Max & Erma’s

I have such a bad beef with this location. Not because of a dining experience. I was looking for a job while attending school. Got hired after an interview that was moved several times. And attended orientation which was also moved several times. Despite this I decided to stick it out because I needed the money pretty badly. I went in, met my manager and the kitchen manager and was immediately thrown off guard by one of them speaking slowly as if I couldn’t understand him and said, «Welcome to America, it is so nice to meet someone of your kind.» Being an Asian American who grew up in a mostly white neighborhood, I was horrified. As soon as I left I knew I would never be going to the place again. I left a complaint with H.R. But I do not support this location at all, I wouldn’t want to give my service or money to a company who hires rude people

Terrible service, wouldn’t even seat us when there was no one in the restaurant. The staff is rude and wouldn’t be surprised if they spit in our food after we cussed them out for the horrible service.

LEFT…
No service. Hard to believe for a Saturday night at 6pm.
Waited over 15 min at the bar seating to be told they are short handed and would return…10 min later no return so we left. People were at the door waiting for seating and the phone was ringing off the hook…

I am giving 1 star solely for the service.
I came in about 3 weeks ago for dinner and our server seemed to not know what she was doing the entire night. She took away our appetizer plate that was half-​way done without even asking. of course we stopped her in her tracks! Later my boyfriend’s chicken sandwich didn’t even come out with fries, which she didn’t notice until we pointed it out (maybe chef’s fault, but overall service was sub-​par). We ended up being there for well over an hour even though it was not a busy night at all.
We came in again last week for dinner on their free cookie night to give it another chance and we waited at the abandoned hostess stand for almost 10 minutes without any acknowledgement from any of the service, even after I made eye-​contact with one of them. and there were only 2 tables being waited on and 1 guest at the bar. What the…
We ended up just leaving and going somewhere else.
I do not think I will be returning to this location.

My boyfriend and I came to this location despite its bad reviews (because we had a coupon). I have to say that I was not disappointed! Their food never wows me but I had a pretty good dining experience on a Thursday afternoon.
Our server was very nice but she was also very new and made that known when she forgot things (my breadstick) or was unsure about the menu. I was disappointed to see they took the Greek salad off the menu, so I ended up making my own consisting of mixed greens, red onions, croutons, and grilled chicken. Good size portion and tasted great with balsamic dressing. I tend to enjoy their salads more than other items so I stick with that.
If you’re craving max and ermas I wouldn’t rule this location out. The only real negative here was that our food took awhile when they weren’t busy at all and my boyfriends fries were cold (which they quickly replaced).

Has to be the worst max and ermas on the face of the planet. Usually sit at the bar. Never experienced such consistently rude bar staff anywhere. One visit i witnessed the bartender be so rude to an elderly gentleman, I couldn’t help but send a letter to corporate office. They wrote back saying they would forward letter to this storr manager and I would be hearing from that person soon. Never did. I stopped my every couple of weeks visit completely. Won’t ever return.

It isn’t often that I post a bad review, but our dining experience here was horrible. The restaurant wasn’t even that busy, so that can’t excuse the things that were wrong.
My daughter had ordered mashed potatoes as a side item. Obviously microwaved, they were served with edges that were hard, dry, and crispy. The whole serving looked dried out. She sent them back, only to have them look the same way the second time.
I ordered a Chipotle black bean burger. The bun was rock hard, and I do mean hard as a rock. When I asked for another bun, the waitress took my entire plate with her, even though I had been eating the «baby greens» off of it. (I could be wrong, but I think that’s a health department violation.) The new bun was better.
The black bean burger was supposed to come with fries but I had to ask for them. (This was not a big deal, but all «burgers» were listed as coming with fries.) The server explained that my sandwich came with the «baby greens,» and that was why fries weren’t sent out automatically. The menu stated otherwise.
The baby greens were delicious. They were topped with a sweet balsamic vinaigrette that I just loved. Sadly, this was probably the only part of our dining experience worth boasting about.
The server was very pleasant and accommodating, but two of us in our party of three had drinks that became completely empty. I had to ask for refills. There were only three in our party; we should have been checked on regularly but were not. Other than the times we had to flag our server down, we weren’t asked if we wanted anything else.
The women’s restroom was completely out of paper towels. I told someone, and while the dispensers weren’t filled, a new roll was placed on the sink counter. That’s okay. Later, the restroom was completely out of bathroom tissue. Someone should have been checking and stocking restrooms.
Sadly, we traveled 100 miles to enjoy Rookwood Commons (where this restaurant is located) in Cincinnati and to eat for the first time in this restaurant. We all wished we had gone elsewhere for much less money. It was extremely disappointing, and I give a lot of leniency since I’ve worked as a waitress before.
I don’t know why Max and Erma’s left Lexington, Kentucky, but this one needs some serious work. For the reasons I listed, this place only gets one star.

