Max's Restaurant Jacksonville — Restaurant in Jacksonville

We dined at this restaurant on 6/5/25 When we arrived, we were told that there be a 15 to 20 minute wait even though there was plenty of seats available To be seated in. The girls upfront seemed more interested in talking and hanging out with each other other than worrying about taking care of the customers that were seated there waiting to eat dinner. While waiting to be seated, I decided to go use the restroom and walked into a restroom with urine on the toilet seat Dribbling down the side of the toilet and on the floors. When I returned, we still had to wait a while to be seated for some ungodly reason that I do not know, but while standing there waiting to be seated, I heard the waitress saying we have a party of a four and a party of two which one should we seat first. I guess they came to their senses and realized we were there first so they brought us to our table which was wobbly and unlevel. While waiting on our waitress, we asked a few of the staff, what the Wi-Fi password was as the cell signal in there was not very strong unfortunately it seems like none of the staff knew what the Wi-Fi password was so we never got that either. Now onto the food, The chicken that they are “famous” for was tasteless and SUPER DRY definitely not worth ordering. We also ordered the crispy pata which was the show winner? It was delicious full of flavor and super crispy. We also ordered the kare kare Which was watery and did not have a really good peanut flavor also, it was made with a mixture of oxtail and tripe. The lumpia are small as you can see by the picture and you didn’t get very many of them for $16 but I guess it was a good thing as they weren’t crispy and were cold by the time we got them. We also ordered the large garlic rice, which was pretty good. The pinakbet was over powered by the taste of the bitter melon. The final thing we ordered was the sizzling sisig which came out looking like a plate of flattened oatmeal wasn’t sizzling and tasted like a can of lemony hormel hash with no egg 🤮 If you are a connoisseur of sizzling sisig as I am DO NOT order this dish, you will be very disappointed. When the waitress brought this dish to the table, I had to ask her what it was and against my better judgment, I actually took a taste of it 🤢 at the end of the meal, the waitress noticed that I hadn’t eaten it, and I had to tell her that of all of the 30+ places that I have tried sisig that their dish was the absolute worst. I believe the waitress went to management and told them what I had said, and they took it off my bill which I did not request, but that was nice that they did that. If I do try this place again, I would definitely order the crispy pata as it was...

I have had the pleasure of dining at Max’s restaurant in Chicago on multiple occasions, and I can confidently say that the food there truly ignites my taste buds. The experience of traveling to Chicago is absolutely worthwhile, especially when I have a craving for authentic Filipino cuisine—Max's Chicago location consistently delivers some of the best dishes I’ve ever tasted.

Unfortunately, my experience at the Max’s restaurant in Jacksonville has been vastly different, leaving me quite disappointed. For instance, the pansit, which is a beloved staple, was not prepared as I expected. In Chicago, the pansit is cooked to perfection, with noodles and vegetables that maintain their ideal texture. However, in Jacksonville, it seems that the dish was prepared by someone who may not have a deep understanding of Filipino cooking. The noodles were overly greasy, and there was an excessive amount of MSG, which detracted from the overall flavor.

Additionally, the Kare-Kare, a rich and hearty stew, was not up to par; it seemed to have more sauce than the traditional vegetables and meat, making it less satisfying. The fried chicken, which is a highlight at the Chicago location, was unfortunately lacking in flavor and crispiness in Jacksonville. The fried pata, or crispy pork leg, was almost burnt, resulting in a bitter taste that was far from the deliciousness I associate with Max’s. To top it off, the fried rice was served cold—completely unexpected for a dish that should be steaming and flavorful.

There is certainly a lot of room for improvement at the Jacksonville location. I believe that if you’re going to open a restaurant under such a reputable brand like Max’s, it’s crucial that the kitchen is managed by someone who truly understands Filipino cuisine and can deliver dishes that not only taste great but are also served promptly...

I went here twice already and thinking of going back again, I’m making this Honest review since I saw some Not so friendly comments here, they wrote like their own business sales went down because of this place. Well at least that’s what I feel. Front desk Friendly as hell like my Filipino friends! Place was clean and the bathrooms are clean My Son asked for the WiFi pass i told the server “No need” since I don’t want electronic devices while we’re eating. Yes people discipline your kids it starts in you. Food was very good for me it was perfect! compare to some Filipino restaurant here in Jax that adds extra stuff on their dishes. Chicken was perfect but do not let it get cold the difference is huge Waitresses/servers. Most of them are awesome, Really Friendly and They do love to talk. My first time our server was good but when we came back we had Eddie this young Girl knows her stuff. She took care of us I was actually satisfied paying that day. Fair warning she’s good so you might end up getting more food than normal Wait time. Last time I came on a weekday we had no wait time. Second time was on a weekend theres 15-20 min wait. it was PACKED!

Overall this place was awesome. i actually started liking Filipino food. If you on a diet but wants to do a cheat day this place helps coz it’s limited Rice I get to control my rice cravings. The only thing that I Didn’t like was servers always talking to each other like there’s no tomorrow, But my Filipino Friend told me it’s normal most Filipino ladies are like that everyday so I guess my negative comment was invalid due to the fact I asked for an authentic Filipino restaurant. I would love to add photos here but I don’t like taking...