Max's Deli

Came to Max’s Deli based on a recommendation. Ordered the pastrami sandwich as a good pastrami is not all that common anymore. Also ordered a side of fries. The sandwich and fries were great and worth coming for. The waitress was attentive and the restaurant clean. I would come back.

The owner (85?) and his wonderful son operate Max's Deli efficiently. Dine in however as you don't get as much food compared to when you dine in!

ive been coming here my entire life and have encountered the owner, joey, each time. familiarity doesn’t soften the truth, it sharpens it. the guy is an opportunist, plain and simple. human decency is not something you should expect when you walk through the door. every visit has come with its own dose of irritation. people usually grow out of being told to watch their mouth and check their behavior, joey didn’t. at some point, that kind of conduct stops being “personality” and starts being a liability. don’t come here unless you want to pay to listen to mediocre jokes from some old frat guy who never realized the party ended.

Our experience was ummmmm....not too great! I really do not recommend Max's deli!! First off our server was rude to us and portion sizes were really small! Food was expensive for what we did get 😞 very small tuna melts.Maybe things were off today but I went out of my way to eat here and it was not what I expected at all.

Oy vey. First things first: the matzo ball soup. It’s like a warm hug from your babushka, only without the guilt trip and unsolicited advice about your love life. You might even start to believe in miracles. The matzo ball (it's yuuuge) is fluffier than a rabbi’s yarmulke at a bar mitzvah and about as comforting as being wrapped in a blanket made of gefilte fish and shmaltz. The broth might have you wondering if the chicken that made it was blessed by Moses himself. I’m not kidding, I inhaled that soup like a goy at a Hanukkah buffet, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Then there's the Hoppel Poppel. If you’re brave enough to wander off the matzo ball path, this scramble of eggs, potatoes, onions, and salami is like a savory slap in the face from your favorite bubbeleh It’s hearty, it’s comforting, and it’s like everything you love about breakfast, except with more schmaltz. Trust me, you need this in your life. Now, the rest of the deli experience? The pickles? More crunchy than your zayde’s opinions on modern art. The service? Despite being packed with early bird specials (seriously, half the place looked like a senior discount convention), the waitstaff still manages to deliver solid service. Don't bother counting your shekels. It's worth every penny. If you leave hungry, you might be the one with the problem.

I wasn't expecting my turkey reuben to be served _a la_ croque monsieur (with the cheese on top), but considering it was about the size of a small pizza I'm not complaining. Yes, it's expensive, but in my experience there's a lot of restaurants restoring to clawback pricing in answer to the depredations of post-Covid and current inflation-incurred losses. The small bowl of chicken soup with kreplach and chocolate phosphate (a great variation for the lactose intolerant) was great too.

Tried this place on the fly, amazing hot pastrami and hot corn beef. Not sure why anyone complained about the service, the service top notch. Bagel slices were great. We will be back! So good!

Been going here over 20 years. Service was beyond horrible this morning. Server was very rude. My friend ordered an omelet and after the server walked away, we realized she forgot to ask for white toast. Never saw the server again til she brought the food. I asked her if toast comes with the omelet. She rudely responded yes but she didn't tell me she wanted toast. So my friend said white toast please and our server actually huffed. We were like OH my goodness. Never experienced such a rude server ever. I guess we assumed she would have asked us what kind of toast when taking our order. Definitely won't be going back, plenty of other wonderful restaurants in the area. Also food was very salty, never in the past.

An Italian/Jewish Deli located in Highland Park on Skokie Blvd and Lake Cook Rd. Had the Turkey Pastrami with Muenster cheese and coleslaw rueben. Comes with Russian dressing on the side. The regular size is huge. We shared one and took one home. The pickle is pretty much a cucumber. We also got the key lime pie. Outstanding. Also got the New England Clam Chowder. Wonderful. The service is quick but getting the sandwiches takes a little time to put together. After we got it we understood why. I have had the pastrami on rye previously. Very good. It is a beautiful restaurant with seating but most order to go. A great deli experience.

