A truly terrific culinary experience!
Executive Chef Chris is a true master at his craft. The service and attention to detail were the best i have ever experienced. We were greeted at the door by Chris and two lovely ladies making guest feel welcome. The guys in the kitchen went above and beyond what most restaurants are willing to do by creating my meal just the way I liked it and combining entrees that arent on the normal menu. As a Chef myself and a lover of GREAT food and spectactular presentation I received way more than I had expected. The waiters we had were attentive and new all the specifics of the menu and what they were serving. I have already recommended MAX to the rest of my family and will make another reservation online very shortly. We had the Lamb that i combined with half a lobster tail, served with rosemary roasted potatoes and grilled asparagus. The entire restaurant is filled with professional people who have been trained to give you a dining experience you will never forget!! Chef Chris thanks for everything!! Jill & I will be back for sure!!!!
Eric & Jill Baum
Encinitas, CA
GREAT FOOD/SERVICE
a great atmosphere with a diverse menu. the service was outstanding and the new york steak was remarkable. you will definately see me again! thank you
incredible !
We went to max a few weeks ago and the food was incredible, the NY strip melted in my mouth and our waiter, Jeremy , gave us the best time. It truly was the best dining experience my wife and I had in a long while.....I recomend Max for anyone who want to dine downtown san diego !
i'm max
my name is max, and your food looks yummy
THIS IS MY RESTAURANT
My name is Max and this is my restaurant, but I haven't tried the food yet, I just know its good by how it looks and smells, like poopies
Wonderful
The waiter was great at suggesting a wine and was attentive. The food was excellent. We started with crab cakes, caesar salad, lobster bisque. Although my sister didn't enjoy her lobster ravioli, we all drooled over my brother's macadamia crusted halibut. The banana foster is awesome. I'd consider going there just for dessert. The food is flavorful...not good for people who need to watch their salt. A great find...will go again!
Excellant Food & Service
This place was great. The steak was one of the best I have had in the area. The service was excellant as well. Very pleasing dinner and with the 10% Coupon even better. Prices are definitely in line for a Gaslamp restaurant.
Culinary Trend
The culinary trends are moving away from fusion dishes and back to the basics: great steaks, great wine, and great seafood. MAX just happens to have it all.
The wonderful Manager Walter !!!
Dearest Walter:
My mom Kathy and I would like to thank you for the exceptional service we received at your restaurant this past saturday evening, and of course the lovely desert and port we had on Sunday evening. Our experience was a most memorable one and we look forward to visiting your restaurant again in the near future, thank you again for your warm hospitality!!
Julie
ENCHANTING EVENING
By far this was the most memorable dining experience for my wife and I. It was Valentine’s Day evening 2005 and also our 5 year wedding anniversary. We had the Brazilian Lobster Tail and the filet mignon. 5 words for you……
It-was-to die for. After our meal, my wife and I indulged in this white chocolate crème bruelee that was simply divine. The charming atmosphere and staff was so very pleasant. I’m really bad with names but our waiter had this French accent that also added that special touch to our dining experience.
As this enchanting evening drew to an end, the gentlemen host (which also had a very unique accent) presented my wife this beautiful long stem rose.
Thank you Max’s for that romantic magical evening.
Billy Rodil
WOW!!
There is nothing, I mean nothing, that could make our dining experience better.
Well, maybe less expensive prices, but it was worth it!
Max New York a Great Experience
I just had the pleasure of dining at Max New York. The service was superb and the food was exquisite. My girlfriend and I had late night reservations to dine at Max's after the opera and it was the perfect atmosphere to complete a fine night out on the town. I definitely recommend Max’s to anyone who enjoys unique dishes in an elegant surrounding.
Great Service!!!!
My husband and I sat came here upon looking for a romantic dinner, itwas our first time here. We sat at the bar first for an appetizer and a few drinks, Lon was the bartender and she was very friendly, attentive and attractive. We then sat down for dinner and James was our server he was very knowlegable of the food and wine selection, he was very attentive as well. The food was great, but we will definatly come back because of the wonderful service!
The BEST of the BEST
If you are not making the time to go to MAX New York then you are missing out! This place is amazing and a must see in San Diego. The decor is unlike any other place I have seen in the Gaslamp. The food...spectacular...and the service impecable....I would recommend this to anyone.
