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Max's Restaurant

4.0 (189 reviews)
ModerateFilipino, Soup, Seafood
Open 11:00 am - 8:00 pm

Max's Restaurant Photos

MAX'S RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Moderate noise
Casual
Trendy
Good for groups

Recommended Reviews - Max's Restaurant

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Reviews With Photos

Lumpia Bilao
Kristen V.

I got to introduce my boyfriend to some Filipino food! Aside from home cooked meals, I knew that Max's would be a great place for him to eat. The restaurant had interesting frames on the wall and a mural about Max's history. It was tastefully decorated and inviting. I think I'll always order the beef caldereta when I come here since it's my favorite dish. The meat is soft and tender while the veggies and potatoes still have a little crunch. Personally, prefer my veggies cooked softer. My boyfriend really liked the pancit canton. He said that he prefers the egg noodles. I had him try the fried chicken with banana ketchup, but he preferred the sweet and sour sauce. The service was great! Our waiter was very attentive. As soon as my glass of water was empty, they came to our table with a new glass.

Nice, cozy setting for dinner with my son...
Arnel S.

Quite a pleasant surprise to find that this Filipino restaurant was near the hotel we were staying in. From my childhood, Max's always meant great tasting food, outstanding hospitality and reasonable pricing. The staff greeted us and sat us at the table of our choice...we came in before "rush hour". They were really friendly and highly knowledgeable of the food on their menu. My son's choice for tonight was the Beef Nilaga and it tasted just like Mom's cooking back home! We also had Calamansi Juice and Sago't Gulaman for me. I was expecting my son to be a little more bold with his food choice, but what he chose was good enough. The place was nice and comfortable. The decor was really pleasing to the eyes. The tables and the seating were comfortable as well. If you are in the area and looking for great Filipino fare, this is the place to be...

Sizzling Caldereta
Michelle J.

Staff were great. Comfortable seating and they even have a party room. They did a great job remodeling what used to be a pizza place. Make you feel welcomed as soon as you walk in. If you are not familiar with the cuisine, they take the time to explain the dishes to you. I wish there was more description of ingredients on the menu. We have many Filipino's in our family and I was excited to try the food. Like with Mexican cuisine. . . everyone cooks differently. We ordered Lumping Shanghai appetizer. . . not what I am used to. . . They were small bite size egg rolls with a tasty dipping sauce. Hubby had the Pancit Canton. . . like a chow mein with thicker noodles and an order of puto. It was tasty. . . with a variety of proteins. Son had the Sizzling Caldereta. . . like a beef stew. . . same flavor. . . and white rice. I had Lechon Kawaii. . . crispy pork belly. OMG! that was my favorite of everything. . . Just needed some corn tortillas and some Chile. . . lol. . . It was so good. other than the fly that would not leave us alone, I would be back just for the pork belly. . . and maybe to try dessert. . . and maybe a specialty drink.

Sharon Joy O.

Definitely one of my favorite places to eat when craving filipino food. Its more nostalgic for me cause I use to eat at a Max Restaurant when we lived in LA. Sundays after church at the Glendale location . Just the ambiance alone makes me feel that I'm in my Lola's house during the holidays because the restaurant is full of people, laughing, telling jokes, enjoying the food. The one thing that impresses me with the staff is that they always deliver service with a smile. They are willing to take that group photos of you and your family... definitely creates that feeling of home away from home.

Regular rice
Brooke I.

It's been a year since my last review and I'm adding a star because Max's has become one of the regular Bakersfield restaurants in my rotation. I have yet to find another place that serves better Filipino food in the area! Orders: Daing na bangus: fried marinated milkfish. Deliciously crispy and flavorful. Love this with a side of rice and spicy/garlic vinegar. I typically don't eat the skin or the fatty center (but some people like it). Def one of my favorite fish to eat! Sinigang (pork): a tangy soup that truly warms the soul. A good substitute for when I don't feel like making this at home. Pork adobo: a classic dish served with some fresh tomato and onion. Perfectly seasoned and very tender meat. Amazing with some rice. Lumpia Shanghai: little pork egg rolls that make for a nice appetizer. Calamansi juice: hard to explain this one. It's a citrus drink that's not too sweet. Super refreshing. Everyone who works here is super nice and welcoming. It's good for groups and plays nice music. Tons of parking as well. A+

Basic combo with Pancit Bihon!
Kathrine K.

