Talk Page
Talk about MacGregor's here.
Talk about MacGregor's:
Note: You must be logged in to add comments
2005-08-01 21:26:30 I recommend the sour cream, horseradish, and bacon burger. —RyDahl
2006-01-05 00:12:05 I recommend anything from the tap! —MichaelComet
2006-01-06 21:16:40 Outstanding beer!!!! —PeteB
2006-05-17 11:05:58 The one on Gregory street has a sign that reads "Permanently Closed". Anyone know what happened? —TomKaminski
2006-05-17 15:25:57 They closed purportedly because of noise complaints. About 10 years ago upon being denied a permit to build a deck after they had already built it, they closed for a year to spite the Zoning Board. —JohnLam
I heard they closed purportedly because they applied for a grant with a Southwedge Association and they were turned down. Like the deck incident this closing appears to be similar. —TomWright
2006-05-26 15:47:17 When they had the West Henrietta Road location, they closed rather than pay higher rents (this was before the Jefferson Rd. site opened). —TomMaszerowski
2006-09-03 19:11:28 the MacGregor's on Gregory Street, alas, has closed and moved away. The only ones around are in the burbs. —NancyOdonnell
2006-09-15 05:17:42 Perinton location—great "family" PUB— Love the wings. The Deck in Perinton is great. Construction is happening around there right now, but it's still open! —KarenMask
2007-05-17 09:43:45 The Perinton location is also my favorite, large seating indoors, great patio. —TravisOwens
2007-08-02 10:31:51 Empire Blvd Location: Good food, good service. It was freezing at first, but then they gladly lowered the air conditioning for us. The buffalo chicken wrap was tasty, and they honored my request to go "light on the bleu cheese." They have a lot of beers, too. —BenMargolis
2007-09-17 10:05:09 I called the Chili location to ask about their website but it is down. The guy was extremely helpful and offered to fax a menu since the site was down. I am meeting a big party there on Friday, I will report in on how the evening goes. —BadFish
2007-11-17 08:50:01 I used to go to MacGregor's for years and found the original Gregory Street location my favorite. About six-seven years ago I found the whole MacGregor's "chain " going downhill in terms of them rotating their selections of beer and the quality of the food. It was an especially sore spot for me because they removed the two staples I usually always ordered with my beer: potato skins with blue cheese and bacon, and potato skins with mozzarella and this really awesome tomato marinara. When they removed them, they reprinted their menus. The menus now had these really cheesy "ads" for the different brand names they used on their menu. That was the beginning to the end. I still occasionally stop in at one of their numerous locations, but each time I find them as a shell of how they were originally. This is what happens when a great business spreads itself too thin and the quality and reputation go straight down the tubes!!! —DabeernFooddude
2008-01-15 20:31:55 Extremely disappointed in the price hike in beer lately. Unacceptable. —HeidiAnn
2008-01-26 16:47:14 We go to the Henrietta location quite often and although the bar staff are very nice, polite and helpful—they are not particularly fast. On Friday there were 4 on and it still took longer that you would think given the crowd. (It wasn't that busy, especially for a Friday.) BTW — why are these on the talk page? —BadFish
2008-02-24 09:27:51 My husband and I have been loyal visitors to the Henrietta location for a few years now,and are sad to see the rapid decline in the place. We went last night, and quickly noticed that ALL of the waitstaff was new. After tracking down a beer list, as we were not given one when seated as usual, we quickly discovered they no longer carried any of the beers we typically order. Our waitress was not able to make any suggestions, and when I ordered a combination beer (guinness and magic hat #9), she brought me one of each. As a result I paid for two beers when I only wanted one, and didn't end up drinking more than half of the guinness. As the place was almost empty on a Saturday night, I am guessing we are not the only ones who have had this experience and will not be going back. —GirlRoc
2008-03-24 16:05:20 I went to the Jefferson location for the first time last November for a late lunch on a weekday. I was very anxious to check out their massive beer selection for future evening visits. Both the food and beer menus were filthy & greasy. None of the first 5 beers I ordered from the tap menu were available. The waitress knew absolutely nothing about beer or the beer menu. The vast majority of their 100 tap beers were from only 4 or 5 breweries. I would have expected a much wider selection and perhaps even something unique. Nearly all listed were readily available at Beers of the World or other local stores. I ordered skins & a Cajun burger. Both were brought out at the same. I sent my burger back to the kitchen to be kept warm while I ate the skins. They were clearly of the pre-frozen ilk and had no flavor whatsoever. My burger (still warm) was coated in a thick layer of brown goo which was an attempt at “Cajun” flavoring. It was clearly just a massive mound of Cajun spiced salt mixed with some fluid to make a paste. It was beyond disgusting. I didn’t eat much of anything.