I was there later this morning to pick up my lox and bagels, and had to deal with the rude owner. If you want something different then you're a trump supporter. How does this clown run a business?? What a classless joke he is. Let me buy my bagels and lox and close your mouth clown, if I wanted entertainment I'd tip you a dollar so you could dance around like a little puppet.

I picked up a carry out order. I used their machine to make my payment with my credit card. I indicated no tip. I then left the restaurant and decided to check the receipt. I had experienced another situation with this restaurant. I then saw that the receipt included a tip that I had not authorized. So I returned immediately to the restaurant and explained that I had an unauthorized tip on my receipt. So then the restaurant printed out a new receipt, with no tip. I asked that he void the other check which he said he did. However, the bank is still showing the larger amount. He argued very rudely with me that he didn't have to do anything and my bank was the one who was wrong. I walked out but I will NEVER go back there again. Their food is good but they are deceitful.

I'm not sure how I haven't done a review on this place as I've been coming here for over 20+ years. I believe they've changed hands as far as ownership which is pretty apparent from the marketing the website and also the menu. I have read the other reviews and quite frankly the host or maître D also happens to be the owner. He's half Jewish half Irish. And you're not coming here for service you're coming here for the real deli delights and Jewish comfort foods like the matzoh ball soup the solid bagels , the fresh locks and perfectly fried potato latkes. I love coming here whether it's breakfast lunch or dinner and it's great because it's in a strip mall where there's lots of shared parking that's available. A lot of the staples on the menu haven't changed in over two decades despite ownership changes. I would definitely continue coming back here and have nothing but praise. Also to find out that the new owner is also doing fundraising because he is embarking upon a six week trip to the Philippines to visit orphanages and cook for the children for free.

Max's has been around for awhile, but it's definitely not due to the customer service. I guess it really does "stem from the top" because the rudest of all is its owner. He's rude & condescending to most of the patrons. I stopped going but recently had to stop in to pick up some soup & bagels. The soups are pretty good, the bagels/challah are above average, but unfortunately the overall experience is still the same. It's not cheap, so good spend your money elsewhere.

Beautiful day to enjoy LavAzza coffee outside. Staff was friendly and quick with service. It did not disappoint! Thank you!

Food was amazing. I had Matzo ball & Noodle Soup with a half of a corned beef sandwich. The half is more like a whole sandwich and is a plentiful meal. Short on staff, service could be improved, but, overall, a hidden gem.

Arrived tonight at 7:25. They sat me. Told them I was waiting for my friends to arrive. At 7:30 they told me the restaurant was closing. Why sit me? Glad they don't need 6 more customers ever again. Stupid.

Delicious pickles and bread basket brought to the table before you even order. I had a towering BLT+A, which comes with a side of Cole slaw. My companion had a matzoh ball soup and half Reuben. Very satisfying. We also took home a small apple pie from the case and they recommended the flan. Next time!

I had to wait a bit for my take out order, but it was well worth it! The chicken soup is very tasty, just like home made. The corned beef sandwich was delicious and hit the spot. The coleslaw was tangy and I wish I had more. I was also able to pick up some unexpected purchases including a Valentine's Day Cooke and tiramisu slice. The tiramisu was one of the best I've had in the area and the cookie was not overly sweet, more like a butter cookie than a sugar cookie. I'd buy everything again.

So glad a deli still exists. Delicious food. Corned beef is very lean. #iraeats #iraeats1

My family loves it here! The staff is efficient and also helpful with the menu. The portions are super generous and the prices are reasonable. It can get pretty busy at lunch time but that's part of the fun of it. They have WiFi and some people bring their laptops and do work there. They also have a nice bakery counter to grab some desserts for later. One of our favorite spots!

