Maxwell’s Bar & Restaurant Central Park

Super find right off Central Park. Great service. Crispy Calamari was super. Happy hour drinks and other appetizers were great. Give it a try. The host super friendly and was eager to please.

Second visit here for Saturday Brunch and both times we’ve really enjoyed the food, the atmosphere and the friendly staff. Very dog friendly (outside seating), brought us water for Georgie Girl and made a fuss of her (well she is adorable of course :-). Our server remembered us from last Saturday and greeted us like old friends and regulars. We will be back next week!

The service was excellent. One by one they were friendly, attentive, and on point, unfortunately it’s all downhill from there. The calamari was beyond overcooked. Not only was it rubbery, some pieces weren’t even recognizable as anything but batter. I followed with the quesadilla which was reasonable with palpable guacamole. There was also something posing as Pico de gallo, though tasty.
Both plates categorized as bar food nowhere near justified the $ 12.00 (per dish) pricing. Unless the majority of the money goes to the wait staff, only then.
Two stars for the wait staff, half star for the overpriced quesadilla.

Good food. Unfriendly owner (s) standing at door. No hello upon entry. No interest in patrons. No goodbye or thank you upon exiting restaurant. Poor restaurant etiquette.

Love this place! Maxwell’s Central Park has great food, a great menu, wonderful service, nice atmosphere and affordable prices. I went on a Sunday, Memorial Day Weekend; had no wait and was able to have a late lunch/​early dinner with drinks on the patio before heading to the park. Kat was my server; she was so nice, and attentive. I will definitely be coming here on a regular bases.

Glad to see a great new establishment like this one in the Central/​East Harlem area (when good dining experiences are sparse). The décor reminds me of Southern comfort living, great sized bar area, outdoor seating for the summer, clean and stylish bathrooms, and friendly staff.
Had the blackened salmon and shrimp Caesar salad which was really good! Nice portion and ample meat and flavoring. My friend had the Angus burger and fries which he enjoyed.
We went on a Friday afternoon after spending time in Central Park, and there were about 10 – 12 patrons there. I’ve definitely seen this place packed in the later part of the evening. Hope they stay around for a while! I will be returning to this neighborhood spot again!

A side of something different for the neighborhood. Great fresh food. Delicious drinks. What more can you ask for? With Sam behind the bar all your drinking needs are taking care of. Whether it’s brunch on Sunday… thirsty Thursdays… forget about being sober Friday. Or any other day of the week. It’s the place to be.

Sam, the bartender, was WONDERFUL. He made a PERFECT martini. Perfect. When our food arrived, he laid out napkins like a lovely little picnic at the corner of the bar. Delightful. :)

Maxwell’s is a beautiful and friendly bar at the northeast corner of Central Park. (Let those twin octagonal towers at 5^th Avenue and 111^th be your beacon to help you find the place.)
I came here on successive nights, and food service was a little slow. To be fair, night #1 was Cinco de Mayo and night #2 was Friday night. Maybe they have a small kitchen or could use a little more help. I only saw one waitress Thursday and two on Friday. Anyway, once the food arrived, it was very good. I tried the special Mexican burger for 5 de Mayo, and shared the Maxwell’s Platter on Friday night. The burger was perfectly cooked medium rare, the way a burger should be, but be warned if you’re squeamish about a little pink in your hamburger. If I remember right, they combined the MX burger with cajun fries, which were very crisp and seasoned well.
I liked everything on the Maxwell’s Platter, but the standouts to me were the potato skins and the wings. Also the mozzarella sticks – I could have eaten a dozen of those.
Beer prices are fairly standard for a nice neighborhood bar. Most beers are around $ 7/​pint, except during happy hour when they’re all $ 5 (except for Guinness. Not sure why that’s the exception.) The tap list is small, but there’s good stuff there – Bell’s 2-​Hearted, local stuff from 212, Brooklyn, etc.)
I’ll definitely be back soon. I live just one avenue away, so I’m very excited to have found a nice place with good food and a welcoming atmosphere this close to home.

Attentive, friendly staff, great burgers and service, cool décor and vibe. Happy to hear there is brunch and Happy Hour per all the great reviews. This place is only a block away; both my son and I enjoyed ourselves. It will be our weekend dinner spot!

BRUNCH REVIEW:
Food is great, especially the Huevos Rancheros, the French toast and the Pancakes. The reason I give it 3 stars is because the first time I visited, coffee was free refills. I get the $ 15.50 special with one free mimosa/​beer/​coffee… But it doesn’t make sense that the second time we came each coffee refill was an extra $ 3. It’s already hard to justify paying $ 15.50 for pancakes (even if you just want a side of it)… But to pay for each coffee refill is ridiculous — especially if other brunch places make it pretty standard.
HAPPY HOUR review:
Best deals in the area, will be back just for that.
If you’re looking for brunch, you’re better off west of the park, or lower down in the upper east side.

First time coming to this spot, and loved it! It was during happy hour, and one of the few locations that runs it till 8PM. I was impressed by the staff, they did a great job of making me and my colleagues comfortable, even went as far as recommending what to get in terms of food. It’s a trendy spot but very unique. It also helps that the weather was warm which allows this spot to open up toward the sidewalk. From a selfish perspective, wish this spot was located more downtown. I would definitely come here again, had a great time. The bartender was great, even giving us a round of beers on him. I’m glad me and my co-​hort wandered off to this spot, it was interesting and probably the first time ever ventured deep down 5^th avenue like that! Y’all gotta try it yourselves. Enough of me!