I left the waitress a good tip though since I felt bad she was working in such a bad restaurant. —ZedOmega
2008-06-10 14:28:41 i used to go to the henrietta location all the time around 2003 (I was a senior at RIT, it was sort of a nightly ritual). Unfrotunately, the place is heading straight down the tubes. The food is ALWAYS subpar, the waitstaff clueless, and the beer you usually want unavailable. I still go on occaision due to proximity to work, but I can't say I really enjoy it anymore. —owslystnly
2008-06-10 16:18:28 Great Beer selection!
The Jefferson Road location is always too packed to enjoy myself. I think they must make a fortune there.
The Empire Road location is new, so it was very clean and well stocked. I enjoyed myself.
The Canandaigua location is still my fav, as it is a low key fun place to chill in the summer. —MrRochester
2008-06-10 16:30:16 Out of the MacGregor's I have been to: the one on Empire has the nicest/largest dining area. I think to strictly go eat, this one is the best I've been to. The one on Jefferson is fun, I like the sunken area to play pool and darts. We tend to go to this one before we go to the movies. The one on 31 I really don't have much of an opinion on, but I used to go eat there outside when I worked nearby. The one in Canandaigua has such a tiny bar area that I was really annoyed trying to get around on a busy Sunday night.
Overall, a fun place to drink/grab cheap meal once and awhile, especially when a game is on. —SaraChristine
2008-06-10 18:49:02 I think their "beer bar" reputation is more perception than reality. They have too many taps, so when one orders a less-popular brew there is no way to tell how long it has been sitting around. I've had more than a couple pints that were flat or stale. There is no need for a place to have 70 taps - it sounds like marketing to me. I think it would be better to have a smaller, well-edited and rotating selection of draught brews, like The Old Toad or Tap and Mallet. Also, unlike the true beer bars mentioned above, their servers aren't really "beer people".
Perception aside, it's not a horrible place. I think their food is mediocre, but some people seem to like it. Atmosphere is alright (Henrietta location), and they have a nice deck. —EastSideStephen
2008-06-20 16:55:01 I would agree with EastSideStephen's comments on the quality of beers at MacGregor's... I've seen them really go downhill over the last year or so. They used to put more effort into their beer selection. Their bartenders used to know the beers and even a lot of the waitresses did. Nowadays, the bartenders are known to say things like "i don't know anything about beers" and when asked about Firkin friday, they are clueless. The waitresses who knew their beers have moved on and been replaced by whoever apparently applies for the job. It has also transitioned away from a place you could enjoy a meal or later have a few pints of good beers. Now it is more of a "hey look I'm 21 and drink crappy beer" scene at night. They don't clean their lines anywhere near as often as they should (they used to do a good job of this) and the quality of food has gone downhill.
That said, I went the other day after hearing they had Dogfish Head 120 minute IPA on tap. It was delicious, as it should be. We also had some wings and tremendous fries... Just "bar" food but it was back to the quality is used to be (even the wings had been bad as of late)... They still skip on meal essentials, however, such as the dinner roll with the broccoli cheddar soup... I will be giving them another chance after the other day.
