Mac’s On Slade

Great burgers, good beer selection with a robust and boisterous staff. We went on Wednesday for $ 5 burgers. Couldn’t have enjoyed the burger more, be sure to add the green chilies and Merkts. We haven’t been for the music Thursday — Saturday but it looks interesting.

I tried this place for the first time during a board gaming event. The burger I had, the Toggle Burger, was not on the menu but specially available for these gaming nights. It had a fried egg, bacon, cheddar cheese, garlic sauce of some kind, on a pretzel bun. Magnificent! Cooked to perfection and despite being really large and coming with fries I could have kept eating. All the other burgers and flatbreads I saw other patrons eating looked delicious as well. The staff were very friendly and responsive. Would definitely come here for food even on a non-​gaming night.

Love the music. Reminds me a little of the 70s. Didn’t try the food. This is for blues lovers as well. Really enjoyed it.

This is a local gem that consistently serves up great pub food and excellent live music. It’s a place for music people: the menus are converted classic LP covers and bands are typically rooted in the blues, folk, jazz and soul. The crowd is lively and I’ve seen 20-​somethings to 60-​somethings having a great night here.

Really nice place. Great live music, service and food is pretty good, and fairly priced.

One of my favs. Food is always good, something a little kicked up a notch so it’s not your everyday bar food (roasted garlic spread on burger bun, sauce under mushroom caps made with sherry). Price range comparable to anything else like in in the DT Palatine area, so no probs there. And I just love the hometown feel of the place. Comfy as a restaurant, but clearly a bar when you’re in that mood. Listening to music doesn’t feel like you’re in an impersonal warehouse-​kinda place or grungy. I almost hate to endorse Mac’s and have it get too crowded for MY own good!

Great atmosphere and food. Been here several times and continue to be impressed with the service and the food.
They get it all done with a very small yet efficient kitchen and the product is very, very good.
I would recommend this place to anyone who was thinking of giving it a try.

Oh my God! Had a roll of a time! Happy Birthday Party! I’m still here, I’m gonna stay till it stops!!!

A hidden gem in downtown Palatine and a must stop in for cocktails, food or both.
Fantastic bands can be seen here with a mixed crowd of all ages.
You must check this place out you will not be disappointed.

Tip: Check out Mac’s last Sunday of the month, no-​cover, blues jam. Be forewarned– if you aren’t there and seated at the very least an hour before the show starts, you will most likely be standing.
Sunday draws some of the very BEST blues men (and women) from the Chicago area. You never know who will be on the stage next, but it’s likely that it will be a memorable performance. On a typical Sunday night– Blues hall of famer J. B. Richie and his all stars kick off the evening with 3 – 4 hot blues numbers to set the tone and give the «jammers» something to aspire to. In my opinion if you would come and listen to J. B’s opening set, that in itself is time well spent.
I’m not sure how to take the poor reviews about Mac’s food… I have never had a meal even approaching «mediocre» there, so I am confused what they are talking about? It is «adult» fare carefully prepared so I can see how the under 18 palate might reject something that’s not a McWhopper or whatever.
Mac is the the guy that you see wearing shorts in the middle of the winter– I have enjoyed our few conversations in the past and he’s quite a good musician as well as host. Flag him down and chat a bit if he looks like he’s not too busy.

I’ve been here 4 times. The food is above average and their prices are reasonable. It’s a good place to dine in or grab a beer. It draws more of an older crowd which is it’s only drawback. I felt a little out of place because of that.
But overall, I’d recommend it.

We have been to this place many times since my other review. It is my favorite ‘go to’ place. They have great music and every time I think I’ve seen an entertainer about as amazing as it’s gonna get, Mac comes up with another group that’s even better. If you like live music like blues, rock or ⁶⁰⁄₇₀ /​80 hits, you’ll enjoy this place. The music is always changing but the food and drink is consistently great.

Looks like a cool place… but the food was so bad (we got take-​out), my kids couldn’t stop laughing. They’d take a bite, then laugh hysterically as they tried to choke it down.
The «soft» pretzel they were using to sword fight each other because it was so hard. Rock solid. Wish I could attach a picture. Can’t believe a cook would let them out of the kitchen looking so hard and shriveled. The fries managed to be soggy, and overdone at the same time… hard combo to master.
Burgers were not terrible, but if you’re dyin’ for a downtown Palatine burger, you’d be MUCH happier with one from Brandt’s (best burgers anywhere), Tap House Grill, Emmett’s, or Durty Nellies.
Onion rings were excellent… got to give them props for those.
Overall, I’d love to go watch music there… looks like a great, cozy little venue for a beer & some music. But, we couldn’t finish our food. I’m off to go get something else now, as we’re all still hungry.

