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Maxwell Alley

3.8 (43 reviews)
Open • 8:00 am - 9:30 pm
Updated 1 month ago

Maxwell Alley Photos

MAXWELL ALLEY ATMOSPHERE

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Butler cafe
Sein S.

Maxwell Alley is exactly what a neighborhood spot should be. We finally stopped in for Sunday brunch and were immediately charmed by the decor and the welcoming atmosphere. The menu is thoughtfully curated. I love that they focus on doing a few things perfectly rather than offering an overwhelming list of options. I had the frittata, which was incredibly fresh, while my friends opted for the yogurt bowl and the egg breakfast. Every dish felt high-quality and perfectly balanced. Portions are generous without being "too much," leaving you feeling satisfied rather than stuffed. Can't wait to see what their dinner service is like!

Duck breast with grilled peach and farro
James S.

Food: 4.4/5 Service: 4.4/5 Ambiance: 4.5/5 The sourdough is thick and soft. The crudo is one of the best versions I've ever had of this dish. Refreshing but also rich. The tonnarelli is good but hard to get on the fork. The duck breast is a larger portion size than expected. Sabrina is a friendly server. The ambiance is great. It's nice that there's an indoor section with good seating and a tented outdoor section.

Fiona L.

The restaurant was really nice, I liked the atmosphere and Our server was really great (personable, friendly and had a great vibe). The food was overall very good. The salad was delicious and I recommend you get the sourdough bread with it, it was an amazing pairing. The poached halibut was good, but our favorite was the pasta. The dessert was weird, I didn't expect the panacotta deconstructed and there was a salty component just did not work. (Pushed it aside) The saving grace was the berries were very sweet and tasty.

Butler Cafe during the day.
Sasha G.

*BUTLER CAFE ONLY* I really enjoyed my iced americano here. Espresso was caramel-like with just the right amount of chocolatey. Barista was nice. Ample seating to enjoy your coffee and work/read. Or literally stare off at the wall, they do have some really pretty wall paper accents. Ambiance was great and felt like a secret oasis. The decor here is clean and calm, and nature focused which made it a great space to chill. Music was chill, alternative Spanish music. Loved it. I tried a house made blueberry cake-- it was OK. A little too wet and actually kind of bland for me. But I would def return when in the area.

Duck Breast
Jason P.

Decent spot and would come back. My main note that I cannot stress enough - TURN THE DAMN AC ON! Tables are a bit uncomfortably close to each other as well. The food was good but the menu is small. Everything was cooked well but had flavors on it I didn't really love. For example - the duck was cooked perfectly but had an odd glaze on it. The chickpeas were perfectly toasted but had a strong seasoning on it. I will say the sourdough Tonnarelli was AMAZING. You have to get it if you go. The service was good and the waiter offered suggestions which was helpful.

Josephine L.

Maxwell Alley has potential, but it's sort of in the first act of "She's All That" (or "My Fair Lady" or "Princess Diaries" or insert any other movie where the protagonist has a makeover). You can see the beauty just under the surface, but you gotta remove the natty hair and ugly glasses first. - Fluke Crudo: Interesting, creative take by adding strawberries, but the fermented tomato water was WAY too salty, while the fluke was a bit too thick for proper crudo presentation - Lamb Tartare: Same deal with the creativity of adding ramps and such, but the tartare was again way too salty. I also wouldn't have served this with what was basically potato chips--they were too thin and kept breaking when we tried to dip - Squid Ink Sorprese: The best dish on our table with a winning combo of mussels, yuzu kosho, and bottarga. My main complaint is that the portion was too small. - Duck Breast: While the meat was juicy, the skin was burnt. The leek puree lacked flavor, and the potato dumplings were kind of bland, but the green peppercorn jus was fantastic. Drink-wise, we tried the Mango Mango. It was creamy and tasty but had about as much liquor as an Amish nun. And at $22 a pop, it cost more too. Service was kind of hit or miss, and none of the staff were particularly friendly. They weren't rude either, but they weren't too warm or welcoming considering the place was brand new. We skipped dessert although the options looked interesting. It just didn't feel right--like debuting Rachael Leigh Cook when she still has caterpillar brows. However, I wouldn't mind coming back in a few months when she's learned to walk in stilettos.

Cocktail menu
Sheena L.

I loved this place. Just moved to JC recently and still trying to find the good restaurant options. Tried a few places in the area so far to varying degrees of satisfaction, but food here was excellent. Every dish I tried (except maybe dessert) was really well executed and delicious. Ordered the sourdough bread, lamb tartare, tonnarelli, and duck. All were fantastic, high quality dishes with a lot of flavor. Lamb wasn't gamy, duck cooked to perfection, and pasta had incredible chew and love the pepper component. No complaints about food, except my one comment was on dessert. Got the chocolate panna cotta and mine was really solid and too stiff, too much gelatin maybe. Didn't care that much because the rest of the meal was awesome! Service was a little slow to start but very friendly staff. I'm glad this spot opened up here, will absolutely be back to try more!!

