Maxie's Supper Club & Oyster Bar — Restaurant in City of Ithaca

We've been here twice, and it's quickly becoming our favorite place to eat when we visit Ithaca. The fresh oysters, with their house made mignonette sauce and finely grated horseradish root have been wonderful both times. We've tried the vegan jambalaya, blackened catfish, the pulled pork sampler plate with andouille sausage and ribs. Everything was delicious. The corn bread served with every meal is made fresh and "always a little different' according to one of our servers, and we enjoyed it both times with our first having a more savory cornbread, while the second it was sweet enough that with honey it could have been dessert. Speaking of dessert! They had a chocolate graham cracker bread budding with fresh whipped cream; since that visit was for my birthday we splurged and shared one. WOW! This bread pudding was rich and custardy and absolutely delicious -- we were both quite full from our meals, but didn't leave a crumb between us. Well worth the overly full belly pain from stuffing ourselves. We have found the staff gracious, friendly and pleasant enough to chat with. Sadly, in those few times we've eaten out since Covid began, I've discovered that service has become more of a lost art during the pandemic, and perhaps it's understandable due the stress of serving the public at this time. I was thrilled to find that this hasn't been the case at Maxie's-- despite us being far from regulars since we live nearly 2 hours away, the staff greeted us like old friends including the bar tender, hostess, and our waitress. Our visit at Maxie's almost felt like eating out in those wonderful pre-pandemic days, when you could chat with staff, swap stories and recipes, and by the time your main course arrived you felt like you were having a meal with new friends you'd just met, rather than just being served food at a place where the highlight was that someone else did the cleanup and dishes when you were done. Maxie's still has service with quality and a smile. Add in the really good food and drinks, and this is a winning combination well worth the drive from Rochester to enjoy it. But shhh! Don't tell anyone about this treasure because it's a smallish place, and they have the tables appropriately spaced to maintain social distancing for Covid. We were lucky enough to get the second to last available reservation the night we went. Call ahead early if you want to eat in, and if you can't get a table, the please do...

..... ........A FOODIE MUST...... .......ITHACA'S HIDDEN SECRET...... I own and operate a restaurant in the Binghamton area, i am also the head chef of my own establishment..

I honestly know first hand ,how much time and perpetration goes into perfectly executing an entire menu constantly.....Trust me, It's hard work.. Let's not over look the amount of passion , creativity and love that is put into the consistency which is the key to keep ppl coming back over and over. I drove from Binghamton just to dine there with my beautiful girlfriend. I still cannot believe how FANTASTIC this restaurant actually is.. It's totally worth the 2 hour drive.. Maxies is the perfect mix of sophistication and casualty which pretty much sums up Ithaca in a nutshell to me anyway..

The service there has always been top notch there... Also something i can vouch for being in the same industry. I've dined there 4 times since January 2014.. It takes A--LOT to impress my tastebuds.. I mean allot. I cannot wait to go back.. I've had the chicken fried chicken four times i have to have it every time that we are there. I've had the Bbq platter ,i always have a crab cake as an appetizer.. The food is all spectacular. The sides are just as good,red white and blue slaw is fantastic.. The mashed potatoes are actually real potatoes.. Sweet potatoe fries are out of this world... The Desserts are to die for...

I can go on and on about how great it is... Wine is 10$off a bottle on Mondays that's great.. They also have a fantastic selection of local wines, beer, and mixed drinks.. ....All fantastic.. They support local products which keeps the local economy busy.. ...Kudos to you Maxie's...

The thing i love the most about Maxies is..

You can go in dressed to the nines, or just wearing a pair shorts and t-shirts, this is a GREAT quality in ANY restaurant.. They accommodate every style... The prices there are SOOOO reasonable . You get champagne quality food, on a beer purse.. I can't wait to go back again and again..

Usually i NEVER post any reviews.

I felt that this place is so GREAT that they should be praised for all the hard work they do. I refer everyone i know to eat there.. Next time I'm bringing 5 or 6 family members to celebrate a birthday so they can experience what we are always raving about..

THANK YOU MAXIES!!! KEEP UP THE HARD...

Disappointed beyond expectations.

I first tried Maxies in 2018. As a NOLA native, I was excited to find Cajun offerings in Ithaca. That time, I was sorely disappointed - from the $14 poboy being under-filled and poorly dressed, to the shrimp clearly being thawed from abroad, I was disappointed on numerous levels.

Today, three years later, I elected to try Maxies again. The appetizers - cornbread and char broiled oysters were good (the oysters we were served definitely didn’t come from the shells they were served on, but they tasted good enough) . Nonetheless, having known that Maxies fell short on Cajun dishes the last time, however, I instead chose to stick a southern staple: fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy.

While the chicken was a breaded and fried boneless breast (rather than the typical bone-in variant), it was well cooked and perfectly moist. Yet, after dipping a bite of it in the “tasso gravy” on the plate, I was absolutely dumbfounded to find that the gravy had a CURRY base.

I soon asked my server if the gravy had curry seasoning in it. She replied “yes, it’s a tasso gravy” - as if tasso were analogous to curry (it isn’t - tasso is a Cajun ham which absolutely does not taste like curry). I responded with my distaste for the dish and she had the audacity to claim that “it’s traditional.” Having lived my entire life in the south, I can certifiably, and unequivocally, say that curry seasoning is most definitely NOT - by any stretch of the imagination - a traditional component in ANY staple southern food.

Fortunately, our server was prompt in replacing the dish with a gravy-less version, but the chicken on its own was bland (no salt) and lackluster overall. After dropping the replacement off, our waitress became largely inattentive and, when she finally did come around, her cold attitude made me uncomfortable discussing my issues with the dish.

In the end, this was a terrible experience in terms of both service and cuisine. I give two stars on account of the decent appetizers and drinks, but will certainly not be returning for...