To Whom It May Concern, I made a reservation for this evening for six people at Cafe Maxx in Pompano Beach, Florida. The restaurant was terrible! The waiter service was very slow and our waiter hardly ever stopped by our table to check in on us. Besides that, the menu is extremely pricey. Each entree is higher than any fine restaurant in Boca Raton, FL that I have been to. I have no idea who priced the entreees listed in Cafe Maxx's menu but clearly this person did not know what they were doing. Aside from everything else, the restroom was very dirty with water all over the floor. It is unbelievable that a restaurant with such a supposed reputation has such a filthy restroom for its customers. Also, the over ambiance of the restaurant certainly does not match the price of its food. It leaves a lot to be desired. An elegant atmosphere the restaurant certainly does not have. Possibly that is due to its location. Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing back regarding this unfortunate dining experience. Sincerely, J.W. Boca Raton, FL read more

OK went for our anniversary and saw they were having their neighborhood special. These summer specials are one of the best parts of living east in the off season after putting up with season. NOT HERE. If you don't want to do the specials DONT!!! Food was extremely mediocre. Bread was STALE two times around. Salad drenched in balsamic. My dinner was literally ONE shrimp, ONE scallop and THREE green beans. Hubby had ravioli swimming in sauce. Dessert was supposed to be warm apple crisp with ice cream. Hardly warm and again drenched in sauce, caramel sauce. My feeling is whenever something is drenched on sauce the food is mediocre at best. Service was efficent if not almost snooty. Best part of the night: The parking attendant actually concerned we did not like the restaurant. This was our second and last time we will go to Cafe Max....two strikes and YOU ARE OUT!! read more

Ridiculous price for wines. We had to pay $50 for a half bottle of bad wine. We should have bought it by the glass because it would have been cheaper because the "half bottle" did not even fill three glasses. What a scam! Otherways the appetizers were disappointing, the escargots were served outside of their shell with a piece of bread in the middle (first time I've seen them served like this) and were probably found in the backyard. The fried calamari salad included a lot of crust and few calamari if at all. The main course did improve the experience somewhat with some mouth watering duck served around flavorful vegetable rice and duck raviolis with bold and rewarding taste. All in all a very pricey yet interesting experience whose limitations were the price of the wine and the quality of the appetizers. Will not come back. read more

I was not impressed. Maybe since I heard such great things about this restaurant and the reviews are generally positive my expectations were high, but on the whole I was underwhelmed. First, the prices for a strip mall restaurant in Pompano are on par with more upscale restaurants with more desirable locations. You would therefore think that the service and food would stand out on every level but on the whole everything I ate was rather ho hum. Now granted I was there on Christmas night and our server was nice, but they ran out of quite a few menu items and the food did not stand out. My goat cheese and beet salad was drenched in dressing and was not creative or artfully presented. Chopped lettuce, chopped beets, and a fried disk of goat cheese made up this rather uninspired dish. Another diners salad was described as oily. The tuna pizza was the best appetizer sampled. For my entree I went with the $42 grouper. It was a nice fillet but the tomato based sauce it was served in, while not offensive, was severely lacking in any robust or special flavor. The rice cake served along with it was not appetizing. Another diners rib eye (prices on par with top steakhouses) needed to be returned to the kitchen as it came out severely undercooked. I heard no complaints regarding the stone crab claws. A basic Caesar salad and massive chicken dish were good but not unique in presentation or taste, which one would expect at a restaurnat with such lofty ambitions. I did not try dessert. Maybe I caught this restaurant on an off night being Christmas, and normally I would give them another shot but not with the excessive prices charged. read more

Service is above average, not great but the food is Fantastic, nice ambiance, menu is extensive and changes throughout the seasons. Chef Saucey is in house most times. read more

Don't let the strip mall location discourage you from dining here - this is a great spot. It's pricey, but food is excellent and there's something for everyone...the menu is very extensive. Really nice wine list. Service was great. We were stuffed from dinner but got persuaded by our server to get the crème brulee - amazing. Not your classic crème brule - but so creamy and delicious. BIG portion, so it shoud be shared. Great night out here! read more

Excellent food and great service with an intimate atmosphere. We did the pre-fixe menu and it was all deadly. Had the swordfish with quinoa and wow! They misplaced our reservation and came over to us and fixed it and made sure we knew they had it. The wine was awesome...a malbec that I forget now but its was great. Good Times man Good Times! read more

Fantastic! Last night was my third time at Cafe Maxx and I can't get enough! Definitely try as many appetizers as possible, with the Tuna pizza at the top of the list! I absolutely love this place! read more

