Mad Mex Columbus

jmacdaddy2008

Ohio

3.88/5  rDev +2.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

I enjoy going to this place every Wednesday for happy hour and beer tasting.

They have free glassware when you purchase the beer they are tasting.

The bar tenders could be more attentive but they are usually busy when I go.

They tend to have a good rotation of the seasonals from the better breweries.

They have a decent selection on tap and the half off from 4-7 is pretty sweet. I usually get the hottest wings they have, which are also half off.

They do a good job creating a place that's quiet enough to chat but still has a bar feel.
A must if you have the time to go to happy hour on Wednesdays.

04-16-2008 22:46:19 | More by jmacdaddy2008

FaustieMo

Ohio

3.65/5  rDev -3.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 3 | $$

Mad Mex is a nice place to fill up on food and grab a tasty beer. Their happy hour includes 1/2 off drafts and wings, but the dinner plates aren't too pricy to begin with.

What I like: The beer selection is pretty respectable. Well represented by Great Lakes products, and a sizable diversity in other craft beers on draft. Their tap list is posted online as well, so you can know what to expect. The atmosphere is nice, dark lighting, and is located at the South Campus Gateway, a real gem on campus area High Street.

What I don't like: The food is actually quite bland. It is fine, but nothing spectacular. In the future I would just get an appetizer and beers. Service is average.

I had a Founders Breakfast Stout. It was unreal and I was pleased to have been served in a snifter. I'd say come visit Mad Mex.

10-26-2011 02:21:15 | More by FaustieMo

BareRepublic

Pennsylvania

3.83/5  rDev +1.1%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3 | $$

A great place to go for happy hour. Always love unearthly and ruination when they have it on tap, and you can always find Bell's and Great lakes among many others. Monday night is all you can eat burritos for something like $5 and they aren't too bad. As other people have said, you can go down the street to Bodega's for some great beer while you're standing shoulder to shoulder with everyone, but you can get some great beer and some decent food here with room to spread out and not have to wait in line for another beer.

05-10-2011 20:07:21 | More by BareRepublic

ne0m00re

Ohio

3.7/5  rDev -2.4%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 2 | $$

Although the Gateway (South OSU campus) is not necessarily the area you'll want to go bar-hopping (it's full of bro-bars and massive commercial clubs), Mad Mex is kind of a gem. It serves Southwestern--and some Asian--dishes, but its rotating beer selection is generally worth the visit.
The beers that were on-tap while I was there include the following: Great Lakes' Elliot Ness and Dortmunder Gold, Great Divide's Hibernation (I've had Yeti on tap here before, though), Flying Dog's Raging Bitch (I've had Gonzo on tap here before, though), Dogfishhead's 90 Minute and an additional "seasonal," which escapes me at the moment, St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout, Troeg's Nugget Nectar and Hopback, some local brews, and ten or so other beers that are definitely worthy.
Order the buffalo wings or burritos/wraps which contain wings, because the rest of the food is only mediocre (Chipotle blows most of the burritos out of the water). I think I got sick once off of their spinach...
If you sit at the bar, you'll have free access to nachos, which are also worth the visit.
Their happy hour isn't too shabby, with half-off drafts and wings. After 10pm everyday, they have "big-azz" 20 oz drafts (as opposed to pints at the same price) and half-off most food. Plan to visit during these times.
They usually play an eclectic mix of independent/new music, but late at night they'll have clubbing and pop music (to match the rest of the scene at the Gateway?). The bartenders are great, but the table service is hit-and-miss. Last night, I had an unusually attentive waitress, whereas the time before, they were lucky I stayed the extra 20 minutes to get my card back!
I'd recommend this place for the beer and snacks; if you're looking to dine out, go somewhere else!

02-14-2010 02:46:18 | More by ne0m00re

ShareANevada

Ohio

3.86/5  rDev +1.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | $$$

Stopped in here later on a saturday, celebrating a friends bday. Not a lot of people here, seems maybe this is more of a restaurant than your standard beer bar. Young 20 something crowd, as you would expect for someplace so embedded in campus.

Dimly lit, nice atmosphere, we had no problem snagging seats at the bar. Chalkboard on the side noting names, abv and price for their ~25 taps. Also printed beer list on the bar. Notable taps were Maharaja($7), Mojo Risin($6.50), Bigfoot($5), Unearthly(6.50). All served in snifters.

