Max Brenner New York

as a chocoholic, i had to try this place on a recent visit to new york. the wait for a table was a bit long -- 30-40 minutes. luckily (or unluckily, however you want to spin it), there was a gift store where i could spend more money buying anything from chocolate truffles to malt/shake mugs. once our table was ready, we ordered the chocolate fondue. the strange thing was that the server later came back and said they were out of the fondue but that we could get the sampler, which had the fondue (was he on a commission???). anyhow, we did agree to get the sampler. the fondue did not disappoint. it came with a roaster to toast the marshmallow and it also came with slices of strawberries and bananas. delicious! the sampler also came with ice cream, waffle (my favorite), pop rocks (my friend's favorite), and a chocolate bar. another friend had the suckao (chocolate shot), which i tried. it was yummy, creamy, sweet and just great. if i am back in the area and have the time, i would definitely go back. Pros: chocolate, chocolate, chocolate Cons: prepare to wait. more

my husband and i went tonight at around 10pm and it was packed. i thought we would have to wait a long time because of all the bad reviews on this site but i was wrong. our food came in 2 mins and our server was very nice. the food was absolutely amazing. i had a chocolate pizza and a suckao and my husband got waffles. i would definitely go again. this place was the best. Pros: great service, chocolate pizza Cons: not good if your on a diet more

ladies and gents, if baldness is a sign for smartness, than this bald guy is a genious. max brenner is changing the world of chocolate. this unbeliveble chocolate emporium is a must for all- any age any economic status. the design is warm and cozy, just like a chocolate place should be. the service is proffessional and warm..... but leave all that aside.... the chocolate is sublime. chocolate drinks are served in a unique ritual. try the italian dark chocolate and go to heaven. than desserts. out of this worls. just like it should be...try the peanut butter brepe and pour on it a toffee sauce. more

I went here for a chocolate dinner with friends. we were seated immediately and got down to the task of deciding which chocolate confections to order. We had the white chocolate, milk chocolate, and dark chocolate hot chocolates which were good but not the best i have had. Then we ordered the chocolate fondue and the chocolate pizza. Both were amazing! The chocolate pizza was out of this world. Totally decadent and delicious with roasted marshmallows on top of twice melted dark chocolate and white chocolate bits and all on top of a thin pastery dough. The fondue was served with milk and dark chocolate and banana bread, marshmallows to toast at the table, strawberries, and banana pieces. It was all amazing! I left totally euphoric and on the biggest sugar high of my life. It a blast to go here! Pros: great dessert more

I got the Max Favorite Chocolate Breakfast. I highly recommend it. We also ordered a few other dishes. Everything was very enjoyable. The service was polite but not very attentive. Quite a trendy place. I think I saw Max eating their too. Pros: Food, Ambience Cons: Dreamy Service more

While his chocolates are fantastic, his baked goods leave something to be desired. I had to throw away a $3 chocolate chip cookie because it was so dry and tasted like it was probably 3 days old. If you want great chocolate AND great baked goods minus the crowds, stick with Jacque Torres. He has the best chocolate chip cookies.... more

Employees aren't treated fairly at all. A lot of backstabbing takes place here too, which makes it even more disturbing. Are customers sure they want to support such behavior? more

I am an extremely patient person. I understand that a server's job is difficult and I always give them the benefit of the doubt when food takes a bit longer than usual...it happens, no big deal! I am not one to complain or cause a fuss but visiting this establishment made me extremely upset. I went there with two of my friends to try this great new place which is thought out and designed well...but they need to shift their attention on their staff as oppose to their appearance asap. I had to wait an hour and twenty five minutes for a simple ceasar salad. The waitress was obviously young and inexperienced so we let her know we understood that it was busy and we were patient but she was extremely rude. Didn't really care that it was taking one hour and twenty five minutes for a simple order of salads and a hot plate, would avoid/ignore us trying to get her attention, and woul get upset when we would ask for something. We were so offended that we requested to see a manager who was no older than 25. After speaking to this inexperienced uncaring ""manager"" we quickly understood why the staff was this unprofessional. ""I am no manager but, isn't a happy customer the best customer?"" Good news is, if you are a waitress and you think it is ok to treat your tables like trash, send your application to Max Brenner: Chocolate by the Bald Man. I have written this place off for good...I would still be waiting for my friggin salad if I didn't say anything. Pros: Hot Chocolate Cons: Service and staff is awful! more