When you go to a restaurant, you go for a few things the food, the service and an overall good time with the surroundings. The food is decent, the service is spotty. It depends on which server you get it. It's a bit noisy, but you look past that if you have a good experience and you get treated with respect. The owner here is a real clown. He doesn't know that he has no filter. He is derogatory and doesn't care. I know a number of people that have had a run in with him and won't return, but he doesn't really care He treats his staff with open disrespect and doesn't care who hears it. When my wife mentioned to him that our son is running for state office in Arizona, he leaned in to my wife and called my son a schmuck. What kind of person does this to a customer that is there once a week but guess what there are a lot of other options and I will not go back. I gave it another chance after he rudely threw my wife's food into a to go box telling us this is how you do it. Obviously I am not the only one that feels this way about this place from reading multiple other one and two star reviews. If you wanna continue to have average food, average service, I go to a place where the owner treats his staff and his customers anyway that he wants to publicly go right ahead, but I'd much rather go to Scrambled, and the Cherry Pit. These are quality places with quality people.

While placing my order to go, you hear a glass shatter somewhere in the restaurant, next you hear cheering and Opa! This brings a smile to my face. I am told they are out of lox spread. What?! How is that even possible. The good news, they are going to make some more right then and there. Under positive in the dictionary it says be positive. Nice outdoor seating options directly in front of the restaurant, which are lovely in the morning when the weather is pleasant.

One of the few places that offer jalapeño cream cheese blended vs just plain cream cheese with jalapeño chunks. Delicious hot pastrami and variety of dessert available. One of my top 2 favorite spots for bagels.

On Feb 3 I was having breakfast with my gfriend (who ended up as a witness to what occurred) I got up from the table to go to the ladies room and fell hard on the floor...hitting my head and entire left side of my body... I was helped up off the floor by two people and walked back to my table...I was in excruciating pain and asked a server to bring me a bag of ice for my head...which she did After sitting a few minutes I felt the owner, an employee should ask if I'm OK...unfortunately they hid from me....i was SHOCKED and in pain and took it upon myself to call the Highland Park police who came and filled out an incident report Again..not ONE employee came to see how I was doing... I ended up in the ER having a cat scan of my head and back and an x-ray of my left ankle....thankfully I'm ok Still shocked that the staff ran and hid from me

The food is great The service is good The ambiance is that if a good successful deli . It's a busy place and for good reasons.

I assume it was the owner (short man) who YELLED at me when i politley asked a question about my check and then TURNED TO MY 12 YEAR OLD GRANDSON AND PUT HIS FACE 8 INCHES FROM A CHILD'S FACE AND TOLD HIM THAT I WAS "MEAN"-- RIGHT IN MY GRANDSON'S FACE!!!----we got up and walked out without paying--NEVER AGAIN also, the guy at the counter is sullen, doesn't make eye contact or say thank you max and benny's is close by --- here i come ps- all the salads (salmon, tuna, whitefish and egg) are very light on flavor and heavy on mayo

The food is good here, but they really run their counters in the worst way possible. Why a separate line to order and then go in another line to pay? This makes no sense. Also, if you have a paid online order, you still have to wait in one of the lines to pick up your food. This may have made sense before the internet but please cater to the younger more tech savvy crowds as well. The current group of customers won't be aorund in 5-10 years to keep this place afloat.

We love this place. It's kind of old school and reminds me of a NYC deli I used to frequent when I lived there. The turkey is off the bone. The chicken in the pot is amazing and I could go on and on :)

The owner needs to improve on his customer service style and interaction with regular customers

Yesterday at Max's I encountered the rudest, most ignorant, owner of a restaurant. I am a Type 1 diabetic. I ordered a Diet Coke, from the owner who brought it to the table. It did not taste right, and it was very noisy-wasn't sure if he heard correctly, so I simply, politely asked him if it was a Diet Coke-(because drinking a regular Coke could have caused a severe diabetic reaction for me. ) He proceeded to start ranting crazy talk to me, not allowing me to explain that I was a Type 1 diabetic. He yelled that he "has found that only Trumpers complain about Diet Coke." He brought over a new drink, continuing to talk over me, not allowing me to explain. Finally, my friend yelled to him"she is diabetic!" He yelled back, "oh yeah? I'm diabetic, too" Never have I been treated so offensively by an owner of a restaurant. I will never step foot in Max's again!!!!!

