4. Restaurants

Max’s Opera Cafe of Palo Alto

711 Stanford Shopping Center, Palo Alto, CA, 94304
  • (650) 323-6364
  • Store is closed

Max’s Opera Cafe of Palo Alto Menu

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Sorry, We are updating this restaurant cholesterol menu details.

  • Keaton M.

    Found a hair in my food, it's all good I like dandruff with my fettuccine... I would say their food is sub-par, fries are pretty good though! They had someone singing in the restaurant and I swear they could've hired just a regular jazz band instead of him it would've been a lot better fitting...

    (2)

  • Matt V.

    I received a personal message from the owner himself. Very apologetic about what happened. He really cares about his business and sent me a gift card for a return visit. It's nice to see people still have pride and stick to there word.

    (4)

  • Grant S.

    Out of hometown travel, so came here for Rosh Hashanah fare and wasn't disappointed. Made a reservation but the place was relatively empty (was 8pm on New Year's Eve), but the decor is great! Service was very attentive, with some good suggestions / recommendations, but I knew what I wanted :-) Matzo ball soup was tasty, smaller bowl than I would have expected for the price but great texture to the matzo balls and they were hot. Broth was a little cool for me, carrots just on the edge of al dente, which I liked. Limited noddles, but overall a good MBS experience. Ordered the brisket, sauce on the side (they had a sweet and sour brisket special). Got the plate with baked potato and steamed broccoli. First off... The head of broccoli was massive, the brisket portion more than ample... Let down on size of portion came with the potato... Medium small... Not as if potatoes are expensive guys! Brisket was great, not overlooked and very tasty... With the soup I kinda over ordered so I boxed up about half the brisket to enjoy as a quick breakfast tomorrow - it's that good. Rolls were the hottest thing on the menu tonight, and I managed to squeeze in most of a raisin roll that was crusty and delicious. I docked one star for the food temperature, the brisket could've been hotter (the soup too) Waiter was friendly and prompt. Saw the manager hovering too, but he didn't check on me (or anyone else that I saw) - would have been a nice touch. Overall great experience. Shana tova!

    (4)

  • Wilhelm L.

    Poor food and poor service. I went to this place for the first time and was expecting much based off my parents reviews but was ultimately disappointed. The waiter was very rude even going as far as snatching the drink menu it off the hands of my fiancée to read it to someone else at our table. How odd that he didn't know the beers on tap and instead had to take it out of another guest's hands. The food: It is very rare that I taste something as bland and forgettable as the food here. How dare they try and pass any of that as edible. I will make sure to warn others.

    (2)

  • Ron R.

    I used to depend on Max's for reliable food and service. Not so on my latest visit to their Palo Alto location. The first thing I noticed was that their decor (like their other locations) is about 20-years behind the times and quite dark. What's worse: take a look at the light fixtures - all of them have a layer of clinging around their tops and bottoms, and the ceiling fans are blowing it all over our food. Many of their staff are undisciplined and unprofessional. Two busboys were clearing the table next to me, loudly gossiping about their co-workers (in Spanish, but I understood them). The kitchen staff were obnoxiously horsing around with each other (mind you, this is an open kitchen so some professional decorum would be expected). Although their corned beef and pastrami are still top notch, it took my server three tries to get it right (wrong kind of bread, toasted bread when it wasn't ordered that way, etc.). Considering the disorderly kitchen staff, I shouldn't have been surprised. Our waiter was apologetic about the long wait and messed up orders and took 20% off our bill. But there's way, way, way too many restaurant choices nearby where I don't have to subject myself to this atmosphere again. Bye!

    (2)

  • Susan M.

    We had lunch at Max's in Palo Alto the other day, the champagne cocktail was great and it ended there. We had Ruben Pastrami sandwiches. The bread was grilled, but the sandwich was cold. There was 2 inches of sauerkraut and 3 slices of Pastrami. I called the waiter over and mentioned we did not have the appetizer Ruben it was the regular, $16 Ruben. He said there was 8 ounces of Pastrami, I showed it to him and he said, it is the $16 Ruben, and that was a half pound of Pastrami. Not sure where the cook took math. It was one of the worst sandwiches I have ever had. The last few times the meals and service were iffy, but it was busy. We were in a near empty restaurant. No more.

    (1)

  • Greg A.

    The cook section was an embarrassment. Full of cooks run into each other like headless chickens. And they got us wrong orders. Not one time but TWO times. I literally saw our waitress struggled getting our orders right from the cooks, and the cooks didn't really listen just as if they are zombies or something. Really, altogether the 'ship' itself is so chaos and totally disordered. I don't know if the manager really pays attention to this. It's really embarrassment, especially in this town. Mess.

    (1)

  • CHAD C.

    Two stars because I have to ask for refills on our drinks and we needed to ask for extra napkins. Servers should ALWAYS ask how is the food, may I get you anything else - he never asked. I guess since we're a larger party they work-in the tip and don't feel they have to work for it.

    (2)

  • Janet O.

    Not impressed here but at the same time nothing was bad. It was just an overall blah experience. Like a first date where you went to willingly because he/she seemed attractive but ended up just not your type. We sat outside. Usually the outside seating in my experience is cute and surrounded by nice green plants. This just seemed old and tired. I know I'm very whiny with this review. I am just really not impressed. The waiter asked us the same question every time he walked by. " Are you guys ok"? If he looked at our empty water glasses there would be more action from his part than just blah blah blah. I had the chicken lettuce cup. It came in three servings for $11. Again- it wasn't bad. But again- it was very forgettable. I had more than some of Adam's fries that came with his burger- it tasted stale and nowhere near crispy. I kept on eating hoping I'll find that elusive crispy portion that's newly fried. No luck! Oh well. I wouldn't come back if in the area. I'd rather drive to Town & Country. The choices there are more than enough.

    (3)

  • Jac B.

    Went here last week for lunch, wait staff was friendly and the salad I had was great. The iced tea was nice and dark, so rare to find. Average pricy for Palo Alto. Great place for a hearty meal. My wife had a sandwich, she really liked it. I'll have to remember this place for out of town visitors.

    (4)

  • Brian D.

    The drinks are good The fries and sandwiches really good The amenities are lots... But over priced,so so service and although and obvious successful chain deli/sandwich shop...it's really no big deal! Symptoms and shades of a New York sandwich! Symptoms and shades.

    (3)

  • Marie S.

    First time checking out this restaurant. The restaurant itself has a very nice ambience. We ordered are food which came out in a very timely manner. I ordered the French onion soup and the bbq pork sliders. The French onion soup was very delicious! The sliders were tasty I really enjoyed the pickled onions that came with the sliders. One thing we felt was weird is after we placed are order we saw a happy hour menu on the table. When I realized the sliders were on there my BF asked the server about the happy hour price since it said happy hour ended at 7 and it was only 430. Are server (Carmen) went on to tell us that you only get the happy hour price if you sit at the bar. After she walked away we read the happy hour menu again and realized she must be mistaken since it said on there dinning area also had happy hour. Why would they have it on the table if it's not part of the dinning area. When we were walking out of the restaurant my BF talked to the manager and asked them about there happy hour the manager let us know that happy hour was for the whole restaurant. It was just at the bar but they just changed it on Friday a few days ago. My BF let her know she might want to inform her staff about the changes. The manager went on to tell us that Carmen are waitress was off Friday and that's why she didn't know. We felt the restaurant was very nice but this place needs to get on the ball and make sure the staff is informed about the changes that they make. Especially when they have happy hour menus at every table.

    (2)

  • Stephanie B.

    We decided to eat here since there wasn't anything better to eat around the shopping plaza. We walked in and got seated by a very unfriendly hostess. I don't know what his problem was, but he was not happy and almost annoyed. Great start! We sat outside and were greeted by our waitress. She was OK too. She wasn't super friendly, but it was decent service. Another waitress was more nice to us (we had baby, so she kept talking to her). We really couldn't decide on the food, so we just got the main dish they're known for.. Reuben. I ordered the pastrami reuben & my husband got the corned beef. Pastrami is definitely the way to go! I really enjoyed my sandwich. It was flavorful and it had just the right amount of sauerkraut. They also have a nice selection of mustards. I liked the cranberry mustard, different and tasty. My hubby also got a side of chili, which he seemed to enjoy. It was very cheesy. The corned beef was a bit bland though. They also have a nice selection of side dishes (potato salads, potato chips, fries..) I'd come back and get a rueben to go, but never ever come and sit and eat here again.

    (2)

  • Michelle D.

    Happy Hour appetizers were hit or miss. I took my sister here to try out the Happy Hour selection. We ordered the cheesy garlic bread, giant nachos, burger sliders, calamari, and the fries. I expected a lot from Max's so I was disappointed that the food was not memorable. The best thing was the calamari but other than that, everything else was mediocre. Both of us really wanted to like the food, but we agreed that it was just ok. We could have gotten the same type of food at big chain restaurants like the Cheesecake factory or the Elephant Bar. If you are to eat here, maybe it's best to not order off of the Happy Hour menu.

    (2)

  • Anna L.

    Not understanding the less than stellar reviews as I have had an opportunity to visit Max's several times over the years with my family, the last visit being a couple of weeks ago and each time enjoyed delicious food and good service. This last visit, there was a wait for an indoor table for lunch, but we could be seated immediately outside. We opted to eat out as it was a sunny day and the heaters were going full force in their patio. It was cozy and comfortable outside. Service was great. The hostess was friendly and seated us quickly. We didn't wait long to be greeted by our server, have our orders taken or have food delivered. If you have not visited before, their sandwich portions are huge. Mom and I decided to split the California Chicken Melt - chicken breast with cheddar, avocado and caramelized onion all on toasted sourdough. The chicken in this sandwich was a full breast and not in the least bit dry. Avocado was fresh. My husband had the Big BLT and it was loaded with flavorful, thick cut bacon. He also had the French Onion soup (which I tasted) and to be honest, this was the least favorite part of our meal. The broth was not as flavorful as we've had elsewhere - it wasn't bad, but nothing to write home about either - average. I could have sworn I had fried artichokes as an appetizer in past visits, but sadly these were not on the menu. If memory serves me right, they were fantastic. Dad always enjoyed the Reuben with pastrami. He was a member of the clean-plate club, but this sandwich challenged him. At any rate, I look forward to lunch here when I have an occasion to visit Stanford Shopping Center. If I had one complaint, it would be that prices are a bit high for sandwiches at lunch - average being about $15.

    (4)

  • Jen M.

    I am so disappointed! I've been coming to Maxs for years and my experience Sunday was just terrible! My mom, my son, and I came to Maxs for lunch on Sunday. We had a reservation through Open Table, and were promptly seated. I ordered a Cobb salad with no meat and no cheese and asked if they could add additional veggies since I was not getting meat. The waitress said no problem. Our food came out in a timely manner. No extra veggies. Then I noticed all the mushrooms on my plate were uncleaned. Not sorta cleaned, not they missed a mushroom. Not a single mushroom had even been run under water. We advised the waitress and her response is they have to wash the mushrooms (as in they were washed and I couldn't tell). Since usually mushrooms that were washed have dirt still on them. We specifically pointed it out to her and she took my moms bread plate and had me put the mushrooms on the plate and took them away. She never offered to replace my salad (since mushrooms were on it), she never replaced the dirty mushrooms, just took them away. The manager never came by to check in us after this happened. Just nothing. When our check arrived we were told that she spoke to the manager and he took something off our bill to make up for it. $2.60 off our bill and my $16.00 salad, which they charged me full price even though I didn't get any chicken or bacon, and never brought me any extra veggies or heck even replaced my mushrooms. Handled the situation unbelievably poorly, and lost a customer and a family that have been coming for 15 years. Good job!

    (1)

  • Kelsey H.

    I've had both the macarons and the macaroons from here and they're pretty tasty! Nothing really special but they earned their 4 stars in taste. They also have giant macarons (I think the mini ones were 1.50 per cookie, probably about the same for a macaroon) that are the size of my palm! Dangerous. AND sometimes they don't have the pistachio flavor in the small ones so I get so so tempted to buy the big kahuna macarons... One day they'll win! The macarons are super creamy on the inside :) I personally prefer a higher cookie to filling ratio, but this filling is so yummy I can't complain. The cookie is light and crumbly, exactly the way a macaron should be! Oh, and this place has some pretty clean bathrooms in the back. Always a plus!

    (4)

  • Mara I.

    I used to go to Max's all the time years ago. I always liked Max's. I went back recently and was pretty disappointed. My parent's and I were seated quickly and our order was taken in good time. That's the good part about the visit. Cons: The appetizer of onion rings never came. When our meals were brought, I had to mention this to our server who completely forgot to bring it. It came in the middle of our meal, by now cold and greasy. He and the restaurant manager inquired about the dish. I only ate a portion of it and discarded half of what I did eat on another plate. That was a pretty big sign that the dish was bad but I lied and said it was fine. It wasn't. I should have said so. Service overall was slow. I had to ask for a drink refill after waiting with an empty glass for almost 10 minutes. Our server NEVER came by to inquire if we wanted more drinks. I guess they limit drinks here to one glass per person? We could have used more napkins, too, but our server never seemed to be around so we could ask for more. Dessert was a disaster! From the time I asked for a dessert menu, to ordering, to actually getting dessert it took over 30 minutes. They tried to make the dessert look fancy, (probably to make up for being so slow) but I was not impressed. Worse yet, the macaroon was hard and dry. I just dumped the pieces unto the plate and ate the ice cream. I really regretted ordering dessert!

    (2)

  • Darien R.

    I've been here wayyyy too many times not to have a review for Max's. This is one of our go-to places when nothing else works. Not that it's our last resort. Max's is that kind of place where you can go when nothing else seems good. You go through the list, Chinese, Italian, how about Thai? Nothing seems to grab you and then you think of Max's--the burgers, the Reuben sandwiches, the soups, the salads. For us, Max's usually hit's the spot. I usually get a burger or their Rueben which is really good. I think I've tried their Fish N Chips too which is pretty good. The service can be a bit sketchy here depending on who you get. We've had a couple bad experiences here and honestly, the manager needs to do a better job of training and hiring. But, all in all, I think it's a great place to grab a quick bite when everything else is not appealing to you. I'm from the East Coast, and I always feel at home at Max's since there's sort of a New York vibe here. I just looked back at some of the low star reviews for this place and it looks like most are for bad service. But the vast majority seem to be saying the food is decent here. I totally agree!

    (4)

  • Anna P.

    Pretty good. Delicious food, they attended to our garlic allergies and the Iced Tea is actually brewed, not from a mix. The turkey burger was juicy, and the phily cheese steaks looked good. French fries were crispy :) If you're debating whether to come here or not, definitely come here :)

    (4)

  • Grace C.

    Why do you go there? Because at some point in your Stanford undergraduate years, you go there before a dorm dance. Large cakes that can clog your arteries. It's a solid deli.

    (3)

  • Sarah L.

    Another star bites the dust, thanks Ceasar. Its much appreciated when you give our table away, after pointing to the table getting bussed telling us 3 minutes, and making us wait 10 minutes. I confronted Ceasar about it and he explained that he didn't know the lady cut in front of me...really?! You clearly tell me that my table is getting bussed yet you seat someone else there and look at me at the same time?! It explained that he didn't even put our names down...WTF. Oh wait, there's more and I'm tired of writing (see my previous reviews) so here are some bullet points: -prompt service from Viola on the water, went downhill from there. -we asked for bread, she brought every other table bread before ours, classy. -the child at our table asked for fruit instead of fries...he got fries. -we asked her for the fruit, it didn't come until the end of our meal (since she sparsely came around to our table in particular) -we asked for more water...... -my dish was HORRIBLE I asked for the portobello mushroom sandwich, horrid, wretched, never again. -my coworker also had a soggy-bottom-sandwich in the form of a tuna melt. -the best part were my coworkers fries, the child's fries were stale. -I had them take my sandwich back after one bite (yup that bad). -the child was supposed to receive ice cream with his meal, we asked for it to go. --it came in a glass. ---we asked for it to go. -she brought the bill -she brought a to go box for the tuna melt --we asked for the ice cream to go -about 20 mins go by and SHE NEVER CAME BACK. She just chatted it up with the table next to us, refilled their waters a couple times... -then we had to leave, full cup of ice cream on the table. -the munchkin put a sad face in the receipt (yes, he was that bummed he couldn't take his ice cream). All in all I wouldn't go there to sit down again. All the service I have had outside has been fantastic, inside I cannot say the same. My suggestion would be to order takeout at lunch from the outdoor stand or ask to be seated outside...or just don't go there and avoid the hassle of wretched customer service altogether. DONT ORDER THE PORTOBELLO SANDWICH, unless you love soggy bread and vomit textured mushrooms... Schaub's has great sandwiches, chipotle is fast and fresh, and PFChangs is always a good time...among other options like nordstrom and la baguette you can avoid this monstrosity easily.

    (1)

  • P M.

    What's nice about Max's is the variety so that if you have a group of people everyone can usually find something. Their portions are HUGE but overall their food is just ok I think. There is nothing special about most of their food. We usually don't stick around for dessert but their cakes, etc. look tempting and are also huge so could be shared. The service at this Max's is ok. Nothing extraordinary. I am giving three stars primarily because I like the outdoor seating here - it's nice for people-watching on a nice day; otherwise I would give it two stars I think.

    (3)

  • Mav M.

    Despite the ambience and friendliness of the restaurant, I had an unsatisfactory experience here. Rueben sandwich was good but the sweet potato fries were soggy and tastless. The biggest let the down was the crab cake entree. When you order an entree you expect the main part of the dish to stand out. When we got the crab cakes I was shocked how sloppily it was put together. I could barely see the crab cake on the dish. So if you come to this place just dont order it. Also niagra fall cake is too dry but the taste is good just wished it was moist.

    (2)

  • Diane W.

    Max, you really let us down today. It is usually such a pleasure sitting in the shade of the entry patio. Today, we couldn't get enough shade and the waiters refused to move an umbrella even one inch. We had to keep scooting the table but as it was, we baked in the sun. Can you just add a few umbrellas? Maybe the big one shading the work station? The corned beef on rye sandwich was moist and excellent. The peach tea was delicious. The bread basket lovely. This is why there are two stars for this review. I made the HUGE mistake of wanting something light today. The Chinese chicken salad was dry and under dressed. I asked the waiter for some sauce, dressing or even saracha sauce. He said "No, it has dressing" and then walked away. So I was left with the salt and pepper. That helped but I can't believe he didn't offer some extra dressing. It was slop. The few strips of chicken had no taste and the lettuce was old and limp. Just take this one off the menu. It adds nothing. Very disappointed.

    (2)

  • Reyn J.

    Good food and plenty on your plate. I ordered a To-Go box when I ordered my meal; then, divided the portion in half to take home. Good wines, experienced wait staff, happy people, superb ambiance, and feel-great residual emotions for the rest of the day. Enjoy!

    (3)

  • Pam S.

    Celebrating some good news with friend and she wanted a hamburger....so we got on the wait list and walked around for a few minutes. Excellent burgers! I mean it! They looked hand formed, tasted very fresh. The side of string fries over French fries were a little over the top for my personal taste but really excellent! The owner/manager Dennis came over with different little tastes to try, too. Like the pickled red onion that was, well, excellent! And he also brought over a mayo that was also excellent! Everything was excellent!! Him. Only one suggestion. The bun. I had the 6 oz. burger and my friend had the 10 oz. burger. Both burgers were overwhelmed by the bun. I mean how big does a bun need to be so it doesn't overtake the burger? Honestly that's all I got! Service with a smile seems to be the motto of everyone here, too. Dennis, owner extraordinaire, couldn't have been nicer or more helpful. He and his staff certainly made this experience at Max's Opera the first of what I'm sure will be many more!

