J.T. Maxie’s Bar & Grill

Slightly better than a dive with great food. Had a California burger with fries. Burger was great but the fries were very salty which I like but its not for everyone. Also they had karaōke going on which was entertaining.

This place has changed for the worst. I have not been here in years but was shocked to see today’s staff. Very very trashy belly shirt full body tattoos. It also smells like they have not washed their carpets since the 1800s. Skip it go to wolfs 111.
It’s not even worth the beer before your flight go to the airport bar even if the cost is double!

It is a little run down; chair fabric was ripped and some unstable seats near the bar. The most shocking part was the expensive drinks! A tall cocktail was $ 13.00. Most bars in the area charge $ 10.00. It seemed pricey for what they offer.

Stopped in here a couple times this past week. I’m a Bit of a Karaōke junkie and checking out the scene since I’m new in town! It’s a nice place. Lots of room inside with a nice patio. The service was good to us. Our waitress was on top of things and never left our glasses empty. We ordered a few appetizers and they were what you’d expect from a bar.
The karaōke was good. The song selection was ok. I like that it goes late into the night since my friends and I work late. The speakers seemed to distort at times and it also was hard to hear yourself a lot of the time but other than that we had a good time. We’ll be back again!

This was a pretty big disappointment. We were staying next door at the Homewood Suites and this seemed like a slam dunk place to grab classic American grub without going to a chain. It fell short in several areas.
The place was mostly empty (early dinner) yet service was slow. It took a while to get us menus, waitress disappeared for 10 – 15 minutes (a quick drink order would have been nice). Then beer orders were spotty, at one point I ordered one, the next table ordered several… theirs came out and I had to remind her I hadn’t gotten mine. She seemed spread too thin. I saw other tables waiting for service (take order, food, deliver check, etc.). I think I saw one couple give up and go inside to pay and leave.
The menu was diverse with lots of options. Having only visited once I can’t speak for all the options. I had a panini and it was okay. Edible but not outstanding. One beer I got was less than cold. I’m okay with that, but it just was indicative of deeper issues.
Prices were good, I bet there are a lot of diverse menu items. It just seems like in a competitive market, I’d steer somewhere else.

Wanted a couple of beers after a long day and late night and always passed this on Wolf Road. Couldn’t resist their Hot Crab Dip and Chips, fried green beans, and fried artichokes. All good bar food. Great beers although I did have a rye to start with. The continuous fun watching and listening to the brave and bold karaōke next-​American-​Idol singers is cool, and not sure if this is every night or just Wednesday night. Really loud inside and very nice outside on a covered lanai facing Wolf Road.

Went for lunch. Wings were great. Service, too. The staff was friendly and took care of us! Food was reasonably priced. Highly recommend!

How inconsiderate of my sister and I (two fairly forgiving hospitality professionals) to want lunch and drinks on a Friday afternoon. I guess it serves us right, and we deserved to sit with a table full of finished appetizer plates, entrée plates, empty waters and empty cocktails for more than 20 minutes. How dare we want a refill (isn’t a ‘2 bite checkback’ standard procedure? We weren’t asked once how anything was, even though the food was fine).
I suppose we know better for next time. Her body language was clear. She walked by us multiple time without a word, and then proceeded to SIT at the bar for while our drinks continued to remain empty.
We only wish she would have told us upon arrival that she had no interest in serving us, so that we wouldn’t have wasted our time and money. As we are in the industry, we still tipped well, but it might be time for this server to pursue opportunities that don’t require customer service.
…and no, we’re not exaggerating. The proof is in the pictures.
**We then went to Wolf’s 1 – 11 for our (now much needed) second drink, where we met Kim and Aubrey, and they were both beyond fantastic.

Great waitstaff, yummy frozen margaritas, delicious burgers, really fun atmosphere and karaōke on Friday and Saturday nights! Love this place! My boyfriend and I came here for the first time this past weekend and we had a blast!!! I will def be back.

I have just started over the past few months going to maxis. I love to listen to people sing kareoke because I love to see people enjoy themselves. Talented or not, they have fun doing it. Brian Zapel does dj twice a month. That is when I try and go. He loves doing it and it shows. Everyone loves it when Brian is in charge of kareoke. Highly recommend it. I’m not a negative person, but have seen a few other djs there and the music they play does not fit the clientele. Brian seems to always have that covered. I have enjoyed the food as well

I came here for karaōke. It was supposed to start at 9. It did not start until 9:45. There was some sort of technical issue, but they did not make announcements saying what was going on. The person running it also would stop actually doing karaōke and general DJ-​ing and expediting to doing nothing. She needs to get her shit together. I also had a drink that tasted like maple syrup, but had no maple syrup in it. It was weird. I would come back, but would not be happy about it.

What they did to calamari was criminal. It was the worst I have ever tried; the first time I have ever sent calamari back because I couldnt eat it — ever!
The sign out front said «cold» beer. They were proud of it, but my Yuengling, while not hot, was far from cold. The atmosphere was dull, more a place to hang out and place your lottery bets (they have betting slips in jars on the bar) than a place to enjoy a cold beer and some good food. Truthfully, the calamari was so bad I paid my tab and went somewhere else for dinner, beer not withstanding.

Good divey bar. I’m guessing a bit of a townie bar which I like when traveling, compared to all the shitty corporate restaurants on Wolf Rd.