Ordered the strawberry salad. It was pretty good! The chicken was cooked perfectly and complimented the salad. The only thing I was not a big fan of was the dressing. It tasted kind of odd with the strawberries and was spicier than I expected it to be! Overall, service was good. Also found out that on Wednesdays dinner comes with 2 free cookies, so that was a nice surprise!

Enjoyed my Erma burger and tortilla soup waitress was terribly slow and the host at the front barely did his job in seating us. Sat in the most uncomfortable chair that was too low for the table and it made it very difficult to get up from this table at the end of the meal.

We stopped by on a Sunday eve, around 7:30 pm I think; this was sometime early last year. We just wanted to have a couple burgers, and I remember enjoying a Max & Erma’s located in the Dayton area when I was a kid. Nostalgia can be a bad thing. The place was empty and resembled an Applebees — not a good thing. There were maybe 15 patrons total. We stood at the host station and waited to be seated. Several servers walked by us, slowly, without even making eye contact during the 5 minutes we were standing there waiting to be seated. Some servers walked by us and did make eye contact. A couple other servers were talking to each other at the bar. No one, other than the servers who made eye contact with us, acknowledged our presence. We left.

Went there for the third time in my life this evening, my fiancé and I went with some friends to eat after Gordos on Montgomery was too packed.
We got seated in reasonable amount of time, the person who seated us was very nice and friendly. We thought we’d be taken care of… Not so much.
First was the drink order– fiancé wanted to know what beers they had– the waitress seemed pretty annoyed by that. After the drink order our drinks came out one at a time. No clue why. After that we were abandoned– no news, no refills offered, just in a dead zone. The food took more than 30 minutes to come out– restaurant was under half full.
Each of the few times the waitress came back– we were never asked if we wanted refills, if you wanted them you better hurry and ask before she scampered away again. I will admit the food was pretty decent, but the service was pretty unacceptable.

My husband and I had a $ 5.00 off coupon to Max & Erma’s (in the mail). It’s been years since we dined in. I know back then, I did not have any problems and liked their meals.
We dined in for lunch (lunch rush) and was seated right away. The hostess was really friendly and made sure we got a clean table.
To start off, my husband got a side salad (House garden) — mixed greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, garlic croutons, side dressing Thousand Island with a breadstick $ 4.39. I got the cup of Tortilla Soup-​chicken and cheese recipe (spicy kick), topped with cheese and tortilla strips $ 2.99 (if you get a meal, regular price for cup $ 3.99). Very quick with receiving our starters and very delicious.
For lunch I got the Cabo Shrimp Salad-​blackened shrimp, cabbage, carrots, diced tomatoes, cilantro, radishes, tortilla strips, tortilla roll up, and dressing is a chipotle ranch $ 9.79 for lunch size.
My husband got Black Bean Roll ups– Original (option to get it crispy), served with chipotle ranch dressing and salsa (spicy kick) for $ 7.99.
We also got our meals at a reasonable time. My salad was a perfect portion, shrimp was very delicious-​not too spicy, lettuce/​salad very fresh, and the dressing was on the side (I like it when restaurants do that). My husband also enjoyed his bean roll ups.
Our server was friendly and efficient. He also made sure our waters were refilled and brought our check out quickly. The manager came and greeted us. He wanted to make sure that we were enjoying our lunch and got everything we needed.
The whole experience was excellent and I wish all places were like this (service and food great).
Max and Erma’s has great specials:
–Kids eat free on Tuesdays
–2 Free cookies on Wednesday (with purchase of menu item)
–½ Price Sangria Pitchers all day on Thursdays
–Pitcher Perfect Fridays –½ Margarita Pitchers
–Happy Hour ($ 5.50 for certain appetizers/​munchies)
–Curbside to go
–They have available party platters
–Free Wifi
–Join their Eclub-​email for free (offers, coupons, etc)
–Currently for the holidays, you buy a $ 25.00 giftcard, you get a$ 5.00 bonus card.
I would definately return. Restaurant/​bathroom organized and clean.

