Bull McCabe's Irish Pub

427 W Main St, Durham
(919) 682-3061

Recent Reviews

Loretta L

Probably the worst burger I’ve ever had. It was so dry and had no flavor. The fries were great but that’s about it. The bartenders were lame and had no personality.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 1

Service: 1

Joel Abrahams

Went for St Patrick’s Day weekend. I’ve been here before for Food, to watch Arsenal games, and for birthdays. They have good curry fries. I love having an Irish coffee. They have a good fish and chips there too. I only had one bad experience there once which is why I gave it a 3 out of 5 for service.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 3

Recommended dishes: Curry, Fish and Chips, French Fries

Jeri Garcia

I was looking for more of an Irish pub menu. We were there on a Tuesday, and there was no Ruben sandwich, no shepherds pie. I picked fish and chips, thinking that would be great. The fish was overcooked and unseasoned, so unexciting. The rest of my group got the tacos. They said they we good... but again, we were looking for Irish dishes. If we wanted mexican, we would have chosen a different place. Non of us were in the mood for a burger. We sat on the deck, and it was nice. Very roomy, lots of tv's. Which one of the servers came and changed the channel without even asking us if we were watching it. And we were, but it was not worth tracking her down.All in all, I am sure it is fun for busy drinking crowd nights. But their food doesn't fit the bill.I understand the reasoning behind ordering with a qr code, but I think it really takes away the interaction of serving the customer and getting to know what they are looking for. Being able to give suggestions is priceless.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 4

PETER CHACHAJ

First time here and had a great experience. I usually prefer ordering with a human but the QR code to Toast website/ app was actually really easy to use and think I prefer that now that I've tried it. Just ordered at the exact moment I wanted to and not had to flag someone down. Food and drinks came out fast even on a Friday night around dinner time. Pricing is absolutely great on alcohol and food, dare I say cheap. Beer and cider options are above average. Cocktails are also available and priced well. Only complaint is for them to have more gluten free options but my wife was happy with the wings.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Buffalo Chicken Wings, Sandwiches, McCabe's Pub Wings GF, French Fries

Carl M

Nice place as always. Played R&B from the 70s and 80s loudly for 4 people in the bar. So, not great for conversation. But a good experience overall.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 4

Service: 4

Recommended dishes: Buffalo Chicken Wings, French Fries

Matthew Payne

If you are looking for rude wait staff that only have to bring out your food, Bull McCabe’s is your spot.It was raining, so I dropped my wife and sister in law off to grab a table while we parked. We were a party of six celebrating 2 birthdays and looking to enjoy a night out. The place is “seat yourself”, so my wife and sister moved two tables together on the patio for our group. Because of the rain, it was loud so they moved inside instead.I just sat down from parking and walking in the rain when a gentleman approached the table and rudely asked if we were just going to move and leave the tables on the patio. My sister in law offered to move them back when he said “Whatever!”This was probably the most rude encounter I’ve ever witnessed at a restaurant. We walked out without having ordered a single thing. In an establishment where the customers seat themselves, order for themselves, and the staff just has to run food, moving a table back doesn’t seem to be out of line for the worker. We ended up spending our money elsewhere and now have a story to tell our friends.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Dena Bloms

Worst place I have ever attempted to dine in! The workers were so incredibly rude. We had a party of 6. My sister and I put 2 tables together on the patio. One waiter gave us a dirty look but didn’t say anything. After sitting there for a few mins, we decided to go inside because the rain was so loud on the tin roof. After we changed to a table Inside, one of the workers came to our table and said condescendingly “so you just moved those tables and are not going to sit there?” The restaurant was empty and we couldn’t believe how rude they were. needless to say, we left and they lost out on a huge order. I would never step foot in that place again. They don’t deserve a penny.

