Award-winning since 2005, this BBQ restaurant absolutely lived up to its reputation--not just because of the incredible food, but because of the outstanding service. James, the host, welcomed us with such a warm smile that, even though I'm visiting from Dallas, I immediately felt right at home. That kind of genuine Southern hospitality is hard to find and made the experience even more memorable. The food was phenomenal, and the mac and cheese tasted just like something Big Mama would make--rich, creamy, and full of flavor. Every bite reminded me why great barbecue is about more than just the meat; it's about comfort, tradition, and hospitality. If you're looking for authentic BBQ, amazing comfort food, and service that makes you feel like family, this is the place to be. I'll definitely be back! read more

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Been on the hunt for solid barbecue in the area and Mac's Speed Shop finally delivered. Ordered the brisket with mac and cheese and coleslaw, and everything was on point. The brisket was tender, the mac and cheese was great, and the coleslaw rounded it out nicely. What really impressed me was that I got this to-go -- and it was still excellent by the time I got home. That says a lot. Good barbecue doesn't always travel well, but this held up. Only thing I'd note is the wait -- had my order in around 6:10 and didn't head out until 6:35 or so. Wasn't in a rush so it wasn't a dealbreaker, but worth knowing if you're on a tight schedule. Overall, great find. Already eyeing the brisket burnt ends for next time. read more

Mac's Speed Shop - Beef Brisket - Barbeque Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

We stopped into Mac's Speed Shop on Mother's Day and our party of three was seated promptly right at 1pm -- a great start. Both indoor and outdoor seating were available, and we went with indoor. The staff was friendly throughout our visit, and the whole place had a comfortable sports‑bar atmosphere. The menu selection is solid. I went with the Route 66 burger and fries this time. The flavor was good and I enjoyed it overall, though the burger came out a little more undercooked than what I ordered -- not drastically, but noticeable. On a previous visit I tried the pulled pork, which was excellent. All said, it's a reliably good choice with friendly service, great vibes, and plenty of tasty options. read more

Great BBQ in Charlotte with several locations. Service was friendly in a casual quasi biker bar setting, very southern America. $38 Hickory-Smoked Sampler Platter lets you pick 4 meats and 2 sides...a delicious decision! The Chopped Brisket was my favorite, it all the joys of smoked beef brisket with extra sauce and charred crispy bits. 2nd place is the Saint Louis Pork ribs, almost fall of the bone tender with delicious dry rub seasoning and glaze of BBQ sauce. 3rd place is the classic sliced brisket with a nice dark bark, smoke ring, and juicy. A little extra BBQ helped a lot. Lastly the 1/4 smoked chicken had a nice crisp smoked skin, and the white meat was firm, plump, and moist. Needs BBQ sauce, but still so tasty. For sides I got the Fried Okra, because deep fried veggies are always great. The collard greens were lush, green, tasty, and packed with fiber for the much needed assist with my bowel movements after all the delicious meat! read more

I visited Mac's Speed Shop on a Tuesday mid afternoon well after the lunch "crowd" had vanished. No one at the hostess stand but a chalk sign said "for best service seat yourself". Ok, grabbed a few menus and found a seat. There was only two tables of people in the restaurant and a few people at the bar but yet I noticed several tables had not been bussed and had empty plates and a even a check receipt still on a table. 10 minutes after we sat ourselves finally a waitress came over to us. The restaurant itself is nice. Bench seating along the walls and tables that move so if your bigger like me you can get some extra belly room. Lots of TV's if your coming in to watch sports with extra outdoor seating during better climate days. Once our waitress did come over she was amazing! This being our first time there she told us about the different BBQ sauces on the table and was able to fill us in on different aspects of the meals we ordered. I ordered the hushpuppies and my mother ordered the down south rolls for an appetizer. The hushpuppies came with a honey butter which was very good but as you can see from the pictures several of the puppies seemed to be way over fried. Infact, the only ones that were hot were the darker ones. I would expect that a fresh order of hush puppies would come out all pretty hot. For $1.50 I wasn't gonna complain. It was an ok app. My mother really enjoyed her Down South Rolls on the other hand. She said the outside was hot and the rolls themselves were very full noting that it could be a meal by itself. For my main meal I chose the Chicken n Waffles because I must always try them! I didn't know what the syrup they had with it was and our kind waitress explained it and was kind enough to put it on the side and give me regular syrup too. As you can see from the pictures I took the chicken tenders seemed to be over fried? Or maybe the grease is old? They tasted fine and weren't dried out but visually it was not the greatest thing to look at. The waffles and bacon on the other hand were perfect! Two big pieces of bacon on top of two real Belgian waffles! Oh yum! I'm pretty sure the waffles had the little sugar bits in them that real Belgian waffles have because you would get this sweet crunch and then the salt of the bacon and chicken. If the tenders would have been better than this would have been a perfect meal. Mom loved her Single Cylinder hamburger. It was thick and juicy and cooked perfectly. The fries were hot which I had to taste test and they were good too! Over all our food came out fast and our waitress was great and kept our drinks filled without us asking. I didn't get to try their BBQ platers but I'll make sure to do that on my next trip! read more

