Foods from Maxwell's Bistro
Comments

2011 Aug 12
Does anyone have any recent advice re: Maxwell's? I have been invited to a party tomorrow night and would welcome suggestions what to order and/or avoid. Thanks in advance.

2009 Nov 6
After starting my tour of Elgin Street last week with The Manx Maxwell's was my next stop. There was an interesting free range beef rib steak on the special board but Sunday is red chili marinated rib steak on my grill so I opted out. I had the Fetucini Alfredo and added sausage. Average at best. My wife tried Il Buffone, a penne with grilled chiken panchetta and button mushrooms in an oregano sauce. The sauce was a tad to strong. Sevice was great atmosphere good as well food was average.

2008 Nov 30
Met my mother here for brunch today and was pleasantly surprised. I've lived in the 'hood for almost 20 years and have never been (not even to dance/pick-up a complete stranger!) :)

I had the Belgian Waffles with strawberries which came with a small pot of maple syrup on the side (enough to really soak your waffles if you're into that). The waffles were fantastic ~ fluffy/crispy/light perfect and sprinkled with confectioner's sugar. I ordered the fruit cup as well and, yes, it's a bit of laugh (note to self: read OF reviews BEFORE heading to restaurant)...but the waffles made up for it.
My Mom had the Eggs Blackstone with a side salad (fine-looking mesclun mix with tomatoes). We both cleaned our plates.
She commented her coffee was great...and my espresso - very good. Service was friendly (even after my Mom accidentally punched the host while removing her coat) & efficient and the place was full. I'd recommend it.
$25 for the two of us.

2008 Nov 10
Went on Saturday with friends to say goodbye to one of the gals moving to Boston. place was busy but we were seated quickly ( the only fast thing during the whole evening)

Waited 25 minutes for a server to take our drink order, took another 30 minutes to arrive, by this time our tongues were hanging out with thirst!

Waited 45 minutes for our apps. 1 hour later our main arrived without one of our guests getting her order, the server informed us they had run out of Salmon! by then we had ,had enough and asked for a manager, he duly arrived and apologised and offered a Seafood pasta. Again it arrived late and had chicken instead of Seafood, we called over the manager who then said the chef was very busy and gave what he could!!!!

How crazy is this place, don't they realize the customers keep them going!

To end this misrable story the manager comped our guests entire meal and offered us desserts on the house, Which never arrived, by this time we decided to call it a night and left.


2008 Sep 19
Ate here recently with BF and my mom who was visiting. This place is in our 'hood but we had never been.

I was surprised (but pleased) that every bottle of wine on the menu was a reasonable $26. We had a Chilean sauvignon blanc (whose name I promptly forgot).

We were also given some warm herbed rolls with (soft) butter, which were delicious. They were very nice about giving us a second basket with our meals as well.

We shared the diablo calarmari as an appetizer. The spices were very good and we enjoyed the dipping sauce but the overall feeling was "good but not great".

BF had the spicy linguine with hot italian sausage, spicy pancetta, shallots and roasted peppers with romano cheese. He said it was very good and the flavours were all complimentary. I had the appetizer portion of mussels and frites (white wine garlic leek sauce) and mum had the braised curry beef with mushrooms over sweet potato fries - both appetizers and both delicious. The mussels were especially garlicky - yum! Way more food than your typical appetizer portion.

Overally it was a very good meal + wine for $75 before tax and tip.

2008 Apr 3
A friend took me here last night for a belated birthday dinner. We picked Maxwell's because, well, it was my birthday after all and I got to pick. Even though I have been here many times it is still a favourite. I started with the escargots which I absolutely love since they are served swimming in garlic butter and a little brie on top. Although the escargots were very good there was no garlic butter to be found and lots of cheese. The brie was very good don't get me wrong but I really look forward to the escargots and Maxwells and was a little disappointed that they tampered with my favourite dish! My next course was the mussels in a spicy tomato sauce with fries on the side. The fries were thin cut and crispy and attractively served in a martini glass. The mussels and fries were delish!

Just a note that their liquor license has been suspended for two weeks. According to our waitress the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Commission has been randomly suspending liquor licences on Elgin Street during the playoffs. Apparently one night during the playoffs last year Maxwells was over capacity by four people and the OLG refused to specify the night or give any other details. Likewise they mentioned on another night during last year's playoffs one of the customers left inebriated. So this year they were slapped with a two week liquor licence suspension. So if you are looking forward to having a beer with your mussels you have been forwarned. (Although the virgin margarita I had was very good.)

2008 Mar 2
We went here yesterday for brunch and was pleasantly surprised. I had the Eggs Blackstone (yummy!) and Mr. Nanook had Benny's waffle - eggs benedict on a half of Belgian waffle. I'd agree that the fruit cup is a little sad, but I did enjoy having the healthy option as opposed to another starch or sausages. The homefries are amazing. Their coffee is fantastic. The service was friendly, quick and polite. It was a great value for your money and I left feeling satisfied.

I enjoyed my brunch here much more than the Manx. It wasn't as crowded nor as noisy (at the Manx we had to practically yell to be heard) nor was there a dozen people blocking the door.

2006 Nov 27
I love this place for Sunday breakfast. I always get the same things though. Eggs Blackstone (like eggs benedict except replace the ham with a tomato slice and crumbled bacon). Yummy.

The best part is that the homefries are nice and light and seasoned with herbs, fresh white onions, green and red peppers. Definitely not to miss.

The worst part is the little fruit cup they give you on the side. It's limp.

When I've been for dinner I've enjoyed many of their super thin crust pizzas and doused them in spicy olive oil and have indulged in pasta specials never to be disappointed.

This place has a great blend of quality food and affordability and I can always find something on the menu I would like to eat.



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