McGinnis Pub

I’ve never had a bad meal, a bad drink, or a bad time at McGinnis Pub which is a bar/​restaurant/​patio in a big old roomy Michigan City house with great bones. And unlike other places, vegetarians like me have more than one, nay two, nay three choices. There is a lot to eat, and it’s all good.
Oh and the staff — well there as friendly and funny and competent as can be. Not pushy but present. Really this one of my favorite places in The Region. Just one cool vibe from beginning to end. In other words, it’s not just dinner and/​or drinks in a loud, crowded, character-​less place. This is an experience that you take home with you.

I ended up here sort of by accident with my mom and sister after shopping at the outlet mall. We had intended to go to Lakeshore Coffee, but had already parked and gotten out when we realized that we weren’t on the correct street. We were too hungry to get back in the car and drive to the other place so we figured we might as well go in and give it a go. It was a gorgeous day so we sat out on the large patio. The music was kind of weird, but it could’ve been much worse. I got the veggie burger and fries, my mom got the signature burger and my sister got the grilled portobello sandwich. All three of us cleaned our plates. The cucumber sauce that came with the veggie burger was good on the burger and also for dipping my fries into. I was very happy with the portion size… not so big that I was forcing myself to finish, but not stingy either. And also very reasonably priced… the three sandwiches only cost $ 26! I’ll definitely be back!

Been coming here for years with my family. It’s located 45 mins away from where my parents live, but we drive up just for the amazing shepherds pie and soda bread. Best sweet soda bread you’ll ever have, made with Jameson and raisins. The shepherds pie has a lot of pepper and a certain kick to it that knock all other shepherds pies out of the water. The bathroom is cute too, they have rolls of tp with shamrocks on them. :)

This place has a real nice vibe, an old house/​waystation had the fish and chips, great big pieces of cod way above the usual bar fare (3) quite a deal for $ 8.95.
Fries cooked thru, Carly our waitress was more than helpful in guiding us thru the menu. Had a pint of Smithwicks ($ 5.25) and a weird bourbon martini containing coffee i think and some other stuff. A great place, with a cool vibe, would like to check it out sometime when the oldsters have gone to bed. Really like this place.

Ohhhh my goodness… Ahhhhmazing portabella mushroom and steak salad. Served w balsamic or ur choice of dressing. It was perfect. Also had a Bloody Mary that was a 10. So of course. I had another. Lol. And great service!:)

Can’t say a thing about the food the drinks are good and the service is slow. What I really like is that I have a place for my dog to lay down while I eat and drink. ‘Nuff said!

Excellent food and service! I really enjoyed the carne asada. Generous servings, more than reasonable prices, and fun atmosphere before shopping at the outlets!

Love this place. Nice friendly service. Nice friendly atmosphere. Our group tried several appetizers and they were all real delicious! The staff is very knowledgeable, and have tons of cool beers on draft. Highly recommend it!

I really didn’t want to write this review, because my last review was negative and I don’t want to be negative!!! But my mom and I went here today. We were going shoe shopping at Urban Soles. Awesome shoe shop. Anyhow. We ordered a very basic lunch. I ordered a corned beef sandwich which I was assured was house made. It wasn’t. It actually tasted like wet dog. My mom got a taco salad. After 1 hour (and I know absolutely because I looked at a text message time my sister sent me as we were ordering) I finally asked the waitress about our order. I have worked front and back of the house so it’s rare that I actually inquire about service. Astoundingly, Abby. The server. Had the nerve to lie to my face and tell me it had been only 18 minutes since we placed our order. My mom and I were just super flushed and shocked at such a bold lie. I said to her in no uncertain terms that it had been 1 hour. So she then doubled down and brought her order tab which I guess has the time. Which I am sure was 18 minutes prior, because she forgot to input it! I just said thank you because there is no winning with a person like that. Look. I would hate my life if I lived in Michigan City, Indiana as well… But at least don’t be an awful server.

Went here with Co-​workers for dinner, it was not awesome. Not by a long shot. The waiter acted like it was his first day on the job. He stuck his fingers in our glasses when bringing our drinks. Gross but we didn’t say anything. My starter salad was limp and clearly had lettuce past it’s prime. Chicken sandwich was meh. No one in our group of 5 liked their food. Oh and all the condiments are never refrigerated even if the bottle clearly says they should be. Yeah I asked. Also it’s December and of the 3 bottles of mustard on the table all were expired. One has been expired for 9 months. STAY AWAY from this place.

Food poisoning–
My condolences to anyone else who got sick after eating here on Black Friday.
3 out of 4 of us became violently ill after a meal here. One of us (the 8 year old) didn’t eat any of the same items the rest of us did. So it was clearly some kind of sanitary issue in the kitchen.
The shepherds pie looked like a plate of puke and I can’t tell you how glad I am that I didn’t eat any of it.

