-off for me, particularly with the brisket. The brisket was a nice, juicy cut of meat and was mighty tender, but I think the low temperature made it tougher than it normally would have been. Also, cold meat tastes a lot different than hot meat so that was another strike against the brisket. The ribs were also not piping hot when receiving them, but they turned out better than the brisket. They were fall off the bone tender but had quite a bit of meat on them, and it tore off in nice, satisfying hunks.
The sausage was not what I expected. I'm pretty sure it was a beef sausage as opposed to the pork sausage I'm used to getting at BBQ joints. Also, it was a leaner sausage than I was used to, so it was a strong beefy, tough, dry bit of meat. This wasn't a bad thing though, as it was also crisp and spicy, and all these things together made for a pretty good sausage. Then came the smoked turkey. This thing knocked my socks off! I didn't know what to expect...part of me kind of thought it would be just slices of turkey breast that were smoked, while the other part hoped for something more. It did indeed end up being something more, and I never thought I would say this but the turkey was the best meat at this BBQ joint. It was indeed smoked but it's shredded/pulled and has just a bit of sauce on it. It's simple yet delectable, and it was one heck of a moist smoked meat (no nasty dry white meat turkey). It kind of reminded me of those giant awesome turkey legs you get at Disney World and other fairs/ events. It was totally awesome and by far the best turkey I have ever eaten out (and probably better than the turkey I had at Thanksgiving, but don't tell my mom that.)
Next thing to talk about are the sides. My wife and I both had the mac & cheese and we were both disappointed with it. The mac portion was slimy and super soft like it was cooked for hours in the boiling water. The cheese part was practically non-existent as there was very little flavor to it. My other side choice was the potato salad which not bad yet nothing amazing.
The last thing I need to talk about is the BBQ sauce. I'm from New York, so the BBQ sauce I am used to is thick and sweet. Now I'm not bashing Carolina BBQ, but I am just not a fan (yet) of the watery vinegar-based sauces with a bite that are down here. I'm 110% Â certain that over time I will acquire a taste for them and will eventually be poo-pooing the overly sweet, rich sauces but I just couldn't help thinking how different the food would have been with a thicker sauce on it.
So Mac's does some things good. An awesome beer selection, great smoked turkey and grilled wings, and decent ribs and brisket (though best brisket so far still goes to Lancasters.) I didn't mind the "biker bar" type theme, but I didn't go there for it either. I was a bit disappointed with the cold food, side choices and the sauce. Would I come back? Yes I would, but only after I have tried several other BBQ joints in the area first.
Enticed by The Wing Dings on the menu, I visited this location.  They have a number of booths but they fit only four. With five in my party, I would not sit a young 5-year old  on a bar stool! Â
Service was great and the staff were friendly and accommodating. Â I ended up with a veggie plate with mac & cheese...I had to try it, collard greens and potato salad. Â The mac & cheese was pretty good, as were the greens with a bit of heat on them. Â The kids enjoyed a chicken finger plate (two fingers) and a bbq sandwich which they nibbled on, having had a heavy snack before we arrived. Â The others in my party enjoyed the blackened talapia sandwich with heat on it as well and it looked as good as it tasted. Â The warm chocolate brownie with ice cream topped off the meal, but the brownie was on the cool side. Â
We arrived around 6 pm but the atmosphere was more of an after-work, stop in for a drink environment. Â Overall, my first visit to this location was not bad and I look forward to visiting the South Boulevard location.
I order their very fresh homemade Southern style  mac 'n cheese and beer can chicken. Food arrives fresh and rather fast.  The food quality is very consistent. I am a regular here and consider Mac's one of my favorite eating establishments. Atmosphere very much a casual bar with biker theme. Lots of tables to eat outside. Live music at certain times and always interesting cars shows and bikes in the parking lot.  There are other locations around Charlotte.
Review Source:Skip the BBQ, get the beer can chicken. A half or quarter of chicken roasted on top of a beer can. Great with the different sauces and fixins. All of their sides--mac and cheese and green bean caserole--were delicious. A little bit of a culture shock--Lake Norman preps with khakis rolling up in their Lexus to a biker joint, but great food non-the-less.
