Max’s on the Square

One of my favorite places to go to eat with my best friend. We go there and get a pitcher of 2 Hearted Ale and just chill. The food is great, the staff is amazing. We always have an awesome waiter/​waitress. The live music is always a nice treat if we go in on one of those nights. Very chill setting with very chill people. They recently remodeled and it looks great. They now have a few nice big tvs so you can catch all those IU games there too!

missed

This is a great venue space that offers something for everyone. Whit a huge variety on the menu including build your own pizzas, calzones and salads, there’s something for everyone here! The even offer several vegan and vegetarian options as well. Bring some friends, a deck of cards, a board game or two, and your appetite of course! We’re going to Max’s!

Max’s is a great place for big groups, as even their regular tables fit at least four people easily. I’ve mostly gotten their pizzas, they offer a diverse selection of interesting toppings and they’re always delicious. They have a decent beer selection and it’s affordable – and if you’re lucky you get to sit in one of the two minuscule tables outside! Only two downsides – the service isn’t always great (we’ve once had to wait a very, very long time for our beers and the place was practically empty), and if you don’t check out their schedule beforehand you’re liable to have to sit through a pretty bad open mic session, in which case you can forget about having any kind of conversation. It’s cool that they do it, I guess, but again: check their schedule if you don’t want surprise screaming.

I have to take off some stars for the INCREDIBLY LOUD Wednesday night open mic. Holy cow!

Tried to sit up front but the lack of service wasn’t working out for me. Enjoyed the back bar at Max’s Place this weekend. There was a band playing (a $ 3 cover) and we enjoyed the vibe of the place. The crowd was more adult friendly, less college crowd which is always a welcome change in Bloomington. The service staff seemed to be seriously understaffed. I’ll go back, but with the expectation of sitting in the back and going up to the bar when I need something.

The pizza is excellent! The atmosphere is very conducive to having kids w/​the group. Live music, PAC-MAN’s arcade party and megatouch… great food and great entertainment!
The only complaint would be that the music was supposed to start at 9 but we were still waiting at 9:30…it wouldn’t have bothered us so much but they were there at 8:30 and all set up… and then just sat around.

Just got back from dining at Max’s with the wife, and it was a fairly positive experience.
First off, the good:
We ordered breadsticks, a stromboli, Pietro’s Favorite calzone, and a slice if chocolate mocha cake to split. The breadsticks– really, all of the bread portions of the meal, were terrific. The bread had a nice crispy crust to it which broke lightly to the soft, chewy goodness inside. The contents of the sandwiches were very good as well, with the meatballs and sausage being very flavorful. (The stromboli was a bit skimpy on the sausage, but that might be due to the roll being too narrow to hold many toppings very well.) The calzone’s crust was probably about the best I’ve ever had. It was well-​baked inside and out without some of the dough ones that you find at some other places. The cake, which we ordered on a whim, was probably the weak element of the meal. It could have stood to be more flavorful and, at $ 4.95 a slice, perhaps a bit less expensive.
The not-​so-​good:
The ambient noise in this place is really distracting. When you’ve got a large open space like the front room, you really need to have something on the walls to deaden the acoustics a bit.
I’m not sure what was going on this afternoon, but there were hula hoops scattered all around the place. Some people were hula hooping on stage, so maybe this was for audience participation or something? Whatever it was, this probably wasn’t the best place to do it. Some of the waitstaff had some close calls with the hoops, and we had another hoop get loose from a careless young woman who was twirling it near our table for some reason.
All things considered, we liked this place; however, next time we’ll probably order our stuff to go.

Food is good. Local ingredients, local beer, great atmosphere. Granted if you want a server that’s going to pretend you’re gods gift to servers, you might be better off going to applebees.
I’m not saying the service is bad, I’ve always gotten great service. but I’m easy going.
It isn’t always perfect and its better somedays than others. but that’s true to most restaurants.
All in all a great local pub with decent food, beer, and service.

First, what I like: great vegan options. They offer homemade soy cheese. It’s not comparable to cheese really but it is creamy and delicious. So you can make vegan pizzas and calzones (ask for no parm on the calzones). They also have lots of beer.
What I don’t like: they are *always* understaffed. I’ve been there when two servers had the entire restaurant, which was packed because there was a show. I’ve also noticed a very high turnover rate in the staff which is not surprising. I don’t go too often because I don’t want to support poor management but when I do go I tip very very well

The food, outstanding. The pizza is magnificent.
As I write this, though, we’re still waiting in the bar for the bill for our food. It’s been thirty minutes. The bartender is slow, the place packed, and he’s got no waitstaff for the bar area.
This is one of the busiest nights of the year, given its Black Friday and they had the Christmas «Canopy of Lights» ceremony on the square. It seems they weren’t prepared in the bar.
So…my wife goes and asks for the bill, which has a charge for the salad he never brought.
To be fair, friends in the main seating area said the service was great.
The band playing, «The Hot Carls» is really very good!