Tomato salad
Apurva M.

The food is fresh and creative. The service is okay. Ambience is really nice for summer especially the patio area. The tres leches dessert was really yummy

Look at this photo. Not one person. Empty!
Yvette R.

I was excited to see how the restaurant looked because I use to go there when it was Gringo's. I walked in with my family, husband & son, to grab a drink and was immediately asked if we had reservations. We responded, unfortunately, we do not and I asked if we can make reservations. The host responded that they had no more reservations because they were completely booked. We said "oh ok". The place was totally empty, not one person in there. While we were starting to walk out, my husband said to the host "can we not sit at the bar to have a drink"? and she responded "oh, you said you wanted dinner". Never once any of us mentioned dinner. As soon as we were approached the question she asked us was if we had reservations. Me and my family felt like she was very dismissive and like if we weren't welcomed.

Martini

We went here several times so I feel like I can finally write a review. Brunch- delicious. I got the biscuit as I was hungry but not hungry enough for a big dish and it was perfect. The biscuit was buttery without being greasy, and the jam (October 2025 so it was cranberry-reminiscent but the jam is seasonal) was perfectly tart. Dinner- we went with a big group of friends and service took a while but for a group of 10 I don't think it was abnormally long. We had many dishes ordered and so the kitchen and servers did a great job bringing food out and checking on us/making sure we were okay. Besides that, the food was INSANE. Sourdough pasta might be your new best friend. The duck was one of the best dishes I've had in 2025. There is a salad with a pistachio creme that is unique and yet not too polarizing for any flavor palette. Overall, several great experiences with staff that seems happy to be there and a menu that is exactly what Jersey City needs.

Tonnarelli

I've been here twice - once just for drinks and once for dinner and drinks. The ambiance is great at the bar (where I sat both times) and the decor and vibe throughout the restaurant is really cute. The bartender who served us last night was so sweet and attentive, and she gave us great recommendations (she actually recommended each of the dishes that we ordered and we weren't disappointed with any of them). The Mediterranean martini is delicious if you're looking for something a little more refreshing in the summer, but I also ordered a ketel dirty martini (my go-to), which was actually one of the best I've had in JC (idk why it's so hard to find a good one here). My mom who's a wine lover had the chenin blanc and loved it. We had the house baked sourdough and cucumbers to start which were both delicious, the cucumbers had a really unique flavor profile. For mains we had the sourdough tonnarelli - which is a must order in my opinion, probably the best pasta dish I've had in JC - and the halibut which was also good and balanced, but the pasta was much better in my opinion. I typically prefer to head into the city if I want a really good overall dining experience, but Maxwell Alley is definitely delivering that here in JC. Will be back for sure!

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10 months ago

Overpriced, mediocre, slow service. Couldn't wait to leave. Was very disappointed. So many other places we would have rather eaten.

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Ask the Community - Maxwell Alley

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Rake Wine Bar - Wine Flights

Rake Wine Bar

4.8(29 reviews)
3.1 mi•East Village

Wow East Village! You have yourself a gem with Rake Wine Bar! We were waiting for our dinner…read morereservations and decided to stop in here for a pre-dinner drink and bite. I am SO glad we did. The vibe drew us in, they had great music bumpin from the outside, it looked lively and welcoming. Let me tell you- I would have skipped dinner and just stayed here all evening if it was my choice! But alas, my husband wanted a bit more to eat. But let me tell you- their knowledge of wine is PRISTINE! I can't tell you what white wine we had but they captured our tastes perfectly. We also shared a bruschetta and it was deliciouso! I love how friendly the staff was here and how unpretentious it all was. Next time we are in NYC- we will definitely make a point to come visit Rake!

