First time here and quite a few tables, it's fairly clean and prices are about average. The food was good some portions a little small. The one thing I didn't like was rice was not included with any of the meals. You have to order white rice separately. Bathroom could use a little cleaning, and the only toilet was closed for being broke. read more

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I don't know why this location has so many negative reviews! We love this place. As a Filipina, this restaurant's food is as close in taste as my dad's cooking, so it really is comfort food to me. The service is a tad bit slow, but the food makes up for it. The space is a bit cramped though and very close to the CR (bathrooms), so I recommend going right when they open to request to be seated far away near them. My favorites are the Bicol Express, Sizzling Tofu Sisig, and the Bulalo. Also the Halo Halo and Buko Pandan are absolute musts! My husband loves their Lumpiang Shanghai and Lechon Sisig. read more

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The Kare Kare was absolutely delicious--rich, flavorful, and tasted authentic. The staff were friendly and very helpful, which made the experience even better. The place itself looked clean and welcoming. Definitely a spot I'd come back to! read more

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Filipino restaurant in Bloomfield carrying a restaurant chain name in Philippines. Good food. Limited parking. We went on Tuesday when it was only for takeout. Accepts credit/debit card. See images for reference. read more

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Max's is fine. I haven't been in years and it was the Jersey City location. I remember not really liking it but some friends wanted to go so I would give them another shot. We went around 1PM on a Sunday and it looked pretty busy but our party of 3 was seated promptly. We ordered the family package with bulalo rather than kare-kare. We also added fresh lumpia and 2 pork barbecue skewers. Everything was just ok. Actually, the crispy pata was decent but parts ended up a little dry. Max's is known for their chicken and admittedly it is pretty good. The dark meat was so juicy and the skin fried to a perfect crisp. It was seasoned pretty well too. Unfortunately I can't say the same about the white meat. It ended up so dry that it felt like a chore to eat it. Prices seem a little steep, but admittedly I'm not well-versed in going to Filipino restaurants. The service is very friendly and the place is clean. The food is alright, I just personally wouldn't choose to come here. read more

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Revisiting my previous post- i still stand by it! As a filipina, this place gets my seal of approval and deserves more love and recognition! I've grown up going here and it always satisfies my craving for authentic filipino food. The service is always friendly. I've brought my non filipino friends here and they were genuinely impressed as well! Please support your local filipino businesses! read more

Came to Max's since I was in the area to order some food on the go. Since the inception of the restaurant, the knock has always been the painfully slow service. Unfortunately, the service is still very slow. If you don't order ahead of time, be prepared to sit for awhile. I'm not sure about the staffing but they could really benefit from having more to help with the pace. Otherwise, the people who work there are very nice and the food is fine. My best advice for people looking to order out from here is to order ahead of time and prepare to give them at least 20 more min than you expect. read more

Max's Restaurant - Bloomfield - Filipino Near Me - Bloomfield, New Jersey

Same great food as Jersey City branch. Awesome service. Just outstanding. Will go back there again as I love Max's filipino dishes.

Not sure what to say I have wanted to go for years but never knew what to order i know they are famous for fried chicken but can get that anywhere I went with a phillapino woman and let her order Not sure what we go so took lots of pictures Food was great service was great Place was cool so ambiance was great read more

Authentic Filipino food serve in this restaurant. Even it's quite far from our place since we are craving for the famous Max's fried chicken, it's not a hindrance. We were the very first customer when they opened up. Service was great including the hospitality of the staffs. Ambiance is the typical type of Filipino restaurant we were looking for and while waiting for our orders, we had plenty of time to feel and take pictures. Bathroom is clean and tidy and when our orders arrived, they're all delicious and of big servings. With my 90 year old mother , Vebs who loves Max's fried chicken, my wife Tess who's fond of Max's dishes and my only sibling, Gladys who like me is a foodie lover. Our weekend restaurant getaway was really an awesome one. I highly recommend this place to visit and enjoy the foods. To the management and staffs , Thank you Max's Restaurant, Bloomfield, NJ, read more

