Maxie’s Supper Club & Oyster Bar

Awesome atmosphere with amazing Southern comfort food with inspiration from New Orleans. Recommend their oysters and their Jambalaya! Very popular place so plan ahead as they only have a 30 minute call-​ahead seating but it’s worth it.

Pretty good confort food and big portions.

Consistently Great food. Do have large servings even with the option to take home leftovers but just make sure you box your own plate. If you don’t and let the servers do, they give you only a portion of what you had left on your plate. This has happened to me multiple times that I finally learned to just ask for a container!

I came here on a Saturday night with a group of 7. We used the 30 minute call ahead feature which I loved! Parking can be an issue as the lot next to the restaurant is very small.
The place
We arrived and were promptly seated though at the worst table in the place. Our table was right next to the door. They have curtains by it but the small hallway acts like a funnel. So every time you open the door the wind made you shiver! Also bar stools have no backs and are small. I am by no means a big guy and I cant remember the last time I sat in a more uncomfortable chair! The bar stools weren’t the right height to go with the table. I saw they have another sections of the restaurant with chairs I would HIGHLY ADVISE to ask to be seated there. Those stools are liking sitting on hemorrhoids!
The food
They brought out cornbread which I am not a big of. However this really good. It was moist and had a sweet flavor! Our waitress said they smoke their own meats so I decided to go with the ribs. They were ok at best just like any chain store you would order them at. I guess I will take part of the blame since this a southern/​seafood place and I ordered ribs. My wife had the fried chicken which she said was ok. I will say I tried some of her fries and they were really good! They had great flavor and had no need for and condiments!
The service
Our waitress was very attentive and took really good care of us. Our drinks were always full and she struck a great balance of checking on us without hovering.
The verdict
I would like to go this place 3.5 stars if I could. I really want to come back and try some more of the dishes I have a feeling it might move to a 4 star. If you go make sure you try more of their signature items like the seafood.
Bonus thought
Their bathroom sink was the smallest I have ever seen it was close to the same size as the ones in your airplane bathroom!

This is one of my favorite spots in Ithaca. The space is beautiful and they have amazing food. Whenever I have friends in town, this is the spot I like to take them to. They serve a basket of cornbread as an appetizer and it is just the perfect way to start your meal, no matter what direction you are heading. I have had many of their fish dishes (too many to name and sometimes it’s a special) and they are always cooked perfectly with amazing sides. I have had their sweet potato purée and it is wonderful. You also have the option of picking your sides as well.
My friend and I have been here on multiple occasions and we almost always order a small order of shrimp and grits to share. I myself was skeptical the first time since I am not a big fan of grits, but one taste and I never looked back. The grits here are creamy and not «gritty» at all. They are seasoned well and go great with their shrimp.
Maxie’s has a great happy hour seafood special for clams, oysters and mussels, so if you are a seafood fanatic, come before 6pm. On certain nights, they also have life bands playing and kids specials (extremely reduced price for kids meals — fantastic for folks with children). Parking can be tricky, so consider that if you are coming at peak hours.
I will be back for sure.

Oysters were top notch. Definitely a surprise for Ithaca NY. Jambalaya was the bomb! The cornbread was solid as well. Overall a great place! Will be back.

They have outdoor seating and we sat outside. They came and checked up on us often. They start you off with their delicious cornbread. I had the crab and corn chowder ($ 4.95), which was okay. It had a good amount of crabmeat. The cajun popcorn, which are fried crawfish tails ($ 11.95). The crawfish shells are detached and they fried it. It was very tasty when you add some tabasco sauce. For entrée, I had the vegetarian jambalaya, which has smoked tofu, pecans, spinach, red beans and creole rice ($ 15.95). It was huge and I couldn’t finish it. The food here is pretty good. This restaurant was one of my top picks when I was visiting the state parks in Ithaca and it didn’t disappoint.

By far, one of the best eateries in Ithaca anyone can go to! This place serves Cajun style food. The décor reminds me of a good New Orleans restaurant.
The decorative light covering especially looks beautiful and gives the place a sensual and sexy appeal. Maxie’s features a southern style approach with the window treatments. Maxie’s opens the outside balcony for summer dining. The restaurant outside looks like a large house converted into a restaurant. Very southern approach.
On Sunday nights, a musical band plays some bluesy tunes to end the night. This creates a relaxed and more laid back atmosphere at Maxie’s. People like listening to this band. The wait staff does an excellent job in making the patrons feel welcomed.
I ordered the vegetarian jambalaya. It tastes absolutely heavenly! I usually order the Ithaca root beer with the jambalaya. Tastes awesome! The city of New Orleans will be so proud and honored to know this exists in Ithaca! Another legend in the making.
When in Ithaca, come to Maxie’s Supper Club. The warmth, smiles, service (and especially the awesome food) create for an amazing dining experience.
Come and enjoy Maxie’s. You. Will. Not. Be. Disappointed.

