Mac & Cheeza

Not surprised that this place closed down. I’d love to give this place 4 stars, but I just can’t.
Gah… feel like I really need to write this review since I’m a stickler for customer service. While I was in LA, I decided to stop by here because I wanted something really cheesy. When we walked into the place, it was dead. There were no customers in there and two staff members. The girl who was at the counter greeted us with a «Hello! Welcome! Please tell me you’re not using an online coupon…» Ummm… wut?! The last time I checked, Groupon and Living Social brought business to blooming places and when I was there, the place looked pretty dead and it was prime time lunch hour. So womp womp. My bf and I didn’t have a coupon so we proceeded to order.
I got a baby mac and topped it off with the cheese blend. I did the standard pasta and cheese base. The cheese sauce they poured onto the pasta was like this watered-​down béchamel sauce. It’s not so appealing when you’re mac and cheese is like a mac and cheese stew. Anyways, the cheese blend was alright. I think I was looking for more of a crusty crispy type texture up top, but whateves.
I was just so thrown off by the opening comment by the cashier. The mac and cheese didn’t taste bad, it was actually pretty good, but the texture was off. I can probably account their closing down for the copious amounts of customers with coupons and their lack of customer service. Honestly though, I’m not paying $ 1 extra to top my baby mac off with a small amount of extras. I think the prices should be different for each size of mac. Clearly not gonna put $ 1 worth of toppings on a daddy mac that you’d put on a baby mac, so pricing strategies are whack. Meh, they’re closed anyways. Good riddance.

My 5 is mostly based on customer service. I called asking about parking and explained I wanted a take out order. It’s raining today I have been cleaning all day I want to go home and eat. Josh, one of the owners told me to pull in the alley and he would do curbside.
I did a vegan Mac on rice with veg sausage, mushrooms and walnut topping. He helped me with the size, I haven’t eaten all day so I got the momma Mac. I ate it all.
My total was $ 12… I told him I would have a 20 so he was able to bring the proper change. That is def more than I would normally pay for lunch but I have wanted to try it for awhile and with that customer service I’m glad to pay it. I should have left a tip but I got too busy telling him his service was great.
I will be back to try something different. I hope this plays succeeds.
One suggestion– a cashew cheese option for those allergic to gluten, dairy and soy :) then I can bring my friend who would love you forever!

A big thank you to the guys that helped with my massive Mac Daddy order for a friends’ birthday party a few months ago! You all were so helpful and quick! Mac & Cheeza, you were a hit at the party, and I’m sad to see you go — so please, get that food truck going soon so I can bring all my friends to have a «carbfatkid night».

First of all let me state that I love Mac & Cheese.
Now on to the review:
We arrived at 8:45. They were closed for 30 minutes for some reason so a line had formed. When they reopened at 9 things seemed to be flowing fairly well. We had placed our order by 9:10 and stood outside to wait for our food. At first food seemed to be coming out but by 9:20 no food was coming out of their front of house oven. Even though the employees seemed to be preparing food at a constant rate, the oven seemed to be devouring the food on it’s own.
By 9:45 the pair of Asian girls and their boy that ordered before us got their food. Ten minutes after that we walk in to inquire about our food and we were then told that «someone else» must have taken it. Both my friend and I discuss the fact that we were standing at the door the entire time we were waiting and they never once called out our name or order so we know «someone else» did not take it. Regardless we ask them to make it again and get it out ASAP… while they begin to prepare our food again they discover that they are out of some of the ingredients.
Now get me this… if half of your toppings are whited out, why are you out of half of the items you still offer?
It was 10:15 by the time we got our food. Yes 1:30 hours after we arrived at the restaurant. On top of that, neither of us thought the food was great. If two starving men think something is only okay… I can’t imagine how bad it would taste to someone who did not wait until 10:15 to have dinner.
The worst part is if we did not have a Living Social deal our Mac & Cheese would have cost $ 14 — 17 each. In my opinion NOT WORTH IT.
I thought these guys had a good concept but their execution is poor. The cheese sauce is flavorless, the toppings are expensive and half of them are «out of stock». I will never be coming back to this restaurant.

