Paddy Mac's Pub & Grill

Back at it this Friday with a lovely little walleye from @itstimeverona. The $17 fillet was lightly breaded and fried right. It paired really well with the zesty tartar and sopped it up like a sponge. The hash browns with cheese and onion were plentiful and simply superb, while the slaw and roll did their jobs without trying to steal the show. The waitstaff was attentive without being overbearing, the beer was crisp and cold, and the food came out in a flash. Pretty pleased with both this, and the lake perch we had last time around.

We were running around the west side this afternoon and decided to buzz into @paddymacsverona for a quick bite.

In reality, I planned all our errands around lunch since that's the way I roll - prioritize the Fish Fry at all costs. Paddy Mac's was pretty busy this Friday and there was one lone bartender/waitress running the show. She welcomed us to pick a spot, but warned it would be a bit before she could get to us. We understood.

She wasn't lying and it took about 10 minutes for her to get to us, and another 10 or so to get our drinks. It certainly could have been a lot worse, but she was a true pro and busting ass to make sure everyone had what they needed. When the drinks came we threw in our order and expected to wait "a bit" longer.

This bit turned out to be little as our fish fried quickly and she served it lickity split. The $12 2-piece was scalding hot and looked scrumptious. The fish itself doesn't appear to be top-of-the-line, but the breading makes it much more alluring. It's crunchy and salty which results in a pleasant overall flavor.

Plenty of fat crinkle-cut fries sit shotgun and really fill you up, some creamy slaw and tartar look to be Sysco standard, and the dinner roll is as basics as they come.

This was a pretty decent Fish Fry, and for $12 you can't really ask for much more. While to food certainly did the job, the real highlight was seeing our server doing it all without batting an eyelash. She single-handedly ran the show and did it with grace. I hope she gets a raise. She definitely deserves it.

Extremely late dinner last Friday after an evening soccer game in Verona...extremely late for us at least.

By the time we rolled into Paddy Mac's it was about 8:15 and the place was pretty much cleared out (save for the bar). As such, we had the waitress' full attention and she had our Old Fashioneds and food on the table quicker than you can say "this BOGO from the MadCity Cocktails book kicks ass!"

PMs has a bunch of FFF options and since the "Old Fashioned" bluegill was new to me I couldn't resist. Apparently in this sense "Old Fashioned" just means lightly-breaded rather than beer battered and that was a-ok with me. Each of the small snappy fillets was sumptuous and the crunchy breading paired elegantly with their thick and clingy tartar. I crushed them all and could easily have crushed more.

The hash browns with cheese and onion were my second helping of the day, and like the first, were spot-on. They were ooey-gooey but also had plenty of crisp bits that provided that welcome contrast. The football bun was a nice audible as was the cottage cheese over slaw pick. All in all, great sides and a fantastically full plate.

$17 is a pretty good price for a plate of bluegill in 2025 and it's definitely a welcome addition to Paddy's already substantial Friday Fish Fry lineup. Overall, we highly recommend this Fish Fry and think it's yet another great option in the evolving Verona tavern Fish Fry scene.

As soon as I saw lake perch on the menu I knew what I was getting. Of course, I did have to ask if it was the real deal (I was reassured that it was) so I pulled the trigger. The seven fillets were definitely the genuine article and kissed with a light and crispy breading. They were ideally offset by the slick and cheesy hash browns, complimented by the thick and creamy tartar, and bolstered by the standard slaw and dinner roll. Overall, this was $16 well spent and I'm pleased we made the pilgrimage to Verona this Friday.