Mad Mex - Oakland

What I had: Ithaca Partly Sunny and Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale on tap, Nacho Momma’s Taco Platter, Chicken Tacos and cocktails for my girlfriend.

What I liked: casual, inviting atmosphere, lots of natural light coming in from outside, amazing artwork, solid draught menu, superb food (Tex Mex plus) that comes in generous portions, warm and efficient service, affordable prices. My type of place.

What I disliked: Miller Lite, Dos Equis, and Yuengling Traditional detract from an otherwise impressive tap list.

Would I go back? Absolutely.

Overall Rating: 82

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ah, the original. This is where all the magic of the Big Burrito Group started. Such a great restaurant group -- all their places are worth multiple visits. But the Oakland Mad Mex was Pittsburgh's first micro-brew bar. Back when the word "micro" was hip, cool and sorta mysterious.

The Oakland store hasn't changed much since it opened back in the 90s. It's still a dive with fairly good Tex-Mex food and a good selection of craft beers on tap and lots in bottles. Is it the best selection of beers? No. Is it the best Mexican food? No. But it *is* the best combination of beer, food, vibe, and music in the city. It's consistently a good time with good food and good beer. A great place to go with a pack of friends or a very easy place to go solo and end up partying with strangers.

It's in a college-dominated part of town, so it can get crowded and rowdy, which only adds to the fun of the place.

This is a must visit for the out-of-towner. And as a local, Mad Mex Oakland is an institution, a cornerstone of the city and in the lives of most everyone who ever spent time in Pittsburgh. I tore it up here in college; impressed my future wife here on multiple dates and now I take my kids here (during daylight) to let them know that their old man wasn't always a complete tool.

Located down Atwood Street in Oakland, don't blink or you can miss it.

Kind of small but quaint inside. Went on a Thursday afternoon so it was not overly crowded but a decent amount of people.

Service was pretty good, mostly college kids, but they are quite friendly and service was prompt.

The selection is pretty good. They offer draft beers and bottle beers. Selections range from Troegs, Rogue, Atwater, Bear Republic, DFH, Stone, Gree Flash, Lagunitas, Oskar Blues, Penn Brewing, Victory...plus your typical BMC and a selection of Mexican beers like Negra, Dos Equis, Sol, Tecate, Corona.

A really nice menu. We just had wings which were really good.

Overall this is a nice place in South Oakland, it is quite small so it probably gets really crowded during the weekends.

Mad Mex in Oakland is hit or miss. While they have a great selection of bottled beer, plus ten taps worth of rotated micros and imports, and their giant margaritas, they certainly could stand to have about 1000 more square feet.

Service is great if the place isnt busy, but come happy hour, or late night half price, its a craps shoot. Ive had good experiences there when it was crowded, but Ive also seen my buddy throw his complimentary nachos across the bar when the bartender ignored him for 20 minutes.

Great food and great drinks, but its popularity makes for some bad service at times. Half Price specials are the double edged sword of Mad Mex Oakland

This is a great college bar in the heart of south oakland, with a fairly extensive bottled beer selection and about 10 draft taps rotating a nice selection of imports and micros. The atmosphere is vibrant and can get quite crowded, particularly at the bar during happy hr, when their popular strong frozen margarita's are 1/2 off. The food, a very tasty tex-mex variety, is also 1/2 off after 11pm on weeknights. Otherwise, their food is moderately priced, but their beers are bit expensive, with most drafts in the $5 range.

This is the first Mad Mex location and probably the most authentic bar-like atmosphere table seating is small and packed tightly together trying to drink here on a friday night get used to rubbing elbows with somebody. These aren't negatives by the way it's a close intimate bar with a great beer selection and some top shelf tequilas. Taps I noticed Anderson Valley, Troeg's, Rogue, Great Lakes and a handful of other notable micros with one or two macros thrown on the line. Bartender was busy not much time have conversation with the person serving me but this was well understood. Food wasn't had during this stop but I'm sure it's similar to the Robinson location.