Max’s Farm Table

Stopped in for a cup of coffee today, but was told they were out… A rather unpleasant man, whom I can only assume is the proprietor, was at the door when I stepped in. He asked me if I had a seating preference, and then, asked me if I am a guy or a lady… Unacceptable coming from a Middleton business, and I’m sure my contacts at the Chamber of Commerce and the Triple B will be thrilled the know this information… Stay away.

The food is fresh and excellent! I would not hesitate to try this plane. It’s so much better than chain resturants.

Max, you have to resolve the service issue. The food is much to good to see you fail. The pig roast was excellent regarding the food. The service was a flop like we talked about. I think it’s more then just the missing wait staff. Waiting nearly an hour from order to service says the kitchen is slow in plating the meals. Several tables got up and walked out.
Also, the apparent lack of a dress code is the least of the issues.

I found myself here for lunch alone with my two toddlers. We were greeted by a man I am assuming must have been Max. He was so kind and welcoming. I’ll spare you all the gory details of my babies acting up, but our waitress, Max, and really the other diners as well could not have been more understanding. I received only smiles and even a little snack from the kitchen to help the kids stay happy while we waited for our food.
Also, most importantly, the food! My burger (the one served on the stella’s spicy bun) was delicious! Very juicy and flavorful. You could tell the beef was good quality. Max’s will definitely will be my first choice next time I’m going through the list of Middleton restaurants in my head wondering where to get takeout.
Anyway– friendly & attentive service, nice atmosphere, great food: this pretty much meets all of my criteria for what makes a good restaurant.

I love Max’s for many reasons: the simple, straightforward menu, organic and local ingredients whenever possible, and knowing and tasting the food that is made with passion and love.
Max has his core items of grass fed beef burgers, quality ingredient pizzas, and breads and other baked goods from Stella’s bakery (his mother originally owned Stella’s; now his sister and brother in law own and operate it). They also have great salads, often created by Mia, including a recent kale and roasted yam dish that was so good, I attempted to recreate it at home.
If Max decides he wants a great slaw for Friday fish fry, he will walk into the Willy St Co-​op and purchase organic ingredients for it. While this kind of sourcing will often negatively impact his bottom line, he’s much more concerned that his customers enjoy a delicious, quality, healthy product.
He’s so in tune with his customers, he knows they’ll come into the restaurant for quality, home cooked meals, but that they also want their Heinz ketchup, and not some pretentious, house-​made version.
Max’s also has a full bar and great list of rotating beer taps.
I personally appreciate that he keeps mayo out with the other condiments. Fries without mayo are, well, just fries. I also was happy to learn Max’s is a cilantro-​free zone. People either love it or hate it. I despise it, and I’m glad I’m not going to find a big pile of it on top of my salad or mixed into a soup.
I’ve enjoyed several meals at Max’s and had fast and friendly service each time. They have a great space that accommodates large groups.
My only suggestion is to provide more clarity around the ordering process. They send you upstairs to order if that’s where you plan to sit, but a lot of people stop at the register downstairs first and have to be directed upstairs. Once arriving upstairs, someone is almost always standing in front of the sign that says «order here». I’ve personally been confused and watched other customers experience the same confusion.
Bottom line, Max’s is a great place to enjoy farm to table food. I’m excited to watch Max and the team grow the business.

Overpriced! A small bowl of over salted soup-​$ 7.50. Did not have some of the soups on the board. Seems they put two soups together on the menu board so it looked like one. Did not get what I expected. Been here just as it opened and was impressed with the grilled cheese sandwich. I think they need to rethink pricing and customer interaction if they want to stay in business.

Disappointed. Didn’t finish food. Burgers were small and over cooked, ribs were burnt and cole slaw tasted store bought. Fries were only good part but not saying much. Maybe pizza are better choice?

Very slow, very overcooked, and very overpriced. The fries were good; that’s all that’s keeping the second star around. My guess is they’ll last another couple months. Which is unfortunate because they have a niche to fill — organic, locally sourced burgers and pizza. There were 3 tables filled including ours, but burgers and fries took 30 minutes. They definitely should’ve shaved a few minutes off of that — the burger looked and tasted like it spent a good 20 minutes on the grill. We’re talking full hockey puck here. On top of that, they’ll charge you $ 5 for a bottled beer. Had high hopes but probably won’t be back.

