Max Burger — Restaurant in West Hartford

My family and I visited your Max Burger in West Hartford last night and we had such a great experience that I felt the need to share with you. Before I get into our visit I wanted to give you a little background on my family.

My wife and I have 4 children, two of which had type 1 diabetes and have a gluten intolerance. It is extremely difficult to go out to eat because of the lack of experience/ knowledge with food allergies. So we tend to just stay at home to ensure we do not run into any issues since we have in the past at other establishments that "guarantee" their products are gluten free or allergy friendly. So my children go through a lot and do not get to experience a good time by eating out without consequence from the lack of attention to this sensitivity. As you may imagine it is difficult.

Last night we had the best experience we had ever had dining out!!! Our server Megan we fantastic. She was very patient, not only dealing with 4 kids at our table, but with making sure we got our meals free from anything that may cause harm to the kids. She went back and forth to the kitchen to speak with the chef multiple times to ask if the meals my kids were choosing were indeed free from any gluten. She was kind and friendly, answered all our questions and was able to substitute items to accommodate our needs.

Once the food came out, 1 of the meals was absent from the table delivery and for a while. At that point, Lucas came to our table with the meal in his hand himself and explained that this particular meal came directly from the chef to our table to make sure there was no cross contamination. He also explained that the reason for the delay in the meal was because there was some question as to weather or not there MAY have been a chance a knife touched the plate or not to potentially cause some cross contamination. Instead of taking a chance, the entire meal was re-done and present to my son. We have NEVER had anyone pay attention to our kids needs the way your staff handled our situation and we are more than pleased with our experience and the attention to detail we received last night. We will certainly return because, not only is the food fantastic, but more because of the dedication your staff has to your customers. I felt the need to let you know because I am sure more times than not you only head negative comments. I am a manager of a retail store, so I know the importance of also letting positive feedback be heard. Thank you again for hiring/ training such a dedicated staff to the customer experience. As I well know the customer experience can be more important than anything to continue to allow your business to grow and expand. The staff you have will certainly allow you to continue to be successful going forward. Please thank Megan and Lucas...

I've actually been to Max Burger a few times since moving to CT. in 2016, and up until recently it was a very nice place to eat at; food was very prompt and very well prepared, even for an "upscale" burger joint, staff was always, and still is, very friendly, but this last time I went to Max Burger, the food honestly had quite a few problems. I went with my husband and disabled brother as he was here from CA for a visit with another brother and we wanted to do our part in giving him some nice memories, so we took him to Max Burger for lunch and Cinepolis for a movie.

My brother, who had been to Max Burger before on a few occasions, ordered "his favorite" veggie burger on a gluten free bun with a side of sweet potato fries. My husband ordered the Pulled Pork sandwich with fries and I had the Beef Filet tacos and fries. When my brother received his burger; he picked it up and took one bite only to have the rest of it fall out of the bun into pieces. Now thank God the burger flavor was such that it was still edible, but he had to do so with a fork because it was in that many pieces. My husband's pulled pork was pretty much inedible though because he said it was full of fatty pieces and fillers, so he ended up not finishing it.

To be honest; the only thing wrong with my tacos was the spicy sauce it comes with. Now I was VERY happy they served it on the side so I COULD have not used it, but I wanted just a bit of a kick to counter balance the avocado that was in the taco, so I used what I thought was ONLY a little drizzle as I have a very sensitive stomach and need to take Omeprazole every night before bed...what harm could it do?!?!? What harm? Apparently a lot since as soon as I took my first bite; my mouth was almost literally on fire; thankfully I had a large glass of iced tea with my meal though milk might have been a bit better. My stomach though was out of balance for the rest of the evening, even though I also had popcorn at the movie, and the "unsettled feeling" continued into the morning as I needed an extra pill when I woke up.

It is a very sad thing when a restaurant works so well, but then one of the owners decides to sell, and soon after it starts to go downhill; especially since the whole thing cost us quite a bit. I might be willing to give it another chance sometime in the future... not right away though because it was that...

What is making one burger stand out from the dull, mediocre ones? Flavor. Full stop. I’m not a professional burger referee who has the science knowledge (although I’ve done some research on the subject) nor the experience of traveling and tasting the “world known best burger places”. I’m just a foodie with an attitude towards the good taste, seeking pleasure in every meal. Based on that and my personal preferences, I unintentionally turned my journey into treasure hunting for the best burger in the area. So far unsuccessfully. Until my friend took me to Max burger. In addition to the good rating, I was hungry. And the crave for a good burger was real. The truffle fries served with crispy cheese were great - freshly fried in truffle oil, not even a slight hint of grease. Simply delicious. But I wasn’t there for them after all. I got the Texican with a whole grain burger bun. Number one mark for a great burger is the patty. My burger was served with 100% natural beef patty as all of their burgers there, this is what they stand out for. Juicy (again medium cooked), with a rich and well-seasoned flavor. The crispy onion strings and the crunchy smoked bacon added another layer to the elevating the game. The best way to form the most perfect burger bite is by dipping it into a good sauce. The additional aioli sauce and their Max sauce were all the burger needed to fulfill all the taste buds. And you know the burger was good when a girl doesn’t care about her figure and smashes it all out. For me the burger must cover two more check points to be crowned as “the ultimate” - I love the fresh ingredients and the slightly crunchy toasted buns. Unfortunately the second part was missing. My bun, again was chilli, missing the slight warm and crunchiness of the grill. Now, about the restaurant. Cozy, children-friendly restaurant. It was busy and slightly noisy, as I would expect it for a good burger place on a Sunday lunch time. The service was the best we’ve had so far - the waiter was kind, responsive to all my weird questions and helpful with the menu. Regardless the business of the restaurant, our order was served fast and with a smile. I loved the taste, the vibe and the overall experience Max burger give their customers, so I am wholeheartedly giving them the 4/5 of my rating. Well...