Maxwells

Everything was very reasonably priced and unbelievably delicious, highly recommended!

Went here for date night but almost turned around from the outside appearance. The «Maxwell’s» sign is just a banner and there are neon signs outside the door. It didn’t look like a romantic spot but we decided to give it a go because we heard great things. Turned into a night we can’t stop talking about. The inside actually has a lot of ambience and I like their style. They had my favorite Empire beer on tap which was amazing, and our waitress/​bartender could NOT have been nicer, sweeter, more accommodating. The food was INCREDIBLE. Seriously. We started with the soft pretzel which may have been the best pretzel I’ve ever had in my life. We both got the Maxwell burger for our entrees. The chef accidentally put cheese on mine and while I waited for a new one, I was given a complimentary berry salad which tasted so incredibly fresh. The burger itself was perfect cooked, felt like it was handmade patty, and just had amazing flavor. The bacon and caramelized onions gave so much flavor and juiciness that a sauce wasn’t even needed to complete it (though it comes with some type of fancy mayo, I asked for it without). For sure a place that I will come back to. Wonderful servers, wonderful food, great atmosphere. Doesn’t get better.

Maxwells is a great place to hang out in Downtown Syracuse. It has a great location in Hanover Square, Syracuse’s oldest business district. Maxwells motto is «Eat, Drink, Chill» and they have done a lot of work in there to improve the ambiance.

I’m a total fan of Maxwell’s. The bartenders are super friendly. Lots of beer and wine choices– they are redoing their wine list and it just so happens to include some of my favs! Win! Try the duck wings and meat platter (had a fancy name that I can’t spell). I really hope this place lasts!

Came back for happy hour today! And again very impressed! Linda, the bartender, was great! I even got a chance to meet the owner. Excellent guy, great hospitality and customer service! I will be back again! Highly recommend this establishment!!!

We came here for dining week because it had an interesting looking menu. It was a mix of gastro pub and Italian restaurant. This ended up being good and bad.
Maxwell’s has a great relaxed atmosphere with a very friendly staff. Everyone says hi and genuinely seems to want to help you. The moto is «Eat Drink Chill» and that suits this place perfectly.
The bar has a very good selection of beer and wine and a surprising decent selections of scotch and whiskey.
The food was good and bad. Everything I’d consider pub food was very good. The duck and hog wings were great along with the steak, burger, and fries that we all shared. The more restaurant type foods were so-​so.
We found out later that the owner is opening a restaurant next door and decided to convert the usually «chill» gastro pub Maxwell’s into a sit down restaurant for dining week to show a little of what is planned for the other place. That meant new tables, servers, and half a new menu; just for 2 weeks. Pretty crazy they were able to pull it off, and did a pretty good job.
I’ll be back here for some pub food and a drink after dining week is over.

Went here for dinning week. From the time I ordered my meal to the time I received my entrée was close to 2.5hrs. It took over an hour just to get my salad (which was literally a plate of lettuce with a single croûton) I ordered the fillet in a Cabernet sauce for an entrée, it tasted like ketchup had been poured over my steak. The bartenders were more interested in talking to regulars then actually doing their job. Overall it was probably my worst eating experience, the owner and head chef should find a new career path.

We tried out Maxwells for dining week, so I cannot comment on how it would be going for a casual drink at the bar, watching a game (they have many TVs!), etc.
The restaurant itself looks nicely renovated, you could tell the staff was still getting their feet under themselves, as it was very busy, not very many tables, and waitresses were running around as well as the manager trying to take orders, buss tables, bringing out food, etc. Parking downtown is always a challenge as well. We made a reservation two days before, checked in, got seated, and my husband got a phone call 30 minutes into our meal asking if we were still coming. Not sure what happened there…
If you are going for dining week, currently their online menu still says the pubsteak is available as an entrée, but they’ve run out — that was a disappointment! Not sure if they will be re-​stocking for the rest of dining week (s).
It’s possible my expectations were a little too high for the restaurant, but if they’re going for higher end pub food, I think it’s okay to be critical:
1. The tortellini soup was excellent — tender and cheesy tortellini, tomato based soup was delicious. No issues, would order again.
2. My calamari was very tender, but soggy. The opposite of what normally happens — i.e. too much breading, overly crispy because it’s bread! I’m all for having less breading on the calamari, but generally, you want your calamari to be crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. My dish felt like someone had either let it sit too long before bringing it out, or somehow, too much moisture enveloped the calamari before it got to me, or it wasn’t fried well to begin with. Whatever the reason, it overall tasted fine, the marinara dipping sauce was great, but it just wasn’t the best crispy calamari I’ve had.
3. Burger — Pros: It definitely was a generous sized patty of meat. I asked for it to be medium and it was medium. Cons: One side of my burger was very charred — I still ate it, but if you can’t stand charred food, be warned! Also, I’m not sure what type of buns they’re using, but they felt like normal Wegmans style hamburger buns that were grilled/​toasted — definitely NOT substantial enough to hold up the meat patty. In fact, when my burger arrived, the entire bottom bun was smushed flat/​soaked through — it seemed like someone didn’t pat off excess grease/​juice from the burger patty, or they let it sit on the bun so long before serving it to me that gravity just took effect and the bun was so spongey it soaked everything up and just caved. — as for the bacon on it/​cheese on it — nothing special. Not thick cut bacon, thin slice of cheese. Max sauce I asked for on the side just to test it out.
4. The fries — probably the best part of the meal, besides my soup. Very hot, crispy, fluffy on the inside, sprinkled with salt and parmesan?
Also of note: my husband ordered the petit filet entrée — his «truffle fries» looked/​tasted exactly like my «hand cut» fries — so I’m not sure what the difference was there. He also asked for his to be medium, but told me it felt more like medium-​well.
Overall, again, it’s possible my expectations were a little too high — but if they were aiming for a more fine dining feel, especially during dining week, rather than just being a pub, there is definitely a need for improvement in some areas. If you are just going for decent pub food too go with whatever you’re drinking/​to watch the game — it’s probably fine!
To be fair, both our server, and someone who I believe was the manager asked if we were satisfied with our food/​if everything was okay — I didn’t have the heart to tell them all my issues with the burger, because it was still edible, and they were so swamped/​I could see people waiting for my table — that I just let it go and didn’t raise my issues.
If we come back, it won’t be with the expectations of finer dining!

We went to this restaurant during dining week and by far the selection and food was outstanding. Generally, dining week places offered a limited selection and there was plenty to choose from. I enjoyed the gastro pub feel and we will be back.

Good selection of beers on tap. The duck wings were excellent. The house cut fries were delicious and piping hot. I’ll be back.

This bar was a nice change of scenery. They’ve got some good beers on tap.
Meatball sliders were very good. Burger was OK. I’m looking forward to returning.

Nice ambiance and great food (we had the Hog wings, muscles and fried cheese). We went there after the tree lighting ceremony for some complimentary hot cocoa and more! The food was delivered fast, the bartenders were nice. Definitely we will be back when we are home for Christmas!