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Decided to dine here at Max since its been a long time since we ate at a Filipino Restaurant and plus we really needed to do some Asian Grocery shopping and this was right next to East West Market. There was a bit of a wait finding a space to park but we got seated right away as soon as we entered the restaurant. Staff was pleasant, polite and got our orders correctly. For the food, we got half of the fried chicken which had good flavor and was crispy. The fries was very enjoyable too as it was fried to perfection! We also got the lechon kawali. It had good flavor, good crunch but i think i may have had better. It was quite good with the garlic rice! Same with the Daing na bangus. Its was okay by itself but flavor got better when paired with the atchaea and the vinegar. Our favorite that day was the Shrimp Sinigang. Lots of flavor! Portion was good and it was just so hearty and delicious! Enjoyed all but my husband mentioned he wouldve wanted the orders hot instead of warm; Especially since we came in during winter season. We really had an enjoyable meal; Remembering all these delicious Pinoy Eats. Was the food really good or was it good because its been a while we havent had it? Hmmm maybe both. read more

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This was my first visit to a Max's Restaurant. It was a Sunday at 11:30am. I was lucky to get the last available table since more than half of the space was being set up for an event. I ordered the Pancit Canton noodle dish. Don't plan on this being fast food, not because of the time it takes to prepare it but because of the time it takes to eat all of it. It was a healthy portion. I enjoyed my meal while watching other customers decorate for their event and listening to background music that I couldn't quite make out with the chatter. The food was amazing. The parking lot with ample parking when I pulled in became clogged with drivers waiting for spots. I assume they were all arriving for the aforementioned event. read more

My husband and I came here just for dessert and it did not disappoint. My hubs and I shared the buko pandan and halo halo deserts. The Halo Halo was definitely large enough for 2 people but we wanted to try more than 1 item. We really enjoyed the different flavors and textures of both! The pan Dan was really creamy and light whereas the halo halo had a mixture of crunchy ice and a chewy blend of sweet toppings. I highly recommend for your korean dessert cravings! read more

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This place is no frills. Grab a table and order. Coconut and Calamansi (Lime) Juices - both were so good and refreshing on a hot day! Lumpia - filipino style eggroll, which was good, kinda weird it came with ketchup... Daing na Bangus (Deep fried Milkfish) - delicious! Crispy Pata - that is some delicious pork, so crispy outside and yet juicy pork inside Garlic Rice - should be served everywhere! Sweet Potato Fries Definitely a must try for Filipino food. read more

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It's been a minute since I've been to Max's and I was not disappointed. Came here for lunch on a Monday with fam and had a nice meal. For apps, had the Lumpia Shanghai, a kid's favorite and fresh lumpia for me. The fresh lumpia was decent but the sauce needed a kick. For entrees, we shared a whole fried chicken and Pancit Palabok. The family enjoyed the fried chicken which was nice and crispy and the Palabok was a comforting dish for me. The pork/shrimp sauce was tasty and noodles were cooked just right. Can't miss the chicharron sprinkled on top. For dessert, of course we had the Halo Halo. read more

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Worst Filipino food in NJ. So greasy, fatty, doesnt even taste good. They will charge you mistakenly on tip and probably do this often to scam. We wouldnt have found out if my bank didnt contact me. They would have kept all of that extra money! Go to Binh Duong right next door for HONEST people, very good food, and wonderful service. If you really want filipino food, go to Pandan on Broad street, not too far away. Even their halo-halo is sub-par. They have 2.5 stars for a reason! And thats being generous! read more

Today, March 26 like every week we order dinner from Max. I cannot believe the garlic rice as it had so much garlic we could not even eat it. This is ridiculous, please tell the person that made the garlic rice that we do not appreciate how it was made. I told my wife never to order it again. We spent good money to support Filipino Restaurants but if this is how you prepare food maybe we will take our business elsewhere. If you're mad about something don't express it by making bad food. read more

Max's Restaurant - Bloomfield - Garlic rice - Filipino Near Me - Bloomfield, New Jersey

I was excited to come here for Filipino cuisine but maybe my expectations were a bit too high. We sat down and there were about 3 tables around us who were already enjoying their food and a big table of at least 8 people as well. My husband and I ordered three entrees to share and two drinks. We waited, and waited, and waited for our food to come out - it must have been well over 45 minutes before our server came to us and offered a free appetizer. It was a nice gesture but it should have been given much sooner - plus the lumpia was way over cooked and dry. Our entrees were just OK - the beef Kare Kare lacked flavor and I've had great authentic Kare Kare before so I know what it should have tasted like. Overall, pretty disappointed by the slow service and overcooked, flavorless food. I would have given less stars but the server was very polite. read more

