Gelateria Cafè Bar Maxim's in Binnenstad-Noord

The ice cream tasted reasonably good, but there wasn't much of it and it was very pricey per scoop (3 euros, so I only took one flavor out of shock). The waffle was fine. The atmosphere and seating area in the shop weren't very cozy. The staff didn't enhance the atmosphere; they just hung around a bit nervously. Later I saw signs saying 'you are not allowed to change your child', an extra red flag for the atmosphere. You have a hospitality business with ice cream, so parents with children come here too. So you're basically leaving them in their own mess because you don't want to buy a foldable changing table or an airtight diaper bin. And every customer has to know that, too. Oh well.

Fine ice cream, lots of choice; there is nothing wrong with that. The friendly girl who served us put a scoop of ice cream in the cup, after which the owner gently asked her in a stern, blunt tone how many scoops that was. "1," she said, completely unaware of any wrongdoing. After she had served us, she was taken to the back of the shop where it was explained to her in meticulous detail that it was too much per scoop. She had to scoop another scoop, and the exact amount was weighed. Look, if there were very large scoops of ice cream involved, I would understand that, but that was certainly not the case! I really found his attitude towards her unacceptable. Ice cream shops where they scoop the ice cream a bit generously: precisely those shops are much more appreciated and customers will return to. 3 euros per scoop is expensive but understandable with good ice cream, but then don't make a fuss about the size: it wasn't even big. The way this man treats his staff and his policies; no thanks, I'm not coming here again. The likeability factor is 0. And one more thing; I understand that you make authentic Italian ice cream in a very professional way and write all the labels for the ice cream in Italian, but it is certainly not convenient if customers have to ask what everything is. If you take yourself so seriously as an ice cream shop—oh no, sorry, as a 'gelateria'—then you’d be better off moving to the P.C. Hoofdstraat, or to Wassenaar or Oegstgeest or something, not the heart of Leiden.

I was just at your store with my daughter. We entered the shop cheerfully, with big smiles from all that beautiful ice cream. My daughter made her choice quickly and wanted Smurf ice cream. She asked the employee if she could also have a marshmallow on it (the Smurf marshmallows that were on the ice cream). She received no response from the employee and repeated her question. Again, no response, whereupon she asked one more time if she could have a marshmallow on her ice cream. It repeated itself once more, and the employee stubbornly continued without a response. My daughter asked for the marshmallow one more time, whereupon the employee said in a very unfriendly tone: "YES, I HEARD YOU! ASKING ONCE IS ENOUGH, YOU KNOW!!!!!" To which I replied, "Perhaps you should give a child a response then." I subsequently received a sneer as well, and I said, "Forget the ice creams," and asked if the owner was there. Next, I explained to the owner how people treat a four-year-old child, of all people, in an ice cream shop (you would expect a bit more child-friendliness)... and that I would like to know if my employees treat customers like that... to which I received the response that I should have told my child that she isn't allowed to ask the question five times. I then said that I would really do the same thing if I didn't get an answer while asking a question and was simply ignored. So, well, like mother, like daughter, it turns out. ...like owner, like staff, this proves as well! We left the ice creams untouched and am giving 1 star for the service; unfortunately, I would have preferred to give 0 stars... but then again, what can you expect from an ice cream shop where I see the owner rates himself 5 stars... he certainly doesn't rely on his customers... for me, it's definitely not a case of the customer being king, and as far as I'm concerned, you're welcome to be unfriendly back to customers who are unfriendly... but we walked in with a big smile and were served by such a grumpy person; wow, well, be proud of your shop and your staff!

Always delicious scoop ice cream in standard and unique flavors! My favorite ice cream shop in Leiden

Delicious ice cream, served in a glass where you can sit. The café also offers a pastry cantuchio to go with it.

Fantastic place with amazing selection of gelato, sherbet, and yogurt.

Incredibly nice man, great service, and everything was to my liking. You can tell that this gentleman really knows what he is doing and that this work is his passion. Top-notch business!

5 stars if they have the very very dark chocolate tonight!

Lots of flavor choices, and tasty ice cream. But €3 per scoop, and really very small scoops. That’s why certainly not 5 stars. It’s a shame; that it’s pricey is understandable. But then make slightly larger scoops, it wouldn't cost the company anything.

Horrible staff very unfriendly and made fun of my choices after I left , other than that the ice cream is great

Delicious ice cream, clean product👍🍦a little bit pricey but it’s worth it.