They also had a special on 60, 90, and Aprihop. All were $5, and the Aprihop came in an oversized glass. Not a bad deal. Were informed the 60 was gone, and received the 90 in the 60 sized glass at same price.

Bartender was helpful, friendly, on top of things, and recommended we stop in from 4-630 M-F for happy hour, where drafts are half off. (Mental note!)

Easy to get too, plenty of drafts (for all palletes) and several to interest Beer Geeks too. I will stop in next time i'm in town to see whats new.

04-07-2009 20:12:45 | More by ShareANevada

robey12

Ohio

3.03/5  rDev -20.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 2 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 1.5 | $$

this is a good place to go to enjoy a variety of beverages on campus where bud light and miller lite are kings. Have had many differing beers here and am never disappointed with the selection, the staff or the service. Sadly I can't say as much about the food. I make sure that I eat something before I go there or am sure to get something safe on the stomach(which is hard to do there) if you know what I mean.

Not as busy as most other bars so if you go for just the bar then you are fine but the food will leave you disappointed or worse.

03-19-2009 13:49:38 | More by robey12

Bagman007

Texas

2.95/5  rDev -22.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 2 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 2 | $$

I've been here with some friends a handful of times. The atmosphere is great. Comes off as a trendy Mexican restaurant. A little on the small side though, as there are often some long waits for a table. Very good selection of food and beer. I was surprised by some of the choices on their beer menu. Didn't expect a place like that to have so much. The service was average, nothing special. My biggest problem with this place was the food. This ranks as one of the worst Mexican food restaurants I have ever been to. There are much better Mexican restaurants in Columbus. I've had everything from quesadillas to burritos and it has all been pretty bad. The drinks are a little pricey, but the food is what you would expect price wise. I hate going here because the food is so bad. Nice atmosphere to drink in with good happy hour specials, but overall there are better places to go in Columbus.

12-02-2008 01:17:06 | More by Bagman007

genog

Ohio

4.15/5  rDev +9.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$

Just got back from having lunch there. Decent food, and atmosphere, but the tap selection is impressive.

I had a Bear Republic, Hop Rod Rye. They also have Bell's Oberon, Rogue Dead Guy, Bell's Hell Hath no fury, Breckenridge oatmeal, Brooklyn, Buckeye hippie, 90 minute, two brothers, Cain & Abel, Victory, Hop Wallup, as well as hop devil

They have one of the best happy hours in town. Drafts and wings are half off from 3-7. Working close by helps and I always try to stop by after 5 ;) Thankfully I have converted a few co-workers to craft beer !

05-25-2007 17:53:58 | More by genog

Bierguy5

Ohio

4.08/5  rDev +7.7%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$$

Final stop on the pub crawl, and when we walked in here on Saturday night, the place was packed. We did manage to get seats at the bar, and ordered beers and food. The tap selection was great. I had a Bell's Two Hearted, and a Rogue Chocolate Stout. New Holland Dragon's Milk was quite popular. The Kaiser from Avery was also present. Our server was friendly, helpful, and prompt. I has some spicy chicken tacos that I enjoyed. I wasn't impressed with the complimentary chips and salsa, mainly the slasa as it was too chunky, but in the big picture, that is pretty small. I enjoyed this stop, and would like to come back and eat again. From what the bartender said, the taps will change every couple days, so it would be good to check out again.

02-19-2007 03:31:42 | More by Bierguy5

mcallister

Ohio

3.8/5  rDev +0.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 2.5 | $$$

Our final destination of our pub crawl and a pretty good one from a beer perspective. When we arrived the place was pretty hammered but we were able to find seats at the bar. The draught beer selection was top notch. I had an Avery Kaiser, my girlfriend a Dragons milk, and my other friends had Rogue Chocolate Stout, and a Clipper City offering.

I ordered some Spicey chicken tacos that really did not impress me. However I knew going in that I'm not a big fan of Tex/Mex style of food and much prefer a Mexican cuisine prepared by non-English speaking Mexicans. So my review of the food may be off a little.

If I lived on campus I'd be here daily too see what is new on tap, but I'd skip this place for eating.

02-18-2007 13:17:19 | More by mcallister