Legendary McDini's

A real classic restaurant and bar that's been a San Diego staple since the 1900's,
can you imagine that?
Prolly' the best Reuben Corned Beef sandwich known to man or woman, true,true, true!
Put it this way, I was NOT disappointed.

FOOD:    Irish/American cuisine with sort of an Eastern European flair, you can taste it
particularly in their Corned Beef items.Regular Corned Beef is so tough it requires a
phillips-head screwdriver to unlock the meat...... NOT HERE!
Most tender, juicy and delicious, I MEAN DELICIOUS Corned Beef brisket Reuben
ever sampled in my lifetime A big menu containing burgers, chicken and waffle, steaks,
Prime Rib, breakfast specials, Seafood and Mexican dishes and CORNED BEEF!
While my Reuben sandwich was about $14.95, the price is misleading 'cause it was
sooooo frickin' big, I had to ask the other 1/2 to take out. What really makes Rueben's
special is the Russian Dressing they provide. Don't think, just order it, you'll taste
what I'm trying to tell you. Baked marblized Rye bread, very soft but crunchy!
My co-workers ordered a Philly Cheese and Atlantic Red Salmon with wild rice
that both looked incredible. Matter of fact, everything I saw being served looked
as if McDini's really takes much pride in the careful preparation of these dishes.
There is also a nice selection of Liquor and Moxified beers, something that deserves
it's own 5 star review as McDini's has the best variety of tasteful craft beers I
have ever seen. 15 taps, I think, pick 1 through 15, you'll be just fine.

AMBIANCE:  Kind of an old fashioned restaurant vibe to it and we loved it!
Service was super fast, digitized system, so wait time was next to nothing for
3 large servings with side orders and drinks.
Other personal comments on here are kind of improvisational comedy,
in that every normal person has an opinion while the nut jobs remain nuts.
The EBT comments written about someone named Shannon S appear
like great comedy, funny and simultaneously deadly at the same time.
I laughed so hard I almost dropped my precious Reuben sandwich.
Worth noting, we came in around 2:30PM so not too busy.
Very organized seating area with some attractive retro booths, I really
dig the lay out, cleanliness and aroma of the food dishes permeating
throughout the dining area, reminded me of back home on a good day.
Only imagine how crazy this place gets on weekends when people
are out and about while expecting some great food and service.

PARKING:  Not an issue as they have their own secure parking area,
Aside from that, there is free street parking outside and around the block.
From what I was told, McDini's ownership owns most of the entire city
block, so parking is plentiful at least during non-peak hours.
The whole city appears to be in revival mode, prolly' Thank's to McDini's
people and ownership, I mean, who wouldn't want to be close to a
famous San Diego institution that evokes top quality?

If there's a reason it's so popular and why they've done so well,it's
got to be that incredible food menu.
Make the trip (or make it again), you'll thank yourself again and again.
Me? I can't wait to go back.

You can smell the legendary mcsmelly as soon as you walk in the door. This place needs a deep clean, a fumigation, and basically a complete overhaul. I get that it's a historical place but by letting it fall into disrepair I think it does an injustice to this place. The countertops are old and worn down, the leather upholstery is peeling and faded and funky smelling and pieces of the ceiling actually fell down while we were in there and hit my husband on the head. Thank goodness he was ok and we laughed it off. I love a great dive bar but this bar is overpriced, the drinks are poorly made, and the food is very bland. My poor husband actually had a bug in his drink and the bartender asked him
If he wanted her to make another one. Ummm yes, he didn't want to drink roach juice. Ugh. Do better McDini's!

Update to Nina below:

Why the aggression towards my post? The beauty of Yelp is the differing ideas and opinions that people get to share. Your assumptions about my lifestyle/profession were pretty funny though. Kudos for your superb witty barbs! I suppose you just enjoy critiquing negative reviewers...so carry on and please, enjoy McDini's. I personally won't be back. Buyer beware!

Driving around on a Sunday morning looking for a breakfast joint that wasn't busy. and Viola! drove by McDini's, saw their breakfast ads on the window and lured us in. Parking was easy to find considering they don't have private parking, at least we didn't see it. It wasn't busy at all, we were greeted by the friendly hostess.  Plenty of selections on their breakfast, lunch and dinner menu.
This place is like a hole in the wall -- bar and dance floor for the nightlife then converts to family friendly restaurant in the morning.
Food arrives and it was delish. Everything was made fresh and we actually finished our entire breakfast. Usually we leave scraps on our plate, but not this time. McDini's should advertise more to get customers in, its a really good place for breakfast. There's no long lines and wait times, especially on a Sunday where most families are out and about for brunch after church. We will definitely be back for more Sunday brunches.

First time visit here on a Friday the 13th with hubby we decided to eat here and checkout this place because we couldn't find parking at Aunt Emma's pancakes. Anyway we sat in a nice gray booth near the huge bar with flat screen TVs everywhere. The lady server came and took our orders.
I ordered the bacon, sausage and 2 eggs and hash brown it was $11 (no pancakes? ) kind of pricey ?  And my bacon was too salty!
Hubby ordered the steak n eggs over easy n hash brown I think it was $13 or $15.  The steak was a huge portion it was juicy n tasty.
Overall, good service and attentive. Clean and a good diner. Great place for booze and watch sports. They have also dinner specials. Will be back on breakfast time since it's not crowded. Highly recommended if you visit National city area. (3.5 stars)

My family had a get together here and it was the perfect spot to go where everyone and enjoy the food, pool table and spacious area.   The service and food was amazing.   Thank you for hosting my big family reunion.  We'll be having our reunions here every year!

