Mackens Bar & Restaurant in Down

27/09/2024 After waiting 10 minutes to firstly Order food, waited for anther 40 minutes and still no food arrived. Was told by staff member it wasn’t them that had taken our order but whoever did, must have forgotten to put order into kitchen. Staff did apologise but in all honesty they didn’t really seem bothered or checked if food was even on its way. We Left and had to go elsewhere which again staff didn’t seem that Bothered about. Very very disappointed as the place had came recommended

Every time we eat in Mackens the whole experience just gets better, food, drink, ambience are all great. If in doubt try the chefs specials, especially any fish dishes.

Landed in Newcastle on a surprise break for a few days. Explored the local pubs for the perfect pint of Guinness. (As you do in Ireland) Local barman in high street bar directed me to the Southern end of the prom and I took a ten minute stroll to Mackens. The snug bar on the left side is the idea drinking hole. Ticked all my boxes for a simple, zero hassle pint of the black stuff. The patrons are mature and friendly with 10/10 standard pints pulled beautifully time after time. And yes, it is the best pint of Guinness in the town.

Another Friday, another great meal followed by superb trad music session in the bar accompanied by some more Guinness. If you're not sure what to have the special fish of the day is always the best option as the chef excels with any fish. Last night was sea bream, excellent, our son had the steak sandwich and my wife had paella, both thoroughly enjoyable.

I have eaten in Mackens several times, the food is always outstanding, the bar has a great atmosphere and lots of banter with staff ,especially Edel . I would highly recommend it to any one visiting Newcastle

Another great meal tonight, we shared a starter of pork gyozas with a dipping sauce, excellent. For mains Helen had the lobster special and I had sea trout. The lobster was perfectly cooked with garlic and herb butter, served with caesar salad and skinny fries. The sea trout was beautifully cooked with crispy skin, served with tempura broccoli, a champ cake and prawn and mussel cream. Both dishes were superb. A pint of Guinness and a glass of sauvignon blanc accompanied the meal. Service is attentive and knowledgeable and the ambience is relaxed and enjoyable. We shall be back.

My wife and I have eaten there several times recently as the atmosphere is relaxed and casual and the food is excellent and reasonably priced. Tonight we shared a great starter of white crab meat on toast, beautiful flavours. I had the fish special which was hake on a Thai risotto with tempura battered broccoli, superb. My wife had another special of the day which was a bacon chop with a maple dressing served with broccoli on a bed of grain mustard mash. We shared a side of seasonal vegetables which complimented both dishes. A glass of chilled pinot grigio and a pint of Guinness worked well with the beautiful food. The service is good, attentive and the staff knowledgeable and the food is reasonably priced for such excellent quality. We will definitely be back soon.

My wife and I recently dined in Mackens on a Friday evening while on a weekend visit to Newcastle. We had booked not knowing much about the restaurant so were a bit apprehensive. Mackens more than exceeded our expectations - it was fabulous! The dining area is upstairs in a traditional pub and is tastefully decorated with a lovely ambience. The two front of house guys couldn't have been more helpful or friendly. The menu was right up our street with great seafood options - we had confit duck pancakes and crispy squid to start with and monkfish scampi and sea trout for mains - it was all delicious and accompanied by creamy pints of Guinness and a lovely red wine. What a find! I would highly recommend.

We visited by chance in a Friday afternoon after a walk. The staff member suggested we go to the upstairs restaurant to a table with a sea view. My husband ordered a starter of sourdough bread with goats cheese and I ordered the chicken goujons with taco sauce and chunky chips. Both meals were delicious and freshly prepared. The restaurant was quiet for a Friday afternoon and I sensed this is a hidden gem in Newcastle. The sea view from our table was beautiful. The coffee was equally good. We can’t wait to return.

This spot is great for a friendly night out with good food good Guiness and friendly staff. The food is freshly cooked so you may have to wait a while on it but it is worth the wait and if we had to order another drink...we'll there's worse things 😉

Fantastic lunch at Mackens, we had the chicken burger and fish tacos, absolutely amazing. Looks are deceiving here but the food doesn’t disappoint. Also a great place to come for a drink in the evening.

Great spot, food was generally very good but just a few constructive comments - Whilst the fish tacos were very nice they could have done with a little more fish, the portion was quite small for a main course. The steak sandwich was tasty and the steak cooked perfectly, however I think a long ciabatta or similar would have worked much better than the small square sliced brioche (it lierally was presented like a traditional sandwich between two very small bits of brioche toast). The prawns on toast were nice but would be improved massively with the use of portavogie prawns rather than thai/indonesian prawns. These are just a couple of small points but overall everything was great and we will definitely be back.

What an underrated gem. Me and my friend came here for a quick bite. There was an intimate cozy atmosphere and there was a lovely fire lit, perfect for after a cold walk. Staff were friendly and helpful. The service was quick and attentive. And the food was just delicious, the wings were the best we had in a long time. Couldn’t recommend more, great variety and excellent quality. Look forward to coming here again soon.

