Maxim’s Restaurant

This place was empty when we walked by… This should have been a foreshadow that we shouldn’t come in! But we did. We figured maybe Saturday traffic was slow since downtown business were quiet on the weekends.
Upon entering, the staff were sitting around a table. The woman rolled her eyes as if she was annoyed that we came in. No warm welcoming. No greetings. Strike one!
We sat down and ordered our food. My husband ordered a banana crêpe. Waitress told us they were out of bananas. Seeing there was no one around, it was very unlikely they just ran out. Strike two!
Next, he changed his order to a Belgian waffle. Our friend also ordered a waffle. The waitress ended up coming back to tell us their waffle machine was broken! Strike three!
I got an order of french toast and my husband/​friend ended up getting a stale croissant and bagel. I would NOT recommend anyone to go here. Such a disappointment for being on such a busy road.

Just learned the were closed down by the city for 5+ days in August for several violations including sewage in the kitchen, a cook with an unbadaged open wound on his hand and a cockroach infestation.
Sorry, I don’t care how nostalgic this place is, dirty is just gross.

After recently being closed due to numerous health code violations, (which I happened to find out AFTER my recent experience there). You would assume there would be a much higher standard of cleanliness and service. I was wrong. My wife’s chicken came out noticeably undercooked. We pointed this out to our waitress who told the manager. He came over visibly upset and argued with me over it. He said «this happens, what do you want me to do»? Undercooked chicken can be an extremely serious matter when consumed and it should be pointed out to restaurant management whenever it occurs. He didn’t see it this way. I told him I wasn’t going to pay for it and he became more argumentative until he finally relented and took it off the bill. This was an overall horrible experience. I recommend going to the dozens of restaurants in the area NOT recently closed due to disgusting conditions. Never going back.

So for a Saturday morning, they were out of bananas — couldnt order any thing with bananas, no crepes. Then we were told no waffles because machine was out. Omg geez, this is a big restaurant but only 5 customers including our party of 4. I’m not sure what they are going to do for the re st of the day!

Look, I’m not a foodie by any means. I still have a yearning to stay up with friends until the wee hours of the morning and go hang out at Denny’s. This place makes Denny’s look like a Michelin rated restaurant.
I’ve spent my fair share of cash here over the years and the quality has degraded significantly. On top of that, the health department has also stepped in more times than I’d like to know about, and feel free to verify this on the City of Chicago’s website. After the most recent issues i get a little queasy walking by every day, and can’t imagine how folks are still in here. Stay away!

Overrated and overpriced canned food. Had a chicken sandwich on sourdough. Bread was a regular wonder bread. Chicken tasteless. Fries are frozen bag fries. Soup taste out of a can. All for $ 12. Trust me the food is not good. Its pratically a bad diner food place. Too bad because it has been around forever but i refuse to pay inflated prices for canned food

A good, sturdy diner in the heart of the loop, where the processed food chains abound. It is nostalgic and represents old Chicago, which wasn’t all bad.
The food is grade A diner food with a lot of variety on the menu, with an obvious Greek influence. I’ve been coming here for over a year now and can speak to their breakfast, a few greek items and the reuben. All excellent and hit the spot.
I’ve always found the service to be fine and the food comes out really fast for a diner. I only give 4 stars, as they could be better operationally, but the place is always packed… I’m not the only one who likes and appreciates this place.

Mediocre diner food in the Loop. There’s nothing fancy about this place and the food is exactly what you’d expect from a place like this where the décor and waitresses both seem to be held over from the 70s.
Passed by today and discouraging sign…

Went here for lunch which was within walking distance from the Daley Center.
Nice place to have lunch. Food was good and a lot on one’s plate that I could not finish my order. I would go back again.

We are visiting from out of town and saw the menu in the window that listed some of our favorite items. We went in and were seated promptly. After we saw the menu we knew we made a good choice. The menu lists a large selection, from breakfast eggs, to burgers with all the toppings, to dinner of turkey or roast beef. Everything we had ordered was delicious. Good service, good food, reasonable priced. All the makings of a return trip.

When visiting home, this is a must stop! The lunch menu is extensive so you will find something to like.
The Monte Cristo keeps me coming back.
However, only a few know about the great happy hour spread they put out.
On top of good and strong drinks, the food is chicken (whole pieces) and nachos. Trust me, you won’t need dinner afterwards.