Worse service ever. Waiting 1h and 40 min to be seated for 7 people. Waited 1h and 15min for the food. Sat near the front where people were smoking and absorbed all over my clothes. Sat on butter when we were seated. Off to bad start and found out all the specials except for shrimp tacos were out. The restaurant was so dark and so hot no ac. The corn bread wasn’t even good. The catfish tasted frozen, the ribs were super dry, the pulled porked tasted like it was under the heat lamp for hours.
Wouldn’t come here again.

They gave us a basket of free cornbread twice because we ate it so quickly the first time.
The crab and corn chowder soup was SO good. very rich, very crabby. We dipped our cornbread into it.
Everything else that followed were just mediocre.
We got chicken fried chicken, shrimp and grits, and ahi tuna on top of a knish.
The ahi tuna was bland, the chicken fried chicken was nothing exceptional… The shrimp and grits were pretty good.
Overall, an enjoyable dining experience but nothing special.

I have been here so often even though it’s quite far from Cornell’s campus simply because I love this place. Here is my review:
1. Location: Maxie’s is across the street from the Greyhound/​Shortline bus station in downtown Ithaca. It’s so great that there’s a TCAT bus stop right in front of it. Go on the TCAT app or website right now and you’ll see Maxie’s is listed as a bus stop. They open at 4pm and their full menu is available between 5pm-​11pm.
2. Price Range: More on the pricier range of restaurants. Appetizers are usually between $ 8-​$ 13 that are enough to be split between two. There are half priced raw oysters between 4pm-​6pm. Entreés range between $ 10-​$ 15 for a po’boy (which comes with cajun fries, I usually let them add a dollar to switch to sweet potato fries) and $ 13-​$ 20 for their specialties.
3. Service: All the times I’ve been here the waiters have always been friendly and served us with a smile. If I had any questions they were always able to answer. Service at the bar is a little less personalized although each time I’ve gone there has been someone else at the bar who is open and willing to strike up a conversation. The place is huge so there is always usually a table open. There are small as well as big tables for larger groups. The noise level is usually higher if there is a large group.
4. Food Quality: Exceptional. You always get this delicious cornbread and butter as an appetizer when you order. I’ve gotten Maxie’s Gumbo (the serving is on the small size for $ 6 but good), fresh shucked oysters (they usually have two that are on the salty side and one that’s on the sweet side. I usually prefer the sweet ones because the salty ones definitely taste like the sea). The Portobello Po’Boy is juicy and delicious, it’s like a giant mushroom that they marinate and grill, a perfect option among others they have in a dedicated vegetarian section in their menu that I have not tried.
Overall I think this place is pricey, but exceptional and very worth taking a trip down from collegetown. The atmosphere is very inviting and I feel comfortable even when I’m on my own.

My friend recommended this place so I decided to come for dinner on a Saturday evening. Between my friend and I, we shared the gumbo, cracker-​crusted oysters, and «chicken-​fried» chicken. Everything was delicious! Special mention to the complimentary corn bread and butter. Needless to say, it was busy since it was dinner time but the service was nothing short of stellar. The appetizer came out quickly, we were checked on several times, waters were refilled and they didn’t linger with the boxes/​bill.

The shrimp and grits here is highly recommended (perfectly spiced so as to be warming but not angrily kick your tonsils on the way down), and the ribs were good. The fried green tomatoes were also nicely done, and the local NY Riesling they serve was really pleasant, and I’ll be looking out for it when I get back to the UK.

Came here for dinner yesterday. The food was great! We ordered fresh shucked raw oysters as appetizers and they were the freshest oysters I have ever tasted. You can taste the sea in each one and oyster meat was tender and delicious.
My fiancé ordered the shrimp and grits, which was amazing. Shrimp was tender and the grits were creamy, perfectly mixed with the sauce. I ordered the jambalaya which was also very good. Just a word of caution, it is fairly spicy so not a good option for those who cannot eat spicy food. Our food also came with free cornbread and honey butter!

