Yum yum yum! The best place in town! Don't forget to order the bocce ball for dessert. The bread to start is amazing and so is every meal I've had there. I don't think you could ever get a bad meal at this place. read more

This is the first time I've left a review on Yelp, and I'm glad to say that it is for Max a Mia. Not only was the food excellent and exceeded any expectations I had prior to reading and hearing reviews, but I was seated quickly and professionally by the hostess in the front. I'm not sure about the negative review a few weeks ago about a horrible hostess, but our experience was anything but that. Our hostess was Kelly( if i remember correctly) and she made my family's experience that much more enjoyable by how personable and kind she was in the brief interaction we had. I will 100% be recommending to friends and family! read more

Great food, expected it to be extremely upscale and the service was just that. However there was a hometown feeling about this place. I just enjoyed being treated like I was a VIP by the staff, the staff was kind and friendly, the food superb. My foursome ordered a variety of surf, turf and pasta, and so I got to taste much of their food. Wonderful, cooked to perfection, and my only compliant was no room for desert. read more

We've been to Max a Mia many times, and for good reason: foods, wine selections, desserts, and most importantly, service rate among the best in the area. A moment in our recent visit typifies your excellent service: My daughter was trying to decide between two white wines to accompany her sword fish. No only did our waitress describe each wine in detail, she brought samples of each so we could judge for ourselves. The food we know and love, but that one little moment of extra care was the highlight of the evening. read more

I feel compelled to respond to a recent review in which the customer referred to a female bartender as unprofessional and a nightmare. I was not there on that evening and, therefore, cannot comment on this specific situation. However, I can say without reservation that the bar staff at Max a Mia's is some of the best I have ever experienced; they are knowledgeable, professional and committed to the highest levels of customer service. They augment the fine food quality of this restaurant with personalized service, and are real assets to this business. I am a regular customer who chooses to eat at the bar, rather than in the dining room, wholly due to the customer service standards exemplified by all of the bar staff. read more

Ok. I wish I could give this restaurant five stars because I am a great fan of Max's restaurants and this one is in my town. Unfortunately, the food has been consistently inedible. I have given it several chances to redeem itself, but unless I'm going for happy hour and appetizers at the bar, I am done. I have to add that I have been ordering and taking out recently, so maybe that has something to do with the quality, but I don't pay reduced prices for take-out. Therefore, this should not excuse the fact that the food is pretty disgusting. I had the Max-a-Penne last night, and it all ended up in the garbage disposal. My son had the veal parmigiana, and it wasn't much better. Please take a good long look at this restaurant, Max's owners!! It used to be great, but it really doesn't deserve your name any longer. The waitstaff, hostesses, management don't seem to really care about the clientele, as long as the bar is busy!! read more

Worst experience ever I kept explaining to the waitress how hungry I was and how I needed the meal soon. She ignored my request and did not put my meal on time Still waiting for my food and it's been an hour I will never come here again and NEVER recommend this place to anyone read more

If you enjoy being as hot and uncomfortable inside dining as you are outside, enjoy paying ridiculously high prices for mediocre food and service then you'll probably enjoy Max a Mia! I guess they feel the 'Max' name is all they need to succeed! read more

They have to get rid of that young brunette bartender. The rudest bartender everrr. I will not return until they do or she leaves. I have been going there for years and love the food and drinks including prices. But my God what a roten personality she has. GOD SUPER RUDE!!! I have one drink and leave when she is working. Now I will just leave if she is there. I have 10,000 clients that I will share this review with. She spends the whole time I'm there boozing It up. Maybe thats her issue. But really I'm done! read more

We decided to try Max a Mia on a whim a few weeks ago and boy we are glad we did! First, the service was wonderful. Our server (I wish I remembered her name!) was absolutely lovely. When she found out it was our first time, she made a concerted effort to have us taste different wines and she even made sure to grab us bread that had just come out of the oven. Absolutely delish! Every table gets small dishes of olives, bread, sauce and a head of roasted garlic. I honestly could have just eaten that and been happy. But then the gnocchi came and it was incredible. Capers, tomatoes and eggplant tossed with pillow-like puffs of ricotta gnocchi. I was extremely happy with my menu choice; no food envy here! My fiance got the chicken parm and, while he was happy, I thought the sauce on the dish wasn't great (surprising since the sauce that came with the bread on the table was fantastic). We ended the night with coffee and tiramisu, which was fantastic. All around, a great meal. We'll definitely be back! read more

