Mad Mex – Happy Valley

I should know better than trying to eat Mexican food on the East Coast. We tried this place at the recommendation of our hosts. There is a nice patio and the margaritas were good. The service we had (shout out Lisa) was awesome. She suggested cocktails and beer and was right on with every suggestion.
But the food was AWFUL. The «fajita burita» was more black beans and rice than anything else. The steak tacos were tough and super spicy– although advertised as mild. The enchiladas were mushy… and I swear the salsa was just a can of tomatoes.
The ambiance was really nice… and I might go back for happy hour alone. But a trip to Mexico to learn about authentic food would do then wonders.

So much wasted potential…
I want to give this place 3 stars, knowing that there are some decent items on the menu that my vegan friends grudgingly accept. But it’s just not enough. There are three big strikes against this place:
1. False advertising. Mad Mex continues to advertise a Tues-​Sat, 10 p.m.-midnight «Late Mex» menu that includes $ 5 appetizers (not a bad deal) and a drink special. Well, that’s just wrong. I showed up with a friend a few minutes after 10 p.m. and the kitchen was closed. We were not allowed to even sit inside (the door was locked). We hoped to enjoy some food and play on the shuffleboard table, but were only offered a seat outside on the patio. We pointed out that they offer a food special from 10-​midnight, but they shrugged and said the kitchen closes at 10. How convenient. (NOTE: Three weeks later, they continue to advertise this special on their website, and their website says nothing about the kitchen closing earlier than the listed time.) This is a total deal-​breaker. Time is precious, and if you can’t count on a place to even BE OPEN (much less honor their specials), you’re better off going elsewhere. Don’t reward deception.
2. Poor service. Every once in a while, I’d get a bartender that seems nice. Even then, s/he’d be so overworked that the service would be mediocre, at best. They never seem to have enough servers or bartenders, and I’m starting to think that’s by design. Get folks in, get their «all-​you-​can-​eat» money and serve them a drink or two, and then ignore them. Aside from the sometimes-​competent bartenders, it’s downhill. Count on your server to disappear, go off the clock, forget an item, or screw up your bill – on top of (usually) displaying an affect of «I don’t want to be here, either.»
3. Upscale or undergrad chug-​fest? Please, pick one. I’m not going to give a low rating to the Lion’s Den, or the Shandygaff, or [insert undergrad bar I’ll never go to] because they’re operating in their niche and doing their thing. Some times, this place tries to play upscale. But on Monday’s, and random other times, Mad Mex tries to crank up the annoying music and pack in as many undergrads as possible. The mediocre service drops off a cliff and you wind up unable to get a drink or more food.
[edited slightly for readability]

This place certainly lives to its reputation!
We have one of this restaurants in Philadelphia. The service is terrible but the food is okay.
The Mad Mex in State College is just as bad!
The service we had was very good! Good job there!
The food was terrible. The Kale salad was too hot (too much hot pepper), the Nachos were basically tortilla chips with salsa…(Where was the meat???)
The steak fajitas looked amazing! Until you realized that you had just received an old shoe sole in the shape of a steak. The meat was so tough, I had to return it.
Our waiter was wonderful and handled the situation efficiently.
At the end, we did not have to pay for the fajitas. good job! They made sure we were happy.
The Margaritas were awesome! I heard that they tend to be weak but I must tell you, they were strong enough to give me a good buzz, mmmm .
I don’t think a trip to Mad Mex is in my near future… I could go back to the one in my home town of Philadelphia, but who wants to deal with rude waitresses and horrible service.

Very very packed place! You come here you’ll wait over an hour but worth it. Even though I had a chicken & cheese quesadilla it was very yummy! The guacamole was so fresh! Lots of collage kids but it’s cool they are not trouble

Basically the only reason to come here is for Mad Mex Monday’s. Where you’ll have a borage of college students looking to drink cheap on a school night. The atmosphere can be a little hectic to say the least.
As for the margaritas, you can’t go wrong with the deal. $ 6 for a 22 oz margarita on Mondays. Two will pretty much set you back. For taste however, they’re about what you would expect for the price. Likely made with bottom shelf tequila. We’re not even talking Jose here. I’d recommend to get them over ice. However I’ve found the frozen to be slightly stronger if that’s what you’re going for.
Worth a venture on a Monday if you’re a little for a rowdy time.