Thank you To the host Lucy and wonderful servers!    You made our night memorable!

BTW...to Shannon S:

Your comments give everyone a good laugh as
distasteful comments you write only encourage
others to visit McDini's that much more.
You come off as:

A.  A former McDini's employee with no money

B. Angry EBT cardholder with -0- left to spend

C. An unemployed exterminator looking for work.

Enjoy Legendary McDini's.....even the haters!

When I want a quick drink before dining around National City, McDini's is the spot to meet all my friends.  

I have never ordered any food here however the menu and pictures looks yummy.  

Bartenders:
I've had some really nice Filipina bartenders serve my drinks.  Last night 3/24/16 was questionable.  :(  

My drink of choice is CROWN ROYAL with a splash of coke.  By the time I got my drink and sat at our table (from the bar) my ice was melted.  Hmm why is that?  Thank you for the side of ice.  I double fisted my drinks because it didn't seem strong.  :(   I think last nights bartender was confused on how much to charge me because she kept looking for the price on the sheets taped to the side by the register.  

Anyways, great place to hangout.  I've never been here on the weekends.  Looks like there's a dance floor with a lot of chairs and couches to sit on.  Very interesting décor.  There's also a jukebox so I'm glad that the patrons select good music.  he he...

They sucked me in with their Facebook advertisements... $7.99 steak and 2 eggs breakfast - the picture also has toast and hashbrowns "potatoes and toast optional". I believe the word they were looking for is "additional". Fine - steak and eggs for 8 bucks is a great deal!
We came in and sat at the bar - the bartender was the waitress for the entire place, but it wasn't busy. The bartender tried, but her rapport wasn't genuine at all. We ordered mimosas and when she brought them over, they were warm. Why would she even serve those?!? YUCK! We called her back over and the champagne was off the shelf, not the fridge. She took them back and we ordered another drink. Tequila sunset - right off the menu. She asked us what was in it. She needed the menu to check the ingredients.
Ordering the special - she let us know we would need to order a soda or coffee in order to get the special pricing - the FB post didn't mention the drink requirement, but the ad on the bar and A LOT of missing fine print - drink purchase required, $7 for a takeaway box, $4 for toast, $4 for hashbrowns. We also noticed their FB post for the steak and lobster missing the same fine print.
The steak - it was pretty damn good. cooked just the way we ordered it and lots of flavor. This is why 2 stars instead of just one. The chef alone deserves 5 stars!! We also ordered french toast. We really enjoyed the food.
Shame on you McDini's for leaving the fine print off your FB posts. The bartender even told us they get a lot of complaints about it.

i think they read my last review. the restaurant got a facelift. It looks like it has learn to change with the time.
Star: Great costumer service
Star: Great food
Star: strong drinks
Star: great location with parking
Star: great for groups.

"You guys walked into the right place" - McDini's regular

"The Legendary McDini's" as they call it is... well... interesting. I really didn't know what to make of it so I figured I'd look it up online to learn some of the history and what exactly makes this place "legendary."

The home page at mcdinis.com didn't help much and only continued to mystify me.

It reads:
微生物は、私達の身の回りに存在します。自然の中や体内など、ありとあらゆる場所に、彼らは生息しています。微生物には、「好気性」、「嫌気性」、「通性嫌気性」の3つがいます。好気性はカビなどで、嫌気性は大腸菌などです。違いとして、酸素があるところで生息しているか否かという点があります。

Yeah, I'm completely baffled. I swore there would be some kind of great family story, dating back decades, explaining the neighborhood, how it's changed and why they planted their roots in National City. Instead I only get a few pages of characters that I can't read other than "home, copyright and all rights reserved." I digress.

The place itself is massive and unwelcoming. The ceilings are high and the bar spans almost the entire room dotted with patrons. We ordered from the bar but opted for one of the cocktail tables to take it all in. There are daily specials advertised on both the walls and tables for things such as AYCE prime rib on Sundays and another bargain where you buy the dessert and get a sirloin steak for free. With tattered walls, dim lights and an unexplainable/invisible grime in the air, I'm not so sure that this is the kind of place that I'd like to spend Sunday dinner. I'll take that back... see you on Sunday. Have that prime rib heated up and ready to go! Utah, gimme two!

youtube.com/watch?v=Vsas…

First things first, do not believe any of the various competitors, obvious ex employee's or childish hater's named either: Sandra E. Lenore A. Miguel V. Alex G. Brandi R  or Ralph M. who all appear to have a common thread, bad English, coupon clippers, fake profiles and silly writings that make absolutely no sense to normal people.

Since first coming here, Legendary McDini's has become an instant favorite of ours. Honestly, the food is the true star of the show.
World Famous Prime Rib is exactly as advertised, well marbled and aged, large cuts prepared to perfection.
Whether you pair it up with the many Lobster Tail options or Jumbo Shrimp, you will thank yourself for making these selections, they are that palatable, large portioned and extremely REASONABLE for this kind of QUALITY steak!
They even back it up with a Quality Challenge, you should take it.
Breakfast, lunch or dinner, I always leave thinking to myself, "how do they
prepare these creative dishes at these low prices?"
Plenty of seating, clean restrooms and adjacent parking lot all add up to
one of the friendliest restaurants you will ever find.
Tell them Evelyn sent you, maybe you'll get a discount or something