Mac West Indian Restaurant

Great food that’s reasonably priced. Just don’t expect the same by way of customer service and wait times.

Paid my first visit to this spot for dinner this weekend and I have to say it’s pretty solid. My friend got the jerk chicken. I’m not eating meat right now so I got the roti with curry shrimp (my friend told me it that roti was actually prepared like dahl puri because it had the chickpeas between the layers). I didn’t taste the chicken (next time) but it smelled delicious and authentic. My roti was great and a really good portion. I had to take most of it home.
A lot of people are complaining about the wait. My friend’s jerk chicken was ready right away but my curry shrimp roti took a little longer. I mean, unless you’re going to a Jamaican spot to buy a beef patty, you can’t expect to walk out right away all the time. The food is real authentic food. It’s not McDonald’s. It is worth the wait.
They’re cool with me.

Where to start? Okay, if you’re looking for a place to run in and out this is NOT the place. I’ve been told people from the Caribbean are slow but damn they take the cake. I go in often and order Jerk Chicken w/​Rice and Peas and Plantain (I’ll get to this shortly) and it usually take me almost half an hour to get out of the place. If you guys are reading this you should learn to acknowledge a customer when they walk to the door with phrases such as «Hello, Hi, Please give me a minute, etc». Instead of the latter they look at you and carry on bagging someones food in what seems to take almost 6.4 minutes. That’s not including the 5 minutes it takes them to ring you up followed by the 2.23 minutes it takes them to walk less than 2 feet to hand you back your change. If you walk in and order to take out you’re looking at 25 to 30 minutes by the time they look at you, take your order, come out with it, bag it up, ring you up, walk back with your change.
Now on to the next thing: The Plantains. There’s no reason that you only give two small pieces of plantain with a large order. Really? I decided on my last visit to order a side order of plantain for the extra $ 2 which brings 4 pieces. I open my food and I get 4 medium sized ones and two small tiny pieces (you know the end of the banana). You know you are messing up when you even have Jamaicans in there complaining about the amount of plantain in their native tongue (patois).
Aside from these inconveniences I have NEVER been disappointed by the food. The following are tips I have learned to shave off at least 6 minutes from this excruciating wait time.
1. Place your order and whip out your wallet immediately so you can pay and get that out of the way.
2. Bag your own food.
3. Make sure you order your drink immediately as well because if you forget you’re in for an additional wait of at least 5 – 8 minutes.
4. If you can call it in that may help but you will need to fight to the death to make it to the front and get your food. Make sure you wear some elbow protection.
5. If possible carry a Plaintain with you and have them fry it for you. I’m sure they’ll charge you at least $ 2 to use their oil. If not, I usually carry some Coconut Oil with me they could use to fry them. I kid, I kid but the thought had crossed my mind.
Pros:
Good food and very flavorful.
Cons:
— Staff takes their sweet time completing every task.
— Might need play some games on your phone while you wait.

This restaurant is obviously not equipped to take delivery orders. I ordered my food at 11:50am through grubhub, they called me at 12:08pm to tell me they were out of something I ordered, I missed their call and called them back at 12:23pm. I was pleased they called me to let me know they were out but it’s now 1:34pm and I had to call them to ask them where my order was. With an attitude, they lady on the phone asked if she can call me back. I asked her why? is the food on the way. She proceeded to tell me she doesn’t know the guy is out that’s why she has to call me back. I have never heard of anything like that before in my life. I will NEVER order from them again. If you cannot handle delivery orders, you shouldn’t. It is now 1:46pm and she has yet to call me back. FURIOUS!

Its pretty simple, I live in Colorado and we don’t have a strong West Indian presence out here. When I make my way to Hackensack, I MAKE SURE I pay a visit to Mac’s. You can never go wrong with jerk chicken with rice and peas, anything curry is outstanding. This past time I went I had the jerk pork and it was just as good as the jerk chicken. I always ask for some extra sauce (oxtail gravy) or jerk sauce to put on top of my rice and peas. This takes the food to the next level!
If you are in the area, stop buy. Even if you don’t care too much for West Indian food (what in the hell is wrong with you) they have other options such as chicken wings, hamburgers, and a lot of other American fare options.
Last but not least, be patient, when you get food here it isn’t a sprint, its a marathon. If you want good food, cooked with love, then you have to wait :)
Mac’s… I don’t know when I will be back, but if I have family come out to Colorado, I will make sure they will bring me some on the plane! That how you know a place is good…

Delicious Jamaican food: oxtail, jerk chicken, peas and rice, cabbage. Excellent service.

Let’s get the positive stuff out the way first. The food here is very good. It’s on par with the other Jamaican restaurants I’ve patronized. I’ve been going to Mac’s since they opened and I was in high school. It used to be a small, extremely crowded place. But over the years, they bought out the building and expanded. I always get take out, but they have table service and on Sundays I believe there is a buffet.
Okay…
So, my main issue is the service. 90% of the time I feel as though I’m bothering the person behind the counter. There’s always this annoyed and exasperated «Can I help you?» It’s not just me, they do it with other customers (unless their friends come in). But it’s like, whatever. This isn’t a fine dining experience. But if I come in, and give you a chipper hello, please be somewhat courteous.
We also used to order food by phone a lot. We would tell them we’d pick it up in about 15 – 20 minutes. Every time, without fail, the food is never ready. In a way I understand, because I’m sure people have placed orders and never picked up. But then I have to wait there for like 25 – 30 minutes. It’s a good thing I never have anything planned after going there, or I’d always be late.
Other than that, the place is clean. The food is good. However, I’m now a fan of the new kid on the block, 14 Parish on Anderson Street. The food is better, VERY plentiful, and the staff is really polite and helpful.
So, I’ll still go to Mac if I can’t make it to 14 Parish.

Jerk chicken with the rice & peas + cabbage & plaintains is OFFICIAL.

My husband and I went on a Wednesday night for dinner and we really enjoyed ourselves. I had the curried goat, which came with rice and peas and a salad. My husband had the oxtail, also with rice and peas and salad. Both meals were perfect, meat so juicy and tender! Along side our meals some pink ting. Dawn and the rest of her staff were very friendly and always made sure we were ok. We left with a smile on our faces and our bellies full. Big up Mac!