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The food is delicious. Whenever my family and I are in Jersey we like to go here when we want Filipino food. Everything we ate is Sarap! read more

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Potential for 5 star rating. I've eaten at Max's Restaurant several times between Bloomfield and Jersey City. I wish I could give them more stars but their quality of food and service is inconsistent. Table of 4 for group of men at 6pm on the first Saturday of the new 2020 decade after a foot refloxolgy group session. We ordered a large kare kare, pork bbq skewer, chicken stick bbq, lechon kawali sisig, garlic rice, adobo fried rice, sinigang baboy and calamansi juice to sip on. Desserts included a couple buko pandan and turoon ala mode. -Kare kare was delicious. Suprisingly so much meat included. -Pork bbq skewer and chicken stick bbq were both over cooked and very tough to eat. Similiar to jerky. I have had the bbq sticks before and we would usually fight over the last stick unfortunatly no fight this time. -Lechon kawali sisig was my favorite. Came out on a sizzling plate and was yummy!! Every bite was so flavorful. -We all enjoyed both of the flavored rice's. I typically prefer white rice to absorb all the flavor from the main dishes. -Sinigang baboy was decent but I prefer a little more of a sour and savoury kick. -All the desserts served at Max's have been on point with every visit. A very common issue I experience at Max's is their customer service. The wait times are way too long, from waiting to place an order to getting the food, to clearing the tables to placing a dessert order and getting dessert. Even getting the bill and paying the bill is a long wait time. After finishing our meals the dirty plates sat on our table for the 20 minutes we waited from ordering to getting desserts. Allison was our server and she was awesome. She was responsible for the section of the dining room that I was in which included 3 tables of four and a group of 12 all walked in within minutes apart. She did very well under the circumstances she was given without any help whatsoever. So the problem is management and understaffing with lack of team work from other employees standing around trying to avoid looking at our table of empty dishes. I will return to Max's for the convenience and the family size Halo Halo and cross my fingers and hope for the best. read more

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Food quality is BAD See image the calamari looks awful, the shanghai was burnt (seems re-fried), the pancit bihon, seems swimming on oil. read more

Max's Restaurant - Bloomfield - Max Teaser. - Filipino Near Me - Bloomfield, New Jersey

I'm surprised with all the hate this Max's location has gotten. I've been here three times and have only had good experiences so far. I've tried so many dishes here - their famous fried chicken (tastiest, least greasy fried chicken you'll ever get!), lumpiang shanghai, Filipino-style spaghetti, nilagang baka, pork sinigang, lechon kawali, crispy pata, ensaymada, and obviously regular steamed white rice. All delicious! And this is coming from a Filipina whose mom cooks amazing Filipino food! I'd say my go-to favorites are the pork dishes I've tried here, as I don't cook much pork at home and always try to order dishes that I can't cook. In my experience, service here is great. The wait staff has always been very friendly and attentive, and food has always come out in a reasonable time frame. But we always seem to come before or after the rush so perhaps we've been getting lucky with our timing. Good luck with parking though lol. For how many stores there are in the strip mall, the lot is very tiny. But the wait for a spot usually isn't very long as people are often in and out of Myra's Bakery or the East West food mart. read more

Their chicken is nowhere near the Philippines Max's standard (minus one star) and they do not have coleslaw like back in the Philippines either. HOWEVER their salmon belly Sinigang is seriously addicting!!! I know Sinigang is easy to cook yourself but the salmon in their soup is so soft and tasty. I find myself craving it often. It depends on the day though; sometimes they can go a little overboard on the Okra or they skimp on the salmon (sad day). read more

Max's Restaurant - Bloomfield - Filipino Near Me - Bloomfield, New Jersey

It taste like the same as the original in the Philippines!! The servers are very nice n performs their tasks well !! I will definitely be coming back berth the whole family read more

I'm come here twice. That food has mostly been good. Pork BBQ was absolutely delicious! Binagoongan was a bit bland. Pork was soft but the sauce was certainly missing some umph or something special. I've also gotten their crispy pata. The skin was mostly crispy but a bit tough as well. It reminded me a bit of the skin that's on roast duck near the ducks legs. The meat in side was delicious. Their bihon was okay too. I might have ruined it with too much lemon. Lumpiang ubod was straight up awful. I disliked the wrapper and their peanut sauce was... thin, an a bit sweet. Lechon was tasty, tender with crispy skin. Went great with some homemade Vietnamese dipping fish sauce. Laing was great! Plenty of taro leaves and very flavorful. I'd recommend checking your order before leaving. We had multiple items that were wrong and they fixed. I'll keep coming back to try their other menu items but I'd say safe bets are laing, lechon, and bbq. read more