Parking… what parking? Either you’re going to drive around the annoying one way streets of Downtown LA a few times before you get lucky or you’re going to pay to park in a lot which will probably will be like highway robbery. Have patience, keep circling like a vulture around a dead carcass.
The store is very simple, small, but cozy. I hope you love mac and cheese because that’s pretty much all they have. Can you truly have healthy mac and cheese? I believe that is a rhetorical question. We all know this comfort food is far from being a diet friendly type grindage. The worst part about it is that if it tastes good, it probably contains a lot of unhealthy stuff we don’t want to know about. Mac & Cheeza allows you to customize the way you want it. Think of Subway but with mac n cheese. Whether you’re planning on feeding just yourself or in need of an item for that holiday potluck party, they can help.
I read reviews about the blandness and the watered down cheese. Honestly, it wasn’t bad. I can see that the taste wasn’t über strong but with some add-​ons like bacon, it definitely helped. I also ordered the soy just to see the difference. My initial reactions were somewhat questionable; from the taste to the texture itself. However, it eventually grew on me. I found myself cracking into the soy mac (sided it with bbq chicken) more than the regular mac cheese.
When you’re on a budget, you can’t throw the toppings too leisurely. Although just a dollar here and there, it’ll add up. Mac & Cheeza isn’t exactly light on the wallet. Its $ 5 for the Baby Mac, Momma Mac $ 10, Daddy Mac $ 20, and the Mac Daddy $ 30 (with one additional free topping for the Momma Mac and the bigger sizes). Eventually all those additional toppings will add up if you keep piling it on.
Overall, I think the mac n cheese I picked up on this day wasn’t too bad. It didn’t turn out as distasteful as some of the reviews had mentioned. It wasn’t the best either but I believe we still enjoyed it. The soy was probably the most interesting one though and if I was to go back, I think I would try the soy with other toppings.
Parking is a burn and if you’re ordering a bigger size, expect to wait some time while the mac is being cooked on the conveyor belt machine.

Came here on a Tuesday and the place was empty. It is not located in the best area but we thought the concept was so good we wanted to give it a try. And to confirm, the concept is great! Build your own Mac & Cheese! They lay it out for you in simple steps:
1. Pick a size
2. Pick a noodle (regular or gluten free)
3. Pick a base (cheese or soy)
4. Pick toppings (a bunch)
5. Pick top (cheese or walnuts)
I had the Momma Mac size which gave me left overs fo rthe next day, regular noodle with cheese base and hot links, topped with walnuts. The walnut top was amazing, as was the hot links. They gave it a nice kick. The noodles and cheese were just okay. It was ready in about 5 minutes and you can see the guy making it.
All in all, an okay experience, this would be good for take out and eaten somewhere else, not here. They do do take and bake for the same price. I wish they offered something else on the menu besides just the mac & cheese to go with your meal. Oh and minus one star for not having a restroom. There you have it.

This was tour stop #2 of my food tour of downtown Los Angeles.
Ambiance:
Small space. Only 2 tables. Not good for eating in.
Food:
I got to try 4 different kinds of mac & cheese:
1.) Chicken, Jalapenos, Spicy Toasted Walnuts
2.) Bacon, Peas
3.) Mushroom, Chicken
4.) Spinach, Tomato
The food was okay. Definitely not the best mac & cheese I have had but definitely not the worst. I didn’t think the cheese was very flavorful. The mac almost had a bitterness and blandness to it. I do however like that you can customize your mac with the varieties of toppings they offer. I really like the spicy toasted walnuts (and I normally hate walnuts). It added a great crunch to the mac.
Service:
The owner greeted us and she seemed nice. There were some other customers there and they seemed to have waited along time for their food and it appeared that they no longer wanted to wait so they asked for a refund. The owner definitely got flustered/​frustrated and it got a bit awkward. The other wait staff person didn’t appear to be very friendly in that he didn’t seem to care about the customers that were there (those customers that were outside our tour group).
Overall:
This is a fun place to try but I would recommend take out, unless the place is empty and there is a table. It’s very expensive. I would recommend it if you want mac & cheese and don’t have time to make it at home.