Stopped in for lunch with the family because the establishment had a big patio. First thing we noticed is the patio furniture and floor were pretty dirty. Food on the floor and tables needed to be cleaned; odd because it was dead slow and the two servers were standing around (you have time to lean, you have time to clean).
We decided to stay and try the food, despite the less than clean settings. Food was good, decent portions, and it came out in a timely manner. The service was good and the server seemed happy to be there for our needs.
Then the bill came. Kids drinks were $ 3 a pop a little high but they each had two or three so the refills covered the cost. Auto gratuity on the check, I Hate auto gratuity. The server earned her 25% tip that I usually give but don’t tack on an auto 18% for just a party of 5. Big table sure, recommended tip amount OK but if my service sucked I’m not shelling out any tip let alone 18%.
The cleanliness is the big thing for me, if the patio isn’t clean what does the cooler that my food came out of look like? I realize that FOH and BOH are separate staff but the manger and owner oversee both! Standards people!

Stopped here for a nice lunch date on the patio. Started off with some mozzarella sticks that looked more like mozzarella bricks that they just deep fried. The marinara sauce was more like a cup of water with a teaspoon of marinara sauce for color. For the food its self I figured I’ll go for a good delicious choice and picked the French dip. Well I was wrong about the safe and delicious part. The mozzarella I paid extra for was cold and the sandwich looked like a snack or sad excuse for a sub. The outdoor sitting was nice and the weather was beautiful so that’s worth something, not worth the price or effort to stop here and eat but something. Oh and the staff was really nice and cute.

Stopped by for dinner on the way to Montréal. Upon entering you can tell it hadn’t been cleaned since it was opened (could see what the carpet originally looked like under the slightly moved runner). There was also some horrendous karaōke going on that no one was into.
So far they get 2 stars. 1 star comes from how terrible the food was. Crab dip was extremely salty and way way way too runny; the beer from the tap tasted stale and musty; then the Montréal steak was rubbery and tasted of propane. I can easily say it was the worst steak I’ve ever had. My buddy had a salad that was mixed with pasta which he had a few bites then quit. Looked awful.
Hopefully they call Jon Taffer soon.

Stopped here for a bite after a long day on the road. It was near our hotel, and not a chain. Had nice patio seating and a friendly, inviting vibe for some reason. Was kind of dark inside, but that was not a deterrent, in my view. Sat at the bar, which had only two spaces available, which kind of tells ‘ya that the place is decent for drinks at least. Had a Karaōke DJ, which I found kind of out-​of-​place, but they were there ’till three am, so whatcha gonna do?
Bartendress was fabulous. One person worked the whole bar, pouring, mixing, shaking, taking orders and serving the full bar, PLUS fixin’ booze for the rest of the floor. If I had ten of her working for me, I could rule the world in a year, no doubt. Made a real Cosmo for my wife with real fruit and booze and no mix. Sweeeet.
I had the Philly Cheese Steak which was huge and smothered with cheese. Yay! Onion rings were a 7 on the Big Larry scale of onionyness. Wife had the French dip, served panini style. She scarfed that puppy. They had the option of substituting fried green beans for regular fries and they were excellent.
Only strange thing was a gal at the end of the bar who was well gussied-​up and unescorted, who sang lots of Karaōke with a lovely voice. Couldn’t figure out if she was part of the act, a cougar on prowl or just a regular. Anyway, it was either amusing local color or a bit spooky depending on one’s perspective.
Check this place out. It’s a lot better than one of the chain places that are scattered in the neighborhood like so many bits of jetsam.

Total hole in the wall with ghetto karaōke.
Went after a wedding only bc it was walking distance from our hotel. Older crowd than I am used to in Albany but hey, I prefer that anyway. Drinks were alright, they were out of bud light lime so I went with Stoli O. I’m guessing the older gentleman behind the bar was a manager bc he was nicely dressed and made my drink immediately. The female bartender on the other hand must have been new and in training. I ordered the same drink from her (unfortunately, she made the drink for my first round) and she forgot part of the ingredients. No OJ and when I gave her a $ 20, I received $ 9.75 back. The manager dude made me two more rounds afterward and he made my drinks correctly and hold up… gave me $ 13.25 back… Dafuq?!
Total waste of my time and only added to my pelting hangover the next day. Don’t bother with this place bc oh, they made us pay a dumbass $ 2 cover too. WTF really??? REALLY ALBANY? Ya mother’s ass.
Never going back to that cesspool.

A co-​worker and I were in town for a conference at the nearby Desmond. Man, there is nothing going on in that town. We heard Maxie’s was the place to be because they stay open until 4am everyday. We went in for dinner and were going to stay for karaōke, but we quickly decided that it wasn’t worth hanging around. We arrived at 7pm, and the karaōke had already started and really ruined our dinner conversation with some fellow conference attendees. I ordered the buffalo shrimp and they came out, not even room temperature, but cold. I asked for a side of bleu cheese, and the server kept forgetting it. The food and atmosphere were just ok. This seems to be the only nightlife around, and I think that’s why it is still open.

I have mixed feelings. My Buffalo chicken quesadilla was deliciously spicy, but had a little less cheese than I’d like. I asked for celery on the side and got a lot, free of charge, which was nice.
We enjoyed sitting on their front deck in the afternoon sun. Clean and lots of pretty flowers lining the rail.
My #1 complaint was our server — she acted like we were a bother during a very quiet lunch. You’d think she’d be happy to have customers but she harumphed every time she came over.
Meh!