    (5)

  • Amado P.

    I hadn't been to Max's in years, but was at the Stanford Shopping Center and my wife and I decided to have dinner at Max's. The total experience was great. Our server, Elizabeth, was very attentive and always with a great smile. My wife had the Reuben which she loved. I had the Maple Pork Chop and it was cooked to perfection despite its thickness - tender and succulent. Wow, loved it. We enjoyed our meal in the outdoor patio which added to a great evening. I'll be back to Max's very soon. I highly recommend Max's Opera House.

    (5)

  • Russel M.

    My girlfriend and I visited max's for dinner earlier today, and we had a great time! I don't understand why the negative reviews given to this place. The ambiance is relaxing, service was great, and the food was absolutely delicious!! Serving sizes were huge, and for the price, the quality was top notch. I definitely plan on returning to max's in the future!

    (5)

  • Maryann S.

    A little on the pricier side but the food is definitely worth it. Came here two weekends in a row for brunch and was not disappointed either times. The first time I tried the half sandwich half soup combo with a corned beef sandwich and matzo ball soup. The soup was very yummy!!!! I highly recommend it if you're in the mood for some soup. The sandwich was standard but they give you a lot of mustard options to go with your sandwich. Their sparking sangria is very sweet and refreshing with all the fresh fruit bits. I was very happy with my drink! The second time I shared a bigger jug of the sangria with my friends and it was just as tasty. I tried their bigger portion of the reuben and the sandwich was so big I couldn't finish the whole thing. They warn you that it could be drippy and it definitely was! It was quite a mess to eat but totally worth it. I would recommend getting outside seating when it's nice out since it's pretty dimly lit inside the restaurant.

    (4)

  • Tavius A.

    I expected to pay significantly more per plate at The Stanford Mall in Palo Alto. The portions were significant, and the food excellent! This months seasonal special were untraditional fine Mac n cheese entrees made with Vermont White cheddar. The cheese was coupled with different meats and mushrooms depending on the plate. I tried the Cajun style Mac n Cheese. It was so rich and exquisite! The Kale and Quinoa with candied walnuts and cranberries in a vinaigrette. The birthday girl enjoyed her latkes and French onion soup. We were able to order dessert, a colossal eclair all for under $60 including drinks! The service was great. Plates were cleared right away, and the servers were attentive without being annoying.

    (4)

  • Adriam N.

    There is a good reason this restaurant after so many years of being in business in one of the best places has a low rating. It is just badly organized. They keep hiring people who are not accommodating and offer a below average service and average food. There is no desire to improve. If you have a large party or want to impress your guests forget about this place.

    (1)

  • Tom I.

    I've come here a couple of times during my break. I waited almost 30-40 minutes just for chicken wings once and that was not good at all. When they're busy, they're pretty unorganized so your food can take a little while. It is a nice place to grab a drink with some friends and watch the game through the tv in the bar though.

    (3)

  • Anita T.

    I came for a friend's birthday recently and the place certainly had the space for a group of 20, given how there weren't a lot of people there got dinner (but the outdoor area was more full). I ordered the Mac and cheese and it arrived on a large plate about 2/3 full. Okay, decent serving portion for $14. What I found out was that it was about a quarter inch layer of Mac and cheese on the plate. I'll give them credit for having bacon in it although parts were burnt which didn't help the dish. My boyfriend had the Philly cheesesteak which was not much authentic cheesesteak but more just an ok sandwich with a lot of grease. Disappointing!

    (2)

  • John O.

    Man, this place has gone downhill which could explain why it was half empty on a Friday night and most of the clientele were senior citizens. They no longer (I don't live in the Bay area anymore, so I don't know when this changed) server iced tea with a glass of ice and a hot tea that you pour over it. I used to love that. Also, the menu seemed smaller. I got the Reuben that many reviewers raved about and it was warm, not hot, and really nothing to write home about. I got a side of potato salad that had chunks so big I had to cut with a knife -- what's with that? One thing that peeved me about the service was that some people got bread / rolls whilst they were waiting for their meals and I was offered none. Lastly, the restaurant needs a major cleaning and quite frankly a remodel. Looks tired and hasn't changed in over a decade. For those who live or venture to Orange County, try Katella Deli -- talk about a Reuben!

    (2)

  • Kay H.

    For as long as I can remember there has always been a line which is fine because their food's always great and and the waitstaff made everything alright once seated, that has changed over the past year or so, the food's just okay now primarily due to not arriving to our table on time. When mentioned to the waitstaff they usually give blank stares as if to silently reply "so what do you want me to do about it..." I suppose it's time to just give up. Max and I had good 15 years but it's time to break up.

    (1)

  • Dre A.

    I been coming to this location over the years and a visit yesterday reminded me to stick with original basics. Food: Chinese Chicken Salad (Deserves 0, dressing tasted awful and nut crusted chicken was burnt) Russian Cabbage Soup (5 Stars - as usual it's always solid) Reuben with Corn Beef (5 Stars - as usual it's always solid) Service: Our server was not as attentive. I don't know if Sunday was not his day, but you would expect the basics - check on your customers and fulfill their requests in a timely manner. Bottom line, it's a convenient location to dine if you are shopping in the mall and make sure you stick with the basics.

    (3)

  • Olivier L.

    Service is horrible, waiters are really arrogant and ignorant. The food is just over priced and quality ranks at or below dive bar type of food. AVOID

    (1)

  • Linnea E.

    completely unimpressed. i stopped in while out shopping with my daughter. i was super hungry and wanted a quick bite. we were in a bit of a hurry, so we just ordered 2 orders of crabcakes and i ordered a drink. drink never came. crabcakes... well... they brought them quickly and they didn't taste fishy... but that's about all i can say nice about them. super dry. nothing interesting about them. very bland. service: it took over 5 minutes for anyone to even come to the table, and the place was practically empty. and she never brought my drink. sooooo... not impressed with service. it's not somewhere i'd go again.

    (2)

  • Thuy Dung N.

    This was suggested by a coworker and we made reservations for lunch. We were seated as soon as we came and food came out delicious.

    (4)

  • John M.

    I love the grand and golden interior of the restaurant. The bar is small but impressive in a classic 50s style. The ceilings are very high and and the place reminds me of cross between a ballroom and a soda shop from the 50s. The dining area is multi-tiered sections. I like all the booth space. Food is very good, but inconsistent as mentioned by other reviews. Classic American faire with excellent meat offerings.

    (4)

  • Minami H.

    I'm always happy to visit Max's while shopping at Stanford. My favorite dish is the blackened shrimp salad. The mushroom spaghetti is special, and the buffalo wings is perfect as an afternoon snack. The burgers are good too. Cons: The inside is kind of dark, so I prefer to sit outside during the afternoon. Also the food takes some time, but they'll bring you bread while you are waiting.

    (4)

  • Karen C.

    I had lunch here recently with my mom and aunt. We always get there before 12pm as the place gets packed at lunch. We got a table right away. Our waitress was a bit busy so she was slow coming to the table but did stop by and say she would be right with us. We did have to get her attention a couple of times during the meal to get various things. Max's has changed their menu so there are a lot less options than there used to be. My aunt & I both had the half corned beef sandwich with soup. I had the onion soup and she had the matzo ball soup. My soup was great - lots of cheese and bread. My aunt had to add a bit of salt and pepper to her soup to make it more flavorful. My mom had the sliders appetizer and a bowl of onion soup. She enjoyed her sliders but they were on very thick bread that she only ate half of. The portions are huge so we never have dessert but they do look go. Maybe next time.

    (4)

  • Alan L.

    Just got back and LOVED Max's today. We called and made a reservation for 9 (including 2 kids and a baby). Kudos to the manager who put us in the *perfect* tucked away spot. I'll be honest, I wasn't overly impressed with my mushroom fettuccine, but the matzoh ball soup and mac and cheese got great reviews. Also our single waitress and her support team did a great job of keeping on top of our table's needs and clearing out things promptly, so really the service impressed me today. Totally friendly and very patient with our large group. Large portions, reasonable prices, and phenomenal service. Thank you for a great job hosting us tonight!

    (4)

  • Mabes C.

    Love this quaint cafe! Came here for an early dinner with family and the boyfriend during the summer. We were seated outside. I don't recall the service being spectacular or anything, which is why I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5. I had the salmon entree with quinoa and the boyfriend had a beef pasta dish. The quinoa complimented the salmon so well, I fell in love. Will be coming back here soon for that dish again. The salmon was nice and crispy on the top and the sauce was amazing. I love salmon and eat tons of it, so I know high quality from mediocre. (:

    (4)

  • M. W. B.

    Worst service EVER!! And they were not busy--many empty tables. The food was really good however, somewhat pricey. When we told the manager about our unhappiness he wanted to know whether we had already paid our bill. When he was told that we had, he had no further questions for us. We've eaten in several of Max's restaurants but would never go back to this one.

    (2)

  • Marcela M.

    Fantastic service and they made my daughters 7th birthday memorable. The food is top notch and we loved the pork chops with figs and sweet mash potatoes. The brownie Sunday was absolutely delicious and we want to say thank you to the staff. Over all amazing!

    (5)

  • Randy F.

    I don't like writing negative reviews (I only have a handful of 1 star reviews) but was recently disappointed by the service we received at Max's Opera Cafe. Of note, I've dined at Max's several times over the past decade. While their food isn't the very best I've ever had, the portions are generous and the menu has enough variety that a large group will often have something to their liking (The Cheesecake Factory employs a similar model). On this recent visit, we stopped by after walking at the Stanford mall. We knew we wanted an early dinner so stopped by around 5:20. Max's was approximately half-full inside and the outside patio area was about 85-90% full. I went inside and asked the hostess if they would be able to sit us with the caveat that we had a very large stroller. It looked like the one spot inside that might accommodate a stroller was taken by another family, so the only real option was outside. I'm sensitive to the fact that space issues are a concern, but it looked like the hostess found a table in the corner that would work well, not impede the wait staff, and allow us to hopefully get in and out. She asked me to wait as they cleaned the table, so we patiently waited outside. After about 10 minutes, I went in to check on the status of the now empty table with a bunch of dirty dishware just sitting there and was told that it would take another 10-15 minutes to clear the table and get it ready. At this point, I suspected they might be understaffed or that there was simply no one to clean the table, which again had already been empty for over 10 minutes and untouched. As someone came to clear the table and put menus on the table, I thought out time might be close and nowhere near the 10-15 minutes I had been quoted. I went in to check again and now could see the hostess talking to a manager and discussing the logistics of our seating. Clearly, the table that had been designated might have been better for a slightly larger party (although no one else was waiting), but to our luck, another same size party with a stroller and near the exit had just paid their bill and was exiting. When the hostess came to me this time, I was told that it would be awhile. Sensing the initial table might be a problem, I pointed to the just cleared table in a less prime area and said we would be glad to sit there and replace the stroller that was just leaving. There was some uncomfortableness, but we were essentially told that if we wanted a table, that it would not be ready til 6:00 pm. That was over 25 minutes away and almost 45 minutes since we had arrived. As I pondered this, I looked at the two empty tables and the fact that we were the only ones waiting to be seated. I think the message was clear. We don't want to serve you and though you came early and are flexible that large stroller is pain to accommodate. We decided to say sayonora and go have a quick meal at the place next door, the Melt. Key points: 1) If you don't want to sit me and my stroller, just say so. 2) If you were packed and had crowds lining the doors, I might understand a bit more, but please don't play games with wait times and table availability. 3) Finally, if your food was stellar or really worth the hassle of waiting over 45 minutes, I might have considered it. Instead, large portion food substitutes for quality and a person playing the piano accounts for ambiance. Thanks, but no thanks. Max's Opera Cafe. NOT stroller friendly, even at 5-6 pm.

    (1)

  • Kinjal N.

    Today, my co workers and I went in for lunch and I paid a whopping $16 (with tip) for a simple beet salad. The salad was decent...but holy cow! That was one expensive plate o' greens! That too...without any meat!!!!! My frustration with this place is due not though with the prices they choose to charge (even for the lunch portions) because they are generous sizes but to the service. The server was constantly joking about how much we should tip him. He must have made references to the tip at least 5 times during the meal and when he brought out the check. Then, he proceeded to charge my credit card more than we had asked him to charge with tip because he thought he deserved it...then when I said something about it, he said sorry but didn't offer to fix it. Not cool. Will never be returning.

    (2)

  • Ennie L.

    This the place you go when you have no where else to eat when you want to shop at Stanford Mall. They have a nice patio and huge indoor space for families with kids. So the resto is super kid friendly but not so foodie friendly. I'm a sucker for chicken pie and it was the most mediocre pot pie I've ever eaten, Mary Callender had better crust. The grilled cheese get really soggy because the bread is too oily and thin. So overall, I'm sure my dog enjoyed himself but don't think I'll be back.

    (2)

  • Jason S.

    The manager of max's is a joke.. Warning do not order take out from here. They don't have bags to give you... Manager gave me a huge speech on why they don't have bags.. All it was is there too cheap. When I get home boxes all smashed and not happy.

    (1)

  • Audrey L.

    I came here on Sunday for Mother's Day and the food was delicious! The bread was soft and extremely fresh, and the service was excellent. I had never been to Max's Opera Café and I had a lovely experience. My dad had the broiled salmon, my mom had the artichoke stuffed shrimp (creative huh), my brother had the maple glazed pork chops, and I had the mushroom fettucine (3 diff kinds of mushroom- Portobello, shitake, and needle; and they used EVOO!). The prices are reasonable and service was pretty good. On that particular night as well (I am not sure if they had live music just because it was Mother's Day or if it's like that on all weekend evenings), a gentleman was singing classic American songs (like "Tears in Heaven," "My Girl," etc.). Overall, a great experience and I hope to return! Oh, also the location is convenient on the outside of Stanford Shopping Center (gotta love PA right) and next to Cocola Bakery.

    (4)

  • Dan M.

    Our server was nice; other than that the food was blah and pricey. I had the chicken melt, which was bland, bland, bland. This is the second time I've been to a Max's and both times the food was unimpressive. I don't think I will be going back.

    (2)

  • Edward P.

    How much did Max pay to always be in the Yelp "Find" Box? Nice place but poorly managed. At first I thought the waiter was either over worked or brand new. After watching for a while, I decided that he was untrained and the whole restaurant was unsupervised. One of the orders came out wrong. No one stopped by to see if the meal was correct of if we wanted a second drink. On the other hand, the meat in the burger was so tasty that it did not need anything on it. Best hamburger patty I have had in years, maybe decades. Got a good beer at happy hour prices even though we were at a table.

    (3)

  • John S.

    My parents invited myself and my wife here because they were very impressed with the partrami and corned beef sandwiches. I made a reservation on Yelp - very convenient - and showed up on Sunday afternoon. We were seated right away next to the window as my mother requested. The gentleman that brought out the water spilled all over the table as he was placing it there and did not bother to notice or wipe it off. I was impressed with the mint leaf in my Dad's water, only to find, under closer inspection the leaf was a big piece of lettuce. When I called over the manager to let him know that this piece of lettuce has to be difficult to miss, his response was that it was not intentional. So no worries if you get food poising or die, rest assured they did not mean it :) My parents had their beloved pastrami and corned beef and I ordered eggs benedict with a matza ball soup. The soup was campbells with frozen matza balls, or at least it tasted identical to it. The eggs benedict were by far the worst I have had: the hollindaise sause was pretty much frozen still by the time it got to my table and the ham did not look good, I don't eat port anyway so I cannot comment further. My parents claimed that the sandwiches were OK, which is a step down from the Excellent rating they received previously. In conclusion: sub par service, really bad for this restaurant. I have been to other Max's and these guys need serious training and certainly hire a new manager. I used to know the owner's son who ran one of these and I can not believe the difference. So to add to the sub par service the food was between OK and the worst version I have had. I will certanly avoid my parent's advice and Max's at this location in the future :( PS What the manager should have said when I complained about garbage in our water: " I apologize for the inconvenience and while we make every effort to make sure our customer's food is garbage free sometimes errors occur, please allow us to add a complimentary desert or a cup of tea for the inconvenience." If the Manager's reply resembled what I wrote in any way this review would have been avoided or at least posted with a higher ranking. There is a lot to be said about good, smart Customer Service.

    (2)

  • Carmen L.

    I've always enjoyed coming to Max's. I think they downsized their menu though! They used to have this really great pasta dish with mushrooms, pancetta, and peas, I think, and I just miss it so darn much. I recently discovered their mojito skirt steak and it's really good as well! The steak is always perfectly cooked and flavorful! The service at Max's is great! The staff are very helpful and nice. The wait for a table is never too long as well, which I LOVE 'cause who likes to wait for a table anyways? haha 4/5 - Great restaurant, but wish they didn't take out so many items from their old menu :(

    (4)

  • Bethany C.

    The atmosphere is nice, the food was good...the service was abysmal. I'll admit I'm a stickler for great service, but even my laid back husband noticed the less-than-stellar job done by our server. She couldn't keep our drink orders straight, and routinely let our drinks sit empty until we requested they be filled. We'd been finished with our meals for some time, and finally flagged her down to request our check. She asked if we'd like a box, we said yes. It took over 10 minutes for her to arrive with our check (and no box in hand), and she jetted off before we could just quickly give her our card to expedite the process. So, we waited another 10 minutes for her to return to collect our card...at which point she asked again if I'd like a box. It was another lengthy wait for our card to be returned and food boxed up so we could leave. I couldn't figure out what the problem was. The place was busy, but she she seemed to hang out by the POS systems and chat with other servers. It was just such a shame! My wrap was good, and I liked the vibe inside. But poor service is such a turn off...and there are many other restaurants to check out in the area...so we likely won't be back.

    (3)

  • J S.

    Been coming to Max's off and on over the past 20 years. I went there today, the first time in a while, and was disappointed to see that the portions are much smaller, prices are significantly higher, and they've eliminated my favorite items. Their Chinese Chicken Salad, which used to have mandarin oranges, celery, carrots, and other fresh vegetables on top of lots of greens, has been replaced with "Guy's Chinese Chicken Salad"--a smaller simpler salad consisting of bag lettuce, fried crispy noodles, a small portion of overly fried crispy chicken, an artificial-tasting dressing, and the tiniest sliver of onions. The 1000 island dressing that comes with their Reuben tastes like a store-bought, mass-produced dressing full of cheap ingredients instead of the quality dressing they used to use. The kids' grilled cheese sandwiches were mostly bread with cheap American cheese covering only a small portion of the sandwich. The service has consistently been bad the last several times we went there, and now the food (which was pretty much the only redeeming thing about this place) is terrible. Well, hopefully, this is the beginning of the end for them and they will be replaced by something better.

    (1)

  • Johnny P.

    Max's has a warm and friendly atmosphere that makes their excellent sandwiches and salads so much more enjoyable. The variety in the menu and indoor/outdoor setting provide something for ever person everyday. If you're unsure what to try, get the Rueben, you won't be disappointed!

    (5)

  • Dan C.