We took a Six Taste tour a few weeks ago and Mac and Cheeza was one of our stops. We we served a tray with two kinds of mac n cheese, and while I’m no expert on this subject, I just loved the idea of being able to customize your mac n cheese. Everything tasted good, I plan on taking my friend that LOVES mac n cheese there.
Cons… in a shady part of Downtown (other people would probably call it «developing»), tiny place with very few tables inside and they could really use A/​C!

Ok wait… THIS place is OH MY CHEEZA (see review below).
I’m a cheesehead– I love cheese. LOVE it. Naturally, I love mac & cheese and I always have to order when I see it on the menu at restaurants. When I found out there was a spot entirely decorated to this melty goodness, I was beyond elated. Imagine my SQUEALS of joy when I further discovered that my bestie (who recently moved downtown) lives IN the building above mac & cheeza. Yup. I also bought a livingsocial deal here too.
After drinks at a bar, we hopped in a cab back to her place, and popped in at 1:55am for some drunk eatins to go. The place closes at 2, so I was ready for them to be pissed off when we walked in while they were cleaning, but the lady was super nice. I ordered a baby with shrooms and ham, with the cheese blend on top of course. OMG it was so good. I loved the mushrooms, the crispy top, the cheese blend. It was soooo goooood, and the baby was big enough for me to eat my drunky fill AND have the leftovers for lunch the next day. My friend got chorizo in hers and it added an awesome spicy kick. I can’t wait to go back, that stuff was delicous…
TIPS: There are only two tables inside, so it’s really just a to-​go place. Plus I’ve heard it’s crowded as hell at lunchtime.

Tried this place because of some online special and I love mac & cheese. However, this place was a bit disappointing.
If you’re looking for a restaurant type place this is not it. It’s definitely a take out place.
Basically it’s a build your mac & cheese. I think they cook the pasta beforehand, add your mix-​ins (ex., bacon, chorizo, spinach, mushrooms, etc.) and the cheese and then they run it through a broiler. The best portion is the crunchy top, but unfortunately the mac & cheese in the middle was kind of lukewarm and not all of my pasta was cooked through.
Mac & Cheese with Mushrooms and Bacon was decent.
Mac & Cheese with Tomatoes, Spinach, and Chorizo was edible. It was kind of watery which could be from the tomatoes.
Bottom line I think the trader joe’s mac & cheese is comparable or even better.

came here on a sunday… warm outside with a slight breeze… but inside was an OVEN! SUPER tiny inside, with two small tables, some extra chairs and a side bench… so doesnt seem too much like you would eat in.
we came to try the place with a livingsocial coupon… where u have a credit of $ 20? yet we still paid an extra $ 7. we got two momma macs ($ 10 each)…which for a guy would be enuf and plenty… but for me… i barely finished half… damn my eyes… bigger than my stomach! :)
we got both with regular elbow macaroni (other choice being a gluten free rice macaroni or something) with cheese base (other choice being a soy base: good for vegetarian and vegans). each side u mix in is like $ 1 or something. i got bbq chicken and jalapeño… not enuf jalapeño imo with the spicy walnut topping (didn’t really taste it), friend got bbq chicken and bacon w/​cheese topping… i love bacon mind you… but i think it overpowered it. so yea… maybe i’ll come back… wasn’t bad… but a lil too expensive just for mac and cheese, no matter how interesting you can make it