Review Source:I should of stayed home and had cereal. I go out for BBQ only several times a year and I was really in the mood for good BBQ. Arrived and smelled smoke from the smoker out back of the restaurant.I was expecting great things. I ordered a lg BBQ sandwich and the portion size was just OK for $8/9 bucks. It came and was soaking wet and tasted as if it was pork potroast that had been boiling in water all day. No smoke flavor!! No real flavor AT ALL!! It wasen't bad but it had no taste. My friend had a luke cold burger and fries that were room temp. We couldn't figure out why anyone would eat here. Maybe it's the sports bar/nascar theme draw???Don't know if they had a really bad night or if this was their usual fare. I won't be back!!
Review Source:No Jive Turkey here! Â (Actually, I just found out that Mac's now serves an open-faced turkey sandwich, sans the gravy). Â
Went here w/ some out-of-town friends and their kids as they passed thru the CLT heading north on ye olde I-77.
Atmosphere - Sunday afternoon busy, noisy, entertaining.
Service - The girl at the front was great! Â I arrived before my friends did and asked if there was a booth available. Â She worked to get me one before they arrived and was completely pleasant about meeting our needs...even gave the kids the coloring sheets and crayons. Â The waitress was good, although she was a little slower on the refills than I normally like...but they were busy.
Food - I had the open-faced turkey sandwich and onion rings. Â FYI - the hush puppies, while smaller now, come free w/ your meal. Â The food arrived hot and my meal consisted of two slices of Texas toast w/ a large portion of white meat turkey along w/ the tasty onion rings, side sauce, and Hopping John's (beans and rice). Â The turkey, while a little dry was easily moistened with the four sauces that Mac's now carry. Â The onion rings were great as normal and the Hopping John's was decent. Â One observation that my friend's wife and I made was that the side sauce that comes with the o-rings tastes like Mad's signature sauce but it is thicker and more appetizing. Â Next time I go, I will be placing this sauce on my pork sandwich! Â
Price - $10 Turkey Plate. Â Great value for the amount of turkey I received.
Overall - I had a nice experience that keeps me coming back!
Mac's has a great atmosphere and delicious food! Â The restaurant is more spacious than the south Charlotte location, and the clientele is a mix of all kinds of folks. Â They play awesome rock music. Â We haven't found a single thing that we did not love, but the deviled eggs, pork BBQ, onion rings, and mac and cheese are my personal favorites. Their beer list is extensive and reasonably priced (as is the dining menu). Â Service is fast and efficient. Mac's has become one of our favorites for their great food and value!
Review Source:Hands down the best BBQ I have had in Charlotte. There beer list is extensive and they have great specials. Â Overall it is not that expensive especially for what you get. Â The times I have been there it seems to be a great environment. Â It is set up as a biker bar but is a great place for anyone to go.
Review Source:I get it. Â I got it. Â It delivers okay. Â For a place that is suppose to have superior barbecue, I got to say... BLAH. Â Marketing and hype folks. Â The energy or decor comes from the yuppies who want to slum it, but still know they can get their Heinie.
If it was not so staged, this would be the diamond in the rough... but it is staged... it feels fake. Â You feel dooped.
The addition of Mac's Speed Shop is the latest in the puzzling trend of biker hangouts trying to establish a foothold in the lake community.
However, this one seems to be gaining a foothold, largely because Mac's is a good time!
As for the food, I can't seem to get away from the Hand-pulled Pork BBQ Sandwich, which is excellent and nearly requires two people to eat. My friends have told me the BBQ plates and ribs are also good.
It is a laid-back, yet energetic place with great barbecue. An excellent place to swing by for lunch, if you don't mind fighting the lunch crowds.
You can expect to pay anywhere from $10 to $20, depending on how much beer you drink before heading back to the office!
When the sun goes down is when Mac's pulls on its biker gear and gets down to business. I rolled by there most recently on a Thursday night, and it was like the Hell's Angels had come to town. There were bikes everywhere, the front patio was filled with people, and a band was setting up. Looked like a party to me!
Mac's has turned out to be a refreshing, different kind of nightspot from some of the  other "look-at-me" options around the lake.
It's good to have variety!
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