Occidental Front Desk
I work at the Occidental front desk and am simply jotting down a review for a guest. Tonight I was asked, by my guests, to notify MAX about their experience. I recomended Max to 2 of our guests. They expressed a interest in rich flavors, no sushi, tai, or mexican food. They came back suficiently pleased with their meal. They said their waiter was rather attentive and that their food was enjoyable. Based on the time they left and their return time, they're service must have been very timely. One of the gentlemen even commented on their hostess, a young frech speaking girl, who was very nice and got them a table. Per their request, I will be recomending future guests to MAX based on this experience.
Incredible!
This was my first time dining at Max New York and it will definitely not be my last time! The filet mignon was the best I have EVER had! The rest of my evening was topped off with exceptional service, amazing wine selection, and tiramisu cake that was to die for! Max is my new all-time favorite restaurant and is worth every last penny! Go to max!
Amazing...!!!!
I thought that the meal I had at Max was the most amazing! The Ahi Tuna was the best and the service was out of this world. I read the reviews and they don't do Max NY justice...this place is off the charts AMAZING!! I would recommend it to anyone and I am looking forward to bringing my business colleagues back there.
Thanks Max...you earned everyone of these stars!
Fabulousa!
Being a frequent solo diner can sometimes be intimidating. Nonetheless, I checked out Max and was thankful that I did! Not once did I feel uncomfortable being by myself. The staff was friendly and made me feel at home. The meal was fabulous as well. I spent my meal on their sidewalk patio and enjoyed a great wine selection as well as an amazing filet mignon. I have read the past reviews and do not understand why in the world everyone doesn't go to MAX! You can bet I will be back Max...very soon! ~Andressa
Great Service
My family and I went to MAX last weekend. The service was fantastic and the waiter really knew his wine. The main courses were awesome but the appetizers were a little disappointing. The portabello mushroom had a very strong balsamic taste, it was overpowering. The lobster and crab cakes were pretty dry. However, the mozarella and tomato appetizer was very well received. The main course steaks were probably the best we have had and the veal was a huge hit. I gave this 4 stars due to the appetizers, but this place is great and we will go back there next time we are in SD.
Great Food Definetly Worth A Try
Aside from it taking longer than usual to get the check at the end of the night, the service was okay but the food was even better---10 times better.I had the KObe Beef Top Sirloin (which was one of the best steaks I have had in a long time)and my friend had the Seafood Linguine. The pasta plate had enough portions of fish, jumbo shrimp, and scallops to defintely satisfy. We also ordered a side of sauteed wild mushrooms. The mushrooms had to be the best order of all that we orderd that night. It is a "must order" for all mushroom lovers.This night for two was under $70 thanks to the 10% off coupon provided here on SanDiegoResturants.com. I WILL be dining at the cool environment of MAX's again.
Good and Pricey
The food was great. The food has a lot of flavor. The staff was very generous and accommodating. The food may have been overpriced for Valentines Day though. The atmosphere was great for the day though.
MAX NY...very nice.
Excellent service! Environment was very cozy, warm, we felt very comfortable there. Steaks were wonderful, very flavorful. Garlic mash potatoes were sooo good! If there was one thing that I could pick on, it would be that the menu is a la carte. Which made the meal more expensive than it needed to be.
They were awesome at keeping the refills going. I am a huge stickler about that. I like having a full cup at all times. Water cup never emptied along w/our cherry cokes.
EXCELLENT
Me and my boyfriend went here last March and the food and service is excellent... I am very satisfied and hope to come back there soon.
Good restaurant
Very nice ambience. The weather was perfect so we decided to sit outside. Waiters and manager were very nice, everything on the menu looked very good. We ordered the lamb chops and the rib eye steak. A little over cooked, however still tender and flavorful. I'd definitely come back again. The only suggestion I would make is to make sure you order everything medium rare to make sure you get the full flavor and tenderness.
BAD service!!!
the night that my husband and i had the pleasure of dining at Max Restaurant was on a Sunday night for dinner. The food was excellent, we ordered the lobster bisque, ceasar salad, the mixed grill(for two), and creme brulee (no extra appetizers because of the previous review mentioning the disappointment of the appetizers). The portions were substantial, yet it was the service that disappointed us greatly. There was only ONE waiter and the restaurant took at least twenty minutes after we had finished our dish to serve us our next dish. Even though our meal was a simple one (with only 3 courses), it took us almost two hours to finish. I would highly recommend this restaurant on nights that they would be busy, for example, Saturday nights, and I would definitely NOT recommend this restaurant for week nights and Sunday nights.
Chef's Night Off?
After reading all of the raving reviews I must say I was very dissappointed with MAX. The location is great, the ambiance is excellent and service was pretty good. The food was another story. I had the New York Steak that was supposed to be medium. My wife tried the swordfish.
