Hotel Mac Restaurant

BEST. HAPPY HOUR. EVER. Where else can you get good mussels for $ 4? And lots of other great bites too. You can spend less than $ 20 and walk away having knocked back 2 glasses of wine and 2 filling appetizers. All while hanging out at a historic restaurant in a charming little town. Service is hit or miss and dinner isn’t that great, hence the loss of 2 stars…

Isn’t it amazing to stand in front of a historical building? I mean, I’m always at awe with historical artifacts but to actually go inside and eat a dinner in a restaurant that has been around for over one hundred years leaves me dumbfounded. I can’t even put into words how awesome it was. And to think of how many people have come and gone through their front doors alone!
I have to admit the staff here is amazing and most certainly a big part this rating. The one bartender here was fantastic and on the ball when it came to ordering, mixing drinks, and figuring out when people were done with their meals. It seemed like he’d been doing this for years and was certainly a pro with multitasking. The workers were polite and professional. How about this for ya — there’s even a pianist! Now that was the cherry on top for dinner! Tell me, how many places have you been to that has a pianist playing during your meal? I think this was a first (excluding events).
We arrived for happy hour. At first you’re met with what looks like a small dining area and bar towards your right and a sitting area with a piano on the left. But if you walk in a little further, you’ll notice additional seating on the second floor and perhaps a small dining room tucked away in the back. The place is quite darling if you ask me.
I found out about Hotel Mac by a co worker while I was training in another department at my work. He urged me to try Hotel Mac, if anything for the oysters and steak. So on a Monday night were able to grab a bar seat and was greeted by the bartender. We ordered drinks on tap, the happy hour calamari, and oysters. I wanted to order more but knowing myself I knew I wouldn’t be able to finish anything other than the appetizers (so I’ll have to make a second trip). The food came out great. The oysters were fresh and juicy and the calamari was nice and crisp.
The bar menu consisted with a lot of American traditional and to my surprise escargot, the Happy Hour menu is the same as the bar menu but with limited choices, and the bar offers a ton of options of drinks with two (small) tvs if you’re looking to watch a game.
This establishment is a great change if you’re looking to try something a little different (because we all know this type of dining is limited).

Wow. Great place. I have heard about the Mac for years but never went before. It was pricey but totally worth it. The old restored building has charm. It was cold outside but warm and inviting inside. They had a piano in the bar lounge area and a performer singing christmas tunes. There were tables, chairs and couches in the lounge area as well. Just a fun and relaxing atmosphere to share a drink and conversation. We had dinner though so went upstairs. I can’t complain about anything. I had the crab cake and it was very tasty. Also splurged on the escargot and it was everything I wanted it to be. Had Chicken Cordon Blue for the entrée. It was good but I have to say it has nothing on the Cordon Blue at La Strada in Napa, just sayin… My friend ordered the pot roast and it had great flavor, you cut it with a fork, and it melted in your mouth. Yum. We didn’t even need it but couldn’t pass up the beautiful desserts they presented to us. My bestie had the cheesecake with caramel sauce and I had the chocolate mouse. They were both amazing to look at and even better to eat. This was an expensive meal. We spent 140. for two people but it is a great place for a special occasion and we plan to go back again. No complaints here.

Went here with two other women for a birthday dinner. Let me say our food was fabulous. Prime rib was fabulous. Two of us had the pot roast and it was out of this world. Great mashed potatoes and carrots. All three entrees were superb. However, I have to say service was shoddy and disappointing. This was a Monday night and very few people in the restaurant. A large party was there that took up half the room and we were clearly second on the priority list. We waited a REALLY long time for our food. Even when we asked, where’s our food? they just kept on serving the group and let us wait and wait. Quite insulting in fact. They really did ignore us.
To make matters worse, a table next to us got served in minutes! The staff was nice, just misdirected and I believe they were probably following procedure. Big groups first, three older ladies can wait all night. That’s exactly what happened.
Will give them another try for hopes of better service next time.

It’s for sure the worst place to eat in Point Richmond and a poor service. You’ve to wait forever for anything and too expensive.

