Max & Erma’s

Don’t come on $ 5 burger night – waited a long time to sit (35min), long time to order & long time to eat. (55 min). No silverware — had to wait for it to finish in the dishwasher! Restaurant temp was freezing and uncomfortable in the bar area where we were seated. Even had to wait for someone else to finish with ketchup. Hoping all was related to their not being able to handle the crowd but waaaay not good.

I liked the old Max & Erma’s restaurants, personally. The onslaught of memorabilia and paraphernalia covering the walls, that’s how I remember M&E! Since their switch up (do to filing for bankruptcy), they’ve gone all… Conservative. This ME sports the bland décor of the new era, and unfortunately my visits have rendered the same «meh» results.
The staff I’ve encountered, as far as I remember, have always been polite, but sometimes their check-​in creed is not always the best. Granted, they’re usually high school/​college age, so that factor reflects on the management.
On to the food. Here? Franchise’s the name, mediocracy’s the game. I couldn’t even tell you what I’ve ordered, the few times I’ve come (I only come here if my restaurant suggestion is out-​voted by family). I got the Turkey Avocado Burger. However, I do like bratwursts, so I subbed in a brat burger. I glad they give you a whole half of an avocado, I’m not glad that mine really had no taste. Wasn’t at it’s ripest point. All I could taste was the heavily seasoned brat meat and the drizzle of ranch condiment. It was a decent size burger, but the flavor components were completely masked. Oh, and the fries. Luke warm. Rather stiff. Decent flavor, but I hate hard taters.
Suffice to say, these few times I’ve had sit-​downs here haven’t left a good impression in my mind. I’m not a big fan of chain restaurants; perhaps my sentiments stem from that insight.

We went last night. We were seated and waited 15 minutes and no one even asked what we wanted to drink. They weren’t even busy; based on their horrible service I can see why.

Always a great place to go when we’re in town. Our sever was awesome, food was as we remembered and the iced oatmeal arisen cookies are a new must-​have when in Ohio.

Our waitress took her time acknowledging we even sat down. Then she said she’d be right with us. She wasn’t. Ordered 2 drinks and 2 waters. Drinks arrived, no straws, no water. The peach tea had so much syrup it made me gag. We waited a while for her to come back. Asked for water again and again. Finally! Water. She came by twice to tell us our food was almost ready. Appetizer arrived never. Dinner arrived and I told her it looked nothing like the appetizer we ordered. Instantly she realized her mistake. Practically made her cry. Took her over 10 min to run the card too. And after all that, she ran after us to give back the card.
Worst service ever. So frustrated we forgot the card!

Thursday, May 8^th, 1:00 pm
7 WORDS: Hamburgers /​Sundaes /​Family /​Old is New /​Americana
We were seated immediately and the server had our drink order within a minute. That was good. We got the food order in another 8 – 10, which was good, but my foodie partner was a little anxious. Also, she didn’t like the crumbs on a plate or the infant standing on a table in bare feet. In my opinion, the cleanliness issues are negligible, since they aren’t really server/​manager faults. Crumbs (maybe pepper) happen and children in burger joints DEFINITELY happen, so… on to the food.
I ordered Mozzarella Cheese Skewers and the classic Erma Garbage Burger, hold the Onions, while my friend ordered an Erma with Bleu, both medium. When she listed the hamburger ingredients, the server checked to make sure she didn’t want onions (which she didn’t) and then promptly came back back with our Cheese Skewers.
The Cheese Skewers were just as I remembered them from 15+ years ago, minus the downsizing by about a third. That’s okay, few can compare to portions or prices from the last century, right? The hamburgers were good. They weren’t great, as we’d expect from M&Es, but they were still on-​par with most sit-​down hamburger places. Still, the bill came in at just over 30 dollars for 2 burgers, 2 drinks, and an appetizer. Although this was lunchtime, that’s still not too shabby.
I can’t give it a 5, because there wasn’t a single home run out there. It was average, maybe good at best. Still, it’s the sort of place you’d come to more than once, just for things like their Sundaes and big dessert toppings bar. Four Stars.

Update: Went to this location Saturday for lunch, and for the first time, disappointed. I was eying a burger, but the server told me it wasnt good. Instead, he suggested another one. He also recommended the shrimp salad for my other half.
Both of us were disappointed. My recommended burger had some garlic cheese spread mixed with bacon marmalade that was too sweet. The two did not pair well at all. Even at the small size (6oz) I didnt finish it.
Her «Shrimp Salad» had 4 small shrimp on it. Im sorry, thats not a shrimp salad, thats a salad with some shrimp. And at $ 9.49, a terrible value.
To make matters worse, I usually stay away from public bathrooms, but sometimes nature calls. This was one of the most disgusting bathrooms Ive ever seen. I will not go into detail, other than to say it was filthy on EVERY front. I also noticed food/​dirt on the floors, dirty windows, and crud on the salt/​pepper shakers. And it was only 11:30a…they had only been open a half hour.
Ive always loved Max & Erma’s, but Ill be thinking twice about my next visit because of this experience.

I live near the E Broad location, but frequent this Max & Ermas because of the superior service. The food is great and reasonable in price.

I ate here recently with a large group. We called ahead so that they could have tables ready for us. We get there, they are pretty much empty, and they don’t have any tables ready for us. They sat us after a quick couple of minutes though. Although the place looked pretty clean, this is just a typical chain restaurant with the cheesy «memorabilia» style decorations on the walls.
I ordered the Tortilla Burger with fries. It was a decent tasting burger that came with a small cup of Tortilla Soup to dip in, but it didn’t really look like it was assembled properly. The toppings were each in a pile on this side or that side between the bottom bun and the patty. The menu seemed to claim that the fries were well known for being awesomely seasoned, but I highly disagree. The fries that came with my meal were really plain and really only had a little bit of salt and pepper on them. They gave our group cookies for a birthday, which were warm and tasty. I’m giving my two stars for the taste of the food and nothing else.
The service was really lacking, especially in the middle of the afternoon when the dining area was mostly empty! There were plenty of times when I was sitting at the table thinking «where is the waiter?» or «we could have been done with this meal a while ago if the waiter was paying attention». He would bring us only half of the things we needed at any given time. Many people in my group were at least happy that there were televisions they could look at while waiting for the waiter to do his job.
Overall, the food is ok, but everything else is lacking in quality. I couldn’t help thinking that I was in a scene from Waiting the whole time I was there.

We were seated quickly and service was great. Food was hot and came out quickly.

I always look at the menu, but almost always choose the Village salad and half Reuben! It is a good place to go with your girlfriends.

I’ve always been a fan of Max and Erma’s, so when this one opened literally down the street from my parents, I was really happy. The décor is fresh and well-​kept, there’s a patio, and the servers are always friendly and attentive. Several TV screens are turned to news/​sports events but it doesn’t overpower the room with sound.
And yes, there is the Ice Cream Sundae Tub! I’ve had out of town boyfriends who didn’t believe this existed – check it out. But the fresh baked chocolate chip cookies are heavenly!

Very friendly staff. We were quoted a 20 minute wait that ended up being about 8 minutes. Our waitress was awesome — she realized when she delivered my margarita that it looked a bit off and offered to take it back right away.
This is your average joe schmoe chain restaurant. Having lived in Columbus for several years, it was a mainstay for inexpensive (aka less than $ 10) meals. My favorites are the chicken tortilla soup, the buffalo chicken sandwich, the club & the infamous ice cream sundae bar.
I prefer to eat at non-​chains when possible, but when it’s late and you’re hungry, it’s an easy choice :)