Patty Macs

I was really craving a burger while visiting a friend down the street, obviously Unilocaled a place and this popped up. Decided to force my boyfriend to come with. However, we got there within an hour of closing so we didn’t want to keep them any longer than they needed. Chose the jerk Mac n cheese and the pan seared burger along with a couple brews. Phenomenal and definitely hit the spot. Service was really friendly and chill and we were in and out before the place closed.

I’ve been holding on to this review for a few weeks. I’d like to give this place another shot and figured by waiting to write my review… the next time I’m in we can get started from a clean slate.
I’d been planning on coming to this place since I moved to SoCal. I’m a sucker for comfort food and how much more comforting does mac and cheese get? The reviews on this very site implied that I had a winner on my hands. After all… look at the name… Patty Macs.
So I walk in and immediately I’m struck by the odd choice of décor. When I heard «Patty Macs» this is not quite what I imagined. When I think of comfort food I’m picturing dim lighting, dark walls, plush seats. If you take a local beach dive and SMASH it together with a chipotle you’ll have the interior of Patty Macs. Steel, cement and wood… cold. It’s not necessarily a bad thing just not what I expected and definitely not comforting.
It took forever to take my drink order. About 10 minutes. Which was odd since the dining room was practically empty. Since I could see the level of service that was coming from a mile away… I put an app order in along with my drinks. After waiting at least 15 minutes for my lemonade. She took my entrée order. Hamburger mac and cheese and buffalo mac and cheese. I planned on eating half of both. Can’t wait!
Took a sip of my lemonade and couldn’t believe how sweet it was. Imagine taking a packet of kool-​aid and dropping it into a few tablespoons of water. THAT’s how sweet. The flavor was there (and obviously better than kool-​aid) but it was trumped by the amount of sugar in the drink.
My appetizer eventually claim after waiting a good 35 minutes. The spinach dip. Which was more like a alfredo sauce with pieces of spinach in it. I’m not necessarily complaining… it was cheesy… but it wasn’t what I was expecting. And I wish the pieces of pita bread were accompanied by veggies or something.
Just as I got 2 or 3 scoops of alfredo sauce aka spinach dip my entrees came. Poor timing. But at least it didn’t take another 35 minutes. The hamburger mac and cheese was good. The portion size was deceptive. It looked smaller than it really was. I loved the mini patties of hamburger. The buffalo mac and cheese was just ok. I’ve definitely had better. And mixing the buffalo sauce in the cheese sauce isn’t usually my style. I like it when the buffalo sauce is on the chicken and I get to mix it in myself. That way the buffalo isn’t overwhelming the cheese. Just preference I guess.
Soon as she came to clean my table I asked for my check. I noticed a «upcharge» on my receipt but didn’t fight it. Knowing I damn well didn’t order anything that could have been a upcharge. At that point I just wanted to get the hell out of there after waiting so long for everything. So I knocked the upcharge off of my usually 20% tip.
Does the place earn it’s name? It’s not the best mac and cheese I’ve ever heard. Maybe not even in the top 5. Will I be back? Probably. Whenever I’m floating around Balboa again. I’m hoping it was just an off night and my fellow Unilocal’ers did not lead me astray. Plus everyone who worked there was nice enough.
If I could do 2.5 stars it would be that. But I can’t…so in this case I have to round down.

Had dinner at Patty Mac’s with my sister. They raved about it so I was excited to visit. It was a Tuesday night the first week of Feb around 6:00. When we arrived it was empty! Normally a sign that would worry me, but given the time of year, perhaps to be expected. This is after all, a tourist area. What I learned:
Really great food
Nice owners
Casual and fun
Near the ferry
Walkable to everything
Definitely a place I will go to again. In fact– I am going to try it for Sunday brunch this morning!

Nice little restaurant, wonderful atmosphere. Great food and wonderful service. Totally worth the little struggle trying to find it. Definitely coming again soon.

We went to Patty Mac’s after the Newport Boat parade around the holidays.
The food was pretty good and the server, when we were finally served, was personable. However we had to wait a considerable amount of time between being greeted and seated, having our drink orders taken, having our food orders taken, the food coming out (likely not the fault of anyone in particular, and I recognize that food takes time to prepare so this wait wasn’t a big deal), and then the check coming and eventually paying. We were there for a very long time.
So in sum, it’s a cool place the food was good, but if you visit budget plenty of time.
(I recognize that they may have been short handed that night, but no apologies or explanations were offered as to the length of our wait)

Great place for lunch. Killer menu, vegetarian and vegan friendly. Will definitely come back!

Everything was great.
Service was decent–
We had cheeseburger mac and burger.
All delicious !

This is such a hidden gem! Especially if you’re craving some home made comfort food. At least for me anyways. Mac n cheese is my go to and Pattys has it on point!!! Delicious! I have had most of their selections of Mac n cheese from the Buffalo chicken, the Rasta to the Cheesy Mac and they’re all so yummy. They also have incredible teas/​lemonades that you can add a shot of vodka to just for a few bucks more if you’re feelin a lil more daring! My favorite is the fresh Honey & Rosemary lemonade! Incredible!