    Hmm maybe I expected too much based on the prices and decor? Our waiters were definitely too busy. My side salad and the lettuce in my sandwich was yellowing and there were slimy bits- past time to throw it out. The fries I asked for as a side were barely warm not at all fresh or hot. The ciabatta bread was the tastiest part of my sandwich. My mom got an omelet that came with latkes that were ok. I've had food like this at Denny's. :/ with better service. I wish I had read the reviews first! Derp. I would have loved matzoh ball soup but when we asked what soup they had they said only chicken sausage jambalaya. When I asked for a doggie bag for my fries, an over loaded waiter dangled a plastic box across the table at me. They had already cleared away my silverware. I had to use my fingers to pack it up. I had just washed my hands and had to go back to get all the grease and spices off. They're on autopilot here.

    (2)

  • Jill O.

    Slow service, you could tell that the food was sitting out for a while, not impressed what so ever. Will not be coming here again.

    (2)

  • Jan T.

    Super disappointed with their recent menu changes. The portions have gotten smaller and the food has gotten cheaper (kid chicken used to be real breaded chicken strips, now is fried cutlet things). Also, nobody sings opera there anymore. Has definitely gone downhill since the old days.

    (2)

  • Matt Y.

    6/22/13 Lunch 3.5* It was shopping weekend since my friend from San Luis Obispo came to visit. We came here for lunch after scouting the store for hours. I find both the service and food at this location superior to its counterpart in Burlingame and San Francisco. It was warm out so we chose to sit inside. It was a bit late for lunch so the restaurant was relatively empty. The three of us had the long booth for 6. The friendly waitress talked us into half a carafe of the bubbly white sangria, which is very tasty. Perfect for a warm. Both of my dining companions have tuna melt. *Tuna Melt ($11): generous portion of albacore tuna with diced celery and capers in grilled sourdough. House-made chips were warm, crispy but not greasy. German potato salad was good. *Pear Salad with Grilled Chicken ($14): This is my staple. I had it without the blue cheese. The salad is huge, with candied walnuts, dry cranberries and a sherry vinaigrette. Max's serves comfort food alright, but it's good comfort food. It's not your regular diner because they do offer entree salads, which I like. They also offer lots of gluten-free options.

    (3)

  • Reynaldo U.

    I constantly crave their Potato Latkes. I honestly go out of my way for them (25 min. Drive). Its got this savory and subtle sweetness, with a crunchy crust that gradually leads into a chewy middle. Its pretty amazing. Their Rueben is good too.

    (4)

  • VB L.

    I've been coming to this Max's for soooooo long! Yeah sure, there's lots of new fancy restaurants opening up in the Stanford Mall, but Max's has a special place in my heart and my belly. Their deserts alone are reason to come here, but add in the pastrami sandwiches, the roasted artichokes, a great wine list and some of the friendliest servers around and you could have a fabulous meal and tons of fun. We sat outside today on the patio (where the service was quite a bit slower than normal), but it was still the perfect spot for people watching, a few cool beverages and...food! For those of you who haven't eaten here before, everything is HUGE!! I mean, we're talking the size of a small country. The kid had a hamburger that was so gigantic, she'll be eating for the next three meals. My French Dip was tttttttaaaaaassty, but I couldn't finish it. Even Hubby couldn't down the whole plate of Painkiller (corned beef, pastrami, Swiss, sauce - yum!). This month they have a special menu of artichoke and asparagus dishes. Honey, if you like either of these green goodies, get your little self down here and have some of the best dishes that will ever cross your table! We had the combo of roasted artichoke and asparagus. Heavenly!!!! They also have an amazing bar menu with tons of wild drinks for those that love alcohol. Best part of it all - dog friendly! Yay Max's!!

    (4)

  • Lena A.

    What happened to the live music? I used to be a huge fan of Max's. I loved the "grand" feel of the restaurant, which is somewhat of a landmark in Palo Alto. The high ceilings, dim lighting, and live entertainment made for a lively and pleasurable dining experience. Oh, and my cousin used to be a waitress/singer at Max's..so maybe I am just a bit biased ;) My dinner tonight was kind of dissapointing though..and not just because we were seated right next to the bathrooms. It was freezing in there! Other customers around us were complaining too that it was too chilly. I was bundled up like a newborn baby. The service was above average, and I say that mostly because our waiter was very easy on the eyes (he was also nice though!). The atmosphere was kind of blah, but it WAS the middle of the week so maybe that is why. There was no singing or music what so ever. My gluten-free pasta tasted too healthy for my liking. I could not eat more than a few bites of the dish. As a result of my dining experience tonight, I am thinking that I probably won't be going back to Max's anytime soon, unless I am shopping at Stanford and hungry..in which case I'll think about it.

    (3)

  • Vee B.

    Max's is hit or miss. Mostly its a hit, but on a few occasions my entire party has been dissatisfied with their meals. The pros: Drinks are cheap, big, and they don't skimp on the booze The calamari and shoe string fries are amazing The burgers are amazing Their reuben sandwich is amazing Their chicken picata is great Most desserts are amazing. You can get a 1/2 serving and its plenty Not so good: The bread is very dense. Its almost like a bagel The crab cakes and the eclairs are gross The fish and chips is not great. I've had the batter turn out to be raw and floury underneath the crisp skin on 2 occasions now.

    (4)

  • Patrick H.

    Alas, in the past what I appreciated about Max's has been the quality of the food and the quantity: usually we took home a second meal! However, at the Palo Alto and Redwood City location we have noticed the portions getting smaller. For example, the amount of pasta in an order has noticeably shrunk. In addition, the quality of the food has lessened. For example, the bread they provide at the table feels harder and less flavorful. Brown lettuce has snuck into my salad on more than one occasion and desserts have recently been sugar bombs but lacking in subtle taste and rich flavor. Perhaps they have outlived their lives and will fade away as so many of their type of restaurant have.

    (2)

  • Tasha S.

    I really like this place. Every time we've been, it's been very solid - certainly nothing wrong with it. Service is great and wait time is reasonable. Decent variety on the menu and the plates come out warm as does the food. They have a kids' menu, crayons and an activity paper for the little ones. We like stopping by every time we're in the neighbourhood.

    (4)

  • Beth A.

    I work close by and it's very convenient for me to come here for lunch and happy hour with my friends .They have a great selection of food and drinks. The service is good and I recommend this place to my friends.

    (3)

  • Greg B.

    It's really a shame Max's Opera Cafe at Stanford Shopping Center can't do better. If everything were as tasty and as ample as their great desserts, they would probably garner a five-star rating. Although the food is pretty good, and the portions are ample, the service is almost always lacking. Expect to have to flag down your waiter to bring bread, refill water glasses or return with a dessert menu. You get the feeling you are at a self-service buffet instead of a real restaurant. The patty melt is a good choice with nicely sautéed onions and fresh rye bread. Coupled with the homemade barbecue potato chips, and you have a winner of a sandwich. For lunch the BLT sandwich is also a good choice. Like their restaurant motto says, "a bad place for a diet," it's true that if you are on a fat-restricted diet, you will have to make do with a green salad, perhaps with some chicken breast. As mentioned, the desserts at Max's are fabulous. As a suggestion, tell your waiter when you first order you are intent on having dessert, and you might get more attentive service and be able to have dessert within a ninety-minute meal.

    (3)

  • JD S.

    Came for a late lunch with friends. Waitress was friendly but service was poor. Long wait to order, long wait for drinks to arrive. Food was plentiful, taste was ok. Even though it wasn't too crowded, it was noisy, noisy enough to impede conversation. All in all, no need for me to return.

    (3)

  • Judy L.

    We have been eating at Max's 2 or 3 times a year for the last 12 years. The salmon salad that I have enjoyed for years has recently been removed from the menu. In the past my waitress and the kitchen have always honored my request for my favorite salad and it has always been prepared and graciously brought to my table tasting just the way I enjoyed it when it was still on the menu. Yesterday I was told that the salad I requested could absolutely not be prepared as before. So I ordered a salmon salad with arugula, cherry tomatoes, quinoa, and fresh corn. The salmon was overcooked and tough resembling jerky. It was horrible! My husband's sandwich was thrown together with meat that was extremely dry and tasteless and made with small slices of bread that came from the end of the loaf. A employee visiting her friends at the table across the aisle dropped a stack of plastic cartons on the floor next to my chair creating a noise that was beyond loud. She offered no apology and continued on her way. The waitress who was assisting the new waiter in training was rude and abrupt. This food and staff experience has left us with absolutely no desire to return to Max's Opera Cafe again.

    (1)

  • W. C.

    I have been here for lunch and had a sandwich which I like, so I thought dinner would be good as well. So wrong. The service was good and hey had a live pianist (that why I gave 2 stars), but quality control out of the kitchen was terrible. First we both had the french onion soup. When it comes out with sliced cheese on top, you know your going to have a problem. They also used rye bread which over powered the soup. For the main course I had the Chinese chicken salad. It came out warm and soggy and had no flavor. The chicken was fine, but the rest was gross. Salad should have some crunch to it, this did not. They also forgot the acid (vinegar) in the dressing. My friend has the ribs. Just because there are lot on the plate does not make them edible. Meat is supposed to fall off the bone. He couldn't get it off to save his life. So we talked about getting dessert. Surely dessert must be okay they look amazing in the case. Wrong. I got the eclair which was huge, but stale. He got the key lime pie that advertised graham cracker crust which it did not. A horrible meal for $75. Our comment at the end was "can we just throw up and start over" Then driving home we passed all these places..."oh we could have eaten there for half as much and it would have been so much better"

    (2)

  • David Paul Z.

    Greg. Ask for Greg. He works evenings. The Wifey and I have been to this Max's on and off over the last, oh, 15 years. Generally reasonable service and I sure do love me a piled-high corned beef sandwich. Maybe I should add "deli" to my list of food groups... nah, that's just crazy talk. Anyway, a long time ago at this Max's, we had a wait-staff-person-female named "Cynthia". Worst. Service. Ever. In Roget's Thesaurus there is now an official antonym for "service" called "Cynthia". Um... I digress. Anyway (again), we just had an early dinner here. Best. Service. Ever. His name was Greg, and he was there soon after we sat, showed up before it was necessary, didn't hover when it wasn't necessary, delivered our slightly tweaked food requests spot-on, asked but didn't pressure us about dessert, and in general gave one of those performances where if you didn't look for it, you wouldn't see it. That is *exactly* good service. The food was good too, as usual. Loved the crispy sweet potato fries, and I would buy that chili-lime dip it came with. I'd make a shake with it. The Wifey enjoyed her salmon salad with sesame-crusted grilled tofu -- salmon on the side since she's vegan, and I got to snarf that to go with my mushroom fettuccine. So in the spirit of "every reaction has an equal and opposite reaction", "what goes up must come down", or anything better that I'm sure I'll think of tomorrow, Greg allows us to finally put that old experience to rest.

    (4)

  • Joy H.

    Much better experience than the last time! And the tower of onion rings were hot & crispy!! Thankyou Greg Boro for the opportunity to amend my review~

    (4)

  • Sanjana A.

    Went there for my daughters birthday the hostess put us down but kept us waiting and sat everyone else down. Finally on pointing out our name we got seated. Everyone else got bread 20 minutes later a waitress took our order. The wine came 25 minutes later still no bread. By now we were all starving 35 minutes after being seated our food arrived ...GUESS WHAT!!! It was the wrong order!! The waitress took away our food no apology was offered 15 minutes more food arrived. Overall experience - skip it!!!!

    (1)

  • Chaunie L.

    I have been going to this location, and other locations, for many years. Things were so different this time that I looked online to see if it had been sold. We arrived at 5:30 on a Monday. There used to be a multi-page menu. This time there was a large one page menu printed on both sides. We were looking forward to our basket of bread - they make the best. There was no basket of bread with our dinners. Instead of the diverse staff we normally see, almost everyone was Mexican. My mac and cheese with bacon was very good. One of my friends had the chicken pot pie and it was not good. Our waitress was attentive, but when I wanted to order a take-out meal for my husband, who finally texted his request, I had a hard time doing it. I didn't see our waitress and approached the hostess. She told me I would have to order from our server. I went back to our table and our server came over and explained that she was leaving and we would need to order at the bar. While we were discussing whether to actually move to the bar, she came back and said she would put in our order at the bar. Then we decided we should move over there or how would we know the order was ready? She came back and said that we could sit back down and someone would bring our order over. I paid our bill and she left. Then she returned shortly with the order. (It came up really fast.) Had she just taken the order and delivered it, it would have been smooth. Instead it left the impression that they weren't quite sure what they were doing. I really wonder what is going on there. I am going to keep an eye on Yelp reviews to see if there is any clue as to what is going on there.

    (3)

  • Jane A.

    I love having Max's at the Stanford Shopping Center - very convenient. I usually get the delicious chicken soup or the excellent beef sliders. Also, their apple pie is very good. So, good that I often buy it to bring to my Mom who lives out of state! I usually opt for take-out and the fellows at the bar are VERY friendly and helpful! I know that a few reviews complain about service, but I have never had a bad time and I have been to Max's countless times. All in all, a great experience.

    (5)

  • Katherine J.

    The food here is terrible and the service is on par with the food. It is super convenient to stop in when you're starving after a few hours of shopping, but it's really not worth it.

    (1)

  • John T.

    We always try to stop by on our way home from any event in San Francisco because we like the food. They do a good Reuben and Chris likes the chicken livers (which are now off the menu.) Good Lord who is running this place now though? The windows and floors were filthy. it's also rare that I go anywhere and have the wait staff automatically assume I speak Spanish....I'm about as Caucasian as you can get, but here that's all I heard. May be time for some diversity in hiring practices. We'll go back once more to see if maybe visit was a fluke, but no one should be able to write their name in the grease on the windows. No one.

    (2)

  • Deanna C.

    Great place to relax after doing a bit of shopping. The appetizers are good, I can't say I have ever ordered off of the main menu but I'm guessing it can't be much different. I really like most of the bartenders there although it can be hit or miss, a few are kinda slow. Only real complaint is re singing on Thursday nights, I wouldn't mind it so much if it weren't in the middle of the dinning area. I feel like the one girl is screaming in my ear no matter where I sit.

    (4)

  • Melissa B.

    My sister, brother-in-law, and I took our Dad to Max's for his 94th birthday lunch last Wednesday. My Dad is hard of hearing and background noise makes him crazy so we asked for (and got) a quiet table in the back. The food was great (I ate *way* more of my Chinese Chicken Salad than I had planned to!) and the gentleman who seated us was very nice and accommodating, but as others have mentioned the waitress was lacking in skills and attitude. I'll be back, but from now on will be giving direct feedback if I have a less-than-stellar experience with any of the wait staff.

    (4)

  • Glenn G.

    My pasta-crazed compadre thinks the mac & cheese at Max's Opera Café is to die for, so she talked me into coming here recently for dinner and a "book club" discussion. Like many Yelpers, I'm not a huge fan of chain restaurants, but despite several problems I have with this place, I usually like the food, and this visit was no exception. This time out, we walked in on a Sunday night at around 5:30. Parking was a bit challenging - maybe Kevin James was at the Stanford Mall signing autographs and trying to stir up interest in a sequel to Paul Blart: Mall Cop (be still, my heart!). Whatever was going on, there was no waiting for a table once we got inside. When we're doing a book club discussion over dinner, my pasta-crazed compadre and I always like to order first before we start our discussion, so we figured out what we wanted quickly, and chatted about other things while we waited for our server - and waited, and waited... Recurring problem #1 at Max's - the wait times even after being seated often range from mildly annoying to nightmarishly horrendous experiences that would give Sisyphus pause. This is the main reason I avoid this place unless a friend talks me into it. After about 10 minutes, and my hurling only one or two strategically aimed forks, our server arrived to take our drink order. We ordered both our drinks and our entrees to avoid any further delays, and settled down to talk about our book. A few minutes later, our drinks and our bread arrived at the same time. I had ordered a Stella Artois on draft and a diet coke, and started work on the beer immediately. yelp.com/biz_photos/olrF… On to the bread! I've always enjoyed the bread at Max's. Their signature is a basket of warm rolls - usually an even mix of fresh sourdough and raisin. Some bean counter at corporate must have been made his mark on operations since my last visit, as instead of a basket with two of three of each, a tiny basket was placed before us, with only one roll of each type. yelp.com/biz_photos/olrF… I do so love it when accountants use their skills to try to maximize profits while minimizing my dining experience... We got very involved in our book discussion, which was a good thing because I didn't have a whole lot of silverware left - our entrees arrived before I was down to testing the balance on the bread knife for throwing. My compadre had Max's infamous mac & cheese yelp.com/biz_photos/olrF… , and I got the Philly Cheese Steak - pickeled peppers, onions, mozzarella, jack, and provolone all melted together on a specially requested onion roll. yelp.com/biz_photos/olrF… She totally loved her m&c, and I must admit that the Philly Cheese Steak was one of the best I've had in quite a while. Recurring problem #2 at Max's - there's a reason they call this place Max's Opera Café. Most nights, the wait staff does double duty belting out show tunes and old stand-bys for the listening (dis)pleasure of the diners. The quality of the performances is sometimes truly awful, and if you sit too close to the piano, it's impossible to talk over the music. Fortunately, tonight I had requested a table as far away from the piano as possible, and most of the staff that sang while we were there could actually hold a tune, so the music didn't detract unduly, but consider yourselves forewarned... Our server came back to check on us before I felt the urge to grab more throwing ammo from a silverware setup at a nearby table, and we ordered dessert. My compadre had the Niagra Falls Cake, yelp.com/biz_photos/olrF… and I got the Chocolate Chip Cheesecake. yelp.com/biz_photos/olrF… The quality of the desserts at Max's is one of the main reasons I keep coming back. To quote Max's Law #18: "Our desserts are excessive because nothing succeeds like excess. We encourage sharing if you're not super hungry; if your on a diet, eat a half-slice". Neither of us was dieting, but the meal was filling, so we both got half-slices, and were very content - our desserts were wonderful! In conclusion, Max's is a chain-restaurant that often gets dinged in my personal book because of excessive wait times, and less-than-wonderful musical performances. The music wasn't awful this visit, but the service was definitely sub-par, so two stars for that, and a surprising five stars for the food. This averages the visit out to three and a half stars; we'll round it down to an even three stars given the bean counters "creativity" with the bread.

    (3)

  • Cat F.

    Meh. Food okay; service spotty at best. 5 stars for the music man. Piano, guitar, and awesome vocals!

    (2)

  • Tiffany L.

    Came here after shopping at Stanford and sat at the bar while waiting for a booth. I was immediately greeted by Jessica and I wasn't sure on which of the white wines and she gave me her input on which sold better and the flavor profiles of the two that I was deciding on. Eventually, I went with the Riesling and it was an excellent choice. After waiting about 10 minutes, we were seating in Chelsea's section and not only is she a sweetheart, but she got us on and out in less than 45 minutes (I had a doctors appointment after lunch) and everything was delicious. Highly recommended and I can't wait until I'm in the area again to see Jessica and Chelsea.

    (5)

  • Neda F.

    Max's burger is so good! Huge so can be split easily. I loved the house made bbq chips too. If you sit out on the patio, they are super dog friendly (served my dog water immediately upon seating). She was a fan of Max's as well.

    (4)

  • Leon W.

    Chicken Pot Pie

    (3)

  • Jeff L.