My partner and I were looking for a great double date spot, so we decided to give Rake a try due to…read moreits relaxing vibe and multitude of bites we could share. First I'll start with the wine - we ended up trying all three happy hour wines (HH until 7), which the tables favorites were the white and we ended up getting a bottle to split once HH ended (but I really enjoyed the other vino verde option). It was incredibly refreshing and paired well with the many tinned fish options. As you'd expect - it's a pretty massive selection and there is bound to be a varietal and glass for any palate. It's also attached to a wine store - so it's fine to see all the bottles when peaking over. Food-wise - this is where it was hit or miss, they have a pretty extensive menu (with a whole tinned fish section!) and we ended up ordering the buratta on focaccia (buratta was excellent, focaccia was too dense for my tastes), mushroom truffle crostini (way too salty), the flatbread with sliced kielbasa (was fine), halloume (table favorite ), tinned sardines in lemon oil (delicious), tinned smoked trout (my favorite). Overall the four of us were very full at the end of the meal! The space itself felt very relaxing and rustic, and definitely got busier as the night went on (we got there at 6:50 and left around 9). The service was also fast and attentive - even for the amount of tables they were serving. Overall - I'd definitely go back again, and maybe just focus on the wine and another tinned fish selection!

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Rake Wine Bar
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Menu

Lei - Sweet and sour beef short rib

Lei

4.2(21 reviews)
2.6 mi•Chinatown, Civic Center

Quite impressive. A small, charming restaurant that seats maybe 28. I arrived when they opened at 5…read morePM on a Thursday, I was the first one there; by the time I left 45 min later it was full. I started with the chilled celtuce with kombu jelly (the celtuce stem was sliced into bamboo shoot-sized strips, as was the kombu jelly) with toasted shallots in a red vinegar sauce. It stole the show. I've never had celtuce, loved it paired with the jelly, the texture and flavor were both amazing. It was the most interesting and prettiest dish I've had in a long time. For my entree, I had the bobo chicken, which is a poached chicken with a hint of spice and a nice broth. I ordered a side of rice to soak up the broth; the rice had something starchy tucked in it (maybe taro)? I liked it. There were slices of raw celtuce stems (I think, similar to celery) on top that offered some nice texture to the dish. Wine: I tried a merlot by the glass from Xiaopu winery in China. I thought it had nice body and flavor. I'm no expert but for the first western style wine I've tried from China, it was very good. The service was excellent. They are great with wine advice, which I noticed as my server helped an adjacent table select a bottle. I am excited to come back to try more dishes. Great date place. Bad group place. Four or less.

TLDR: I recommend coming here with your bestie/boo not too hungry, get a bottle of wine, the cat…read moreear hand pulled noodles & the sticky rice toffee pudding dessert. Walked in at 8pm on a Wednesday and was able to sit right away for a limited time (1.5hrs), which was plenty for us. It's small, as most places in NYC are, and dark & intimate. They also have shared tables, so we sat with another couple. Huge wine selection. Everything we ate was delicious. To me, the Celtuce is more of a novelty - cool, yummy, fresh but small. The crudo was the same thing. So in my opinion, I don't think it's worth the money. The noodles were so good we got 2 orders of it - you cannot skip!! The dessert was also unlike anything I've had before. If you love sticky rice and caramel/toffee, you have to try it. Overall, I do think it was very expensive but the ambiance + some of the dishes were well worth it. I'd definitely come back.

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Lei
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Lei - Small standing room at the bar

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Sunn’s - Banchan. Potato salad with pear and the roasted eggplant were favorites.

Sunn’s

4.1(43 reviews)
3.0 mi•Lower East Side, Chinatown

Played the Opentable notification game and got a Friday night counter spot. My boyfriend and I…read moreshared: + Banchan of the day + added gochujang candied squid + Sunn's salad with chicories, sweet potato, sesame jang + Spicy tomato Tteokbokki + Ssam (beef brisket) + Sesame Crusted Mochi Cake Ssam was my favorite dish. Also loved the kimchi, cucumbers and potato salad from the banchan. Tteokbokki was a standout as well. It was more than enough food, and we even took home leftovers. Service was very friendly, and coat check was a nice touch!

I wanted to love Sunn's but overall it felt overrated…read more We ordered the banchan, chigae, bossam and tteokbokki. Starting with the positives -the banchan was solid across the board and really flavorful. That said, charging for banchan feels strange to me. Traditionally, it's complimentary, like bread at an Italian restaurant so that part didn't sit right but it was flavorful. The chigae was interesting and probably the standout dish. It had a unique flavor that reminded me of a mix between soondubu and dwenjang chigae which worked well. Unfortunately, the rest was a miss. The bossam was overly salty and didn't feel true to the dish. The tteokbokki was another disappointment -it came with cheese (which wasn't expected) and just fell flat overall. For the hype, I expected much more especially because I've eaten Korean food my whole life. The venue is small and the seats in the back are uncomfortable.

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Sunn’s - Vibes + wine bottle + cute water dispenser

Vibes + wine bottle + cute water dispenser

Sunn’s - Cozy sitting corner by the window

Cozy sitting corner by the window

Sunn’s - The counter by the kitchen

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The counter by the kitchen

Maxwell Alley - newamerican - Updated May 2026

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