Good, no, make that «great» food, wonderful ambiance, good service. My Osso Bucco was the best I’ve had in years, the other three dinners were delighted about their meals too. My only complaint is that I think I gained a pound from the cheesecake.
Easy to find, adequate free street parking. Piano music in the background was nice touch. We could easily have a four-​way conversation.

Well not my cup of tea. Nothing looked good in the menu so I went with a cubano figured that would be good. Not a good choice at all soggy bread salty meat I would have been better off in the bar for happy hour sorry. My friend had the bacon wrapped filet not worth the money at all.

This hotel restaurant is the MAC, for sure!
My best friend treated me here for dinner recently as a somewhat pre — wedding celebration and boy, was I impressed with everything! From the nostalgic ambiance, to the warm friendly service… my first experience here was spectacular!
From what I hear, this place was originally built in the early 19^th century, and was then tragically damaged by a
was then re-​built in the 1970’s, to capture the exact replica of the prior beautiful establishment… and they certainly did a fantastic job.
We started our evening off in the bar/​lounge area, to engage in the wonderful happy hour they offer. I had a dirty martin and we ordered the drunken clams for an app. The dirty martini was made PERFECTLY and the drunken clams were drunk-​in deliciousness!
We then were lead up stairs to our reserved seating area — the upstairs area is just as great, with open views of the gorgeous bar down stairs. For food, I went with their «Chicken Cordon Bleu» and my friend went the «Watermelon Salad» we then ordered a bottle of Pure Cru Cabernet Sauvignon. The Cabernet was spectacularly delicious! And well worth the $$. My Cordon Bleu not only arrived devilishly delicious looking, but turned out fantastically tasty! Sauteed veggies that came accommodated with it were seasoned and cooked perfectly. I also had a bite of my friends watermelon salad that looked masterfully beautiful, and it too was quite good. Service was also extremely attentive. Oh and the dessert menu? Off the hook decadently delicious! My friend actually ended up ordering the crème brûlée which I ended up having one bite of, and that too was delectable.
.BACK.
Cheers.

For many reasons I’m a fan. First, it has an old world charm that totally fits Point Richmond. This place is the town in a way. Second, the food is pretty good! It also follows that old world (I guess you could call it traditional American) theme.
It’s a place when you walk in, you’re greeted warmly. Being at Disneyland earlier in the week, it was like I was at a restaurant in Frontierland next to the Haunted Mansion…

Came here for a 90^th Birthday Party. I am going to assume the food was better 70+ years ago! People must come here for either the bar or for nostalgia. For the price we paid, we were very disappointed. My rib eye was over cooked (asked for medium) and it was served with crispy disgusting sweet potato fries (where’s a baked potato) and it was topped with those nasty fried onion chips that people use for green bean casserole! Fine dining? I think not. My husband had the Chicken Cordon Blue and it was just blaw… He was left unsatisfied and wished he had ordered differently. The salads and desserts were good. Maybe we’ll try again when we turn 90!

It’s been a couple of years since I’ve been back to Hotel Mac for dinner. I remember the food not being to memorable but was crossing my fingers the menu had an upgrade of some sort? This restaurant also has a lot of history so figured I’d take my hubby here for Father’s Day since he’s into restaurants that have «character». We arrived at the hostess stand and let the hostess know we had reservations. It took them like 5 min to figure out where to seat us? Noticed the staff ensemble was a bit off. The hostesses had a roaring 20’s vibe which I was diggin but the servers were all wearing Hawaiian shirts? We ended up sitting on a 2 top by the kitchen (whoomp whoomp). For starters we ordered oyster rockefellers. I’ve had Oyster Rockefellers at acme oyster house in New Orleans and the Marshall store by tomales bay and the ones here at hotel Mac was disappointing. Looked like hollandaise sauce on top of oysters and tasted like spinach dip. For entrees, I ordered the pot roast and hubby ordered the prime rib. I’m sorry to say but I make better pot roast at home. The meat was hard and dry and my hubby’s prime rib was subpar. Mostly had fat on it. The horseradish sauce was just sour cream and bits of horseradish. At the end we ordered a chocolate type dessert and coffee. The dessert was good but for some reason our server thought I wanted a latte. I clearly said decaf coffee and had no idea where latte came from. Anyways, I think this will be the last visit here.

