Max’s

I’ve been here twice. Both times have been on a Saturday in the afternoon– after the lunch time rush. Both the times I sat outside, I’ve 1) waited a long time for our order to be taken 2) ordered the matzo ball soup 3) waited an even longer time for the soup 4) had bees swarm my table for my matzo ball soup. So maybe if you must eat here, sit inside? But frankly the service is poor and the food is quite mediocre but overpriced.
During the most recent visit, after waiting so long, the two tables beside us sat down, ordered, ate, and left all before our food arrived– and when our order finally came out, they brought out the wrong sandwich. Anyways it’s odd that such a nice shopping center has such a restaurant.

This place used to be my favorite place to have dinner. The last few times it has been a horrible food and experience.

Service is horrible, waiters are really arrogant and ignorant. The food is just over priced and quality ranks at or below dive bar type of food.
AVOID

Not sure where all the negative reviews are coming from — I have been to several of the Max’s locations when I’m up in the San Mateo area, and the Stanford location I like the best. We were there on a Saturday for lunch on ²⁄₁₅.
3 adults, 4 kids ages 3 – 14.
We had a few bowls of matzo ball soup, mac and cheese for the kids, and a couple of deli sandwiches. All were good and service was great! Our waiter even tossed the mac and cheese for the kids to cool it down for them.
Only quibble is that the soup could have been a bit hotter, but it was still warm enough. Overall, a good time!
–«Reviews You Can Trust»

Not my first visit but I must say I wasn’t very pleased… Food was so so and service was average. Haven’t had a meal here in some time. It’s a bit run down looking too. I do a lot of work around the area and I’m looking for a go to place at Stanford Shopping. I use to come a lot so will be back to give another shot. I think people need to give a chance to review guest visits to see if they will adjust. I’m still a fan though. That’s why I didn’t go below 3 stars! Step up the service though!

I use to enjoy going to this place but now will avoid. Bad service. Always limited staff so they sit everyone in one area and makes for a real noise problem. Food has been greasy the last couple of times.

I’ve had fine chopped liver at Max’s Opera Café in time’s past (almost as good as mother’s). But my recent sandwich at Max’s Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto was very, very poor, tasteless and poorly presented. The overly thin chopped liver had a wierd and strange taste and was far too watery. The rye bread was tastelessly mediocre and lacked any crisp freshness. The caramelized onions were anything but. As a matter of fact all the rolls brought to our table was sub-​par. A real decline in quality from year’s past. How disappointing! Max’s has had a great reputation. Let’s hope my experience and comments will persuade them to return to their former high standards.

Passed by here many times and finally decided to try it. We sat outside since we had the pup with us but it took about 15 minutes for a waitress to give us any attention. We placed our order with her and 5 minutes later had a man come by and inform that he will be taking over. Another 10 minutes go by and the waitress that had taken our order comes back and asks why we don’t have any bread on the table. Hmmm… were we to go get the bread our selves?
About 5 minutes later we got bread and it was nice and warm.
We ordered…
Mojito — very good
The Pink Panther — not good at all (don’t know why my husband ordered this)
Nachos — my husband liked it
Penne Alfredo with Shrimp — good (wish there was a little more sauce)
As far as the service, I can’t say anything great. The food was good but it wasn’t the best I’ve had. The best part of this experience was my mojito.
No heaters outside so don’t sit outside unless it’s a warm day.
Not sure if I’ll be back.

This place is good but its pricey. Max’s is everything you would want in a more up scale delicatessen. My wife and I love to go on Saturday nights when they have the waiters sing. It is cool. The food is very good but you will pay a bit too much for it. I have had the steak and it was good. But I also had the Brie ground beef dish that was not very good. The potato pancakes are not authentic. Overall a solid restaurant spot and I would recommend it to anyone at the Palo Alto shopping center.