Daddy Mac's Beach Grille — Restaurant in Surf City

I really wanted to like this place, but there was so much bad as there was good about this place.

First off, the food was a mixed bag. On the one hand, one of our party members has a gluten and dairy allergy, and yet Daddy Mac's was able to accommodate them effectively with a flavorful meal. On the other hand, another party member had chicken so dry, that it felt like powder in my mouth when I tried it too. I've eaten overcooked chicken that was sitting in the fridge for days with no lid that was not as dry as this chicken was.

Secondly, they did not do a good job communicating their rules to us. On the phone, we told them that we have a dog in the party. I asked if that was OK, and they said, yeah, no problem, dogs are welcome in the outdoor seating. But when we got there, the host at the front door said that the dog must be "carried in-hand" when walking to the table. So, we tried. One of the middle managers stopped us at the top of the stairs and said, there is a new rule: dogs must use the "beach entrance" instead. To get to the beach entrance, we had to walk back downstairs, walk about a block and a half down the street to the nearest public beach entrance, walk about 150 feet down to the beach, walk back that block and a half on the sand towards the beach entrance, then walk up about 2 and a half flights of stairs. If you go to their website, you can see that beach entrance, with a shot of the lightning in the background. I've attached a copy of the photo. You can see the 2 and a half flights of stairs in the shot. Thankfully, our table was right at the top of those stairs.

I understand the need for a beach entrance. But had we known that, we would have worn the proper shoes for walking in the sand. Again, the beach entrance is not the problem here. The problem is the lack of communication. The host at the bottom of the stairs was very surprised by the rule change and said that this usually isn't how they handle things when guests bring a dog.

Another thing that bothered us was the way they handled the ordeal. They have communication issues, but the place is pretty big with a lot of staff. It's not impossible that a new rule change didn't get clearly communicated to or understood by all of the staff. But instead of acknowledging that it was a failure in their training and communication, they blamed it all on the host. They said "I don't know where she got that from". Part of running a business is taking responsibility for the failures of your staff. If they fail to meet a standard, you are the one who was supposed to have taught them and prepared them for that situation. And again, I understand how this situation could have just slipped the mind of the staff member on the phone. We did call during a busy time of the season. But upon realizing the mistake, throwing everything on your staff like that showed a lack of responsibility.

And to add insult to injury, the people that these managers are throwing criticism at are teenagers. And I don't just mean 18 or 19. I mean, 17, 16, 15 years old! It was shocking to me how many teenagers were handling the dinner rush. So, not only did you fail to communicate and then throw the blame at your staff, but the staff in question is made up largely by teenagers! Are you really so irresponsible that you would sooner blame a teenager than own up to the failure of your own teaching? And this was dinner rush too, so tensions are high and mistakes are more likely. Try and be more understanding for what they are carrying when throwing blame. This is not how you take care of kids who gave up their summer to work for you.

Also, the outdoor seating is a beautiful view. Mild breeze and the waves crashing in the background. Atmosphere would have been perfect if not for the managers.

Finally, I'd like to thank our waiter Brittany for EXEMPLARY service. She was efficient, knowledgeable, positive, and very energetic. When we explained the gluten and dairy free situation, she immediately came back with a list of options. Service above and beyond what could...

We ate there last night for my birthday before hitting the road to drive home! I was so happy they were able to seat our party of 14 outside! Initially my dad had said we would seat the ladies facing the water so we’d get the view, but our table was so perfectly positioned that every one of the 12 adults in our party could see the ocean! This was also the first place all week that had a sling for my son’s infant carrier and I didn’t have to place him on the floor!

The bread was really really good. I had the lobster bisque and shrimp and crab scampi pasta… the lobster bisque is the best I’ve ever had, and I order it at every opportunity. The pasta dish was truly the best meal I’ve had in my life, nothing beating that fresh seafood! I also ordered an Ocean Walk and had to double check the menu because it was so good I wanna try to make it at home. The servers were also so friendly and accommodating!

I like my reviews to be transparent and honest so I do need to mention the couple of less than perfect things.

First, outside of their control, bring a sweater or sweatshirt. Several of our party ran back to their cars to grab something warmer because we were in the shade with the ocean breeze.

Second, it was VERY breezy and I was stressed about trash blowing away (kids menu, straw wrappers etc). It would be nice to have a small thing on the table to hold down the kids menu while my daughter colored (other than stuff that could make a mess if tipped over like salt and pepper shakers) and a spot to put that small trash so it couldn’t blow away.

Third, several of our party ordered steaks and they were all just a little over cooked, just by one degree/temperature. The mediums were medium well etc. No one wanted to ask for the steaks to be redone since we were such a large party, and they were still good. Steak can just be hard to get right!

We have been here twice now and I can’t imagine coming to Topsail without...

Had to wait an hour for a party of two, but boy was it worth it! Everything was incredibly delicious. The shrimp were fresh and cooked perfectly, the crab cakes were all crab and no filler, and the fried green tomatoes had just the right amount of breading. Their homemade bleu cheese dressing was to die for, too - probably the best I’ve had. The wait staff was friendly and attentive, but not so much that they were hovering annoyingly. Fantastic experience!

The only two problems I had (for which I took off 1/2 a star each) was 1) the decor and 2) the dead flies on the windowsills. The decor (or lack thereof) was too minimal. For a beachfront seafood restaurant, I expected the walls to be adorned with fishing net, fake sea creatures, buoys, etc., but there was only a sparse ceramic sea horse or random nautical painting hung haphazardly around the restaurant. Also, there was several dead flies on each of the windowsills that I passed by, including the one at my table. Yuck. I know those pesky sandflies or blue bottle flies (or whatever they are) are everywhere this time of year and it’s easy for them to get inside what with the door to the outside seating area constantly being opened and closed by waitstaff, but it didn’t do much for my appetite to have to stare at the inverted dead insects so close to me while I was trying to enjoy my meal. It only takes a few minutes to sweep them off the sills or suck them up with the vacuum. The time that the restaurant is closed between lunch and dinner would be an excellent...