I guess you go for the music and pizza, because you certainly don’t go for anything else. Over priced for a BLT, store bought chips and bagged lettuce. Not impressed for a Saturday lunch.

Max’s frequently features local music acts for free cover charge. They may ask you for some tips, but they typically deserve it.
The food is delicious. Probably my favorite place to go for pizza in town. They offer the BEST vegan cheese to substitute for free. Even non-​Vegans claim that this is the best pizza in town. Toss that onto their great draft beer selections and you have heaven.

I went to Max’s Place on a Monday night. It was within walking distance of the Hilton.
The atmosphere was quiet until a really cool band started playing.
I tried the Big Cheese calzone and my husband and I split a 16″ pizza half veggie no tomatoes half pepperoni.
Calzone: amazing. I have never had a calzone that was that good. Not even in New York itself. The crust seemed like a mixture of dough and pastry sheets (croissant). It was fluffy yet crisp like a croissant. The calzone was overflowing with the many cheeses that were in it. Only negative, it wasn’t very big. It came with a side of marinara that was chunky and delicious.
Pizza: the pepperoni had a tad of spice to it, perfect pepperonis. The veggie side was abundant with mushrooms, green peppers, black olives, and onions. Also, no shortage of cheese nor overdosing of sauce. The crust was crisp in all the right places, foldable, but crisp.
I will be back next time I am in town. For sure best pizza I have had in a while.

This review is for the pizza only, because I’ve yet to have anything else here. But the pizza is enough. Okay, first off, if you’re a typical New York pizza snob, the first thing you should do is get over yourself, and the second thing is to stop reading this review, because no one here needs your silly prattling. As far as Bloomington pizza goes, this is among the best in town these days. The combo of the crust and the toppings they use at Max’s is special. Very good, flavorful pizza. Pairs excellently with beer. We end up carrying out Max’s and taking it to The Tap (down the street) regularly now.
It’s also a fun (if unpredictable) eat-​in place as well. There’s a big dining room in the front with occasional live music, and then there’s a quiet, divey bar in the back that you wouldn’t even know existed if all you did was sit in the front. This restaurant is rapidly moving up my list of favorites in town.

Gosh, as a vegan who is always searching for reliable dining options, I do not relish giving a negative review to an establishment that actually offers serious vegan options. Actually, the issues I have with Max’s Place do not really concern the food as much as they do the service. My girlfriend and I visited Bloomington this last weekend and went with our friend (who is a Bloomington resident) to Max’s because she talked up its vegan options and their pizza. We arrived at Max’s around 5:45pm on Sunday, and here are the series of problems experienced: 1) There was literally only one waiter working, and there were probably around 30+ patrons, with one party consisting of about 15 people. 2) Due to the fact that only one person was working, we were completely ignored for the first 45 minutes. 3) We had to go back to the bar to order drinks for ourselves. 4) The waiter told us he would be right with us about 10 minutes in to our visit, and ultimately he never dealt directly with us once, and we had to find and grab our own menus.
Ultimately, the bartender working in the back reluctantly came to the rescue of half of the patrons, including our table. He apologized for the problems and for us basically being ignored, and said that they were «in a bad spot.» Finally, we were able to order dinner, and we decided on hummus as an appetizer and a create-​your-​own large pizza because the crust is vegan. We got the pizza with black olives, pineapple, fresh tomatoes, and Max’s homemade vegan cheese. The hummus we ordered lacked flavor and salt, but it was just nice to finally get food after waiting over an hour in this place. The pizza crust is excellent and the olive and tomatoes were good, but the pineapple was out of a can; I only point this out about the pineapple because when a pizza joint really wants to demonstrate quality ingredients, they use fresh pineapple. The homemade vegan cheese was okay, but it was just kind of glopped down on the pizza in different areas; also, I would be lying if I said that my girlfriend could not make better vegan cheese in her sleep, with considerably more flavor. The bartender, who became our waiter, did us a solid and took off the complete cost of a pitcher of beer we ordered because he felt bad about our nearly 3 hour dinner experience.
I do not know what the exact behind-​the-​scenes problems were that night for Max’s Place, but for us, it was a bit of a disaster. The bartender/​waiter ultimately handled the situation with great aplomb, and he really should not have been put in that position.