We went today to this place after walking down from the Esoterica presentation at DR2 theater in Union Square. What called our attention was the beautiful presentation of the new place in town, and wanted to look around, we were so impressed with all that chocolate everywhere and the exquisitive flavors they offer at glance and also some nice desserts. We had had a good experience at this place until the moment we wanted to buy some products at the front desk and the person in charge of receiving the orders had such a bad attitude and such an agressive response to our order that we wanted to get out running as fast as we could from Max Brenner. She had this face like if she didn't want to be there, and gave us a horrible impression. She went further with her attack and when we asked her about improving her attitude she said: ""Have a good day"". Totally disgusting! We felt frustrated at that point. Pros: Nice decoration Cons: The worst customer service, waiters and waitresses with arrogant attitude more

I went to chocolate by the bald man yesterday with a few friends. We were looking forward to the food, especially the desserts, but our mood was ruined by the slooooooow service....like the previous review, it took them 50 minutes to serve our food, we didn't even order anything complicated - we ordered two sandwiches and omlette. The dessert was pretty interesting, so I would recommend people to either take out or just dine in for the desserts. I will probably not go back in the near future. Pros: good desserts Cons: slow service, alright food more

First off, this place obviously doesn't comprehend the concept of good (or even sub-par) customer service. When we sat down to eat on a Sunday morning, we proceeded to experience the worst service imaginable. Aside from the fact that our waitress was nowhere to be found, when she did arrive our orders seemed to be lost in the madness. The 3 tables around us received their food while we waited around like morons. Finally, two of our orders came out, while the other two were lost in the kitchen somewhere (or served to another table). We waited a total of 50 MINUTES for eggs and toast. Is it me, or are we not living in one of the most fast-paced cities in the world where good service is absolutely crucical to the success of a new establishment? If you're considering this place for a good meal I would really think twice. As far as the retail shop, I would save your money in there too. At least the salespeople in Godiva are pleasant. When we headed over there to purchase something, the sales girl starred at us as if we had nerve to purchase something!! If you're a true New Yorker, do yourself a favor and stick with a place that has some sort of good reputation and isn't planning to become nothing short of a cheesy, overpriced tourist trap (with average chocolate creations). Cons: service, waiting for a table, imcompetence more

The both times I've been to Max Brenner, my order was screwed up. While I appreciate friendly waiters, being nice does not make up for incompetence. The first time I ate there, my order was brought out 10 minutes before my boyfriend's order (this was brunch). The second time we went for a pre-movie snack and the waiter forgot what I had ordered after bringing my boyfriend his drink and I had to wait another ten minutes for a simple coffee drink. I hope they improve their service - I love the desserts! Pros: Delish desserts Cons: Incompetent waiters more

I visted the 841 Broadway location this Friday evening. Upon arriving and putting our name down, the hostess said it will be a 10 minute wait. We stood aside and sea of people came in. We waited about 25 minutes and asked the hostess how much longer it would be. Cons: Customer Service more

I was there on Monday and had an amazing French toast as main course and then had the ""Sharing"" desert. We enjoined the ambience and the service. It was a real indulgence. Thank you Max. more

