Where do I begin. Last month I called McFadden's to arrange a get together for my co-workers and to celebrate a colleague that was resigning. I mentioned on the phone that we would be ordering food and drinks and asked the woman on the phone what was the best way to do this. She basically just told me to come in. Fast forward, when we got there the day of the event there was nothing but problems from the start. I started a tab at the bar while I waited for the rest of our guests to arrive. I asked the server where the manager was. I went to him to let him know we has arrived. 10, 15 mins goes by. I was told to get wrist bands from a woman by the front door. I went up to a woman that I was told was the "events manager" and she handed me drink wrist bands. We quickly realized that the area we were in by the bar was not suitable for a group our size. I asked the Floor Manager if we could be seated in the main dining area because we were going to order food and drinks. No one wanted to seat us. They took so long and we were so uncomfortable that I told my coworkers to go find a seat in the main dining area. Rather than just giving us menus 2 servers came up to us and rudely told me we had to wait by the bar. Keep in mind there was only 2 couples eat. The dining area was practically empty and here we were with over 15 people ready and willing to spend money. No one was willing to accommodate us. The General Manager came over after a while and told us that in order to sit we needed to pay a ridiculous gratuity of like 22%. I don't remember exactly how much but I do know it was over the standard group gratuity rate of 18%. I then pulled an audible and decided to take my group across the street to a lovely Italian restaurant. They accommodated us and we had a wonderful time. We are The FORD FOUNDATION (we serve people on the front lines of social justice). Our building is a NYC landmark site and around the corner from McFadden's. We could have brought a lot of business to their dying bar. We will never go there again. The service is beyond terrible. Customer service was non-existent. Other employee have told me similar stories about McFadden's. Thank you to the one nice bartender woman who served us while we waited to "never get seated." I cannot believe that a GM would actually handle the situation they way he did. I've worked in the hospitality industry before for many years and THAT was not how you treat paying customers.
Fernando C.
This review is just about the takeout; sometimes restaurants can serve decent food to people on site that can send food back, but give crap/leftovers to people who aren't going to walk back to complain. Anyhow, this place used to have the best wings in midtown east. Very nice wings. It was still hit and miss, but mostly hit and the misses were good enough to eat (usually it looked like the guy in the kitchen ran out of buffalo sauce or was too lazy to mix up another batch, but at least the underlying chicken was fine). But something changed about six months ago, and now you get wings that look like they might be a Picasso exhibit titled, "Impression of not-giving a f*ck!" The chicken wings are sometimes deformed, sometimes petrified, like they were picked up from the chicken factory reject isle. And the "dish" looks like it was put together by cook who's one straw away from walking out, mid-shift. Maybe they're just saving the best wings for the sit down tipping customers, and maybe the presentation is the fault of whomever designed the takeout system. Whatever it is, if a restaurant is letting food go out of their door that looks like they obviously don't give a s***** then what can you expect from the quality control in areas you can't see?
Patricia Vance
It was a fun atmosphere and lively
Shannon D.
Went here for dinner on Valentine's Day. It wasn't packed or overly noisy and we got seated at once. Service was quick and friendly. I had used a groupon to try to place out the the waitress was super knowledgeable and helpful. The food was very good, we had the Shepard's pie and salmon with a boneless chicken wing starter. Would absolutely come again!
Somaya Gupta
This place is absolute trash. The people who work here are racist and aggressive. A white guy was physically harassing my (black) friend’s girlfriend and when my friend stood up for her the white guy grabbed him and threatened to kill him. The bartender told security my friend was the problem and he was physically pushed out the door by security without even being allowed to get his stuff. I wish i could say this was the first racist experience we’ve had here but it wasn’t. Don’t go here
Julia H.
