Mad Italian Public House

The Mad I used to be much better. Back when Studio 111 (not sure it’s even there anymore, and if it is, I think it has gone down the crapper) next door was booking good bands, Mad I was a pretty decent place to skip the local opening act and wait until the band you wanted to see went on with a pitcher or 3 of Kilt Lifter or Guiness. I went to school at NAU, and never being a huge fan of overly crowded popular bars, Mad I was the place my friends and I would normally start in order to work up the liquid courage to brave the more popular spots like Collins, Maloney’s and San Felipe’s. As far as I know now, no one but the Flag funksters even give it a glance anymore. San Francisco St. south of 66 could definitely use a revival. When I make my yearly trek back up for homecoming and Tequila Sunrise, this is 100% the first stop for us, as it is for many early morning drinkers looking to get their fill of overly tequila-​d up tequila sunrises. Not sure if it gets crowded other than this one day in October now… Ok place, not bad, not good, just OK…

Good spot for pool. I was personally hoping for a larger draft selection, but they did have good beer specials. Very open space on a Tuesday evening, but methinks it can get crowded here on the weekends!

I have mixed feelings about the Mad I. I give it 3 stars only because Tequila Sunrise redeems this place almost fully. If you’re gonna check out the Mad I, do it on Tequila Sunrise, and only on Tequila Sunrise. Great balcony to watch the sunrise, cheap drinks, corn hole game boards, and a packed house whoopin it up is the Mad I on Tequila Sunrise. Good times. But any other day of the year, this place disappoints me every time. The «food» they serve is just re-​heated Sam’s Club generic deep fried crap. FYI, putting cheese on garbage doesn’t make it taste better, it just makes it cheesy garbage. The women’s bathroom is WAY too small. And I know this is a common complaint at many places, but this bathroom takes the tiny, inconvenient cake. I stopped in for a drink on a random week day and was the only customer. I ordered one of the common drink specials off their posted drink menu, and the bartender had no idea how to make it. He looked it up, but then had none of the ingredients at his bar. He left me upstairs waiting for 15 minutes while he went to scavenge for supplies, and when I finally tasted the drink, it was gross. So, like I said, check out the Mad I on Tequila Sunrise, but otherwise, steer clear.

The Mad-​I is definitely not the best bar in Flag, but it’s far from a bad place. When they have the entire lower section and roof open it can be quite a wild and exciting place. As of this writing (⁴⁄₂₀₁₃) they currently have some of the best happy hour, and late night drink specials in town. The barstaff is pretty nice most of the time as well.
I think Mad-I’s biggest problem in the last few years had just been consistency. There are nights when it’s the wildest spot in downtown, and then the next night it will be completely silent and empty. Their food is also really hit or miss; they contract their kitchen to other restaurants; and depending on who is managing it at the moment the quality can be good to terribly poor.
This place has been around for 40 years, and it’s had a lot of ups and downs. While it’s currently in a state of blandness, it may yet return to be one of the best drinking spots in town; only time will tell.

First things first. Worst long island ever. lol… I dont think she knew how to make one and they must have not had a book describing one. It came in a short glass and tasted like vodka and sweet and sour mix. yuckk. We actually went in for a drink and appetizer but found they didnt have food… This place is pretty big. I have no clue why they wouldnt have at least some kind of bar appetizers?.. Guess they are just «mad italians» lol. We went with the drinks anyways and were just disappointed. On an up note. The bartender (although lacking skills) was upbeat and super friendly with helping us locate some places nearby with good food which made the whole expierience ok. Kudos to her on the great customer service and getting that 3^rd star for the mad italian. :)

TVs, pool, a jukebox, nice bartenders, and a great crowd. Back in the valley, good dive bars are few and far apart, and their clientele is usually age 40 – 60. Here, there was a great mix of people who looked like they were passing through for an equally epic night out.
I don’t think there’s much more I could ask for. I stumbled in on a Saturday night, saw the $ 2 well drinks, and praised the dive bar deity for smiling upon me with great prices that night.

The Mad Italian is just not for me. I am unimpressed by their drinks, food, and atmosphere. My friend’s bad plays here on a regular basis, so I do go to the Mad Italian, but I usually do not order anything.
However, their concert area is fun. I saw the Plain White T’s there a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed myself.
UPDATE: If you watch UFC and don’t enjoy all of the crowds, the Mad I is the place to go. My friend and I were searching all of Flagstaff for an establishment that was showing UFC but wasn’t at capacity. We almost gave up because we checked four places that were filled to the brim with people, but we were driving through downtown and saw the UFC poster in Mad I’s window. We decided to check it out. No one was there and we were able to have our pick of the tables for the fight. It made for a very pleasant viewing experience, mostly because very few people went there to watch the fight.

MASSIVE.
This place is just a few doors down from the Grand Canyon Hostel. We stopped in and got a 2 for 1 shot of Hornitos. $ 7 and we were gone. Kate was the bartender and sh was pretty darn cool.
Don’t half step. This place has a ton of big TVs so it would be great for watching sports.