There are two parts, a bar in the back and a large restaurant with entertainment (a stage) in front. The pizza is good, but in a college town, «good» is an invitation for competition. It’s not bad. It’s just not stellar. The upshot is that it’s not expensive, uses good ingredients, and is consistently good.
In the front part of the restaurant, there’s lots of room for parties of just about any size up to 20, perhaps more if tables are available. It’s chronically understaffed, but the staff is usually pretty good, if not harrowed.
There are other offerings, including panini-​like sandwiches, calzones, and «hero-​like» sandwiches, appetizers, and a good list of salads. The non-​alcohol beverage menu is somewhat limited by comparison, with standard ice tea and fountain drinks. Prices are again, reasonable. A small variety of vegetarian choices are available, but for vegans, it’s much more limited. If you have a vegan need and budget, see Roots across the street, or the Owlery in the same block (both are $$+).
Sometimes in the evenings, there is a cover charge for scheduled entertainment. Check their website before you go. The entertainment ranges all over the map, from bluegrass to a comedy night 2x a month. Best to check first.
I go here somewhat frequently, and I’m never disappointed, but I’m never thrilled to death either. It’s a nice hometown pizza joint, usually friendly, and has a decent variety of stuff. It’s not high on pizzaz, but sometimes, that’s a good thing. It can be a noisy place, so shy types or those that aren’t good with a high ambient noise level might seek quieter digs.

This is such a weird place. I mean, I’ve come in here before, sat back in the bar area, and felt like I was at a dive bar, complete with overly loud, way too drunk guys swilling PBR and surly bartenders. The staff was actually playing dice with a couple of the customers when I was at the bar for lunch once. But then, at the front, it’s a different world. They fill the place with young families, bringing in their kids to run around so they can sit back and drink in a socially acceptable setting. All that’s missing is a clown that makes balloon animals. I’ve also been twice for the live music, and it’s usually a rotating cast of local acts. So if you miss someone playing at Max’s, don’t get too upset: just wait a month or so. If you do go to see a band, prepare for a packed house.
But the food is good. I love the Buffa Joe sandwich, which is locally-​sourced ground buffalo in a barbecue sauce, all in this housemade bread (which is basically their pizza dough, formed into bread). Sandwiches are served with a pickle spear and some Lay’s chips for roughly $ 8. They have calzones and some very good salads (including one with fresh mozzarella), but pizzas are their main deal. And the pizzas are fine. I would definitely put them above Mother Bear’s, but Butch’s — of course — still wins easily. The specialty pizzas are good but, overall, they don’t have a ton of selection on toppings, so you’re a little limited with what you can get.
Service can be spotty. It’s been better the last few times we’ve been in, but it can get a little absent when the place is relatively empty. And that’s the weird thing: you come on one night, and you’ll be one of three parties in the huge dining room. But if you come on other nights, the place is just overflowing. I’ve never been able to figure it out properly.
It’s a really big place. I guess it used to be a pool hall. You can sit at church pew style benches that will accommodate eight, random old chairs and tables against the walls, or even more random round, unmatching chairs and tables in the middle of the room. The house music is usually classic rock or blues, but it’s played one record at a time through the sound system at various volumes, so the music has just stopped for several minutes at times until someone changed it.
I really enjoy the beer selection here. It’s a place that has very good taps to begin with, but also changes out some of the taps pretty regularly. It’s one of only three places where you can get Figure 8 in Bloomington, and they often have two of them. The other rotators are usually other regional crafts, including New Holland and Crown.

Tell ya what…
I grew up in Chicago.
I have eaten my fair share of thick crust, stuffed pizzas that weigh as much as Fat Albert’s left leg and I love them.
Move down here to God’s Country and WHAM… I run into Travers out at a local haunt in Brown County and he gives me the low down on his place…
I am amazed at what he has created in the town of Bloomington, Indiana.
It is a marvelous establishment that marries eclectic tastes in music, art food and craft beers.
Yeah, the wait staff may not be on point to get you a new napkin the second you drop yours, the place may be noisy or have kids running around as a bluegrass band plays…
BUT SO WHAT…
This a family friendly joint that has the best pie around.
Go there… order a Breakfast of Champions pizza and tell me it is not an amazing blend of flavors and textures.

I’m no pizza snob, but I think it is ridiculous that the menu bills this as «New York style thin-​crust pizza». There is nothing «New York» about this pizza, and It is the same standard crust that you would get pretty much anywhere, complete with those annoying air bubbles near the edge.
Other ways that Max’s disappointed:
— The garlic bread tasted like nothing more than french bread baked with some butter; I couldn’t taste the garlic, it was dry and bland
— The goat cheese that we ordered on the pizza was pitifully sparse; it was a wasted topping because the taste didn’t come through at all
— The service was extremely slow, despite there being only five occupied tables
— The setup of the place is just kind of weird, with the large dining room and stage in the front and the bar crammed like an afterthought into a small space in the back
At least they have a nice selection of beer on tap, and the live entertainment that night was good. The pizza, however, is far from being the best in town.