Maxwell's Tavern — Restaurant in North Carolina

Maxwell's is a fantastic little spot in downtown Waxhaw. It's also very popular, which is great for the restaurant, but makes it a challenge when we wanted to have lunch today. The place was packed with a bunch of people waiting outside. We put our name on the list and were told it would be about 40 minutes. No biggie, Waxhaw has plenty to offer while we wait. It's so good that this place is so well known and popular.

Today I got the Grilled Salmon Salad. The salad is what is to be expected - fresh greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, croutons, hard boiled egg. Everything was fresh and tasty. On top was a spectacular piece of salmon, grilled perfectly and arrived smelling like Sunday brunch, as it was cured with maple syrup. That made it very unique. Interestingly, the aroma was wonderful, but the flavor just wasn't there. The fish itself tasted great, but the maple never really hit my tastebuds. Could be because it was lightly blackened (by design) and the crust formed there took away some of the sweetness? The fish was great, don't get me wrong, but it smelled better than it tasted. When we return, I'll get it again. I just wish the taste had a stronger maple flavor.

Our pescatarian middle schooler got mozzarella sticks and hummus with pita. The sticks seemed pretty standard fare, but our kid really raved about how good the hummus was.

As for the atmosphere, the room is bright and inviting, with classic looking tools and components on the walls. Plenty of TV's with sports. Although it was one room that was packed with people, we could still hear ourselves and carry on conversations at our table. Maxwell's loses a start for atmosphere because the tables were too jam packed together. Servers and patrons alike kept bumping into our chairs as they walked by (but everyone was polite about it). I was guilty of this too when navigating to the bathroom, as I couldn't avoid chairs which were back-to-back on my way across the room. We were seated near the bar, which is where people would stand around while waiting for a table. For some of the meal, a gentleman's behind was hovering right over my wife's shoulder as were waiting for our food to arrive. The constant bumping took away a little from our experience. If we were in a booth, we probably wouldn't have been impacted.

Maxwell's is a fabulous restaurant and is a great reason to visit...

First off I’d like to say that Maxwells Tavern has been nothing but stellar to me and my family and friends. Never had a bad experience here and this place is like home and family for me and many others. I’d like to report a discrepancy about the woman with the Australian German Shepard. First of all her boyfriend was here alone and as he was leaving and I was walking in his dog literally jumped on me. I’ve been around a lot of service animals and from my experience and knowledge they’re trained a whole lot better to know not to jump on people. This man caused a scene by himself as his woman was nowhere present and caused an uproar inside and outside and I literally sat and watched the whole entire scene take place. Maxwells employees handled the situation so gracefully and respectfully never once raised their voice or caused a scene. This dog also got hair on a woman’s food and jumped on her daughter but you won’t hear that narrative. Right is right and wrong is wrong and this man had no business bringing a non service dog into a place that serves food. This dog wasn’t trained properly or well equipped to handle being near people considering how he jumped on others. Sorry for the rant but I’m very black and white and I simply state facts. I’ll be damned if I let someone try to tarnish this business because they didn’t want to be held accountable and have the common courtesy and decency of leaving their dog that’s not a service animal in their truck to pick up a...

Just had the most unpleasant experience at Maxwell's Tavern - having invited two ladies that I do business with for the customary Friday fish & chips, and we spent about $60 on drinks. Our waitress added two charges to the bill without disclosing an upcharge up front - when I asked for one to be removed, her response was "you already ate it"! Then one of the owners/managers came to the table, arguing that the $2.95 is stated on the menu - even though the waitress acknowledged clearly that she forgot to disclose it.

I couldn't believe it! In front of my guests, I will never take someone there again - especially after how highly I spoke of them. Only once I stated that I intend to write a review, she quickly offered a gift card. It was ridiculous. Why not just take the almost $3 off the bill - why would you even risk a bad taste in the mouth like that...? I didn't want a gift card, just a pleasant dining experience with my guests.

Maybe it's a Greek thing, I don't know. It's just sad and unfortunate. If you make a mistake, deescalate, don't make a big deal out of it. It's not worth it. Could I have paid the $3 as well as the other unexpected charge, sure but it's the principle. You don't nickel and dime customers after they've already spent $100 with you.

Having said all that, I've never had a bad fish & chips at Maxwell's - good portions & tasty. Onion rings not that great. Their Okra is...