This is my least favorite of the Max locations but unfortunately, one of the closest. Had a gift card. Had lunch...chopped salad - soggy. What a let down. Husband had mussels which were tasty. Entrees were a stone pie with caramelized onions and prosciutto. Good but not remarkable. Also had the linguine with seafood. Again, good but not remarkable. We sat at the nice booths in the bar area. Few minutes later a couple comes in with their baby and sits right next to us. Why bring a baby into a bar area filled with business people? The constant banging and flinging of the rattle just topped off the visit. Not really sure if I will go back to this one. read more

A very interesting menu that under delivered in kitchen execution resulting in an average meal. Adequate service. Your favorite independant Italian restaurant will offer a better price / value experience. read more

If you enjoy very undercooked chicken, bad eggplant, an environment so noisy you can't converse with those at your table, and overworked waitstaff so it is impossible to get your waiter to show him the bad food, then this place is for you. Haven't been here in years but remembered how great it was - not any longer. Our waiter was very nice he just spent too much time on prepping things to be able to check on his guests. Once our food was served, he never returned to find out the problems. We didn't see him again until we asked someone else to get our check. The waiter dropped the check as he walked by and never stopped to ask anything - that is how overworked he was. No one asked why we weren't taking our food home that we only ate a couple bites of - clearly something was wrong. So sad - this was once a great place. read more

Came here for a Valentine's day brunch. Incredible! We had a reservation and we were seated immediately. The wait staff was incredibly sweet and nice, and very hardworking. Just an awesome experience all around. The restaurant itself is so incredibly cute and perfectly decorated. The food was to absolutely die for. And the bellini drink was delicious. I didn't want to leave. Will definitely try to get back here as soon as possible. read more

I ate there with a friend who was from out of town on Friday night December 12th. I had been there several times before and I experience a good dining experience. This time there must have been a total breakdown in the restaurant. We started with the fried calamari which was so soaked in grease and was well over cooked. The appearance of it was very dark brown with lots of standing oil at the bottom of the dish. I had this dish previously with no issues. The wait staff tonight was terrible, slow, uninterested. Had to request refill on drinks several times. Then my friend ordered the sausage, broccoli rabe and pasta. The pasta wasn't cooked all the way through as there were dry and hard parts to the pasta. Also we counted there were 27 whole cloves of garlic in the entree little broccoli rabe and sausage. I order chicken parm that was clearly over cooked tough as boards and I left the majority of it on the plate. I also instead of pasta substituted broccoli rabe that wasn't even al dente but almost raw and too crunchy. Really disappointing. We did not have cocktails and with tip was almost $90. Very disappointing and will probably not return again which is a real shame as I liked this place initially. If you don't want to have an awful meal that is way overpriced please avoid Max a Mia's. read more

The food here is just good. They served the best gluten-free bread I've ever had! It tasted slightly sweet and almost cake-like! They also provided awesome roasted garlic, and sun-dried tomato side dishes. The sautéed calamari appetizer was cooked perfectly...neither under or over-cooked. I ordered Max's chopped salad, which was extremely fresh. Hubby ordered Max's gf chicken pasta, which was very tasty. Our server, Annalisa, was very attentive! We left satisfied and will definitely be returning. read more

This is a friendly, casual restaurant that has great food. To the reviewer who said that the restaurant was empty on Christmas Eve...I say "Duh". Maybe everyone was home with family. I would be grateful that such a good restaurant was even open on Christmas Eve. I have eaten here many, many times and I have NEVER had a bad meal. A soggy salad? Did you even speak to your server about this? The staff and management always try to please the customer. Whatever you felt was less than great would have been dealt with right away. Try it again. read more

Food is always good, however service has been lacking. Wait staff doesn't seem to care too much. waiting to order more drinks and they are off flirting at the end of the bar like we cant see them. I hate asking another waitress to get ours.. A big drop in service. Food is why you go, not the service. read more

For the most part, their food is good. It's been a little bit of a gamble over the past several years, however they stand behind their business and will always make it up to you if its not perfect. Great atmosphere and people are friendly. read more