Loved it! Our son’s name is Max so we decided to go and check out his restaurant. We all had burgers and some wings. I had the Stella burger on cheesey bread. Was great. Wings were sweet not hot which is a nice variation. Those next to us had a pizza and it looked great. We will go back again no doubt.

Max’s Farm Table is adorable! I love having another place to go out to eat where you can leave feeling good about what you put into your body. I had the chili and the chicken wings. OH MAN. Don’t miss the chicken wings. I was literally doing everything I could to make sure I didn’t leave a single drop of the butter sauce on the plate.
Small menu, but great options and locally sourced food. Their family connection to Stella’s means several dishes are served with Stella Spicy Cheese Bread (a Madison icon). Who can say no to that?
I would love to see them develop a small cocktail menu Just 3 – 4 really delivious, well-​made cocktails with some local ingredients. Would also suggest investing some time into improving the ambiance a bit (i.e. improve the napkin/​condiment area… it’s kind of a sad spot in the restaurant).
Overall — thoroughly enjoyed and can’t wait to come back!

My wife and I stopped on an early Saturday evening after our daughter raved about Max’s. Wife ordered a pizza and I was hungry for a burger, but when I saw a calzone being served to another customer, I changed my order. We went upstairs to the bar area because live music was about to start. Our food arrived very quickly (there were only a few customers there at the time) and all the staff was enthusiastic. I ordered an excellent draft Porter beer and my wife got a glass of white wine that was actually poured to a full glass. The food was excellent, the crust especially was outstanding and fillings, sauce, and bacon pizza topping were just perfect to our tastes.
I just read some other Unilocal reviews. I suppose I can understand some disappointments concerning service and the limited menu. But, come on, this is a new restaurant that really needs to be given a chance. I’ll go back and try that burger sometime, but I bet I get back there sooner to get some more pizza and calzone. And, hello, live music cannot be beat. Best of luck to Max and crew.

Good food. A little pricey for no table service. You have to place your order, carry your drinks and go back to the order desk if they forgot your food. I’ll give them a little time before I go back. They could dim the lights.

My recent lunchtime visit to Max’s Farm Table was a study in contrasts — the deficiencies of the front of house unfortunately detracted from the glimpses of greatness exhibited by the kitchen. Factoring the unevenness of the food and that the limited menu is not well-​configured for the lunch crowd, I plan to sit on the sidelines while the restaurant works out these kinks.
I enjoyed the look and feel of the restaurant, from the gleaming stainless steel of the open kitchen, the stylish muted gold, blue and terra cotta color palette used throughout the interior. Seating options plentiful — both booths and tables are available. The loud background music, a heavy dose of soft rock from 70’s and 80’s seemed louder than necessary in a near empty restaurant.
The limited menu in place when I visited had burgers, pizzas and sandwiches. The sandwiches do not come with any sides, but there are a handful of a la carte options: fries ($ 4 for a small order, $ 7 for a large), soup (pricey at $ 6 for a cup) and a salad (no description $ 7). The restaurant also offers a Friday fish fry and has a separate weekend brunch menu.
I ordered the chicken sandwich (described as slow roasted chicken with onions, green peppers and mushrooms served on a freshly baked roll) for $ 9. While the chicken was moist and tender, it needed a fairly liberal dose of salt. The lightly sautéed red, orange and green peppers made the sandwich look visually appealing and added some textural contrast to my sandwich. I felt the undercooked onions could have used more time in the sauté pan to enhance their flavor. While the menu indicated the sandwich came with mushrooms, I did not notice any of them. The toasted homemade bun had fantastic flavor and just the right density. I liked but not loved this sandwich — even when I added more salt, this dish lacked any punch, nothing to make it memorable.
As I mentioned earlier, my meal did not come with a side, but during the course of my meal, by server offered me a small sample of the roasted squash soup which ended up being the highlight of my visit. The soup was more like a purée, but was packed with flavor that comes from slow roasting the squash. Unlike my sandwich, the soup was masterfully seasoned. The person that prepared that dish displayed some mad cooking chops.
While that soup was the pinnacle of my experience, the service was the nadir. From the moment I set foot in the restaurant, confusion reigned. For starters, here was no host station, so it was unclear whether I should order at the counter or wait to be seated. After I stood confused for about a minute in the middle of the restaurant, a server finally saw my perplexed look and indicated I could sit where ever I wanted. After grabbing a seat in one of the booths in the back of the establishment, the server quickly came by with a menu and a glass of water. Then nothing for 10 awkward minutes. There were only three other sets of patrons, so it wasn’t like the restaurant was at capacity. My food came quickly once I finally ordered, but it was delivered with no silverware or napkins. When I needed salt for my under-​seasoned sandwich, I had to wander around the dining area looking for my server because she never checked in after delivering my food. Same story when I realized I needed some silverware to eat my unwieldy sandwich — get up and hunt for utensils. While the Unilocal business listing indicates that Max’s has free wi-​fi, when I asked my server for the password, she indicated it is not available for customers. To be fair, my server was quite personable when I interacted with her, but it seemed like she had no serving experience and little training from management.
Will I visit Max’s again… probably, the potential from my tiny sample of the magnificent squash soup gives me reason to be optimistic. But I’ll probably wait six months to give the restaurant time to work through the service issues and fine tune the menu.

