Mak's Sports Bar + Grill. — Restaurant in Texas

MaK's Place has two different faces, depending on when you go. It's a sports bar, first and foremost, but during the daytime and early evening, it's usually quiet and subdued, a place to chill, have a few drinks and watch sports. It picks up considerably around 7-8pm, though, so if you go later, be prepared for loud noise and packed crowds.

The clientele are a mixed group: it's very common to see twenty-somethings chatting at the bar with older folks, in pretty evenly-numbered groups (so there's not really a "young crowd" or "old crowd", though the younger ones do tend to show up later). The music is pretty varied as well. Country, rap, rock, metal...it all gets played, so if you don't like the genre that's playing, you shouldn't have to listen to it for long.

Very good food for a sports bar, and there are specials just about every night. Not cheap bar food, either...fajita tacos, half-pound burgers, and steaks, all done to restaurant quality. Good beer and liquor selection, too. Not long ago, they had $1.50 Zeigenbach pints all day,every day, but they recently raised prices, sadly. Still reasonable, but not the steal it was.

The staff and service are, generally speaking, wonderful. However, we have occasionally been "blessed" with incompetent or rude wait staff. We usually have more luck at the bar than at the tables. If you're lucky enough to get Scotty (big, loud, boisterous guy) or Paula (equally loud and boisterous, but both very friendly and skilled), you'll be taken care of pretty well. Again, though, keep in mind that this is a sports bar. The conversations and interactions will likely stray beyond PG ratings, so you may want to leave the kids at home, especially later in the evening.

If you're looking for "fine dining" or a nice, family-themed restaurant, this probably isn't the place to go. However, if you're looking for a fun night out, not too wild, but still some excitement, I definitely recommend...

Mak's, long a fixture of the area and the bar that had food better than most restaurants is back! It is still a work in progress but is promising so far. The facilities are clean and it has a more efficient layout with 1 bigger bar area rather than two. They have a game area with life size beer pong and bean bag toss along with the same pool tables, dart machines, and Golden Tee machines. The staff is very friendly and professional. The menu is just a starter at a single page for now... but has some treasures on it... though prices are a bit higher than the previous Mak's. They have some interesting appetizers including some decadent options like cheeto fries?! The club sandwich is not as large but has at least the same amount of meat and is quite good. The chicken strips are generous and delicious. Had a burger early on that lacked flavor but more recently that has been rectified. Just had the "ultimate cheese sandwich" loaded with pulled pork and jalapenos... very delicious! I miss the bacon egg burger and the numerous sandwiches we could get as wraps, but the new menu has its merits -- hopefully it keeps expanding. I don't yet know if they are going to have wing, taco, and steak night... but hoping for some attractive options. I am giving it 5 stars based on a strong start... hopefully the proactive staff keep at it and it becomes the defacto hangout it used to be. I will definitely be a regular patron and hopefully enjoying them...

2.5 stars. Here's my take. Keep in mind I may be a tad on the biased side as I'm a former GM/bartender/server. I love the bar. The food is your typical bar food but priced accordingly. Beer is cheap and cold. My biggest gripe is the majority of the servers. Speed wise it's not bad. Moreso it's their attitudes. No personalities. Ive watched several nights we've been there where there were atleast 7 tables with empty glasses while the waitress stayed flirting with 5 guys at a table for atleast 15 minutes. I partially blame the server, however where is management? As a manager you should see this and relize that the ticket averages are being destroyed by servers not caring about anything more than flirting and gossipping. I don't just mean in this instance, I mean where is the management ever? We have been here atleast 10 times and not once have I seen the management. We have had two good servers, our favorite is Taylor. She's so good that she's even noticed us when we weren't even her customers and saw the frustration and came to take care of us. All in all well continue going, but also hope that ownership sees this and hires better managers to run the place. Makes me almost come back to the restaurant side of work just to bring this place up to its full potential. For now, it will just be that place to go to. Sadly we like to leave great tips, as for the servers that are there now, outside of a couple, the best tip I can offer is, don't eat...