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Its Mac's.... 5 star always!, had the sampler and everything was excellent!... steamed broccoli and salad side all good also, so excited for Tega Cay location!, we can walk there! read more

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Service-Excellent!! Waitress was attentive. Checked in about 4-5 times during our meal, which was plenty. Food-6/10 the brisket and ribs were delicious. The tots were fried too hard and sausage was hard. Ambiance: Sports bar with TVs surrounding eating area. Drink list looked appealing as well. read more

Mac's Speed Shop - Sampler-4 meats (beef sausage, 1/2 rack ribs, sliced brisket), tater tots, and house salad (not pictured). - Barbeque Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

Mac's is always a win in my book, but this most recent time a few weeks ago was one of the best! Fueled by the incredible service from our waitress, Kenny, the experience I shared with my friends who were visiting from out of town was outstanding! Her spunky personality along with her knowledge of the menu allowed for my friends as newbies and myself even as a Mac's veteran to trust her suggestions and enjoy everything we ordered! It was a great day out so we enjoyed the patio, and had a fantastic time. I've been quite a few times to Mac's and will continue to come back! Thanks, Kenny! read more

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I did a call in order and this worker named Jase was amazing! He was very quick with my order and got everything right! Great worker.

I order take out brisket plate and the brisket was pot roast. No smoke or flavor. It wasnt close to brisket. Posted a picture on a grilling FB for conformation and It was confirmed it was not close to being brisket. read more

Mac's Speed Shop - Barbeque Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

Fun atmosphere, upbeat & friendly staff and yummy in the tummy food! The drinks are great too. Steele Creek location read more

This is my first time to this location, although I've been to another one closer to Charlotte downtown. Their menu is spectacular! I had the bison burger, which was perfectly cooked and the bacon jam with the fried egg made that burger even more delicious. I paired it with the collard greens and a side salad, which is the perfect combination for this nearly half pound bison burger! Highly recommend and whenever I'm in the area, I'll be back! A+ read more

Mac's Speed Shop - Bison burger and collard greens. - Barbeque Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

I came by Monday for a lunch. Lots of parking spaces available. Inside's decor is of a sports bar with so many choices of beer. I ordered the Single Cylinder which came out quickly. Very tasty and do recommend this to anyone. They have a good lunch special. read more

Mac's Speed Shop - Barbeque Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

OMG !!! Macs !!! Your food was delicious! If you haven't been to Macs Speed Shop in a while what are you even doing with your life ? This place has fantastic food and we got proof ! The Brunswick Stew was off the charts delicious. Topped with a Cesar salad and boom - lunch was complete. The other folks in my office opted for sandwiches with tots & some egg rolls . The egg rolls were a hit with everyone! Just go there . You will thank me later ! Two thumbs way up ! read more

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This place is a great vibe. Obviously bbq pros but the mac&cheese is 10/10 too. Great service and people

We are hear twice and had two nice meals. Our dinner experience was a little better then our lunch experience. This one waitress just ignored us waiting at the front until I ended up stopping her and asking her if we should seat ourselves. She was amazingly rude and almost had us walk out before getting a seat. The rest of the service and meal were good, which is why we came back the next day but service matters. All in all great food and great place. Lots of TVs and a nice outdoor area. read more

I had lunch at MAC's on 3/17/26 with a friend, and I have to say, the experience was outstanding. Our server was absolutely top‑notch. Even though the combination I wanted wasn't on the menu, she didn't hesitate--she just smiled and said, "No problem, I can make that for you." Everyone we interacted with was wonderful. Later, I realized I had accidentally left my bookbag at the table... and I didn't notice until the next night. In a panic, I drove back to the restaurant around 8 p.m. The GM saw me, greeted me, and immediately said she remembered me--and that my bag was safely in her office. That kind of honesty and care is rare these days, and I appreciate her more than she knows. I hope MAC's does too. You've earned a lifetime customer. And by the way... your Thanksgiving turkeys are still the BEST. read more