Max's Restaurant - Bloomfield - Pork Binagoongan - Filipino Near Me - Bloomfield, New Jersey

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Forgot how incredibly overpriced and underwhelming Filipino food is in the US compared to in the Philippines. The garlic rice, fried calamari appetizer and lechon kawali were the only decent things we got here. The pancit canton, one of the simplest dishes in Pinoy cuisine, was flat out horrendous: noodles way way overcooked into baby-food-like mushiness and drowned in a thick tasteless sauce. The sinigang was ok but also cursed with a thick soup that didn't have much flavor, could barely taste the tamarind. The halo halo that the table next to us got looked good (everything else they got looked bone dry, esp. the chicken) but at a whopping $10 we decided to hit the Chow King about 10 minutes away instead for that dessert later that day. The food there cost about 1/3 as much and surprisingly (rice with beef "toppings") more enjoyable. On a positive note, our server was a nice young man and the place does have a pleasant ambiance. But it really pales to the Max's back in the PI! read more

Keep in mind, this review is based on horrible service we received. The food itself was actually pretty good, but it doesn't make up for the experience. Read on for details... When we first arrived, we were told there would be a wait due to a private party taking place. I didn't mind and my wife really wanted to try the fried chicken here that Max's is known for. We really only waited about 20 minutes and were then seated promptly. Upon seating, we placed our orders (sampler, bistek, crab meat fried rice, and a whole fried chicken). That's when the real waiting started. It took over an hour for us to even get some food and at one point, ended up cancelling the remainder of our order (never got to try the fried chicken since by the time we cancelled it, it was already going over a 90 minute wait, ugh). I will say, the staff was apologetic, when we can finally get their attention, but not enough to even think about even offering to discount our meal. I rarely complain, and honestly don't like handouts like that and normally don't expect them, but some common courtesy to patrons that are visiting your restaurant that were starving and didn't even get all that they ordered in the 2 hours that they sat there would have been appreciated. read more

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If you like non-greasy Fried chicken, "Max's Restaurant" is the place to get it! I came in for take-out a few weeks ago. The counter help couldn't have been nicer. I was surprised that tasty fried chicken could be prepared non-greasy and crispy. The chicken was tender and very meaty. Also, I did buy sweet potato fries. The fries were just okay. Definitely would come back to Max's for the fried chicken along with the very friendly customer service. A private parking lot is available. ****4 Stars **** read more

Max's Restaurant - Bloomfield - (Delicious) Fried Chicken half with (okay) sweet potato fries. - Filipino Near Me - Bloomfield, New Jersey

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For my first time at Max's restaurant I was so disappointed. I came on a Friday night at 630pm and there was a baby shower happening that took most of the restaurant, BUT still served outside customers....ok cool! So waited 15 minutes for a booth. Finally sat down.... I knew it was going to be busy but waiting almost half an hour for food was ridiculous. We ordered the following: Appetizer Sampler Bistek Crab meat Fried Rice Whole fried chicken Not much right? Yup that's it. Well the first 3 came out....waiting and waiting and waiting for the famous fried chicken. My husband and I ended up eating my daughters bistek. Still waiting but then couldn't find our waiter. Ok I know there's a party but if you know the food is taking longer...TELL US...communicate.... But no they bring out the rice but not the chicken! Come on! My rice was cold by the time the chicken would of been served. So we cancelled the chicken. I still ordered halo halo but they gave 1 spoon....so guess what I had to chase someone down for another spoon. The worst part....check comes in....with the 3 dishes and buko mango juices, and 2 kids drinks...Damn check was $55....WTF! Yup never again. $$$ wasn't worth it plus the service....I totally understand you are busy but communicate with your customers while we wait and watch other customers who were there at the same time as us getting served their orders. Food didn't wow me for the price I paid. Nope never again. Not much read more