The four of us thoroughly enjoyed a recent luncheon experience here. Its very attractive inside....very modern looking. Nice outside dining area. our waitress Anna added to our positive experience. All of us enjoyed our luncheon entrees. The penne Al Buttero scored high grades. delicious hot and sweet Italian sausage in a cream sauce. Ditto the spaghetti Vongole....pancetta,clams and cockles in a lemon herb broth. My wife had the cobb salad...almost too pretty to eat. Huge salad with incredibly fresh ingredients. I had the Tuscan burger with parmesan herb fries. Really good. we split a few desserts. The amaretti "bocce ball"...hazelnut and chocolate gelato was truly decadent. The white chocolate polenta cake with raspberry sauce was scrumptious. This place impressed me. Not noisy..no really loud music.....great service and very upscale food. one gripe: I wish they would print up their daily specials. anna rattled them off but too difficult to comprehend everything she said.This is really a nice place to dine...I will return to try the pizza's and other menu items. read more

Max a Mia has a nice separate gluten-free menu and offers gluten-free bread when requested also. The pasta is consistently good (try the bolonese!) and the staff is typically helpful when ordering gluten-free. My only criticism is the price; a little on the high end for traditional Italian fare, but I guess that's what they are going for. Overall I have frequented Max a Mia because of their reliable take on gluten-free fare. read more

a little fancier than the normal dinner out with kids, but never a disappointment. Food outstanding. Service outstanding.

Good food. Hostesses were confused and made us move tables for another reservation that never came. The server Sarah was great.

Horrible restaurant, service was lousy, cooks cant cook. Received crab cakes that were cold in the middle for appetizer. Main course was really bad and slow getting to table with the restaurant near empty! Place needs major updates to decor. Anyone who thinks this is good food just doesn't know fine dining. Also prices for the food are outrageous but since there aren't many restaurants in the area I guess they can charge high prices for boxed pasta and this type of restaurant passes for fine dining in Avon. If I could give it zero stars I would. read more

We were early and ordered 4 appetizers for happy hour. They were delicious but the waitress/bartender was loud and not professional. She was talking to another,customer about the horrible cuts she had on her hand from slicing something...then later talking about the scratches she had on her back and how a certain lotion would help...then yelling to others that as soon as some people left there would be room for the "regulars"...this was once a nice place for dinner,but this woman was a nightmare. read more

I've lived in CT for almost three years and I work at a company that provides bread to Max Group so I've been familiar with who they are but haven't eaten there before tonight. My fiance and I decided to go here and were VERY impressed. We got the calamari app to start, which i highly reccommend. It was very tender, breading was even and crisp, and the peppers that were also fried with it were an excellent compliment. Also the pepper sauce it came with was perfect (we took extra to go!) I ordered the spaghetti and clams and my fiance got the Polpetti pizza. Unfortunately it was very burnt on the bottom but our waitress Olivia was great and she got us a brand new one. Working in the restaurant industry we understand things happen, but we also got a visit from the manager whih was also really nice. They also compted one of each of our drinks for the trouble, which they absolutely didn't have to but it was so kind. I would definitely recommend anyone to come here! I plan to come back very soon as it was hard to pick an entree because I wanted to try them all! read more

I have eaten here several times over the years and always an excellent meal. My recent lunch experience was not great. The burrata was delicious, but a side of meatballs came out barely warm. While the waitress offered to warm them up, I did not have the time for them to reheat or prepare me another dish. The waitress should have taken them off the bill, but she did not. read more

I have been there repeatedly for years and, like all the Max restaurants, have never had a bad meal. The service is tops, they have a great wine list and the bread basket could be a meal. It can be crowded and noisy at times, but not excessive. read more

Had dinner the other night with friends. Waitress was excellent. We ordered and it took quite a while for the meal to come. Penne Bolanese and Short Ribs for my friend. Loved it. Delic. read more

Excellent again. Ordered the usual Chicken Parm, Wife ordered a Half Chicken. Both tender and excellently finished. A usually boring half chicken in other restaurants was carefully crafted into something worthy, and exciting. The wait staff is very very good here, and is a strong point of this restaurant. They are not kids,(nothing against kids I was one too) but they were professionals. Worth the long ride from West Hartford just over the mountain. read more

Great staff! Dante takes care of you! Muscles are a great meal! Wonderful place to spend evening.