We were greeted and welcomed at the front, very enthusiastically! The food was absolutely delicious! The chicken was juicy and flavorful. I loved the Pancit. The banana ketchup was interesting very much like a sweet-and-sour sauce. The dessert was delicious although I didn't realize it was a different type of banana so it was very dense . Our server Destiny was delightful .

Gooding around and enjoying the selfie booth while waiting for my orders.

I like how the staff interact with customers, my kids thought that one of Max's staff is related to me because we were talking in Tagalog. My kids would enjoy taking selfies if they were with me in this visit #maxsbakersfield @maxsbakersfield #buzzybooth

Drinks
William G.

I'm going to try something new, Maxs Philippine food sounds delicious, the folks here are extremely friendly and helpful , I ordered the most popular dishes to try . I ordered the whole fried chicken, also Lumpiang Shanghai "egg rolls" also the Pancit Canton " Egg noodles" , great vibe in here. The egg rooks came out quickly and were hot as expected, they were not greasy at all and the sweet sauce served with them was a perfect compliment to the meat and vegetable flavor. I'm trying not to over eat on the first dish but they are so good I cannot stop! The whole chicken was next to come out, there is no breading and the outside is very crispy and the inside is juicy, it came with a few French fries, the crispy chicken was delicious, the French fries were cold in 5 minutes but may that's how it's supposed to be , The oil used to cook the chicken had a clean taste and contributes to the clean taste The pork bbq skewers were next , nice presentation and I dug right in, The smoky taste and slightly sweet taste was very good, there are some pickled carrots on a cabbage leaf that really compliments the pork flavor , I'm so full right now , lol Next up is the Pancit Canton , this smells delicious, house made noodles with a little cabbage, chicken, green onions and shrimp , I'm not sure what sauce is put on the noodles but it's delicious There were frequent stops asking how I was doing , You do not need to order what I did but I'm glad I did , I can with confidence highly recommend this spot

Krispy Pork Sisig
Regina C.

Ever since Max's opened in Bakersfield, I never got to try it and so my family and I decided to make it our dinner for the night. I was really excited! However, we were calling two different numbers; Apple Maps had a different number and Yelp had a different number. Neither answered our call. So it already started off rocky. Finally, I gave up on calling and ordered through their website. I ordered the Pork Sisig ($20), the Crispy Pata ($32) with extra sauce ($.75), and a small Taho ($5). We finally picked up our order and wow, the portion of the Pork Sisig was so small for how much it cost and the Taho was not good. The Taho was lacking flavor, a mix of cold and warm. The Crispy Pata was a good size and it did last for my family of 3 and while the Pork Sisig tasted good, it is not worth it for much it cost.

menu
Ethan A.

it was okay, the chicken was decent but not that flavorful. I wish the kabob wasnt as cold as it was. the ambiance was decent i liked the photos that were hung up showing Filipino Culture. the service wasnt the greatest but we were the only people there and i assume the staff was tired.

PatrickJ T.

It's great to finally have a traditional sit down Filipino Restaurant in Bakersfield now! For years, we've only had the "turo turo" style Filipino restaurants. These are the type where you point at the food you want from what you see at their already cooked food hot displays. Kind of like a Panda Express style Filipino place. Anyways, Max's Restaurant is not like that which is wonderful. Been here a couple of times now. Food has been tasty each time. Even the times that we've had the food to go for takeout everything has still been quite yummy. My favorite my Filipino entrees at Max's are the Kare Kare which is a beef peanut stew. Only my Mom makes it better, but unfortunately she doesn't make it very often anymore. Two entrees that are terrible for our arteries, but taste so delicious are the Lechon Kawali and Max's Crispy Pata. They are so yummy, but also not the best for our overall health. So eat them in moderation folks. Sinigang with baboy (tamarind soup with pork) is another item that I really like here. Pork Skewers are a terrific choice. Of course, I can't forget Max's Fried Chicken. Good stuff!! Filipino cuisine is not an ethnic cuisine that most folks are familiar with. Max's offers a diverse selection of traditional Filipino food to try. I highly recommend this restaurant. Give them a try!!

