Hartford has several good resturants, but Max Downtown is the best. The food is always very good, and sometimes great, the service is solid, and the bar is outstanding (though piano night is really tacky). The strength of the menu is the beef and Max Downtown offers several excellant cuts which the kitchen is willing to prepare however you like (i.e. if you order rare, you get rare, not medium rare). The other entrees range in quality from pretty good to excellant. The family-style veggies are mostly excellant (the creamed spinach and sauted mushrooms being the best) and all of the salads are very good. The desert menu is another strength and it is always evolving, which is nice. Both the wine list and the cordial list are excellant and the prices are pretty reasonable. Front of house is also very strong, with several waiters and waitresses being as good as you will find outside a major city and the managers are all knowledgeable, on-point, and customer-oriented. It has exactly the right atmosphere for a business lunch or dinner, or for an important night out. Max also does functions very well (My wife and I were married there), with the kitchen able to turn out a high quantity of high quality food quickly and the front-of-house able to handle both the service and the ""little things"" that always seem to come up during big events. Prices are reasonable in light of quality, portion-size, service, etc.
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