Lobster Mac is the bomb. Great quaint little place that has an upscale feel and taste without the cost. This is definitely a mom and pop shop that puts out a quality product.

A lovely little, mid-​range, post-​water type of place that serves fancy mac-​n-​cheeses, burgers, and flatbreads. The ambiance was great (California-​Hawaii Casual) and it was relaxed enough to bring in two toddlers and their accoutrements.
My carbonara mac-​n-​cheese was the winner, food-​wise. My husband got the chicken flatbread, which was slightly lackluster.
And their lemonades are amazing! We tried:
* Strawberry Mint (excellent)
* Cool Cucumber with Rosemary (outstanding)
These are worth the trip alone.

We were here for some post-​beach, pre-​dinner snacks and got some very friendly service from the owner
We shared:
*Carbonara mac and cheesy mac with bacon: very good, not too cheesy or salty. You can tell they use good cheese and none of that processed fake cheese from boxes
*Truffle flatbread with mushroom and arugula: this was also good but the bread lacked some color, maybe it needed a coating of egg?
*They had a few interesting choices for lemonade. I had the Strawberrry mint one and it was refreshing
Overall, a good, casual spot by the beach with friendly service!

****Big Mac, Mac Daddy Jeff is Serving up Mac and Cheese like you’ve never had before!****
~My suggestion: Come with a small group and eat family style. We ordered the award winning Burger, Jerk Chicken Mac and Cheese, Cheesy Mac and Cheese, Sweet Potato Fries and shared! This is a small beach style shop that serves beer and wine. Make it a memorable experience by taking the car ferry and walking around all the little specialty shops, dessert and candy stores. Everything is a 2 minute walk including the beach. Things have changed in Balboa since I was a kid but not by very much. This is still a really cool place to hang for locals, tourists and families.
~Jerk Chicken Mac and Cheese-4.5 Stars!
This is something new for me and a totally new way to experience Mac and Cheese. The way they prepare this just works well. The pasta is prepared just right. I could imagine a side of red beans and rice with this dish. A very great idea that is just good! If you like mac and cheese… this place is for you!
~Burger-​4 Stars!
Jeff’s burger is #1 with the Newport Beach scene and I can’t disagree. This is not just a burger but a very flavorful and juicy treat that works excellent with the sweet potato fries and the Jerk Chicken Mac and Cheese. I have not had a better burger in New Port Beach.
~Handcrafted non-​alcoholic drinks and lemonade are served here along with beer and wine!
~Great small town hospitality and excellent customer service made us feel like we were family! 4.5 Stars! I am anxious to come back and try a few more things and give an upgrade!
Patty Macs in the Balboa Village… another reason the CO is the best place to live!

Yum yum mac and cheese! There are not that many mac n cheese places so I was pleasantly surprised to find one in Balboa.
Came here with some friends for a late lunch. The place was kind of still busy but apparently we had just missed the big lunch crowd and they were still cleaning up the mess. Service was kind of slow at first since it took them like 15 minutes to get our waters but as soon as the food started coming out they were much more attentive.
I shared the bacon, jalapeño mac n cheese ($ 15) and one of their flat breads. Both were very good. I was expecting a lot more jalapenos in the mac n cheese because hence the name but it only came with two small slices of jalapenos, kind of disappointing. The mac n cheese was very tasty and very good but I was hoping for a bit of a spice or kick to it.
The flat bread ($ 14) was very yummy, it was topped off with fresh arugula, roasted walnuts, sprinkled with some balsamic and crumpled feta cheese. I really loved the décor and the long surf board tables. This place is great for big groups and families but its kind of on the pricer side considering the portions are not that big.

Finally stopped by Patty Macs for a late dinner with the family and was promptly greeted by the co-​owner who took our orders. This place is run by a husband/​wife duo with the husband on the front end and the wife on the backend. My parents had been here before and the owner (urghhh I forget his name sorry) was shocked he forgot their names … A great sign when it comes to establishing a local community feel and awesome customer service.
I ordered the apple walnut salad and we all shared the carbonara Mac n cheese. The salad was good — the thin shreds of spinach made it a little cumbersome to eat rather than just leaving the leaves whole. My other complaint is that the salad seemed a bit overpriced at $ 13. The carbonara Mac n cheese was heavenly! As hard as I tried to stick to my healthy salad I ended up taking more than my fare share of the wonderfully gooey-​rich Mac.
Before we left the owner told us how his wife painstakingly chooses every ingredient especially for the food they serve and that loads of love and care go into each dish — I believe it! Glad this local family owned establishment exists and I’ll be back for more Mac and to try out their lemonade.

Overlooked small little place. Very cute and quaint. Stopped by here before a trip to Balboa Island.
Unique and savory combinations for their mac and cheese flavors. Their calamari is also delicious.
Their lemonades are bomb. Definitely worth the try. Perfect to pair with the different mac’s because cheese can make you really thirsty. Lol.