My wife and I stopped into Max’s the other night after a friend raved about this place. Unfortunately the kitchen had just closed, but Max told us the oven was still hot enough to make the Rustic Pizza that was recommended to me which ended up having the freshest toppings and one of the best crusts I have ever had. My wife ordered the Slow Cooked Chicken Sandwich which was to die for and what I’ll probably be getting next time. After we ate, Max came to check on us and we ended up swapping photos of our dogs for a good 10 minutes. I’ve never had more personalized service before in my life. Thanks for reopening the kitchen for little ol’ us Max, your place wins big!

Stopped in for lunch and to check out the new restaurant. Ordered the special — an empanada and chicken noodle soup. Both were excellent. Server was friendly and helpful in explaining the menu and serving the meal. I like the cool, clean and casual atmosphere and the price was right. Will be back again to try the Stella burger and the Rustic Italian pizza.

My supervisor was in town for a meeting. Because this is a new restaurant, we thought we would support the local business. Unfortunately, our lunch was disappointing,
For $ 9 you get a hamburger, a bun, one piece of small wilted lettuce and one sad looking slice of tomato. No sauce. No pickles. And serve yourself ketchup or mustard at the forks & napkins station. A side of small fries is $ 4.
The burger was cooked medium, which was a little too bloody for my preference and the juice had soaked into the bottom bun, which resulted in sogginess.
Most of the afternoon, I wasn’t feeling the greatest. Around 3 pm, I asked my supervisor if the burger was sitting well with her. She said no, she has a bit of upset stomach as well.
The restaurant hasn’t changed décor much from the previous restaurant at this location. When you walk in, you order at the counter where you have a choice of burger, pizza and as the menu says «sometimes ribs.»
Unfortunately, this restaurant is cross-​corner from a popular franchise burger restaurant. I think they need to make some changes in order to make a go of it in Middleton.

3 sat down for breakfast on Saturday morning at 10:00AM and ordered coffee. This took 15 minutes and There were two other parties in the restaurant.
Realizing this restaurant was putting our 3pm flight time at risk, we promptly asked for our coffee to go and left.
The coffee cup had a beef advertisement sticker on it that I took off because I don’t like looking at beef advertisements when I drink coffee. The sticker residue left my hand gross and sticky.
This place has potential but is somewhere I would avoid until they figure out how to run their business.

Came in from out of town and we were looking for a brunch place. The reviews seemed good so we gave it a shot. Coffee came out barely warm and by the time we were drinking it, it was cold. I ordered the most basic «America breakfast» with poached eggs, that came out fully cooked inside. If you call yourself a brunch place, you should be able to execute poached eggs perfectly! I understand it is a fairly new place and I hope that they fix up their menu and learn the right way to make a poached egg.

The Bleu Cheese burger was cooked just right, very juicy. The thin slice of Bleu Cheese was very weak in flavor, barley knew it was there. I was hoping for a stronger flavor from the cheese so that was disappointing. A $ 9.00 burger and only comes with a pickle spear was also disappointing. The bun was very good held up well, but I think it’s a bit pricey and will try a pizza next time, before I make my final decision.

After our last visit, I am not really sure why we gave Max’s another try, but we did. Maybe it was the Facebook posting by a friend who raved about the fish fry. Regardless, our experience this time was very positive. Both the pizza and spicy burger was excellent. It was not busy but service was excellent, and the food was tasty. We will likely be giving the brunch and fish fry a try.