10/30/09

Great variety of special foods

by gregls

Our party of four had an early reservation so the valet wasn't around when we arrived. A bit of a problem on Ventura Blvd., but not insurmountable. Hostess seated us promptly and both she and waiter were friendly and competent. We shared three appetizers. All were good - but the duck rillettes were great. We each had an individual entree, but shared the side dish. Should have ordered two sides, but the entree portion was ample. Lamb was a hit as was my fish. Small, but good wine list. Reasonably priced values on wine list. Waiter gave great recommendations all around. Will definitely return to partake of menu which changes with season and what's fresh in market.

• Pros: Constantly changing tasting menu
• Cons: Parking

02/09/09

Fun dinner location

by lottedixon

Five of us met for a late dinner a few weeks ago and were generally pleased. Food was good and the chef's wine selection an excellent complement. The restaurant was a little cramped and we all found the mirrored walls somewhat distracting. Service was excellent although we felt a little rushed towards the end of the night as the place emptied out. Overall, I recommend Max for a fun dinner out with friends or a date.

• Pros: Wine selection, food

01/02/09

TERRIBLE HOSTESS!!!!

by calgal25

Max has lost its friendly, neighborhood appeal and has turned into a "too cool for school" haughty place where the food takes second string.

The manager is friendly, but the WITCH they have manning the door needs to be taught a lesson in customer service. I was there the other night and saw how she treated a family that had reservations.....she made them wait for over 45 minutes before they walked out because she STILL hadn't seated them, and was incredibly rude to top it all off. My partner thought it smelled a lot like racism. We will not come back to eat her until they remove her!!

With new furnishings and a revamped Cal-Asian gastropub menu, this once upscale restaurant in Sherman Oaks is now keeping it casual.

by Jenn Rubin

In Short
Leaving its white tablecloth past behind, this former high-end dining destination in Sherman Oaks has reopened as a laidback Cal-Asian eatery. Inside the softly lit, coffee-colored dining room, their revised gastropub-style menu starts out with a flurry of diverse appetizers, such as roasted beets, lamb tacos and shrimp firecracker spring rolls. Either fish or meat can be found in all entrees, including apple-smoked baby back ribs, miso-marinated black cod and duck leg confit. Side dishes--sticky rice, gorgonzola gratin potatoes and "The Daily Pickle," an assortment of fresh kimchee and other brine-soaked vegetable selections--are sold separately. For diners who haven't maxed out their appetites, brioche and brownie bread pudding, mini chocolate espresso souffle and other rich desserts present a sweet conclusion to the meal.

09/26/08

the new Max!

by MyLastBite

Max Restaurant in Sherman Oaks recently reopened. It?s just up the street from my house, which made it the choice for nearby special occasion dining. Once or twice a year we would dress up a little bit and head to Max for Chef Andre Guerrero?s tasty Asian inspired cuisine. I especially loved his shrimp and pork Lumpia rolls and Foie Gras with quince puree. So last night I was a little nervous as my husband and I headed to ?the New Max? for dinner. I had read that the decor was completely redone and the menu had much ?lower price points?. Did that mean lower quality food? Or smaller portions? Well, No and No!

Dinner was simply scrumptious! We started with the ?Daily Pickle"... PEACHES. Yup? pickled peaches? and pickled okra, pickled beans and carrots. Nice, tart flavors to get your mouth watering. The Shrimp Firecrackers we ordered were skewered and served with a cilantro mint sauce. ENTREES: I had the Szechuan Peppercorn Salmon with Yuzu lime, tomatoes and broccoli. I love hot and spicy and at first didn?t feel any heat on my tongue. Then suddenly it was there, at the back of my throat. Fiery goodness for sure. My husband Peter had the Max Angus Burger. It was seriously one of the most delicious looking (and tasting) burgers ever and was topped with classic thousand island dressing, arugula, heirloom tomato, cambazola cheese, pickles, caramelized onions and a side of belgian fries. DESSERT: Oh the clean, fresh taste of Halo Halo? it?s just such a refreshing dessert after eating a rich and spicy dinner. Pear and candied squash with vanilla bean ice cream, caramel flan, coconut milk, jellies and nuts over crushed ice. So what do I think about the new Max? version 2.0? It?s definitely no longer JUST a ?special occasion? restaurant which is a good thing, because it means we will be going more than once or twice a year. Probably once or twice a month (or more!). MyLastBite

08/31/08

Waitress was a total "Used Car Salesperson"

by GigiLalaLand

Food and service go hand in hand when it comes to great dining experiences. When one fails, the whole night is a waste of time. This would explain my first dining experience at Max.

