Maxi's

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• What are these?

• Average price 2 courses: £6
• House wine: £8.50 per bottle

• High point: Genial, prompt and efficient service
• Low point: Ingredients that lack fizz
• Food served: Mon-Fri 8.30am-5pm; Sat 8.30am-6pm; Sun 10am-5pm
• Delivery: A few local companies only.
• Open since: 1997
• Also offers: Childrens portions, Childrens high chairs, Take away

The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 is now in the shops.

This review is from the 2007 edition.

An institution in Stockbridge, Maxi's remains popular ten years on, despite the arrival of corporate chains such as Starbucks along the street. And while it is great to see an independent café survive the corporate creep, some of Maxi's current successes may be be due to past glories. Still, whatever the time of day, it has customers, from pensioners at elevenses to parents with buggies in the after-school rush. Offering both takeaway and sit-in meals, the informal menu offers a well-trodden mix of breakfast dishes, sandwiches and panini. Home-made soup or little bowls of hummus served with crusty bread are always satisfying, as are the hunks of French toast drizzled in maple syrup, although dishes such as potato and onion tortilla are a little lacklustre. There are some great, reliable tray-bakes, however, such as caramel slice and empire biscuits to accompany bowl-sized mugs of coffee, but the Victorian sponge runs short on the airiness that its appearance suggests. The décor, along with the menu, could do with a brush-up after all these years, but the affable and organised staff are still going strong.