CAUTION: Baby Mac appears much larger in Unilocal pictures than in reality.
I bought the $ 10 for $ 20 credit LivingSocial deal because I’ve never had customized mac&cheese before. I came here with a friend for dinner on a Monday night at around 6 and the place was pretty empty. It’s quite small inside and there is very little seating. I guess people usually take their mac&cheese to go? It was ridiculously warm inside due to the heat from the oven. For a place so tiny, I don’t know why they wouldn’t turn their AC temp lower.
How it works: The appeal of this place is customization. You get to choose from 4 sizes baby/​mama/​daddy/​mac daddy, choose between macaroni or rice, choose between a cheese or soy base, add as many veggie/​meat add-​ons as you want for $ 1 each, and choose between a cheese blend or spicy walnut topping.
Baby Mac + Spinach + Tuna + Spicy Walnut Topping ($ 7) = Like I mentioned already, the baby mac is pretty small, but thankfully I wasn’t hungry at all. The spicy walnut topping isn’t spicy, but it does add a nice crunch to each spoonful of mac&cheese. In terms of add-​ons, they gave a good amount of tuna, but I legit had 4 leaves of spinach. There went my attempt to be healthy. The texture and taste were all right, but there was nothing really spectacular about the dish.
Mama Mac + Chorizo + Cheese Topping ($ 10) = All the sizes besides baby mac come with 1 add-​on. The cheese topping formed a nice crust which was definitely the highlight of this dish.
Honey Cream Soda ($ 3) — Overly sweet. I only managed to finish half of it before the fear of diabetes stopped me. Save yourself and your wallet and skip the sodas.
Unless you are a hardcore mac&cheese lover with money to blow, this place is probably not gonna be a regular destination. It is very pricey for what it is, which is just mac&cheese w/​add-​ons if you wish. Also, I recommend you stick to meat add-​ons and get the cheese blend topping, unless you’re a vegetarian/​vegan. I mean, if you were trying to be healthy, you wouldn’t exactly be at a mac&cheese joint, right?

Location is the key to many places when they start up a business. This place is quite famous already and all they serve is simple down to earth mac and cheese.
I came here on a Saturday afternoon because it is pretty much in downtown la and I know how bad it can get over the weekdays when all the businesses are open. Today many of the stores were closed and foot traffic was dead.
Came into the store and first thing I noticed was how small this place was. They had only two tables with two chairs on each one. With a long fluffy bench that was nice and soft.
We went to the front counter which was maybe only five steps away from the door. The lady was nice and told us what we had in store for us. I can tell she was a pusher. She wanted us to be satisfied and full.
We both ordered a baby mac which is the most smallest size you can get. Don’t get me wrong though the baby mac is small but it is loaded with loads of flavor and it does make you super full!
I want just mushrooms but what was kind of sad is that the inside of my mac and cheese barely had any! :(I did enjoy the crispy crust on the top but I wish I had more inside!
My friend got bacon and he enjoyed it a lot! I would say this place is pretty great except the parking isn’t really easy to find and I paid 4 dollars :/​EEEEK!!! But I still did enjoy the flavor of the mac and cheese. Just thought the small size and parking with not enough mushrooms made it a three instead of a four.

SUCH A CUTE LITTLE COZY PLACE I TELL YOU.
For some reason, when you walk in, the giant squiggly yellow noodles on the wall just makes you smile. But wait until you put that in your mouth. That’s when your mind really starts to dance.
It’s located in the midst of all the other hip/​cute joints such as Syrup, which makes this entire street just so much fun, especially during the LA Artwalk! The wall is infested by bubbly paintings made from mac n cheese noodles which I LOVE, and the seating area (although small) has such a charismatic feel to it, that makes you think you want this setting to be your living room! (or at least I did! Ha)
What’s the best part about this place is that you are basically customizing your own special mac n cheese, from choosing the noodles to the toppings to the sauce. It comes in four different sizes, from Baby Mac ($ 5), Momma Mac ($ 10), Daddy Mac ($ 20) to Mac Daddy ($ 30), which is a great convenience for your next catering event. They also have one-​of-​a-​kind ginger beer and cucumber soda that you can dare to try.
The mac n cheese with cheese base, hot links and spinach was just plain amazing. It’s so comforting that even though I wasn’t very hungry, it made my stomach cry for more. I secretly still think they put a spell on it.