Best burger I’ve ever had, made exactly to order, was amazing hint of charbroiled smokey flavor topped with smoked mozzarella??? Yummmmmm
Fries on point, perfectly crunchy on the outside, melt in your mouth softness inside.
Great ambiance,
Great service!

This is just a really special place. It has a special charm that is a rarity in this day and age. We come here whenever we want to just getaway for the night and have a lovely date. The service is always attentive and the food is delicious. Had the Prime Rib for the first time and it was wonderful. Only complaint is that it wasn’t very warm. Would have liked it a bit hotter. Saw the Salmon Special, which looked delicious, too. They didn’t have the Mushroom Soup on the night that we were there, which is my favorite.
Sat in the dining area above the bar and it is great to just watch the scene below and take in all the charm of this historic hotel. Also ordered the Grilled Shrimp Cocktail and it was just OK, very small and not much flavor. The fresh sourdough bread is delish and we shared the Mac Salad, which was good, except that it is mostly lettuce and nothing else. Would have loved some veggies in it. The highlight was the Prime Rib and the fantastic New York Cheesecake, with the raspberry sauce and whipped cream. TO DIE FOR! If you like sweet desserts, you’ll love this one!
The owner also came by and took very good care of us. She is very sweet and even gave us a hug on our way out. I feel that you really get a great value here, even though some items are a bit expensive. It is well worth it and I can’t wait to go back!

I took my 91 year old mother here for her birthday and both the food and service were excellent. She had the poached Salmon, which was very fresh and wonderfully prepared. I had the Prime Rib sandwich which I had trepidations about but it wad very lean and flavorful. They give you a bowl of beef broth to dip it in which really adds to the dish.
The waitress was very good and served us in a very timely manner.
My mother went to lunch here 70 years ago when she turned 21, and was really pleased to see the place again as it brought back fond memories
Though we did not have desert, the desert plate looked awesome. Will definitely try next time

So we really liked the location of this establishment in Point Richmond and the ambiance was in keeping with the neighborhood– which is to say, it’s quite nice.
We went here on a double date with a married couple who lives down the street from us. We actually arrived a bit early, so us men-​folk had a seat at the bar while the women-​folk enjoyed noticing little interesting aspects of the interior design of the front dining room. I had a great couple of drinks at the bar. In retrospect, the «sidecar» that the barkeep prepared for me was probably the highlight of the evening and I would go back just to have it again. So that was the good part of our evening.
The fact that this was the good part of our evening was also the bad part of our evening since really we went here for the food. Not to be too demeaning, I’m just going to say that nothing here was special. The seafood dishes that everyone except myself had were actually a bit below average. The prime rib was just OK. I think the menu and the food could stand some serious updating and improvement.
But the ambiance and the great bar keep me from being too hard on this place. That said, hard for me to recommend anyone else go here…

It’s hard to give the Hotel Mac restaurant more than 3 stars. I reviewed it in November 2007 as the Hotel (probably because as a newbie I didn’t know to look for an existing thread for the restaurant) and you can look it up to see what I said about it then. I don’t think we’ve been back since Alan wrote his 3 star review in February 2012 in this thread. We went to dinner here last night because I had fond memories of the Monday night half-​price dinner specials and was in the mood for prime rib. We arrived on time for our 7:00 reservations and were seated shortly after that at one of my favorite tables above the bar. Our server looked familiar. I think she’s been here for a while. She was particularly knowledgeable and sympathetic in regards to Alan’s need for a low sodium diet. She told us about the specials, one of which was a watermelon salad. That got our attention because we love the one from Smoke Berkeley. We ordered it to share. I ordered prime rib, w/​extra vegetables rather than mashed potatoes. Alan ordered a fish sandwich and fries w/​no added salt. I ordered a Bombay Sapphire martini up w/​olives.
Our salad arrived split. It was beautiful and delicious, w/​baby lettuces, sliced almonds, gorgonzola and three wedges of watermelon dressed in a light vinaigrette and arranged to look like a crown. They also served a sliced baguette w/​a little ramekin of butter. We finished our salad, ate a few pieces of bread and waited from our mains. And waited and waited. Maybe half an hour later our server told us apologetically that the computer hadn’t conveyed the rest of our order to the kitchen. She encouraged us to be patient, that it would be out soon. Well, our mains didn’t arrive until shortly after 8:00. It was a long and irritating wait. My prime rib looked gorgeous, a large piece w/​the usual piece of fat at the end. There was a ramekin of horseradish and crème fraîche. The prime rib was as tender and delicious as it was beautiful. The vegetables were a mélange of zucchini, onions, peppers and broccoli that were tasty, but overcooked in the style of the 50s or earlier. No al dente here. Alan’s fish sandwich and fries were OK. Not bad. When we finished our food our server offered dessert, even to take home, but we refused, as he doesn’t eat dessert and I don’t need to. She brought us the bill, from which she had removed my martini. Alan thanked her, but said he didn’t think that was adequate compensation for our wait. She consulted w/​her manager and took off the salad too, explaining that the owner wasn’t there and this was the best she could do. This seemed reasonable and we left satisfied. I wish the entire dinner had been as good at the salad and prime rib and that the wait had not been so extended.

