Arthur Mac's Tap and Snack — Restaurant in Oakland

See update at bottom (9/20/22)

Not going to change my star-rating because I've enjoyed coming here for years, but wanted to add a review based on my last visit (Feb 2022).

Telling customers to not give people on the street food (purchased from Arthur Mac's) "especially around this area" is a highly questionable comment to make, at best. I lived in Longfellow for over 3 years and, as such, anyone I run into on the street is my neighbor. I encourage the staff to reevaluate telling me to not help my neighbor when they're hungry and ask for help, and to search for some empathy. Whether the staff lives in the neighborhood (Longfellow) or not, the people in and around the neighborhood are your neighbors, too, and the way you talk about them to customers is very telling.

EDIT (9/20/22): Sadly my perception of Arthur Mac's keeps becoming more negative. As of this edit, they are now cash-less (they are card/charge-only). They claim it is to keep the community safe, but they haven't addressed the inherit discrimination of cash-less businesses. To simplify, people who cannot get access banking services (and related debit/credit cards) are no longer accommodated at Arthur Mac's. This includes: people without a stable home address at which they can receive banking communications people who do not/cannot get paid via direct deposit or who get paid in majority cash

A quick google search reveals that minorities are nearly twice as likely to use cash as their primary form of payment. The majority of the neighborhood population is made up of minorities/non-white people. To effectively disallow the neighborhood that has given you a home since your business's inception from patronizing your business is disgusting, and is frankly in line with many factors contributing to the continued gentrification of the neighborhood. Arthur Mac's really should rethink the ways in which they are affecting the real people who live in the neighborhood. This is shameful. Finally dropping my 5-star...

My first experience with Arthur Mac's was 4 years ago, and I recall a bit of a wait but solid pizza (if a tad pricey) and friends satisfied with beer around their spacious outdoor picnic tables.

Fast forward- a group of us got takeout from Arthur Mac's just this past week: a big order of 1 veggie pizza, 1 meat pizza, and hella wings (2 big boxes full). We dug in as soon as our designated driver returned with the goods, but... unfortunately, we were pretty disappointed. Really dry & tasteless wings & drumsticks, funky caper-veggie flavors on our veggie pizza, and carrot+celery sticks that looked (almost?) bad (floppy and browning around the edges). The tikka masala sauce dip for our chicken was provided in good quantities and tasted fine (tasted just like tikka masala), but I would personally just go order an actual chicken tikka masala dish elsewhere, given the dry texture of our chicken here (I've never had dry chicken in the actual Indian dish, ever, and there's a much better sauce-to-chicken ratio with small chopped pieces of meat completely submerged in curry, compared to the amount you get from just dunking the tip of a wing in sauce). We ended up with tons of leftovers, but I found that the chicken pieces aren't much improved with standard ranch, either- since they're so dry and aren't really battered any. The aged veggie sticks unfortunately got discarded, since only 1 person even dared to try them.

The pizza textures were still fine, and we did enjoy our meat flavor (ham and bell peppers), but the bulk of our order was... well, a bit of a flop. Not sure if it was just a one-off issue with our order, but if so- the consistency of this place is a bit questionable. If we're ever compelled to come back, we might hazard another try at a meat pizza, but I don't see a return visit happening...

Cool open space! Located on the corner of MLK Jr Way and 40th St, there's isn't a designated parking lot so you have to find street parking. Neighborhood looks sketch but that's the town for you. The main entrance leads you to the "lobby" where you order your meal and drinks, there are a few bar seats facing the outside patio if you feel inclined to sit inside. The ladies behind the register are bubbly, pretty, and nice! They're helpful in explaining their mixed cocktails, and offer samples for taste. Ordering is easy and quick, you pay at the register, pick you seat, and they bring you your order to your table. Was here on a Sunday, there's a buzz of conversation going on, a couple patrons with their small kids, a few single tops, and another enjoying a card game of Hungry Hipsters (seems appropriate lol).

Food didn't take long to come out, we ordered to share. Drinks were super yummy and refreshing. The weather was perfect so we sat outside and had the perfect panoramic view of the building & outdoor area. Everyone dressed casual/comfortable. Atmosphere is chill and super relaxed, perfect place to unwind after a long day, chill out alone, with friends, or make new ones.

I'm...