AVOID AT ALL COSTS. Went here last night and they overcharged my card by a lot (saw in other reviews this seems to happen quite frequently...). When I said the total wasn't right they told me other people must have ordered under my name and that this wasn't their problem. While I'm waiting to speak to a manager bc i'm not paying for that.. a man at the bar put his arm around my shoulder and neck, pulling me against him in an aggressive attempt to try to dance on me. I removed his arm from my body and told him not to touch me (my boyfriend was a few feet behind me?!) Then a bunch of men start yelling oooo this girl is heated etc making a big deal out of me removing his arm from my body and trying to intimidate me. They move towards me again when my boyfriend (who is black) steps up and says can y'all leave her alone? Don't touch her. At this point one of the white men at the bar grabs my boyfriend and tells him word for word "Say another word and I'll blow you're f***ing head off". I stepped in between them in panic and suddenly bouncers grab me and my boyfriend and push us through the bar and out a side door onto the street in the rain, no jackets, no wallets, no questions asked. (After reading others' reviews, it's pretty clear these bouncers like to use their position to be overly aggressive with women.) Even so, I tried to explain I was waiting for my check and then assaulted, and they told us they didn't care. A friend still inside had to cover my incorrect tab. The white dudes who grabbed me and threatened my boyfriend were still sitting at the bar laughing and drinking. This all happened around 9 pm on a weekday, and we weren't even drunk... I felt shocked staff would protect predatory men over a woman being grabbed, and can only imagine what it would be like actually getting drunk and letting your guard down in a place like this for anyone other than a predatory white dude. All this being said, if you are a white bro and don't have compassion to care about these things or where you put your money- know that their "5$ drinks" are literal juice bc their hard alcohol is so watered down, and their service is horrible. Go literally ANYWHERE ELSE. Also just a note to the female barstaff if u see this - one of yall was actually really nice to me. Just wanted to say you deserve better than working here, and unless you enjoy being complicit in supporting assault.. there are so many other bars in ny you can make better money at... Why are you putting your time and energy into such a dark place?? Depressing.
Jonathon S.
Stopped by for a beer and burger before the bus, staff was very nice and gave me good service on drinks. Burger wasn't right, tasted off and like popcorn, sent back without a comp, probably won't come back but the server I had was really good and said she made a case for the burger to be comped but owner's did not agree. Good Atmosphere bad food, ultimately bad customer service from the owners not the wait staff.
Meghan Elizabeth Arenas
One of my stomping grounds in NYC. Who doesn't love this place?
Alton M.
Wow. This place cannot be more poorly operated. Bouncers are extremely disrespectful and borderline racist. Purchased two tickets to their New Year's event, and completely regret it. Promised a buffet and the food was cold and shitty, granted myself and friends arrived as soon as the open bar started at 9 pm. After an hour and maybe 1-2 drinks, I am asked to leave because i am intoxicated.... Uh hello? You're a f****** bar and it's NYE am i suppose to be sober. SAVE YOUR MONEY AND SANITY AND NEVER PLAN A NIGHT AT MCFADDENS.
Julian A.
Been coming here for about a year now , my friends wanted a place to go out for happy hour and chose this place . Now we've been coming here for happy hour and their clubish vibe late night. Always a great time here, bartenders always put on a show which adds to the party vibe ! Dj can be a hit or miss sometimes but still kill it If anyone plans to have a fun late night on a Friday or Saturday night , this is a good Choice
So let me just say this, I've been going to McFaddens for close to 4 years now and have never been treated as terribly as I was this weekend. I went on possibly the worst weekend to go, SantaCon, but knowing this I still went because I loved McFaddens. The bouncer has given me an attitude on multiple occasions for no reason before, but this time he took it to a different level. I left my debit card and my ID card at the bar and tried to go back not even 5 minutes after I left to go get it. The bouncer refused to let me back in just to get it, gave me a nasty attitude about it and directed me to someone outside to go speak to. I explained that I was just trying to get my debit card and my ID card and because of how I was treated, they had no worries I would not be drinking at McFaddens that night or ever again. Whoever I spoke to literally went in and got my card and ID because they would not let me back in the bar for some reason. To say I'm thoroughly disgusted with McFadddens after this weekend is an understatement.
Meaghan C.
The staff at this bar sucks. This is a Bills bar on game days (go bills!). We showed up about an hour and a half before the game today and it was already full. There was one table open and the waitress was getting it ready for us. As we waited, a family with 2 kids came in and they sat them at the table. When we asked the waitress what was going on she said "they have kids, they get the table before you". Ridiculous! We pushed back a little bit with no result. The staff here are really accommodating if you want to bring your 3 and 5 year old to the bar, otherwise stay away!! There are plenty of small TVs. Not a great place to actually watch the game, but a good atmosphere if you want to be elbow to elbow standing the whole game with other fans. I don't recommend!!
K F.
I wish I could give 0 stars, this bar is terrible. Bouncers are so rude to anyone of age meanwhile letting anyone under age in no problem and bartenders are rude as well. Acting like it was a horrible inconvenience to refill my drink (even after paying their ridiculous "open bar" prices). I also saw a bouncer push a girl to the ground. I didn't hear what was being discussed but there is no reason to push someone to the ground like that. All in all, there are WAY better places to go than this piece of trash bar, don't waste your money.
Peggy McGinty
Great place and great people... great Bills bar
Carol C.
Whenever we're in NYC we visit a few Irish bars, including Mcfaddons. However on this recent visit we were sorely disappointed. We sat at the bar, looking forward to a few cold beers. The bartender clearly did not want to be there. We watched and witnessed and experienced rudeness and short, flippy service. Hopefully she won't be employed there on our next visit to the city. VERY DISAPPOINTING. She should NOT be in the service industry.