Answer: Attitude. Question: What do you get as a side dish after you wait 15 minutes at the counter to order one (1) sandwich to go? We didn't see any servers, or a hostess, or a manager-type present. Behind the counter were a cashier whose only job is to ring up sales and stare into space; and a man who apparently makes all the sandwiches, answers the phone, packs large orders, cooks the food and does who knows what else with his hands (luckily he was wearing gloves). When we asked the cashier-type when we could place our order, we were ordered by Mr. Everything to look him in the eye, which we did, and he responded "I'm busy". "I'm busy, too" I responded, as we walked out the door, confident that I know more about good customer service and the restaurant business than he ever will. If you can't manage your food costs and get enough help, close your doors. There are plenty of places in the area where you can get a corned beef sandwich.

This place is a gem! I have to disagree with previous reviews about the owner's attitude, I thought he was friendly and helpful. Their corned beef was amazing, one of the best I've had in the area!

This might be more of a 3.5 stars. Went to Max's for lunch. There's a restaurant and a deli. The restaurant looks like it's trying to be classy, but not quite making it. Still, it's bright enough, clean and presentable. Service was spotty. I was seated right away, and brought water and pickles, but nobody brought me a menu. Good thing I knew where to look one up online. The food came a bit slowly, but not terrible. The food was good enough, but nothing great. The corned beef in the reuben was a bit lacking in flavor. If you're going to be a Jewish deli, you should probably have outstanding corned beef. The egg salad was fine, although not to my wife's taste (she doesn't care for celery). All in all, not bad, not great, will probably try again, see if we can find something they're better at. Might try the bagels at the deli.

Still one of the best Delis around, we have been driving an hour each way to come too several time a year. I almost always get the Rachel with is a Pastrami Ruben with there great potato pancakes and either kreplach or matzo ball soup. Then a dozen or so egg bengals too go. Live the owner and the restaurant. one of my favorite places in Chicago land

My family and I have been a customer of Max's Deli that we have happily patronized for decades. On April 17, I went into Max's Deli and purchased a few things. When I got home, I opened the corned beef and it was in chunks and a big part of it completely crumbled. I was very disappointed so I called spoke with the owner, Joey Morelli. He somewhat argued with me and told me he has a lot of complaints about things that happen there. He said to heat it up and eat it crumbled. That wasn't my point. I can't serve it to my family crumbled. He said he would refund my money and I said I paid cash. He told me to write on the receipt "Joey said to refund" and bring it in the next time. Since I do not live in that area, I had asked my mom the next time she was in that neighborhood if she would bring that receipt and do that for me. This afternoon, I received a text from my mom. She went there and Joey Morelli, the owner stated the following: "Cash refund, we are losing money, forget it. My mom answered "this is not for me but my daughter, I can't... He cut me off saying, verbatim, " tell her to f... off" My mom answered " I don't use that kind of language!" He said sure you do! You say it in your heart, all the time." And then he repeated the full word, "FUCK" fast, several times. My mom turned around without saying a single word and left. Rather than taking responsibility, being apologetic that your company made an error and you lost a minuscule amount of money, you instead chose to use vulgar language around a lovely lady who did absolutely nothing to you. My friends, family, and I will never set foot into the establishment again!! I am absolutely outraged, appalled, and offended that you told my mom to tell me to "F" off Joey Morelli, you, and especially you as an owner of an establishment should be ashamed that you would not only speak to a customer like that, but in fact to an elderly lady, and did this with other customers present. This is highly offensive. No one should ever be subjected to this type of language in any customer service establishment. Absolutely disgraceful!!

I will not eat here again out of principle. The food and service was decent. When I received the bill, I noticed "S/C: Supplemental FE for $1.11" and asked what the additional charge was regarding? The man told me it was credit card usage charge fee which is a lie! First of all, by law, establishments are required to provide adequate disclosures regarding credit usage fee. The "surcharge" restaurant owners have been sneakily adding to "help" the staff when actually they're taking in the additional profit without sharing it with the staff has become rampant and abused especially in large cities such as Chicago, NYC, LA, SF. If the cashier was upfront and honest about the charge, I would have simply asked to remove the fee, paid my tips with my bill and moved on, and pay a visit in the future. By principle, I rather give my business elsewhere and will not eat at Max's until the surcharge is removed. If you see the "surcharge", you are by law NOT obligated to pay this fee. The bill has a non-cash bal: $41.57 and cash bal of $40.33 already with both figures having the surcharge FACTORED in with tax.

