Mac’s Fish and Chip Shop

Great place. The Reuben Roll and Chicken Roll were great road trip food. Easy to eat while driving n perfect taste. Add the Fat Fries to complete your lunch. Wish they had one in KC. Highly Recommend. One of the better DDD places.

HUGE fish portions, but really, the batter was kind of soggy and a little underseasoned. The wait was short and the place seems pretty cool otherwise.

No, no, no! We ate here because Diner, Drive-​ins and Dives recommended this place. I can only assume this place had changed in a big way since Guy was there.
The fish and chips were dry and the clam chowder was way to salty. I’ve had better from a can.
Sorry Mac’s. You do have some wonderful gals working there, especially the Irish one!

Ordered the regular F + C + side for $ 13 and a cup of clam chowder for about $ 4. Chips are thick and just okay, and the fish is tasteless and greasy. Coleslaw was bland and a little too vinegary. Clam chowder was strangely darker-​colored than your normally with way too much (undisclosed) bacon. Pass on this one.

Delicious fish and chips! My fiancés favorite place to eat. Every time we visit Santa Barbara he makes sure we always stop here. No matter if we just ate lunch somewhere else… The sausages and pot pies are yummy too!

There is something about that tartar sauce… not sure what, but it’s fantastic. The batter has a nice flavor, though the fish sometimes oozes grease. A bit too much grease. Wish the portions were bigger. Sure is tasty though!

Best British style food ever! I drive all the way to Santa Barbara just for this. They have the best cod fish fried in a batter that I would like to fry everything in. Their fries (chips) are hand cut and golden. We also ordered the fried pickles. yum! We also got the toad in the hole! Sausage on point and mashed potatoes with the bread great but the gravy they cover it all in sooooooooo Good!!! The beef pies are very delicious so try one. The owner and staff are very polite and make you want to come back.

Wow, was this place bad! We should have known when we walked in. The place was empty. We have been wanting to try this place since it was on The triple D… we are so disappointed.
The fish was fresh, but didn’t have much flavor. The batter was okay, but nothing special. The Yorkshire pudding was cold. The clam chowder was overwhelmed with black pepper and the «chips» were actually steak fries.
Not good! Not good at all.

I ordered the small Fish & Chips, and enjoyed. It was the right size for how hungry I was. Good crunch on the bread, but the fish was a bit too soft. No salt came on the fries, but there should have been, or at least some sort of spice. Mac himself was there running the show: taking orders, handing out food, etc.

The fish and chips were pretty good, and so was the fried pickles. But nothing can compare to the deep fried candy bars. I had the snickers. Omg! To die for!

Solid fish and chips, great tasting haggis, and decent toad in the hole.
The portions are fairly large and the prices are decent.
The food does take a while to prepare so don’t expect McDonald’s like speed.
Definitely a solid choice

So much fun to try food from over the pond. It reminded me of when I was in Europe. The food is flavorful and Mac is extremely nice. I am a picky eater so when I tried the haggis, I was a little intimidated, but Mac’s preparation made me enjoy it. I come back for only his haggis. It is delicious. I will come back again.

Where do I start?
I can eat just about anything.
The worst fish N chips in the WORLD!
sticky tables, water was not filtered so the soda tasted like it was filtered through my son’s dirty socks. Really it was bad.
Sorry.

I got in shortly before 12 pm on a weekday and the restaurant was half full. Don’t come here if you’re looking to eat healthy as everything is pretty heavy. I ordered the steak and potato pie, mushy peas, and dandelion soda. The steak and potato pie was good and the soda was better than expected. As for the mushy peas, I was expecting something more of a solid form. Instead it reminded me more of a thick split pea soup.
Staff service was excellent!

Mac’s is a place for super authentic unpretentious British food.
It doesnt seem like an original concept, or like a big deal, until you try to find haggis in the US.
That alone — creating an ability to try a unique, traditional food thats not otherwise available is what gets Mac’s full 5 stars.
Add to that the fact that everything was delicious, a great selection of beers from the UK on tap, and at pretty decent prices — and you get a destination food establishment.
If you ever wanted to try haggis but werent sure about it — Mac’s got you covered with an adorably named «Wee Haggis» that comes in a trial size portion. Most unique thing i’ve tried in a long time.