Awful! I can’t believe they are still in business. I haven’t been in a long time until tonight and I remember why.

Worth a visit. I’m a fan of Max and Erma’s because the food is always surprisingly good. The service is a little spotty. The menu is expansive. The Grilled Chicken, Apple, and Pecan Salad is filling and satisfying.

We went here for dinner on National Hamburger Day, meaning you could get a burger and fries for $ 5. Sure, I learned about it from being part of the email club but it was dinnertime on a Thursday. We were seated right away as the restaurant was maybe ¹⁄₃ full (at dinnertime in Rookwood on a Thursday!).
The server was OK and remembered our order except mayo on the side for our burgers. While we were eating our meal another table next to us had to ask to use our ketchup as they had their food and were waiting for their ketchup, mustard, and napkins to be brought out. How many times has this happened to you? You get the food and wait because some condiment is forgotten in the rush to serve you before you’re halfway through your salad? Is there a reason why it’s not already «there» like your drinks? The food is OK but nothing separates them from other casual dining chains as another reviewer noted. A manager checked on us several times while we were eating almost to the point of being annoying, my guess someone had recently talked to him about guest relations and how he should be on the floor instead of the back of the house.
I certainly wouldn’t make a special trip to eat here but if you’re in the neighborhood it’s fine — just nothing special, unless you can get a burger and fries for $ 5.

Went for ‘lunch’ today. Dining area was not busy. Hostess seated us at 12:30pm. We left at 1pm. I did see one server on our side of the dining area once but they never acknowledged us. Not once did anyone acknowledge we were there. Thankfully we weren’t on a work lunch break bc we would’ve had to go back to work hungry! This was the rookwood location. Service and food have been pretty good at the Bridgewater location. We got lunch at a nearby sandwich spot :)

I sat down at the bar on a Wednesday night — there was only 1 bartender for the whole bar dining area and, I’m assuming, the dining area drink orders. It took quite awhile to be acknowledged and I was very close to leaving… I understand being busy but expect to be acknowledged when I’m sitting at the bar you’re working behind… another patron who ended up ordering to-​go seemed to be being ignored and had to ask for a server.
After finally getting a drink and waiting for my guest the serve improved and the food was acceptable — nothing outstanding but I didn’t expect much either.
Unless you are going for a specific food item I’d suggest choosing any of the other restaurants within the Rookwood Commons.

Not overly impressed by the service or the food. If the Chicken Tortilla Soup and Garbage Burger weren’t on the menu I’d probably never go here. That soup is awesome!

The actual, true, actual story of Max and Erma’s:
Once Upon a Time in the 80’s, our two titular characters went to New York on holiday and enjoyed a dinner at a goofy place with stuff all over the walls.
On their return, Max and Erma decided they wanted to have a restaurant like that in their hometown. So they spent their savings and made it happen. Ta-​da!
Oh, and that goofy place with the stuff all over the walls? No, not Flingers, but TGIFriday’s. They really are the same damn place. Happily Ever After!
The End.
Anyway, this place is a couple bucks overpriced for something you can get on just about any corner, any DAY of the week (Ruby Tuesdays, Fridays, etc, etc).

The husband and I stopped in here mid-​afternoon on a Sunday. Everything was about what we would expect from a large chain restaurant like this. We started with an appetizer of Cheese Skewers, which were tasty. Since vegetarian entrees are scarce on the menu, we each had a different Trademark Burger with the Chipotle Black Bean Veggie Burger substituted. My husband had the Athena, a burger with balsamic onions, sautéed mushrooms & feta-​olive spread, and I had the Sauteed Mushrooms & Swiss. The burgers were fine, but the fries they came with were barely warm.