Mad Dog and Beans

I had a craving for Mexican food and stumped upon Mad Dog & Beans. The hostess was very friendly and seated my friend and I right away. Our server was very helpful and answered every question we had about the food. Our food came in about 15 minutes and it was just the right temperature and tasted great and so fresh! The presentation of the appetizers, entrees and dessert was amazing!The margaritas were magnificent!I would defenitly recommend Mad Dog & Beans to all my friends, my family, coworkers, just everyone! It was the best experience!

Pros: Best food and drinks I have ever tasted

Cons: Nothing

Posted 06/29/09

Had my friends b-day party a few weeks ago and the service for the event was horrendous. The staff was uncooperative, unresponsive and Rude . Their private dining experience is a disaster. The food was alright but it is nothing to brag about but their drinks are good....I have to be fair about that. Will not spend my money here again. Find another Mex spot.

Pros: Good Drinks

Cons: Service is horrendous

Posted 05/05/09

Not a bad place to stop for a beer but it is very expensive for Mexican food. Bartenders don't always pay attention but the beers are cold and drinks are good.

Posted 02/05/09

The setting is amazing, and especially wonderful in the summer when you can sit under th stars and share dinner/drinks with a few hundred other Manhattanites...

The Fajitas are delicious (the best thing I have had there, after being there 3 times, my husband gets something different, and always wishes he ordered what I got!) However, the service is pretty slow, even on a relatively empty/slow night. Recently, on my birthday, we ordrerd a round of drinks (which are light on alcohol, so if you want to get drunk, you may just want to get shots elsewhere)and waited over 40 minutes for our meal, at which point the waitress said they forgot our order but would bring us free nachos (it was already 10pm and we just wanted our dinner!) so we asked for two free drinks (1 for each of us) instead, and the manager refused. I think it's pretty absurd that after we waited over and hour total for our food that we couldn't get ANYTHING ELSE but chips?

I would go back because the rest of NYC Mexican is so awful, but don't go when you're in a rush!

Pros: Great location/atmosphere, gerat steak/chicken fajitas

Cons: pricey drinks, slow service

Posted 10/21/08

I work in the Financial District and I won't lie, I go out after work ... a lot! Mad Dog has a really great, fun staff and it's the best place to hang out with coworkers on that odd weekday... if you leave after two drinks. On more than one occasion I've been smacked with a $200 bill for what amounted to very little. I've known coworkers that have spent even more! While the margharita's are tasty, at that price I'd like to see a little more alcohol please. The food is yummy, I especially like the guacomole but when you're already drinking two pitchers and ordering dinner, do you really think it's good form to charge $5 for an extra serving of nachos for the guac? On another occasion I had the Nacho appetizer mentioned and I too was astounded at what was served (considering the price) -- figure this, I can tell you that I had exactly 6 nachos and the person that I was sharing with had 4. I concur that the burritos, though traditionalist (containing more rice and beans than meat) are a bit steep too. All in all, a lovely place but I think the prices bring this restuarant into the average to below average range .. well at least for me!

Pros: Atmosphere, waitstaff friendliness, outdoor space

Cons: prices, relative inexperience of waitstaff, hot inside (little to no AC)

Posted 06/11/08

A great location on Stone Street (arguably the coolest street of restaurants in Manhattan) goes to waste with this newcomer. $15 for a non-descript burrito and absurd prices for margarita pitchers which are not all that good. The service is good enough - a bit patronizing actually, but the main issue is the food is way too expensive givens its mediocre quality and unoriginality you're given. Chipotle's Mexican food is many orders of magnitude better. Or if you're really looking to spend money, check out other Mexican joints where the food is much better than Mad Dog.

As a resident of lower Manhattan, I hope this place doesn't last long so something which tastes better and is more reasonable can come into the awesome real estate that Mad Dog is taking up.

If you are on an expense account, I still wouldn't recommend this spot.

Pros: Stone Street

Cons: Expensive, Poor Food, Patronizing Service

Posted 05/24/08

This is a most attractive venue in which to get "mugged" by a willing but unprofessional waitstaff as they serve you inauthentic Mexican food at very authentic exhorbitant USA dollar prices. That doesn't even begin to describe the drink costs which you would need to be intoxicated to pay. Unless you are spending your ill gained Wall Street bonus here (as most of the loud crowd seems to be doing), then you would be better served by going uptown to Dos Caminos for a more gentle ripoff.