If the beef was fine aged beef it was hard to tell. It had been horribly mistreated. Well done would have been nice. My wife's swordfish tasted like bait. I think they cooked it as long as the steak.
Too bad. I guess Thursdays they let the busboy run the grill. I've had better steaks on a stick at the county fair.
The one thing that was top quality was the bill. $145 for dinner for two. Yes, I checked it. Thanks for billing us full fare for the salads with our entres. Its the little things that make the difference.
The tale of the lobster
Overall I would have to say our dinner was pretty good, however it could have been better had the lobster tail been good. I started out with oysters on the half shell and shrimp cocktail for appatizers. They were both pretty good and I washed it down with a nice grey goose martini, I had the fillet and lobster for dinner, the fillet was good but the lobster tail was the worst i have ever had, it was very small and was mushy like mashed potatoes. As good as the service was I still can't give them a good rating. I would give my dinner 79 out of 100 points.
appatizers 82
fillet 85
lobster tail 42
drinks/atmosphere 90
service 95
Good, not great
After reading reviews posted on page I decided to make a reservation here and was disappointed with the outcome. I ordered the porterhouse (medium-rare) and my wife ordered a filet mignon in a pasta and cream sauce. My porterhouse was a little tuff and my wife’s meal was very bland. With the exception of the Joseph Phelps cab, the meal was prepared very average and not excellent as to what I was expecting.
Disappointing
Went for dinner on a Sunday night at 6pm. Seated promptly, but had to wait 20 min before we meet our waiter and saw a menu. Iced tea was good. Had beef appetizer, which was small in portion and bland. Nothing special about the Italian sausage penne dish. Pork tenderloin was good-sized and side vegetables were good. No tiolet paper in the bathroom. Overall, though, the service was very slow, and we will not go back again.
Not Worth It
I went to MAX restaurant with my husband for a nice Valentine's meal the weekend before Valentine's Day. The atmosphere and ambiance are beautiful, I really liked the unique light fixtures. The food was just mediocre and not worth the $100 bill for two. I had the Kobe beef which was charred to crisp on the outside, I had to chew each piece for five minutes before I could get it down. And although the waiter was charming, the service was extremely slow even though there were only about five parties in the restaurant. We will not be returning.
Do Not Waste Your Money!
My husband and I stopped into MAX for dinner after attending a conference at the Convention Center. Starved and very excited to eat (as we love food), we were enticed by the MAX menu and especially their selection of steaks. We ordered the MAX 25oz. Porterhouse, a side of mashed potatoes, sauteed mushrooms, and oysters for appetizers. Other than the oysters, which were very delicious, the meal was truly one of the worst I have ever had! The steak tasted of poor quality and was raw in the middle while overcooked on the outside. I was only able to eat a few bites before feeling ill. The side dishes were also bland and extremely disappointing. Fortunately we shared this meal, allowing us to only waste $85.00. I would have rather eaten fast food. Please do not waste your money on this establishment.
Suprisingly Disappointing!
My wife and I were celebrating our anniversary and I really wanted to take her somwhere special and upscale. I did research and found this restaurant on this web site and thought it would be a great place to experience since the full "expert" review rated this restaurant as "outstanding" with 5 stars. Reservations went through smoothly. When I asked fellow doctors and professionals that I work with for recommendations, not one person had even heard of this place. I went with it anyways. As my wife and I walked into the restaurant, we noticed the nice decor and pleasant music playing in the back ground. We sat down and I ordered a soda (since my wife is pregnant I wanted to support her with a non alcoholic bevarage) and my wife said she'd just like some plain water with a lemon in it. The waiter scooted off and brought back a glass green bottle with a mineral water label on it. The water was plain, and we were assured by the waiter that it was not bubbly water. That's where things went downhill. We were later charged $6.50 for this water that tasted, quite honestly, like sink water. We ordered the fried calamari appetizer which was absolutely nothing special for $13.95 and then I had the top sirlion steak ($34.95)and my wife had the shrimp scampi ($31.50). We both got a side dish--sauteed spinach and wild mushrooms. There were maybe 5 or 6 shrimp prawns on my wife's plate lacking in presentation and that tasted suprisingly dry. After we told someone that the shrimps were dry and we only ate two, we were given a chance to order something in it's place. My wife picked their sigature Halibut dish. It was better that the shrimp plate, but really not at all what you would expect in a fine restaurant. It was "OK" and believe me we are not at all picky eaters! The spinach and mushroom side dishes were delivered on two small plates without any presentation. Both tasted like something you'd find in the HomeTown Buffet--very ordinary. Both tasted as though they were stir fried with a bit of some salt seasoning and that's it. My steak was cooked medium, as asked, but agin, it was nothing spectacular and definitely not worth $34.95. I do consider myself a steak expert since that is mainly what I order when I go dining, and I have definitely had better steaks else where for less. My wife really wanted to order dessert and was looking forward to it all week long but, seeing that our meal was so disappointing, she opted not to order dessert. On our bill they charged us for the shrimp (which cost more) instead of the Halibut. The bill totaled to $108.00 and we were sad to have to pay so much for a meal which was so bad. All in all, I can't believe an actual Chef prepares such uninspired meals. Please---save your money, or take it else where. I received quite a few recommendations for the Crab Catcher in La Jolla and will go there next time. George's at the Cove in La Jolla is much better, as is Donavn's Steak and Chop House. Good luck and I really hope you find a place that you LOVE!
