Some restaurants earn your loyalty once. James E. McNellie’s has earned mine repeatedly, across different chapters of life, with different people, in different moods — and it keeps delivering every time. I’ve been coming here for over a decade now, and the fact that it’s still one of my first recommendations when someone asks where to eat in downtown Tulsa says everything.
Opened in 2004 by founder Elliot Nelson, McNellie’s was inspired by the classic Dublin pubs he fell in love with while studying abroad in Ireland — places like Stag’s Head and Mulligan’s, where the point wasn’t just the drink but the gathering. That philosophy has held.
McNellie’s is a comfortable, unpretentious spot where the food is genuinely good, the beer selection is borderline absurd in the best way, and the service has never let me down. It’s the flagship property of the McNellie’s Group, which has since grown into one of Oklahoma’s most successful restaurant organizations with concepts ranging from The Tavern to Fassler Hall. But this is where it all started, and it still feels like it.
Is McNellie’s Tulsa Best Burger?
The menu at McNellie’s is classic pub fare done well — salads, soups, sandwiches, appetizers — but the burgers are the reason to come. My wife ordered the Original McNellie’s Charburger: chargrilled patty, lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickle on a bun. She said it was absolutely incredible.
Specifically–we were so busy wrangling a toddler while we were there that I didn’t remember to ask her about the burger till the following evening. She said she wished she could have another right now. That’s a pretty strong endorsement.
I had the Memphis Burger — chargrilled patty with pulled pork, BBQ sauce, and cheddar on a brioche bun. It was good. But in hindsight, I wished I’d ordered a regular burger. This is entirely a me problem — I frequently order barbecue burgers everywhere, convinced by the menu description, and then remember that I actually want something more savory. Barbecue sauce always sounds better than it tastes to me on a burger. That said, the burger itself was fine. It’s not a McNellie’s problem. It’s a Scott-should-know-himself-better problem.
It’s also worth mentioning that the cheeseburger and fries were “well reviewed” (AKA devoured) by our toddler.
One deal worth knowing about: on Wednesday nights, McNellie’s offers their original burgers with fries for $5.99. Cheese costs extra, which feels a little absurd, but even with that caveat it remains a legitimately solid deal for one of Tulsa’s best burgers. When my budget was lean, that Wednesday deal was a go-to date night option for years. It still holds up.
Is McNellie’s the home of Tulsa’s best burger? I wouldn’t even know how to quantify a “best” burger so I’ll leave that for you to decide. But if you’re on the hunt–McNellie’s is sure to at least be a finalist.
One of the Largest Beer Selections in the State
This is where McNellie’s really sets itself apart. With 60 beers on tap and another 300-plus in bottles and cans, the drink menu is genuinely overwhelming in the best way. The draught selection is organized by style — light and refreshing lagers and wheats, Belgian ales, malty and toasty options, dark and roasty stouts, hoppy IPAs, ciders, and sours — with prices generally running between $5 and $12 depending on the pour and ABV.
The tap list leans heavily into Oklahoma craft breweries alongside international staples. You’ll find local options from COOP, Prairie Artisan Ales, Stonecloud, Cabin Boys, Iron Monk, Elgin Park, and others sharing tap lines with Irish classics like Guinness and Harp, German lagers like Pilsner Urquell and Franziskaner, and Belgian heavyweights like Chimay and St. Bernardus. The selection rotates monthly, so there’s almost always something new to try.
For the serious beer enthusiast, McNellie’s maintains what they call “Ales from the Crypt” — a collection of vintage and limited-availability bottles that includes aged Boulevard Imperial Stouts, Chimay Grand Reserve, and other rare finds that beer geeks travel for specifically. Weekly Beer Geek Specials rotate through featured pours at a discount, so it’s worth checking the current menu before you go.
Wine drinkers aren’t left out either. A rotating selection of whites, rosés, and reds is available by the glass, primarily from California, Italy, and South America.
The Patio is Better Than You’re Expecting
I’ve eaten inside at McNellie’s more times than I can count — on the main floor, at the bar, and upstairs, and I’ve always had a great experience with the atmosphere either way. But on a warm Friday evening in March, we finally got to try out the outdoor courtyard at McNellie’s for the first time, and it cleared a high bar.
This is not one of those cramped downtown patios where a restaurant tries to squeeze four tables onto a sidewalk corner. It’s a massive, enclosed patio with mature shade trees, a full outdoor bar, cornhole games, and plenty of seating. The gate to the patio doesn’t open from the sidewalk — you have to enter through the restaurant — which means it stays controlled and comfortable. That detail matters more than it sounds.
We were there with our son, and the patio turned out to be perfect for a toddler. He had an absolute ball watching cars drive by, and he lucked into spotting both a semi truck and a fire truck during dinner, which basically made his week. The cornhole was also a big hit with the little kids running around. If you have young children and there’s a nice day on the calendar, the McNellie’s patio is a great option.
My only real complaint was the music — it was a bit loud, and 80s pop rock radio doesn’t quite match the atmosphere of a warm evening on a beautiful patio. If it were live music, I wouldn’t care about the volume at all but radio definitely doesn’t need to be that loud. But it’s a minor thing in the context of an otherwise great experience.
Budget a Few Extra Dollars for Parking
Parking is the one consistent friction point with McNellie’s, and it’s worth being honest about. There isn’t much free parking in that stretch of downtown, and we ended up paying $6 to use the gravel lot behind the restaurant. That feels steep for what it is, but it’s a downtown Tulsa reality rather than a McNellie’s-specific problem. Plan for it and don’t let it sour the experience.
Part of Something Bigger
James E. McNellie’s Public House is the restaurant that launched the McNellie’s Group, which now operates seventeen restaurant concepts across twenty-four locations in Oklahoma and Arkansas. If you enjoy what they’ve built here, it’s worth knowing that the same organization is behind several other excellent Tulsa spots worth visiting — including Yokozuna for Asian fusion and sushi, Fassler Hall for a German beer hall experience, Dust Bowl Lanes & Lounge for retro bowling and cocktails, and The Tavern for upscale tavern fare in a neighborhood pub setting.
The original, though, is hard to beat. Over a decade in, McNellie’s still gets the fundamentals right: great food, great service, a drink menu that rewards exploration, and an atmosphere that works whether you’re there for a low-key date night, a family dinner on the patio, or just a Wednesday burger and a cold beer. That kind of consistency is genuinely rare, and it’s why I keep coming back.
James E. McNellie’s Public House
409 E 1st St
Tulsa, OK 74120
(918) 382-7468Hours:
Sunday–Tuesday: 11am–10pm
Wednesday–Thursday: 11am–11pm
Friday–Saturday: 11am–12am
