Max’s Chicken & Seafood Opens At 967 Coney Island Avenue

Thanks to neighbor Brent Cox, we found out that Max’s Chicken & Seafood opened this past Friday at 967 Coney Island Avenue, by Newkirk Avenue, in the space that previously was Famous Pita.

Last night, we stopped by the new restaurant, which is the first U.S. site for the Canadian restaurant chain owned by Max Raja, and Max let us know he’s planning on soon holding an official grand opening ceremony, which all neighbors will be welcome to attend.

The Coney Island Avenue spot’s menu, which is 100 percent halal, is a little different from its Canadian brethren (there are several other Max’s in Ontario), and includes an all-day breakfast, shawarma and pizza in addition to the poutine, chicken and seafood that’s offered in the restaurants to our north. Plus, there’s a salad bar, burgers, chicken wings, and more. (See the entire menu at the bottom of the post.)

The menu is almost dauntingly extensive, and includes everything from waffles with strawberries and cream for $3.99 to a 16-piece fried chicken meal for $19.89 and three versions of poutine, which range in price from $4.69 to $6.89 for the regular size.

We decided to try the decadent “Max’s Extreme Poutine,” which added chicken and jalapenos to the standard french fries, gravy and cheese curds, and it was everything you want in poutine — heaps of cheesy deliciousness.

As for the restaurant itself, it’s huge, clean and bright and seems to already be attracting people from throughout the neighborhood. While we were there Tuesday night, we saw everyone from a family of five young kids to two teens on what seemed to be an adorably awkward first date.

Have you tried it yet? What did you think? Let us know in the comments below!

Max’s Chicken and Seafood is located at 967 Coney Island Avenue. It serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and is currently open 11am-11pm, though it is expected to open earlier at a later date. The restaurant can be reached by calling 347-425-8214.