Haven't been to Max's in awhile, but stopped by to take some food home when we were nearby shopping. The food here is good! Got some side salads (Isreal couscous, egg white salad), soup, and bagels. Everything was fresh and delicious. Service was quick and delivered with a smile. I didn't experience any of the service issues that other posters complained about.

This was my first and likely LAST visit at Max's deli. If you do visit, just know that they do expect tips even if you're just ordering takeout. My bf ordered some takeout at the counter, and as he was leaving the register, the cashier loudly stated something like "can't believe they didn't tip on Christmas Day." I was a bit bothered by the comment since we were only ordering takeout and my order was pretty simple (2 bagels, cream cheese, and a deli meat). I've had a fair share of poor tips back when I worked as a waiter and cashier, but I've never complained directly in front of a customer and especially not for a takeout order. To me, tip on a takeout order is a nice-to-have but definitely not something that is expected.

I got a pastrami sandwich to go in a chicken noodle or matzoh ball. I forgot to go. I had a half a sandwich for dinner and a half a sandwich for lunch the next day and let me tell you it was better the next day. The service was awesome. Ambience was on par. I recommended to anybody.

This is it. This is the real deal. There's no point looking any further for all of your favorites. And the rye bread, other than a little place in New York, is excellent! Very pleasant staff, good senses of humor. The deli is just the right size and the seating is large.

Their corn beef sandwiches are awesome, so much meat, reminds me of the delis I have been to in Detroit or New York- the real thing. I also love their matzo ball soup- delicious!!!

The best hot turkey around! The service is absolutely fantastic and the buss people are among the best. This is the place for food, and service. Well done!

Do not eat or take out food from this obnoxious owner and terrible deli. I called to speak to the owner about an order we picked up. The challah was stale and there's salad was flavorless with halves of eggs instead of chopped egg making it hard to eat between the two slices of stale bread. I couldn't eat it. Pastrami was overly dry. Chicken soup is good here. Service is extraordinarily bad. The staff plays games when you ask for the owner. The owner himself may be the one who told me several different times I might be able to reach him and each time I called, he answered saying that the owner is busy or not there. The second time I asked for him he hung up on me. You have to be a glutton for punishment to eat here. Go to Burt's. Zero stars is what this place deserves.

I've been going to Max's deli for 10 years. This place has gone downhill after Covid, I placed a simple pick up order for 12 bagels and matzo ball soup. I had placed my order 40 minutes prior. When I arrived they didn't even have my order ready, I had to wait an extra 15 minutes for them to gather my order, when I got home, I was missing three items. The bagels were hard and stale. The matzo ball soup tasted terrible and water down. No flavor whatsoever. Sadly, I won't be back

I've been coming here since I was a kid- their real standout is the pickles (also the bakery)- I could finish a whole tub of those tbh. It's got a deli kinda vibe, I think it does that pretty well. Idk what ppl are talking about with the up charging in other reviews- I guess pay in cash if you come? But yeah the food itself is gonna be pretty good if you come, so plan accordingly.

Have been going here for years. Went for lunch with my husband. Waited over 20 min to be served. The owner stopped by the table. I said we've been waiting over 20 min. He said the owner left years ago! I said you're the owner he laughed and said, I don't care! We left! Funny he came to a BNI meeting and I support my friends. I don't normally post BUT how can an owner treat a customer like that! I will share this story.

