My brother's wedding in Culver brought me to this small Indiana town. Many small homey areas like this have a fair selection of good cafes with nice service and pleasant atmosphere. Unfortunately, Cafe Max is not that restaurant. Sixteen of us ate there tonight, and none of us enjoyed our meal. My chicken sandwich was dry, the chicken alfredo was horrible, even my 10 year old sister decided it was nasty. Two of our party had their "Haystack" sandwich which turned out to be a plate of greasy hashbrowns on top of toast. Another had their lasagna which was frozen in the middle, and, when sent back was brought out cold AGAIN. My mom said it was "one of the worst meals she's had in a restaurant." Much of the food was obviously out of a box/freezer. The terrible food might have been forgivable if the service had been service. Not only slow, but our waiter messed up several side orders, and even brought the wrong dish entirely to one of my friend. My girlfriend, sister, and a friend, never even got their side dishes. At my table, we actually had to ask the waiter for utensils after our meals arrived. After dinner about half of us experienced some sort of intestinal discomfort. My party and I have had much better food and service in third world countries where they might actually care about leaving their guests with a pleasant experience. If you plan on going, bring along some Pepto and Immodium. EDIT: Ambience was nice. read more

We mostly go here for breakfast, and they have very good dinner style breakfast food. Their home made whole wheat toast is worthy of special mention. Lunch is also quite good. I have had their cheese steak twice, and though it may not be completely Philly-style authentic, it's yummy anyway. read more

What a great stop. Here in town with my fiancé and loved every detail of this perfectly positioned eatery and bar. Took the best advice by trusting Rachel's recommendations as our server and Julio's keen attention to detail in the kitchen. I can't wait to come back, Rachel thanks for the superior service on behalf of Cafe Max. read more

Looked at the 3.5 star rating and wasn't too excited but with not a lot of options in town we decided to give it a try based on a local's suggestion. We went for breakfast at it was very very good. Omelette was excellent. Homemade wheat toast was thick and light and some of the best toast I have ever had. Kids had pancakes and my wife had the avocado toast and loved it. Prices were probably too low for the quality received. Friendly service. All in all I would highly recommend. Pretty sure this is the first review I have ever left. This place exceeded the average rating by so much that I needed to show some support to help raise that rating. read more

You woke up on the shores of Lake Maxinkuckee. Hungry, you stumble toward what appears to be a downtown. Cafe Max will set you up with the best breakfast for miles around, and they offer a pretty decent lunch, too. Stop in for an amazing omelet plus a chance to check out the local flavor. Here you'll get a sense of Culver's population mix, rubbing elbows with construction workers stopping in to fuel a hard day's work and sitting nearby those with a bit more money and much more leisurely intentions for their full stomachs. No worries -- they provide tasty salads in addition to heavier fare. read more

I was promised that my one hour drive to Cafe Max in Culver Indiana was well worth it to experience the Sinful French Toast. It did not disappoint! Two huge cinnamon rolls flattened and iced, dipped in egg and fried to caramelized goodness. No syrup needed! I definitely will return when my sweet tooth needs to be satisfied! read more

Lovely. We were there at noon on Friday & they were serving both breakfast & lunch. (Always a bonus ). Oatmeal pancakes were delicious. Our server, Mac, could not have been nicer. She was incredibly sweet. Decor is warm & charming. Hardwood floors + walls decorated with vintage Culver photos & memorabilia. read more

I am always cognizant of the category I review something in, so let me emphasize I see Cafe Max as a breakfast/lunch diner which also is open for dinner three nights a week AND has a liquor license. I see these as added bonuses, but score them five stars for their bread and butter- reliable breakfast and lunch items at a reasonable price in a lovingly decorated Culver atmosphere. Their "Lean Machine" is my favorite is my favorite dish for breakfast- bluberry whole wheat pancakes with scrambled egg whites. Lunch they have sandwiches etc. but my favorite dish is the spinach salad with blue cheese and candied pecans. Yum! read more

Where do I begin? This is a poorly run restaurant at best. I had a restaurant.com certificate, more on that later, and decided to give this place another chance even though we had a previous bad experience and there are numerous bad reviews. In addition, the owner Susie Mahler is an ass. Let me start with the breakfast. I ordered the Blue Bayou which is scrambled eggs, bacon, tomato, spinach and blue cheese. There was very little evidence or taste of blue cheese. The eggs were overcooked and the bagel was greasy with a poor grade of butter. My companion ordered the eggs benedict with green pepper hollandaise sauce. The hollandaise sauce was separating. Both dishes were cold. I should have sent it all back. I did not because initially there was an issue with my using the restaurant.com certificate via the application on my phone. They had never seen this before. They did not say prior to ordering that we could not use it. They should have. The certificate was for $10.00, unknown to me, they were calling the owner on the phone for approval, and she was in the middle of showing a house to another of her real estate victims. Why is there not a manager to look at the restaurant.com certificate application? The owner made a decision without all of the information. Typical poor business practice by a foolish business owner. The bottom line is the owner told them that there had to be a paper print out. I have never run into this problem at other restaurants. This feature has been available since January 2012. http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/restaurant-com-serves-diners-restaurant-deals-through-mobile-app . I was not able to use the certificate and I am visiting so even if I wanted to return to this poor excuse for a restaurant. If you need breakfast in Culver, Indiana, go to the Culver Coffee Company http://www.culvercoffeecompany.com/ , they have great coffee and great breakfast sandwiches. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. read more