Where do I begin. Last month I called McFadden's to arrange a get together for my co-workers and to celebrate a colleague that was resigning. I mentioned on the phone that we would be ordering food and drinks and asked the woman on the phone what was the best way to do this. She basically just told me to come in. Fast forward, when we got there the day of the event there was nothing but problems from the start. I started a tab at the bar while I waited for the rest of our guests to arrive. I asked the server where the manager was. I went to him to let him know we has arrived. 10, 15 mins goes by. I was told to get wrist bands from a woman by the front door. I went up to a woman that I was told was the "events manager" and she handed me drink wrist bands. We quickly realized that the area we were in by the bar was not suitable for a group our size. I asked the Floor Manager if we could be seated in the main dining area because we were going to order food and drinks. No one wanted to seat us. They took so long and we were so uncomfortable that I told my coworkers to go find a seat in the main dining area. Rather than just giving us menus 2 servers came up to us and rudely told me we had to wait by the bar. Keep in mind there was only 2 couples eat. The dining area was practically empty and here we were with over 15 people ready and willing to spend money. No one was willing to accommodate us. The General Manager came over after a while and told us that in order to sit we needed to pay a ridiculous gratuity of like 22%. I don't remember exactly how much but I do know it was over the standard group gratuity rate of 18%. I then pulled an audible and decided to take my group across the street to a lovely Italian restaurant. They accommodated us and we had a wonderful time. We are The FORD FOUNDATION (we serve people on the front lines of social justice). Our building is a NYC landmark site and around the corner from McFadden's. We could have brought a lot of business to their dying bar. We will never go there again. The service is beyond terrible. Customer service was non-existent. Other employee have told me similar stories about McFadden's. Thank you to the one nice bartender woman who served us while we waited to "never get seated." I cannot believe that a GM would actually handle the situation they way he did. I've worked in the hospitality industry before for many years and THAT was not how you treat paying customers.
This review is just about the takeout; sometimes restaurants can serve decent food to people on site that can send food back, but give crap/leftovers to people who aren't going to walk back to complain. Anyhow, this place used to have the best wings in midtown east. Very nice wings. It was still hit and miss, but mostly hit and the misses were good enough to eat (usually it looked like the guy in the kitchen ran out of buffalo sauce or was too lazy to mix up another batch, but at least the underlying chicken was fine). But something changed about six months ago, and now you get wings that look like they might be a Picasso exhibit titled, "Impression of not-giving a f*ck!" The chicken wings are sometimes deformed, sometimes petrified, like they were picked up from the chicken factory reject isle. And the "dish" looks like it was put together by cook who's one straw away from walking out, mid-shift. Maybe they're just saving the best wings for the sit down tipping customers, and maybe the presentation is the fault of whomever designed the takeout system. Whatever it is, if a restaurant is letting food go out of their door that looks like they obviously don't give a s***** then what can you expect from the quality control in areas you can't see?
It was a fun atmosphere and lively
Went here for dinner on Valentine's Day. It wasn't packed or overly noisy and we got seated at once. Service was quick and friendly. I had used a groupon to try to place out the the waitress was super knowledgeable and helpful. The food was very good, we had the Shepard's pie and salmon with a boneless chicken wing starter. Would absolutely come again!
This place is absolute trash. The people who work here are racist and aggressive. A white guy was physically harassing my (black) friend’s girlfriend and when my friend stood up for her the white guy grabbed him and threatened to kill him. The bartender told security my friend was the problem and he was physically pushed out the door by security without even being allowed to get his stuff. I wish i could say this was the first racist experience we’ve had here but it wasn’t. Don’t go here
AVOID AT ALL COSTS. Went here last night and they overcharged my card by a lot (saw in other reviews this seems to happen quite frequently...). When I said the total wasn't right they told me other people must have ordered under my name and that this wasn't their problem. While I'm waiting to speak to a manager bc i'm not paying for that.. a man at the bar put his arm around my shoulder and neck, pulling me against him in an aggressive attempt to try to dance on me. I removed his arm from my body and told him not to touch me (my boyfriend was a few feet behind me?!) Then a bunch of men start yelling oooo this girl is heated etc making a big deal out of me removing his arm from my body and trying to intimidate me. They move towards me again when my boyfriend (who is black) steps up and says can y'all leave her alone? Don't touch her. At this point one of the white men at the bar grabs my boyfriend and tells him word for word "Say another word and I'll blow you're f***ing head off". I stepped in between them in panic and suddenly bouncers grab me and my boyfriend and push us through the bar and out a side door onto the street in the rain, no jackets, no wallets, no questions asked. (After reading others' reviews, it's pretty clear these bouncers like to use their position to be overly aggressive with women.) Even so, I tried to explain I was waiting for my check and then assaulted, and they told us they didn't care. A friend still inside had to cover my incorrect tab. The white dudes who grabbed me and threatened my boyfriend were still sitting at the bar laughing and drinking. This all happened around 9 pm on a weekday, and we weren't even drunk... I felt shocked staff would protect predatory men over a woman being grabbed, and can only imagine what it would be like actually getting drunk and letting your guard down in a place like this for anyone other than a predatory white dude. All this being said, if you are a white bro and don't have compassion to care about these things or where you put your money- know that their "5$ drinks" are literal juice bc their hard alcohol is so watered down, and their service is horrible. Go literally ANYWHERE ELSE. Also just a note to the female barstaff if u see this - one of yall was actually really nice to me. Just wanted to say you deserve better than working here, and unless you enjoy being complicit in supporting assault.. there are so many other bars in ny you can make better money at... Why are you putting your time and energy into such a dark place?? Depressing.