Nice selection of beers and really good food. Nice touch that they have some vegetarian friendly items. Loved the veggie burger. Nice older building with lots of charm and a patio with gas fireplace. Great wait staff. Separate bar area and small dining area.

I used to love getting food from this place but now I would have to say that things are not the same.

I had the Reuben sandwich which had brown meat instead of corned beef. My son had a tough chicken sandwich. The waitress lacked basic wait training. For a local resident, McGinnis Pub will not be on our repeat list.
TF local

Went to McGinnis for a late lunch and bloody marys on a Saturday. It’s a DIY bloody mary bar. It would be nice if they charged a flat fee vs for each glass, plenty of other places follow this model and knock the price down a few dollars, especially since they’re using well vodka and you (the consumer) are doing all the ‘labor’ of making the drink. Overall, the drinks were average.
Everything else left a lot to be desired. We walked in and circled the dining area twice before someone came and asked ‘if we were there to eat,’ so they could sit us. Decided to sit outside since it was a nice day. They have mostly six-​top tables outside, and the very few two-​tops didn’t have umbrellas. Waited the better part of 15 minutes for our first drinks to come. Food took about 40 mins easily.
I had the grilled portabella sandwich. For one, it’s not grilled, it was definitely cooked in a skillet. The mushroom itself was soggy (due to the massive amounts of oil used to cook it). The peppers and onions weren’t grilled as advertised on the menu, they were sautéed and drenched in oil. In the end it was an oily, drippy, mess of a sandwich on ciabatta. The sweet potato fries were okay, it’s hard to mess those up, though both were cold.
My friend had the turkey club. Oddly enough this was overly oily as well.
Not sure if the service was garbage because a world-​cup game was on (though five people were sitting at the bar/​seating area inside) or what. Regardless, not the best food I’ve had in MC. Would possibly re-​visit, just would try something different.

Interesting place with interesting food and interesting drinks. Interesting, interesting.
But the waitress didn’t know what IPA stood for and asked the bar tender. The prime rib on pretzel bread was excellent along with chicken avocado. Never had «bob’s your uncle» on draft until today. Would go again.

Other than the owner coming over to apologize and offer to comp our entire meal, McGinnis pub was a poor choice for our family this Mother’s Day. The waitress actually got up in my face and accused me of belittling her when I was simply asking what was talking so long. Couples who came after us were being served. And it had been over an hour since we sat down with an almost empty restaurant at 1:20 pm.
We left with out being served and hungry.

one word: NO
Small cramped dining area, even more cramped of a bar that doubles as a hang out for the staff, belligerent, confrontational owners.

The unique menu brings me back to McGinnis almost every time I’m in MC. The atmosphere is fabulous too (especially the outdoor seating, including a gorgeous fireplace), and the servers are total professionals. I love the Trek-​a-​Bouts, Rasher Bites, Bangers and Mash Guinness Stew, and Irish Soda Bread to name a few. They always have great drink specials and contests/​raffles/​giveaways. Last time we were there, the bartender was raffling off a sweet, old-​school Jameson cooler. The kind with the metal lock and handles, like the old Coleman coolers from the ‘70s. Too bad we didn’t win, but we felt like champions when we got a free shot of Jameson just for being awesome.
If you happen to be in Michigan City for the dunes, the beach, or the outlet mall, a drink and a meal at McGinnis is a must.

What is going on up in here?
I made the unfortunate call to take the inlaws out to dinner at McGinnis this past Sunday. Now, if you know this area you know that decent options are limited. We’ve been here several times and always left pleased.
As we were waiting for our meal, a group that was on the patio came inside and just overtook the place. They were way overserved, loud and obnoxious. What few tables there were all turned around to see just what was up, since they were the only thing you could hear. That was when I realized by the shirts that they were wearing, they were the McGinnis softball team. They were right at the bar hamming it up with the bartender and would not be denied in their efforts to ruin the night for every other customer here including the poor couple next to us that appeared to be on a date. There was no attempt made to quiet them down, cut them off, apologize for their display or show them the door. It seemed business as usual. We couldn’t get out of here quickly enough. My wife even told the server to not let them drive home as they were clearly over the limit. I’ve never seen that kind of unchecked behavior even in a dive bar. As walking billboards for this pub, I can only think that behavior is endorsed here and see mention of it in a previous review. Perhaps if you want other patrons maybe drop off a case of Natty Light at the field for your team.
They’ve got this saying in Tennessee. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice… won’t get fooled again.