Mac’s Tavern

This is a neat place for late night food in Cary. It was open mic night, and that was entertaining. The server, Evan, was very friendly and made us feel like we come in all the time. He truly made us feel welcome.
We shared a buffalo chicken sandwich with fries, supreme nachos with blackened chicken, and jalapeño poppers. The food was fresh, hot, and tasty.
I highly recommend this place.

One of my favorite, if not my favorite bar in the Triangle. The food is always prepared as asked, and the wings are great. I really enjoy the football menu that has numerous things to pick from. Not many place around the triangle have that. The best part about this place is the staff. Everyone is awesome and friendly. I would highly recommend this place for anyone looking for a place to have good drinks, food, and sports.

Nice chill local neighborhood bar. I’ve become a regular over the last couple years. Food is alright, prices are great & the staff is consistent & remembers its regulars. If you live around Cary mall area def a spot to visit regularly for a cheap drink out.

Worst. Decision. Ever.
I thought maybe a local sports bar would offer some local color, maybe some decent food. Not so. The best part of my visit was the beer; they had a local Edinbrue IPA, which hit the spot. I can’t say as much for the French dip. At least the tots were fried all the way through.
Unless you’re a hopeful in the comedy open mic night (I left before it started) or a crappy dive bar enthusiast, stay away. Far, far away.

Not sure why this place is categorized as a dive bar — It’s not. The crowd appears to be blue collar folks who lean on the shoe-​wearing, dentist-​visiting side; Not the beer guzzling, bar brawling, anarchist type one typically associates with a dive bar. In fact, I think this crowd just likes to drink beer, socialize amid a non-​pretensious, genuine atmosphere with like-​minded people and have some decent tunes in their ears. Nah, not a dive bar… But far from the re-​branded applebeesish snotty bar scene that’s all too common here.
This is more of a neighborhood watering hole hiding in a strip mall.
Bartenders have never laid eyes on me and were accomodating as if I was a regular. I was fed great food and my beer stayed cold and full. The patrons actually spoke and were very welcoming. Not only is this a refreshing place, I will return and encourage others to visit!

**This review is for the outdoor dining area only.** Mac’s is a pretty standard sports bar. Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it. We came here on a Friday night because the food was really cheap and they had live music.
The indoor dining/​bar area was very musty and unpleasant — I definitely wouldn’t want to hang out inside. There was no host, so we asked the bartender if there was outdoor seating. He literally just responded, «Yes.» We then had to proceed to ask him how to actually get to the outdoor area.
The back patio is pretty big. The band was setting up when we got there. Servers were quick and attentive. Our drinks and appetizer came out promptly. (On Friday nights, they have $ 3.75 pints.) For dinner, I had the fish and chips, and my husband had a cheeseburger. The food was standard bar food — definitely enjoyable, but nothing to write home about.
The band (Steelwater, I think) was great. I think I knew the words to every song they sang. The crowd was kind of weird — quite a few old drunk guys. Definitely not a «girl’s night out» type of place.
Mac’s seems like a nice place to hang out, grab a beer and listen to live music. I wouldn’t go here if the weather was bad or during the winter, though — no way I’d ever sit in that dark, smelly dining room inside.

Went to a painting class here and was excited to get some good bar food. Sadly, the food was not up to par. I ordered buffalo chicken strips and they were obviously store bought and very processed. The buffalo sauce was good and hot though. I also had jalapeño poppers which were pretty good. The bartenders were very nice and brought our food out to us. Seems like a fun bar scene and the food might taste better if you have a good buzz going on.

Love it. Great place to chill and have a drink. Love the bartenders. Always make my drinks the way I want them.

best servers and bartenders in the area! love the wings, the rest of the food there is *meh*, but we don’t go for the food! (although I think they should bottle their wing sauce and sell it!)
bands are usually hit or miss… open mic in the summer on the patio is great!

They were still serving lunch on a Monday at 3pm! The one worker (server/​bar tender) was very courteous. The burger, fries, and Cole slaw were very good and it came out pretty fast. The atmosphere is nice and the pricing is very reasonable! I’ll definitely go again!

I love this dive bar. The service is always great! Food is great. Plenty of TVs. It kind of smells weird but I expect nothing less from a local dive bar. Great people.

Great service. Great people. Nuff said. Was in from Boston and met a bunch of funny peeps. Even one from Boston and my home town Miami. Good times. Bar tenders were better that a TV show. Worth the visit.

Mac’s Tavern is far from fancy. It’s a wonderful little out-​of-​the-​way place. The atmosphere is what you make it – sporty, Irish, whatever. The place is decent enough to take children but relaxed enough to have a good time with adult friends. The staffers are quick to serve and when they get to know you, they’ll pour your usual as you walk in the door. I’ve been here several times and have rarely had a bad experience.