    I went there this PM as a have a friend who's wife is gluten free...and this has some gluten free stuff. Anyhoooo, being a Jew from LA (with solid NYC pedigree) I thought maybe a Rueben would be good here. Yuck, horrible, it was like from Denny's. The pastrami was the worst ever, bread was soggy. The slaw the good, the pickle was right out of a Clausen pickle jar, seriously, you cannot even find a real decent pickle. I guess we're just not ever going to have real NYC or LA type deli in the Bay. I am giving them 2 stars as my wife has the chicken pot pie that was large and she said was good. The gluten free salmon my friend ordered looked like crap but she liked it, so again extending them one extra star. If I ever got dragged back there I think I'd try the burger, I saw one of those and I think it would have been much better.

    (2)

  • Adrienne M.

    Contrary to how others seem to feel, I thought the food was pretty mediocre but the service was great. Our server was young, but friendly, prompt and did a good job of answering questions about the menu. We weren't starving and I knew the portions here were monstrous, so we spilt the California Chicken Melt sandwich ($12.99), which had cheddar cheese, avocado, chicken and caramelized onions. It sounded great in theory but the chicken was pretty dry and tough and the sandwich didn't have a lot of flavor other than grease. The warm bread they start you out with was the best part of the meal. The sandwiches said they came with potato chips, cole slaw or potato salad, but we asked fries and got them at no extra charge. The fries were thick cut wedges, which are not my favorite, but they were ok. I did love the crispy onion strings that came on top of the fries. I would go back if I were in the Stanford Shopping Center and needed a place to eat but I wouldn't make a special trip here. I would like to try their matzo ball soup at some point, not many places around here have that. Update 10/2013: Their matzo ball soup is fantastic & its hard to find that in the bay area. Everything else I've tried here has been really mediocre though.

    (3)

  • Reina N.

    This is one of my favorite places to eat. Good variety of comfort foods. It's almost always busy but I still enjoy myself. Great for brunch, lunch or dinner. -Clam chowder: Amazing! -Matzo ball soup: not a fan -Mojito steak: Amazing! -Ruben: YUM -Philly cheese steak with au jus: Amazing -Fish & chips: eh.. I've had better

    (4)

  • Sam C.

    It's nice to find a place in Palo Alto that discards the pretension that pervades downtown PA! The food isn't superlative, but they make a killer Manhattan. The portions, are, unfortunately, way too large. This is why we're fat!

    (4)

  • Katharine A.

    Should have listened to myself. I really need to go look at my own reviews sometimes. I ordered soup again. Forgot about the last time. It was served nearly cold. Sent it back. Came back with lukewarm broth and still cold Matzah Balls. Disaster. Soup tasted pretty blah as well, but for that, I wouldn't have complained. I LOVE Chicken Matzah Ball soup in general. This one is a bad example-- what's up with the noodles and the overcooked veggies and cold, hard matzah balls? I felt sorry for our waiter who had to deal with the issues. He did the right thing and comped me for the untouched bowl. It just could have been avoided if the kitchen had been paying attention.

    (2)

  • Mei Y.

    Came back here recently with my fiance and his mom. Despite my previous experience with the server, the food is the reason why I love this place. I have been to a few other Max's and they have all been great so I thought why not give this place another try. We came during early lunch and tried 3 different things. Everything was great and I have to point out how huge my chicken pot pie was. It was my first time getting it and judging from the price, I was expecting something maybe the size of my hand but this thing was HUGE. I couldn't finish half of it and had to get it to go. It was very creamy and so good. Love Max's and I can't wait to try their dinner menu again. P.S. after my last visit, the manager of the Max's contact me to get more information about my visit and offered another visit for me. I thanked him for his offer and decided I would come again on my own without any special treatment. I am glad I did as our waitress was very attentive and sweet. Thank you for reading my review and offering to make things better!

    (5)

  • Rose F.

    Love coming after a long day of shopping. They have a full service bar where you can sit at for a quick drink and appetizers. During the evening they have live music and singing which is really nice. You start out with fresh warm rolls (sourdough and raisin). Great appetizers, soups and salads. Wonderful sandwiches and main entrees. Half pastrami and roast beef sandwich is one of my favorites. Honey roasted chicken is good with 2 sides. Plenty of leftovers for the next day.

    (4)

  • J Y.

    Had reservations for Sunday brunch with 5 adults (1 disabled and in a wheelchair) to celebrate my husband's birthday. Host and waitress friendly and accommodating and were seated right away at a 4 person booth with a table extension so we can wheel the wheelchair to sit at the end. When asked if we were okay with this table, we said "yes" but in hindsight, next time I will ask for a different table or a 6 person booth, because the ones sitting next to the wheelchair didn't really have much leg room due to the extended wheelchair peddles. Joe's Special: Wasn't what we expected. We thought it was scrambled eggs with meat and veggies, but it was mostly meat rather than eggs. The Latkes were delicious. 1 star Crab Cake Melt was lighly fried to perfection, but the grilled ciabbata was tough to cut with a knife. Just ate the crab cake. 2 stars The famous Reuben and Turkey Bacon Swiss sandwiches as well as the Niagra Falls Cake ad Ultimate Chocolate Cake(4 layers each) were were rich, tall, and delicious. 5 stars.

    (2)

  • Manny G.

    Nothing to special here. it was at one time a great place for a solid meal. Now it is as if they just dont care and it is a shame because the wait staff was friendly. the Host was very nice, and the music was great, They just fell short on the food. I do hope the get back to where the use to be.

    (2)

  • Tanja F.

    It wasn't my first time here but my most recent trip. The service is great, the atmosphere is comfortable but a little nicer than your average casual place, the restrooms are clean and the portions are large. My friend and I wanted smaller dishes but to try more items. Even though we got creative, they were great at accommodating us. We started with a cup of soup. They allowed us to taste a little before ordering (a big plus!). I ended up with the french onion. It's not exactly what I am use to be still really great. It had wonderful depth of flavor. Then we split a beet and feta salad. The ingredients were fresh and well balanced. I could have stopped there but we had also ordered the mini burgers off the appetizer menu to split. I'm glad that I made room because the meat tasted of high quality and those caramelized onions made it extra special. The only down side... it's easy to get so full that you don't have room for dessert and coffee. I'll keep this place bookmarked for a return visit, dedicated just to experience those items.

    (4)

  • Gary J.

    The holiday season without lunch at Max's Opera Café in the Stanford Shopping Center would be a crime of some sort. It invokes memories of good times past and present. Two Matzo balls in my chicken soup please and don't spare the chicken and vegetables either. In the ole days this meal was accompanied with a cream soda; today it is coffee, fewer calories and more of a kick to keep me going through my afternoon workout. Listen to me, sounding like and old man. The waiter, he asks; "what would you like for desert?" Are you kidding me young man, we just had soup for lunch and skipped the traditional 3" thick pastrami on rye with a side of coleslaw and pickle. Then you want me to shovel that massive bread pudding with hard sauce on top the soup; I ask? My lunch partner then weakens and say; "I'll share it with you." NO! It is willpower that keeps this 250 pound walking cadaver looking so bright and cheerful. Are you kidding me! The lady next to us has a 4 oz martini delivered to her table and she is eating alone. She appears to be a little older, not by much, and in pretty good shape. I should be so lucky as to have a martini with my lunch. Max's has a full bar and from fond recollection of past 3 martini lunches, I was really jealous. Meet a friend for lunch, go ahead and have the desert even if it will increase your cholesterol count, you only live once. After all, I believe it was Mark Twain who said something like this; 'I smoke cigars, drink booze and cuss so I have something to give up to live longer.' Same goes for good food and drink, eat now so you have something to give up to live longer. Stressing about it will kill you. The smells, the people watching, food and service are all good at Max's - indulge and enjoy.

    (4)

  • Suzanne P.

    People shouldnt get confused between good food and TONS of food. Just because maxs supersizes everything...doesnt make it good. I have ordered things that were inedible. My daughter ordered a french dip, and the waitress brought her a philly cheesesteak cuz she though it would be similar?? That same waitress kept referring to me as "mama" by the way- which totally started to bug me. I think 15 years ago Maxs was different and interesting. Today i feel how tired and outdated it has become. They need a menu makeover in addition to a physical facelift. The layout is messed up too... You have to bunp into people at the bar just to get to the hostess station.

    (2)

  • Jill S.

    We decided to give Max's Opera Cafe at Stanford Shopping Center another try today for lunch. We were there after the main lunch rush (about 1:15-ish) and our wait was totally reasonable and I loved that they could/would text us when our table was ready so we could do some window shopping while we waited (Hooray for technology!) But unfortunately, it just isn't the same any more - well, outside of the bread basket which continues to hit the spot. I had the chili cheese omelet with latkes, and was disappointed in how bland the whole plate was overall. I've never had latkes that resembled hockey pucks in thickness before. My husband had a BLT, which is hard to miss on with the house made BBQ chips after the waitress tipped him that direction... and my son a grilled cheese, again easy enough. It's the lack of what I consider "Max-isms" that probably sealed it for us this time. Having to ask for sugar for tea... the lack of the great condiment caddy that used to appear (replaced instead by automatic assumption that if there are potatoes someone wants ketchup. On latkes? I think not) Our server was distracted and inattentive - also not something I consider Max-like. I absolutely understand a busy restaurant time, so that has already been factored into my observation. I don't mean to heap on to Max's... it's only because I have enjoyed it so much in the past that the current state of affairs makes me so sad now.

    (2)

  • Pegasus A.

    I am the usual customer that sit an observe what happen around most 0f the review I see here is since to be a bout a bab service I was a server for 10 year I was here for a drink and my usual plate but there was a problem with the gas and I have nothing to say but thank you to the Max's team to a como dated me the best they could specially Phill, Villa, Cristal, Andrew, Margarito and all who were working these ninight for make me feel that I was in a 4 start restaurant and for these who complain about the food servers I there you to try to be a server for day and see how you deal with the complains

    (5)

  • Rebecca Y.

    Awesome summer salads with salmon. Music was great. Service prompt and polite. Will definitely go back.

    (4)

  • Van N.

    Get the famous Reubens with the quite nice selection of mustards. I've been here a few times and have never had anything I didn't like and the place does have a cool vibe. The desserts are freaking massive! Plus, they've got a bar. What's not to like?

    (4)

  • Cara S.

    Been coming here for years and my family too because we consistently receive great food and service. Last night the bread was my only disappointment since it was not edible. Hard as a rock, lucky I did not chip a tooth and when I asked for new rolls it was too close to closing time they weren't able to prepare anymore. They should have not served the previous ones because it ended up being a double whammy on the bread. I had Russian cabbage soup, chopped salad and a glass of sangria. Loved my meal and recommend each item, especially the sangria.

    (4)

  • Ellen L.

    i met a friend for happy hour around 4 on a weekday afternoon and it was pretty empty and quiet in here. it was just the two of us, but we grabbed a pretty big table since it wasn't busy. the interior has a nice layout, with a large dining area and a separate area for the bar. i ordered a glass of riesling for $4.50 which was cool and refreshing. not super cheap for happy hour, but certainly less than the average cost of a 6 oz glass of wine. i didn't order any food on this day since i'd just had a cupcake at the nearby sprinkles cupcakes! despite the fact that it wasn't busy at all, the service was very, very slow. i felt like we waited forever to order our drinks, and then waited another spell for the happy hour menu, and waited some more before our drinks were served (really shouldn't take that long to serve up a glass of white wine and a beer!) located inside stanford shopping center, the nearest parking is on the northwest side of the shopping center, toward sand hill road.

    (3)

  • Fallon P.

    I had lunch here with a friend and the food and service was mediocre. We came in on a Saturday afternoon and the outside seating was full. So, we went inside and we were able to be seated right away. After looking through the menu my friend decided on the crab sandwich with fries and I opted for the salmon sandwich with fries. We both wanted to get something that either one of us could share. We were talking for quite some time and it literally felt like we waited for 20 minutes for our food to finally arrive. Someone other than our server brought out my friend's food first and they had messed up on her order and gave her a salad instead of fries. Then my food came out next. Our server apologized to my friend and brought her some fries. The salmon was pretty dry. The crab was ok, but not the best I've ever had. The fries weren't impressive either. Our server was gone most of the time and definitely didn't check on us or came to refill our water. He actually never even asked us when we ordered if we wanted anything to drink. Once the bill came, it was about $35 with tax. Definitely not worth it. I was expecting more since it was at Stanford, but don't let that fool you.

    (2)

  • Brandon Y.

    Max's at Stanford Mall is pretty alright - average service and decent food, but nothing too special for me. Went with the family and we enjoyed the setting with the outdoor lamp replicas inside, and the old-fashioned decor. We also noticed the live music set-up on this particular Friday night, which added to the mood. Began the night with calamari appetizer which was flaky, although did not have the typical squid pieces I'm used to - mostly legs and small pieces with hardly any squid rings. The main courses took a while to come out for our group of eight, and I ordered the sirloin steak. It was pretty average. All of our dishes were a bit cold when they came out (I guess they were waiting for everyone's to be ready? - dislike). The steak itself was a bit tough on the outside, but the potato it came with was delish. I'm very interested in the sandwiches and lunch selection that they have, but I think I'll pass on dinner, as the whole ordeal took about two and a half to three hours...

    (2)

  • Pedro Juan G.

    I remember a long time ago how Max's reminded me of my NY delis. Not anymore, they are not serving the one thing I go here for which is the chicken liver paté. I dont even want to try the Pastrami sandwich. My favorite bartender Robert has left this place.

    (2)

  • Jim M.

    Looking for some deli action, was told by friends to try Max's. Asked for table away from the screechy singer, no problem. Kind of startled by the non-deli prices which in many cases seemed a little steep for pastrami on rye. I ordered one of their "special" drinks, a peach martini. The the waiter came and took our order. I waited and waited and waited for the peach martini, and right after it was delivered by a drinks waiter our food arrived. Apparently they don't know anything about timing - I wasn't about to sit and enjoy my martini and chat with my friend once my food was plopped down in front of us. Also had trouble getting water glasses refilled, which they finally came around to do as we paid the check. Not comfortable. They need to figure out what they are. Fine dining? Deli? Fast food? These people weren't good at any of these.

    (2)

  • Sharon P.

    If you have been here in the past and loved it DO NOT GO BACK !!! The portions are smaller, not as good and more expensive. Remember how much you loved their Reuben? The one had tonight was nothing like they used to serve.The rye bread was burned and there wasn't much meat in it. It was drenched in dressing to the point of being soggy. I don't think any of the cooks had ever had an authentic Reuben. There was a huge mound of rather flavorless cole slaw with it. What a disappointment. The person I was with did not enjoy his meal either. The quality was much lower than it had been when we were there several months ago and the prices were higher. We didn't even bother with dessert this time. I will NOT go back. Stick with your memories!

    (1)

  • Umair K.

    One of my favorites. the salads are fresh and hearty. Solid sandwiches. Love the matzah ball soup here - one of the best in the west and better than most in the east. Good friendly service and efficient staff. Never had a bad experience at any of their locations.

    (4)

  • Anne P.

    I've never had a disappointing meal at Max's! My current favorite is the Cobb Salad, and I really enjoy the Chinese chicken salad as well. The desserts are outrageous and a big hit with my family. Portions are generous and the wait staff have been very pleasant and helpful on the several occasions I've eaten here. One reviewer mentioned that the restaurant is rather dark, and I agree. It's best to sit near the windows or outside if there's a table available.

    (4)

  • victor v.

    Having moved to Menlo Park I have totally relied on Yelp for great restaurant's and Max's is one of them. Reuben sandwich with fried dill pickle no better combo. The potato Latkes I can't find no better. What is essential combo with the great food is service. When I'm at Max's I always ask for table that is waited on by Greg. The level of service he gives you wouldn't normally find a shopping center restaurant but he is a true professional, attentive and sincere. I'm sure the other wait staff are good but I rather have Greg wait on my table especially when I'm with a date.

    (5)

  • Jack L.

    I've had a long history with Max's. As a little kid, I especially enjoyed stopping in for their Matzo Ball Soup and Corned Beef. To this day, I still drop in from time to time to enjoy my childhood favorites! I've celebrated many special occasions here-- birthday parties, graduations, and company lunches. Despite some of the other reviews-- my experiences here have been consistently positive. The waitstaff is friendly and cheerful, and the food is delicious! I love the feel of the interior-- it transports me to a deli in New York without the expensive plane ride! I do find that the opera singing becomes annoying at times-- it is hard to concentrate and have a conversation with your friends.

    (4)

  • Bernadette F.

    My family of four (husband, 5 year old daughter and 9 month old son) and I went there for dinner - meeting two other adults and a baby on Monday evening. We made a reservation just in case but didn't need one. Plenty of open seating around 6:30. We were seated promptly, offered drinks right away, etc... All in all, very good dining experience. Food and drinks were great - I had the steak and cheese with homemade BBQ Chips. Sandwich was awesome, chips were not as flavorful as I would have liked. Wine selection was good. Good kids selection though I ordered the non breaded chicken tenders and got the breaded. Good value for the money though on everything. HUGE desserts and delicious too - I got the Famous Torte and my husband the Coconut ice cream sundae. Our service was impeccable besides the mistake on the kids meal but no big deal. Would definitely go again when in the area. it is in the Stanford Shopping Center near the farmer's market. Might be hard to find otherwise.

    (4)

  • Schelly Y.

    Giant fatty portions. A great place for big and meaty sandwiches and pretty good salads as well. Typical american fare with a vast menu. I like to get the corned beef or pastrami sandwich. This place is usually pretty packed as it gets all the mall traffic. Some nights they have people singing and playing the piano.

    (3)

  • Kathryn G.

    Had a great lunch with co-workers at Max's. I had a special of artichokes and calamari with asparagus, yummy. Co-workers had veggie omelet, burger and fries, crab melt and a brussel sprout salad; we all cleaned out plates. Service was great. Going to try happy hour next week

    (4)

  • Venna Q. T.

    I love this place! Always have and always will. I finally satiated my craving for their ultimate grilled cheese. There are four kinds of cheeses and the meld so well together. I forgot what they are but order it and you will not be sorry! I also really like the calamari. It's delicious! And for the dessert, the carrot cake is a lovely end to the meal! And I'm not going to be an irrational crybaby and deduct stars because they're busy and I have to wait every time. Suck it up- they're busy because they have great food. Plus, if you don't want to wait, I will. And that's one less person ahead of me!

    (5)

  • Amy O.

    Great customer service. Good place to bring kids. Menu is almost too expansive where you can't figure out what you want to eat. I love the pour over iced tea. That's the best...knowing it is fresh. The food is consistently good.

    (4)

  • Katherine F.

    We were at Stanford, shopping with the girls and wanted lunch. I have been to the Max's in San Ramon many times...and this was about the same. We secured a booth...and settled into a cozy lunch on a grey day. Our service was prompt and efficient. Water was filled quickly. Sis and niece had the soup/salad combos...and sis loved the French Onion soup. I got the Chinese Chicken Salad...and it was OK. The chicken was good...but the salad was mostly lettuce...and the *dressing* was literally jar Hoisen sauce...?? Way to thick and sweet to put on a salad. I would not order this again. The portions are huge....but the quality was from ho-hum to great.

    (3)

  • Nic S.

    We went for dinner and we have dietary restrictions for lent. No dairy, no eggs and no meat except for seafood. Our waiter Greg helped us to pick the right food... Along with outstanding customer service. Thank you Greg!

