Max & Lucy's is one of the few Kakaako eateries open during this COVID Pandemic. The food at Max & Lucy's is home made, comfort, large portions and priced right. The menu is limited during this COVID time but still enough selection to not tire of his food. My favorites are the Baked Chicken and the Furikake Salmon! Oh! Don't forget the lemon bars or the bundt cake! The bakery items there are great also. So, if you're in the area looking for a lunch bite; stop at Max & Lucy's. At this time, parking is plentiful. read more

Max & Lucy's - Mini Baked Chicken with potato Mac salad - New American Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

=== 1. VERDICT/VALUE Local plate lunch meets good service in this hidden gem in Kaka'ako! === 2. FOOD Mix Plate ($11): the best way to get the best of two worlds - which as seen in the picture, allowed me to sample the roast pork and gravy and the meat loaf. Despite being prepared before my entry and sitting in hot bins cafeteria-style, both were soft, tender, and flavorful. The plate lunch is rounded out with a scoop of rice and a scoop of mac salad made with tuna fish and olives. I added a piece of salmon katsu with tartar sauce for $7 - which tasted even better than the roast pork and meatloaf. There are a variety of fresh-baked pastries daily and I chose the "Banana Chessecake" ($4.50) - imagine if you will, cake made with banana bread and cheese-based icing in between and on top - not bad! === 3. SERVICE & ENVIRONMENT Whether you eat in at the variety of tables that fit 4+ or take out, the service is cafeteria-style. I assume both of the staff are Max and Lucy (sorry, I should have asked!) and both were good and friendly. Even at lunchtime during the pandemic, it was pretty full and so it may be a challenge to fit any wheelchairs or baby strollers inside. Parking seems to be limited to your luck on the street. read more

Max & Lucy's - "Banana Cheesecake" ($4.50): really banana bread with cheese-based icing - not a bad choice! - New American Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Get there early for lunch. When they run out, they run out. Food is tasty and worth every cent. Really good dessert too.

Ok, so this place is one of those hidden gems nobody wants to talk about so nothing gets spoiled and gets over run by haters. I have never seen anything advertised or mentioned of this place and I drove by it 50 or 60 times never batting an eye. One day I decided to look on my trusty Yelp and saw some good stuff and figured let's try it. Man, did I take to long to try it. I went late in the day so the remaining items available was limited, but what I got was very tasty, we especially since I love eggplant parmesan. Being totally honest, the food was great but the guy behind the counter was awesome to talk to. I assume it might be Max, but if it wasn't, a totally bomb dude. My only regret I didn't go early for more choices, but I'll be back! read more

Max & Lucy's - New American Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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I don't think they have any parking and if anything you'll have to find street parking which I think is $3/hour. I was already at the federal building for jury duty and walked about a block over since my parking was taken care of until 5pm so I decided to wander around. Honestly the first thing on my mind is what am I going to eat lol You'll find the shop in a green building shared with another eatery. There's tables inside or outside and it's primarily for take out as they probably cater to the businesses and federal building around here. The line moved pretty fast and most of which were already pre made. I only had to wait a few minutes for my salmon katsu to come out and when it did they asked if I wanted white or brown rice and whether I wanted toss, tuna salad, or potato salad. The salmon smelled so good and it looked so flakey! I must say it was super moist too! It's one of the better places that serve fried salmon! The fried chicken was good but once I got to the meat area it tasted a little bit bland. My only gripe about this place is the random hours and the tuna salad had way too many olives in there. But I just dig around it. They also give two scoops of rice! So much carbs lol! My doggies enjoyed the rice tho since I hardly eat it. Otherwise, I'll be around every other Tuesday now so I'll get to try different things around this area. read more

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My husband and I came here for lunch. We got the pork with gravy, beef stew, and teriyaki chicken. Everything was really good and the desserts were delicious. I'll definitely come back when I'm in there area. read more

I worked down the block from Max & Lucy's. After sampling most of the restaurants and food trucks in the area, Max & Lucy's is my top choice for local grinds and plentiful portions at affordable prices in Downtown Honolulu. The owner and his employees consistently have a welcoming aloha spirit. For large eaters, this is the place to come for lunch. They do not skimp on portions. The size of each piece of katsu and meatloaf is huge. Sometimes I have enough on my plate to last for several meals. Everything on the menu that I've tried tastes mouthwatering and homemade. Some of my favorites are the roast chicken, salmon katsu, pesto salmon, and the prime rib. I like that there is the option of customizing a plate with either rice or salad. The breakfast is also a good deal with a breakfast bento of meat, rice, and egg for only $4.00. I never tried the baked goods as I rarely crave sweets, but for those with a sweet tooth, the brownies and cookies always look delicious. Plates are a bargain for the amount and quality of food you get. The prime rib every Thursday is only $12.50. It's hard to beat that price anywhere else in the high priced Downtown/Kaka'ako neighborhood. For that reason, Max & Lucy's is very popular among government workers who work around here and food runs out fast. There were days when every last piece of food was gone by 1PM, an hour before closing. I recommend getting there as early as possible when lunch hour begins. read more