Mac’s is only two years old, but has already drawn quite the batch of die-​hard regulars – and for good reason. Nowhere else in Palatine offers their special brand of atmosphere, and you’d be surprised to find that this bar has some of the best food in town.
What sets Mac’s apart is the focus on good music and good food, which draws the best people. Lots of genuinely talented musicians play and drink here. You will hear lots of blues, jazz, good old rock and roll. They also do open mic on Tuesday nights, for any local musicians looking to blow off steam.
The menus are old vinyl sleeves and the coasters are 45s. Very charming.
The food is exceptional. While the standard wares on the menu are great – you won’t find a juicier burger anywhere – the chef actually has a new soup special each week. This week it’s potato and leek, last week was beef and barley/​vegetable. He has also offered up cream of herb, Caribbean chicken, curried cauliflower, and a deconstructed ratatouille in the past (yum!). All of these have been innovative and unique to Mac’s, not to mention delectable.
Mac’s is the kind of iconic, local setting seen in many great movies and books. This is where I’d bring anybody who had never been around Palatine before. Actually, it’s also where I’d bring anyone who’d grown sick of Palatine.
I can’t stress enough the importance of supporting local businesses – Tap House just opened up across the street, and I would hate to see them run Mac’s out of town. Don’t let their down-​home saloon-​lookin woodcut serif sign fool you – Tap House is just another chain and their mac and cheese is watery! Come to Mac’s for some real shit.

Love this place! The food is so tasty and the live music is so much fun. Highly recommend for a casual night out. Also, the seasonal beer selection is great.

I organized a Pubcrawl to come through Mac’s as well as all the other bars in Palatine. I was expecting a high turnout due to the 250 people I had confirmed attending, but for whatever reason, only about 15 people actually showed up. They decided to have an extra bartender to handle the possibility of us having a high turnout, but when they saw how small our group was, the guy in charge came up to me with a lot of hostility and told me and my group to never set foot back in the bar again.
A month prior, this guy had given me Mac’s number to talk to him and let him know about the pubcrawl. When I spoke to Mac and was explaining the event, he cut me off right away and said he’s busy and just hung up the phone on me. I went back to the bar to speak to the same guy about the event since Mac was too busy and unprofessional and explained to him that I was expecting at about 80 people to attend and as many as 200 if all goes well, and this guy apparently relayed the message to Mac that 200 were attending for sure. He never attempted to contact me in the month prior to the event to get a final head count or to let me know that he was planning on overstaffing just in case, which I would have advised against since I was splitting people up into small groups to not burden the bars with a huge rush of people. He never even displayed the flyers I gave him to help us get a better turnout.
I looked at my group in confusion over this guy’s unprofessional attitude so I attempted to talk to him to clear things up. I told him that I originally just gave an estimate on what I expected, and that I can’t control the outcome of my advertising with how many people actually attend. It was still early in the afternoon so I told him that I was expecting more people to show up as the night went on and that those people would eventually stop by the bar to have a drink as part of the pubcrawl. He began dropping f bombs and yelling at me telling me to not bother bringing another person and to leave the bar immediately with my group after being there for less than 5 minutes without anyone finishing their drinks and without refunds. Had I stayed another second in that bar, i’m pretty sure he would have attacked me since he had his fists clenched and it looked like he would snap at any second with his face turning blood red.
Instead of him making the best of the situation and allowing us to order a few more drinks and have more people attend throughout the day, he decided to ban everyone in my group who had done nothing wrong. He called me out in front of my group and said this was all my fault and began insulting me while we were leaving. I was already let down to begin with after seeing a low turnout for an event I was doing without profiting and just for fun. After that experience, I can assure you that everyone in my group will let every person we know to never step foot in that bar ever again. I have never witnessed anything that unprofessional and infuriating in my life.

Went here with a group of friends on a Friday night and we were all pleasantly surprised. «Wall of Denial» (Stevie Ray Vaughn tribute band) was playing, and contributed to a great experience.
The food… everyone loved what they ordered. I had the smothered italian beef which was excellent.
I have to knock one star off because the food took a long time to show up, but honestly, it was worth the wait.
Met Mac briefly on the way out, and he seems like a really cool guy.

Haven’t had a chance to swing by in the evenings but enjoy stopping by here for lunch. Good food and atmosphere make it go top place for lunch when I’min the area for lunch.
Gobbler is my go-​to but have had just appetizers with friends and a couple burgers. Everything is good and the beer is always cold.

Great place to grab a beer and listen to some live rock or blues.
Mac is a cool guy. Very friendly. It’s a bit of an older crowd but everyone is cool.

This is a small space on Slade St. but the music is large. Last Friday we topped off my wife and my date night by listing to great Blues. We have been there many times for lunch and the food was very good and the selection of hot sauces outstanding.
The crowds are a bit older then the other bar in Palatine but that is OK since I am a little older. The music is blues and jazz and designed for this age group.
As Sonya said, a great addition to Palatine.