The food was average with hiked up prices, while the service was absolutely atrocious. Never have I felt like I had entered a used car yard as I had dining at Max. The waitress tried to upsell us on absolutely everything. From the $10 bottled water that we never ordered, to insisting that each person in our party order an appetizer with their mains, to finally serving us the wrong wine. The wine list was overpriced for a menu like Max. So our party decided to order a mid-priced bottle of wine (let's say the Toyota of wines), despite the annoying insistence of the waitress to sell us the "Mercedes Benz". We did not realize that the waitress did the shady on us, until she poured us all a glass and we took our first sip. Upon closer inspection of the wine bottle, we noticed that she brought us the $100 wine that we did not order. After calling this to her attention, the waitress insisted that it was the wine that we ordered. Mistake number 1 - never blame the customer. Mistake number 2 was failing to admit to her oversight and just allowing us to continue enjoying the wine as a act of customer goodwill. Mistake number 3 was actually taking back our wine glasses (from which we had already sipped from) and thinking that she could salvage the wine by pouring it back into the bottle. That was absolutely disgusting service and restaurant etiquette. Max was the ultimate max in bad dining experiences!

06/22/08

NOT good customer service; Food has gone waayyy downhill

by chachartis

I used to love this place. It was a hidden gem in the valley. Not so, anymore. I've given it-- hate to admit it-- 3 chances since a bad experience there, thinking it would get back on its feet to where it used to be. Nope.

The attitude of the guy on the phone was unwelcoming when I called to ask about the hours-- he said they'd close 'around 9.' He hung up without saying goodbye.

Against my better judgement, we went in for dinner that night. The service was super-rushed... to the point that it was just embarrassing. The food lacked the flavor and innovation it used to have. The prices were high, the portions were smaller than ever. And as for the server... let's just say he creeped my date out with strange comments and a wandering eye.

Avoid Max.

• Pros: None anymore
• Cons: Too many to count.

11/19/07

A hidden treasure in Sherman Oaks

by traceyharris

Max is a fantastic little find in Sherman Oaks. Owned by the same man that has Senor Freds down the street, Max is quaint so never too loud, however I would recommend sitting on the outside heated patio. It is covered in little white lights and can be very private. The food is fantastic. The seared ahi tuna is amazing, and my date had the ribs. You can never go wrong with what you order because it is always fantastic. The wine selection is good as well. You won't be sorry you went to Max!

• Pros: quality, service, and taste
• Cons: none

10/29/07

Needs to learn customer service, self righteous attitude, would have waited over an hour with reservations part 2

by sjc11

My boyfriend got fed up & said he will pay for the parking and got out of there. I realized she was still holding our ticket to get the car so I asked her for it & she was still trying to make me listen to her excuses saying what should she have done. I told her that she should have just apologized for the wait & would try to seat us as soon as possible..the end! She would not accept this & still tried to argue that she did nothing wrong. I told her to please give me my ticket! I told her I understood how she felt but I did not want to hear her speak anymore. Please give me my ticket! She said that we should have told her we were waiting earlier. What did she think we were doing at the bar. It is a tiny little bar area & I do not think people sit there just to have drinks. After almost screaming at her for the upteenth time to give me my ticket, I was able to get out of there. The woman handled the situation poorly & kept making it worse! It was bizarre how she wanted to be heard & would not let us leave. Unfortunately this incident will force me never to go to this restaurant again. We were told that there were other people with reservations that left because of the wait. I guess they were smarter than us because they did not bother to wait as long as we did, not to be seated. Even as we drove off, no one was leaving so If we had bothered to stay, it would have been past an hour to be seated. It turns out that the woman behind the bar may have been the owner/chef's wife which makes it worse. You would think that the owner would set a better example & show proper customer service. I want to be fair & say that the one time I ate here, I thought the food was very good but good food cannot substitute good treatment/customer service.

• Pros: Food
• Cons: Poor customer service

10/29/07

Needs to learn customer service, self righteous attitude, would have waited over an hour with reservations continued...

by sjc12

My boyfriend got fed up & said he will pay for the parking and got out of there. I realized she was still holding our ticket to get the car so I asked her for it & she was still trying to make me listen to her excuses saying what should she have done. I told her that she should have just apologized for the wait & would try to seat us as soon as possible..the end! She would not accept this & still tried to argue that she did nothing wrong. I told her to please give me my ticket! I told her I understood how she felt but I did not want to hear her speak anymore. Please give me my ticket! She said that we should have told her we were waiting earlier. What did she think we were doing at the bar. It is a tiny little bar area & I do not think people sit there just to have drinks. After almost screaming at her for the upteenth time to give me my ticket, I was able to get out of there. The woman handled the situation poorly & kept making it worse! It was bizarre how she wanted to be heard & would not let us leave. Unfortunately this incident will force me never to go to this restaurant again. We were told that there were other people with reservations that left because of the wait. I guess they were smarter than us because they did not bother to wait as long as we did, not to be seated. Even as we drove off, no one was leaving so If we had bothered to stay, it would have been past an hour to be seated. It turns out that the woman behind the bar may have been the owner/chef's wife which makes it worse. You would think that the owner would set a better example & show proper customer service. I want to be fair & say that the one time I ate here, I thought the food was very good but good food cannot substitute good treatment/customer service.

• Pros: Food
• Cons: Poor customer service