Really tasty ice cream, absolutely worth the price! The Limoncello is my absolute favorite… Thank you to the kind staff, they took their time explaining the flavors and you can see they know their stuff! Highly recommend coming here on a sunny day :)

One of the better ice cream parlours in Leiden, with a huge selection. But the service is sometimes very clumsy.

I was served by a friendly ice cream vendor. In my opinion, the ice cream was of exceptional quality. The flavors were also very true to life.

Disappointing. €3 for a miniature ice cream scoop. Go to another ice cream parlor.

Very tasty ice cream. Definitely recommended if you are in Leiden.

I was playing football with friends and the ball accidentally rolled into the ice cream shop. The owner (I think a bald man with a red face) came outside, very angry, bright red, grabbed me with a very tight grip, and said he was going to throw me into the canal and that I didn't know what he was like. Naturally, I was very shocked by this and will never go there again, because I am not used to this, and certainly not to being threatened like that.

I will never forget how badly I was treated in this place. After a long trip, with little battery and first time ever in Leiden, I needed a quiet place to rest, plan the next steps in a new city and recharge my phone. I specifically asked if I could charge my phone if I sat down and ordered a coffee. The lady at the counter said yes of course. Minutes later, when my coffee was being made, the owner appeared and with an aggressive tone asked what do I think I was doing, that electricity was not for free and that I could not charge my phone. The coffee was around 5€. I kindly explained what was said to me minutes ago, and since I had not paid yet, I (again kindly) asked to cancel my coffee and left. Never visited this place ever again.

Delicious ice cream and a nice gentleman!

Are there even proper iced coffees with proper sundaes in the Netherlands? Like, with fruit, delicious fruit sauce, ice cream, cream, sprinkles, and even cake? 😩—we couldn't find one. 😩 Anyway, the coffee at Maxim's was okay, and the custom-made four-scoop sundae was expensive, but tasty. Unfortunately, it was cold sitting inside, but everyone has a different perception of warmth.

Pretty good ice cream. Soetenso is the best, though. The price is way too high for the small scoops you get.

I got an ice cream yesterday, which I thought was chocolate ice cream. It didn't taste good, and the chocolate on top was also very poor quality. 3 euros for one scoop is way too expensive.

12 euros for 4 small scoops of ice cream, ridiculous price...no second time

Got two ice creams today, two scoops per cone, and had to pay €12! €3 per small scoop is ridiculously expensive, and it was tasteless too. Don't go here. There were other ice cream parlors in Leiden.

Got 3 ice creams yesterday, 5 scoops in total. Checked my bill today: 15 euros!!! 3 euros per scoop?!? Are you completely fed up with rats? From now on I'll get my ice creams from the ice cream shop across the canal.

The ice cream looks good, but I ordered a milkshake and was basically given a glass of milk with a symbolic scoop of ice cream. For the price, I expected more than a mediocre milkshake. The service... well, the waiters are clearly there to save time, not to make you feel welcome. They weren't rude, but they didn't make you feel like they cared in the slightest. There's no terrace, no shade, no atmosphere. Just three benches in the sun, ideal if you like to melt before the ice cream does. And the worst part: the girl who served me had an attitude somewhere between "I want to leave now" and "What are you doing bothering us here?" Anyway, it wasn't a disastrous experience, but it was disappointing. For that price, there are many better options.

One of the most unpleasant experiences I’ve had at a shop. The owner( The person who is bald) was incredibly rude and disrespectful just because we used the restroom. He spoke to us in a humiliating and aggressive tone, as if we had done something wrong. Completely unprofessional behavior. No customer should be treated this way. Avoid this place. Definitely not recommended.

Im not a fan of sweets, neither of ice cream. Maybe i eat 2-3 the whole summer max. I also am lactose intolerant.. But here i ate the best dark chocolate sorbet in my whole life and i can say im a bit addicted to it. Amazing

Nice ice cream, crispy balls. Too little ice cream for too much money.

Got 2 ice creams here today..3 euros for a small scoop!!! Really ridiculous!! Had to pay twelve euros for 2 ice creams...the ice cream wasn't special either! Don't go there!!! Waste of money...

The ice cream here is absolutely delicious—truly one of the best we’ve had. However, after two visits, we've decided not to come back. On our first visit, the elderly manager scolded us because our child accidentally stepped on a couch. The second time, he gave us disapproving looks just for using the restroom, as if we were being a nuisance. While the staff are always kind and sweet, you can sense that they are under a lot of stress—perhaps more than their roles should require—likely because of their boss's attitude. Such a pity!