Come for the good food stay because of the great staff. My wife and I made our first trip to Max a Mia finding ourselves in the area. The location isnt a "wow" in a small strip mall on Farmington ave. but once inside found it to be comfortable and inviting. No seats at the bar available so we sat just behind where the bartender came around and introduced herself (Pam), making sure we didnt need to reach over or around patrons at the bar. What a great touch, I hate when people reach over and around me to get there drinks half the time spilling on the way by. Pam made sure my wife would enjoy her wine by offering suggestions and a taste. Once we sat at the bar we met Jackie also not afraid to introduce herself amd hum some toons from billboards top 100. We settled on apps and a couple more drinks. The food was great (mustles and calamari) accompanied by fresh bread, olives, roasted garlic and a marinara sauce. Pam and Jackie never let up on service for us or others, attentive all the way. With desert (great) and a pizza to go we both agreed it was a great experience both because of Pam and Jackie and the good food. read more

Very disappointed in this restaurant. It was our first time eating there, although we frequent the other Max restaurants. I selected it to celebrate my birthday with my husband, daughter,and in-laws. Despite having a reservation, we had to wait at least 20 minutes in a very crowded area. Upon being seated at our table, it took another 15 minutes to get a drink order in. The waitress apologized, saying it was very busy for her, although she seemed more attentive to her other tables. We decided not to order an appetizer since it took so long to get our drinks delivered after the order. When the food actually came, it was nearly inedible . It was literally the worst Italian food I have ever had. My husband and daughter also disliked their meals. We had planned to order dessert to celebrate my birthday, but decided against it, because of the amount of time it would have taken, and because of the disappointing quality of the dinner. When our bill finally came, which took a ridiculously long time, the waitress brought it back, and then afterwords told us she forgot to tell us about an autism fundraiser. We asked if we could still donate, and she said she would have to re-run our order. She then said she'd be right back, didn't come right back, and then as we were getting up to leave, she seem to be disappointed we didn't donate, and made us feel badly. We absolutely would have donated had she done what she was supposed to and reminded us at the beginning. All in all it was a terrible experience and I would not recommend this restaurant as there are so many better Italian restaurants in the area. Literally, Olive Garden would have been better. read more

This is my second time here, I like to give a place at least a couple tries before I write review. To sum it up, not at all impressed with either experience. I made a reservation in advance, and did not get seated until 45 min after my reservation. What's the point in having a reservation? I like how they do the bread with olives and garlic, nice touch. However, the food we had was not up to par for the price. Max penne was awful, could have made much better at home. And my husband's carbonara was loaded with raw onions. I like onions but this was too much. Only positives was we had a great server and they gave us free dessert for us waiting forever, which was a nice gesture. However, I was not thrilled for spending $100 with drinks and tip when it was all over. Will not return, plenty of other amazing Italian spots in the area. read more

Max a Mia has been one of my favorite restaurants for years. However that is changing. Went there for lunch yesterday. I ordered minestrone soup and the kale salad. Soup was watery with just a few vegetables and the kale salad was tasty but mostly kale. Very few beets and a couple of pumpkin seeds thrown in. Lunch cost me $20 and I left feeling hungry. And, it was very noisy! read more

Dinner ordered salmon. Terrible presentation salmon with a ton of lentils that was it! Salmon good but what's with the presentation and whatever else it was to have. Disappointed read more

Great service here, really nice people. I can't say too much about the food/drinks, as I only popped in for happy hour, but I did have an order of mussels, which were awesome, they had a tomato sauce with chorizo and mushrooms over them, and some crispy bread on the side. read more

very good food! would recommend anyone. Great pricing also. There deserts was my favorite part pretty good and so was the staff was very polite and professional. read more

Recently went here with my extended family. Our server was Lynne and it was some of the best service we have received at a restaurant in a very long time. Friendly, warm, and accommodating for our large party! Highly recommend that you request her if you have a group on the bigger side. Thank you for making our gathering special--we'll be returning soon and requesting the same server for our many future visits to come! read more

Unfortunately, we did not have a great experience. We were celebrating the birthday of our 91 year old friend; had reservations. We were seated 40 minutes after our reservation time; our drink order wasn't correct but we couldn't get our waitress' attention; when the food was delivered by someone other than the waitress, she as there to direct it. She noted that one of the orders was suppose to be well done but was rare but she didn't stop the person delivering it nor did she ask if it would be acceptable. We had to flag down someone else to take care of the order. Then we ordered gelato for dessert. 30 minutes later we asked what was taking so long. It was delivered immediately but we shouldn't have had to chase it down. Not once did the waitress come back to see if we had everything that we had ordered or if we were satisfied with what we got. When that was reflected in the tip, someone else stopped by to make sure that I had meant to leave the tip that I left and to see if I wasn't pleased with the service. I told her that it wasn't a great evening. Then the waitress came by and asked if the service was so bad. I said no but it wasn't good. She went on to explain that nothing that went wrong was her fault and that she wasn't going to make anything on our meal. I think someone needs to explain to her that a tip is over and above what is required, it is in recognition of the 'extra' service. I don't plan on going back. read more