This is a great restaurant with wonderful food, but it's unfortunate when they charge you $18 for a house martini. We won't be back until they lower their drink prices. read more

New menu, everyday?! Really? I'm in. They have some staples on the menu, and then do variations from some staples, but their entrees, do in fact, change every day. Part of their bread basket was a doughy, pizza bread option, which was delicious and came as quite a surprise. I had a couple of duck and smoked mozzarella raviolis for an app- borderline incredible, and their take on brisket for dinner, served with a jalapeno infused sweet barbeque- also quite good. My only knock is their wine list. In a day and age where we all know we can get a good drinkable bottle of wine under $40, they had limited options. I love the new, "affordable" wine trend, and would have preferred some more options. We settled on a $75 Washington State bottle: Powers- expensive but delicious. We'll be back. read more

Was looking for a place for brunch today and just so happened to stumble upon Cafe Maxx. WOW!!! Is pricey but well worth it. French toast was incredible!!! We also had an omelette with fresh scallops. The scallops were seared to perfection!! Large portions that we could not finish. Staff was fantastic. We arrived before opening and they welcomed us in. Would give 10 stars if I could. read more

I think this place is not what it used to be. The fois gras was the smallest I have ever been served and with a bread pudding almost, just not on point. The lamb chops lacked in.....Flavor and seasoning. Just not worth it. read more

I'm giving five stars because there is no other option. The employees are attentive and personable. The ambiance is understated and cozy. But most importantly the food. I always find something on the menu that blows me away. Chef Olly truly cares about his menu. I'm so glad this place exists. If you had a bad meal you were in the wrong place. read more

High quality food, large portion sizes for a upscale restaurant. Service was good, not great. This was the only thing preventing a 5 star review. read more

First time and will come again. The food was amazing. We were a party of four all ordering different items and they were all perfect. Strip mall location but inside was very nice and modern. Service was great as well. Yes its pricy but truly the food was amazing. read more

Cafe Maxx - Seafood Near Me - Pompano Beach, Florida

The singular finest meal you will find in the tri-county area. (Dade-Broward-Palm Beach) I could wax on about their singular greatness, but why bother: they have been open 20 years, and creating classic arete'. If you do not get it, well, you should avoid it. I call the best meals of my life in this order..... Charlie Trotter's #1 The next five or six at Cafe Maxx, Pompano. Oilver doing what he does best. A good 6+ Norman Van Aken, doing his thing, brilliantly. In that damned order! How is that for an endorsement.?????????????? _____________________________________________________ Denise J. in boca raton.....said..........."Oliver is an amazing technician".) I challenge you to eat at Cafe Maxx, dear reader, and try to agree with Denise J. The Chef.......Mr. Big Stuff: Oliver Saucy..............is an artist. You go ahead and judge him, any given damned night! My compliment to Daryl & Oliver is, that I can remember my first duck liver at Cafe Max, and in a perfect world: they will serve my last. Get it? ) read more

Apps were a fail. Bland, small and no presentation. Was expecting a lot more. Our waitress was awesome! Didn't order an entree because of the apps. read more

Simply excellent! Service. Wine. Bread basket. Selection. I had snapper. Absolutely delicious and presentation was lovely! One in our party had cauliflower and cashew soup - sounds interesting but was blah/meh. It was the only miss. Stone crab - huge thumbs up! Grouper? Delicious! Pricey but special. Well done! read more

This place is really great. I had their Duck with grilled peachs and chipotle sauce. No real taste of Chipotle (which I use all the time) it did taste like all spice, cloves, and nutmeg, all in all very thanksgiving/christmas-ie. The Peaches were grilled perfectly, I just wish they gave you more than 2, and the sweet potatoes were perfect with the sauce and duck. I also had the flourless cake which was amazing! WOW! Hot chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream and hot fudge with fresh berries, I stuffed myself with this, so good. All in all very good dinner when I am in town I will come here again. read more

Had reservations for brunch today. There were 5 of us to celebrate my wife's birthday. I have to say we were surprised when we walked in to see an empty restaurant except for one table. Service was slow and my wife's glass for her mimosa was dirty. The food was good, but a few of the portions were small. We were looking forward to having a desert and coffee to celebrate the birthday. Since the restaurant is small and it was empty. we could not notice a group of people setting up a monitor, flowers, photos, etc, a few tables away from us. when I inquired to the wsitress, what was going on, we were informed that they were setting up a memorial service. At this point, about 10 people came in for this very somber experience. Well, that took the air out of our happy occasion! now. we had no interest in desert and celebrating. when we made the reservation, or when we showed up. We should have been told that a memorial service was going to be held. How awkward for us to have to walk by all those somber people. A restaurant is more than food, especially a 5 star restaurant as yours. it is an experience. And unfortunately ee had a sad experience. You should have told us! read more