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Food was okay to great and served with mostly acceptable timing, but otherwise service lacks. It became progressively slow to non-existent for a late Sunday lunch. Parking's tough at this East West Plaza with a small lot. OKAY: My toddler enjoyed the Shrimp Fried Rice but it lacked enough shrimp. The Kare-Kare had lots of promise- it looked good and had good quality oxtail and veggies but needed a lot more peanut flavor. GOOD: The Sago't Gulaman, a brown sugar-based drink made with firm tapioca, gelatin, and crushed ice super reminded me of the Philippines. The Lumpiang Shanghai had a nice presentation and was served hot and crispy with a good pork/veggie filling. A side dish of Laing had yummy taro leaves in coconut milk and slight spice. GREAT: For dessert, hail the Halo-Halo! It was the highlight of my meal with ube ice cream, pinipig (crunchy toasted young rice), garbanzo, white, and red beans, 3 colors of firm gelatin, jackfruit, and nata de coco in a good filling-to-ice/condensed milk ratio. This was part of my original order but had to get it to go because service took waaay too long. read more

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I know other reviewers have commented that the service was not as good as the Max's in Jersey City. I will say it could be improved which I think is an organizational problem but not a service problem. Our waitress was very nice and she hustled. Restaurant was packed. Appetizers came in two deliveries. The Lumpiang Shanghai which was absolutely delicious and piping hot cane out first. We devoured it. The fried chicken skins were delayed and our waitress asked if we would mind if they came with the entree's which were ready. I said why not. We had ordered a boatload of food. When it came it covered the table. Pork adobo which was outstanding, sizzling Sisig (ditto), lechon kiwali (pork belly deep fried) I demolished it but it needed more of the liver sauce, and of course the garlic rice. We got a small garlic rice but I wish I had gone large for leftovers with an egg the next day. Stuffed beyond belief we had to get dessert. Halo halo and Buko pandan. Both were delicious and messy. I was annoyed that there were no plates for dessert so we did drip ice cream all over the table. Also got the tapioca juice which I wasn't into. Tapioca pearls were too crumbly and it was too sweet. Parking is tight in this small lot but I got a spot in the lot. So for food 4.5-5. Service 3.5-4. I rounded to 4 because our waitress was so nice and did her best. I would come back in a heartbeat to try more of this menu. read more

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My biggest complain is how does a restaurant operate business hours Monday-Sunday from 12-630pm with Tuesdays off??? Don't most people want to enjoy a dinner after a long day of work? Also today I decided to head over there for some late lunch and it was closed on a Thursday afternoon! Never again!!!!! read more

When I opened my waze app and typed in Max's restaurant I was curious to see that there's another branch in Bloomfield NJ. Usually we go to Max's in Jersey City but getting a parking spot is a problem. So we decided to give this place a try. When we got here the parking lot is limited as well but luckily I was able to squeezed in my SUV in a spot just next to a scaffolding. From outside the place looks small but when we got in it is bigger than what we expected but a lot smaller than the other Max's. For lunch we got a Max's chicken, Kare-kare, Sisig, garlic and white rice, Laing, and Lumpia (spring roll) for appetizer. All the food are delicious and I say consistent with Max's standard. We also had the Buko Pandan and Ube ice cream with turon for dessert. The staffs were nices, food are yummy and served in a timely manner I would recommend this a must to go Filipino place. read more

Really? I'm paying $21 for beef soup and then I'm using plastic utensils and plates? Please don't say it's because of covid. read more

Max's Restaurant - Bloomfield - Filipino Near Me - Bloomfield, New Jersey

Finally, a solid and affordable site-down option for Filipino food in my neighborhood! Located in the East West shopping plaza, the addition of Max's Restaurant creates a holy trinity of solid Thai, Vietnamese, and Filipino options all within walking distance of each other in this area of town. For those who grew up or have traveled to Asian countries, Max's definitely is akin to the 'fast food' cafe-esque ambiance of the cafes we love and enjoy overseas. When I went on a Saturday for an early lunch, the staff was ready to go, friendly, and obliging. The restaurant was clean with placemats and utensils already laid out for the tables. The hubby and I ordered their famous fried chicken (half portion), pork sisig, and garlic rice to share. The food was served in the middle of the table, family-style. First, the fried chicken. It was not breaded in any way, which allowed the skin to retain a very light crispiness instead of a soft mess hidden under layers of crunchy breading. The meat was moist, not the most flavorful I have had, but not greasy or heavy at all. The pork sisig came out on a sizzling plate and is definitely not an entree for dieters - cooked to perfection in its own fat and other juices - but exactly what I expected and desired. With a squeeze of lemon to add acidity and a hint of tartness, the plate is perfection for a hungry stomach. A medium order of garlic rice was more than enough for two to share (3 scoopes of rice). On the table are Worchestershire sauce, banana sauce, and hot pepper sauce. The banana sauce is exactly like ketchup, but sweeter with a hint of 'tropical' flavor and less acidic. They recommend using the former two sauces with the fried chicken and I can attest that the Worchestershire sauce works really well with the chicken. I paid a $2 upcharge for sweet potato vs. regular fries and regret nothing - they were crunchy and oh-so-good! Unfortunately, we had no room for dessert after binging on those two entrees plus rice. Overall, good food, excellent service (at least on Sat morning) plus the nostalgic element make me more than willing to round up the 4.5 to 5 stars. I'm happy to add Max's to my rotation of good Asian eats in Essex County. read more