    (5)

  • David L.

    Good comfort food jewish deli fare. Latkes are classic and the pastrami was super flavorful and served on really good rye. Great for when you get the hankering!

    (4)

  • Braden K.

    the shops around Max's are breathtaking. Schaubs?! The local FARMERS MARKET?! ordered the petrale sole meh the bread and butter was best part of my meal. completely underwhelming! it was overcooked, greasy, looked like it was leftovers from a previous mis-order. luckily enough i was too engaged in the surrounding conversation and good times with family to taste any of their dishes.. double whammy!

    (2)

  • Ardavan M.

    Delicious food, professional service. What else should I say?

    (4)

  • Carolus B.

    Nice place with good service. Although it did take quite some time to be seated, I was there with good company so did not really mind. Bring a light jacket because it was quite chilly there though. Menu was too eclectic and did not find a lot of things that I really liked, so I went with a basic chicken sandwich...which would have been really hard to mess up. Others in the party did not finish their food (a large salad and a tri-tip sandwich). Would suggest going there for drinks or light appetizers but not a full meal.

    (3)

  • J N.

    I'm a repeat customer and use them for catering. Highly recommend Chicken Matzo Ball Soup, Russian Cabbage Soup, Pear/Spinach Salad, Reuben, Chicken Pot Pie, Grandma's Chicken and desserts.

    (4)

  • Daniel S.

    With music in the air, a classy ambiance, and with love ballads from a pianist (who should not quit his day job) singing romantic classics such as "Luck be a Lady" and "My Lovely Valentine," Max's did not disappoint me on a HOT Friday evening in Palo Alto. Appetizer: I ordered a big bowl salad called, "Guy's Chinese Chicken salad" ($11.99). This salad was delicious! The ingredients included peanut fried chicken, peanuts, crispy rice noodles and wonton strips, hoisin dressing, scallions, cilantro and sesame seeds. Every ingredient came together nicely. Entree: I would have loved to give Max's four stars. However, I ordered a Bacon Cheeseburger ($11.99) to be cooked medium well, and it came to me well done. I'm not one to fuss so I devoured it anyways and actually enjoyed every single bite. I also ordered Sweet Potato fries on the side (an extra $2.00) and enjoyed them too.

    (3)

  • Alexis C.

    This is my go-to spot after a stressful day at work! I live in portland, OR and make it here at least 4x/year :) i'd classify the food as extreme comfort food. The portions are huge (plan on taking half home). The bread is warm and fresh. and the servers meet you where you are - meaning if you are there by yourself and want to get some work done while eating, they will leave you alone. If you're there with a bigger crew and want to engage, they are very friendly. Do save room for dessert...

    (4)

  • Cath M.

    My sis and I used to have our sibling Friday date at Max's in the city and since I need a drink and something sweet - I dragged the S.O. here for a late night cap. They had a pianist / singer entertaining the patrons - that was nice considering it was all drenched and wet outside. It did took long for a server to get our orders considering it wasn't a busy night, was turned off at that. I got a glass of Grand Marnier and my favorite choco chip cheesecake. Those two always hit the spot! Glad that they have this place in the S.O.'s hood, makes it easier to satisfy the sweet cravings!

    (3)

  • Catherine L.

    I would normally give Max's 4 beautiful stars but our last visit wasn't that great =(. My friend got the pasta that comes with one huge portabella mushroom and salmon. The salmon was wonderful-- tender and moist. The pasta was just okay but for red sauce (which neither of us are crazy over), we were pretty surprised by how good it was :). I almost always get the liver sandwich because I am crazy about that stuff. This time it wasn't that great. There was too much hard boiled egg mashed inside and not enough seasoning. The arugula salad on the side had a little too much dressing but then again I should have asked for dressing on the side. There was a pianist playing which made the vibe of Max's all the better and our waiter was super friendly and attentive. Next time, I'll get the OTHER mushroom pasta (there are two and the one higher on the menu is yummier) and chow down on the complimentary fresh baked bread! (Sourdough is the way to go) :) :) ):

    (3)

  • Jessica C.

    I . LOVE. THEIR. FRIES. Amazingly seasoned, extremely thick-cut (more like potatoes than fries), really plump, soft on the inside, with a crispy outer skin, and non-greasy. 1 pound for $4.99. Such amazing fries out of nowhere! The roasted vegetable wrap is my constant favorite thing to order for lunch. Love the spinach tortilla wrapped around portobello mushroom, lettuce, tomato, avocado, and bell pepper. It's so filling and delicious. I like that hummus and tzatziki sauce come with it. AAND it comes with an arugula + corn salad with a really yummy vinaigrette (the only good "salad" from Max's) I also secretly like one of their unhealthy deli-turkey sandwiches on sliced wheat bread that contains cranberry cream cheese and sprouts (it comes with the fries :)) What else do you need to know? AVOID the salads. Seriously so unfresh and dry, and the "candied walnuts" are soggy and bitter :(

    (3)

  • Karen S.

    Good, fresh food, good prices, and fun bartenders

    (5)

  • Jeff M.

    I really like this place. Always warm, kind and with good food. We come here when we need a good family meal. I like their huge eclair for a desert, although they discontinued another one of my favorite deserts, the blueberry pastry. Nothing better than a good food after a day of shopping.

    (5)

  • Monty P.

    First meal on Saturday right at lunch! Decided to go on a hunch, great idea! Our waiter Julio was very helpful...introduced us to eggs benedict, slider and jambalaya.,,all of which was awesome. Definitely coming back. Thanks Julio for the great service!

    (4)

  • Bruce M.

    Not a real deli -- not like east coast deli. But they do a passable corned beef reuben and many other good, non-deli dishes. A little pricey and slow service too. Nice bar area and outside seating is nice. I'll keep coming back for the quality of the eats.

    (4)

  • Jamon B.

    Max's has gone down hill. Not only was the service bad, but the food was bad too. My parents used to love coming here when they visit, but apparently there have been changes, and not good ones. The clam chowder was curdled and there weren't many clams in it. Basically, it was a big bowl of curled milk. Gross. The waiter brought stale bread that was hard as a rock. When we told him, he left the old stale bread and brough new bread that was better. But he left the old bread on the table the whole time, even though we asked him to take it away. Even when he took plates away, he left the old stale bread. It was like he was playing a weird joke on us. That said, the chicken pot pie was decent and we really enjoyed listening to the singer. The singer does a pretty good job. If only the food and service matched his performance.

    (2)

  • Samantha C.

    Very good lunch place that's also kid friendly. Their Russian cabbage soup was very good with tender beef cubes (similar to veggie /tomato soup more on the sour side). The gluten-free chicken tenders on the kid menu wasn't crispy, but the steak fries were good! I would recommend their sliders w/ caramelized onions. Great service!

    (5)

  • Shannon N.

    I am serious about my deli foods. Perfection is found at Manny's Deli in Chicago, but a close second for me is Carnegie Deli (in NYC and Vegas). So we tried Max's today, intrigued by this item: #1A "THE CARNEGIE" 23.99 NY SIZE, NY PRICE "FOR THE BIG MOUTH" 20 OZ OF CORNED BEEF AND PASTRAMI ON RYE The sandwich was not Carnegie-sized at all - I ate less than a half of a half of the sandwich (I wasn't very hungry and had intended for most of this to be a few meals later), and then when I got home, I weighed the leftovers. The uneaten half was 6.5 ounces of meat, the partially eaten half was 3.5 ounces. 10 ounces left - or, generously speaking, 13 ounces of meat. Honestly, I feel scammed by this. I saw a regular corned beef sandwich delivered to another table, and it wasn't all that much smaller than my meal. Ended up buying a slice of their famous Niagara Cake and a half-slice of cheesecake to go - and both of them were cut oddly and seemed small. The cheesecake was missing crust on half of the slice! The Niagara Cake slice felt very overpriced at $8. Service was erratic, and we felt rushed throughout our meal (we had waited 15 minutes for a table). I had finished eating my portion of my meal by the time our server checked in with us. We just wanted to leave at the end, kinda annoyed by the sandwich issue and waiting for our server to come by. With the sandwich, my husband's meatloaf, and the dessert-and-half, it was over $50 (plus tip). Shameful considering the quality at classic deli restaurants elsewhere.

    (2)

  • frank p.

    Love their corned beef, much more than their pastrami. Like so many others, I too have noticed the portion size dwindling over the years. My only remedy to this is to order the "The NY Carnegie 22oz. Corned Beef sandwich". It's expensive, but there's usually leftovers for another meal/snack later.

    (3)

  • Krishna M.

    This place is my little getaway for hearing good music, and having dessert. I have not tried any entrees from the menu..just because I've only been coming here with a group of friends for some drinks and desserts. The ambiance is just excellent. I am so glad this place exists..it helps me unwind from a long and stressful day. Their dessert portions are great, and you will leave satisfied and content. Friends say their food is good too. not sure about all their vegetarian options. Shall provide an update later ! Pros : Great service (very accommodating) Great atmosphere Entertaining Plenty of options from the menu Try their chocolate cake

    (5)

  • Kari M.

    Came here to celebrate my b-day with some girlfriends. Picked this place because it was a quazi central location and I've been to the location in San Jose at the Paseo Mall before. What started out as a fun evening quickly turned into a nightmare of mediocre food and terrible service. +1 star for their awesome foursquare deal (check in and receive free calamari appetizer). Hooray. The calamari was decent and it was a really decent serving size. We started off the evening with one waiter who seemed to do an ok job of attending to us. We were seated in the back away from the live music and a bit sheltered from the rest of the restaurant. He took our calamari order and then came back with it about 10 minutes later. Soon after he informed us that his shift was over and he would be leaving us in the care of Devin. Fine and dandy. Devin took our orders and we did not see him again until I had to get his attention 45 minutes later. Our food took what seemed like forever to come out, and some lady brought it to us. Not Devin. The food itself was ok. Over salted and not the best, but ok. No one came by to fill our water glasses and 30 minutes after our food was served, Devin was no where to be found. I finally spotted him across the restaurant and called him over to our table. I, along with others at my table, informed him that we felt neglected and were un-impressed with the service we were receiving. He quickly came back to fill water glasses and offer a free banana split to our table. After he brought us our dessert, he brought us our check and we didn't see him again. It was ridiculous! He didn't come to collect our check. One of my friends had to run the card and cash to the front herself! Absolutely absurd! Some of the worst service I've had and I won't be returning. I also won't be suggesting this place to anyone. Ever.

    (1)

  • Diane C.

    Came back for the Roasted Beet salad which didn't disappoint. My husband got something from the artichoke/asparagus menu and emptied his plate (rarely he does that). We sat outside since it was a beautiful day and had a great lunch. Can it get any better? Even Gavin Newsome and family were here enjoying Sunday afternoon.

    (5)

  • Jane D.

    Really pricey for mediocre food. The wait staff was pretty nice. They were really considerate and offered to pack up our food when the baby had a melt down. I ordered the #24 turkey sandwich with cream cheese and cranberry. Gross, gross gross, gross. I never have a good meal when I eat here. I don't know why I come here. Yuck!

    (2)

  • Gianna D.

    Their menu has changed and is definitely different then it used to be. And definitely not in a good way in my opinion. They have fewer options and they have removed some of the good options they had and they have much less of a variety. Some people would say this is good (and I do tend to agree in certain situations) as fewer options mean less of a cluttered menu. The food though also seems to not be prepared as well as it often lacks flavor. Depending on when you go the food can vary in quality, sometimes its great and sometimes not so much. Sometimes it also takes FOREVER to get your order. They can be fast or slow depending on when you go, time of day, who you get, who the chef is, etc. etc. It could be 3 pm and take you 45 minutes for a salad! The same goes for takeout orders as well. I do work in the area and often would order from here as takeout, but now don't because of their lackluster customer service standards. I do enjoy their matzo ball soup, salads, and sandwiches. They also have massive desserts. I never really order dessert but I do enjoy watching other people get them and seeing their eyes when they see the size of the pieces. They do look very look but the time I did order a piece of cake it was a bit dry. I assume the large size of the desserts mean they sit their for a bit before a new dessert is baked. Overall, the food is good but the service and price can definitely be unsettling at times. Max's is good but management should step it back up in terms of quality standards to what it used to be!

    (3)

  • Nancy H.

    Sometimes when I go to Palo Alto, I go to the stanford mall and go to max's opera cafe. I love it! Yes, It is very filling, but it is good food. The only thing is that it sometimes takes a while for them to serve the food, and it can get kinda full. Overall, I like it a lot!

    (5)

  • Malisa D.

    I call in large orders from here at least once a week for my clients. I always call beforehand as soon as I can around 10:30 and someone will always answer eventhough they aren't open until 11:30. Patty and Patrick are what I'd like to call nifty managers. Very polite, very helpful, and always give me the best service on the phone. I've had a lot of their sandwhiches and salads on the menu and one thing ppl always love the most is the mini angus burgers... Their salads are all pretty good too, Bistro salad, Sweet and Sour Spinach salad, Roasted Beet salad, Grape and Walnut Chicken salad, Guy's Chinese Chicken salad....Need I continue L-O-V-E the wraps, they use the green spinach flour tortillas. My fav----Veggie and BBQ pork wrap! Decent Gluten-free menu incld. gluten-free cookies--- for those like my friend with celiac this is grrrreat! Never been here and actually dined in, seems that a lot of the negativity lies in their service and loud music... Therefore, my stars are solely based on the great management they uphold on the phone and the great food they provide---not on the ambiance.

    (4)

  • Cat C.

    After my take out order a few days ago, I'm completely swearing off this Max's. My co-worker loves their BBQ Pork Quesadilla and it always looks good when she gets it and brings it back to work. So I decided to order it for pick up. I came awhile after the suggested 10-15 minutes. My co-worker told me after the mall employee discount that it's like $5-something. Upon arrival, I notice the bartender (he normally rings up to-go orders) is pretty busy, so I went up to the hostess and she just said rudely that I need to go to the bartender. I waited around 15-20 minutes for his attention and for him to bring my order over to ring it up. I noticed on the receipt that it said $7.99 subtotal for my quesadilla, I asked him if this was with the discount, and he said that he'd fix it, when I got the receipt back (about 5 minutes later) it was only like 50 cents or somewhat of a discount. I didn't want to wait any longer, so I didn't say anything and I just paid it even though my co-worker always get it for $5-ish. I sat outside the tables to eat it and was disappointed in how they made it, they didn't put much cheese or pork in it. Stanford's dining selection totally sucks, thankfully I usually bring my lunch to work. I'm steering clear and so are some of my other co-workers of this Max location's poor service, subpar food, and "selective" discounts!

    (1)

  • Alice M.

    I'm updating my review on Max's~I communicated with Greg B. the owner/manager listened to our complaints. He review and promised this is not tolerated. I so appreciated his response in resolving this unpleasant experience and told Greg I would update my review. Excellent food and drinks, looking foward to going back with the family to Max's!

    (4)

  • Julia H.

    Great place to stop by for lunch after shopping in the Stanford Mall. I had the "Ultimate Grilled Cheese", with Brie, Muenster, and Havarti.... Very delicious, and I ate the whole thing (even the fries on the side)! My only complaint is that they served the bread less than a minute before our meal. I started cutting my bread and before I finished cutting the waitress brought my lunch over. But overall a good place and I will definitely be back for more!

    (4)

  • Jerry S.

    Only the second time at Max's and to my delight there was a young talented singer-pianist, Daniel Stromfeld playing that night. He played songs as diverse as Norah Jones to Frank Sinatra with some Broadway tunes thrown in. The food was great and the atmosphere was enhanced by the music.

    (4)

  • Scott P.

    Thoroughly unimpressed. Ordered the Skirt Steak Salad and asked for it rare, received it well done. I could have made a better entree salad in my sleep. The server attempted to reach a level of enthusiasm that equaled ennui with a touch of impatience, but even fell short of that.

    (2)

  • Shanna K.

    I've always been a fan of Max's though I'm not sure I noticed the prices being so high until recently. Did they go up? I was there again today and it did seem unreasonably high compared to what I recall. Their menu definitely has changed. There used to be a great shrimp dish over mashed potatoes that I really liked and it seems to be gone. Plus, all the funny sandwich names no longer exist. How sad. That was part of the charm. Well, that being said I was going to order the poached salmon salad and it was $15.99. That's a bit much for a salad. Big as it might be.. salad doesn't keep and I would be hard pressed to finish it all, I'm sure. My friend was also going to order a salad, the steak cobb, I think... and when she saw how much just a regular top sirloin steak was (same price) she went for that instead. Is there a shortage on greens or somethin'? Yeesh. I too went the other route and got the lamb burger for $12.99 instead. It was delicious and huge, cooked medium rare just as I asked for .. and surprised me by arriving on a long-ish sub-sandwich style onion bun, with lettuce, tomato and thin red onion. I could only finish half. The tzatziki sauce was not particularly flavorful so I added salt and that didn't help much either. Desperately needed garlic. So I switched to the horseradish sauce on the table. Highly recommended. I subbed a Caesar side salad for the fries and it was just what I wanted. I'm also a long time fan of their Russian cabbage soup, with it's sweet beefy flavor and little.. what are those... raisins? I never could figure that out. Either way I find it delicious and very satisfying. I've had the Mediterranean Chicken and it's also very good. A dear friend of mine raves over the patty melt, with extra thousand island. I'm not woman enough to try it myself. The cocktails are always good. Wine list needs help. Desserts are crazy, of course. The eclairs and the Niagra Falls cake are favorites.

    (3)

  • Katrina T.

    Came here during my lunch break with my cousins and was on a time crunch! I pretty much had an hour and needed to be outta here like asap. When we first got there, there was no one really to help us. There wasn't a hostess to tell us how long the wait would be or even to take the number of our party. We probably were standing there for a good 10 minutes and I was getting pretty annoyed/antsy (because I needed to get back to work!). Finally, a waiter let us know he had a table open and was willing to seat us. The waiter was super chill and friendly. I liked the fact that he willingly let us sit at his table when he really didn't have to (I mean of course he wanted the money but the hostess was supposed to assist us in an open table). My cousin and I shared the "Giant Nachos". The nachos were GIANT indeed! but not as satisfying as I thought it would be. Too much salsa, little cheese and meat! It was alright...I couldn't really get a distinct taste out of it. I like nachos in general so I just ate it. I felt like I just settled for it and ate it because I was hungry and we already ordered. My cousin's bf got the Tuna Melt. It didn't look that great either. Besides our waiter being nice, the environment of the restaurant is really dim. It definitely makes me feel like I am in an "opera" type of place. The food is also cafe-like. The food isn't fabulous, but it is decent, average quality food. Good to come here during a shopping break! If I do come back here, I think I want to try something on their main meal and give this place another chance !

    (3)

  • Kelly A.

    I have had better food from jack-in the box.the service really isn't great either.

    (1)

  • Erica S.

    One of the decent places to eat when at Stanford Shopping Center, but not the greatest place to eat if you're looking for something light although I did just have soup and salad. As Max's Law #9 says, "This is a bad place for a diet and a good place for a diet, any kind of diet." Recently came for lunch and surprisingly, there was no wait on a weekend. We were quickly greeted by our server who was friendly and attentive. They have an extensive list of sandwiches on their menu so there should be something for everyone. Since we were going to be eating prime rib for dinner, I just ordered the Soup and Salad combo with Caesar Salad and French Onion Soup. French Onion Soup was an extra $2, but I think it was worth it. It's a pretty hearty soup and I love it when it comes piping hot out of the oven. Overall, a satisfactory lunch.