Crispy Pata
Jeffrey S.

I pass through Bakersfield a couple times a year, usually just staying the night on the way to Las Vegas. This time around, I was pleasantly surprised to see this Max's open (which it wasn't on my last trip in 2023). It was just a block away from my hotel, so my wife & I came for dinner early on Friday evening. We were seated right away (though by the time we finished dinner, most of the restaurant was full). Because we are just passing through, our order was more muted than usual. We "only" ordered the fried chicken, the crispy pata, pancit palabok, and garlic rice. The skin of the chicken was perfectly crispy without needing any breading, the crispy pata was much larger than we expected, and the pancit and rice were just like mom used to make (my Mom, at least). This was still a lot of food, which we could not hope to finish between just 2 people. We did take half of it back to the hotel, to be eaten when we get to our final destination in Sin City. The service was very good, even though the staff were running around to serve all the other customers. And the price was very reasonable with all the food that we received (basically food enough for 4 people). I can see this being our go-to spot on our future trips to town.

Main restaurant
Susan B.

Max's Restaurant is located in the Hobby Lobby shopping center on the AMC Theater side, closer to Big Bear Diner. Look for the Red sign. Took my husband and stepdaughter to Max's after having had sampled the Philippine cuisine for a get together earlier in the week. I fell in LOVE with the egg rolls (my personal favorite) and wanted my family to try something new. We ordered a platter with the pork skewers, egg noodles canton, a whole fried chicken and the egg rolls. It was plenty of food (we had some leftovers to take home). This Combo platter was very reasonably priced for the amount of food and the presentation was great. My husband isn't much of a foodie, and like me loves the egg rolls, but the chicken was a little bland for him. My stepdaughter however made the suggested sauce of banana ketchup,Worcestershire sauce and pepper sauce. When used as a dipping sauce for the chicken it becomes the signature dish. She also loved the noodles with pork, chicken and shrimp. She even ordered dessert, caramelized bananas with vanilla ice cream, delicious! This is a true hidden gem. If you haven't tried Max's yet, you are missing out on some seriously good food!

Milkfish soup

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2 years ago

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4 months ago

slow been here 44 minutes it's not busy but really slow still waiting just two of us and slow rude service

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2 years ago

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1 year ago

Love the ambience and family friendly atmosphere here. Food is always fresh. We enjoy the pancit bihon and lechon kawali.

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2 years ago

I was looking forward to trying this place but found it over priced and small portions

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Ask the Community - Max's Restaurant

When will the online ordering website available and do you offer curbside pick up?

Online ordering is now available. Please go and check the website:… Read more

When do they open?

They just opened today.

Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

At C Fresh - Lobster Rolls

At C Fresh

4.0(210 reviews)
2.0 mi
Locally owned & operated
Established in 2021

I've been meaning to try At C Fresh for the longest time and last night I had a chance. I really…read morewant to try some of their seafood but I was crazing something Asian last night so I went for the Pad See Ew with the combination of beef, chicken and shrimp. It was a delicious meal, all the proteins were well cooked and it was seasoned perfectly. I ordered it medium and it had just the right amount of heat, I might be able to go up one more heat level if I was feeling adventurous but their medium was just right. The Thai Tea was fantastic as well, you can't really go wrong with Thai Tea. I finished the meal with one of their mango ice cream macaroons and I really enjoyed that as well. The shell was nice and crispy and complimented the sweet mango ice cream perfectly . It was a really great first experience and has me excited to head back one day to try out some of their seafood.

I had been craving cajun food and decided to visit C Fresh, and was pretty disappointed. We ordered…read morethe $90 Big Combo for takeout, but the portions didn't seem accurate--definitely not 1/2 lb of crawfish and clams. We made a big mistake ordering peeled shrimps because the shrimps received were very small. Lesson learned, always keep the head-on for shrimps! They also skimped heavily on the sauce, which is a dealbreaker for Cajun food. The Works sauce has good flavor, but there wasn't nearly enough of it. Paying that much for so little is a bit frustrating. I've tried many different cajun seafood places and I don't think I'll be visiting here again.