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Boo Boo and I were gonna eat pho a couple stores down but this place was open. I don't know much about Filipino except from Hackdrew Zimmerman, Bourdain, and my fat Filipino coworker. The wait to dine in was 30 minute, so we order take away. $14.95 for a whole chicken, $2.00 additional for sweet fries, and $3.95 for a small garlic rice. One of the chinese ladies that worked at this location when it was East West restaurant works here now. I don't think the Chicken is fried to order. The last item we had to wait for were the sweet fries. And we live very close by and our food was barely warm when we got home. I think eating the Chicken at home was a good idea. Boo Boo and I were able to enjoy our Chicken and carbs with kimchi and sirracha. The Chicken was small compared to Costco but everything is small vs. Costco. Also, the Chicken was a bit dry so the rooster sauce came in handy. The Parking lot is very congested, meeting up with other people to dine here can be aggravating. I would come back and try other dishes. It was a full house on this Wednesday night for dinner. read more

Max's Restaurant - Bloomfield - Whole chicken garlic rice and sweet fries - Filipino Near Me - Bloomfield, New Jersey

Looking for good Phillipino food then head to Max's. Enjoyed the fifties chicken appetizer with the vinegar dipping sauce. Garlic Rice was amazing. Both entrees, Fried Chicken and Pork Adobo were juicy and delicious. The ice cream at the end was sweet and good. Although I could have done without the frozen corn kernels in the ice cream. Service was good and assisted in dinner suggestions read more

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Staff and food was cool and yummy. Would go back again ambiance is fine and quiet, you can be noisy too if you want hahahaha

Stopped by during my lunch break to check out the new Bloomfield branch of Max's Restaurant/Max's of Manila. The place was advertised on TFC a couple of weeks ago, so we gave it a shot. Note that as of April 10, they are still in their "soft opening" period so not all of Max's typical menu items are available. LOCATION: Horrible. East West Plaza is already mess because of the market and bakery, and the addition of a popular restaurant near Binh Duong only makes it worse. FOOD: We ordered the following: -1x Pancit Canton ($10.25) -1x Lechon Kawali Sisig ($12.95) -1x Half Chicken ($11.95) -1x Large Garlic Rice (5/$6.25) Without going into too much detail, the food looked good but the taste was generally underwhelming. The chicken is okay; it's crispy, somewhat juicy, but not too flavorful unless you add banana ketchup. However, we paid an extra $2 for sweet potato fries that we never asked for nor we were told about. The Pancit Canton was actually pretty good, but just a bit on the salty side. The Lechon Kawali Sisig was disappointing and overpriced for the quality (and quantity) you get. There were no chili peppers, and tasted a bit sweet; it tasted as if it was just sautéed in onions. You might as well drive to Mama Fina's in Elmwood Park. Finally, the garlic rice was pretty good and not overly garlicky. We originally wanted to order the Classic Sisig, but one of the staff members--I don't think she's a waitress--told us that it was sold out...at 3PM on a Monday. That's hard to believe, especially since they're right next to East West Market, but okay. After our lackluster lunch, we didn't even bother with the desserts. SERVICE: Slow as hell even at 3PM. The place was only 1/3 occupied, but it still took 15 minutes for us to be seated. The food came out pretty quick, though. While we were eating, I saw an elderly couple who ended up waiting awhile to be seated even when the restaurant was still 2/3 empty. The bathroom was also a mess--the sink was dirty, the rolls of toilet paper were a mess, the trash was full, and it smelled like ass in there. Their famous chicken is solid and everything else was decent, but I am not coming back. Give it a try if you love chicken or are curious about trying other Filipino dishes. Perhaps they're still working things out, but I don't see myself driving out of my way for this place again. read more