    (4)

  • Josephine K.

    Once again, a little biased, I know, for nostalgia's sake, since we used to go here all the time when we lived on campus, but, I will always love their sandwiches, matzo ball soup, and the desserts. On this trip, the singers sounded like amateur night guests but still ok. No wait on a Saturday night, What? We were seated right away. The waiter was really wonderful. Efficient and very friendly. The food was fabulous, as usual. We stick with their specialties, deli sandwiches and appetizers and desserts. I think the people who do not enjoy the food might be ordering other stuff. And expecting their sandwiches to be 12 inches high like at Carnegie's Deli is an unrealistic expectation doomed to be met with disappointment. But if you go wanting a good old fashioned deli style food like a pastrami sandwich, you'll go home very satisfied. A really nice environment, great food, and a visit down memory lane. Priceless.

    (5)

  • J G.

    I'm a big fan of their free raisin bread - warm and sweet! Big portion for the brunch plate. Very reasonable price. Always packed but get seat quickly. The service was lousy and slow maybe they should hire more help!

    (4)

  • Carina M.

    I've been here a handful of times with friends and family. It's a good place to bring certain friends who are not adventurous with food. I've ordered many things from their menu over the years - cheese steak, pastrami, soups and salads. These past few years I've been ordering their salads. It's a bit masochistic on my part because their salads are sadly underwhelming - and I'm being kind when I say that. The last salad I had there, the Shrimp Louis, nearly turned me off of salads for life. I couldn't put my finger on it, but the salad itself freaked me out. I stopped eating it after a few bites. For $15, I should've forced myself to eat it. If you're looking for flavorful salads, this isn't the place for it. I'd suggest getting breakfast or a sandwich. Their matzoh ball soup is acceptable, but I've definitely had better. I like the location and the fact their outdoor seating is dog friendly. Service has always been hit and miss. Sadly, mostly on the miss side. However, the past few times I've been here and sat outside, I've received reasonably quick and friendly service. I've seen some people get some really bad servers here and would always thank the stars I got a good/decent server. I wouldn't say don't come here, but if you space it out enough and not come here everyday, you won't hate this place. For me, it's convenient enough and decent enough to come back to despite the low rating I have given it. This place really is a 2.5 star place. Saying it's 3 is really pushing the limit for me, so I rounded it down to 2.

    (2)

  • Anisha G.

    My friend and I came in for a late lunch on Sunday (2/6) at around 1pm (Stanford Mall). This review is based on the service alone. We were not satisfied with our waitress Taylor. At first she seemed like something was bothering her, naturally we felt sorry for her or whatever situation she was going through; and thought we would let her forgetfulness pass. However, as the service continued we noticed she played a perkier card with other patrons and turned cold towards us. If we offended, we were unaware of it. In fact her rudeness offended us. Through the course of our meal, my friend began to think she could have been racist towards me and homophobic towards him. I told him that was a serious allegation, and I may not agree that she was prejudice towards us, yet, I do feel she treated us like burdens. Forgetfulness: I asked if she could bring rye bread over -- she didn't. She took my order down wrong for the buffalo wings, I asked for a side of ranch and bleu cheese. She only brought the ranch dressing, but when she came by and asked how we were I asked for bleu cheese again, and she gave an expression of annoyance. My friend and I were trying to make conversation with her when she was at our table, and she began to speak and then cut us off and turned around to help the patrons behind her. After paying for our meal, I made a comment about if she didn't want to serve us she should have refused to in the first place. My friend said she was right behind me when I made that comment, and frankly, I hope she heard me. I shouldn't have to dress a million dollars to get million dollar service at a mediocre restaurant; and waiters shouldn't always blame patrons for giving them bad tips. You get what you work for. I am not sure if I will come back to this establishment. While I like your food selection, Taylor left a pretty bad impression to the both of us.

    (1)

  • Sandy C.

    I went here for lunch on Saturday morning...the wait wasn't too bad, roughly 20 minutes. The server was very friendly and the food came out in a timely manner. I ordered a Reuben sandwich and was not disappointed...very tasty. The soup I had, on the other hand, wasn't as good...the veggies were a little too soggy and mushy. My friends got fries with onion strings and those were rather tasty. I think I'd come here again. . .

    (3)

  • Rebecca S.

    I used to love max's and would come here frequently with my family and ALWAYS for my birthday. It was true love all the way, until this year when I've had some particularly bad experiences.... came here in june of '10, and it really breaks my heart to give 'em a bad review, but I really felt like the quality of the food has gone down, yet the prices havent. I came here with my family for a graduation celebration, and I ordered a $15 tuna salad, and was expecting something really mouth watering and spectacular, but no; I got served a bowl of chopped romaine lettuce that barely had any color, garnished with chopped carrots, celery, and cabbage, with a scoop of over-mayonnaised tuna 'salad' that tasted like some gross chicken salad mixture you would find at the safeway deli. The only good part of my salad was the generous portion of avocado....but none the less, romaine lettuce, chopped vegetables, and canned tuna?? how cheap can you get?! I was extremely unimpressed and disappointed with the evening. Also, we had a party of 6 and our food took an hour to come out.....we didnt get to eat until 9 pm that evening. Another incidence that has altered my opinion of Max's.... Came here for my grandma's birthday and had the most atrocious waitress. I've worked in the food and food service industry, so I know that being competent is not THAT difficult...ok so heres what happened: I ordered the chicken matzo ball soup under the impression that the broth was chicken stock (I'm a pescatarian for the most part, but don't mind a little chicken stock). Anyways, my soup comes out and its drowning in chicken...so I ask the waitress why theres so much and she snaps back 'BECAUSE THATS THE WAY IT COMES!!". and then doesnt offer to get me something else or even ask if I like it. wow lady, seriously??! What the heck is wrong with you!? So, I pick out the chicken and bring it home to my dog. Problem solved. Next, I had brought a birthday cake which I had given to the host on the way in, and I notice our waitress is whispering to me and trying to summon me indiscreetly...so I actually get up from my family and go see what she wants....shes holding my cake and goes: "what do you want me to do with this!?"" ARE YOU SERIOUS, LADY?!!? how do you not know what the fuck to do with a birthday cake?! ATTENTION MAX'S::: YOU NEED TO A) HIRE A MORE COMPETENT WAIT STAFF, AND B) EITHER LOWER YOUR PRICES OR RAISE YOUR STANDARDS. THANK YOU LOVE, YOUR ONCE LOYAL CUSTOMER

    (2)

  • Dennis H.

    "Critics Not Welcome." That's the first sign you see on the front door of Max's Opera Cafe as you enter. Good thing I'm not a critc. A critic would have noticed they have a well-decorated wood-themed restaurant bar with the host stand partway into the middle of the restaurant near their bakery. They have a fair bakery selection, although I didn't study it for long. There was 'musical entertainment' in the form of a lounge singer who was fired from a dive in Reno. The Wife and I asked for a table and a high chair so The Daughter would have a place to sit. We were seated fairly promptly, although a critic would have noticed that I had to get the high chair myself because the hostess was preoccupied and the waiters were too busy. We received our menus and read the 'house rules' in the very loaded menu. Some of them are entertaining; 'If you spot a critic, we'll buy you a drink.' 'Our Reubens are known to leak,' 'Our waiters will never ask "How is everything this evening?" They'll ask you something important. If not, we'll buy you a drink.' A critic would have noticed that we had quite a bit of time to read the menu, probably ten minutes. The table bread was warm and tasty. Our waiter did arrive eventually to take our drink order, and he was nice and good with The Daughter. It was a good margarita, and I got to finish it before I was able to order our food. A critic would have noticed that his water glass was empty for the entire meal. I ordered a steak and the Wife ordered a Greek salad. The steak was cooked appropriately rare with a good-sized baked potato, and they added the special touch of allowing the food to cool to room temperature before serving it. The Wife didn't think much of her salad. A critic would have noted that we were at our table for about 45 minutes before we got the entrees, and The Daughter was getting well past her bedtime. The waiter dropped by and asked if we were okay, which is clearly much more important than asking if everything was alright, and hurried off to help the other twenty customers he was waiting on. If I were a critic, I would have noted that the management had the place completely understaffed, and while the food was decent, the experience was very unsatisfying. Good thing I'm not a critic, or someone might have learned this for themselves...

    (2)

  • Nolan V.

    Fun selection I sat there not knowing what to order because it all looked good, waiter helpful! Large place

    (3)

  • Hogan W.

    Big Portions + Affordable Prices = Full Belly and Happy Wallet I've been to Max's on various occasions, but didn't Yelp the quality of food until today. Service was to be desired, but if you could look past that, their food is delicious and worthwhile. Our friend met my wife and I for lunch this Saturday so we went inside and requested a table for 3. The wait only took 10 minutes even though 20 was quoted. We were given a vibrating pager with flashing lights which worked into the courtyard close to Schaub's Meat Fish & Poultry. Once our pager went off, it was a challenge to walk through the line of people still waiting even at 2 PM. The host walked us up to our table next to a large tinted window. Their menu has a big variety of items for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with soups, salads, sandwiches, burgers, main entrees, appetizers, cocktails, and desserts. We ordered: Bacon Cheeseburger, $11.59, with side of fries Patty Melt, $10.99, big grilled slice of onion wedged inside BBQ Pork Wrap, $9.99, this was mine and it was big and tasty with another side of BBQ sauce. Very filling with roasted bell peppers, chopped lettuce, and bbq pork. An arugula salad on the side too. Mango Flavored Ice Tea, $2.75, Ice tea was very light in color with a mango syrup shot. Cherry Coke Soda, $2.75, Total with tax came to $41.59 Once we received our orders, our waiter never came by to check upon us. That was no matter since I wasn't there for terrific service but looking for tasty fulfilling food. By the time I was ready to find any waiter to get the check, our waiter materialized. No food complaints here.

    (4)

  • Jenn G.

    I've been to Max's numerous times over the years. I've liked it in the past but this last visit made me realize that I may not want to return. Service: slow. clearly the economy has hit because it was quite empty on a Friday night. I remember the days when we'd have to make reservations in advance. even though it was a slow night, the service was slow as well. It took forever to get a glass of water and even longer to get a refill. The server also didn't take note of special requests (see paragraph below). Food: The food was fine. I enjoyed my steak and bf enjoyed his ribs. Our friends enjoyed their food as well. When I ordered my food, I asked for my sauce on the side. The server dutifully took notes. However, when the food came, the sauce was on the steak. I was irritated because it was a simple request. He brought the food back to the kitchen and I imagine he probably wiped off the sauce and added his own "special spit sauce." EWWW. Cost: Food was inexpensive. I didn't have a drink but bf tells me that the drinks are average priced. He indulged in a few while waiting for me to finish shopping :) Conclusion: Max's food is good but the service is horrible. With so many restaurants nearby I don't see why anyone would visit except for the convenience of it being in the Stanford shopping plaza.

    (2)

  • Brooke E.

    Really nice waiter, but the food was bad. The potato skins and French onion soup had no flavor. The crab cakes were just so so and not worth $18.

    (2)

  • pablo p.

    the coffee was great! the service was good. the food is tasteless.

    (1)

  • Jay J.

    Overall, the food at Max's is good. However, the service is TERRIBLE which is why I rated Max's a 1 star. When we were finally seated, we were not greeted at all by any workers (servers) passing our table. After 10 mins of waiting for someone, we decided to flag down a waitress. The waitress was kind enough to go ask who will be serving us. It just so happens the waitress whom we asked was our server. Why wouldn't she know her table assignments for the day? So.....we placed our order and waited and waited and waited. From where I was sitting, I was able to see that our order for soup, salad and shirmp cocktail were ready to go out. The food sat for a good 15 mins until the waitress finally decided to get the food. The restaurant was not that busy and the waitress appeared to have no "pep in her step" and took her sweet time. The food finally arrived. The whole time we were eating, no one asked us if we needed anything (and I did need more bread), nor did our waters get refilled. So......food was eaten, but we still have yet to talk to anyone. I had to flag the waitress down to close out our bill. When the waitress arrived, we asked if it was ok to split the bill 3 ways and she said yes. Again, we were waiting and waiting and waiting for her to complete the transactions (again, no pep in her step) and she finally gave us our respective bills to sign. What do you think happened? She messed up......charging the wrong card the wrong amout. So in a nut shell, Max's needs to train their staff about greeting customers, and to wait on customers in a quick, yet courteous manner. I would only go back to this place if I had 3 hours to eat lunch!

    (1)

  • Michael W.

    Nice place. Good food and service. A little pricey.

    (4)

  • Renee C.

    This review is for take out onlyl. I really miss having Max's Opera Cafe at the airport. I took the food home. It was ok. I am sure that it would have been better if we stayed at the resturant. The food was 2.5, the resturant 3 + We will try them again.....

    (3)

  • Jim S.

    I used to really enjoy Max's. Unfortunately, menu prices have increased to the point where there's not enough value in both the quality and portion size of the food to continue my patronage. I can understand charging the current prices during the evening with live entertainment provided, but this location now mostly affords the ambiance of an overcrowded bus.

    (2)

  • Sara B.

    This was our first and last time going to Max's. We were seated quickly and ordered, and all was fine at first. About 25 minutes after ordering, our waiter returned to our table to tell us that he had lost our order, and could we please give it again. He offered a sorry and said that he would have our order fired immediately (isn't that what they normally do when they get your order?...) All over the restaurant walls and napkins, they have quotes about how they will "buy you a drink" if your service isn't great. I don't usually expect things to be comped for bad service, but if you blatantly advertise that your restaurant gives free things for bad customer service, we thought we'd at least get a discount or something else free. After finishing our food (which was pretty good), it took forever for our server to get back to us, and after he did, it took another 15 minutes for some ice cream we ordered for our daughter to show up. I'd understand if it was a souffle, but it was ice cream. Doesn't take 15 minutes to scoop. After that, it took another 20 minutes or so to receive our check (all the tables around us who were seated after us got our checks before us). Actually, we didn't receive the check. We flagged down our waiter and gave him our card so he could go run it. We ended up being there a total of an hour and a half for what we hoped to be a quick lunch. Not impressed, not going back. UPDATE: I received a message from the manager here offering to make things right. I really appreciate the follow-up, so I've added a star.

    (3)

  • A J.

    I usually ate here outside. They have lots of choices for Salad. You can even add sesame crusted tofu. Good for lunch during shopping.

    (3)

  • Amy Y.

    Pro: good food, fun selections Cons: service sucked, so slow I can't believe it. Kitchen is behind, 30 mins for a pastrami sammy, really? Portions insultingly big - be prepared to share If you're coming, be prepared to wait and wait and wait. And we finished our sammie and fries still aren't delivered.

    (1)

  • Glen G.

    They have gone downhill. They no longer carry chopped liver. The pastrami and corned beef are pretty tasteless. Don't order them hot. Potato salad still wonderful.

    (2)

  • Leeann C.

    I came here for an early dinner with my parents and my dog. We sat outside in the patio area and enjoyed the live music. We ordered the sweet potato fries to share, grilled chicken sandwich, pappardelle, and roasted beet salad (me). The sweet potato fries were yummy and came with a great chili aioli. My roasted beet salad was quite tasty -- the beets were nice and sweet and I enjoyed the candied walnuts. I do think there was a bit too much dressing and feta cheese, as it overwhelmed the taste, so I tried to push most of the cheese to the side. Overall, this is a nice place to sit, relax, and grab a bite to eat after doing some shopping at Stanford Shopping Center. -L.

    (3)

  • Mr. B.

    They changed the menu and not sure what else got changed, but the quality and service has gone down significantly!! We went to Max's Opera Café on Friday for lunch while shopping and had a horrible experience with quality of food and service. Our waiter Rolando was absent minded and kept forgetting stuff. Even the manager lady came by to check, but she was hopeless. No passion!! The potato skin appetizer was cold and bacon bits tasted rancid. They were cold and looked like they were prepared a week before. Dill salmon sandwich was good. Fish 'n chips was so bad, cold and raw inside. Menu has change, something has changed, no more comfort food at this place!! The menu prices are ok for lunch, but obviously the restaurant is deceiving customers by overcharging for drinks. The average price for a sandwich is between $10-15 and the ice tea is $3.29!! On a ~ $50 restaurant bill, $10 or 20% was for three ice tea (tea bag and hot water and a glass of ice)!!!! I miss the old and honest Max's Opera Café!!

    (1)

  • Vera S.

    The good: ~ Huge portions and a huge menu with lots of options. ~ The desserts are also huge and wonderfully decadent. ~ The bread. Always warm and yummy, comes out right away, and served with butter and 4 or 5 kinds of mustard. ~ The Russian Cabbage Soup alone is worth the trip here. Yum! The bad: ~ The music. Look, I get that live singing is part of the experience at this restaurant. But does it need to be SO loud?!?! Four of us came here on a Friday evening, and were shouting across the table at each other, and still couldn't hear anything anyone said. Not only that, but the *waitress* couldn't understand what we were trying to say to her, and got a quite a bit of our order wrong. Please just turn it down! ~ The salads. We ordered 3 different kinds of salads, and they were all essentially a gigantic iceberg salad, with a few different things sprinkled on top. For example, the Chopped Vegetable salad was a giant bowl of iceberg lettuce with - I'm not kidding - maybe 3 or 4 cherry tomatoes cut in half, and a few tiny pieces of cucumber and broccoli chopped up and sprinkled on top. If you want a salad, don't bother coming here. ~ The service was not great. The waitress took her time coming to take our order. Then when she did, the food took a long time to come, and she never came back to check on us. And then, between when our dinner plates were cleared and she came back to see if we wanted dessert or the check, that was another 20 minutes or so. And at the end of our meal, we actually had to wave down another waitress and ask her for the check.

    (2)

  • Gail M.

    I got a burger. I asked for it plain. They brought a cheese burger. Bun was drab. I could have made a better burger at home. I won't go back.

    (2)

  • gina g.

    Just got take out at Palo Alto-chicken pot pie, so excellent, they even gave me extra sauce, bread and butter-huge amount that I will eat for dinner as well-GREAT sevice at bar today at 1:26PM-Thank you!

    (5)

  • Iris W.

    Went here spontaneously for Valentines Day dinner with my Valentine :). 2/14/13 Sorry for the late review. Being that it was Valentines Day, we were expecting it to be crowded. Not at all. We walked in without a reservation and was seated near the window. Great view :) I love this location. We were seated by the piano which allowed us to enjoy the greatness of the sounds of Opera type tunes and vocals. Our waitress was quite tentative and made sure we were OK. My tine ordered a dish I do not care to mention and I ordered the special salmon. When our meals came out we proceeded to eat. I was pleased with my selection but the portion could have been better. My tine proceeded to eat his meal and as he ate toward the center he noticed that is was cold. We immediately signaled our waitress. She was very apologetic. He refused to wait for a replacement. I talked him into ordering what I ordered and the meal came promptly. After our meal we ask to speak to the manager and he approached the table, listen to our concern but only apologize. Not good enough. When our tab came we were charged for two full meals. We spoke to our waitress regarding the cold entree experience and that we felt we should have been compensated for the inconvenience. Besides the restaurant was not that busy for a Valentines Day. Our waitress brought another manager over and she addressed our concern and refunded us for half the second meal. She was understanding and sympathetic to our dinner experience. I give this visit 4 stars . We were seated accordingly without a reservation and had the opportunity to hear our waitress sing a few songs :) and provide excellent service. Will visit again.

