Max Downtown - Hartford

Review summary

1. J

   Janice

   Vancouver

   22 reviews

   3.0

   22 reviews

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 2

   Max Downtown is usually so great. But tonight the restaurant was between 60 and 65 degrees. The staff explained that the building managers did not turn on the heat. But to me, it represented very poor customer service. I thought they should have given us a discount. No such luck. Service was not particularly fast or accommodating and one plate had to be sent back because it was cold. Not that fun to be charged 40 to 60 per plate to eat with our coats on.
   

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2. M

   Mario

   New York City

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   I’ve been a Max’s customer for years. Never disappoints
   

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3. M

   Matthew

   New York City

   4 reviews

   5.0

   4 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Great food and wine. Staff is great would definitely go again.
   

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4. J

   John

   New York City

   65 reviews

   vip
   5.0

   65 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   The food and service were excellent. The only problem was, I had to ask the server their name. I like to address the server by name instead of saying hey, or waving to them.
   

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5. S

   Salvatore

   Connecticut

   17 reviews

   vip
   5.0

   17 reviews

   Dined 4 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Great place for fine dining in downtown Hartford.
   

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6. C

   Colleen

   Chicago

   12 reviews

   vip
   5.0

   12 reviews

   Dined 4 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   It is an annual tradition that never disappoints. Thank you
   

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7. T

   Tammy

   New York City

   20 reviews

   vip
   1.0

   20 reviews

   Dined on 8 December 2024

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 3

   This was the WORST experience I have ever had at a Max restaurant! 30 minutes from ordering drinks to receiving them - 2 requests for when we would receive them later! 2.5 hours from sitting down to end of meal - unacceptable delays and waits. All entrees came out cold and one dish looked like it had been dropped and put back together, another Prime rib was tasteless, a third - sliced filet Oscar was over done. 7 people for dinner with a bill over $800 - with drinks comped for a horrible experience and complaining became tireless and frustrating. A family gathering meal turned into a disaster and took away from the celebratory experience we were anticipating. I am a Max rewards member and eat at theirs restaurants frequently. Ugh - after spending that kind of money it is really unacceptable. There was no acknowledgement from management at the end of the meal on what went wrong or what they would change to make sure this issue was rectified.
   

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8. M

   Michael

   Greater Boston

   2 reviews

   1.0

   2 reviews

   Dined on 7 December 2024

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 1

   Made reservations a week in advance for 6:30 on Saturday. Showed up and was told by the host they were behind schedule. Waited 25 minutes along with what seemed to be 7-8 other groups waiting to be seated. Only one couple was seated during this time frame. Restaurant either overbooked or sat too many without reservations. We left after 25 minutes, I spoke with the host to make sure they knew we were leaving. About two hours later I get a notice on Open table that this place reported me as a no-show. Clearly front end of the house needs some work.
   

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9. D

   Doug

   New York City

   47 reviews

   vip
   4.0

   47 reviews

   Dined on 7 December 2024

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 5

   Our dinner at Max Downtown was mostly positive. The food was excellent, particularly the Swordfish and Shrimp entrees and the salads we had. Our server Jason and the support staff were very attentive and friendly. We were there to celebrate my wife's birthday and they brought out a candle with dessert with a happy birthday message as well as getting her a card, both of which were greatly appreciated. There is one area for improvement and the reason I rated the service as I did. We arrived about 10 minutes early for our reservation and were told we were early and our table was not quite ready yet. From that point we had to wait 30 minutes (or 20 minutes past our reservation time) to be seated. While the restaurant was very crowded (our server told us later that it was driven by 3 events downtown that evening), the front desk staff didn't let us know they were running behind, nor recommend we have drink at the bar given that. We have been to Max Downtown many times over the years, and had never experienced this before.
   

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10. B

    Brian

    New York City

    1 review

    3.0

    1 review

    Dined on 7 December 2024

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 3

    Reservation was at 6:00pm as we had a 8:00pm show at the Bushnell. Waited until approximately 6:40pm before being given the option of bar seating or waiting 5 more minutes while they cleaned off a table in the dining room. As we were already very tight on time we chose the bar area. The host apologized and said a round of drinks would be on the house. The wait staff was very nice and quick. We ordered drinks and food while letting her know that we had to a show and needed to be out by 7:45pm. Food was good. I ordered a bone-in ribeye with whipped potatoes and asparagus. It was good, but rushing to eat a $70 steak is not the best way to experience your restaurant. I gave my credit card to pay the check during the meal because of the lack of time. When looking back later the round of drinks were not comped. Overall I would probably come back, but would set the reservation much earlier to better enjoy the meal.
    

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