We found heaven. Gelato & Coffee

Good choice of flavors, 2.75 a scoop of ice cream. Amarena for my part, not very flavorful, it was more like yogurt ice cream. Well placed a little away from the hustle and bustle, on the banks of the canal.

Great flavors and friendly service!

ijs is verschrikkelijk duur...belachelijk. 11,40 voor 2 kleine ijsjes 2 bakjes met 2 kleine bolletjes italiaans ijs. 3,50 per stuk zou de maximale ( en duur genoeg) oprijs moeten zijn maar we waren voor 2 ijsjes 11,40 kwijt

Very good ice cream with a lot of choice of flavours ( I love you luc ❤️)

It's mid-March, the sun is shining and it's almost 20 degrees, everyone goes out for an ice cream. I got a scoop of mint ice cream with chocolate, but what a disappointment... A really small scoop of ice cream for the exorbitant price of €2.95. The chocolate in the ice cream was really minimal (I've rarely had so few chocolate pieces in mint ice cream) and the worst: there were even a few ice crystals in the ice cream. That's just not acceptable for a professional ice cream shop. I won't be going there again unfortunately.

Gelato was pretty good, but this is not a kid friendly place. There are signs to not change your child in the bathroom!? Our child was also told not to touch the window of the gelato case. Didn't feel welcoming to families.

Horrible owner who yells at the employees who can't be older than 15 years old because they scooped the ice differently than he'd like. And this was in front of customers. Can't imagine how he treats them behind closed doors. Ice cream was fine but too expensive. Freski, Soetenso and Maciotto are better.

A few days ago I had an ice cream here. The ice cream was tasty, but very expensive for the mini scoop that I got. I needed to go to the toilet, but the toilets were said to be defective; at least, according to a notice on the door. When I inquired (with a very arrogant young lady) I was told that one of the two toilets was working, but was only accessible to staff?! The owner had said this, but was not in the business. I have never been treated in such a customer-unfriendly manner! Next time I will ALSO go to the neighbors.

Very nice ice cream. Non-typical tastes.

This was the last time we were here. The toilets have been broken here for 2 years and the owner is beyond arrogance. He's explaining something to a new employee and the poor kid has to run after him like a puppy. So now you can do it yourself next time, he says! And I think paying EUR 5.50 for two small scoops of ice cream is a bit too much. Next time we'll go to Pavarotti......

It turns out that the owner means a lot to himself. However, his professional attitude and hospitality are hard to find. As a behavioral expert, I thought I could make a very polite comment about that. Nothing could be further from the truth. The arrogance of this gentleman, in combination with the stinginess of very small scoops of ice cream at an expensive price, means that I can only judge this gelateria very negatively. Dear people, avoid this place and eat, for example, a much larger ice cream for less money and a professional, friendly staff at Pavarotti Dolce. Bbbbbrrrrrrrr..... never again 😞

Icreams are mediocre. The man (owner?) is extremely unfriendly and unpolite. I will not come back, ever.

Beautiful ice cream parlor in a beautiful location in the center of Leiden.

Good ice cream, but balls too small. Too bad

Tasty ice cream, but expensive and far too small scoops. The flavor cards may also be in Dutch

The gelato was not super good. The portion was small.

Just super delicious ice cream.

Icecream expensive and very small. Very rude cashier. Did not allow us to charge our phones, started yelling at us. Told us we were « stealing electricity» Would not recommend…

Somehow it's everyone's favorite ice cream cafe. But I found nothing special and the serving was a bit too little.

Nice establishment, delicious coffee, friendly people.

Ridiculously expensive ice cream and very little for the price, 5 euros for 2 balls smaller than my testicle. In addition, rude owner, man starts shouting after a question out of interest about the photos in the store. Absolutely never come, I wouldn't go back to this horror of a place for the world.

I ask if I can fill my bottle and the bald owner starts shouting at me and pushes me out of the shop, scandalous service and no tasty ice cream for a ridiculous price. Start the discussion and he can't give a reason for the anger, never come and I would almost sue them.

Ik vraag of ik mijn flesje mag vullen en de kale eigenaar begint keihard tegen me te schreeuwen en duwt me uit de zaak, schandalige service en geen lekker ijs voor een belachelijke prijs. Ga de discussie aan en hij kan geen reden geven voor de boosheid, nooit komen en ik zou ze bijna aanklagen.