    (4)

  • Christine P.

    The food is tasty and affordable. After leaving the Garlic Festival, my husband and I were still hungry so we decided to drive over to the Stanford Shopping center and stop to grab a quick bite. I had the tuna melt and my husband had a turkey sandwich. The portions are huge. I finished everything on my plate and so did my husband. For two dishes, and drinks our bill totaled $33. Not bad and service was great too!

    (3)

  • Julie S.

    They changed the menu so there's not as much variety to choose. Pear salad was good as usual. Potato latkes didn't taste freshly made and were cold.--not recommended. On the plus side there is outside dining; and when we told the waitress we were in a hurry, she accommodated us. I hope they improve the menu choices.

    (2)

  • Matt S.

    Great place for good sized portions with excellent/huge desserts. I've eaten here numerous times and it's always been a great experience. Solid drink menu and better-than-most draft beer selection. Some people complain about the prices, but it's no different than any other casual South bay/Peninsula restaurant. All of the sandwiches are delish (crab cake, brisket melt, cheese steak, grilled chicken, etc) as are the desserts. I've had varying levels of service when eating here, but the lesser experiences have been nothing to complain about. This location is much better than the San Francisco and Burlingame locations.

    (4)

  • Tucker S.

    We have eaten at the Bar at Max's once a week for over a year now. We look forward to our evenings with Brad and Becky behind the Bar every week. We highly recommend the experience!

    (5)

  • Denise M.

    Back again after 2 years. Same deal... good, but not great. I had the penne alfredo with grilled shrimp. The shrimp was very tasty and I love that they put mushrooms in the pasta. For me, i was thinking of a creamy sauce - like Fettuccine Alfredo. Well, this was more like pasta tossed in oil. No cream sauce at all. I don't like things tossed in oil. I know cream sauce isn't any better, but I just prefer an actual sauce. Hubby had the BBQ Pork Sandwich. Again, nothing special. Good fries. Sandwich looked pretty loaded with pork, with the BBQ sauce on the side. Maybe next time I'll remember and suggest we try another restaurant instead when we're in the mall.

    (3)

  • Subrosa I.

    The simple and hearty fare here tasted pretty good, but not good enough to warrant the long wait and steep price ($30 for a couple of sandwiches). The live singer made it a fun dining experience. Our waiter was polite and attentive. Depending on when you visit, parking at Stanford Shopping Center can be a bitch.

    (3)

  • Wendella B.

    I ate lunch here a couple of weeks ago. Very disappointing. Years ago, when I lived in San Francisco, I would eat at the location there and it was great. I ordered a half corned beef sandwich and matzo ball soup. First of all, the sandwich was not hot like it was supposed to be and the corned beef looked and tasted as if it was processed and not true corned beef. The soup was luke warm. The dish did not even come with a small side of potato salad or coleslaw like a normal and true deli would provide. In addition, I had to request a side of pickles. After I ate one pickle, there was a little bug on the plate. I complained to the manager who was not the nicest guy about my overall experience so he gave me 25% off of my meal. Big deal and his attitude sucked! For a location at the Stanford Shopping Center which is quite upscale, it was very disappointing to eat a meal at this restaurant. I will never step foot in there again.

    (1)

  • J S.

    All I can say is they have changed for the worse. I have been coming here for 10 years and it slowly went down hill. They took my favorite items off the menu. Quality has changed and so has the service . My suggestion is to just pass by them and go next door to Babbos. They are incredible .

    (1)

  • Helena C.

    I normally don't write reviews, but I found this place so offensive that I felt compelled to add my two cents. This was my first time coming here -- the restaurant was pretty crowded on a Sunday mid-morning, so I thought it had to be pretty decent, right? Wrong. After we placed our order with our server, we waited. And waited. And then waited some more. I asked our server what happened since the two tables around us got seated after us and had already been served their meals and she responded with, "Well, those people ordered appetizers. The kitchen lost your ticket, so your food should be coming up soon. I apologize, but these things happen." Now...that seems like a really half a** apology to me. And as much as I would have liked to unleash a can of whoop a** on that girl, I ended up just telling her that this was my first time here and that it was really disappointing to have this kind of experience. That said, I actually liked my corned beef and pastrami sandwich. The matzo ball soup was pretty mediocre though. Not an authentic bowl of matzo ball soup you'd find at any decent deli in New York. Plus it was lukewarm, so that just solidified that I will NEVER. GO. THERE. AGAIN.

    (1)

  • Lyn M.

    A tip on ordering here: DO NOT order any salads. I've had 3 different salads here, and the lettuce was always hard and old.

    (2)

  • Ken W.

    A long time ago, probably 15 years, this was a multiple-times per week staple. A #3 sandwich and iced tea was enough for lunch and to not need dinner later. At dinner, you might share an appetizer or desert with your companion, and still take something home. Just happened to be grabbing a Fred's steak from Schwabs at lunch, and hadn't been to Max's in at least 5 years, so stopped in. Service was astounding, Robert was fast, friendly, and efficient. The food was as good as I remembered, and the ice tea, still wonderful and brewed at the table. Also, the prices were quite reasonable, given the cost of deli sandwiches at any sit-down restaurant. The only thing that didn't match my nostalgic memories was that the entire plate felt like it had gone through WonkaVision. The plate was normal size, the bread normal sized, and the filling, well, a totally sane amount of pastrami and corned beef. But, that wasn't what made Max's special in the past, it was the over-full sandwich that you couldn't get your mouth around. Reminiscent of an awesome New York deli. Truth be told, this is probably better, all around. A sane amount of food at a reasonable price. Recommended, but not really a place to go on a pilgrimage to. Been meaning to update my review! After the folks at Max's sent me a note, telling me of the continued existence of the "old school" sandwiches, there's now no reason not to drop in for a meal, small, medium, or large!

    (4)

  • Patrick C.

    The hostess here seemed like she didn't want our business as we had to greet her before she asked how many were in our party. The waiter never smiled once and was giving us dirty looks through out our meal like we were gonna dine-N-dash or something. The food was mediocre at best. The slider burgers were a bit on the dry side. Their rib-eye steak had good taste while the baked potato that came with it only had sour cream in it after I specifically asked if it was "loaded" and the waiter said yes. I had to ask for chives and bacon bits...the bacon bits never came. The ribs was dry and was burnt. The cream of spinach wasn't creamy at all...it reminded me more of collard greens but with spinach instead. I've been to the Max's in SF before and believe that one is way better...food and service wise!!

    (2)

  • Tracy B.

    The only good thing we can say about eating at Max's is that they have a large menu. The food used to be much better, but it has really turned into slop, and over-priced slop at that. The matzoh ball soup used to be safe, but they have even managed to ruin that. The soup now contains last week's veggies, blended into mystery broth. In fact, the broth tasted like some cheap canned liquid with old veggies added. Waste not want not is the motto at this place. And, we would be remiss without commenting on the wait staff, all of whom seem to dislike their jobs. This once somewhat edible standby is now not worth entering.

    (1)

  • Amanda G.

    We had dinner here with my MIL and grandma-in-law after visiting a family member at Stanford hospital. It was very close, and the parking was easy.(It didn't hurt that it was a Sunday night.) We were seated right away, but our server took his sweet time getting us drinks, and an even longer time to take our order. I had a grilled chicken sandwich that came with french fries. It was hot and tasted fresh. The fries were not the style I prefer, (thicker cut than I like) but were still fairly good. The honey wheat roll I had was hot, and VERY good. I definitely could have eaten more bread..but I exercised EXTREME self control. ( I LOVE bread!) This isn't a place I would go out of my way to return to, but if someone suggested it, I'd go. I gazed lustfully at the gargantuan desserts they are famous for, but we were all too full to even share one.

    (3)

  • Kathi H.

    I haven't been back to Max's (2 locations: Stanford & Redwood City) in many years. After several (business) lunch visits, it just wasn't compelling enough to check out again, given all the other options out there. In their defense, this has been at least 5 years. So maybe things have improved? Dunno & don't care. Again, so many other options out there to check out. IMHO, the food just was always mediocre. Service sometimes okay, sometimes spotty. I've never been interested in wanting to check them out again.

    (1)

  • Davet M.

    Very good salad!

    (4)

  • Cindy C.

    3.5 STARS (extra points for super-friendly service with a smile) Came here for a working lunch not long ago and ordered up a bunch of not-good-for you but yummy appetizer bites to reward ourselves. We ordered the nachos which were loaded with black beans, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, jalapenos.... it was delicious. We also ordered the fried artichokes which were crispy and tasty and served with a nice, tart lemon aioli. For dessert, the peanut butter mousse pie was rich and more than satisfied my sweet tooth - it was huge and I took two bites and took the rest home to my hubby-- even though my friend and I split a single slice. Our waitress was super sweet and accommodating. Water glasses were kept full and she was earnest about making sure we were perfectly happy - which we were. This will be my go-to lunch spot when I'm working at Stanford.

    (3)

  • En J.

    Everything you've always wanted to eat... So true! It's an unbelievable menu In the past several years of going to Max's, I've never been disappointed in terms of food and service. In fact I realized recently how Max's always has been there to rescue when we just want something quick. My personal favorite is the Chicken Wings here and I like the Tuna Melt Sandwich on Sourdough. But before I go to the food, the fresh bread that greets you when you're seated is absolutely worth a mention. The food quality is good and always plenty so sharing always works here. Desserts here are good but overly sweet so eat at you're own risk.

    (4)

  • Miss J.

    Food is okay. go for the dessert, just looking at them in the showcase will have u wanting to take a spoon to each one we sat outside, she had us around the corner of the restaurant outside...yeah, just SAY NO.... expect servers who don't serve. Hi, please get some better servers.... i mean, they are supposed to serve, right? but if you're in the area, the entertainment is the kicker, love hearing the piano/singer or on fridays the guy playing the guitar outside. Makes their lacking service worth it =)

    (3)

  • Andreas Q.

    Had dinner here last night. I hadn't been in a long time, and somehow I remembered it a lot better. The best part of the meal was the free bread you get, and the sweet potato fries appetizer. My clam chowder tasted lacked taste, and wasn't hot, except in the deep corners of the bread bowl where it was well insulated. The Caesar's salad that came with it was ok. My water glass was empty 80% of the time, as was my wife's. For desert, one person in our party ordered the giant chocolate eclair, which wasn't cold when it was served, and sure enough the cream on the inside had gone sour. They were able to bring another one that hadn't gone bad.

    (1)

  • Diana L.

    Come here for ambience. Located in the heart of Stanford shopping center, it's a great restaurant to to sit outside and enjoy a lazy saturday/sunday afternoon. You can order food at their outdoor cafe which serves a variety of sandwiches (around $8). I had the pastrami sandwich, which was just okay. There is plenty of seating under shade and a good place to take your dog. There are many, many other dogs, too so you don't even have to go to the dog park.

    (3)

  • Jeff L.

    When I do come here because it is because it is at a relatively convenient location with easy parking, not because it is that good. Their portions are decent, and whenever we order more than one appetizer there is always something left over. Their wait staff is also pretty friendly. That said, I always imagine that I'm going to like my meal a lot more than I actually do. Whether it is a reuben or a patty melt or fried zucchini the food always seem to fall short of my expectations. Their selection is pretty large, so it does make a decent compromise place when people can't agree on what type of food they want to eat.

    (3)

  • Katja J.

    The chicken pot pie is super yummy! So are the potato latkes with apple sauce! I liked the atmosphere here. It's a big restaurant but it's very nice. They also have outdoor seating with heaters. So you can take your dog. The service was friendly! The prices are reasonable. They have big portions!

    (4)

  • Carl D.

    Good service. Very nice atmosphere and lighting. Kitchen is overwhelmed at dinner time and it can take 30 minutes from the time you order until you get your entree. Last Thursday, the food was amazing - 5 star quality. Went again on Saturday and the food wasn't so great. Good but not great. Skip the pulled pork sliders. They are ok, but nothing special. The sweet and sour pork can be excellent. For desert, our waiter, as a chocolate lover, recommended the chocolate cake. It was excellent. Don't miss it! Enjoy!

    (4)

  • Michael H.

    I first came here several years ago while waiting for my wife to finish with her birthday spa treatment nearby that I had got her. Fast forward to this week when my wife and I both came here for an after work drink and quick bite and I have to say it's just as good as it was back then. We shared the Calamari and I had the Stuffed Mushrooms while my wife had the Fish Tacos. Yummy and with happy hour pricing the food and our glasses of wine and sangria was all under $40.

    (4)

  • Jenifer V.

    Their french fries rock the house. I felt like going old school and ordering Guy's Chinese Chicken Salad, but I didn't love it like I used to. It wasn't horrible by any means, but it was just different than I remember. Has the chicken always been kind of tasteless? Their portions are generally nice sized, but my main squeeze ordered the Greek salad and was disappointed with its size. Love the fresh baked rolls. Yeah, I'll go back (even if it's just for the fries!).

    (3)

  • Steve L.

    Once again, came here between 11:30-12:00 on a Sunday, and had no problem getting seated. Love the bread basket with WARM sour dough rolls and raisin rolls. Anyone can tell my daughter and I are related because we love slapping on the BUTTAH on our rolls, except she only likes the sourdough. Kids had the pasta with butter and cheese, and the wife had the sliders. Big bowl of pasta for the kids, and they each got a dish of ice cream. Wife had no complaints for her sliders. I wanted a pastrami sandwich, but didn't feeling like tackling one of their whole ones. Ended up getting a half pastrami/corned beef/swiss sandwich with a cup of their soup of the day, which was a tortilla soup. Their cup is the size of a bowl at other places. Meet on my sandwich was nice and warm, and the rye bread soft, but firm enough so that it didn't disintegrate. Love to spread on some deli mustard for a little kick. Came with cole slaw, but gave it to my wife. Tortilla soup came topped with salsa, sour cream, onions, and of course tortilla strips. Mixed all together, and it was a very tasty soup, with cube chunks of chicken. Right sized portion for lunch so I wouldn't feel like rolling instead of strolling around the mall. Very nice and friendly server too!

    (4)

  • R R.

    I am writing this note to praise the attitude of the hostess, manager and waiter who served my party of three today at lunchtime. One of our party was delayed a couple of times, and the hostess was very helpful in adapting the reservation while we waited. Then, when a phone call came into the restaurant from the delayed person, the manager (or that's who I was told he was when I spoke to the hostess later) looked all around to try to find me and then let me take the call on their phone. And the server was very patient and nice as we proceeded with our meal. We all had delicious sandwiches, but today's service was what warmed and impressed me. I only eat at Max's 5-6 times a year when I'm meeting people coming from another direction, but I will definitely increase my patronage there.

    (4)

  • Marilyn T.

    I have lots of childhood memories of coming here after shopping with my mom when I was younger. I always remembered them for a funky menu, multiple types of mustard, and giant desserts, and not much has changed. It still kind of has an east coast feel to me, maybe because of their pastrami. In any case, they have big entree salads and a menu with lots of different sandwiches (warm and cold), burgers, things like turkey dinners and brisket. I think stand outs include the traditional potato latkes and Russian cabbage soup to start (soup could have been hotter). For sandwiches, try the meatloaf sandwich or the classic Reuben (and if you like mustard, they've got so many different kinds for your table!) My mom is a vegetarian, so she usually goes with a wrap or a pasta. Service is polite but not much beyond that. It's a fun place to eat, with big portions, reasonable prices. Not spectacular, but it's not bad for mall food.

    (2)

  • Anne N.

    Lewis and I came here by chance. We were in Palo Alto for IKEA and a movie. We stopped by the Stanford Shopping Center for lunch. Max's was a good choice. First impressions go a long way. My first thought of this place was that it looked relaxing to lounge in for a long lunch. It looked a little empty for a Saturday though. We sat down anyway, we were starving! Menu proved to be an all-American type of bar and restaurant. I had the patty melt while Lewis ordered a burger. We checked in at Foursquare and they honored the FS deal for a free appetizer after a few awkward exchanges with the waiter and the manager (that was honestly too much trouble to go through, I felt bad), but we ended up with free bruschetta! Unfortunately due to an emergency, we had to leave early. I would definitely come back here so I can fully enjoy myself. The meal between us two was about $30. "At least that's cheaper than when we eat sushi," we mused. 6 oz. Patty Melt $9.99 6 oz. Chez Burger $9.99 Wyders Cider $4.50 Peach Iced Tea $3.25 Bruschetta (free) $6.99 ---------------------------------------- Total with tax $30.30

    (4)

  • Christine M.

    in the area looking for a place to eat, and this place looked like a place where u could enjoy the sun, and have a nice chat. i ordered the skirt steak cobb, it was a good portion, and just how a salad should be, healthy yet filling. loaded with steak, mushrooms, avocado, tomatoes....etc. dressing wasn't too heavy. friend got the fish and looked like she liked it also. price is decent, iono bout a $15 salad, but i guess. service was goood, checked on us often, but nowhere to be found when trying to leave. not sure if id be back, but they have happy hour stuff i noticed.

    (3)

  • Ed L.

    Like most restaurants in Stanford mall, Max's Opera is just another chain restaurant that does not cook with much love. They have a great setting and menu with fabulous selections but execution is poor. Ironic that a phrase painted on the wall said something to the effect of "never soggy fries" yet I could not find a crispy one that came with my sandwich. Even the crabcakes were a little soggy. Lastly food is overpriced. Avoid dining in Stanford mall.

    (2)

  • Tyler M.

    I decided to stop here for lunch since I happened to be at the mall and it was convenient. Our server was very nice and tried to be funny. We ordered the guacamole, salsa, and chips, which were okay nothing special. The calamari was kind of bland. I had the philly cheesesteak, which was by far the worst item we ordered. It didn't taste like your typical philly cheesesteak. You couldn't really taste all the flavors of thge beef, cheese, and peppers. Not to mention the bread was just hard. My friend got the ultimate grilled cheese with tomatoes. The bread was grilled to perfection, but the cheeses were not melted at all when the server brought it over. However, he was willing to get it grilled longer and had no attitude about it. He was a great server, but the food was mediocre.

    (3)

  • Stan R.

    First of I need to say Max's has the best steak I ever ate for under $30 and rule regarding steak is never get it unless over $30. Besides the steak it has one of the best Philly cheesesteak. Food may be the best part but I also need to give kudos to the amazing staff and the elegant atmosphere they keep. This is a place I will always come to.

    (5)

  • Janice T.

    Art Deco Design and very roomy restaurant. Reminds me of NYC Empire State Building. They serve Happy Hour Monday to Friday from 3 to 7PM. $5 small appetizers and discounts on drinks. I went during Happy Hour during Thursday night and they had live music. Someone was playing the piano and singing. It was wonderful entertainment. $5 Calamari-definitely worth it. There is no need to order the bigger platter. $5 Chips and Salsa-not good. Chips were half stale. Salsa and guac was not tasty. Main Dish Chicken Liver-it is like patte. There is so much, so I recommend sharing, but the flavoring was only normal. Actually a little bland for me. Main Spinach Salad-tasty. I never had such big fresh spinach leaves. I enjoyed the mix of tangerines, pecans, bacons, and spinach. I recommend this. Main Crab Cakes-served 7-8 pieces of crab cakes, but they were size of scallops. Kind of small sized. Taste was ok. There were chunks of chestnut, which I don't mind, but I thought the chunks were too big and clashed with the crab meat. The best was their free fresh raisin bread. And their Classic Sangria. It is nice place to rest your feet after shopping all day at the Stanford Shopping Mall. Affordable and nice place.