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Oh boy, where to start? How to describe my experience? Confusion? Disappointment? More confusion? It was a mix of all. I'm going to do my best to tell you the tale of Max's in Bloomfield: Once upon a time (this past weekend), in a far away land (Bloomfield), a party of five (not the same as the 90s show) came famished to the fabled Max's Restaurant. Prior to this location, only one Max's existed in the area, in the ever further away land of Jersey City. This location being closer and the food of the Jersey City Max's being loved, the opening of this restaurant was a welcome gift. Or so it seemed.... The party arrived to the location and were seated within 15 minutes, with a family of four behind them. With a wait of 15 minutes, they were shocked to see... 9 empty tables! Why did it take so long to seat them? And why were they seated at a 4 top when there was 5 of them and 9 empty tables? Also, why was another party of 5 seated at a 4 top combined with a 2 top (which seems like the appropriate configuration for a party of 5). The space was cramped for our mighty 5 protagonists but they kept a positive attitude. They kept it that was until they realized it had been sitting for 15 minutes with their menus closed and no one came to take their formal requests for food (their order). There were two men standing in the dining room, ahh, the mighty knights on guard duty of a kingdom. We beckoned to them to order and they said, "Hold on, I'll get your waiter." Our waiter wasn't there? They seemed understaffed if there was only the two knights (busboys) and one waiter? Suddenly, as if a mighty tempest of people landed, there was about 8-10 knights and ladies in waiting on the floor (waiter, waitresses and busboys). So, they weren't understaffed... where were all of them before? What were they doing? Why wasn't anyone being served? Why wasn't anything happening? They all made it look like they were busy but with all these people around, our requests for food still were not being taken. Eventually, someone came, and he looked annoyed to even be in our presence. Perhaps he felt overwhelmed. By what, I'm not sure? There were 5 tables and there was another waiter. He took our our orders and the food came out (surprisingly) quickly. The cramped table proved to be a mighty foe for our five, with one diner having to eat with a plate on his lap. The food was just okay. Nothing came as decreed on the menu. (***Okay, I'm failing hard at trying to make this sound like a tale... so back to it sounding like a real review. Apologies, to all, for my terrible story telling.***) The lechon kawali sisig tasted like lechon adobo that was put on a sisig plate. It did not come out sizzling nor did it taste like sisig. The bangus sisig tasted like the Dead Sea (but at least it sizzled). The crab fried rice tasted bitter. The fried chicken was dry and the fries with it had no salt. The crispy pata was decent. The bulalo and the halo-halo were the only truly enjoyable things and those two aren't enough to make me to ever want to go back. I'm still confused,with all the staff working, how could the service be that terrible!? I suppose it's lack of a floor manager. Everyone seemed confused and lacking direction. Maybe it's because they're still a new restaurant, I'm not sure. With all the people working, I was upset that we had so many dirty dishes on our table. No one came to clear our table as we finished and the staff just stood around staring off into space. We kept juggling dishes and moving them around, stacking them. We would try to get the staff's attention and it was hit or miss but even if we got them, they seemed to be confused: Example 1: Ask for calamansi drink and water for table (this is after waiting a long time to order then having finished ordering). Waiter asks busboy to get water and drink. Wait ensues. Busboy comes back with calamansi and one water. No one else has drinks. He does not return. Need to ask for water for whole table. Returns with water for whole table. Example 2: Order 2 halo-halos. 2 halo-halos come out from kitchen by busboy. Halo-halos proceed to pass our table and walk past us to the front door. Halo-halos pass us again and around the dining room. Halo-halos pass us again back toward front door. Wave at waiter who uncomfortably gives us halo-halos and says, "Sorry, I was looking for your waiter." WHY!??! We are right there! Why is my food dancing all around the dining room when you know the table is for us?! Is there a caste system of waitstaff at this restaurant!? I don't find you untouchable, Mr. Busboy. Give me my (@*$)#()*@ food! As a kicker, with all the staff, the bathroom was gross. If no one is serving, or clearing dishes, why is no one cleaning the bathroom? What are these people doing?! I'm still astonished and I'll never go back. I have much, much more to write but Yelp limits my characters. TLDR: Go to Jersey City. read more