I had a wonderful experience here. The food was on point! Service was OUTSTANDING-our server was Jy and she was very attentive! We had one item that wasn't correct 'totally' and was fixed in no time! I appreciate good service and good food! We will be back and hopefully Jy will be working I debated on a 4 star bc I'm a BROWNS fan! Haha read more

Mac's is never a bad idea! Solid food and great vibes. Don't skip the sides!! The sandwiches are huge too. Love that they have multiple locations in the city read more

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IDK... at first I'm thinking sports bar and heart bbq? Well the $10 lunch special for smoked chicken got my wife to say yes! So Mac's it was. I ordered a pulled pork sandwich and collard greens plus a cold beer! To our surprise the food was most excellent and our server was awesome. He moved to CLT from Iowa! Mac's bbq definitely had a nice smoked flavor. One you could pass on the sauce it was that tasty. And if you're like me and judge your bbq restaurants by the quality of their collards greens well Mac's should get 6 stars! Fresh and tender, perfectly seasoned! As good as any I've had or cooked myself!!! Mac's was a definite winner! read more

I love this place! Employees are extremely friendly and truly welcoming. The food is amazing!!! (Never to disappoint) My last visit I was disappointed to learn they no longer serve the yummy pickles. Now they serve pickled onions. They really need to bring the pickles back. read more

Loved the smoked, grilled, dry rub wings! The okra was also good, but y'all could've used a paper towel to get some of that grease & oil off them. read more

Mac's Speed Shop - Smoked, grilled wings & Fried Okra - Barbeque Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

Love their hush puppies, but their BBQ is over priced. Took my mom and she wasn't impressed either.

i wish i could of ordered more variety but i went with the light on the stomach style. Cool spot with cover band outside playing , some weirdo/expo guy dancing and yelping at the window where the kitchen delivers the food, all the staff from hostess to manager was in high spirits and just not so pissed off to be at work. i liked it and if and when i drop another.load in charlotte ill get over there. read more

Mac's Speed Shop - buffalo chix salad. good but be aware of the portions. insane amount of food - Barbeque Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

Their staff is so friendly but their food is just so average. It doesn't matter what I have had - brisket, pork, chicken, etc. just plain average. On my most recent visit, there was a dead cockroach in the men's bathroom. Also in the bathroom, see pic of what was in sink. This simply screams an attitude of "we don't care!" I will only go back if it's a work function and someone else picks the spot. :-) read more

Mac's Speed Shop - What the heck is this about?! - Barbeque Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

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The service was great, Jay provided great recommendations - awesome service and food. 10/10 recommend Cute spot with a nice patio to enjoy the day. read more

Eehhh. Been over a decade since we have been here. Most of the tables are high tops, which is a huge pet peeve of mine. They are so darn uncomfortable! Who wants to sit on a high stool with no back for a hour?? Anyway, it was almost 100 degrees and the only regular tables were outside so we agreed to sit at a high top. Turns out it was right by the door to the patio and directly under a fan that was blowing our hair and everything on the table the entire time - between gusts of hot air. Server was nice and efficient. Manager did come by to check on our food. That's always a nice touch. My son's burger was way over done - looked like charcoal, so that was a bummer. The rest of us thought our food was fine. Not amazing, but okay. To me Mac's feels more like a bar vibe than a restaurant. Most of the wait staff looked like they just rolled out of bed and came to work. Wasn't at all what I remembered from our last trip a long time ago. read more

Food was above average. Service was average ambience was decent, but it seemed not very cohesive. Looked like they tried a little too hard at a theme, but just couldn't really strike a good cord with the ambience. That's just my personal opinion. A strong personal opinion I have is that all of the barbecue sauces that they offered were bad, and I mean bad. I've had a lot of barbecue sauces in my lifetime and none of these that I personally enjoyed. I'm sure that there are individuals out there that do enjoy those barbecue sauces, but I am sure not one of them. Weak recommendation, because a barbecue establishment is it only as good as its meats and sauces. read more

This was our first time here. James greeted us when we walked in and I didn't know the host position could be elevated until today. His enthusiasm and attentiveness instantly made me feel like we picked a good place. Our waitress, Kaitlynn walked us through the menu and the sauces. We were excited to place our orders because everything looked good and the smells wetted our appetites. She really did take great care of us. As for the food, the waffles and chicken was really good, that is something we would order again. The cucumber and tomato salad was also excellent. I wish the beef brisket was more lean however it was still good. This was a good find! read more

I get delivery and there are a couple of things that are consistent- they have no tape, seal, staples or anything else to make the food tamper safe. Way behind the times here. Also I got a sandwich last week with three different sauces today zero sauce. Same with BBQ plates it's a guess if you get sauce or not. Big deal to me. read more