Overwraught, overpriced menu. Would do better to simplify each dish, take out a couple of ingredients, and season appropriately. A raspberry and white chocolate bread pudding (quite delicious) does not need an entire ice cream sandwich on the side. Not at a restaurant that portends to fine dining. $40 entrees do not live up to the price. read more

OK, service, good food presentation, went there for Brunch on Sunday, the food had no flavor and it was extremely overpriced, definitely not worth it. read more

I never come to Florida without visiting Cafe Maxx for the Sashimi Tuna Pizza. Last night we also had the potstickers and Brussel Sprouts. All delicious. Beware the bread basket. It's a meal in itself. read more

This place was AMAZING the night I went with my GF. The menu is large, varied and eclectic. We had some sort of Tuna wasabi pizza appetizer that was beyond good. We also had a chicken flat bread app that was good but paled compared to the tuna pizza. Dinner was a 3 peppercorn filet mignon and rack of lamb. The ONLY downside to our meal was all the side stuff that comes with the main courses was a bit on the "meh" side. Not good, not bad. We mostly ignored it. The wait staff was friendly and attentive. read more

Have been coming here for years and unfortunately has lost its luster. Started with Caviar pizza, tuna pizza and the oysters. Sushi pizza was still outstanding but the other 2 were fair. Chicken Marcella, pork chop and the shrimp scallop were all ok. Was bummed that the desserts were not as good as before, bread pudding and the keylime bar. Pudding was dry and keylime had a nice tart but neither I would order again. Too many other options in the South Florida for dining especially in their price range. read more

Absolutely incredible find in Pompano Beach. You have got to try the all he tuna appetizer and the skirt steak is out of this world. Great pricing great drinks warm atmosphere and the services is impeccable. read more

September 21, 2011 Café Maxx RE: DINNER - September 20, 2011 To Whom It May Concern My wife and I had dinner at your establishment last Tuesday night and would like to express to you how very disappointed we are. We are not the type to complain, but we wanted to express our view of the experience. The following is a brief description of the meal: Appetizer: We had the pistachio encrusted oysters, which were just breading. They were over fried and, if they weren't on the shell, you couldn't tell that they were oysters. Main Course: I had the braised short ribs. There was no "rib". It was one piece of meat that was over-done and looked and tasted like pot roast. The demi-glaze was very salty. My wife had the rack of lamb which was tough (undercooked - rare) and luke warm. We would have sent the items back to the kitchen, but it took quite a while to get our meals in the first place. Dessert: Warm apple tart - It was 4 triangles of pie crust topped with ice cream. The crust was very difficult to cut with a fork and there were no apples. Having had this before, it appeared to be old and re-heated. We have dined with you dozens of times and were always pleased, what happened? We just want you to know what our experience was like so that it doesn't happen to others. read more

Mediocre to say the least. I have eaten at Maxx's several times in the past year and this was very disappointing. I do not mind paying their prices, however the food does not justify the cost. I asked for butter three times, never arrived. The food was just ok; barely "warm" and not very tasty either. Between the four of us there was shrimp, duck, wahoo and salmon. No one at the table was excited about the dinner. I found nothing notable about the meal other than the check. read more

A group of friends went for the Crave menu and everything we had was very good. The buffalo cauliflower was tasty and unusual. I had the banana lime shrimp. I did not care for the sauce--too sweet, but the shrimp were tasty. The carpaccio was also very tasty. As for the entrees, the duck breast in a wine reduction was amazing, the onion crusted mahi and nut crusted mahi was also very good. The desserts--the pineapple carrot cake stole the show, and the flourless chocolate was dense and sublime. The key lime tart could have been a little more tart. It was more like a key lime cheesecake. All in all, excellent value and 5 happy customers. read more

I live in the neighborhood and have been to Cafe Maxx three times now. Food is good. No question about it, but the servers are, at best, indifferent. They never make me feel like I want to come back. read more

We brought a large party here for dinner. It was excellent! Menu changes daily which is nice. The selection of food was good too. I would have given it 5 starts, but the service was a little slow. Not sure if they were short handed or what, but the waiter was very nice. We will visit again! read more