Lively place, very warm and friendly staff. Upbeat atmosphere. We were an incredibly tired and hungry bunch of tourists that wanted to sit and relax after goofing around in Central Park. This was the first place closest to us on Unilocal reviews and it did not disappoint! The waitstaff all pitched in and was
Constantly checking tables, getting refills and making sure we were taken care of. (and it was a full house!) The food was exceptional, came out warm and tasted fresh and well prepared. Appreciated the warmth of the staff and their attentiveness.

–DELIVERY REVIEW–
Food was great! Deliver was on time and surprisingly super hot like it was packaged a minute ago. Onion rings and fries were spot on and the sirloin salad was great aside from A LOT of gristle that I had to pick out form the sirloin… just trim it off before you put it in the salad. However the dressing and most of the components of the salad were delicious! Definitely getting this again!

And this place is wheelchair accessible! Everybody is welcome!
This place is conveniently located at the north side of Cental Park. An excellent place to stop by after strolling in the park, have a light snack or full dinner. Very recommend!

We popped into Maxwells last night to check the place out, and were super happy to find what our newly adopted neighborhood has been lacking; a solid local bar.
Walking up, we found a cozy little wind vestibule with their menu on display and a small sign containing two of my favorite words in the English language. Happy hour (I DO NOT have a drinking problem… cough). I really like our new neighborhood; its quiet, has great access to the park and subways, but was in desperate need of a restaurant/​bar like Maxwells. There are some solid choices on the west side, and of course Yorkville is a skip and a jump away, but sometimes you just don’t feel like hopping on a bus or subway. The restaurant itself has an awesomely modern rustic feel to it; the wood celling is fantastic, the back-​bar is classic as can be, and the bar-​top is new looking metal (mostly because, well, the place is brand spanking new). That’s just it though, everything is so fresh that it can’t really be described as old fashion (they try with the antique décor, and old pictures). This ultimately lends a hand to the underlying feeling that this places puts out; a space that is clearly new build, but will someday be a classic pub. It’s the same feel, albeit less fancy that I got the first I stepped into «The Smith» on first and 51^st, though maybe Maxwells doesn’t feel the need to peacock as much as they do downtown, which is A-​OK with me as the menu and happy hour prices are extremely reasonable.
We did our usual (read: park at the bar and spark up a conversation with the bartender), and settled in for a «let’s check this new place out» post work HH. The staff was exceptionally pleasant, not sure what others have experienced in the past but we had prompt service and friendly banter (what more could one ask for, really). While I can’t speak to the food, the menu had everything a pub should and seemed to be right on price point for the neighborhood (12 $ for a burger? Not bad at all). The HH prices were also right on point, 4 $ for Narragansett, 5 $ for most other beers (Guinness is 6 $), and a few select wines for 5 $. The one thing I will say is that they have smaller mugs for the happy hour pours, which is fine, but I prefer when places meet in the middle and offer up full pours for a dollar off (their normal prices are 2 $ more than their HH prices).
Very excited to see how this place evolves in the months to come, but I have high hopes for these guys; I am sure they will find their groove as foot traffic picks up (which is sure to happen), and become a local favorite in no time at all.

Let me blunt: the blonde bartendress with a lovely accent makes this place shine. Everyone who works here should take serious notes to emulate her in every way. Therefore, if the blonde isn’t at the helm then do not expect much when it comes to great customer service. No one is rude but they do seem absent minded, and a little inattentive. (Or maybe having someone who is extremely awesome at customer service makes every one else seem lacking… No.)
However, the food comes out relatively quickly and the décor is nice. This is a nice place to sit down and have a meal in the restaurant-​scarce area of 5^th Avenue. It is also a Nice place to grab a drink. The price point is very affordable and the quality is adequate.
I definitely like the establishment and can see its potential being this close to Central Park. The Negroni I had was solid, the mozzarella sticks were hot and made of real cheese, and the Maxwell signature burger (which includes a fried egg, Brown gravy and fried onions as well as raw onions) was so delicious I managed to eat it all in one sitting. You have the option of a side salad or fries – just make sure you specify, even if they dont ask.
The food is good, drinks have been good and when the service is smoothed out this place will continuously be packed.

I stopped into Maxwells for a quick bite to eat last night and I was pleasantly surprised by the little gem I stumbled across. I had the fish tacos and 2 old fashioned — which were made to perfection!
Definitely what the neighborhood needed and Im glad to have somewhere nice to bring the family for some Sunday grub! Also the huge windows really make the place stand out and I can imagine this will be very popular once the weather gets warm!

The atmosphere, music, people, and food are amazing. The lighting and the design of the restaurant is both romantic and rustic. Maxwells Central Park exudes good energy as the staff is attentive and friendly. I can’t wait to come back.

Located a block away from Central Park, this new bar has a great look and a fresh vibe. The fish po’ boy was delicious. Our server Colette did a great job to make us feel welcome and happy to be out of the snow.
Definitely the type of place this neighborhood needs.