I went with my friend for a Saturday lunch, and would recommend going at noon or just before, because when we left at around 12:45 there was a wait to be seated. It took longer than it should have to get recognized and seated, but our waitress was good and the service was pretty promted and friendly. The hot dark chocolate was devine. I wanted another cup! I ate the salmon quiche which had barely any smoke salmon, but was fluffly and filling. It came with a mixed green salad with really good dressing. We also ordered an appetizer of toast with four spreads (chocolate, cream cheese, apple preserves and butter) which wasn't on the menu but was pretty good. The prices were reasonable and I'm definitely going back to sample the deserts! Pros: Delicious hot chocolate, creative menu Cons: Lines, slow service more

The wait to be seated at this eatery on a Sunday afternoon is relatively long (about 30 minutes). This wait time would be reasonable, if you didn't look around and see that there were plenty of empty tables that just were not yet cleaned off or that there were empty tables the air head hostesses failed to see. Once I was seated, I had to wait another eternity and had to ask a bus boy for help before I was waited on by an uncaring waitress who mumbled some obligatory appology. My food arrived relatively quickly, but I had no silverware!!! I was told there was some shortage. Who has ever heard of that before?!! The food was fair to good - certainly not worth the wait for a table. The sweets were tasty. However, the service was so bad the food wouldn't even sit right in my stomach. It certainly ruined an otherwise relaxing Sunday. I would recommend ordering for take-out or visiting the chocolate shop instead of waiting for sit-down service. Pros: Unique menu of chocolatey treats Cons: service, cleanliness more

The atmosphere is great, and the staff is friendly although they kept getting our orders mixed with a couple sitting near us because we both had an asian man at our tables. We ordered ""sharing"", which is basically a sample of everything. We had dark chocolate fondue, which was excellent with the fruit. It also came with marshmallows, which really did nothing for us since the flame wasn't near hot enough for us to roast them. There was also a warm banana split waffle, which unfortunately tasted a bit stale although the bananas were good. The chocolate covered ice cream tasted like regular grocery store chocolate ice cream with what appeared to be hardened chocolate syrup on it. It was tough to eat since once you broke through the hard chocolate, the ice cream would slop everywhere. The crunchy chocolate cream snack was tasty but reminded me an awful lot of a kit kat bar. The final treat, which was surprisingly the best was the popping candies chocolate lick. Other than that, everything seemed average. We also ordered a mocha frappe, which came in their delightfully designed Alice Cup with steel straw. Although the metal keeps the liquid cold, it's painful on teeth that are used to biting down on straws. The place is charming, and would probably be fun to hang out at for a quick chocolate fix, but don't expect anything outrageously good. Pros: Nice Designs and Ambience Cons: Overhyped more

Went for dinner here on a Monday night and it was great. The main food menu was light fare which left us plenty of room for dessert. We got salads and grilled chicken sandwiches which were very good. For dessert we had the smores which came with melted chocolate, marshmellows and graham crackers. The Waiter lit a flame in the middle of our table and we were able to roast marshmellows and make awesome smores. The white chocolate fundu was excellent as well complete with an array of fruit and little pieces of banana bread. Which we dipped and mixed. The atmosphere was nice and casual and it was not too loud. Great place to meet friends or go on a date. Pros: Great Service and food. Decent size portions. Reasonably priced Cons: No liquor license as of August more

My wife and I went there last night and were not impressed at all. This place is all show. We ordered a frozen mocha drink, and a chocolate chip cookie. The cookie took a long time to come out. We were not sure why at first but then realized they dress the cookie up with a side of melted chocolate, whipped cream and strawberries and cover the cookie with some powdered sugar. The problem was the cookie wasn't very good at all. The mocha drink was very bland but came in a neat looking glass with a glass straw. I think a place like this would work in Times Square and I guess Union Sqaure but opening anywhere else in the City is a serious disservice to a place where food is held in extremely high regard. This place is no different than Cold Stone or any of those chains that put absolutely no thought into quality. Stick to the local independent chcolate places that take this thing seriously. Pros: Looks like it could possibly be good. Cons: It's not good at all. more