Over-rated. We had heard a lot of great things about this restaurant and finally decided to try it out. We went during Fort Lauderdale's annual Dining Out week, where you visit various restaurants at a fixed price. Maybe it was because of the special price but, the food was nothing more than OK. The portions were small. And, the service was mediocre. Waiting 5 minutes for a fork and 15 minutes for the tab is not my idea of good service. As the two-star rating says: "Meh. I've experienced better." Maybe it was our high expectations, but we won't return. read more

Hands down this is my favorite restaurant. Food, service, and wine list are all outstanding. I have never had a bad experinece here. If you are looking for casual fine dining; it does not get better than this in Broward County. The menu changes nightly but certain popular items are mainstays that have been on the menu for years. The Tuna Sashimi Pizza is a must have as far as appetizers go, this thing is incredible, it is crunchy, creamy, salty, sweet, tangy and refreshing all at once. It is light enough for two people to share and still have plenty of room for your entree. As far as entree's are concerned you can't really go wrong with any of them, But if you like fish i recommend the Sweet Onion Crusted Yellowtail Snapper, and if you like beef order the Three Peppercorn Filet Mignon. It is worth leaving a little room for dessert, beacuse it is always excellent. -Enjoy . read more

We've been going here for years. The food and service is always exceptional. My favorite is the snapper. The atmosphere is always so relaxing. Five stars all the way!!! The food is always amazing, the flavor combinations are well thought out and always prepared well. It has a certain magic that deserves to be recognized. Love this place! read more

Stopped in by mistake and so glad we did. Looking for Sunday Brunch and we were pleasantly surprised of quality and taste. Presentation was wonderful. Just an all round great experience. Free wifi. Not that we should have been using it. Also, looks like they have wine tastings and cooking classes that I plan on attending. Over all a diamond in the rough!! read more

My husband and i visited Cafe Maxx on a Friday evening for dinner and drinks. Great street presence and valet parking available. Once inside ambience us good, white linen table cloths and an intimate feel. I gave it 3 stars because of the price to food ratio. Average dish is $25+ even for apps and the amount of quality of food was average. I had a ceasar salad which was overly cheesy and the onion snapper which was also average in taste and size. Service was descent with a smiling waitress just not overly attentive or interested after we told her it was our first time here. All in all it was an adequate experience and probably would return in the future. read more

Fantastic! Creative menu with many local seafood specials. Have been here many times over the years, and it never disappoints! Keep up the quality food and service, and thank you! read more

Food is always great! Been a ton of times! Tonight was a very surprising evening...Tyler was our waiter and he did an ok job until the end. We ordered 2 $150 bottles of wine. He NEVER refilled our wine glasses and didn't clear dirty dishes sitting on the table. Gets worse...check arrived and he added 20% gratuity to the bill without telling us. Did I mention there was just 5 of us. So sad to see people still taking advantage....shame on you Tyler! In response to your reply Darrel, your menu doesn't reflect verbiage stating gratuity for 5 or more & state laws have changed, restaurants can no longer automatically charge gratuity to any size party. However, lets take a look at night...20% is a more than I have ever been "automatically" charged EVER. Tyler added the wine/alcohol to the "automatic" gratuity which shouldn't be at the full service gratuity, which I'm sure you know already. Lastly and most importantly, he didn't add the gratuity when he gave us the itemized bill...he only added after he charged our credit cards AND he never communicated it to us. read more

You know you have walked into a fantastic place when the owner greets you at the door. You know you are going to enjoy every bite when you can see the open kitchen and the chef/owner in plain site. And you know you have a new favorite when every time you want to go out to eat you crave the name....Cafe Maxx. Every time we go we try something different and I have never been disappointed. In fact my expectations are always surpassed. Not only is their menu seasonal, bu they also offer a "lighter fare" menu list that does not compromise on flavor, the drinks are generous, the wine list diverse and delicious. They even offer cooking classes, wine tastings from novice to expert, and they participate in Broward Dine out. Do your taste buds the favor. read more

Came back to this hot spot because every time were in Fla. on vacation we stop here for a bite. We sat at the bar that seats around 8-10 people. Getting directly to the point: the food was good, but Bar Service sucked! The bartender did not have a personality - he was as dry and stale as the bread and flat chips they served us with our meal. You would think someone who is dealing with the public would be more engaging with the customers. First of all, we told him we would be eating at the bar and after he gave us our drinks he walk away and started making drinks for the other customers without asking us what we wanted to order. We finally caught his eye to tell him we were ready to order. The couple next to us complained that they asked him for bread, but never got it. I don't think we will be eating here any time soon since there are other new places opening up in the area. *Note: save your money and park your car yourself, doesn't make sense to pay for Valet Parking the Restruant is in a strip mall at the end. read more