You want choices, go somewhere else. You want mac & cheese, you’ve come to the right place.
This tiny location in DTLA can be easy to miss.
It’s simple:
1. Pick a size (4 to choose from)
2. Pick your noodle (elbow macaroni or rice)
3. Pick a base (cheese or soy)
4. Add various veggies and meats
5. Top it with cheese blend or spicy toasted walnuts
They make it, bake it, and it goes in your mouth!
I went with a Momma Mac, macaroni, and cheese.
Added tomatoes and chorizo.
Topped it with spicy walnuts.
It was pretty delicious mac & cheese, much better than instant Kraft Cheese & Mac. It’s not the best ever but then nothing is right? It’s not too soggy or salty, a problem that plagues this particular food. I actually couldn’t stop eating it.
This place is tiny though, don’t expect to dine in with a large party.

Much better than Elbow’s in Cerritos but still not as good as Yardhouse’s Mac & Cheese and even Trader Joe’s microwavable (still an all-​time favorite).
I love the fact that they have only one machine behind the counter, and it’s main appeal is to slowly sear the top of your mac & cheese. It makes a mac & cheese dish so much more appealing when you know every bite will first be crunchy and immediately follows a soft, gooey macaroni. Perfection for cheesy lovers of all kinds.
I wish they had side options, like homemade chips or french fries because I love pairing mac & cheese with something else. They sell a wide array of glass bottle drinks like cucumber soda and Mexican coke.
Restaurant itself is very small, only two tables inside and more fitting for take out and delivery orders only (1 mile radius from restaurant only). It boasts of Ikea furniture, simple yet modern, and also displays macaroni art!
All in all, I’ve concluded that it might have been the cheese that made the taste a tad off for me. I ordered a Momma Mac and purposely did not finish in one sitting so I could have leftovers for dinner. Overall yummy meal but a lil pricey ($ 10 for individual size).

I’ve come to realize the Mamma portion must be in reference to the feeling of expecting a noodle baby when you’ve finished. Maybe I just gained 5 pounds. Maybe I don’t care.
Mac and Cheeza is a nice little surprise. I’m partially into this establishment because it’s a big fuck you to carb conscious America (or LA rather), and also I’m partially into it because it’s delicious. It’s a novel idea. It makes me want to have a family, just so I can surprise them with a sheet of macaroni with all of their favorite foods inside.
I digress.
Definitely worth a look see. Small bladdered people beware, there is no bathroom and you’re going to be waiting at least 10 minutes for your grub. Oh, and there’s barely seating.
You can always go to Kelly’s next door, buy some candy, and use their bathroom. Win win.

Am I the only one that heard «Mac & Cheeza» and though Hmmhmmm macaroni and cheese on pizza??? Good concept with «have it your way» mac and cheese but the flavors just aren’t there. I got mine with hot links and greens to go with a more ‘southern’ taste but was informed that the greens had run out, bummer, so I went with my favorite veggie of mushrooms instead. The hot links had great flavor and a surprisingly nice zip to it but alas the mushrooms just didn’t work with the whole mac and cheese theme, my bad.
What disappointed me though was that the cheese sauce wasn’t cheesy enough, it didn’t have enough depth or flavor and seemed too generic. The price is right but the best deal is the ‘Daddy Mac’ it is a whole lotta mac and cheese but seems to be the best bang for the buck, just make sure to have ²⁄₃ other friends with you when you order it or you’ll get a funny look like I did =/

