Category: | Restaurant |
Address: | 745 Boylston St, Boston, MA 02116, USA |
Phone: | +1 617-274-1741 |
Site: | maxbrenner.com |
Rating: | 4 |
Working: | 10AM–10PM 10AM–10PM 10AM–10PM 10AM–10PM 10AM–1AM 9AM–1AM 9AM–10PM |
AL
Alan Wong
Quick Tip: If you have a sweet tooth, a chocolate lover or even just want some sweets because you recently broken up, this is definitely the place for you, but even if you dont fit in those categories, it is definitely a place to come at least once. Me and my girlfriend came here for our weekend date since alot of my friends recommended it and we saw a Phantom Gourmet youtube video. When we got there, we had a reservation at 8PM and we got there a couple minutes early and they would not sit us until 8, no biggie. After getting seated, the atmosphere is dark-ish but kind of loud, so it is not a perfect date atmosphere (depends on you I guess). For drinks, I got the Suckao - the "Do It Yourself" Hot Chocolate (white chocolate) and my girlfriend got the Eighties Milkshake. My "Suckao" was decent, if you are going to order this, definitely dump some chocolate in the milk and then leave it there for at least 5 minutes to let it get hot. As for the Eighties milkshake, my girlfriend thought it was too watery. For appetizers, we got the Waffle Fries Dusted with Chili and Cocoa Powder. You cant really taste the cocoa powder, but it was crispy and salted just right. It also came with some kind of yellow sauce (mustard mixed with something else?) and it wasnt really my thing. Despite that, the fries were definitely worth a try. For our main Entree/Dessert, I ordered "The Spectacular Melting Smores Sundae" and my girlfriend ordered "The Melting Chocolate Truffle Heart Cake & Shake". I originally wanted the Fantastic Popsicle Chocolate Fondue, but they did not have that "yet", no idea what that meant, but that was a bummer as I saw that on Phantom Gourmet and it looked pretty interesting. The Smores Sundae was pretty big and I definitely recommend it for 2 people. As for how I liked it, I can say that it did not have enough ice cream and too much melted marshmallow. It also came with a side of whip cream and melted white chocolate, but it most definitely did not taste like white chocolate. Maybe I should have mixed the whole thing around, but it wasnt for me. As for my girlfriends Heart Cake, she thought the texture of the cake was too rough and not enough cake texture. Although, it did come with a shot of chocolate (which she thought was cute) and a can of chocolate fudge which you can drizzle on the cake yourself. Like I said, if you really like chocolate or just craving it, you should definitely try Max Brenner, but this was not the place for us. I, for one, dont like chocolate THAT much, but the desserts were very creative and unique. If you have any doubts about trying it, throw it out the window, because it is a place that you should at least try once. Although I was not really satisfied from the desserts, my friends say that the Fondue is fantastic and even beats The Melting Pot out of the water (why they didnt tell me that in the first place baffles me), therefore I might go back just to try that.
LA
Lauren Wanzek
Ive been to Max Brenner a few times now, and I dont really understand the hype. While it is also a restaurant and not just a desserterie, it is not recommended that you go there for the non-dessert food. The food is okay, just average and definitely not note-worthy. It felt like something I could have gotten anywhere else (for possibly a lower price) or made myself at home. Now, as for the desserts, those are the real stars of the experience. The waffles are excellent, as is the chocolate fondue, but I found that the rest was not as up to par as I expected. For an expensive, exclusive restaurant, I would have expected incredible food and incredible waitstaff. However, it wasnt all that special--now dont get me wrong, the food was tasty, and its definitely a fun place to hang out with friends, but for the price Im not sure it was worth it. Also, the place is quite small, and they just shove you back into whatever seats are available, even if you can hardly fit and youre encroaching on another table or on walking areas. One of the times I went I had a particularly difficult time with service. We were a group of four or five people, so not huge, but they took us and put us way in the back corner, up against a wall away from the rest of the restaurant. Not only were we sort of shoved back in there with very little space, but we were also basically ignored the whole time we were there. Granted, we had a late reservation, but the restaurant is still opening and booming with customers so we should have had better service. After a long while of waiting, we finally got our desserts, which were good, but the service soured the experience for all of us. I understand that sometimes servers are over-worked, but for such an expensive, trendy place, youd think theyd pay more attention to their customers. I have not been back since then but always see people falling out the door--while the desserts are generally good, I would not go back. For me, there are much better dessert places out there.
LY
Lynn Julian
COST: 3 STARS...Very expensive, even for Boylston street. STAFF: 2 STARS...Indifferent, somber and barely returned to us, a bus person (?) delivered our food in broken English. We asked them to identify two passing desserts, several times, but neither of us could understand what they said and gave up. CHOCOLATE: 5 STARS...Chocolate Fondue...Everything! Ideal for Date Night & Girls Night Out. DRINKS: I ordered Mexican Hot Chocolate. It arrived luke warm and not spicy at all. I dont "send things back," because Im afraid of angry cooks & servers tampering with them. TIPL: The chocolate shop, at the entrance, smells PRICES: 3 STARS...Very expensive, even for Back Bay. STAFF: 2 STARS...Indifferent, somber and barely returned to us, a bus person (?) delivered our food in broken English. We asked them to identify two passing desserts, several times, but neither of us could understand what they said and gave up. DESSERTS: 5 STARS...Chocolate Fondue...Everything! Ideal for Date Night & Girls Night Out. DRINKS: I ordered Mexican Hot Chocolate. It arrived luke warm and not spicy at all. I dont "send things back," because Im afraid of angry cooks & servers tampering with them. TIP: my version of heaven & offers pre-packed gift options. If you eat there, you get a DISCOUNT AT THE SHOP!
AL
Alec Loudenback
Been here twice and both times were completely abysmal service. The first time we had bad service, but still tipped ~18% because we were a large group (7). We left and were chased down the street because the waiter didnt add up the part paid in cash and the part paid by card. After explaining the situation, we were still charged an extra amount on the card and has to be rectified at a later time. The second time, five of us, went and were seated after a very long wait with four or five open tables for parties our size. After being seated, or waiter didnt come for 20 minutes, despite the place not being very busy. The waiter brought us water only after we asked for it a second time and didnt refill despite requests. For other requests the delay/responsiveness was similar. Other people doing the store up front were waiting at least 15 minutes for someone to come check them out, and it was only after I notified the hosts did someone go over and tell them that their system was down and they could buy the gifts they were trying to. Lastly, part of the stairs/walkway in the middle of the restaurant because they were catching dropping water (?) with a five gallon bucket, which was fine, but when I accidentally walked to leave that way, was rudely told I needed to use another way.