Max's Allegheny Tavern

Max's Allegheny TavernMax's Allegheny Tavern
Max's Allegheny TavernMax's Allegheny Tavern
Bar, Eatery

537 Suismon St
PIttsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15212-4924
United States

(412) 231-1899 | map
maxsalleghenytavern.com
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.92
Reviews:
6
Ratings:
9
pDev:
7.65%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews.
Photo of Ozzylizard
Reviewed by Ozzylizard from Pennsylvania

3.8/5  rDev -3.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4.5
Max’s has been in Pittsburgh for about 100 years and the inside looks like it – old PGH (probably authentic) memorabilia adorns the walls. You enter through the bar and are seated in the restaurant portion by your hostess. The menu is extensive and is mostly German/Austrian dishes (every bar’s got to have some bar food, i.e. burgers and wings), perhaps the best German food I’ve had outside of Germany. The wursts are from Usinger’s out of Milwaukee and are pretty good clones of true (current) German wursts. The portions are generous and not overpriced. The beer selection is not wide – about half a dozen or so draft German beers and about half a dozen mass-produced AALs with a few bottles of other varieties thrown in. I always get the Kostritzer Schwarzbier – Max’s is one of the rare places in this area that has it on tap. I’m told the desserts are excellent, but I’ve always been too stuffed after dinner to try any. This is a local restaurant and many of the customers are older locals, so don’t be expecting much in the line of hip-hop or alt rock. Parking is on-street and pretty scarce (like most of PGH) but I hear there is a public lot a block or two away – but in PGH parking lots and buildings come and go. I’ve always been lucky and found street parking. The one thing I hate about Max’s beer is that they serve draft in pint mason jars – a total touch of classlessness.
Apr 27, 2018
 
Rated: 3.88 by brother_rebus from Maine

Jul 13, 2015
 
Rated: 4.14 by misternebbie from Pennsylvania

Dec 28, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by ejimhof from Pennsylvania

Oct 09, 2013
Photo of RblWthACoz
Reviewed by RblWthACoz from Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5
Recently I was mulling the list of Pittsburgh landmarks (bars and restaurants) and realized that Max's is an institution. But it's kind of an under the radar one, if that makes sense. Stepping in here is like stepping back in time. Which is also the same for the food menu, which would normally be off-putting, but somehow works here. It's nice to be able to find a place that still has it's original self on full display, and Max's is just that. Suggested. And, The Penn Brewery is not too far from here, if you want to make a tour of it.
Jan 03, 2013
Photo of Woody188
Reviewed by Woody188 from Pennsylvania

3.88/5  rDev -1%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4.5
In the Heart of the Olde Allegheny section of the Northside of the City of Pittsburgh. The food is German Style and very homemade with great care given to the quality. The beer selection is a cross between Good German beers and the blue collar Pittsburgh Beer drinker selection. It's not a big place but if you enjoy good traditional German food with Good German beers then you will enjoy this little hidden treasure that has been in Da Burgh for many many years. It is sometimes difficult to find a parking spot though, because it is essentially in a neighborhood area with on street parking, but drive down a block or so and you will find a good size public metered lot, Remember to feed the meter.
Feb 07, 2011
Photo of coachdonovan
Reviewed by coachdonovan from Rhode Island

3.6/5  rDev -8.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 4
Atmosphere and prices are the best things about Max's. Tap list isn't much to speak of. Obviously it's German heavy - Spaten, Warsteiner, Hacker-Pschorr - and they also had Bell's Oberon. I ordered a Köstritzer Schwarzbier. I can't say they use proper glassware when all three beers at my table were served in a mason jar, but that's OK. It fits the old school vibe.

The drafts were $4.90 each, but many of the sandwiches are less than six bucks. Very healthy portions, even if the food is not all that healthy; half a reuben with a side of potato pancakes was enough for me. Most of the menu is filled with German classics, so come here if you like varieties of schnitzel and sausage. There are plenty of other sandwiches though, like burgers, chicken and the ever-present Pittsburgh fish sandwich. There is a sizable dessert menu that includes (of course) black forest cake and German chocolate cake but also three servings of apples: pie, fritters and strudel.

It's mostly an older crowd, which again fits the vibe. There are several dining rooms decorated with old photos of the city. But the main bar room is the place to be. There is a cool old red neon light behind the bar, and I love the tiled floor. If you sit at the bar or under one of the colored glass chandeliers at a nearby table, it's not hard to feel like you're in the Pittsburgh of several decades ago.
May 19, 2010
Photo of Pondfish
Reviewed by Pondfish from Massachusetts

4.6/5  rDev +17.3%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 5
If you like german beer and german food this is the place to go. Interior is "old Pittsburgh" and straight out of the 1880's. Not much has changed inside the main barroom in well over 100 years. Germans's on tap usually have Spaten, Wurzburg, Bitburg or other good representatives. They use the correct glassware. Barside has a coin activated piano that plays rolls and the floors are tiny hex tile. Bartenders are friendly and knowledgeable. This is a neighborhood place that has endured. Must have been founded to service the german community that were some of the first immigrants. The food here is outstanding.
Mar 17, 2009
Photo of cupbeerman
Reviewed by cupbeerman from Pennsylvania

3.86/5  rDev -1.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5
Max's is located on the North Side, about 1 mile from Penn Brewing. Max's is an old Pittsburgh neighborhood bar that has a good selection of German drafts. Upon entering there is a bar and a small dining room that seats about 20 people, decorated like an old tavern; the place is very nice. There are also two much nicer dining rooms as well for families.

The beer is almost all German; they have 9 taps, with six being German. The selection includes Franziskaner, Spatan, Hacker-Pschorr and a treat like Köstritzer Schwarzbier. The bottle selection is poor at best with a few Germans and Penn Pilsner. The beer is poured into a Mason jar that held no more than 10 or 12 ozs.

The service was friendly and prompt; however the prices for the beer are a bit high. I did not have the food this time but they have a German menu. Overall Max's is worth a stop if ever in the area but I would not go out of my way to stop here.
Jul 19, 2005
Max's Allegheny Tavern in PIttsburgh, PA
Place rating: 3.92 out of 5 with 9 ratings