Posted 05/23/08

The Good:
1) Great atmosphere
2) yummy food
3) delicious margaritas
4) wonderful staff

The Bad:
1) They charge for chips and salsa
2) Fajitas are $25!!!
3) Guacamole is $12!!!!
4) Somehow my sister and I had guacamole and chips, split dinner, ordered 2 drinks each and the bill came to $100.

The Sad:
This place is right across from my apartment, but I rarely go because of the crazy prices.

Pros: Food, Ambiance, Service

Cons: OUTRAGEOUSLY priced

Posted 04/29/08

First visit on a typical friday BUSY evening. Started bymelf and was treated with quick, super friendly bartender. Later my friends joined and we couldn't leave! The Margaritas were fresh, the salsa amazing! (fresh cilantro is the key!) What a wonderful, relaxing yet energetic palce to go! As I am in the inustry, i am the first to critic, and all i can say is that the personality of place will make me be a regular!
Recommend going if you haven't been yet, your missing out on a great expereince!

Pros: EVERYTHING!

Posted 04/21/08

had a great lunch here on thursday the place was full i had chicken fajitas very tasty my friend had steak tacos she loved them the guacamole was very good chunky style with warm chips will be back

Pros: great food

Posted 04/11/08

When I sat down and saw the menu I did not expect authentic Mexican food. I wish NY restaurants would realize that you can't throw random things from every Spanish speaking country on a menu and call it Mexican, Spanish, or Tapas. It's not. My elementary school cafeteria had a better grasp of Mexican food, and the lunch ladies were better servers. I wish I could say the service could redeem it but our server messed up the order and kept forgetting everything. I got home and looked up the place only to find that they had posted a wanted ad on craigslist a few weeks ago asking for people to send in pictures with their resumes. Here's a tip: hire servers for their experience not their headshots and they might take better care of the customers!

Pros: Close to other restaurants with good food.

Cons: Food, service, prices

Posted 04/03/08

I love mexican food... it's my thing. As a new yorker who truly appreciates the dos caminos / rosa mexicana and all the little side places, (baby bo's , mexican radio, tortilla flats, benny's, etc...), you know, they're all good at what they do, I do have to say that Mad Dog & Beans Cantina really is my new favorite. I don't know what it is about that guacamole, it is just the perfect recipe (I'm addicted!). This new little place is going to be a big thing, (especially with stone street in the summer), no matter what the cheapos say... You just can't beat the margaritas, the atmosphere is cool, the food is great, and the staff is super friendly... what more could a true mexican food lover ask for? Just go in and order a house margarita on the rocks (made with sauza), spicy guacamole, and the steak fajitas, and you'll be in heaven!

Pros: ambience, music, margaritas, food, service

Cons: busy

Posted 03/02/08

We live just a few blocks away from Mad Dog & Beans and work in the Wall Street Area. We frequent all the local watering holes and restaurants the Financial District has to offer, but mainly the Stone Street offerings.
We have been highly anticipating a new Mexican restaurant on Stone Street. We are big fans of Mexican food and were devestated to lose Radio Mexico last year from our 'hood. Mad Dog & Beans was supposed to be our new #1 Mexican treat. We watched the renovations take place every day and the place turned out amazing. The decor is rustic Mexican and no detail was omitted. The bar and restaurant are beautiful.
That's where the good things end. The menu does have everything you would expect at a Mexican restaurant, but at hugely inflated prices. A Chicken Burritto consisting mainly of rice and very little chicken is an appaling $15. A better deal can be found in Chipotle or Burrittoville fast food places, where you get a better Burritto for half the price. The nachos are an embarrassment at $10 for a dozen bite-sized chips individually spaced out. You have to see it to believe it.
The drinks are weak, small and way overpriced. The price comparison of Mad Dog & Beans to every other place on Stone Street is unbelievable. It is vastly different. For example a shot of Patron Silver is $11. And watch out for the Margaritas, at $12 a pop for a 7 ounce rocks glass you'll be unhappy to see the check.
A traditional bowl of chips and salsa, usually complimentary will cost you another $5, along with $5 more for some Pico DeGallo.
We are hoping that they figure out how better to fix into the Downtown Mix. Coming to Wall Street and thinking you can charge what you like and trying to rip everyone off in the process is not a good way to start a relationship in a new neighborhood.
It can only get better. A Mexican dinner for two (one starter and two mains) with a couple of Margaritas each shouldn't run you more than $110 before tax and tip!!!

Pros: Decor

Cons: Prices, Food & Drink Quality

Posted 02/28/08