I’ve been here once and haven’t been back. There was nobody there on a Friday night at 10 and I guess that was a warning sign.
It was meh… the food was ok. I got a quesadilla and it was burnt.
Our waiter recommended drinks to us & they were pretty gross. No one at our table even finished them.
I don’t think I’d go back, I’d rather go eat Chipotle, Cal Tor, or Qdoba. This is just not worth the dollars or time… especially when there are better options within a 5 minute walk!

Fun atmosphere, mediocre food and service. This place played loud, teenybopper music which is my guilty pleasure so I loved that. The service was beyond slow. My husband liked his chimichanga and our friend said his verde burrito was ok. Sadly, I picked the wrong food. My chicken tortilla soup tasted like cardboard. The salsas, which are supposed to be made on site, just tasted like a plain tomato, and Tostitos chips have more flavor than Mad Mex’s chips. The best thing I tasted was their special sauce that comes with the chimichanga. It tasted like a delicious marinara, not a Mexican sauce. However, I was impressed by their beer selection, which offered a vast selection of beers from all over the US. The margarita was also really tasty. I’d come back for the drinks and music and maybe try some of the other food on their menu.

PSU/​State College is packed, there’s a hockey game & the Days Inn is booked solid.
Mad Mex is closed at midnight.
Huh?!
Yep. Bad business decision. We are left with the option of going to a six pack store (it’s Pennsylvania) buy beer and hang out in the lobby.
I’m a little irritated by the fact that it is clearly a busy night in State College, there are lines at every bar in town & Mad Mex shut up shop early?
Does corporate know? Care?
Bad business.
It’s also not the first time this has happened just the most asinine time.

I ordered the watermelon margarita and I swear to God it smelled and tasted like throw-​up. I couldn’t do it, so I gave it to my friend. He was already drunk, so I don’t think he picked up on how bad it was, or maybe he liked it. I’m not sure, but I couldn’t even watch him drink it. I have no idea what was going on with it. I was hoping to get the taste out of my mouth with the food, but unfortunately, the food was horrible too.
It had to have been the most bland burrito I’ve EVER had in my life. And the black beans were on the less cooked side.
I understand it was some sort of Artsfest weekend there, and maybe they were in over their heads with orders, but dang. Drinking that drink and then having to put salt on my burrito for some sort of flavour was 1– gross and 2– gross. It was all gross. No.

Good time, good food. I have been eating at Mad Mex since they opened on Pitt’s campus. I tend to always order the same time and was not disappointed this time either. We sat outside as a group and the only issue was how dark a corner we were in. Not a problem for me, since I knew what I was getting, but for others who were dining there for the first time and could not read the menu.
Server was super nice, very attentive. Had a great meal and will definitely be back.

Rarely missed a Mad Mex Monday during school. The big azz margs now $ 6 and endless burritos now $ 6 on Monday nights hit the spot. The atmosphere is really chill. Great seating outside on the porch/​bar and inside seating during the winter. The nachos are huge, but we also enjoy the Mad Mex burritos. Service is the only downfall for Mad Mex even on non busy events. Must try the frozen mango margs. The mini fruit chunks are delish!

Went on a Saturday night with a large group of friends. They were able to accommodate us pretty quickly after a wait by the bar. We enjoyed looking at the variety of humorous paintings decorating the place.
I ordered the fajita burrita which was GIANT. The steak I ordered as a protein was very good — very large quantity of steak included. We also enjoyed some carnita nachos and margaritas. I got the big Azz margarita special for $ 7 which has a nice taste. I also ordered the jalapeño margarita which did not have the same kick of ones I’ve had in the past. That was $ 12 so I would just stick to the mango one again. There was a wait for service but we could see the waitress was running around as the place was packed.
Overall they delivered a large amount of enjoyable food and drinks in a fun atmosphere.

Once a year the local NOW chapter has a social birthday party for some of our members. This is the second year we’ve done this Mad Mex.
The outdoor café is excellent. And the food and the margaritas are great. Try it out.

Mad Mex is a great combination between happy hour, friends and junk food. I got chips with cheese and beans, green peppers and beef. They were really yummy. My kid ordered chicken wings; i really liked them. I always taste all the plates before eating my food, that will let me be objective in terms of taste. They have a kind of sauce for the chicken wings that is suicidal. If you are fond of spicy, thats the place. My kid’s friend got two tacos. They were kind of spicy for her. The tacos came with rice and beans, which gave her a different flavor. I will come back because I am interested in trying other plates of the menu.

