Max's Oyster Bar — Restaurant in West Hartford

I originally sent this as an email and no one ever responded, so now it’s a review:

I am a frequent patron of Max Oyster Bar. My fiance and I stop by often for great cocktails and the Duxbury oysters, which are the best in town.

Sadly, we came to Max Oyster on Monday at 8:30pm and had a really unfortunate experience:

We sat at the counter in the bar area for a few minutes without being greeted or given menus. Two servers walked by us during that time. Eventually we decided to ask the hostess for a table in the dining room, thinking that would improve the service. The hostess very kindly brought us to a table (she was the best service we received all night).

As we often do, we ordered our drinks and about twenty oysters. Our oysters arrived without mignonette, so we asked our server for the mignonette and never received it. We tried to wait before starting the oysters, but eventually just decided to eat them without it.

When we did, we realized that every single one of our oysters tasted like someone had poured a tablespoon of salt into each one of them. We did try one new variety, so we thought maybe that one was just ridiculously salty, however, every single oyster was like this, including ones we have had before and loved.

At that point it had been over thirty minutes since we had asked for the mignonette and just decided to ask for our check instead. Our server came to the area three times, checked on the two other tables in our area, and walked away without so much as making eye contact with us. Finally, I said excuse me and he responded that he would be right with us. When we came back, he brought food to the table next to us and again began walking away without stopping at our table. We said excuse me again and were finally able to ask for our check, which we also waited quite a while for. We left without finishing the oysters, as they were inedible.

What happened after we left was perhaps the most telling. A woman sitting inside the restaurant came out and asked us how the service was. When we told her about our experience, she responded that she had noticed how underserved we were that night. The way our server interacted with us was tangible and it clearly upset more than just us.

In short, there is no natural reason that those oysters tasted as they did, so I am reaching out instead of leaving a review in hopes that you will discuss the importance of food safety and customer service with your staff as I hope to continue patronizing Max Oyster.

EDIT: I think it’s safe to say, we will no longer be...

Recommendation: Cocktail: Rosé Sangria. Starter: Oyster Sampler, Mexican Street Corn Salad. Entrees: Georges Bank Sea Scallops, Crispy Soft-shell Crabs. Dessert: Blueberry Cake (by Executive Pastry Chef). . Detailed review: Another beautiful afternoon at West Hartford. The public parking was full. It took me 10 minutes just to find a spot for my car. Luckily, we left early so we were on time for the reservation. The host and waitress were friendly and helpful. Shelby gave us a very detailed description about her suggestions. We ordered Watermelon Sug and Rosé Sangria cocktails, Oyster Sampler and Mexican Street Corn Salad for Starter. My wife got a Georges Bank Sea Scallops and I got a Crispy Soft-shell Crabs. About the taste: Rosé Sangria: fruity, not too strong, refreshing. Watermelon Sug: this cocktail is fine. It's not good enough for me to recommend you to order it, but it's still good. Oysters Sampler: a bit salty (which is normal for North East oysters), fresh, meaty. Mexican Street Corn Salad: really fresh and delicious. Instead of using regular bread croutons, they use corn bread croutons, which is good. I am not a big fan of vegetables but I can tell you can't go wrong with this salad. They noticed we are a couple so they automatically splited our salad into 2 dishes. Small thing but nice thing. Georges Bank Sea Scallops: insanely delicious! Scallops are incredibly fresh, sweet, buttery, and fragrant! Very well paired with pesto, light corn risotto, and grape tomato. Crispy Soft-shell Crabs: it's really good. I can say this is the BEST soft-shall crabs dish I have ever had so far. They have a perfect sauce to accompany the crabs. Blueberry Cake: moist and delicious, not too sweet. It's a good size to share between 2 or 3 people.

So for the food, I gave it 5/5. For service: 5/5 (the food came out really fast) Atmosphere: 4.5/5 (finding a parking spot is not easy) . If this is your first time at Max Oyster, tell the waitor. They may have a free "chef welcome". For us, we got Smoke Salmon on Tortilla Chip and Chocolate Truffles 😘👌. Never mind what I said about parking, I highly recommend you to come and try out my suggestions. Once you do and have a great meal, give my...

My girl and I were celebrating an amazing 2018 and thought we'd stop in for a relaxing early dinner. I made reservations on OpenTable for 4:30pm on Friday.

I'll add that we live less than 3 miles away and come here quite often.

We arrived and were sat immediately. But, it took about 5-8 minutes before the waiter arrived. However, after Ron approached the table he was attentive through the evening.

I ordered a crown royal neat, which was a bit short and we put in for some oysters (2 cook's tour, 2 coops island, and 2 willapa). The oysters were refreshing and prepared perfectly! We also order the scallop ceviche, also very well prepared and presented. Fish tasted very fresh. (I'm also spoiled eating a ton of fresh never frozen fish from a private supplier I get on Saturday's in Westchester.)

The bowl of crawfish soup was not really a bowl but more like a cup served in a bowl. Yet, the flavor of the soup was good.

The grilled octopus was dramatically changed in presentation and quantity from other times we had it here and enjoyed it. There was very little Octopus and lot of small potatoes and sliced sausage pieces--quite disappointing. My girl doesn't eat potatoes or meat so the menu should have read "Potatoes, Sausage and a Taste of Octopus." In which case we wouldn't have ordered it.

We ordered the crispy red snapper, a special, on the menu for the entre. The fish was prepared okay, maybe a hair done. What was surprising for the crispy snapper (deep fried), is there was no dipping sauce. There was a nice mint sauce for the rice. Even if that sauce was for the fish, it needed something more.

We ended the night with the coconut special desert. The presentation was great. There was too much banana (gelato and actual bananas) for me, but my girl enjoyed it.

Overall, the food was a bit off tonight. We'll be back--hopefully during...