Taco Mac (Perimeter)

DoubleSimcoe

New York

2.91/5  rDev -15.4%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 2.25 | selection: 3 | food: 2 | $$

My second Taco Mac experience- I stopped here for an after-lunch beer after checking out the nearby Total Wine.

Average and generic inside and out, but bigger than you would think once you step inside. The bar is quite massive (I like that) and there are enough tables to feed a college marching band.

It's all about sports and TV's here, but there's still a good time to be had with brews and good company at the bar. The usual shit-ton-of-taps (100), with lots of locals (such as six Sweetwater and five Terrapin) but of course (this being Taco Mac) nothing really outstanding.

What annoyed me is that several of the best taps had kicked the night before my visit, and even though they have the courtesy to print a draft-update sheet, it still blows. I ordered Your Black Heart and Boulevard Double Wide and both were gone. Irritating.

I settled for a Terrapin Hopsecutioner. Fine.

Service was erratic, kinda crappy. Bartender was on and off, gone and not always around. At both Taco Mac locations I've been to, I got the feeling that folks there don't really enjoy their jobs.

On my second visit, I tried some food... queso wasn't thawed and so hard, boneless chicken wings are more like McDonald's chicken nuggets.

Not terrible overall, but certainly not great... or even half good.

01-03-2013 02:28:16 | More by DoubleSimcoe

LittleDon

Texas

3.5/5  rDev +1.7%
vibe: 2 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$

Pros - Very good beer selection. Staff behind the bar knowledgeable about selection.

Cons - Loud. Crowded. Clueless waitstaff. Loud.

Came here on a Thursday night and had a 30 -45 min wait for a table. Bar was full with folks standing (not quite two deep). Beer selection was enough to stay. Prices were reasonable. If I knew of a quieter place to go in the area with as good a selection, I'd have gone. The place is too loud and crowed for my tastes. Overall the food is marginally better than average. The beer does make up for it, thought, and, honestly, I there for the beer. Would I go back? Maybe early in the week if I could sit at the bar.

07-06-2009 22:36:08 | More by LittleDon

TheFightfan1

Pennsylvania

3.85/5  rDev +11.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$$

My first time at a taco mac, kind of reminds me of home with firewaters only with mexican food. I walked right past the hostess desk which seems to be tucked away to the right and behind you as you enter.

I grabbed a seat at the bar to my left as I turn my head to the right a massive flat screen just about takes up the entire wall. Anyway I count about 90 taps on the wall and as I look at the list I notice really no local breweries beside Sweetwater. No biggie thats what I want to try. I got the IPA and 420.

All of the barkeeps were very pleasant and seem to be doing a good job keeping up with demand. I ordered the original burrito and in a blink of an eye it was there, very good too.

Maybe a bit more on the sports bar side but hey a nice tap selection, and better mexican food then taco bell. Good stuff I hope this chain makes it's way up to the north.

05-06-2012 23:47:25 | More by TheFightfan1

jim102864

Connecticut

3.84/5  rDev +11.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

Pretty darn difficult to find if you're not familiar with the area. My GPS was useless and I had to call three times to finally nail down the location. This is a sports bar, so if that's not what you're after, decent beer selection or not, move on. Loads of TV's and nothing but games. The atmosphere includes high ceilings and the aforementioned flat screens everywhere. Nice sized bar with a large five door cooler fully stocked with many beers. It took several minutes for the barmaid to notice me, but once she did she apologized for the delay with sincerity and was very pleasant during my visit. I started with an Abita Purple Haze served in a frosted glass (a slight annoyance). I counted two rows of 50 taps for a total of...you guessed it, 100. My second brew was one from Georgia, Sweetwater and their 420 ale which was on draft. By 5:30 the joint was jumping. Didn't try the food. Bottom line, a nice place if you're seeking a sports bar. Large selection of nothing that'll knock yer socks off, but given that, not a bad spot.

06-24-2008 16:30:18 | More by jim102864

Cyberkedi

Georgia

4.25/5  rDev +23.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$$

Essentially the same as any other Taco Mac - friendly and helpful servers, excellent beer selection, decent food, always plenty of TVs on and blasting sports. It can get rather noisy, but they are geared towards the sports crowd. I sat at the bar and got to admire their impressive array of taps. I did not get a chance to sample their food, but I’m sure it’s the same as at the others in this chain, as in above-average for a sports bar. This is a good place to visit if you are anywhere near Perimeter Mall or the Sandy Springs MARTA station.

11-24-2011 02:06:20 | More by Cyberkedi

jdubjacket

Georgia

2.83/5  rDev -17.7%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 3 | service: 2 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3 | $$$

I've been to this place a few times, so this review is based upon multiple visits. The atmosphere is loud and crowded. TV's of all shapes and sizes litter the establishment. Service is pretty bad. Bunch of high school kids who don't know shit about the beer menu. Order while your server is at the table the first time, otherwise you won't get your beer for 10 to 15 minutes. Further, the beer list is typically not up to date. I have ordered a couple of beers and separate occasions and I have been told that they are out even though they were on the menu. Good selection. Food is typical bar food. The wings are the best thing this place has going for it. This place is a little expensive. Just looking over the menu had the typical "good stuff" such as Heineken, Corona and Bass going at a premium - ie $5.50 for a pint of Corona Light. A glass of Ruination was about $6.00.