The food was sensational, look after your chef mackens they are incredible. We all had staters and mains, everything was gorgeous. I had tomato soup & fish tacos, my friends prawn Marie was fab and the fish & chips and steak also lovely. Will be back for sure, delicious! Lovely service too.

Myself and some friends came here in early October. We got fish, tacos and goujons. The fish was dry covered in salt chunks. Presentation was really good. The tacos were delicious, I would order them again. The goujons again a little dry. One issue we picked up on was the young age and lack of experience/training staff had on that day. There were 3 young girls on their own with no guidance or supervision which unfortunately affected the standard of service.

Visited Mackens for lunch on a Friday afternoon, food was superb, great quality and couldn’t fault a single thing. Upstairs was quiet and service great. We had the seafood chowder and chicken goujons and you could really taste the quality and home cooked deliciousness! Will definitely visit again.

Lovely staff and reality good food.. Need to book for upstairs as it’s limited tables but quality is great. Lovely views of sea too.

Outstanding Food in this traditional irish Pub overlooking the Sea. I had the Mussels whilst my Partner had the Fish Tacos...and I have to say that both Dishes were 10/10...

Beautiful, newly renovated dining room on the top floor of the bar. Good food and drinks menu. We had the lobster and prawn roll with lemon pepper fries, delicious.

Very quiet restaurant upstairs, perhaps a little lacking in atmosphere due to low numbers/no background music but service was very friendly and quick, a big plus when you have three restless kids. Our food was absolutely top class, highly recommend the burger and garlic fries. Kids portions were generous with proper chicken breast gougons not processed meat. We would definitely return.

Such a lovely bar up at the harbour in Newcastle, a hidden gem. I’m local to the area and any time I’ve been my whole family have been so impressed

Another 10/10 to Mackin's can't fault what we had. Another great meal, see you soon and already looking forward to it.

This place is amazing. A old bar that hasn't been redone and modernised with an inch of its life, it's got charm and atmosphere We had great drinks and the staff are probably the nicest we came across on our trip. The highlight was the food, the best mussels I've ever had and prawn and lobster toast that tastes like it was just caught. Biggest compliments to the chef and the wonderful b at staff, this place is a gem and should not be missed if you are visiting Newcastle!

Great meal as always, looks like your turning into our local. See you all Friday, already looking forward to it. Guys if your looking for quality grub at good prices look no further, go on give it a go...

This is an amazing Pub/Restaurant. Its straight out of an old Irish Movie with its location overlooking the Boats and the Sea. The Atmosphere is total "chill", with brilliant Staff. Now...leaving the best to last. The Food. We have had various Items from the Menu,...

Came here for a drink after having dinner in the harbour house as my dad said he absolutely loves this bar, can see why, we sat in the old part which is a tiny little bar on the other side with only around 4 tables...

Went out for dinner with my family to Mackens on Friday evening. The weather was good and they have plenty of outdoor seating which was ideal. I had the Fish & Chips, which was a lovely huge freshly battered fish that tasted delicious. Everyone with...

We had dinner there last night out in the beer garden the food as always was excellent, I had the Brie cheese burger it was outstanding my partner had the chicken burger also lovely the fish and chips and the scallops also are excellent, Our...

After visiting here for Sunday lunch and a wonderful experience with food, staff and value for money, we decided to return this evening for dinner. Our food was amazing not one complaint from 4 adults and 2 children. We would highly recommend Mackens and 100%...

My family and I 6 in all had sunday lunch here and the food and staff were excellent. Very relaxing and enjoyable can’t wait to return.

We had a beautiful meal on valentine's night I had the fish the batter was amazing light and crispy and also gluten free ♥️ pepper sauce was to die for and my partners steak was cooked to perfection. Food was 1st class can't wait to...

Went here for food with a few friends and the food was just delicious. Me and hubby had the steak and it was the best I had in awhile. I cant wait to return a wee hidin gem.

This nice local pub hasn't been offering food for long, and the restaurant opens only at weekends so far. It will probably be heaving as soon as people realise it's there, because the cooking is really excellent and the prices at the low end of...

We were incredibly impressed by the quality of the cooking at Mackin's. There's a busy bar downstairs but we ate upstairs in the dining room with lovely views out to sea. The mussels with fennel and the duck special were absolutely first class. The duck...

Tribal, unprofessional, not very welcoming. Treated poorly. Will not be back. We started watching one match on the lower TV up until half time. There were quite a few customers watching the same match in this area. All went well up until half time, the...

We were staying two doors away from this authentic Irish pub. We went there a few times including one evening of traditional Irish music. This was the real deal, none of your fake tourist trap Irish music. Just a group of locals producing great music...

I stopped off as the sign outside stated there was food served and what a pleasant surprise. I started with the mussels served in a garlic and white wine sauce which were delicious, then had the slow roast beef which I wouldn't have needed a...