Bar Max Opens At Hartford’s Goodwin Hotel

It’s been a year since Max Hospitality officially took over the bar at Hartford’s Goodwin Hotel, but after a two-month renovation period in the fall, Bar Max now boasts a fresh look with a brand-new menu. 

The Hartford-based restaurant group, with multiple eateries throughout Hartford County and western Massachusetts, expanded its territory in the capital city by partnering with the Goodwin Hotel in early 2024. Restaurateur Tyler Anderson, who had previously operated Terreno Restaurant and Bar Piña in the space, closed his concepts there as he moved on to new projects, including a culinary director role at Ore Hill & Swyft in Kent. 

It was a natural fit, as the boutique hotel is right next door to its flagship Max Downtown, said Steven Abrams, Max Hospitality’s vice president, who is a partner in Max Downtown and the group’s other city restaurant, Max’s Trumbull Kitchen. But the owners decided not to launch another restaurant out of the Terreno space. 

“We didn’t think we needed a third restaurant downtown,” Abrams said. Instead, Max Hospitality decided to focus on the bar space, refreshing its menu and interior design in October. (Terreno would instead became a private dining and event space called Haynes Street, which Abrams said has been “wonderfully received.”)

Bar Max focuses on small plates and cocktails, in part because of its limited kitchen equipment and seating, Abrams said. The bar seating features small tables, which aren’t conducive to entree dining, he said.

“We tried, when we first opened, to do a breadth of food here,” he said. “The tables weren’t the right size…people were getting entrees and they couldn’t (fit them.) We realized this was made for small plates. These hotel cocktail bars in Manhattan, they’re all doing creative small plates. We kind of borrowed some ideas from some of these.”

The bar kitchen doesn’t have a hood, Abrams said, so the menu is designed around items that can be oven-baked, sauteed or just served chilled. Raw bar selections include oysters, clams on the half shell and Baltimore shrimp, prepared with Old Bay seasoning and whole grain mustard aioli. A chilled king crab bao bun features chili garlic oil and yuzu apple remoulade.

Two of the most popular plates include the Snake River Farm wagyu pigs in a blanket, an upscale version of the classic party snack, and a unique short rib pastrami, served with Thousand Island Hollandaise. A buffalo chicken dip is served with waffle-cut potato chips, and deviled eggs are topped with onion, bacon crunch and balsamic hot sauce. There’s also a smash burger and warm goat cheese-stuffed dates.

If a guest is looking for traditional entrees,  Abrams said, the staff encourages a visit to Max Downtown, just a few steps away. He said visitors often bounce between the two destinations, as Downtown staff members will send guests over for post-dinner drinks.

“We can’t be everything to everybody; we only do what we can execute well,” he said. “We want to keep this as a jewel box cocktail bar.”

The cocktails are a key part of the equation, with classics “to start” like a white Negroni, an 1898 daiquiri, American sour and a sidecar. Others include a celery-based drink with tequila or mezcal, serrano, lime and pineapple; an Old Fashioned and an “old Cuban” with aged rum, lime, cane sugar and mint. 

Tiki and mid-century favorites are represented, too, with a Mai Tai, a Zombie and a Planter’s Punch, and Bar Max also readied itself for the enduring popularity of espresso martinis, producing fresh-brewed shots from a professional machine.

Happy hour, available daily from 4 to 6 p.m., offers discounts on wine, beers and cocktails and three of the menu’s small plates. Bar Max also features $1 oysters and clams, a price point Abrams wants to keep despite rising costs.

“I’m going to be like Costco, how they won’t go up on the price of their hot dog,” he said. “I like the name buck-a-shuck

Bar Max is open Tuesday through Saturday at 4 p.m. 860-522-2530, barmaxhartford.com; @barmaxhartford.