One week ago today (Feb 3-25) I was having a late breakfast with my gfriend (who is also a witness to what happened)..I got up to go to ladies room..Upon walking I fell and hit my head and back pretty darn hard...(after the visit to the ER)..I discovered my left ankle was swollen and had numerous bruises Was the floor possibly coefficient and greasy lacking friction?..Was it possibly wet in that particular area..I don't necessarily know those answers...But...I did hurt myself..One of the ladies (an employee) actually helped me up along with a nearby customer...I was seen falling by EVERYONE in the immediate area..One lady tracked my fall on her APPLE WATCH...I proceeded to sit down with my gfriend awaiting some employee to come over and ask me if I was ok..ask me if I needed anything..ask me if they should call an ambulance..ask me to fill out some kind of incident report..NOT ONE employee did ANY of those things..I did ask for a bag of ice for my head...I did ask to speak with the owner...Owner was NOWHERE to be found..Instead of waiting any longer I called the Highland Park police...Officer Verber filled out an incident report and then my gfriend and I left and I was told by a personal injury attorney to go to the ER..I had a cat scan (on my head and back) and x-ray on my ankle...I iced for 3 days ...I was MORTIFIED that NOT ONE employee asked to help me...They TOTALLY IGNORED me..I don't know if that's THEIR protocol ...Just needed to tell my story and how I was treated... My gfriend didn't want to go there in the first place to meet me..She expressed to me how DIRTY UNKEPT the establishment is ... I should have listened

Best Whitefish Salad on the whole Northshore! Max's Whitefish salad is so good they were actually out of it last night, but in great service they offered me whatever I wanted and they picked up the check. Superb! The complimentary pickles on the tables were ice cold and crunchy. They were delicious, cooling and a refreshing delight on a warm summer evening. Joey was very cordial and ran the place even though he was short staffed. Cant wait to go back!!

Almost all food made from scratch daily. Very good deli and restaurant meals. Very good service. Owner really cares about business.

I love a deli but man this place had a weird vibe. Service was strange and curt, when we put our order in they didn't stick around long enough so I could try and order some latkes. The turkey club was overwhelmingly dry and bland. Soup, The Rachel and fries were all decent but I would not recommend this place strongly. I think you'd really have to know what to order and take it to go

This is a tough review. The deli has good food and a nice atmosphere. The prices are reasonable and the service is fine. But...the owner! He sat in the rear of the restaurant and loudly degraded a staff member. I felt so sorry for the person getting yelled at and the patrons could hear it. I do not see how anyone would want to work there.

My gf had the, Chicken in the pot- Half chicken pulled off the bone with matzo ball, kreplach, noodles, rice, carrot, celery, broccoli, potato. So warm and hearty. You can feed 2 people with this portion size. I went with the Reuben. Love the stack of meat they put on top. I love my sauerkraut so i do wish they added a bit more, but all in all, delicious

Ordered my old grammar school favorite. the Franchisee (its a jumbo Frankfurter with cheese and bacon) It was way overcooked and as dry as can be. I didn't want to wait for them to recook another, so i didn't complain. (my fault) It was suppose to come with a pickle, but the only pickle i saw, was the one they put on the table when you sit down. The best part of my dining experience was killing the little bugs that were landing like 747's. They were all over the deli counter having a feast. Here is a video of the counter as i was paying https://www.dropbox.com/s/88hzm85a4c4rvd0/IMG_7870.MOV?dl=0

Great food and an ideal place for breakfast. Also love to relax there with friends for lunch. Max's is a great asset to our community.

Food was fine but waiter literally put his entire hand over my side of fruit when putting it down on the table. Freaking gross. They also shouldn't charge more when using a credit card.

Food: Breakfast 1 - good everything bagel, scramble, tomato, lox; Breakfast 2 - eggs over well were burned as was the bacon. Fruit was fresh, home fries ok-but a bit mush inside. Service: very good, waiter quite attentive, busser kept coffee mug filled. No espresso machine here. Just mugs of drip Lavazza coffee. Atmosphere: Dined al fresco, beautiful, quiet and clean Memorial Day Breakfast

Very rude staff. The man behind the counter was the worst. They speak Spanish thinking some customers don't understand but I speak Spanish fluently. Plus the last three times we have seen flying nats each time. Don't know if they are flying around for the pickles bowl or the bread basket. Definitely have gone down the hill. No reason to speak about customers