Horribly rude people. I called to order take out at the time we hoped to eat. I had pulled up their website and had a list of items to order. They yelled at me that they had never had those items on their menu and told me to order other things. I asked why their online menu listed these things and they kept yelling at me that they never had had them on the menu. I think the fact that I am a woman may have not helped my cause. No idea what the food is like, and I have no intention of finding out

I have walked past Maxim’s many a time over the years, but I finally paid a visit there after work one weekday evening. Located at the northwest corner of Clark and Madison, its Loop location makes it a popular breakfast and lunch diner. The murals on the back wall depicting scenes of Paris made my mind wander, as Paris is one of my favorite cities. We had early dinner here while sitting in a booth adjacent to the window along Madison, where folks were waiting for their respective buses. The crowd was very sparse on the main floor but seemed busier on the level below, where a bar is located along with the bathrooms.
We were presented a bread basket by our pleasant waitress, though I did not try the bread (I did have some crackers with my soup). My gal pal ordered a big salad, which was way healthier than anything I ate. My reuben sandwich came with a cup of soup (chicken rice was my selection) and a side of so-​so fries. The reuben was overall a bit greasy, though I consumed the whole thing. Definitely nothing fancy here but a solid early dinner experience for us.

Wish I had come here before I went there! Today I went there to order a carry out. Grilled Ham and Cheese sandwich with fries. I get my food, get the check and go to the register to pay. The white haired man at the register never looks up but keeps doing whatever it was that he was doing. I speak he says nothing. Then when he takes my check and rings it up he throws my change on the counter just outside of my open hand. Twice! (once for the coins and then again for the bills).
That is rude and unacceptable behavior and I don’t need to spend my money in a place that does not appreciate good customer service! I wont be going back there.
And the food was Meh…

Believe what you read about this place, the reviews are true. I went here for the bar after a coworker said it reminded them of the TV show Cheers. I thought that sounded cool so we would try it out. Boy was I wrong.
I couldn’t find any reviews on the bar of this place so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Well, you enter he regular restaurant (family) and go downstairs to get to the bar. Once you walk in the restaurant you get this vibe of «what did I just walk into». We headed downstairs and the bartender had us sit within shouting distance of the bar, which I didn’t mind. What I minded was the fact that the bar tender kept reminding us he was the only one working the bar. The bar itself is pretty depressing. It’s not very well lit. Regular beer (Stella) expensive compared to other bars. You can tell the people who are at the bar are definitely regulars.
When we went we asked for menus and the bar tender said «I recommend you eat the nacho bar — it’s free». Well we wanted real food, so we grabbed some menus and the bartender once again reminded us that he was the only one down here.
I ordered a Reuben. The fries were really bad (and I love fries). The Reuben wasn’t anything special, it’s wasn’t even as good as an Arby’s Reuben. Oh and the free nacho bar they had — it was awful. The chips were ok, the salsa was bad (not even sure if it was salsa), I didn’t mess worth the sour cream or jalapeños. The cheese wasn’t nacho cheese (no spice) and the literally had mini sausages with the nacho bar. The sausages didn’t even taste good.
My friend ordered a burger and said the fries were bad and the burger was a major thumbs down.
The service was bad. Anytime someone needed a drink or wanted to order food, they had to go to the bar. We had a friend show up a little after we did and the bartender asked if this was the only other person coming. When the bartender did bring a drink or food we would try to ask for another drink and literally 1 person would be able to say «I need a beer» and the bartender would be gone.
If you are looking for a quite (and I mean quite) place for you and your best friend to go and have a drink, then I would recommend this place, otherwise, skip it, it’s really not worth it.

I needed a place to meet up with my mentee for the first time, so I decided to meet her here after work. I’m glad I did. We went early in the week around a 5:30 and the place was pretty dead, but that was great for us so we could hear each other talk.
The winner was definitely the customer service. I loved how personable the waitress was and she checked on us just enough and wasn’t overly aggressive. The cherry on top was when she asked if we wanted separate checks. In this case I was paying for both of our meals, but at a lot of restaurants they don’t present that option which is normally what I prefer.
The food however was just okay. The menu is pretty extensive and a bit random. I would suggest sticking with what you know. I went with the gyro cause I haven’t had one in a while. Meat not really flavorful and a bit dry. Fries were okay after I salted then a bit. Portion size was decent though. My mentee went with the ravioli and didn’t eat eat that much of it. Overall okay food with reasonable prices.