Oh, and it should be noted that their website is FINALLY back up and running. It works really well and, I have to say, is one of the best beerbar sites I have had the pleasure of viewing. —AndrewWagner
2009-01-22 18:15:24 My friends and I go to the Henrietta location for any celebrations after work. The beer selection is good, the food tasty and hot and the service friendly. It is a great low-key bar to just hang out with friends and grab a good beer. However, there are some cons. I once went here with a friend and wanted to order a mixed drink. The bartender was clueless as to what I wanted, so I just asked for a rum runner. The first one was okay, the second one was so full of sour mix that I couldn't drink it. I would just stick to the beer and if you crave a mixed drink, head somewhere like the Cheesecake Factory or TGI Fridays. —CatMagro
2009-04-27 16:55:13 The reason there is a constantly new service staff is because the owners are evil, god-awful people. —pstratigis
2009-08-02 14:20:05 I agree with the last comment, I hear the owners are jerks! Beers are OK but some are getting pricey. Average service. Decent food. However, the cajun gold wings are amazing! —MetalFrost
2010-09-06 11:55:39 Best beer selection in Rochester, hands down. The Henrietta location has the most extensive list. Bartenders are usually good about letting you sample before you purchase. Amazing rotating beer specials, in particular at this time of year - $3 pints for many varieties of Oktoberfests and other fall favorites. Additionally, food quality is consistently good - definitely not your average "pub grub," and the recently revamped menu provides even more options. I have been a regular patron of various MacGregor's locations for the past 2 years, so I would venture to say that whatever problems existed in 2008 and earlier have largely been straightened out. The only negative thing I could possibly say about this place is that the waitresses are largely uninformed on the beer selection (however, the bartenders know their stuff). —AJH
2010-09-14 12:41:37 I've been to several of the MacGregors locations including the on Pittford Palmyra Rd. I think that PP Rd. location is now closed, though not sure. They all have a decent beer selection and some food items are pretty good. However, almost like clockwork, the service has been bad at every location. I went to the Penfield / Webster location on Sat. night with a fairly large group (about 8)hoping that things would be different, but the service was among the worst I've had in years at any restaurant. The waitress did not clear any of our empty glasses / mugs as we finished them, nor did she clear our plates at any time. By the time we were half way finished with our meals, there wasnt any room on the table b/c of the empty glasses. One of my friends wanted to ask the waitress if she was going to clear anything, but I told him not to with the hopes that she would figure it out. She didnt. By the end of our meal we had to combine several of the plates and glasses into piles so that we had room to put a phone or our hands on the table. You would think that even if it was her first night on the job, she could have figured that out. Wow. We also had to ask for our check 3 times and wait for a half hour for it. Otherwise our food was good but we swore off this place b/c even the service at the Dinosaur BBQ feels like Rooney's compared to this joint. —ScottLaRock
2010-12-27 02:10:24 The location on Route 31 in Perinton/Macedon is now closed for a 2nd time. The first time it was for something to do labor violations, and the second time I guess they just randomly closed without telling staff. Those are rumors though, so take them for what they're worth. I used to like dining at the Route 31 location occasionally. Standard Pub, IMO. Had horrible service one time at the Canandaigua location, but hey, that happens. —DE
2011-02-07 14:12:23 This is the usual after game bar that I go to after RIT Hockey games. The beer list is excellent and the prices are very good. The menu looks like it's been expanded this year and has a lot more choices. The Henrietta one has more beer choices than the Penfield one. Probably the only bar I've liked in Rochester besides the Old Toad and Tap and Mallet —DamianKumor
2012-01-29 20:24:12 Usually very happy with the food, and we liked the family friendly atmosphere of the empire blvd location, until we realized that they don't have a baby changing station. I really don't understand how you can have highchairs available, but no where to change the baby. I had to change my 8 mo. old on the sink in the ladies room - very frustrating. —jgillette
2012-03-25 14:29:12 D, Let me just start out that the D rating is for food only. The bar is definitely an A. Went to the Empire Blvd location last night for dinner and to watch March Madness. I got a taco salad that was absolute crap. it was completely bland. No jalapeños and the chicken had no seasoning. not even salt! The salsa was tasteless with no heat at all. Salad was just iceberg for the greens and they put about a 1/4 of a pound of olives on the damn thing. I hate olives so took them off and filled one of the small plates. it was almost an entire can of black olives! needless to say we will not be eating here again. For drinks it is great though. —NewtonNola
2012-07-20 12:33:12 I went for lunch here once since I moved into Rochester. A buddy pointed me to this place the one in Gates. Even thou I do not drink the beer selection is very well. The hamburger was good and the service was great. I will go here again. —bonnev659
2018-05-29 21:19:26 new location is slated for Brighton in the old Zebb's —scotthendler