Ridiculous price for an ice cream, you are also treated very poorly by the staff, so the owner kicked us out of the shop because we wanted to refill our bottle of water

Overpriced ice cream nothing special

Most probably the best Italian ice cream in town!

Delicious ice cream and lots of variety. Super

We came in and saw a specific notice that it is not allowed to change diapers in the shop or in the toilet. Without buying anything, we continued to the Pavarotti ice cream parlor 20 meters away and had delicious ice cream there with our families.

Geen goedkoop ijs, maar het is zo waanzinnig lekker. Met liefde gemaakt, zeer schone en prettige zaak!

Ijs is lekker maar hier krijg je veel te weinig ijs voor je geld, €2,75 voor een klein bolletje, veel te duur

We werden geholpen door een meisje dat geen Nederlands sprak (Engels?). In ieder geval begreep ze de vraag of we een smaak mochten uitproberen tot drie keer toe niet en begon ze al met het opscheppen van het bolletje ijs. De hygiëne is ver te zoeken, het hoorntje werd gewoon met de blote hand (die ook geld aanraakt) vastgepakt. En dit gebeurt echt nooit bij de ijssalon waar ik normaliter naartoe ga. We gingen buiten op een bankje zitten en tot onze grote verbazing had degene naast ons ijsbollen die bijna 2x zo groot waren. Erg duur voor wat je krijgt (hoorntje met 2 bolletjes ijs kost €5,-) en de smaken vielen tegen. Erg jammer. Voor mij helaas niet voor herhaling vatbaar.

Very nice place to have an afternoon snack-Gelato. La gellateria offre molto buoni gusti e l'ambiente molto carino. Grazie mille per il momento di felicitá.

Lekker ijs, maar ik kom hierna niet meer. Hele kleine bolletjes voor een hoop geld......en dan kan je nog niet eens gebruik maken van het toilet. Die is standaard in de zomermaanden defect. Op deze manier prijst hij zich goed uit de markt.

Wij komen hier al jaren, het beste ijs van Leiden. Het ijs wordt ter plekke bereid door de eigenaar, er is een glazen wand zodat je kunt zien hoe het ijs bereid wordt. Er zijn heel veel verschillende smaken ijs, maar je kunt er ook een lekker kopje koffie drinken met wat lekkers erbij. Vriendelijk personeel.

Nice staff, averagely nice ice-cream, 2x 40mm diameter scoops for 5 euros puts it in the "not going back there" category.

It is nice you try the ice cream 🍦 We ordered Vanilla 4.5 out of 5 Coffee 4 out of 5 The price 3 out of 5

Aan 1 grachtje, nou ja grachtje, we praten hier wel over De Rijn natuurlijk die water levert helemaal vanuit Zwitserland en de rivier waar de Romeinen, wanneer ze eindelijk de moed hadden verzameld om hem eens een keertje over te steken, aan de noordzijde ervan hun leven absoluut niet meer zeker waren, aan dat ene watertje zitten hier nota bene 5!...ijssalons, zoals die tegenwoordig heten. Het lijkt wel alsof ijs eten een beetje tot een eerste levensbehoefte is verworden. Vroeger was ijs eten een minder waardige bezigheid dan tegenwoordig. Er waren tenslotte werkweken van 40 tot 50 uur, er was het lidmaatschap van een sportvereniging en een berg aan andere sociale verplichtingen deden ´een ijsje eten´ af als slechts een snelle afleiding tussendoor. Dat wat het ´ijsje eten´ natuurlijk in feite ook is en zelfs behoort te zijn. Je ging naar de ´ijscoman of naar de ijsboer´, echter..., sinds de emancipatie van de LHBTIQAPC fracties...is de ijsco´mán´ werkloos en zich ernstig aan het schamen over zijn vroegere ´ambacht van aanzien´ (een ´openbare´ roodkoperen bel aan je bakfiets bemachtig je niet zomaar) en de ijs´boer´, tsja, dat snapt u zelf wel, die heeft het echt te druk om alle aanvallen op zijn bestaan waar hij de afgelopen 50 jaar door ons burgers ingedrukt is manhaftig weer af te slaan en die heeft dus écht geen tijd meer voor ijsverkoop tussendoor. Bij Maxim´s at ik een degelijk ijsje. Leuke bijkomstigheid; er is ter plaatse zicht op ´de keuken´ en dat is wel een verdraaid aardig gegeven moet ik zeggen. De omgeving van de salon zelf vind ik ronduit saai en niet prikkelend, het is een beetje een kale boel met ook weinig zitgelegenheid. Daar zit wellicht de theorie achter dat een wégwandelende ijsjeseter meer geld in het laatje laat stromen dan een blijvende ijsjeseter, zo eentje die blijft ´rondhangen´ en op die wijze vierkante centimeters bezet houdt, nou ja centimeters, de meeste ijsjeseters (op mezelf na natuurlijk) zijn vanzelfsprekend niet slank, of anders gezegd, ´lekkere trek´ loopt hand in hand met overgewicht. Dat klinkt wel een beetje hard trouwens, hand in hand met ´statuur´ dan maar.;) Van buiten ziet de zaak er trouwens wél fantastisch en veelbelovend uit, ik weet niet welke ´ijsjessalonarchitect´ (voor elk beroep is tegenwoordig een naam tenslotte) hier aan het fröbelen is geslagen maar de logica ontgaat me een beetje. De foto aan de muur is veel te groot, alles oogt gewoon een beetje fabrieksachtig. Het ijs is gelukkig gewoon goed.