Suprisingly Disappointing!
My wife and I were celebrating our anniversary and I really wanted to take her somewhere special and upscale. I did research and found this restaurant on-line even though nobody I knew had heard of it. Although the décor is nice, the food is extremely lacking. I ordered a soda (since my wife is pregnant, I wanted to support her with a non alcoholic beverage) and my wife said she'd just like some PLAIN water. The waiter brought a green glass bottle with a “mineral water” label on it. The water was plain, and the waiter assured us that it was just plain water. That's where things went downhill. We were later charged $6.50 for this water that tasted, quite honestly, like sink water! We ordered the fried calamari appetizer, nothing special. I ordered the top sirloin steak ($34.95) and my wife had the shrimp scampi ($31.50). We both got a side dish--sautéed spinach and the wild mushrooms. The scampi was dry very with about 5 or 6 shrimp prawns on my wife's plate, and lacking in presentation as well. After we told someone that the shrimps were dry (we only ate 2), we were permitted to order something in its place. My wife picked the Halibut dish. It was better than the shrimp, but really not at all what you would expect in a fine restaurant. It was "OK" and we are not at all picky eaters! On our bill, we were charged for the more expensive shrimp dish instead of the Halibut! The spinach and mushroom side dishes were delivered without any presentation, tasting like something you'd find in the Hometown Buffet--very ordinary. My steak was cooked medium, as asked, but it was nothing spectacular and not worth $34.95. I consider myself a steak expert, since that is mainly what I order when I go dining, and I’ve definitely had better steaks elsewhere for less. My wife wanted to order dessert and was looking forward to it all week, but since our meal was so disappointing, she opted not to have dessert. Two thumbs down for us!
Lousy, lousy, lousy!!
a warning to all - the reviewers for max's must be submitted by employees/owners of max's. i went there on friday night and it was the most terrible steak experience i've had to endure. it started with pitifully slow service (15 minutes before our order was taken and i had at least 3 different waiters), stale bread that was probably purchased at a local supermarket, wilted salad that was probably prepared out of a bag (store bought croutons in my caesar salad; my gf's vinagrette dressing tasted like it was pure oil), ordered a medium rare steak that came out one half medium-well and the other half medium-rare (how the hell do u even do that?) and surface of the steak was fairly cold, and by the end of our meal as the waiters finally caught on that we weren't happy, we were finally being attended to by at least 3 different waiters who kept asking us the same thing...all this was over $150 for the 2 of us (including wine) -- what a joke!! i would steer clear of this place. i've been to top-notch steakhouses in new york and la and max's is a joke in comparison -- can't believe max's has the audacity to even don the word new york in its name. max's stacks up closer to outback (even if that). don't believe these reviews!!!
Utterly Disappointing
Strange that this restaurant recieved such great marks! The food was completely ordinary and bland. My wife and I were quite surprised. The shrimp were absolutely nothing special (bland and dry) and the sauce for dipping tasted like regular marinara sauce--this is an entree for $36! The spinach side order was completely uninspiring--I'm surprised this restaurant has a Chef! So many restaurants that cost half the price has better food---and the food their is made by cooks, not Chefs. You would expect something much more from this place...but you definitly DON'T get it! I cannot recomeend this place.
Management issues
From the moment I walked in with my party of 10, the hostess and manager tell me that we have only 2 hours to eat so we need to hurry and sit down. I asked why and she tells me I signed some type of contract in order to eat there. ARE YOU SERIOUS? We are about to spend $1500 to eat and they are acting like we are in a McDonalds drive through. Then we have to wait for 30 minutes to get our food order taken and the hostess proceeds to come up and tell me we have 30 minutes left. To say the least this is the 1st restaraunt I have ever been to where the hostess ruined the meal and evening.