Mac’s Tavern is an obscure little bar tucked away in a strip mall round back behind the Ollie’s. We stumbled on it after driving in circles trying to decide on a place to eat that met the needs of everyone in the car.
Mac’s is certainly «worn in» and definitely utilitarian… the paint is peeling, the blinds are bent, the carpet is industrial, and the tables are scuffed. Despite that, once you hang out for awhile, Mac’s feels kinda homey.
There are pool tables in the back that are free on Sunday. There are the obligatory dive bar poker machines, dart boards and lots of screens for watching the games. The bartenders and waitresses are all business, efficient and brief in the effort to meet the needs of all the tables and customers… seemingly understaffed, but what do I know.
Despite this outside rough and tumble image, the food at Mac’s Tavern is surprisingly delicious! My burger was perfectly cooked medium rare, the fries were outstanding, the coleslaw creamy and delicious. You don’t want to miss the wings… wow! No fussy breading; delightfully crispy with a scrumptious sauce. The fish and chips were phenomenal! Honestly, we were shocked… five stars for the food.
Not sure what the situation is on a busy Friday or Saturday night., but Mac’s is certainly a go-​to place on leisurely Sunday afternoon.

I’m not really sure what Mac’s is trying to be? Irish bar, sports bar, rock club?
I stopped by to watch a bit of college football and I was really disappointed in the sports bar aspect. They had great drink specials – $ 2 cans of Coors, Miller Light, and Busch Light – and food specials (wings, personal pizzas, etc.). However, I was really disappointed that the TVs are really high on the wall and around the edges so very few seats in the place provide prime viewing of the TVs. The TVs are also on the smaller side for a sports bar. So much so that I was seated at the bar, turned around to the TVs on the other wall (because a giant post and the huge bartender area obstructed the view of the TVs behind the bar), and I was squinting to see the tickers on any of the three TVs. It seems like someone had a really good idea of decorating the place, but didn’t actually try it out – because it’s visually appealing, just not practical.
There was also going to be a rock concert later on in the night – I wasn’t sure how that fit in with the otherwise seemingly sports bar personality. They also had that electronic name-​the-​missing-​lyric trivia thing on some of the TVs.
Anyway, the crowd was a little rowdier than bars that I’m used to (seriously, there was almost a bar fight between two guys almost my parent’s age). But if you like that scene, go for the 80s rock cover bands, or to drink a lot for cheap, this could be your place.

One visit: Interesting dive bar with live music, open mic style, on Wednesday nights. The food (fish n chips for me) is okay, for bar food, nothing to write home about. The house Cabernet is actually pretty decent. However, service becomes spotty when there’s only one server to address everyone who’s outside for the music. Pest control is in order for the outside at least, and a good solid power washing… not sure what it’s like inside.
The open mic is acoustic in nature, the performers seemingly auditioning for other performers. Still, it’s all good and fun to listen to some of it. Hearing an acoustic version of Led Zep’s «Dancing Days» done well is always a plus. Brand new music was heard from guys who were bold enough to perform original material that’s actually good. Looking forward to coming back, more for the music than the food/​drinks.

When i think ‘tavern’ I see a dark wooden bar, low lighting, rough older Irish bar tenders, something with character.
This place is more sports bar than tavern. Weird music, weird people. While we were playing darts a fellow patron was yelling about how she hates famous people who adopt foreign kids, she could care less if they die. Just a weird crowd.
The dart setup is good a lot of space. It’s a big place we didn’t feel like we were on top of anyone.
The bartender was cordial enough.

This is a great dive bar. By no means awesome in and of itself, but a great dive bar.
Decent bar food, and a rather nice darts area. The place is big enough to be spacious and accommodating when it’s not busy, but small enough to «cozy» when it’s packed. I think it strikes a good balance.
No dessert, which was weird. Not a lot of cool things on tap. But if you’re looking for a nice easy bar, this one works.

This is a nice dive bar — if there is such a thing.
The staff is very friendly and very quick to great you. Sit at the bar, sit at a table, or sit outside.
The outdoor seating is the best — its huge. They also have cornhole out there sometimes too. They have pool tables and darts.
The dart area is actually pretty big and they have cocktail tables for you to still be able to sit with some friends while playing.
The food is very good and I’ve never had anythign I dont like.
When we lived closer, this was our go to hang out after a long day to just chill and hangout.
The location is pretty crappy in an old aging strip mall, but look past it and head inside.

*3.5 Stars*
Cool sports bar located in a strip mall. Went here last night for a brew, grub and playoff baseball. Bartender was really cool and knew how to pour a Guinness. Started with some Mac Potato Bites (deep friend mashed potato’s with a hint of spicy flavor). They were great! They had ranch on the side to dip in. Ordered a burger and it was ok. It was cooked like I wanted it but was middle of the pack compared to others. Bun was solid but toppings were ok. Had a couple of fries since I am all fried out. They had trivia night while I was there so the volume of the TV’s was off which was kind of bizarre. A few TV’s a good selection of draft/​bottled beers make this place a cool spot to go catch a game and a bite. Enjoy!