Mac’s Pizza Pub

Mac’s is a college pizza place. Either your expectations will be really high, thinking it’s basically on a college campus, or you’ll realize it’s a pizza on a college campus that serves cheap beer, has a pool table and some games and pizza for that 1 am hunger/​drunk pang.
If you visit under the second scenario, you won’t be disappointed. The pizzas are great actually. The crust is thick yet crunchy and they totally go all out with the cheese. The pizza offerings are pretty great too, from the traditional to the supreme, but also throwing in some unique offerings like a buffalo chicken, ranch chicken and waffle fry pizza.
Here’s the thing with Mac’s it’s a great pizza place in Clifton. If you’re lucky, there’s even a parking lot out back. Anyone in Clifton knows this is a perk if you’re driving. The drink specials fit the territory. We went for the five dollar pitcher of Keystone light. The drawback is service. If you’re there to sit, and not hang out at the bar, don’t be in a rush and wear your patience pants for the day, because you will wait. The good part is that the food is fresh. But the servers seem to even struggle getting your beer order to the table. So if you’re not in a rush, want to enjoy some drink specials and willing to wait for good pizza, you will enjoy Mac’s. It’s a Clifton staple.

I no longer live in Cincinnati and this is based on an old experience but it was bad enough that I never forgot it. I don’t think Unilocal even existed back then for me to leave this. I definitely reported them to the BBB though because it was all we had in those days. I used to go here for karaōke with Freedom Rock Barb. My friends and I went all the time, at least once a week for karaōke, but usually more often than that. One night, a girl friend of mine slapped another patron’s butt. He turned around and thought it was me and was super homophobic and complained to the staff. Even after my friend told them it was her, they still threw me out just because I was gay. I never went back. I never forget homophobic restaurants that treat me like crap just because I’m gay. I never received an apology and that place lost a good number of loyal customers in me and my friends and I have continued to tell this story for 8+ years now and I will continue repeating it because establishments that treat their LGBT clientele like that deserve to be called out and to be remembered for the horrible way they treat people like me.
Uodate: Now, somebody has complained about this review. I understand this was an old experience but it is completely true. I talked to a manager at the time and they did not care and they defended throwing me out for no reason other than being gay. That’s why I complained to the BBB — because Mac’s did not care at all about their deplorable behavior. All they had to do was apologize.

Loved it here! Really cool environment and great pizza! The personal size is perfect for just one person. They have build-​you-​own options as well as specialty pizzas. They also have a great beer list. I actually burned the roof of my mouth on the hot pizza sauce but it was worth it. The pizza tasted sooooo good!

We tried to eat here before the FC Cincinnati game today. They were very short staffed. After waiting more than 40 minutes and not even receiving water we gave up and went across the street.

I went to Mac’s for the first time on Saturday night, and if I ever had to go back, it would be too soon. We got there slightly later than the standard dinner crowd, so it wasn’t very crowded. Our waitress was pretty rude from the start — it was like we were inconveniencing her by being there. It took just about an hour for an appetizer order of fries to come out, during which time she checked on us maybe once. My boyfriend and I had to cancel our orders after waiting for an hour because he had another commitment to go to. The waitress blamed the delay on an overload of to go orders — but I’m having trouble understanding why a restaurant would be prioritizing carry out orders over customers dining in. I suspect it was in part a slow kitchen, but also our waitress not putting in our order in a timely manner, since the table behind us got there after we did and got their food sooner. Our friends who stayed to eat (they eventually got their food — lucky them) then overheard the waitress talking about getting people to leave so the staff could go home. You know a great way to do that? Get people their food in under an hour and a half. It’s funny how that works.

You have to try the award winning gyro pizza its the bomb… I come in from Seattle from time to time and I always have to stop by and get me a pizza check out the atmosphere see if I remember any people but it’s always a good time at Mac’s weather it’s the one in Clifton or the one and Wooster can’t wait to visit the new locations cheers delicious pizza.

I have mixed feelings about this little pizza joint. It has a great location if you are in Clifton! The inside is very nice and the pizza is actually really good! Get yourself a MacOver. My issue really is with the service and condition of the place. I have been in with friends many times and had to wait a while to get our server to get orders and bring drinks out in a timely manor. Also I have been there when the tables were sticky and not bused. Overall it is a nice little pub to grab a bite but just know that it may not be up to your standards some days.

This is our new favorite pizza place. The thing about Mac’s is this: it doesn’t seem to have a defined «style.» The pizza is great, and has wonderful flavor, but it isn’t distinctly Sicilian, deep dish, or anything like that.
As I said, the flavors are great. It seems that they sprinkle garlic over the crust, and the sauce flavor is balanced perfectly. (Not too spicy or sweet.)
The other thing I love about it is the wait time — it’s virtually nil. Call in an order, and it’ll be ready by the time you get there.
So when you’re in Clifton, and in a quagmire because there’s approximately 1.5 million pizza places, remember this review and make a beeline for Mac’s.

A fluke after all, back to a five star rating
So the work staff decided to order in lunch last week and I suggested Macs. Sounds odd after my birthday experience but because they have been so good before, I wanted to see if my last experience was the exception and not the rule.
The pizza was awesome. It was even better than the buffet. It was made well and had the right amount of sauce, which is so good, btw. I guess no restaurant can perfect 365 days a year and sometimes it takes the customer to let managers know when something is not right so that the problem can be corrected, right,? Anyway, we will continue to eat at Mac’s, still on my «favorite pizza» list’

I enjoyed this place! While im far removed from the college scene ha! I loved the feel of this place. it most definately reminds me of my undergrad days! Not to mention the happy hour deals are fantastic! The portions are definitely worth it and their fried pickles are amazing! It is a nice size place with good seating. I definitely see myself returning in the future! Id love to see what its like on a Friday night! I highly recommend if your looking for a great atmosphere with great food and you’re on a budget :).

