McHale’s Bar and Grill

I came here one evening on a whim after seeing a play and I wanted a quick bite to eat with a pint. For this place being a «Time Square Restaurant» I have to say I am very pleased with the staff and the food.
When I visited I saw they had a house beer (McHale’s Ale) and for being a bit of a beer snob I have to admit it is pretty delicious. I had this along with a side of the curry fries?! I normally would not have ordered them but my girlfriend insisted that we should try them and I have to say — woman are always right — we were both very happy with the fries and the flavor of them. I decided I wanted to have the shepard’s pie for my entrée and I love it so much! I’ve come back here multiple times solely for the shepard’s pie. I have never been to Ireland, so I cannot vouch for pies over there but to date, this is the best one I have ever had.
Overall. the service here is prompt and it can get busy as the night goes on due to it being in a touristy area and the fact that it has a downstairs and upstairs bar. If you have an opportunity to visit NYC and cannot find somewhere to eat then I highly recommended McHale’s Bar as your go to spot! Cheers!

Nice employees but food was so so. They also charge $ 5 for a club soda from the gun, which is just obnoxious.

I used to love this place last year… the past couple times I’ve been here have been really disappointing. The good has gone way downhill, the waitstaff has become quite inattentive, and it seems you get less and less for your money. I’m sad, as this was the first place I really loved visiting when I first moved to the city.

My parents went to see Jersey Boys and my boyfriend and I found ourselves looking for a place to grab a drink in the area waiting for them to finish up. We stopped in here and it was a great choice! The bartender was great!!! They had my favorite strong bow cider on tap!!! And we ordered the highly recommended buffalo chicken mac and cheese which was AWESOME. The chicken was large and flavorful, the cheese was crispy and delicious!!!

Food was ok I got a burger and it was good the atmosphere was good and the service was perfect

Stopped here for a quick bite before a broadway play. The atmosphere was very casual and the service was speedy and friendly. The food was great the only complaint was the French onion soup was lacking a bit of flavor. I would definitely recommend this place. :)

Food and service are above average. Unfortunately they chose to bring us to/​from our table thru the kitchen and a treacherous staircase. I slipped on a wet step on the way down, falling to the dirty kitchen FLOOR, cutting my leg open and ruining my dress. I went back the next day and talked to the owner to give an opportunity to make it right. He offered halfhearted sympathy but nothing else. I will not be returning to McHale’s.

I only come here when my job (radio city music hall) throws us holiday dinners. Every year i come here, everyone is super friendly. Maybe i might come here 1 day to see how everything is like

My wife and I came here on the night of NYE for dinner before all the Times Square festivities. All the hostess and waitress staff we very friendly and accommodating.
The atmosphere of the restaurant/​bar was pretty cool, and there was plenty of sports on the televisions around the place.
We ordered the sliders which came with fries along with a NY cheesecake for dessert. My advice, you don’t need the 5 sliders unless you are sharing with someone else. They are fairly big and not really. Neal for one (unless you get the 3 for yourself). The cheesecake was really good though. Would definitely contemplate coming back to check out other menu items.
One big downfall is the lack of restrooms. There is only one for each sex upstairs, and one for each downstairs. Might make you think twice about drinking too much here.

Everything we had was amazing. The mac and cheese wedges are amazing — gooey, cheesy heaven.
The burgers are all great too.

Food was good. I had the fish and chips. Got a table quickly (Maybe that was a sign we missed since all other nearby restaurants had a substantial wait.)
Service was atrocious. Never got our appetizer. Had to ask multiple times for drink refills, condiments for fries, and components of meals that didn’t arrive.
After speaking with the manager (who only made excuses and never apologized), our table was abruptly cleared with grand gestures of wadding up our paper placemats and grabbing all of our dishes, and we were given our check with the drinks (all sodas or tea) removed.
I would not go back.

I came here to pass time with my boyfriend one late Saturday afternoon while waiting for a dinner appointment. My boyfriend had been craving for Irish coffee and lo and behold, there was a sign outside the bar with a drawing of exactly that!
We were seated upstairs. I immediately fell in love with the Christmas decorations — they really went all out to make it festive! It was relatively crowded and had a cozy feel. We asked them about happy hour but were told that they don’t do happy hour which was surprising for a NYC bar in my opinion. Perhaps that’s why it was not packed like the other bars/​cafes around the area?
We ended up just getting one drink each as the drink prices were relatively expensive. They had a good number of drink options. We also got an order of Irish curry fries to munch on. It was my first time trying that dish and it was delish! Would definitely highly recommend those fries.
Overall, I would say that this is your average neighborhood bar. I don’t live around the area or come by often, so I don’t think I would purposely make a trip just to come here. However, if my friends ever suggested coming here in the future, I wouldn’t be opposed to it!

McHale’s
NY Manhattan Midtown West
7pm Thursday 3^rd December 2015
Three Stars
This bar was not for me but I can see how others could love this place. It’s definitely a regulars bar with some old timers who know the entire staff. The place was pretty packed. They have a different Happy Specials each day. It was $ 5 Heineken drafts today. I opted for a Makers Mark and Chloe had a draft pumpkin beer (bartender even ask if she wanted a cinnamon sugar rim). It was $ 20. After our first drink we were able to sit at the bar and watch some unimportant sports. Our bartender had a lovely Irish accent and was really friendly and attentive.

