Macs is a two times year trip for us and always a pleasure to enjoy . I have been coming here along time semi outside seating( they have garage doors if cool or rainy , or you can eat in your car with service from car hops. Menu simple service staff helps in cooking your food as well . This is a old fashion drive inn. And a must see owned by two brothers a main stay in the area. They Make their own homemade root beer another must have of course a frosted mug. The experience is a good as the food give it a try ! Chef we travel read more

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The food was typical drive-in food. Fried and probably frozen. But I will say the service is excellent and these waitresses run their butts off. During Covid this is the place to go eat. This place is also very reasonable for pricing. read more

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I drove 45 min away to come here . It was recommended from a friend. I took my wife and 6 yr. Old son. It was worth the trip This was my first time here and I can't wait to come back. The prices are so reasonable that I wanted to try the whole menu . Ended up getting Burger basket large root beer float and sausage sandwhich with peppers onions. Family ordered burger basket and shrimp basket. Spot on . Everything was so delicious. I am writing this review in my car as I sit in the parking lot. You can literally feed the whole family and have delicious food in a friendly 60s environment and still have plenty of money left over to go shopping at the outlet malls right down the road. I highly recommend as this was my first time here. I will come back even if my drive is 45mins. read more

Mac's Drive-In - American Near Me - Waterloo, New York

So, there's another review on here about how farm to table friendly Mac's is... saying you won't see Sysco items and how everything is made fresh and in house, and how seasonal the shake flavors are, and the root beer isn't from a gun or fountain.. LOL what utter BS! And I fell for it, but it's okay because Mac's is still great. First off, there was a Sysco truck in the back making a delivery. The mayo packet with the burger said Sysco. The root beer certainly came from a fountain gun and they had all sorts of syrups to make any kind of shake you could want. None of these things bothered me at all. The cheeseburger is delicious and $2.50!! Best $2.50 cheeseburger ever. It came with lettuce and tomato, with mayo, pickle and onion on the side. Was the bun grilled? No, but it was hot and fresh and tasty. The fries and onion rings were also fried to order and crispy. The hot dog even tasted wonderful. I highly recommend the $1.75 grilled cheese, too. Makes for a nostalgic appetizer. And that root beer? Could have been A&W for all I know, but it was delicious and $1.75 (no refills, tho), and in a frosty glass. (DH wants me to note it was NOT A&W, but significantly better, HQ root beer). For dessert, we each had a $0.75 honeybun, which is essentially a freshly fried donut hole doused in honey. Unlike the BS review indicated, I highly suspect that the honey came from a plastic, bear shaped bottle rather than down the street. Still good, though. Other items of note: you can drive up for car service, sit at the counter, or grab one of the many tables under the patio cover for table service. The service is slow, but friendly. They have a couple of single stall bathrooms around back that are serviceable but rough around the edges. They are cash only, and if you want to drink, PBR is on tap (and that's it). I may have given 4 stars based on these last few notes, but those prices!! The food is good, but for the price? The food is fantastic. read more

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This is a nice summer quick bite to eat place. Takes you back in time. Freash root beer. Food cooked as ordered. Car service. I have never used it. It is a experience just not what I would call fabulous. read more

Good food great prices. However, sundaes are baby sized. Still, the rest of the food was great.

Folks may not realize that Mac's was ahead of the curve that is currently called "farm-to-table". Mac's makes all its side dishes in-house like coleslaw, potato salad, macaroni salad, etc. You may consider their take on these as common, but they are made in house and not shipped in bags from Sysco. Additionally, the rootbeer is made locally just for Macs. This is not syrup from Sysco with water and CO2 injected. It is an actual product that Mac's has carried for something like half a century. The honeybuns are made with locally sourced honey from the same bee keeper for nearly half a century. This is not Canadian honey mixed with Chinese syrups in 50-gallon drums. The original apiarist STILL delivers the monthly honey supply. This gentleman is passing the torch to his own son to continue the relationship. If you order a strawberry shake or a peach sundae....you can only get them when local crops are in season. Fruit is locally sourced and no substitutions are made if the crop is unavailable. Is the food ultra-gourmet, free-range, organic and only served by left-handed orphans from the war ravaged villages of distant lands? No. But is it honest, fresh, frugal and fast? Absolutely. Side note: It was Antoine-Amédée-Marie-Vincent Manca Amat de Vallombrosa, Marquis de Morès et de Montemaggiore, commonly known as the Marquis de Morès who coined the term "Ranch-to-Table" to describe the direct line of food from its creation location to its diner. That was in the 1880s. "Farm-to-Table" as a 21st Century socialist selling point is a poor relation of capitalist ingenuity from the 19th Century. read more