Hard to mess up fish and chips, I think. Fortunately they don’t. Good options on sizing — you can just get a fish, you can get a fish and chips, you can get a fish and chips and a side, etc. I appreciate that. You can also get sandwiches or fried chicken or meat pies, etc. But I think the best thing is that you can get a deep fried candy bar. I don’t want one, but I want to know where I can get one besides the fair… and this is the place!

3.5*s
+ves
Fish was delicious and batter was good. Very close /​same as UK f&c
–ves
Chips (fries) were frozen not home cooked and about half were under cooked sadly
Tartar sauce was peppery which I chatted to one of the staff about — it’s made in-​house and she was great about receiving my feedback
Overall good — we will be back

So I originally found out about this place through DDD, like everyone else. The show made this place seem like it had the best fish n chips on the side of the planet, but it didn’t quite live up to its legend.
The restaurant itself is okay, nothing special. The same could be said about their fish n chips. While the service is fast and the actual food looks good, it doesn’t do much for me. The batter around the fish doesn’t really taste like anything but fried oil and the fish inside is tasteless and chewy, but that might have to do with the fish itself. The fries are good too but again, not something that wow’d me. Maybe because the two need some sort of seasoning? At the very least the tartar sauce helps give the entire thing flavor. In my opinion, though, the sauce and the actual food should compliment each other, not depend on each other.
It sounds like I’m being really harsh though but I go in to get a quick fish n chip meal to satisfy my hunger. If I was coming here for the best tasting stuff, I’d easily be disappointed. Having said all that, it’s worth a try if you’re feeling it.

I first tried Mac’s fish and chips 2 years ago when I saw it on Triple D.
I ordered the regular 8 oz fish and chips. When I got my food, the fish was fresh and the batter was nice and crunchy. The fries were pretty good too. Usually, most fish and chips dishes only have good fish or good fries and it’s hard to find both. But I think Mac’s does a decent job.
One thing that Mac has that I find most places fail on is a pretty amazing tarter sauce. It’s nice and tart with tasty capers. The perfect pair to my fish and the chips. Mix that with some malt vinegar and you’ve got the perfect bite.
It’s not the most amazing fish and chips that I’ve ever had (those would be in Avila beach but that’s a different review) but I’ve been coming back here ever since and whenever I’m in Santa Barbara, I know I’ll stop by Mac’s.

All I can say about Mac’s is I have fallen for this place hook, line, and sinker!
The place itself is very small and can accommodate a few, but certainly don’t go here for a family reunion with 10 generations of the family or you’ll encore lap sitting or getting it to go for sure!
I did totally forget that this had been on diners, drive ins, and dives so initially I was thinking «oh no, it’ll be gimmicky», but I have to say by far this surpassed expectations and is hands down the best fish and chips I have ever had!
The portion size of the fish is massive so certainly come with an appetite for destruction. I was really impressed how through the meal the fish stayed very hot, but at times it made it a little difficult to eat because of the temperature. The fish itself was very moist and melted away in my mouth which was impressed me most. As for the batter it was not greasy at all and I found it very flaky. Just a solid presentation all around!
I paired it with a side and just to bold I tried the pickled eggs. It was basically a hard boiled egg pickled and it definitely was a different taste that’s for sure. The juice as I called it had almost a vinegary tone to it, but it was enjoyed and consumed quite quickly!
As to really spoil myself I had to get a deep fried candy bar and I ended up with a three musketeer. That was a must try deep fried and that sent my stomach into a tailspin of love indeed. I got it upgraded «with love» which consisted of chocolate drizzle, vanilla cream (I believe) and honey. I highly recommend it as you will be in sweet tooth euphoria
Guy really did see something special here as did I and if you ever cruise in or around Santa Barbara I hope you will as well. The staff is amazing and so welcoming. What more can you ask for?