Mr Max Izakaya Restaurant — Restaurant in Irving

It was a fun experience! Taking off our shoes and technically sitting on the floor. I say technically because it’s like a built in stage and you’re not sitting criss cross which makes it more comfortable.

The wait was outrageous! We waited about a little over an hour for my husband and I. The groups after us were waiting much longer between 1.5-2 hours! If the wait is that long it must be good! Granted, the restaurant is fairly small with limited seating. It just doesn’t help that people don’t have the common decency to see that people are waiting and they’re just chit chatting after their meal… I think when a business has that long of a wait there should be a time limit. At least 2 hours max. Like how they do it at some Korean BBQ places or All You Can Eat Sushi. Just my personal opinion, so that everyone can get the experience of this cool restaurant.

To save some time while we waited for our table my husband and I looked over the menu and listed all the items we wanted. I mean you’re waiting this long already, might as well be prepared! I think our waitress also appreciated it as well. We simply just handed her my phone and she placed our order on her iPad! Within minutes each item we ordered came out fresh! Being productive has its perks!

We ordered a ton of yummy food to try:

Takoyaki - it came out on a cast iron skillet still sizzling and hot! It was delicious and definitely made it order. Compared to the places here in Corpus, it was not lacking any of the toppings or flavors!

Beef Tongue - it was absolutely one of my favorite things that we ordered! It’s a little intimidating at first, but it honestly taste just like steak.

Veggie Tempura - the batter was light and not greasy! The veggies were cooked wonderfully and didn’t have that strange feeling after eating deep fried vegetables

Shu Mai - I would skip this next time. You can tell it was frozen, not the best.

Udon - my husband mainly wanted this, he enjoyed it but not something he would get again.

Grilled Squid - it was good, nothing too amazing. I saw a family order it and it looked good so I wanted to try it out. Could use a sauce to dip it with

Spam & Omelette Rice Sandwich - simple yet good! I think the sauce that it was served with was spicy mayo? Paired well together!

5 Kind Sashimi - I have not tasted super fresh sashimi until now! The salmon just melts in your mouth like butter as it should! My husband’s favorite was the tuna, the sweet shrimp was our least favorite. Our waitress noticed we didn’t touch the shrimp, so she offered to have them fry it up for us and if you haven’t had fried shrimp head before you should definitely try it! So much better!!!

Such a great place for tapas style food, you’ll leave content and the prices are really not that bar! The most expensive thing we ordered was the sashimi. Can’t wait to come back in the future and try more of...

Mr. Max is in an unassuming strip mall off of a busy intersection of Irving. As people who refuse to eat anything we can get at home when we travel, we were excited to try this izakaya restaurant. We assumed we could try sushi and sashimi in addition to izakaya, but we were only partially correct. The first disappointment was that, though they claim you make reservations, no one ever answers the phone for you to do so. It wasn't a big deal, but they already had a waitlist when we arrived at 5:14 (14 minutes after they opened) on a Thursday evening. We were second on that waitlist and were looking at a 30-45 minute wait. It turned out to be 45 minutes, which we waited in our car in the parking lot. The interior looks like a Japanese house or a large izakaya. Seats are lining the bar which runs the length of the dining room and overlooks the kitchen. There are also traditional Japanese low tables, where you remove your shoes, climb up, and sit in a shallow well area. I can't imagine how easy it is for disabled persons to manage this, but I'm sure, with a good amount of help, it's possible. The other disappointment with this restaurant was a younger server who was very cold and curt. We greeted her, thanked her, and bussed for her, but she never broke a smile, gave us a "You're welcome," or engaged other than to ask us what we wanted and drop off food. An older lady was a lot nicer and we wished she would've come by more often. We ordered quite a few things that were on the menu: -Blue Fin Fatty Tuna: absolutely amazing and melt-in-your-mouth tender. -Grilled Miso Marinated Salmon: a bit overcooked, but well flavored. -Grilled Beef Tongue: thinly sliced, great caramelization, and tender. -Crispy Rice with Spicy Tuna Sashimi: amazing in texture and flavor. This was a special, so I don't know if they always offer it. Edamame: basic with salt. Nothing special. -Grilled Squid: devoid of flavor except char, but nicely tender. -Tako Wasabi: raw octopus in a pungent wasabi dressing. It was addicting. -Grilled Shishito Pepper: charred and pleasant. More than half had spice. -Grilled Mackerel: meaty and well-seasoned with perfect caramelization. -Grilled Yellowtail w/Teriyaki: meaty and juicy. Exceptionally flavored. -Fried Chicken Wings w/Nagoya Style Seasoning: the meat wasn't seasoned, only fried and topped with seasoning. It lacked flavor. -Takoyaki: Husband really enjoyed these octopus balls. He said they tasted like a delicious seafood meatball. I had the Lime Chuhai (very refreshing) to drink, and my hubby had a Sapporo. There was no sushi, only sashimi, and for our very large order, we paid $176, which included tax. I recommend you visit Mr. Max, but be prepared for a...

This is without a doubt the greatest Japanese food in Texas.

Mr. Max is an incredibly authentic Izakaya style restaurant, with absolutely welcoming staff and atmosphere. The interior has a bar dining area that runs parallel to the main tables. When eating at the tables, you take off your shoes and step onto an elevated wooden platform where the tables are located. When sitting, the underside of the table area actually goes into the floor a few feet, so that when you sit down you are actually somewhat level with the people at the bar.

Now for the food. I tried numerous appetizers when I was there. Specifically, the kara-age, the grilled squid, the agedashi tofu, and the takoyaki.

Appetizers I tried: If you are looking for quality kara-age, I PROMISE you that you will not find better. It is insanely crispy yet tender, not crispy at all and each piece is very sizeable. The agedashi tofu was delicious, it had soaked up all of the rich dashi brosh and still had a nice crisp to the outside of the tofu. The squid was perfectly cooked and sliced into thin pieces, it was very evident to me that they have spent hours upon hours refining a simple grilled squid. It was cooked perfectly, and had beautiful charring and color on the outside. Finally, the takoyaki was phenomenal. Although takoyaki is a staple of casual Japanese cuisine, I haven’t had the pleasure of trying many other takoyaki dishes outside of a few times, but I can guarantee that this is a dish that would do an excellent job introducing people to what Japanese food brings to the table, metaphorically and literally.

Main dishes: My friend and I both ordered ramen, the miso ramen and the tonkatsu shoyu ramen. I did not try the miso ramen, but it looked absolutely fantastic (red bowl in attached photos). My tonkatsu shoyu was delicious, and I wouldn’t hesitate to give it my favorite ramen I’ve tried out of the dozens and dozens of times I’ve had it at restaurants.

Dessert: The homemade vanilla caramel pudding was delicious, my friend and I actually ordered more after we finished our initial round. It’s very basic, think of it as Flan pudding, but almost creamier.

Overall, I wish I could give this restaurant 6 stars! If you stumbled upon this restaurant by chance, you must try it! It’s an...