We love going to Mac's speed shop and have had many great experiences at the restaurant. Quick summary: to go sides are not worth it for the platters (see pics) - just order meat and make your own sides With ordered the Go Big or Go Home Platter and picked it up. It included Brisket Chopped(.5lb) Chicken Pulled(1lb) Pork Pulled(1lb) Beef Sausage(4) Broccoli Salad Side Mac n Cheese Side Mac n Cheese Side Mac n Cheese Side I was very disappointed with the price compared to the food they gave us. The meat seemed okay size, (still not the best value), but the sides were so small. How are you calling this the go big size when it's about two bites of mac n cheese. There was very little sauce, and when ordering online there was not even an option of what sauce you want. For how much meat there was I was expecting more sauce, luckily we had some of our own at home. Bread..4 1/2 slices- again, this is the large platter, pounds of meat, and only two pieces of bread. In looking at their menu we could have paid about half the price we did to just get the meat, and make our own sides. We will NOT be ordering this special again. read more

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Excellent food and the portion size is perfect! The chef checked in with us after dinner. Love this! Our wait server Kenny was totally awesome! Kenny you rock! We look forward to seeing you again. Thank you!!!! read more

I really liked this place! The vibe is a pretty classic BBQ restaurant and it would be a great place to watch a sports game. I highly recommend the hush puppies and the ribs. The Mac n cheese was very good. The turkey on the turkey sandwich was a little dry, so I would probably get something else next time. The server was very friendly and checked on us often. The seats on the high top tables were a little uncomfortable. read more

Mac's Speed Shop - Turkey sandwich and mac n cheese side - Barbeque Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

Love this place so much! It's such a fun restaurant to bring the whole family ... my kids are always asking when we can go back! The food is super tasty and we consistently have great service. We got to meet the manager, Athena, recently and she was so genuine and wanted to make sure we had everything we needed. Already looking forward to our next stop in! Check out their burnt ends, fried pickles and pulled pork loaded tot bowl. YUMMM!!! read more

This food is extremely forgettable. The kind of meal that evaporates from memory before you've even left the table. Think of it as a Charlotte-branded Denny's, but stripped of even the guilty-pleasure factor. Nothing here stands out, nothing redeems it, and I go out of my way to avoid it. read more

Let me start out by saying the look and atmosphere of this place is awesome. I didn't catch her name but the blonde hostess with piercings was friendly and helpful. I stopped by for lunch takeout and maybe this place just isn't built for that or I came on a training day. The food was nice and hot and smelled great. The BBQ was dry and not tossed in any BBQ sauce. The "cucumber and tomato salad" was given to me as broccoli and tomatoes tossed in ranch. The Mac's toast was a plain piece of white bread. The Mac and cheese saved this order though. I would go back just for the Mac and cheese. I guess I should have checked my order before I left but I don't think that is necessary, that's just me. Maybe throw in some sauces and salt/ pepper on to go orders. read more

Mac's Speed Shop - Large BBQ platter with "cucumber and tomato" salad - Barbeque Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

I love Mac's Speed Shop. The decor has a cool vibe about it and the food/service is excellent! I always get the pulled pork and am never disappointed. They have an amazing assortment of sauces on the table and their side dishes are amazing- try the baked beans! The host James is always here when we come in: he's so welcoming and charismatic. We had Jay as our waitress tonight and she was the best: super attentive, and made sure to take good care of our needs. We love it here, and so will you. read more

They need to seriously improve their customer service skills. I've been here at least a dozen times and it's usually a pretty lackluster experience. I've even been completely ignored while at a table more than once. Sitting at the bar is the better choice for service in my experience. Sadly, delivery and takeout aren't much better. I recently I ordered a small food delivery via DoorDash and SIX different drivers had to be assigned because they combined to wait over an hour for this single person order to be prepared. DoorDash cancelled the order and refunded me. Never again, I'm done with Mac's. I'll go to or order from Midwood instead. read more

Food is great every time I've been. I love the wings, nachos, salads, everything! Service was also good. Staff is pleasant. read more

Nicole Makes Every Visit Worth It! I can't say enough good things about the service I get every time I visit. Nicole is hands-down the best bartender around. She always makes me feel welcomed the moment I walk in the door. Not only is she friendly and attentive, but she also remembers my usual food order and makes sure my drinks are never empty. That kind of personal touch is rare and really makes the experience special. If you're looking for great service and someone who genuinely cares about the guests, ask for Nicole - she's the reason I keep coming back! read more