Nice old fashioned spot. Food is not great but the atmosphere is pleasant. Kind of pricey for the portions. read more

A friend of mine suggested that - if I ever find myself in Waterloo, NY - I should check out Mac's Drive-In. Oddly enough there it was - as we were driving past tractors and corn fields - Mac's. We pulled a hard left and parked in front of a nostalgic Drive-In burger joint. The referral? I was told that I HAD to try the Richardson's Root Beer. So we did. Inside was a u-shaped countertop with spinning padded chrome stools and a scattering of tables inside and out on the patio. The menu is everything you would expect on a 1950's diner menu including burgers, fries, shakes and, of course, root beer floats. While you can always saddle up to the bar or grab a table, the novelty at Mac's is being served by car hops delivering your shakes, burgers or fries right to the door of your 57 Chevy. And while they may not wear roller skates any more, the efficient and friendly car hops do a great job of ferrying your order to your car window to the tunes of 50's and 60's hits. Great shakes, awesome root beer floats and Cruise nights on Wednesdays. So - if you ever find yourself traveling through Waterloo, NY - stop in at Mac's. You HAVE to try a frosty mug of root beer. read more

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Retro... Kinda like being back in the 50's. Very reasonable prices. Good to see a place that still cuts fresh potatoes for French fries. Burger tasted delicious. Fresh meat. The highlight was the root beer float. Memories are powerful. Lots of people enjoining a good meal. I see you can get a draft Pabst beer too. Hooray for things that march on to an old drummer. Things come and go.... Mac's lives on. Nice ! read more

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If I lived near this place, I'd be 500 lbs. I can't resist a throwback restaurant and Mac's is everything my nostalgic dreams are made of. From the fountain root beers to the sandwiches prepared freshly in front of you, to the gigantic ice cream cones and milkshakes, nothing is bad here and everything is worth the calories. Make the drive, from wherever you live, and pull your car up to the drive in for a unique dining experience in the Finger Lakes! read more

Mediocre at best. Do you like watery, artificial flavored lemonade? Under seasoned food? Commercial tartar sauce? And what certainly looks and tastes like a commercial frozen fish product fried to order? I do not. This was a massive disappointment, farm to table my ass. Chicken wings, both boneless and bone-in, were greasy and bland, chili dog was made with a cheap dog and sour chili. Root beer was nothing to write home about. Onion rings and fries were fried beautifully, but were desperately bland. I realize when we visited yesterday, it's at the very end of their season. However, if quality changes, so should the prices. Either way, we won't be back. read more

Mac's Drive-In - Do you like lemonade from a canister mix? - American Near Me - Waterloo, New York

Macs was a wonderful hidden gem on our RT 20 vacation across NY state! It was our last stop on our way out of the Finger Lakes region. The burger and "real" fresh fries were the best I've had in years! My friend had the pork BBQ sandwich and raved about it. My only regret was that I was too full to get ice cream! Check it out! Yum! read more

Mac's Drive-In - Check out our wonderful waitress Terry! She was running around like crazy but made us feel welcomed! She was gracious and kind! - American Near Me - Waterloo, New York

Been here a couple of times and have not had a bad meal yet. The service is great and fast. The old style car hop is very fun. A lot of places to park. Live this place. read more

We love this place. Classic drive in, great staff and even better food. The prices are extremely cheap, $5.50 - $6.95 for the baskets (burgers, fish, chicken or shrimp and fries, cabbage salad and honey buns!). Cash or check only, so be prepared for that. Closest atm is a couple miles down the road in town. My husband goes crazy for their root beer. We've had most of the menu, nothing has disappointed ever. The Italian sausage with peppers and onions is my husband's fav. Drinks in cold frosty mugs. We come here a lot in the summer, just a super fun family place to eat! We can eat, four of us, for under $30. Not many places you can do that! read more

Mac's Drive-In - The honey buns are my fav!!! - American Near Me - Waterloo, New York