This is my second time having dinner here and both times were great! The service is what you would expect for fine dining, quick and pleasant. The parking wasn’t too bad even for a Saturday «holiday» night. The restaurant is pretty small but instead of feeling crowded, it feels pretty homey and cozy.
I double dated for Valentine’s Day with my sister and had reservations for 8:30pm as it was the only time available; our table was ready and we were seated almost immediately. Our waitress was friendly, got our drinks right away and told us the specials.
For my appetizer, I ordered the crab cake, which was huge especially at $ 6.50! I’m used to paying a bit more for less so I was thrilled as it is one of my favorite appetizers. My boyfriend and I both tried their specials for the night: he ordered the bacon wrapped filet mignon cooked medium well and I ordered their salmon. His steak was cooked perfectly and my salmon was nice and flaky with vegetables on the side.
We were too full to order dessert but the meal was great and delicious! Prices aren’t too bad either. Definitely nice for date nights upstairs or more casual dining, happy hour downstairs.

I came here for a christmas office lunch. It was a nice little hotel (not like a Marriott or anything) that gives you a homey feeling.
Service:
I really think the service here wasn’t that great. I know we had a big group and it was hard to keep refilling our waters or grabbing us some napkins. But it was the attitude that I felt wasn’t necessary. I could tell the waitress was annoyed with either us or something. There wasn’t a friendly smile or a welcoming hello from anyone at this establishment. So even if the place looked inviting, the staff wasn’t.
Food:
Appetizers — I had a tasting of many of the appetizers dishes and really didn’t care for any of them.
Twice Cooked Duck — Absolutely delicious! It was tender and moist. The juice and gravy were just the right amount of salt and flavor.
Truffle Cheesecake — My absolute favorite cheesecake of all time. I think it’s even better than Zane’s cheesecake in SF. I’m drooling just thinking about it.
Overall:
I would definitely recommend coming here for the food. I wouldn’t recommend staying at the hotel since I don’t feel like the staff is all that friendly or accommodating.

Nice place that seems a little small at first, but there are a lot of different dining areas to choose from: the sunny atrium, the bar, the wine cellar, and the upstairs loft. They offer a pretty good deal during the week for lunch. On the particular day I was there they featured fish ‘n’ chips. I got two nice battered pieces of fish, some homemade slaw, a generous heap of fries, complete with tartar sauce and malt vinegar. I’m hoping to come back for a drink with my wife sometime. This time I had to settle for an ice tea. I’m hoping their soups and desserts live up to the hype some other time. If you’ve never been to Point Richmond before, this is one of the many places to eat in a hopping little small town that is well-​worth checking out, to my delight.

Upping my lunch review to four stars. I came here with a group of nine for a business lunch. Somewhat bittersweet since it was to celebrate an employee leaving us. But the company, service, and food were all great this time.
I ordered the Sirloin burger with fries. It was a good sized burger with melted cheddar and very juicy patty (I asked for medium). Thick-​cut fries were crispy and seasoned.
The calamari appetizer was also great — crispy and tender. Besides the usual marinara they also had a nice honey-​mustard like dip to add some sweetness.
They try to tempt you with a dessert platter but it would have put everyone to a sugar coma upon returning to work.