Max Brenner, Chocolate by the Bald Man

05/30/2008 Posted by ny516

If you love chocolate just as much as Augustus Gloop (the chubby kid in "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" kicked out for drinking out of Wonka's chocolate river)...then this is the place for you. It's usually busy and you can expect a wait to be seated, especially on weekends. Food wasn't too good, my pasta dish came out dry and lacked decent flavor; also my friend's burger was way overcooked. The service was also average but I can forgive them for that to some extent because it's a bit hectic in there. For dessert we got hot chocolates, cakes, and cookies and we enjoyed them all. The chocolate is strong but very good, just don't eat way too much of it (laughs).

Pros: Great desserts

Cons: Disappointing entrees

04/20/2008 Posted by ad1000

We were there on Sat night. Great food, BUT... very poor management (Karen, are you reading this). We were told that the seats at the bar were NOT first come first serve?! We had to wait half an hour while there were bar chairs available just because Karen did not know her job. When we asked for the woman's name it turned out that on top of everything she was a manager!!! Make sure if you see a chair at the bar you take it, they are for anyone any time! (Max's dirty little secret) If you chose to go there not only will you wait (they do not take reservations after 8 pm, very smart) which will be ok but you get to wait in the walk way and have nowhere to move and stay out f the way.

03/31/2008 Posted by acb723

I've been to Max Brenner twice. It is definitely delicious, but you really need to be a chocoholic to enjoy it, and even then you might still be a little taken aback by just how sweet everything is. The Chocolate Mess was tasty the first time I went, but even for me it was too much. You're better off with cakes like the Intense Double Chocolate Fudge Cake, which is phenomenal, or the tasty drinks like the Chocolate Chai. No doubt it is certainly fun and delicious, but it can be a little overwhelming, so choose wisely when you order.

Pros: lots of choices,very good chocolate

Cons: expensive, some of the stuff is actually too sweet

03/31/2008 Posted by mo501

The food was great and the dessert was out of this world. Highly recommended the wait was not so bad, give or take an half an hour wait on a crowed day. Price was reasonable.

03/18/2008 Posted by jaydubbs

You'd think you arrived in the land of liliput! The deserts are actually decent, but the portions are SO small!! Yet the bill is large!! So they have their proportions all wrong!! The chocolate alcoholic beverages are good!

03/11/2008 Posted by walburgerz

I stopped in to get a Hot chocolate the other day. I asked two guys behind the coutner where the drink menu was and he pointed behind him. then i said I was looking for the EXTENDed DRINK MENU where it listed ALL of the different types of hotchocolate and they just shrugged and scratced their heads and said: we don't have one? NO? I saw it online.... "I don't know.." I finally found it next to the hostess and pick the drink i wanted. I showed them the menu so they could SEE that there was an actual menu and they just go frustrated. I ordered a drink and it was pretty good but the service is lousy. They treated me like I was from Mars or something asking for the MENU.

Pros: Really nice fun place

Cons: service is poor and the people that work there are very low class RUDE

02/24/2008 Posted by Brooklyn4u

My husband and I have eaten at Max.'s three times. The first time was a great experience. The last two time have been very disappointing. Friends came to NY from San Francisco we went to Max and we waited a long time for our order to arrive. When it did it was incomplete. The manager refunded us our money as a result. This morning we went to Max for breakfast.. The store was not crowed since it was Sunday morning and we still waited 15 minutes for coffee and an additional 20 minutes for our very small and expensive meals. I got the smallest waffles in the world for 9 dollars. The chocolate is good. But save yourself the trouble. Get your chocolate to go. Great for dessert, terrible service, awful breakfast.

Pros: Good Cholcoate and desserts

Cons: Too long a await, terrible service Breakfast is awful.

02/22/2008 Posted by Lakufu

For chocolate lovers, this is chocolate heaven, everything and I mean everything is covered in chocolate. They even have delicious chocolate pizza, but the best is their 'Hazelnut Praline Crepes', out of this world good. Highly recommend it.

Pros: Takes you to chocolate heaven

Cons: Can be pricey and the wait can be horrendous at times (45-1hr on Fri., Sat., Sun.) and No Reservations are allowed, which stinks!

02/18/2008 Posted by luciferfidel

My first experience at the chocolate bald man was at Union Square on Feb. 15th (day after Valentine's). My spouse and I arrived without a reservation and was put on the list with a promise of 35 minute wait. We agreed and had to wait (stand) at an available place which happened to be near the counter. After about what seemed to be forever, we were called to be seated at a very cramp space-saving single table which were less than a foot close to our neighbor's table. This really didn't bother me however you can tell that not everyone would be given the best service. The main menu has everything a normal restaurant would have from salads to savory french crepes. After sitting for about 10 minutes, our waitress comes to the table apologizing for the wait and takes our order. I had a hot chocolate with marshmallows and the salmon wellington while my gf had the penne carbanara and a mexican hot chocolate of her own. Our entrees came out in an average amount of time. I believe my salmon was a bit overcooked but I really didn't care for it. The penne carbanara was packed with lots of cheese and I feel it was just an another average dish. Hot chocolate was very refreshing and one of the best I ever had. We finished the meal with of course, a chocolate desert, the fondue sampling for two. The desert came to us with an assortment of fruits, marshmallows which they give us a fire-proof flame for our roasting and to dip into the fondue. The dish came with chocolate ice cream, a fudge of peanut butter (yuck), chocolate banana waffles (yum), and a shot of chocolate. I must say, the desert set the mood correct and made the night very romantic. I would come back to this place just for the deserts but not actually for any entrees (unless I venture to try the crepes). There are a lot more desserts to sample and I will look forward to coming here again. If you are single, this is not a place to come pick-up women but a place to bring your lover. Not a fan of choco, don't come here.

Pros: Chocolate Dishes/Drinks, Variety of Dishes, Ok prices

Cons: Very Busy, Long Waits, Table to Table proximity (very close), average entrees

01/28/2008 Posted by deumovochka

The hostess had harassed my friends until 2 other people came (this happened within the time span of 10 minutes). This place couldn't bring my friends’ and mine drinks for 30 minutes. They were able to bring the food with tap water though! Then the waiter keep saying sorry, but there were no drinks. We just wanted to leave, and the manager came over and was rude too us! He comes up with attitude to our table and says, "I am not taking the cheesecake back...You guys can have it." He gives us a stern look and walks away. We left his gummy cheesecake and left. It was awful and I'm never going to that place again! No chocolate is worth this sort of disrespect.

Pros: Chocolate

Cons: Awful Service

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