Delicious food, fast service and AWESOME atmosphere! We were lucky to experience Mac's on our drive home after a long Labor Day weekend. We learned that's traditionally their last operating day of the season until they close for the winter and reopen again in spring, and they usually aren't open Mondays. So it was like a double jackpot :) My family is into all things vintage and Macs does not disappoint. Original drive-in restaurant where the servers bring your condiment tray right to the car and root beer in frosty mugs. Prices were incredibly reasonable for the quality of food and portions. It was very busy when we arrived for lunch, but service was friendly and fast. It's about a 2.5 hour drive from home for us to return but we will be back! Sign said they do cruise night and I can't imagine how awesome that would be. Can't wait to bring my father - will be like a step back in time for him. Thanks to all the other Yelpers for sharing this gem! read more

Mac's Drive-In - We got lucky because they were open Labor Day Monday! - American Near Me - Waterloo, New York

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Favorite spot in spring and summer. Burgers are delicious but my favorite is Mac club I love it.

Drove 7 hrs eachway to eat here this weekend was great all we hoped for!!! We will def come back to this beat kept secret of NY read more

Mac's Drive-In - American Near Me - Waterloo, New York

Mac's Drive-In is the epitome of classic America dining. The environment that they have captured and preserved makes this spot a place well worth the visit. The service that Mac's provides is very friendly and helpful, they go out of their way to provide you the best service possible. Perhaps the best part of this experience was seeing the community unity that existed in the diner, with many locals dining in and being greeted by name by the staff. The food was great and the root beer is definitely worth the purchase in the frosted mug. Fantastic food, service, and one of the best environments I've ever been a part of in a restaurant. read more

Mac's Drive-In - Burger basket with fries and cabbage salad along with a frosted root beer mug inside the diner. - American Near Me - Waterloo, New York

The food is inexpensive. The portions are very small. I guess you get what you pay for. All seating is outside so if you're looking for air conditioned in the heat, go elsewhere. You can also dine in your car and a waitress will order and deliver food to your vehicle. The root beer is outstanding! They pass a tray of condiments from table to table and you occasionally get a surprise in it when they are mixed and matched by the last customer who had the tray. read more

We love this place. It's only opened during the summer so if you want to stop here you need to make sure it's then. You pull up and honk for service. A person comes to your car and takes your order then brings it back to you. The kids love coming here because of how different it is. read more

Mac's has made root beer floats for so long, they deliberately swirl the ice cream so you can insert the straw to the bottom without clogging the straw. Only a true Root Beer afficionado can accomplish this ~ one of many of Mac's "claims to fame". The ice cream is pure upstate NY delish ~ so creamy. Nothing compares to a Mac's root beer float, served carside by a hard working server. Love this place. read more

Mac's Drive-In - Best Root Beer float on the planet! - American Near Me - Waterloo, New York

Great atmosphere, great prices, and awesome quality of food. This brought me back to my younger days of going to the A&W drive in. The onion rings were perfectly crispy, the root beer was deliciously cold in the frosted mugs, the burgers were juicy and cooked to perfection, and the honey buns made us want more. The perfect weekend lunch spot for someone on a budget! read more

Mac's Drive-In - American Near Me - Waterloo, New York

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Was up in Finger Lakes for vacation and found this drive in by chance. Love it love it love it. What a nice treat to eat here; a step back in time. Looking forward to visiting again next summer when I am in the area. read more

Driven by many times, always wanted to stop. Had the chance last weekend to give it a try. The burgers and fries were good. My sons Chicken tenders were nothing more than frozen from the bag tenders. We sat at the outdoor counter, the bugs were a bit much, but what can you expect from eating outside. Watching them make the food is nice, except when you see unsanitary things like a cook wiping sweat off there forehead then going back to work without washing there hands! read more

Excellent piece of nostalgia!! Super cheap prices- root beer and French fries are my favorite. Car service available in the back -- place is like a museum -- fun experience for kids and adults alike. read more

This place is only open during the warm months and maybe the only place I'll wait over an hour to order when it is completely packed. It's one of the last establishments of its kind and it serves very basic concession type food. It's very average but a great place to experience the hype with locals. They Even Serve Giant Mugs OF BEER!!! read more

Mac's Drive-In - American Near Me - Waterloo, New York

Mac's is an outdoor grill and fryer. They have amazing rootbeer and a lot of homemade side dishes. I'm talking macaroni salad like your grandma made and fresh cut french fries. There is nothing more reasonable than their prices, and it's a great stop on a nice summer day out on the road. read more

Don't use the car hop area food is more expensive if you eat in your car and you get less food too. Not fare if you like to eat in your car the car hop servers are rude will never go back ever read more