Maybe MAX needs to rewrite their "contract" to live up to customers expectations.
I am sure the food was good but I already had such a bad taste in my mouth from the hostess I am not even sure.
A joke
I have had better food at Gringo's in PB. Pushy, rude server that spoke bad english, poor wine selection for a steakhouse... I would avoid this overpriced hole at any cost!
Stay away - worst service of my life
It was a Sunday night and my friends and I decided on MAX New York. As we approached we could tell that the place was empty except for one man at the bar. I was surprised because every other restaurant on 5th was busy. I was in a group of 8 and we were seated quickly, well because we were the only ones there. We are not big drinkers so we passed on the wine list and received the, "Great cheap-o's" look on the waiters face. Once that was said the service went downhill dramatically. Our waiter did not speak english very well, nor did he seem to care about our questions of the menu, so it got to the point where frustration set in and we just picked something on the menu. We kept asking for more bread and none ever came, we asked again, and none...finally after my drink had been empty for 10 minutes they came and filled it up and we asked for bread a 3rd time and we finally received it. Keep in mind we are the only ones there!!! Our food came and was decent at best, but the service had already ruined the night for me, and with the food lacking it didn't help my mood. I could go on, but do not waste your time here, I joined this website just to write this review because I was so disappointed and frustrated.
Terrible and Overpriced!
Very disappointing. Scampi was dry--yes, dry! The Calamari was nothing special. The side dishes were plain, and seemed as though they were just seasoned with a bit of salt and that's it--something I would expect to make at home! For a bill totaling over $100 for 2 people I would definitely go else where. I tried Donovan's before and the food was excellent. Will NEVER come back!
Disappointing
After reading all the good reviews and enjoy several places downtown as we live downtown, I decided to try max. I made the resevation through this site. We arrived and the only tables were outside as were for any walkins. It turnout ok as inside was very noisy. Food was fair at best Service was slow. As my bill came I used my 4 gift cert. The bill return I was given credit for one. It was corrected, but we will not return
Nightmare From Hell
I would love to meet the person that label this restaurant a 5 star no way save your money!! Not even a one star* Honest! Stale, cold bread, Meat so tough you would give it to your dog and I'm not joking serious. And as the meal went on it got worse not better. I just want to go home. We made the reservation one week in advance and they couldn't find us a seat at 7:00 PM. Just were not under control.
The meat taste terrible.
Now this part was the frosting on the cake men kept walking in and out of the inside of the restaurant, all through our dinner. They were smoking and using their phones, on the tiny side walk out front and then running back in not 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 many and all knew one another and were talking with one another it was weird. I can see from the comments on your site I was not alone in my opinion that there is no way this dump is a 5 star ever!
Thank you. Save your money.
You Don't Publish What People Write
We wrote our review way over 24 hours ago and you did not publish it wonder why? hummm. This restaurant is NOT A ***** NO WAY! And we are telling everyone we know forget it. And then you don't publish what people say humm interesting. Does Max own this site? Or you get paid by Max
Terrible Service!!
We were in San Diego for the Holiday and the Max New York was recommended to us before we left home so we made our reservation. What a mistake that was! When we were seated, I ordered a very dry martini (which was excellent!) and when then ordered the tomato salad. I ordered another martini and after about 10 minutes and no martini, I stopped another waiter (ours was wandering about somewhere) and HE went to the bar and got the martini that had NOT been ordered by our waiter. When our waiter finally showed up again, I ordered the 24 oz. Bone-In Rib Eye (35.95), served with rosemary sauce and my wife had the Jumbo Scallops ($27.95), Pan seared scallops, served with lobster mashed potatoes and haricotvert. The porterhouse arrived on a bare white "platter" with NO sauce and the scallops arrived with NO lobster mashed potatoes. By this time (almost an hour) we ate what had arrived, and I was NOT happy! We just ate, paid the bill and left. Had the waiter come around to see how things were, he would have heard, not that he would have done anything about it. The steak was excellent and my wife said the scallops were very good. But the poor service and incomplete meals made for a very bad experience. We wont go back to the Max again. And until something is done about the service, I would not recommend the Max New York to any one.
Just the way to get SICK
My boyfriend and I went to MAX for prom. I was incredibly excited to be at a classy restaurant that had high marks for its food and service. My boyfriend had steak while I had lamb chops. I tried some of it and it smelled funny to me. While the food was good, the atmosphere seemed kind of cramped. I was quite happy with the experience there until later on. My boyfriend felt nauseous about 1 and a half to 2 hours later. In the end, he threw up and we left early.
