Max's Brick Oven Cafe — Restaurant in Paducah

My wife and I were in Paducah for a quiet weekend. Found Max’s Brick Oven Cafe while looking at restaurants near our hotel. Called and made reservations and they told us the earliest we could get in was 8pm. We arrived about 15 minutes early and the hostess was very polite and said that due to a large party the kitchen had asked them to not seat anyone for a little bit and if it was ok, could we come back at 8pm? As we were there for an “us” weekend and Max’s is in a nice part of Paducah, we walked the beautiful brick sidewalks and talked. Upon returning to the restaurant, we were seated promptly. Within minutes, we were greeted and drinks were ordered and the server said she was not our server and was helping our server due to her working the large party. We we shortly greeted by our server who was very apologetic even though she had no reason to be. She made several suggestions for our meal. While our server was busy with the large party, we were attended to by other servers. My wife ordered the Chicken Florentine and I had the special that evening which was a ribeye with a merlot sauce and crumbled Gorgonzola and a baby portobello with steamed broccoli with brown butter and mashed potatoes. While the potatoes were instant, they were at least seasoned as to appear homemade. But the steak by far compensated for the potatoes- it was EXCELLENT!! We were there every bit of an hour and 45 minutes but this is the type of restaurant where they don’t rush you, you are there for a dining experience, not just for food. If you want quick, you need to go to a chain out by the mall. I highly recommend Max’s and will...

Jenni and I loved everything about our visit to Max's Brick Oven. When we arrived we were really impressed with the decor of the restaurant. The exposed brick and art work was urban and chic. Our server, Jacob, was incredible. He made us feel welcomed, as if we had entered his own home. Since this was our first time dining at Max's, we asked for meal suggestions. Jacob suggestions all sounded delicious, so we decided to try them. We started with the Shrimp de Provence. It was amazing!! We thought that the shrimp was some of the best we have ever eaten. Jacob brought us some bread with the absolutely best dipping oil. I wish that I could have purchased a bottle of it- so good! Our entrees: Brick Oven Salmon and Steak Forestier. The Salmon was lightly covered with a delicious wasabi beurre blanc. The salmon was cooked to perfection. The Steak Forestier melted in my mouth. I am a huge fan of a ribeye steak and this one was absolutely cooked to perfection. We couldn't leave without having dessert. We had the New Orleans Bread Pudding and the Creme Brulee. Both were exceptional, but the New Orleans Bread Pudding was over-the-top. We totally recommend that you dine at Max's Brick Oven. If you are lucky enough to live in Paducah or close by then you should make Max's a regular on your dining out schedule. If you are just visiting Paducah, then you need to make sure that you include Max's in your plans. Thank you, Jacob for providing amazing service! Jenni and I look forward to...

Dinner for 2 on Sat evening 6 Sep 2025 around 6:00. Food - that was the good part! (well, mostly) I had the Ribeye, the wife had the crab cakes. Best steak I've had at a restaurant in a while - I usually do my own at home and I've spoiled myself a bit. Wife has had crab cakes at a thousand places and these were ranked in the top three. Points off for my broccoli being room-temperature cold, but edible. Service - If it were the 80s the young lady would get a "D" if I were feeling generous, but it's average for 2025. Nothing special. She did pay a lot of attention to her friends that were at the table next to us. Also, I noticed groups of servers just standing around talking for long periods of time. The waitress that seated us was the only one I saw hustle - I spoke with her and she said she had been there "a long time". Atmosphere - Generally nice and cozy, but with two things I'd have to fix if it were mine. 1 - if I were trying to serve hot food, I wouldn't have ceiling fans cooling it off - probably explains my broccoli. I had to go back to my car and fetch a jacket. 2 - I think it would be a great idea to get rid of the black mold growing on the ceiling in the room where we ate. It was across the room from us, but seeing it made me wonder about the attention to detail (cleanliness) in the kitchen.

Side note: our bill was around $50/person, so a little higher than this listing shows.

That's my 2...