Four stars because in the Loop, the days of sit-​down restaurants that my parents and their friends tell me about, are long gone. Everything has gone by the way of the «fast casual.» In other words, no service to speak of (yet always that glaring at you tip jar), minuscule, if any seating, not a glass in the house (for water, etc.), yet prices are NOT on the benefits side of the diner.
This is why my friends and I like Maxim’s. Here we are, 20-something’s in a place that likely fed our grandparents in their working heyday. My parents still go here — a lot, and for good reason. The servers are kind, and will bring you more water and/​or iced tea, no matter how quick you empty your glass. The 2 soups offered daily are a tad salty, but they’re homemade. There’s so much offered on the menu, everyone is bound to find something they like. One of my favorites is the Julienne Salad. Almost like an old fashioned chef salad with lots of everything inside a big bowl surrounded by a dark leaf lettuce cup. Enough to share, especially if one dips into the bread basket. On a cold day, the place is packed, so they must be doing something good. For the same amount as a sandwich or salad at Au Bön Pain, Café Bacci, Corner Bakery, etc., you can get a hot meal or a fresh sandwich or salad with potatoes, fruit, soup — whatever your heart desires. Your wallet will be no more empty than it would be after that dry, ubiquitous sandwich on tough bread that you were so sorry you hadn’t made on your own from home.
For all kinds of salads, a gyros plate, omelets, liver and onions, chicken sandwiches, perch and macaroni, Maxim’s is a nice change from the kitschy in/​out places offering the same boring sandwiches and salads for the same 10 bucks.

Service: Friendly
Setting: Run down diner. The main floor was not packed, but we were told to go to the basement.
Price: Expensive, around $ 12 to $ 15 range
Food: Run of the mill diner food, nothing too impressive.

Dinner with my son Brian:)
Wednesday Night I had dinner here at Maxim’s before the Opera.
And, I know Maxim’s has been around for quite awhile but for some
reason I had never been in until this time.
Maxim’s is a nice/​decent place to have a meal, The interior reminded
me of the Diner Scene from Pulp Fiction, yeah, okay, it kind of looked like that!
So, it’s kind of kitschy looking and I noticed a couple plants in the corner,
And yes, the booths are the most God Awful Shade of Pink I have ever seen,
And since I pretty much Hate the color Pink I was wishing I was Colorblind
when I sat down in that booth.
And then a nice waitress person came over with a bread basket and I tried
to focus on that, however, I took one bite of this roll and found it to be kind
of stale, so that was’nt working too well.
My dining partner ordered a Ruben Sandwich which he seemed to be loving,
and I ordered a Veal Cutlet Dinner which I get a craving for from time to time
and Wednesday Night I had the craving so I got that!
The Veal Cutlet with potatoes was actually very good, they gave me lots of
gravy, like gravy overload but hey, nothing wrong with a little too much gravy
I suppose…
Our waitress was nice and efficient enough although she dropped the check
on the table without even asking if we wanted dessert.
So I will not be giving her major props for that!
And then when we went to pay the check there was a nice, elderly guy
behind the register and honestly I was afraid he might keel over before
we got to pay the check.
Dude just looked like he had worked 80 too many years for this place.
But my fears were unwarranted because he mustered up enough strength
to take our $ 28.00 plus tip. There you go.
So, for anybody in the loop Maxim;s is a decent enough place to have a meal,
some people may find them pricey but my dining companion said they
are comparable to other restaurants in the downtown area.
Located on the Corner of Clark and Madison, possibly worthy of a visit.
If you don’t mind the kitsch and a chance of the old guy dying.
Nuff Said.

Maxim’s is an old-​school diner conveniently located on a boisterous corner. It is extremely spacious as it occupies the first floor and basement. We were seated in the basement on a weekday at 1pm. The quietness and barrenness resembled a desert, perfect for small, confidential talk!
In addition to our complimentary bread rolls, we also had the sirloin steak sandwich and gyros sandwich. Both entrees include a soup or salad as well as French fries. The sirloin steak was done medium and appeared quite flavorful especially after my friend smothered it in black pepper. The gyros sandwich was standard and very filling. In fact, I couldn’t even finish it and had to take the rest to go.
Service was great but the prices are the opposite. With tip and tax, our total came to $ 26. It’s definitely pricier than your regular downtown lunch but that is the price to pay if you want to dine in solace.