It was late. We were downtown. Mac & Cheeza is open until 2:00 a.m. on weekends. Some would call it luck. It was destiny.
Mac n Cheese has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid. The version served at Mac & Cheeza is very tasty because it is hot and prepared after you choose your size & ingredients. I got a Baby Mac with Bacon and Jalapenos topped with the Cheese Blend. 4 stars for the Mac n Cheese.
There are 4 size options:
Baby Mac small for 1 – 2 people ($ 5)
Momma Mac medium ($ 10)
Daddy Mac large ($ 15)
Mac Daddy huge ($ 25)
Extras like veggies and meats are $ 1 each. Veggie options include jalapenos, collared greens, mushrooms, green onions, olives, peas, tomatoes, and spinach. For meats, you can choose bacon, ham, ground beef, BBQ chicken, chorizo, tuna, or hot links.
Your final choice is which free baked topping do you want: a 3-​cheese blend, spicy toasted walnuts, or both. If you don’t like macaroni or cheese then you can switch to rice or soy.
There are a couple major negatives at this location. First, there is only one tiny table and enough seats for about 7 – 8 people without a table. Be prepared to eat standing up or get your order to go. Secondly, there are no restrooms for customers and because it is a bad part of downtown you really need to «hold-​it» or plan well in advance (and honestly, who does that?).
On the plus side, the service was friendly and informative. Kudos to the guys working late night.
We all tried some of the $ 3 specialty sodas. The Honey Cream Soda (Americana) was indeed delicious as the honey flavor blended well with the cream soda. I’d get this again anytime. My wife got a bottle of Mr. Q. Cumber soda which was the first cucumber-​flavored soda either of us had tried. It was a good change of pace, but wouldn’t be something I’d drink everyday. Our friends Christina L. and Branden R. had the Americana Huckleberry Soda and Americana Root Beer. I’d try the huckleberry next time.
The biggest disappointment was Mama’s Homemade Red Velvet Cupcake ($ 4). It was hard. So hard, we could barely get our plastic forks into them. We thought this was because they were served cold from the refrigeration unit, but even after waiting hours there was no change. The cream cheese frosting was good, but the cake was probably one of the worst Red Velvet’s I’ve had in a long time. Sorry Mama because I know you tried.
Kudos for the Mac n Cheese, but overall rating is only 2.5 stars because of the lack of a bathroom, parking, or seating and the bad homemade sweet.

There are TWO simple rules to making life more enjoyable…
#1. LOVE one another.
#2. Add BACON to it.
It is a perfectly beautiful Monday morning I have ALL to myself and I am feeling utterly SELFISH! I am ready to indulge in some bacon, beer, and video games… probably in that order. But I receive a call from the wife (who is at work)…she’s having «one of those days» and that often ignored angel on my shoulder whispers «do something nice for her… you have the WHOLE day off» …but the lil devil on my other shoulder retorts «but its YOUR day off! Stop being a little bitch! Go buy more bacon and beer… and sign on to xbox live… NOW!» This internal struggle goes on for WAY longer than it should… and finally GOOD conquers evil…
The wife loves Mac and Cheese and is partial to flowers… the closest place to combine the two? Downtown LA
…of course! Mac and Cheeza is stone’s throw from the «Flower District» so I wander in and order up the baby mac size ($ 5) with regular pasta noodles, Cheese base, an addition of mushroms ($ 1) and a blended cheese topping mixed with spicy toasted walnuts. I opt for the baby mac ($ 5)as well with jalapenos ($ 1) and what else… you guessed it… BACON. ($ 1).
The place itself is tiny
and perfect for getting your takeout order to go… grab my bag and I walk a few blocks to grab some gerbera daisies and tulips for the forlorn wife and head home for the surprise.
I was starving so I dig into my mac and am pleasantly surprised! Salty bacon in EVERY bite, spicy jalapenos in abundant supply… cheesy mac is thoroughly enjoyable and the walnut and extra cheese topping rounds it all out.
Pairs perfectly with a pale ale… so I semi fulfill that bacon and beer fix!
The wife arrives and gets her first pink and red floral surprise in a vase… her second cheesy surprise in the oven… and I am a fuc*ing hero! My little angel pats me on the back and my little devil kicks me in the ear. The wife smiles… and for a moment in time… I’m a halfway decent husband… who’da thunk it?!
So, Happy Mother’s Day to my spectacular wife… I love you more than Bacon, Beer AND video games COMBINED. And that’s the truth, Ruth. Just don’t tell bacon I said that…