If you are looking for a small local cafe with yummy food, look elsewhere, because Cafe Max will disappoint. Ill start with a few positive points... It has a comfortable small-town atmosphere and is located right on main street. They also exist, which is a relatively lame positive, but there aren't a whole lot of options in such a small town. Some of the staff is rather friendly and they generally help out where they can. However.. The food is sub-par. Those other postings here that say the food is delicious should reconsider their definitions of that word, because the food was remarkably average. Actually, "average" food would have been an improvement, because it was really not even up to that level. How could food be that remarkably bad, you might question? Well, here ya go: I started my meal with their version of french onion soup. An overpriced rip off. It was essentially Campbells french onion soup with week-old croutons topped with, I kid you not, a Craft cheese single. Yuck. After having perused the menu, I'd selected a "local favorite" or some other such promisingly labeled term - the Haystack sandwich. While the description sounded delicious: "A slice of prime rib with a crispy pile of blackened hash browns on a sandwich roll"... which was delivered as "a few strips of day old fatty fajita meat with a few small pieces of pepper on some cheap white bread, smothered in flavorless greasy hash brown mush. My wife's meal was equally disappointing. Dry and tough chicken fried steak smothered in brown salt (ie, their gravy) with a side of reconstituted-from-a-box mashed potatoes. They were supposed to supply a side of vegetables as well, however those never seemed to arrive at the table. The rest of my dining companions had similarly poorly done food. Additionally, most of us had issues with food being prepared incorrectly from how we had requested it or even to suitable delivery standards. I am not talking small things like food not meeting expectations or steak being overdone.... I am talking about forgetting one persons meal completely "because there were two italian items on the pad" ,delivering cold food, or completely ignoring side selections, etc... Our particular waitress was rather snippy and not particularly friendly. While she did appear to be trying to act kind, it came off as insincere and slowly degraded from there. She was never really around and only came back a few times. Finally... the cost is much higher than the quality of the food. My wife and I ordered two entrees, two sodas, and a cup of soup. Grand total was about $30. Not horrible, but also pretty high compared to the quality! In summary.... You don't have a lot of options, so you will probably end up eating here. But consider yourself warned, you are going to be ripped off with cheap processed food being prepared inadequately with very little flavor. Will you survive? Probably. Will you be satisfied? Unlikely. read more

I wasn't impressed. The ingredients in my veggie omlette didn't taste fresh. They used kraft singles cheese slices in the omlette for crying out loud. The menu is rather limited too, nothing much beyond traditional breakfast items. Its too bad that the city tavern ( I think thats what it was called) closed, because this is uninspiring. read more

Updating my review. Have since been back twice. First time things were so-so. My food came out cold and waitress brought me an entire new meal. Then owner ( I'm assuming) came in with this shaggy white dog and proceeded to let it walk all around the restaurant. How is this hygienic? How is this sensitive to people who have dog allergies or a dislike of dogs? Second time we went back, giving it one more chance, my daughter's fruit cup came out and every piece of banana was rotted to the point of mold (I've posted pictures). Who sliced that up and though that would be ok to serve anyone? The waitress was at least embarrassed and apologized. Then the owner comes in again, carrying her dog all around the restaurant. So she is now carrying this dog at the level of the tables that people are eating at. So dog hair could easily be getting on the tables, cups, food, etc. is this legal? May have to call the health department to find out. read more

Cafe Max - Ordered my daughter a fruit cup. Every single banana slice looked like this. Rotten to the point of mold. - Cafes Near Me - Culver, Indiana

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A visit to Culver would not be complete without stopping at Cafe Max. Great food, friendly staff, and a Culver Academy history gem. Highly recommend. read more

My favorite breakfast is here - ask for the egg whites and jalapeños with whole wheat toast and turkey sausage links! If you are feeling like a guilty pleasure try the Sinful French Toast which is great with syrup and I like to add peanut butter! A best-kept secret is their pork tenderloin sandwich. Hearty and thick, I don't think I've ever talked to anyone who didn't like it! Love the Poblano chicken sandwich, Cobb Salad and Chicken Cesar salad or wrap --all are standards for us. This is a great breakfast/lunch place that is also branching out with dinner three nights a week. They do have a liquor license, so it's a homey atmosphere to have a drink with friends or family. Love the salted caramel brownie sundae and the rhubarb pie, too! read more

Terrible service and the food we ordered was way overcooked. Also didn't get what we ordered, nuances to items were communicated to us after food arrived, not while we were ordering. Frustrating. Received wrong kind of potatoes with order, replacement was way overcooked. Terrible service and no one seemed concerned with our experience. Never again... read more

Last 2 times we've been here our meals were not very good at all Terrible presentation and the food that was brought to us was not at all what was described on menu I will not return read more

A local favorite for sure. You can anything from soup and salads to breakfast food, sandwiches, burgers, and dessert. Small town cafe experience. The only "issue" is the wait time for the food- don't come here is you're expecting fast food. The food is made fresh and is definitely worth the wait, if you can about 30 min. Everything is great though! Bathrooms are kept nice and the owner comes around occasionally to check up on everyone. I love this place! read more

Went twice over the past week while on vacation. Both times it was delicious. They have the best philly omelet and homemade wheat bread!