What a great spot! Too bad I discovered it on my last planned trip to Ithaca for quite awhile. I’d recommend this as a nicer yet casual lunch spot, or a place to get a good dinner with friends, a date, or family. It’s not overwhelmingly fancy, but service is impeccable, food is on point, and décor and ambiance welcome you with southern hospitality without coming off as gimmicky or just fried.
I went for dinner with a group of four others. Despite coming in about an hour and a half before closing, all the servers and hosts were genuinely pleasant, prompt, and even rather funny as they helped us. Service never slowed, and I have to say the typical pain points were far from painful: bill was prompt, water glasses were always full, meals were served together and reasonably fast after ordering, and they even brought a refill on the delicious complimentary cornbread!
I had the vegetarian jambalaya. I’m not vegetarian, but sometimes just am not in the mood for meat (yes you heard me all you true carnivores out there — calm yourselves). It was still hearty, filling, and rich enough to call itself jambalaya. A mixture of tofu, pecans, beans, and tomato pieces tossed with rice and served over a bed of fresh baby spinach, I finished it off with a dash of the table’s resident Chipotle Tobasco. There were murmurs of pleasure from the fellow diners around my table as the soft shell crab po boy special, shrimp and grits (reportedly spicy), traditional jambalaya (also spicy), and gumbo all slowly but surely disappeared from their plates.
Next time I make it up to Ithaca and want a good meal I’d like to linger over, I’ll stop by Maxie’s.

We loved it! We ate so much cornbread, their orange honey butter was very tasty.
I ate the swordfish jambalaya, we ate the fish fry, chicken fried chicken, and a chicken po boy. We also enjoyed a side of pulled pork, which you can add strangely enough for 6.45! The food was tasty and quick to come out. Also we got stickers with our bill!
The tiny bathrooms are adorable, the only big thing in there was the mirror.

Maxie’s Supper Club + Oyster Bar is definitely one of the things that I miss most about going to Cornell. Delicious Southern food in the heart of Ithaca? Who would’ve thought, right?
Along with their complimentary cornbread (it ain’t a Southern restaurant if there ain’t cornbread, amirite?), I’m a huge fan of their Fried String Beans, which are pretty much little pieces of crispy goodness. I could honestly eat a whole bag of these. They’re as addicting as chips for me. Forrealz.
I also love their Shrimp + Grits, which surprisingly taste pretty damn close to the ones I’ve had in New Orleans. Impressive, huh? The shrimp are large and juicy and served with the most amazing Cajun sauce. It’s creamy and savory and flavors both the shrimp and grits so well. If it weren’t socially unacceptable to do so, I would lick my plate every single time. The sauce is that good. I also always make sure to add the Grilled Andouille Sausage to it because the more meat the better, right?
I’m not the biggest dessert person, but their Banana Chocolate Coconut Cream Pie is pretty good. All my friends and family love it, so it must be great for a normal person who does enjoy dessert. It was a little too rich for my liking, but the saving grace of the pie for me was the plethora of bananas. May or may not have a slight obsession with those yellow fruits. That and the toasted coconut. Yummy. Definitely a great way to end your meal!

There’s definitely a certain charm about this place. Service was pretty decent as well. We came later in the night around 8pm so it wasn’t as crowded as I hear it usually is though, but I could definitely see that it’s a bit of tight quarters.
As for the food, we ordered some oysters to start and shared a small plate of shrimp & grits and the pulled pork plate. Fresh cornbread is given at the start of the meal and when I tried it, it was nice and moist! Oysters were fresh. I probably won’t order the shrimp and grits again, more grits than shrimp and the shrimps were very small. The pulled pork plate on the other hand is highly recommended, very nicely flavored, the cole slaw goes well with it and they have a special tangy bbq sauce.

Highlights:
–Free Cornbread and Fresh Oysters (Happy hour!) are two things I love about this place.
–The fried chicken Tuesdays special is really good too. The fried chicken is white meat but it’s very moist the times I had it.
I would actually give 4 stars for the overall taste because it’s not true «cajun» style and there isn’t wow” factor that make me come back for more. I would say Maxie’s is a restaurant trying to make cajun-​style food more upscale.
Pricing is on the more expensive side but the quality of the food makes it worth it.
The service is pretty good and the atmosphere is great.
I wouldn’t give this place 5 stars if this restaurant was in a more populated city. But because they have a monopoly on fresh oysters and everything else is pretty good, I give this place 5 stars.

I haven’t been here in years. We had a decent sized party with a lot of split check requests and other nonsense. They were very accommodating.
Shrimp and grits were velvety and spicy. I only tasted them but would order a dish without hesitation next time.
Pulled pork plate, beans and coleslaw was massive. The pork comes with a bottle of sauce, so you can squirt your own… much appreciated. The coleslaw was decent, not very wet, pretty crunchy. The beans were soft and meaty.
Fresh oysters and clams with cocktail sauce, vinegar and horseradish were sweet and slippery.