    (3)

  • Jaman G.

    They've lost it! What a shame. This used to be a great place, always with a long wait. Today we were seated right away, perhaps we should have been suspicious. Then, nothing happened. The waitress made it very clear, both through body language and verbally, that she was way too busy for us, and in spite of repeated requests continued her attitude of being too busy throughout. - We didn't get any bread without asking, and when we did, our table had only one bread plate, so we had to ask for that, too. Now waitress getting a tad impatient (angry), hmm. We ordered the pastrami. "Side dish?" (literally, that's what she said). - I: "What are our options?". - She: "It's all over the menu" - "Ok, I didn't see it, where do I need to look?" - She rattles down a list (only 5 choices, so not too much of a burden, I'd think); I chose the fist thing she said, which happened to be coleslaw. Food is served before the drinks, which I find unacceptable. The pastrami sandwich arrived, swimming in a lot of white, watery coleslaw sauce. Soggy sandwich, ugghh. The pastrami was very good. Still, we won't be back any time soon.

    (2)

  • Marevie T.

    I went to the one in San Francisco... so I wanted to give this place another shot. So I came to this one... I'm real sorry but, I am so not feeling it. This time I ordered another sandwich (it had chicken, a thick glob of cheese and it tasted like vinaigrette was INJECTED into my bread) Good grief. I can't do it. But I did like the buffalo wings! I'll stick to appetizers if I have to go another time. Lol

    (2)

  • R R.

    One word...amazing!! Food was fantastic and service was spectacular!! I plan to be back next time in Palo Alto!! The Ruben is delicious!!

    (5)

  • Miwako W.

    Had a late dinner here after picking up my mom and aunt from the airport. I don't feel like beating around the bush today so I'll just say it straight, the food is Average. Meaning, I could probably make this stuff at home but I'm too lazy to cook so I'll just go ahead and eat out. Hubby and mom ordered Fish and Chips which were okay... Aunt ordered a cup of soup and salad which were a little bit on the "wth are you really charging me 30$ for these?" and I ordered wild mushroom pasta which was actually the best out of all (of course the one I ordered is the best). The ambiance is okay. Pianist with the bleh voice was kinda tacky, but it is after all, Max's OPERA Cafe. Nice decor and well dressed customers make it a refreshing and classy place to go to. But with that said, waiters seem full of themselves. Could barely get the attention of our server, more so other servers. Mind you this was a late dinner (8pm-ish) but there were several other customers in the restaurant + people at the bar, so the place was no where near dead. Basically, Max's is okay. Just, okay. I probably would not come back though, simply because at the price I paid, and If I can make the food at home (given it would probably take me hours which is why I ate out instead in the first place), I really expect my service to be excellent.

    (3)

  • Ellie F.

    Met a friend for dinner here on a weeknight. It was fancy, but the pricing wasn't too bad. The entrance is super small and awkward. Don't be scared, go in! And then walk all the way down the bar to get to the host stand. Weird. I had a turkey burger, but the best part about my meal were the breaded onions. Nice and thin, not too much breading. Definitely suggest those :)

    (3)

  • Lenore C.

    SOUP - I ordered the cabbage soup. Granted it wasn't made by my grandmother or even my mother. The soup was okay and had some resemblance to Russian cabbage soup ONLY the meat was either horribly overcooked or started out as shoe leather. I had to leave all the meat. Stick with the sandwiches.

    (2)

  • Arlene M.

    Took our dad out here for Fathers day. The menu was huge, the portions are huge, and the food was good, if not great. There were 7 of us, and we had a nice round table so at least we could all talk to each other. We had to wait a few minutes to get seated, but it wasn't a big deal since some of the people in our party were late anyway. We started off with the nachos and french fries...both were decent, as well as the bread. My sisters and I were all on a diet so we all got salads, which we enjoyed well, as much as one could enjoy a salad I guess. I got the pear, walnut, and blue cheese salad w/ grilled chicken...they forgot the blue cheese at first (probably mixed it up with the greek salad my sis ordered w/ no cheese), but they corrected it promptly. The blue cheese was good quality and not the usual supermarket crumbled type. Overall, the portion was huge, and the salad was good though it wasn't much better than something I can make at home. My hubby had the fritata which he thought was just ok too. My dad really loved his prime rib (special they had for father's day), which what mattered anyway. My mom also loved her grilled salmon, though not so much the gluten-free sides that came with it. Then again, their usual idea of a nice meal is at Sizzler's or the local asian buffet. ;) This is a good, affordable, "safe" place to take the family, pretty mainstream and nothing too adventurous. Not my usual cup of tea, but as long as the parents are happy, I'm good.

    (3)

  • Amanda M.

    Our food took fooooooorever. And it wasn't like the waiter came to tell us, "your food will just be a few more minutes". She waited until we gave her some serious body language. This would've been okay had our food been that stellar. The food came and it was so mediocre. My grandfather lives in assisted living and was so excited for a corn beef sandwich, which was actually the best thing we ordered, thank goodness. I split the grilled cheese (I am positive it was made with Kraft singles) and the turkey burger (which was the most typical turkey burger, nothing over the top). Sweet potato fries were meh, okay. My mom got matzah ball soup and wasn't a fan. Service was fine, and our waiter was actually quite attentive, minus the seriously long wait we had for our food. Ambience is nice, spacious booths for a larger part of five or six people. The food is just really overrated.

    (2)

  • Jamie T.

    One of the very first restaurants I've tried in Palo Alto. It is a great venue to dine in because of the opera singers(if you are feeling super classy and in that mood). They have amazing rolls because their bread basket is warm and the rolls have raisins. It's weird because I don't like raisins but I'm addicted to the raisin rolls that are so good with butter. I also don't like key lime pie but my friend ordered it and had me try it, it wasn't bad. Other than that, I had their Pan fried Salmon entree and it was done very well. Besides the heavy buttery sauce, the salmon is done to perfection because it was cooked just right, not tough at all. I wanted to try the Seared Ahi Tuna but they were out...

    (3)

  • Genny H.

    So basically, I am a sandwich whore and the boyfriend is a food whore. We were in Palo Alto window shopping (which turned into actual shopping thanks to Burberry and Macy's) and realized we were hungry. We always walked past this place but always on our way out of the mall. And always when we're late for something. Phew. So this time we decide to go in and were seated almost immediately inside. One thing I didn't like from the get-go was how CROWDED it was....I know thats usually a good thing but this place was crammed full. You couldn't even walk without running into someone. Our waiter was trying too hard to be friendly and in turn sort of came off as obnoxious. The boyfriend ordered a BBQ pull sandwich and the waiter basically made him order something off the special's. I don't know if they get points or bonus's for that but when the sandwich came it wasn't even good. Anyways, last I checked, a good waiter doesn't steer you away from what you want unless you ASK for their recommendations. Which we did not. ANYWAYS, out came my sandwich which was turkey, avocado and bacon with lettuce etc. Yea, the dude brought the mustard family to the table but no mayo or even ketchup. Which was odd because The Boyfriends food came with fries. We literally had to beg for everything. For an appetizer we had their mango shrimp tacos. I grew up in San Diego where I know shrimp tacos....everything from taco stands to the gourmet variety and these shrimp tacos were the nastiest. It was like, they mixed mayo with mangos and plopped it on the plate with shrimps. Gross. The waiter ALSO seemed offended when we didn't want to box and take our food. It was NASTY so of course I don't wanna. The bill came, it was $46. We threw $60 on the table and didn't even wait for change because I wanted to get out of there.

    (1)

  • Kenenth H.

    I have been coming to Max's for years now (over a decade) and have see a slow decline in service and food quality the last few months. Why do I keep going? I keep hoping that they will rebound. They suffer from consistent cost cutting and declining service. I got there at 10:50 there today for brunch. No - you can't sit at a patio table while you wait for them to open at 11am - come back at 11! So I took a lap and came back at 11:00 and asked for a seat, the lady said I was welcome to sit down if I wanted to "wait a while" while they opened. They no longer have a signature dish like the Ruben - well they have something on the menu called a Ruben, but it does taste more like a turkey jerky sandwich when compared to the Ruben at the Refuge in Menlo Park. The Mac' and Cheese is so plain when compared to the Mac' and Cheese at Vault 164 in San Mateo. I have had a lot of good memories at Max's and a lot of family dinners there over the years, but at this point neither the service or food can get me to come back. Why two stars? They still have a nice patio and the drinks are ok last time I checked. It's like they just stopped trying - so I just stopped going.

    (2)

  • Shadi N.

    This review is mostly focussed on their 'outdoor- lunchtime' dining. I've never actually gone inside and eaten at the restaurant. I am obsessed with their chicken ceasar salads, their lettuce is always fresh and crunchy they use just the right amount of sauce and its mixed in perfectly. The chicken is breast meat, cooked to perfection and they usually put their signature raisin roll on the side. I live for that roll. mmm mmm. I am also a huge fan of their sandwiches, i've tried almost all and they are all flavorfull healthy and delicious. even tho it is a self service quick bite, the service they provide is truly awesome. They are happy to bring your plate to you if u are sitting at one of the tables and they provide all the extras as well. The only downside is the outdoor area closes early sometimes and when im running behind on my day and craving a late lunch, i usually miss them.

    (4)

  • Thanh N.

    The food here is decent, not omg good but decent. The portions are pretty big, but the service sucks! I used to come here when I was younger, and it is nothing like what I used to think of it. Probably since I was a kid, and had not develop my critic skills yet. Anyways, I've since then been here three times and on the last two visits I ordered a burger. WOW what slow service they have! Does it really take 50 minutes from the time of ordering to get a burger? Seriously? I'd come back here if I was invited here by someone else, but will most likely not be coming in on my own.

    (3)

  • Janet S.

    I've eaten here several times while visiting, but this is the first time that I've hit it during happy hour. They have a nice menu w/ $5 offerings. Had some sweet potato fries which were delicious. Also ordered hot dog sliders, which was an enormous dog cut into three pieces to fill three buns. Served w/ sauerkraut, they have the potential to be very good, but mine were COLD. I think they must have pulled the dogs from the freezer, then thrown them on the grill. I'm one who can eat a hot dog straight from the fridge, so I didn't send it back. But overall, I enjoy making a stop at Max's as I know I'll leave full and satisfied.

    (3)

  • Jessica C.

    Saturday was another pretty day for the mall, and after watching sports (more like mocking) all morning I was ready for some grubbing with some friends. The consensus of my group was that they weren't feeling like having any ethnic foods today so this was a good place to go. We had to wait about 15 mins for a table, and it was like 2:45. I guess the pretty day drives everyone out to eat late? I ordered the turkey, brie, and pear sandwich on a croissant. Which was delicious because I love brie. Then again once this guy told me that all women love cheese, and that's the way to all women's hearts :P Maybe he's right, because I could just eat a hunk of brie with crackers and tomatoes all day. Nevertheless brie was delicious with pear, and while the turkey was dry, it was the perfect combo with the moist and oily croissant. It came with a garden salad on the side which had the perfect amount of vinaigrette. Very happy with my experience at Max's here in terms of food. Service was a little spotty. We saw our waitress when we ordered and when we got our food and bill, but otherwise we were amiss when it came to getting a refill of water or soda. But I'll give it a 4 anyway.

    (4)

  • Peggy T.

    I've been to a couple of other Max's restaurants that were good, so it makes me sad to have to give this place 2 stars. Everything about this restaurant was good up until dessert. Service was fine, dishes were edible.. no complaints. In fact, I was in such a good mood at our family dinner I decided that maybe we should opt for some dessert, since I've heard some good things about Max's desserts. So I asked for a dessert menu and ordered the Sugarless Sundae. The waitress brought out a dessert not too soon after. We took 2 bites when my brother pointed out, hey.. there's no ice cream in this dessert. Confused, I asked the waitress if the dessert she brought us was the Sugarless Sundae. She said, oh, they must've gotten the order wrong, and went to go fix it. Next thing I know, she comes back with a couple of scoops of ice cream and says, here's some ice cream. You can just add it to what you already got and it's pretty much the Sugarless Sundae. Uhhh, usually when the restaurant screws up, they fix it. I've never had someone just bring out extra scoops of ice cream and tell me to make do. Doesn't the Sugarless Sundae come with sugar free syrup though, I asked. I was 100% positive it did because I read the description 5 times before choosing it. No, the waitress said, it doesn't., but I can bring you some if you want. Sure, I said, can you bring some? I said that because I was 100% the menu said it comes with sugar free syrup. When I asked her, she sort of rolled her eyes at me. Anyway, dessert is dessert so my family and I started eating our makeshift sundae. I took one bite and ended up spitting out a STICKER. There was a STICKER in the sundae. Not any sticker, but a label sticker for Beef Steak Tomatoes (what the hell are beef steak tomatoes?! and more importantly, what is a label sticker doing in an ice cream sundae?!) I notified the waitress and she said, oh, I'm sorry. The end. And I checked later and YES the Sugarless Sundae IS supposed to come with chocolate syrup and caramel syrup, according to the frickin' menu. The whole experience left a bad taste (and sticker) in my mouth.

    (2)

  • Saba S.

    There was a wait so we ate at the bar. Turkey pastrami was okay at best but the ceasar salad side was tasty. The crab cake sandwich was delicious and the cucumber salad was a bit tangy/sweet for me. Not bad.

    (3)

  • James K.

    3 1/2 stars but i'll give em 4 for decent service. I've been to this place roughly 1-2 years ago but don't recall writing a review. I went today for lunch so I better do it before I forget! It was reasonably busy but not too crazy. My g/f and I waited a little less than 10 min, which is doable. Waiter was attentive, waters were refilled. I would say their service is pretty decent, at least from our experience. I forgot to ask for no cheese in my french dip meal and they had no qualms about replacing my order promptly. Only knock on their service is that waiter did ask us if we wanted bread and butter to which we replied, "yes". We never got our bread. It's not a big deal b/c I don't eat too much white bread but just a thought. My french dip was pretty good. I would have like the bread to be a little toasted but that's just a personal preference. I opted for side salad instead of fries. It was filled with croutons, fresh pieces of lettuce, tomatoes, baby slices of carrots etc. Overall, nicely well made. My g/f had the reuben with fries. She had no complaints there. I had a few of her fries and they were hot and crispy. The decor is pretty nice. The bar has liquor bottles literally stacked up on a case to the top of the ceiling! Lighting is lightly dimmed but not to a point where you can't even see your food or even want to fall asleep (don't like that at other places). Overall, it's a good place offering a variety of sandwiches, salads, as well as omelets if you're in a breakfast mood.

    (4)

  • Akshay K.

    Opera cafe sounds cool. I've been to a cafe with the same name in Berlin which was fantastic, and so I went in with high expectations. The music was great - live and loud! The ambience is nice too - dimmed lights and fancy people. But the food was pretty bad, from a vegetarian's perspective. The sweet potato fries were OK. There's not much main courses you can order - besides for a couple pastas and wraps. I got the tri-mushroom pasta, which was pretty bad - I left half of it. Very bland, and tasteless. The chocolate chip cheesecake was decent - but there are better ones out there. The Caipirnha that I got was awful - quite possibly the worst I've had. The service was decent, but don't think I'll make my way back there again.

    (2)

  • Ferdinand B.

    If you're looking for a chill place to eat while you're at Stanford Shopping Center that isn't going to break your wallet, fill you up, and allow you to enjoy a decent sit down meal then Max's is a good bet. The portions are big and the wait staff is very friendly. I'm not such a big fan of the karaoke music cd they were playing, but it was a nice departure from the norm. Having several TV's around to watch sports is a big plus, although they could be a little bigger ( I know I'm being anal here). The food is good. the complimentary bread was very warm and hearty. I ordered a chicken sandwich, which was average to good, but it was missing something. maybe some more condiments or maybe the chicken was a little dry. overall it was a okay place in the middle of high class palo alto.

    (3)

  • Nancy T.

    The nice bartender told me that the Reubens here are excellent and he highly recommended it. I was hesitant because I never had strong feelings about Reuben sandwiches one way or another. I looked over at the woman sitting near me eating her Reuben, the appetizer portion, and it looked huge! She said it was the best Reuben ever. It peaked my curiosity. So I was torn between getting an Asian wrap and a regular size Reuben with coleslaw. Eventually, I committed to the Reuben, but with a Bistro side salad instead of coleslaw. As soon as I took a bite of the sandwich, I knew I had made the right choice. The bread was crispy, the pastrami was perfectly seasoned and tender, the cheese and thousand island were just the right amount. It was so darn delicious I didn't want to stop eating! My Bistro side salad was very good too....fresh greens with glazed walnuts and tomatoes and a light vinaigrette. I managed to control myself and ate only half of the sandwich and took the other half home. I pan grilled the other half the next day and it was still very delicious. I also tasted my friend's french onion soup and that was really good too. There were big pieces of onions, lots of cheese, and a rich broth. The service was about a 20 minute wait. Our waiter was friendly. Overall, a very nice lunch experience.

    (5)

  • Chris C.

    I seem to recall the corned beef to be stacked a little higher...oh well. The waitress was very friendly. Good place to eat that wasn't overcrowded when we went...There was also no singing, so can't comment on how their voices were.

    (3)

  • Asa S.

    For a chain restaurant Max's sure is inconsistent. By that I mean, some locations stink (like the ones in San Francisco), and some are FANTASTIC like this one located in Palo Alto. As far as I can tell Max's is supposed to be a cross between a New York deli and a Cheesecake factory with some amateur musical talent thrown in (which is fairly good in my opinion). Yes, it's a bit cheesy, but here's the catch. It works. The atmosphere is meant to be refined. A dark wood interior with tall ceilings. But it feels comfortable and casual. The food is good. Very good. The pastrami I hand was tender, moist and NOT FATTY, which is really hard to find. My wife's beef brisket was perfectly cooked and tasty. The menu is also drastically different than the one's I remember from SF. It's big, but in a good way. A lot of variations on a theme (i.e. roast turkey dinner, roast turkey sandwich, etc.) The service was very good, friendly, and helpful but not "in your face". They were especially helpful with our one year old daughter (stowing her stroller and setting up the high chair for us).This isn't where you take your first date, but it's the perfect place to take your wife of 5 years and a one year old daughter that loves to eat. While other Max's in the bay area serve greasy poor quality meats, small portions and wilted lettuce, Max's in the Stanford shopping mall churns out very good food with unobtrusive and delightful service. A nice warm family restaurant that I'll be visiting again, when I'm hungry at the Stanford mall.

    (4)

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Map

Opening Hours

  • Mon :11:30 am - 9:00pm

Specialities

  • Takes Reservations : Yes
    Delivery : No
    Take-out : Yes
    Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
    Good For : Lunch
    Parking : Private Lot
    Bike Parking : Yes
    Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
    Good for Kids : Yes
    Good for Groups : Yes
    Attire : Casual
    Ambience : Casual
    Noise Level : Average
    Alcohol : Full Bar
    Outdoor Seating : Yes
    Wi-Fi : No
    Has TV : Yes
    Waiter Service : Yes
    Caters : Yes

Max’s Opera Cafe of Palo Alto

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