Max’s Seafood Cafe

Great mussels, anti pasta etc. All fresh food and delicious. Excellent beer selection and wine cellar is top notch.

I always have wonderful food here. It’s av shame that the service is always awful. The bartender couldn’t even tell me the difference in the sauces that the muscles were served in. She had no clue about the cocktail menu. When i asked her what drink is her favorite on there she replied she doesn’t drink them so she doesn’t know. I would go there more often if the service was better but they always disappoint

First time there. Bar keeps could be a bit more attentive and less gossipy, but drinks were well done and price excellent. We enjoyed the calamari at the bar — crunchy and tender, nice bite to the pickled fried banana peppers. Dined in the back area — nice, sound, and conversatins, travel and felt a bit out of sight of staff. Octopus needed a longer cook and better grill. main course of linquine le mer — abundant seafood, pasta done just right, spiced with our request. Lobster ravioli on wilted fresh spinach with nice lumps of crab meat, blush sauce, tomatoes — very good. Bread comes to the table with a garlicy hummous — we had no idea what it was except good. We ordered garlic bread — waaaay garlicky (too much for me, just right for my dining companion). Deserts included house made gellato — cinnamon and burbon vanilla. well made, cinnamon was lovely, vanilla good but bourbon part kinda missing. And, raisin raisin apple bread pudding with apple jack. i think the double raisin was not a typo — could have used a few more minutes in the oven, more bread to fruit ratio. Anglaise very nice. Apple Jack needed to be cooked out more. Staff was young and engaging, eager to please. Owner Tom and his wife delightful. Oh — and one of the very best wine menues and very doable prices! Room for improvement, and we’ll definitely be back — look forward to having a new local hang with great bar and restaurant vibe, good prices, and delicious food

Hidden gem! A quaint, unassuming little restaurant with great character and most importantly delicious food. Don’t come here often enough but when we do, it never disappoints.

Decent restaurant, nice atmosphere, but I do have to say my husband ordered clams and pasta and there was sand in his clams. Slightly disappointing.

We use to love Maxs. They are now over priced, changed their menu and give you very small portions. You will leave there hungry. Wait staff is not knowledgeable of menu items. Beware of «special prices». Owner and his wife are not very friendly. Sad to say, we are taking our business elsewhere.

What a difference one week can make we keep trying to have a good experience … bartenders… not sure they are bartenders … after sitting at the bar and being ignored more than 20 minutes finally they asked us what we would like the young girl poured me a guinness like it was a bud light and put it in front of me those around me made faces and then commented then we had to ask to order food … the woman who owns the place is not personable so she certainly turns off quests visiting her establishment. The cheese plate was different within one week not as good was disappointing ! Service was extremely bad… and then the bill arrived… could not be correct they are losing money because of this they are hiring some who are certainly not sure of what they are doing… has happened more than once… not sure why we keep trying ??

I’ve been here multiple times since I was a child and I can honestly say it’s still great! The specials are always amazing, the mussels are great, and the staff is great! Service is always fast and with a smile, always great reccomendations on wine.

Upon arriving to Max’s I had high hopes. This restaurant had good reviews. The décor is beautiful and our waitress was good. Service was a bit slow as the dining room filled up. The menu is all over the place with seafood, Asian food, Italian food unfortunately the food flavones were also all over the place and the ingredients were not high quality. The food left me wanting more for my money. I am happy to pay good money for a decent mea. Max’s should redo the menu and rethink the quality of their ingredients.

First time here the staff at the bar was great in greeting us. The regulars are friendly too.
I had the coconut shrimp which were good, just a bit too dark, my baby had the Crab cake with salad dish. One thing that I liked was that my ginger ale was in a jar!!!
I plan to good back and check out more on the menu

Without a doubt, THE BEST MUSSELS!
We absolutely love going to Max’s! It is a treasure right in Gloucester. It has a wonderful décor with an amazing vintage bar from last century. The food is always outstanding. They have an extensive menu, but you must start with the mussels. We always get the Red and Spicy, but the Irish are out favorite. I really don’t eat mussels at any other restaurant, but I love the way they are prepared at Max’s! The steamed clams are delicious, as are the steaks, tuna and salmon. Tom and Michelle do a great job offering wonderful wines at exceptional prices. We have been going as a family for years and have never had anything but exceptional food and service!