Service: 1

Chris Kenworthy

Tasty wings and delicious fries. I wouldn’t change a thing. Thanks tothe cowgirl at the bar for the recommendation about the wings. Fun atmosphere. Thanks Chef.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Michael Behrns-Miller

Order off the QR code and they will be able to find you, your food just "appears", awesome! Had a great vanilla porter and impossible burger, delish fries and veggie chili. Perfect find walking around on a cold Friday night.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Alexandra Ann

No table service restaurant. Find a table and order from your phone. Lots of tvs for sports. Fish and chips were great. Kids chicken didn't have much chicken in them.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Fish and Chips

Nick Tschernia

Revising my review, been going to Bull McCabe's for over 5 years at least once a week for trivia and weekends out. Had my first bad experience here in 5+yrs of weekly visits, and a notably disappointing one.I'll say as usual the food was excellent, the service otherwise was fantastic from the servers who were working hard on a busy night. Jocy, the manager, had an attitude and took out whatever is stressing her out on elderly customers tonight in a poor showing.My elderly parents were in town visiting, my dad wanted to watch an NFL playoff game. I suggested McCabe's. We find a table on the covered patio, under a heater. Order full meals each, two rounds of drinks. During the meal two guys came in and sat behind my folks, they asked the manager to turn the heater off. Without asking us they turn the shared heater off. Alright no biggie, we'll let it go, warm enough. Half hour later it's getting pretty chilly, we've already put coats back on, but getting a bit much. We ask if they can turn the heater back on and the manager says no, the other table asked for it to be off. 60 seconds later the two guys at that table leave for the night. When we see the manager she curtly goes 'yeah yeah' and waves us off before they put the heater back on. For context it's 30-40s out, we sat at our table because it had the heater on.Now two hours in, two other guys come and stand at a table behind me, in between our table and the TV my dad was watching over my shoulder. He asks if one of them can stand one side or the other. I turn as it's loud and kindly clarify, he's been watching the game behind them and was just asking if he could stand to either side and I thanked him. 15 minutes later my dad asks if the dude can pick a side, sit, or a different table as he kept moving back into. The guy get immediately confrontational, goes "I'm not your dude," and stands up to our table ready for a fight, asks "are you asking me or telling me?", my dad says I asked you before and I'm asking you again. He's about to fight us at this point, so my dad gets up and goes inside to find the manager. She comes out and immediately says we're adults and figure it out. I explain we asked three times and there's no reason for it to get escalated into anything confrontational just mutual courtesy. Instead of trying to solve the situation, e.g. suggest the two guys move to a different table (there were several), stand a foot to the side (there was plenty of space), she squats between my parents to prove she can watch the screen from there. The only reason to do this, would be to prove my dad wrong, but she's not sitting where my dad is and the guys have moved during all of this. My dad asks her name and asks if she'd sit where he's sitting if she really wants to do that. She gets offended that he's telling her what to do and says this is the second complaint we've had, first the heater. Before walking away.The entire situation was bizarre and unnecessary. Poorly handled by Jocy, the manager, the entire evening who escalated rather than de-escalate or mitigate.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 4

Service: 2

Recommended dishes: Chicken Philly Sandwich

Abel A.

Great Irish pub. Great selection of beers and food as well. A must stop if you enjoy pubs.

Joshua Packett

Bartenders at Bull McCabe's are great! Food is also delicious, particularly the smash burger with whatever you'd like to get on it. The fries are also amazing, with homemade ranch dip!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Cheeseburger with Beer Battered Fries, Smash Burger, Seasoned French Fries

Jill H

Went for lunch to meet up with some family I had never met.The place is run down. You don't get a server - you place your order and pay through a QR CODE. Which means no one takes a drink order. I went to the bar where I waited 5 minutes for the employee to complete the paperwork he was working on.No one refills drinks. No one checks on you once your food is delivered. I had to go to the kitchen to ask for a condiment.Food was ok. Nothing above what you would expect.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 3

Service: 1

Chad Smith

How do you call your self an Irish pub that sells Fish and chips but don’t have tater sauce? Not sure if the ketchup was home made, but it had a lot of vinegar taste to it. Beer was good.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 5

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