Place is very casual. Service was great. We had corn on cob was excellent. Wife had carnitas nachos was huge and very good. I had the crabby quesadilla was very good. The margaritas were fresh and delish. Would recommend and come back

This place awesome! Outside seating. Friendly bar/​waitstaff. Great food and drinks.
The waitstaff and management are fantastic! They are very customer oriented and make going there a fun time.
The food is great as well. Some of my favorites include: southwestern wings, wing-​o-​tacos, Kristi’s big sister’s quesadilla and many others.
Beer list is one of the best in town. The bar manger is a well informed and versed in different seasonal micro brews. They have 10 – 16 rotating taps all year long. They also have the staple beers as well on tap.

This place is dangerous if you have a food allergy. We had lunch there today. The waitress did not seem to know the menu at all. One of the diners at my table made the mistake of complaining about the service to a manager. The punishment was that one of the kid’s meals came out with shredded cheese hidden between the layers of the salad. I am not kidding. The child has a serious dairy allergy (which was made clear when ordering) and began to have swelling in her throat and she would not eat the meal. The adults at the table were trying to figure out it she was reacting to something else when I saw the white shredded cheese in the bottom half of the salad. It was not all over the top and obvious.
We were assured by our server that the California chicken salad along with two other dishes down the middle of the the children’s menu did not contain dairy or egg. When the child’s mother complained, the waitress and the manager seemed to be confused about the cheese and then insisted that it was vegan cheese. Let me be clear, the dish did not come with any cheese, vegan or otherwise and their mother did not order a cheese substitute. Then, when caught and confronted the restaurant staff could not remember if a cheese product was put on the food and then finally said they «thought» it was vegan cheese.
It is my firm belief that this was done purposely and maliciously because of the complaint about the service.
I could write more about the food and the service but what is the point. Zero stars.
Ticket time02:18PM, Table ²²⁄₁ Server: Lisa

Disappointed. Everything we ordered was meh at best… except for the fish tacos. Those were just horrible. I’m not one to waste food and usually like everything & I could only eat two bites of it. It just tasted… off.
Service was friendly but really slow and it wasn’t crowded at all. Wouldn’t come here again.
*Did like the waffle fries!

On mad mex monday’s it is highly advised that you come here with a sober sister.
Not to mention their endless burritos, but their big azz margs are only seven bucks. Mind you the price may have changed a bit.
They have a decent selection of crafts and are also in the lobby of the days inn.
Their Mexican food is average at best with decent service. The interior is trendy and dark.
I’m still pissed off at the bar tender who served me three big azz margs. in 20 minutes. I nearly died of alcohol poisoning. Please be responsible when drinking here.

This is a total «duh» statement, but in case you’re not aware… COLLEGE BAR!!!
Stopped in for a bite after the Penn State game and it was clear the goal of this place is to pump as many drinks into college students as possible. Nothing wrong with that! I was in college once, too!
It wasn’t totally packed when we got there and we were seated inside right away. However, after waiting for about 20min and we talked to the hostess at one point, a server finally emerged. Once we did get a server, it was fine. But we had been out in the sun at the game all day and really needed drinks, so I got tired of waiting and sent the boyfriend to the bar because I was going to die of thirst.
Ok, the drinks we were finally able to order from the server. Margaritas! Definitely wasn’t the best margarita I’ve had and it had a bit of a strange flavor to it (not bad, just strange). BUT less than $ 10 for a huge margarita? Sold!
Food wasn’t amazing but it was decent. I had the thai curry burrito and appreciated something different than the normal burrito. The rest of my party varied in their orders but it seemed everyone was pleased. The cornbread that came with the boyfriend’s burrito was definitely the star, I could’ve eaten just a plate of that with some salsa and sour cream! We did also order chips/​salsa that never made it to the table, womp womp.
There were 5 of us total — we all got food and 4 out of 5 got alcoholic drinks. Our total bill ended up coming to less than $ 20 per person… couldn’t believe how cheap it was!
Overall, this place wasn’t amazing but it wasn’t terrible either. Pretty a-​ok in my book.