Came here with a friend yesterday. I had the veggie pizza. It was amazing. The customer service was horrible tho.
I came back today. This time the service was worse. It was only 2 customers in the place and I had to go find a server. Then I ordered a veggie burger and she brings a Turkey Burger. If I do come back it will be pizza to go.

Awesome pizza and wings. Great beer selection and good beer specials. We always go to Mac’s when in Clifton!

The reason I am rating this so low is because the service was pathetic! I ordered the famous gyro pizza which was OK and not as great as it was claimed to be. Secondly, the server was either rude or something else that rhymes with toned, I wanted to assume second one since he was just plain rude and we were too neglected. It was Sunday evening and since there weren’t many customers, all the servers were hanging around and this guy comes and goes at his own leisure, in short pathetic service and not so great food! I don’t expect to be given a Michelin starred restaurant treatment but I expect to be given a basic courteous treatment, also I am a brown female but I don’t want to pull the R* card for a rude treatment!

This pizza joint reminds me a lot of Hound Dogs Pizza in Columbus. However, I think it might be better than Hound Dogs for these reasons:
1) Less greasey pizza
2) Restaurant interior is less grimey and nasty
3) Waitstaff aren’t idiots that constantly get your order wrong (Hound dogs has improved though lately)
Mac’s pizza is really pretty delicious. I love the garlic butter that’s brushed all over the crust. My favorite pizza I’ve had there is the Mac Attack pizza which has pepperoni, bison, and jalapenos. The flavors were great and I kept thinking how I couldn’t believe this was being served in a college pizza joint.
The atmosphere is kind of dark with lots of deep wooden booths about. The place was really clean looking though (on a weekday at dinnertime). I kept expecting to step in sticky beer residue or vom.
A couple things Hound Dogs has over Mac’s is the choice of spicy and hot pizza sauce and delivery!

So, I loooove this pizza. It’s delicious. I’ve been here a ton of times. Service is usually decent. I’ve only walked out once because our server forgot about our table… For an hour… Parking isn’t bad if you go at a decent time, or you could always just park in the garage and walk over if you aren’t a local. I’ve never had a bad pizza here. Drink prices are usually low as well, and they have a decent beer selection. Definitely worth checking out for lunch.

Very disappointed! It had come highly recommended. Parking was awful. We were told to park across the street after we pulled in yet they let the very next car pull in and stay in the lot.
Came with co-​workers for the Friday Pizza Buffet. It was $ 10 (even if you only got water, up from the former $ 8 price). Salad was brown and the topping options were scare. There was no pizza even available for 5 – 10 minutes and it was just… okay. Not a ton of good toppings flavors
Worst part of the whole thing is owner was on the phone screaming and angry (with a vendor perhaps?) right behind the food so it was very distracting and ruined the whole relaxing lunch feel I was going for. He was banging the phone against the wall and yelling loudly and angrily threatening the person – it seemed like a call to take in private away from customers.
Cookies were good but only some people were lucky enough to snag them. There are other pizza buffet places in the city with a more relaxed atmosphere and better quality pizza for cheaper.

Actually expected worse, this is a favorable 3 stars. Stopped in on a trivia night and place was packed– completely emptied after it ended.
We split the jumbo garlic wings, my wife ordered spinach and goat cheese pizza and I had the seared chicken sandwich. Wings were very meaty and well seasoned. Pizza was alright, though I never feel you can trust a small pizza for your only rating– will try a large next time. Chicken sandwich was tasty but small and waffle fries were disappointing– many were undercooked.
Menu screams college with the shot menu and the immense, but low quality beer list.
I’m sure we’ll be back sometime– want to experiment with the pizza and saw a calzone get delivered that looked great.

With salad, various pizza options, dessert, and a drink, you can’t beat the $ 8 lunch buffet on Fridays! Much like the rest of Clifton, the only downfall to this place is parking. There is a parking lot in the back of Mac’s, but it is usually full. I say it’s worth the hassle though! I have never been for drinks, but it looks like they have awesome specials… Karaōke on Tuesdays and 50 cent drafts? I’m down. I’m sure it’s more for the college scene, but I would still like to check it out!

Went to Mac’s in the middle of an afternoon drinkfest cause we got hungry. While this wasn’t my first visit to Mac’s it was my first time going during happy hour.
It was early afternoon and there was a decent sized crowd for a Friday. We opted to sit at the bar and were greeted right away by the busy bartender. All appetizers were ½ off with the exception of the Mac Snack (a mini deep dish pizza) and the wings (which I think is weird for happy hour).
I ordered the loaded fries and a Mac Snack (it was only $ 3.50, no biggie) and my friend got the chicken & waffle fries and mozzarella sticks. Long islands were $ 2 and select drafts were only $ 1.50 so we kept on drinking. It took our food quite a while to come out for appetizers but the staff was apologetic and made sure we had what we needed when it did come.
I would definitely come here again everything was great!

I have to say I am always happy when I leave Macs. They do a great job, the servers are great and the pizza is actually really good.
We came out this week for Trivia night and if you haven’t tried it out yet please do! You don’t have to be a smarty pants to have fun, but make sure you bring a crew that’s ready to have fun! It’s run by a company that comes on in, brings some awesome trivia that covers anything and everything.
2 things to do before you come: check the website for the clues of the week, and come up with a hilarious team name.
That’s it, see you next Wednesday at Macs!