Love going here for breakfast with my grown children. We have had great food and service since we moved here in 98. The place has changed in many ways but the food and service has always been excellent. read more

I have been here many times, as my family has a house on this beautiful lake. I've only ever been for breakfast and it's usually very busy as it is really the only breakfast place in Culver. Nicely decorated with historical items from the Academy and outdoor sidewalk seating, but that's about the only good thing I can say about this place. My food is consistently "meh". I've tried several different items and all have been underwhelming, but not awful. My main issue with this place is that the SERVICE is awful. Partly because it's so busy, but partly because the owner, who walks around the entire time "socializing", keeps calling the waitresses away to refill her own coffee cup when she's out. Tip: maybe let them focus on your paying customers. Another tip: maybe leave your paying customers alone and let them eat their "meh" breakfast. We saw this woman sit down and make herself at home at several people's tables (including ours, without being asked btw) and she stayed there for a good period of time, flapping her jaws, while they were clearly waiting for her to leave so that they could eat. A THIRD tip: Maybe instead YOU could help run orders or walk around with coffee/water/soda refills to help speed up things. I'm sure your waitresses and your customers would appreciate it. Anyway, obviously give it a try and come to your own conclusions about the place, but if there were another breakfast place in Culver, I wouldn't go back to Cafe Max. read more

Found Cafe Max last year when in town for the cross country meet. Great little town and historic place. Our servers were very friendly and the food was great. We will be back the next couple years. After that we'll have to find a reason to come through town. Stopping here is one of the things we look forward to when this meet rolls around. read more

A trip to Lake Maxinkuckee wouldn't be complete without a breakfast at Cafe Max. The food is delicious and very moderately priced. The eggs Benedict with poblano hollandaise are delicious. The scrambles are also great. We don't have as much experience with lunch, but the kale and bean salad is delicious. The restaurant is on Main Street so you can do some shopping or visit the museum before or after you eat. read more

Informal, friendly and efficient service complement an above-average breakfast and lunch menu. Delicious omelettes, traditional blueberry pancakes, and an espresso machine for hot mochas make Cafe Max my favorite breakfast/brunch/lunch restaurant in north central indiana. Prices are very reasonable, especially considering the quality of the food served here, and the cafe's ambience--wall-to-wall memorabilia from days past town of Culver, Lake Maxincuckee, and Culver Military Academy--add a special local flavor to the experience. On a previous visit, the cafe's owner invited me to a town celebration that was happening later that evening, and offered me a brochure on the schedule of events for the occasion. The bar serves a delicious, thick, and spicy Bloody Mary and offers other cocktails perfect for the weekend visits. read more

We had a great, fast breakfast. We were on a time crunch and everything came out of the kitchen fast and hot. A must try is the sinful French toast...relish! read more

Me and my girlfriend stopped in here for breakfast. what a quaint little place loved the atmosphere. , And apparently they hire the local High school kids for the summer.Our server seemed a little nervous but did a fantastic job. My girlfriend was happy and that is what matters. I had the french toast that was like a homemade cinnamon roll(it was great) My girlfriend had the egg white omelette and it came with homemade fresh wheat toast. The slices were thick and delicious. We will definately make this a more frequent stop in our travels. read more

This is the place to go to see or be seen. Great local ambiance. The food and service are top notch. This is Culver's headquarters for breakfast and lunch, but they also serve dinner on Thursdays-Saturdays. During the summer months they also have a very popular patio used for dining. The Cafe Max is a must if you're in Culver. read more

I have had lunch here and it was actually pretty good. But I was in town this past weekend and there where 10 of us ordering breakfast. The service was slow, coffee refills had to be asked for and worst of all the food came out cold, we complained and they just tossed the food in the microwave rather than replacing it. Microwaved eggs taste just like they sound, the bacon was gooey etc. Because of this and the poor attitude of our server I will not return. The Culver Coffee company supposedly has great coffee and breakfast, I will try that next time read more

Great food and the sinful French Toast and omelets are amazing. We've been going there for years, but it takes FOREVER to get your food (seems like even longer when there are kids). Grabbing carryout is a good trick, but they just stopped offering that on weekends. There go 2 stars... read more

It's hard to find a great lunch place particularly in small towns. But Culver and Cafe Max are the exception!! What a wonderful surprise when I walked in the doors. The service was welcoming and the food was just right; especially the French Toast!!! If you're ever in northern Indiana and visiting Lake Maxincuckee, be sure to eat at Cafe Max......you won't be disappointed!! read more

Cafe Max is a great place to enjoy great food & service, and offers friendly culture of the wonderful, magical community!! Breakfast is my favorite. Give it a try, you won't be disappointed. read more