Overall, good place to go meet friends who aren't BA's since it has something for everyone. Just be prepared to wait for your drink.

04-05-2009 22:03:10 | More by jdubjacket

Edwin

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +23.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Stayed in Dunwoody during my recent Atlanta trip, and this was the closest beer bar. Had no choice but to hit it up and see what it was about. Here's what I thought.

Atmosphere: Here's where me and the typical "beer geeks" differ...I love the atmosphere here. I am a Falcons fan, and Taco Mac is the Official Falcons Bar. Tons of TVs and people having a good time. There's also a nice outside patio for dining if you'd like. It's good, clean, casual fun.

Quality: I thought for it being more of a sports bar, that it was great. Everything was done pretty well and it was a clean environment.

Service: Bartenders and waitstaff were great to me and I have no complaints. I didn't get any "frosted glasses" or anything like that. For as busy as they were, the service was great.

Selection: I am reading earlier reviews and am wondering what taps they were looking at. I saw Weyerbacher, Victory, Dogfish, Sweetwater...a lot of the good beers were there. I even commented about how it was like I never left PA. Tons of taps. The selection rocked. If you're knocking this place, you're too hard to please anyways.

Food: I had a Southwest Wrap and a Chicken Burrito and I thought both were done perfectly. Certainly not high-end food, but definitely not a fried food heaven (although they do have SOME of that if you want it).

Value: Very reasonable. You won't break the bank. They also run specials and have a beer of the month, etc.

Overall: I had such a great time here and loved it, but then again, I can have fun anywhere. I have nothing but good things to say about this location. If you're staying in the Dunwoody area (and don't have a tremendous stick up your ass), feel safe going to Taco Mac Perimeter. You'll have fun and have a few good brews.

09-15-2009 23:15:40 | More by Edwin

tigerpaws

South Carolina

3.53/5  rDev +2.6%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

Not a lot of vibe at Taco Mac, simply put to me it's a sports bar with a very good beer selection. And if in Atlanta you should be close to one of the locations and they are all pretty much the same.

It's a great place to watch games with TV's everywhere and always seems to be crowded. This leads to slower service, though not bad service.

The food is typical sports bar fare, not bad but not impressive either.

It's a great place to go with a group as there is something to eat for everyone. And I can have good beer and others can have swill or liquor.

01-22-2009 16:18:36 | More by tigerpaws

meechum

Georgia

3.8/5  rDev +10.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Very much like all other Taco Mac locations. Went on a Friday night to watch a Thrasher's away game with a group of friends. Very crowded, very loud..plenty of TVs. Service was good especially for how crowded and busy it was and how rowdy my table was..server busted her butt.

Beer selection is pretty much the same as all other Macs..they've got the wall of taps and then a good bottle selection. Overall if you've been to one..they are much the same..

Food here was good (had the wings)..a good location overall...if you want a good beer and to hang with friends..it's good place to be

01-20-2008 16:20:04 | More by meechum

UGADawgGuy

Georgia

2.3/5  rDev -33.1%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 2.5 | service: 1 | selection: 3 | food: 3 | $$

This Taco Mac location is worse than most, when it comes to (1) service and (2) their beer list being up-to-date.

I've been to a bunch of Taco Macs in the Atlanta and Athens areas, and most of them seem to be pretty bad about actually having all the beers on their list (which is apparently updated about once a month). But the Perimeter location is the worst I've seen.

Their service is frequently mind-bogglingly bad. They appear to employ about a hundred 16- to 22-year-old servers, hosts, etc., but it's a rare thing to get waited on attentively. Actually, I think their overstaffing -- at least 25 people working the floor at once -- HURTS their speed of service, as it leads to multiple clusters of Taco Mac employees just hanging out and shooting the breeze instead of checking on their tables.

Service at the bar, which was formerly reliable, has devolved to the level of the wait staff. Most damningly, at least half of the bartenders at this location have only a faint pretense of beer knowledge. I overheard one of them recommending Blue Moon to a customer who asked for something "similar to St. Bernardus Abt 12" (which they once stocked in bottles, but no longer carry at this location).

Speaking of which, if you visited this particular Taco Mac in 2010 and came back in late 2011 expecting the same beer selection, you'd be in for a sad surprise. They're now wasting their massive cooler (and much of their tap space) on BMC crap and other "exotic" beers that are only a half-step away from BMC. My understanding is that this is because they failed to do enough volume to turn over the craft beers they used to stock. While I can understand that from a business perspective, doing away with the entirety of the above-average portion of their beer list puts this location on par with Chili's or Applebee's (if those chains carried ten times more variations of Budweiser, Sapporo, and Miller High Life).

The location itself is great, which means the restaurant is in no danger of shutting down due to a lack of repeat business. And, sure, I've been there once or twice and had a good experience. But as a beer bar, this place is now really, really bad. I wish they'd get it together, because we really need a place with a good beer selection in this part of town.

01-07-2012 03:00:12 | More by UGADawgGuy