We came here because of the reviews. It was our first time here. It sucks because it's cash only, get with the times. You park and honk and the server comes out and takes your order. We decided on two cheeseburgers, onion rings, fries and a grilled cheese basket for the kids. Around 15 mins later they bring the food out and set it on your cars door. The first few bites of the burger were juicy and delicious, the last few I got a couple knuckles. And those knuckles weren't just my burger, the wife wasn't to happy either. We ordered their famous root beer. It was horrible. Worst root beer. We probably won't go back. read more

I love the concept of this age old staple in Waterloo, NY. The execution and the quality however are not the best. This place has been around for close to 50 years, I remember coming here when I was a kid and it has not changed a bit since, although my tastes have surely changed. The food is typical for this area; hamburgers, hot dogs, fries and too sweet root beer, which is free on opening day every year. I LOVE the fact that they use a bar garnish tray for the condiments. I love that I can sit outside, which is rare for these parts. I usually only go once a year however because I can prepare what they serve at home and it tastes better. read more

Macs plate is great. Pizza is average. Cool atmosphere. Serves PBR as the only alcohol.

We are traveling and stumbled here Price is awesome it is cash only the food is better than you would expect I recommend this place we used the drive in service A great experience read more

Absolutely loved this place. Highly recommend stopping in! We were visiting from Massachusetts and stumbled across this little hidden gem. Seemed like it's probably a local hot spot, yet we felt welcomed and were treated kindly (sometimes places like this don't seem to like outsiders!) We sat down and dined in vs doing the car hop, however it was very cool to see a true old school service like that. The service was quick and efficient, we were seated and placed our orders quickly and the food was out in minutes. We each got a burger with fries and a root beer float. It was super cheap but fresh and delicious. Even the vanilla ice cream is worth the trip back! This was a fun experience with delicious food and I can't wait for a chance to go back! read more

I wanted to love this place, I really did, but... first the good. The rootbeer Float was amazing! The ice cream was creamy, and the fresh peach Sunday Devine! The fresh cut fries were excellent. The service was fantastic. The bad... the fish in the fish dinner was a huge disappointment. There is a picture here on yelp showing an amazing hand battered fish filet so crispy and yummy looking. That is NOT what I got! It was your standard factory breaded frozen filet with no real flavor, thin uniform breading--you know what I'm talking about if you love true fish & chips. I asked the server about it and she said they changed to the frozen junk a month ago. What a huge disappointment. The philly was dry and bun stale. If we came back we would avoid those two menu items. read more

I like the style, they have the young people of the community cooking and serving. Really feels like a down to earth business with good morals and good food! read more

Exactly what Summer ordered! Mac's is a throwback to the original burger drive in, except it has probably been around since those original drive ins and has stuck around. When you drive up or sit down at Mac's you are greeted by a friendly staff person who promptly takes your order and then if you are dining in, also prepares your food. We ordered some of the burgers, fries, honey buns, hot dog for my son and everything was served hot and ready to enjoy. Our waiter was able to hurry the hot dog so my 1 1/2 yr old could eat first. He literally was running the get my son the hot dog. Really great effort by this kid to make sure we had an enjoyable meal. The burgers were cooked perfectly, juicy and great portions. They delver to the table a condiment tray so you can dress the burger with as much ketchup, mustard, mayo, relish, onions as you like or don't like. Honeybun are awesome, really sweet and crispy little dessert, one order could be split between two people, but at $0.50 cents for two its tempting to over order. Can't wait to enjoy Mac's on a another perfect summer day. read more

Open since 1961 and still operating out of its original building, Mac's carries on the drive-in tradition in every detail. Don't expect anything fancy, but the fries are still hand cut and the root beer traditionally mixed. It's an open-air operation oriented around a u-shaped diner counter, complete with swiveling stools. That means it's also seasonal, an idea that is totally foreign to Southerners. read more

Mac's Drive-In - American Near Me - Waterloo, New York

Nothing really wrong with this place. Burgers and hot dogs. Very cheap. The building is awesome. Vintage drive in. Good place for a quick cheap meal with a frosted mug of root beer ... But I wouldn't bring people here to brag about the fine dining. read more

I love the retro-feel of this diner. We drove through to Ithaca and found it. It's refreshing to see how simple the menu was and so inexpensive! Their cheesesteak was average and their italian sausage burger was also mediocre, but they had the BEST homemade rootbeer float, EVER. Great pit stop... read more

Mac's Drive-In - Mac's Drive In - American Near Me - Waterloo, New York