Photos
At C Fresh - Delicious Shrimp & Snow Crab Legs...

Delicious Shrimp & Snow Crab Legs...

At C Fresh - Po Boy Sandwich

Po Boy Sandwich

At C Fresh - Super cold giant beer!

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Super cold giant beer!

Coconut Joe's - 3 piece Fish and chips.

Coconut Joe's

3.9(421 reviews)
0.0 mi
$$

Coconut Joe's has been a staple in my family for just about as long as I can remember. They're a…read morelong time, go to for my father and I after work outs and post practice meals in my youth, as well as a regular for plenty of family nights. Coconut Joe's is still a welcomed regular at any family gathering and a personal favorite of mine to this day. They've always had a strong burger. The huli huli burger n fries which is their pineapple burger is my favorite. For family style eating, their half pack and full packs are perfect. Their tri tip is good on its own, but with the corn, rice, and coleslaw mixed in with it is next level and the flavor always brings me back good times. The vibe inside is super fun. They fully embrace the surfer theme and have surf decorations wall to wall. Their televisions play classic surf trip movies which are fun to watch. Sometimes in the winter they will play snowboard and ski trip videos. Back in my youth, this was one of my favorite parts of the experience. I still love it, but don't get to dine in as often as I used to. They're great for take out, though I find the burger and fries are best enjoyed fresh in the restaurant.

The last time I ate here was 11 years ago, prior to that we frequented this location. The food is…read morestill flavorful, and I was not disappointed in the least, however, my son and I did find that we had to order 3 big plates in order to get full (we each weigh 200 lb). The service was top notch, and the ambiance is over the top wonderful (as always). We had the tri-tip, bbq chicken, and then split a large plate of fish & chips. The fish was about half of what you would get at lengthwise for a similar price, but very delicious. The tri-tip was as good as I remember and waaaaaaaaay more flavorful than Harris BBQ (on Buena Vista). The bbq chicken was delicious, but the drumstick was the size of my index finger, so small compared with 11 years ago, but all chicken seems to be getting smaller and smaller at all restaurants. Overall, we are happy with the results, and it's nice to see that a restaurant that weathered COVID and all the price hikes is still making quality food. (We only took off one star for portion size as at $66 for lunch, there are many places that will fill us up...such as Lengthwise).

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Coconut Joe's - Seating

Seating

Coconut Joe's - Meat Lovers Small Plate

Meat Lovers Small Plate

Coconut Joe's

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La Costa Mariscos - Los Arcos Nachos (fish and shrimp) on the appetizer menu

La Costa Mariscos

4.0(944 reviews)
2.2 mi
$$

We came in to celebrate my 38th birthday today. I was on the mood for some shrimp fajitas…read more We'd been to the other location and didn't have as good experience as this. First off it was a steady flow of customers for a Wednesday evening. Many birthdays! We were sat immediately and waiter came to take our drink order. I had a mango chamoy margarita, while my husband got a roasted chili cucumber margarita on the rocks. His drink was SPICY! I ordered the shrimp fajitas and my husband ordered the chicken and steak molcajete. Our food was brought out super fast! The portions - humongous! But the food is so good! My husband is super picky when it comes to Mexican food, and he said this molcajete is his favorite so far compared to other Mexican restaurants we've been to. The bright colorful colors and great music selection really make it joyous and fun dining experiences. Highly recommend.

Stopped here after work. We sat at the bar area but got a table back there. The service was lacking…read morejust a bit, the girl seemed overwhelmed and didn't check on anybody for a min. Some showed their displeasure. Since I was willing on a drink I was just watching. I ended up getting the chile verde plate and my wife got the chicken quesadilla. My chile verde was ok, the beans were cold. The quesadilla was not great at all. The ambiance in the room was good with the decor and natural lighting.

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La Costa Mariscos
La Costa Mariscos
La Costa Mariscos - Salted Watermelon Paloma

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Salted Watermelon Paloma

Max's Restaurant - filipino - Updated May 2026

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