Great bar. Excellent food. A little pricy but worth it. Friday night music with Fran smith jr of the hooters is great
Sometimes the bar gets crowded and uncomfortable. The bar menu is good. I’ve never had a bad meal there

A diamond in the rough in gritty Gloucester. Had the stuffed long hots for an app which i was able to cool with a Kölsch. First bar where I have found Kölsch on tap in the US. Followed up with an oyster po’boy and left as a happy customer. My buddy enjoyed his spinach salad and calamari accompanied by a Schneider Weisse.

Ate here once. The food here was pretty good. The entrée portions are not going to fill you up. The bread samplers are delicious and I even requested more. Service was good. Slightly pricey for the size of the portions.

I normally visit Max’s with my co-​workers for lunch and it is always good, never disappointing. However, last night was my first visit to Max’s for dinner. I can’t believe it took me this long to eat a dinner here because it was outstanding and the best meal at a restaurant that I have had in quite a while.
I had the special which was bacon-​wrapped monkfish with braised Brussels sprouts and mashed potatoes and it was excellent. The fish was cooked perfectly and the Brussels sprouts were the best I ever had. My lover had the crab cakes which were also first-​rate.
The wait staff were very polite and professional. An added surprising touch was when the chef came out of the kitchen to check on us and to ask if we were enjoying the meal.
Afterwards we sat at the quaint little bar at the front of the restaurant to enjoy an after dinner drink. The bartender was professional and accommodating, but not overbearing which is exactly how we like our bartenders. Some locals were also enjoying a drink and engaged us in friendly conversation.
On my way to the restaurant I knew that I would enjoy the meal because of all the satisfying lunches I have had there. However, the meal exceeded my expectations and it added to what developed into a beautiful evening out with my favorite person in the world. We will definitely be back and I look forward to returning sooner than later.

Food was pretty good. Service needs help. We came in on a slow Saturday around 6pm and sat at the bar. We were two of four people sitting at the bar. At first, service was good but after we got our food and first round of drinks that was about it. We were going to linger all night and try many of the bar items. With every simple question we asked the bartender, he would respond while walking away from us to sit and watch the game. He did talk a lot to his co-​workers, so I guess he’s social. Shame, we were very disappointed. Service is everything at a place like this in Gloucester City.

Went on a Monday for my friends birthday (basically the only ones in the restaurant so we decided to just stay at the bar. We never get to hang out anymore so wanted to go somewhere he has not been. I have been frequenting Max’s for years.
Started off at the bar with a couple of cocktails (manhattan and a G&T) which were made by Heather (our server as well) and she did a good job even if they did not have rye ;)
We started out with 3 dozen oysters which were well prepped (cape may salts). From there we had the octopus grilled and the NOLA clams casino both were excellent with special attention to the Octopus. I then ordered a bottle of wine to complement dinner which was Cioppino with linguine and the seared tuna. Both were prepared very well except my tuna was a little cold so may have been on the rack for a while waiting for the cioppino.
Desert was the house made strudel (from their German chef) and a couple of B&B’s.
Was a really good evening and they even sang happy b’day to my buddy!
If you have not had a chance to visit Max’s I highly recommend it and ask for Heather ;)

This eas our second visit to Max’s. Our first visit was fantastic but tonight was less then stellar.
My husband and I are beer snobs and were happy with the beer selection. Our waiter Zach was very friendly but our food took FOREVER to come out. My husband’s lobster ravioli was warm (not quite cold but def not hot). My salmon was good but not the best i ever had. My daughter ordered hamburger sliders from kids menu and received a hamburger cut into quarters. Overall our experience was ok but disappointing compared to our first visit.

Great place to eat food was great, and service was was good. Wud definitely go back to eat and enjoy the live music!!!

Max’s is a really enjoyable place to have dinner, along with the live music and delicious food. I’ve been meaning to come here since I moved to SJ last year.
I had gotten here before the crowd started rolling in on a Saturday night. I liked how the bartender seemed to know almost everyone that walked thru the door.
I chose the bar table instead of dining room for my first go around. You get to people watch a bit, and the band was close.
Our picks of the night: mussels in red sauce, clams casino, and lobster mac & cheese.
The mussels were piled high, with a perfectly seasoned broth with just the right kick. The clams were savory. The mac was good, but I personally thought it needed more sauce and of course more lobster never hurts ;)
I’ll venture out and try a couple of different IPA’s next time, but I stuck with a current favorite Yards Pale Ale.