I’ve had two great experiences here and in both cases they were charity events. The first was for a coworker and the second was an event I organized.
It’s really hard to find a good bar in midtown that doesn’t feel dirty and strictly attract bridge and tunnel folk. This bar is certainly one of the best in the area. It has decent prices and a great atmosphere at least on the second floor where we had a private area reserved on both occasions.
Colin was great to work with for organizing everything and showed us great customer service. I’d certainly recommend this place for an upcoming work happy hour or party given the accessible location and overall good atmosphere.

There’s the old McHales — the one people fondly remember from the corner of 52^nd and 8^th for their huge tasty burgers and dark ambiance — and the new McHales occupying an adjacent space but sharing neither the atmosphere nor the quality of the original.
After being informed that this incarnation of McHales purchased the name rights from the previous owners, my first question was:
‘But you still have awesome hamburgers, right?
Right,’ she lied.
I ordered the McHale Burger which comes with onions, BBQ sauce, bacon and cheddar for $ 15. It was about half the size of the old McHales without the flavor and worst of all, charred on the outside.
I ordered chicken fingers for the kids and although they looked appetizing, my son’s inability to cut through a piece of chicken without the use of anabolic steroids told me everything I need to know. But just to be certain, I tried one. Tough and tasteless — the death knell of any kids’ food.
I ordered a coke and it was really good. But the waitress never offered to refill my glass or bring me a new one so no extra points for service, despite the authentic Irish accent.
How you screw up a cheeseburger and chicken fingers is beyond meh, but to do so under the holy name of McHales is just unforgivable in the eyes of a Unilocaler.
Now say two ‘Hail Marys’ and maybe, just maybe the Lord will forgive the sins of the new McHales.

This is my new favorite spot! Right near the theater district but out of the hustle and bustle. It was great! The food was absolutely delicious and the staff was awesome! Usual NYC prices but worth it!

Listen, I won’t crucify a place for a couple kegs being kicked on a slow Monday night. It happens, no hard feelings.
I will, however, be displeased if my server try’s to pass off a Coors Light as an IPA just for the up sell. My anger will grow if she then BILLS me for the IPA, after being told point-​blank that my order was wrong.
My father (out-​of-​towner) also tried to order the other IPA on tap, and this shady exchange occurs where the server attempts to convince Pops to order another type of beer. No thanks, lady, I’ll have what I ordered. She walks away and comes back 12 minutes later with the unsurprising news that they are also out of that beer. Coors light it is, then.
Again, it wasn’t the lack of beer, it was the manner we were treated. Honesty and apology go a long way, folks. And billing us the correct amount woudn’t hurt.
TL;DR Server could not care less, bar was out of everything, tried to pull some shady sh*t and got called out.

Beer selection: Good variety on tap and expect to pay a NY price of $ 9 per beer.
Food: pretty good! It’s definitely pub, bar food, but I was impressed by the length and variety of the menu.
Service: Liked, not loved.
I wouldn’t mind coming back on a Saturday afternoon for a beer or two, but nothing blew my dress up.

Definitely my favorite bar in Midtown. It’s always busy (that’s got to be a good sign, right?) and noisy. I’ve been here many times are the service is always fantastic.
I’ve only eaten here once, got the nachos appetizer ($ 11), and it was massive. And delicious. My husband had the ‘sampler’ appetizer ($ 17) and couldn’t finish it because it was such a large serve. The appetizers are great value for money.
I ate the nachos so quickly I didn’t even get the chance to take a photo.
The unfortunate part? They have ‘Midtown’ prices for drinks. Has turned out to be an unexpectedly expensive night on numerous occasions (you’d think I’d learn from the first time?).
Also give dessert a miss. It’s the standard pub ‘heat it up in the microwave and put some icecream with it’.

Some of the other reviewers might disagree, but a combination of factors sled me to give this place 5 stars. Here they are:
— The location (theater district) usually means crummy places with rip-​off prices (tourists traps), but McHale’s prices are very reasonable
— The ambiance is Irish-​Pub, very nice and cozy, I really felt good there
— The service was attentive and friendly, no complains
— The beer selection was nice, with local and imported brands. I had the Brooklyn Ale and it was very good (and only $ 7.50), my wife had the Shock Top (a little lighter) for $ 6, also a good price.
— The food was good to very-​good. My daughter had the Shepherd’s Pie (she said it was very good, and she had that dish in other places before, so I trust her opinion). I had the Slider Special (mini burgers with ham and fries) and it was good, and my wife had the Potato Soup, also very good.
So here you have it: a nice place with decent prices (for NY standards), good food, good service, perfect for a before or after theater meal and drinks.
Could the food be better? Yes, maybe, but the goal here is not to be a gastronomic destination for foodies, there are other places in NY that are perfect for that (and the bill has more decimals than your mortgage payment)… McHale’s is a great combination of food, price, service and location.
Recommended!