Heerlijk ijs! Voor mij een hoorntje met kwark en yoghurt ijs.

I visited Maxim's on a HOT day for an ice cream. I love that they have dairy free options. So I went with dark Chocolate Sorbet. I was shocked and disappointed when I had to pay € 2.25 for one scoop and it was small. Why would a single scoop cost € 2.25? I would not get icecream from Maxim's again. Other ice cream/gelateria shops provide ice cream that is as tasty or even tastier but for a lower price and for a larger scoop size.

Top. Lekkerste iced coffee van Leiden en omstreken gemaakt met heerlijk mocca ijs. Aanrader!!!

I like the taste & the location. But I didn’t felt that’s the WOW feeling. They doesn’t have any Belgian waffles.

Heerlijk koffie en diverse. Soorten ijs

Hier een ijsje gegeten vandaag. Ijsje was erg lekker en het hoorntje ook. Dame achter de balie stond alleen op een zonnige zondag, en moest daarom wel even wachten maar ze werkte heel hard en bleef vriendelijk tegen iedereen, dus complimenten voor haar

Heerlijke ijsjes, te veel om te kiezen. Alle smaken in het Italiaans gelabeld - misschien is het maar goed dat ik het niet begrijp anders wordt het nog moeilijker kiezen. Op elke bak zitten wel "hints" van de smaak - stukjes (gedroogd) fruit, chocola, nootjes, saus etc. Zeker een aanrader!

Vraag om limoncella Erg lekker.

de bol limoncello ijs was echt zalig! Ik had ook lekker een bol straciatella genomen. Heb alleen nog nooit meegemaakt dat er dan geen chocolade stukjes inzaten.. toen ik het aangaf kreeg ik te horen dat dat nou eenmaal kan gebeuren en kreeg ik een klein stukje afgebroken chocolade op mn ijsje.. bijzonder

Super lekker ambachtelijk ijs , heerlijk

My children's favourite ice-cream place in Leiden (and there's a few!) On a hot day, sit on the edge of the canal while you lick and watch the boats go by. Sometimes a queue.

Heerlijk ijs, zou volgende keer weer langs gaan

Lekker ijs. Vriendelijke bediening. Er was alleen geen pistache

Smaken ijs waren redelijk goed, caramel goed, citroen niet super. Wel veel keuze. Echter 4 “man” personeel voor maximaal 2 gasten in de zaak en geen zitgelegenheid? Dat verklaart meteen de prijzen en de heeele kleine bolletjes. Wanneer gaan de zogenaamde Italiaanse ijssalons nou ook eens Italiaanse ijsscheppen gebruiken?

Really good gelato, one of the best i had in the Netherlands

Grote keuze ijs en echt enórm veel personeel om een bakje voor je in te scheppen. Prijs erg hoog voor een zuinige portie.

Lekker ijs, ook glutenvrije hoorntjes.

Prima lekker ijs en veel keuze. Vaak een lange rij maar wel 2 man personeel!

Altijd heerlijk! Stelt nooit teleur. Soms is de wachtrij wat lang, maar dit is het waard.

Heerlijk aan t water in t zonnentje ☀️ met mn gezin en vriendinnetjes ijsje gegeten

Mooie winkel met ruime keuze in smaken, ijs is van prima kwaliteit maar de kleine bolletjes voor de prijzen die je betaald maakt dat we hier niet meer terug komen. De 2 sterren zijn voor de smaak van het ijs anders was het 1 ster geworden.