Johnny Mac's Bar and Grill Cedar City — Restaurant in Cedar City

My wife and I checked out Johnny Mac's for lunch today. TL;DR, this is exactly what Cedar City has needed for years! I grew up in Las Vegas and sports bars with an extensive, good menu were practically on every street corner.

It was very busy, but it didn't take long to get seated at all. Bear in mind that the parking lot is quite full and you may need to park in the adjacent dirt lot or on the street. Service was pretty good, especially considering that they're only on their second week open. The manager (owner?) was busy checking in on each table to make sure things were going well, and I can tell from the questions he asked that he's working very hard to make sure they STAY everyone's favorite spot.

My wife has many food allergies, and they are extremely accommodating at telling you what's in the food and making adjustments. The manager was even researching more allergy-friendly options to add to the permanent menu.

When you order a soda, you get a very large cup. It never goes empty either. It's a small detail, but details matter.

The food itself is fantastic. She got a burger, I got the chicken finger sandwich with mango habanero sauce. I saw a few of the pizzas at other tables that looked legit too. The onion rings are perfect, crispy, flavorful, and the batter actually adhered to the onion so it doesn't slide right out. The cole slaw was a bit saucy, but it had an unexpected and delicious pickle flavor that I think would go great with fried fish too.

You've heard the buzz, and it's all true. Go check...

I really wanted to love this place — Cedar doesn’t have many spots that make me want to come back, and I’m still not sure if we’ll return here.

Service: The staff checked in multiple times, which I appreciated, but when I mentioned that my burger bun was burnt and that my side salad never arrived, it seemed to go in one ear and out the other. No real reaction, just smiles and nods. When the missing salad was finally mentioned, the server asked if I still wanted it — by then, I declined.

Food:

Johnny Mac Salad: My wife loved it! It’s huge though, so they might want to ask about size. 8/10

12" “New York Style” Pizza: Unfortunately, not New York style at all. The crust tasted more like frozen pizza dough — disappointing. 3/10

Buffalo Medium Wings (1 lb): These were spot-on. My wife said they were perfect. 9/10

Large Pretzel with Cheese & Mustard: Pretzel was warm and salted nicely, but the dipping sauces were served cold, which threw it off. 6/10

Smash Burger with Side Salad: Salad never arrived. The burger itself had a good flavor once you got past the burnt bun edges. 5/10

Overall, the wings stood out, but the rest of the meal and the service felt uneven. Might give it another shot — but that pizza was definitely not...

If you were to have asked me what I thought Johnny Mac’s before I had eaten, I would’ve left a scathing comment. I mean, I get hangry. Reason for that is we had waited to be taken care of way longer than expected. They kept taking other people to be seated who had arrived well after we had put our name on the list. In my hanger I got snarky with one of the servers. They handled me so well. Even in my frustration, they took care of us so well.

After getting one of their cowboy bites in my mouth, I found true peace and happiness. My hanger disappeared. The cowboy bites are to die for.

Then we got the wings. Those are the best wings I have ever had. My wife who HATES wings ended up stealing half my plate. We got them double dipped or something. Also, if you’re a blue cheese fan, just wait till you have theirs. It’s wonderful.

The pizza was not quite as exciting. It was average pizza, so it was good, but not anything to call home about.

Overall, I’d give them a 4.7. I will 1000000% be going back. Their service and food are what makes that place so great. Even after a poor start, they won...