Stopped by for a beer and burger before the bus, staff was very nice and gave me good service on drinks. Burger wasn't right, tasted off and like popcorn, sent back without a comp, probably won't come back but the server I had was really good and said she made a case for the burger to be comped but owner's did not agree. Good Atmosphere bad food, ultimately bad customer service from the owners not the wait staff.
One of my stomping grounds in NYC. Who doesn't love this place?
Wow. This place cannot be more poorly operated. Bouncers are extremely disrespectful and borderline racist. Purchased two tickets to their New Year's event, and completely regret it. Promised a buffet and the food was cold and shitty, granted myself and friends arrived as soon as the open bar started at 9 pm. After an hour and maybe 1-2 drinks, I am asked to leave because i am intoxicated.... Uh hello? You're a f****** bar and it's NYE am i suppose to be sober. SAVE YOUR MONEY AND SANITY AND NEVER PLAN A NIGHT AT MCFADDENS.
Been coming here for about a year now , my friends wanted a place to go out for happy hour and chose this place . Now we've been coming here for happy hour and their clubish vibe late night. Always a great time here, bartenders always put on a show which adds to the party vibe ! Dj can be a hit or miss sometimes but still kill it If anyone plans to have a fun late night on a Friday or Saturday night , this is a good Choice
Restaurantji Recommends
So let me just say this, I've been going to McFaddens for close to 4 years now and have never been treated as terribly as I was this weekend. I went on possibly the worst weekend to go, SantaCon, but knowing this I still went because I loved McFaddens. The bouncer has given me an attitude on multiple occasions for no reason before, but this time he took it to a different level. I left my debit card and my ID card at the bar and tried to go back not even 5 minutes after I left to go get it. The bouncer refused to let me back in just to get it, gave me a nasty attitude about it and directed me to someone outside to go speak to. I explained that I was just trying to get my debit card and my ID card and because of how I was treated, they had no worries I would not be drinking at McFaddens that night or ever again. Whoever I spoke to literally went in and got my card and ID because they would not let me back in the bar for some reason. To say I'm thoroughly disgusted with McFadddens after this weekend is an understatement.
The staff at this bar sucks. This is a Bills bar on game days (go bills!). We showed up about an hour and a half before the game today and it was already full. There was one table open and the waitress was getting it ready for us. As we waited, a family with 2 kids came in and they sat them at the table. When we asked the waitress what was going on she said "they have kids, they get the table before you". Ridiculous! We pushed back a little bit with no result. The staff here are really accommodating if you want to bring your 3 and 5 year old to the bar, otherwise stay away!! There are plenty of small TVs. Not a great place to actually watch the game, but a good atmosphere if you want to be elbow to elbow standing the whole game with other fans. I don't recommend!!
I wish I could give 0 stars, this bar is terrible. Bouncers are so rude to anyone of age meanwhile letting anyone under age in no problem and bartenders are rude as well. Acting like it was a horrible inconvenience to refill my drink (even after paying their ridiculous "open bar" prices). I also saw a bouncer push a girl to the ground. I didn't hear what was being discussed but there is no reason to push someone to the ground like that. All in all, there are WAY better places to go than this piece of trash bar, don't waste your money.
Great place and great people... great Bills bar
Whenever we're in NYC we visit a few Irish bars, including Mcfaddons. However on this recent visit we were sorely disappointed. We sat at the bar, looking forward to a few cold beers. The bartender clearly did not want to be there. We watched and witnessed and experienced rudeness and short, flippy service. Hopefully she won't be employed there on our next visit to the city. VERY DISAPPOINTING. She should NOT be in the service industry.