McFadden’s Saloon
“I get open bar can hurt by using too much alcohol but that was just sad they felt watered down.”
“McFadden's, I've been here a couple of times now, taking advantage of the happy hour specials that my friends get.”
“Was next door at Calico Jack's celebrating my birthday (well, trying to), but it was a terrible time so decided to ditch it and come next door to McFadden's instead.”
McFadden’s Saloon
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Happy Hour: Yes
Coat Check: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Warning: this is not an average Irish sports bar. They have a dress code- no sweatpants, regardless of how cool your joggers are. Disappointment. The establishment is partitioned into two sections- the bar section and the dining section. On a Friday evening around 7, the bar area was packed, full of happy hour participants. The restaurant area was a bit more spacious and had several free tables. We were there because our friend won a happy hour, which meant that he got mixed drinks and beers on the house for 2 hours, while all his guests got the same for half off. Because the bar was super packed and we were hungry, we decided to get a table and have dinner. Plus, the happy hour specials were honored at the tables, and were not limited to the bar. Food service was very slow. Seems like the burgers are a hit or miss. My medium burger with avocado was delicious, but the boyfriend's burger was not so great. The waffle fries are good, but very expensive ($6 for a tiny portion). The wings I ordered took forever to arrive (much later than my burger) and when my wings arrived, the kitchen had made a mistake and sent boneless wings instead of bone-in wings. Our waitress was apologetic and brought our half-eaten boneless wings back to the kitchen to exchange for the correct bone-in wings. It was super difficult to flag down the waitress throughout our meal. All in all, it wasn't a super pleasant experience and I definitely won't be returning to McFadden. However, if you are looking to mingle in the city, I would say the bar area is a pretty good place to be. The crowd seems to be mainly attractive young professionals partaking in the various ongoing happy hours. Would not come to eat though.
Place is okay if you want to relive your undergraduate years. This is college town central.
Sometimes it can be very hard to get a drink. Prices are not too bad and they don't charge a credit card minimum, which is a plus. I would come here if my friends had an event or something, but definitely not my scene.
I really have nothing pithy to say about this place, just that if you enjoy coming here then we have different ideas about a fun night out in NYC. It's so mind-numbingly cookie cutter, built from the same mail-order kit as a thousand other bars in midtown Manhattan where you can shout your order for a beer and a shot over the pulsing music on a weekend night, or waste a few afternoon hours watching sports on several TV screens with all the other frat boys and burnt out barflies. The food is your standard pub menu, although I will give them credit for a pretty decent French dip sandwich. I guess maybe I've just aged out of the demographic that settles for cheap Bud Light bottles as a weekend thrill, but it's just hard for me to see any appeal in this place.
My rating is based on having a really amazing time one night and a really ok time on a second visit.
The first time I went as because a friend had a happy hour deal and we went all out, dancing the night away, etc.
The second time was on a random weeknight when it was empty.
Overall, I think it is a solid spot if you are in the area and need somewhere to go or if you are looking for something in midtown in general. But I don't think I would go out of my way to visit again.
Any place that relies on a business model of letting you drink for free if you bring enough friends…
I can here because a friend "won" a free happy hour. Drinks for us were $5 a piece and he could drink for three hours… And no unfortunately these aren't strong or nice drinks (but you can get a ton of bud lite!) He also won prizes like appetizers and bar tabs for additional people he brought. He was wearing a wrist band which almost everyone in the way way way overcrowded bar was.
I was carded at 7 pm on a Thursday. Not a good sign… Who cards at the door at 7 pm on a Thursday… Then I walked in and saw a bar which looked like it had an average age of 20, mostly the younger midtown lets drink as much as possible for as little as possible crowd. The DJ (for better or for worse) was playing the likes of spice girls and Aaron carter… Unsure if this crowd was old enough to appreciate the silliness of the music choices.
Anyways a woman came by and asked if I wanted to have the free happy hour thing myself, which I politely declined since I'd have to come back.
I came here because one of my friends won happy hour here. If you win apparently, the winner drinks for free while all of his guest drinks for $5. The thing is I don't know how many winners they select, but the bar section of this place is so narrow, you're constantly in someone's way. Getting drinks takes forever and did I mention the place is overcrowded? Something tells me they rely solely on the "Win Free Happy Hour For Yourself" promo to keep business running smoothly.
So, for the Bar section, it's a no no for me. The dinner section might be different so don't rely on my review for that.
A few words that come to mind when I think McFaddens: underage, crowded, loud, sticky… Maybe I'm just getting old, but this place for weeknight happy hour is crawling with just-out-of-college bros, and screechy girls in clothing that I would never even dream of wearing to the office. Wait times for drinks at the bar are ridiculous and it gets so packed that you really can't stand anywhere without touching someone else. The DJ (on a Tuesday, really?) is so loud that you have to scream to the person directly next to you. Ick ick ick. Sorry. Not sorry.
Not a destination. I've been here twice – once for a private event in the back where the room has its own separate bar, and another time on a regular weekend night. The actual space is a sad attempt at looking like an Irish pub. If you like uncomfortably packed spaces and rowdy young adults who act like they're at a college frat party, I guess this is the place for you. Thankfully, that's not my thing.