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I don't work in the area, but I was making my way back to my office during my lunch break and spotted a parking spot right near Max & Lucy's so I took that as a sign that today would be the day for me to stop and take a look. It was hard to decide between the baked chicken, fried chicken, or salmon (three different options for sauces!). I decided to opt for something on the healthier side, so I tried the teri salmon with a scoop of mashed potatoes (made from scratch!), brown rice, and tossed salad with lilikoi dressing. It was amazing! Every single bite of it - even the salad. The lilikoi dressing is winnas. They have really tempting cases of desserts and baked goods - I passed on them today, and I'm totally regretting it right now! read more

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Last week, I picked up a bunch of plate lunches for my coworkers (sorry, I forgot to take the pics) + some desserts for just My bf and I lol. You can't go wrong with these AFFORDABLE YUMMY GRINDZ. Def recommend their peanut butter fudge thing, lime bar, Baked Chicken w/ their mushroom gravy all over, and their oh so popular Thursday Prime Rib Special. DO IT! ;) I definitely recommend ordering in advance by 2pm the day before to make sure you can get what you want, as they are super popular and can get wiped out quick. read more

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I was recently in the area of Max & Lucy's and decided to stop by and try their fried chicken. Yelp reviews once again sparked my interest to come here. It did not disappoint. I was offered a choice of fried or white rice. I choose the fried rice which went perfectly with the chicken, which was crispy and juicy. Really about the best fried chicken I have had in awhile. I got it with the Mac salad which was very addicting. Not your typical plate lunch Mac Salad. The portions were generous! I couldn't finish one of the pieces of fried chicken, which I reheated the next day and it still tasted delicious. That is good fried chicken! I will definitely be back! read more

Max & Lucy's - Everything on this plate was delicious! - New American Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Whatever day you go you can't go wrong. The service is a bit reminiscent of Cafe VIII 1/2 where the guy used to yell at the woman but at half that decibel. My recommendation is go on Thursdays for the prime rib. Cheap and so good!! Tip: check to make sure the au jus container is closed - it leaked through the paper bag and all over my denim. :( read more

This place is always so good. I love the simple but tasty selections and generous portions! Salmon Katsu, Fried Chicken, Baked Potato and the breakfast bento to name a few winnahs! The chili and stew are great too! I hear the Prime Rib is super good but haven't tried it yet. read more

People are nice and food is decent. Two problems: it's a bit expensive and food runs out early. I paid high teens and into the 20s the couple of times I went. Not a huge deal breaker because I got the salmon or the prime rib. But definitely not a daily place to eat. Warning to potato salad lovers: they put a lot of chopped up pickles in the potato salad so if you're expecting a "local mac salad", get the green salad instead. I went at about 1230pm and the choices were very limited because they were almost out of food so best to go early. I'm guessing it's because there aren't very many food places in walking distance if you work around there so a lot of state workers go there. I'd return. Maybe in a few weeks after I save up a few extra dollars. read more

This place is a true definition of a hole-in-a-wall place! I got the teriyaki salmon plate the first time I went & it was sooo ono! Just went there today & tried their regular baked chicken & it broke da moufff! I had gravy on top but you can ask to leave it off. Service was fast & efficient. You're like in and out in less than 5mins! Im going back for the teriyaki salmon next time! read more

Max & Lucy's - New American Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Been here twice now and it's so good! I got the baked chicken and beef stew and both were fantastic. They have so much flavor and the chicken was so juicy and tender. The ranch for the salad also tasted homemade. Overall I love coming here and you can't beat the prices and friendly staff. Awesome find. read more

amazing service! my fav breakfast spot in the morning. breakfast bento is my to go! fried rice, pineapple sausage & egg is so ono

Took some friends here for the first time. At 11:00am there was no line. This place gets really busy that starts around 11:15am. I had the Panko Opakapaka. A generous portion that sat over 2 scoops of brown rice with macaroni and cheese on the side. It was incredibly good. The panko had a nice crisp texture and the fish was moist and firm on the inside. I had a choice of tartar or red cocktail sauce. I picked tartar sauce. They had a nice glass display of desserts by the counter, so I added a slice of brownie with walnuts. I had an Arizona Ice Tea on the side. It's such a big can. read more

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Max & Lucy's has the best staff ever. Mike is awesome. He brings wit, humor, and personality to your experience there. They have different menu items each day. It took me a while to decide on what to get because everything sounded and looked good. I finally ordered the salmon katsu with tuna macaroni and brown rice. It was delicious. You get a lot of food. I was full and had to take my dessert to go. I also got a lemon bar. It did not look as good as the ones pictured on here and was not very tasty. It must have been a bad batch. They have a nice sized dining area and a few tables on the sidewalk that you can eat. You can also take your order to go. I ate in the dining area and they had a constant steady flow of people coming in. They have a TV there as well, so it is possible to watch news or sports there. If you do not work in the area and are driving in, there is metered street parking out front and a parking garage nearby. read more

Pretty good in and out spot. Got breakfast fried rice with pineapple sausage. Very affordable and military friendly. read more

Max & Lucy's - New American Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Their saving grace is their prime rib on Thursdays. I wouldn't order any other stuff. read more

Max & Lucy's - For a little over $10, you can have their fried chicken. Very average. - New American Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Tried here for lunch on a Friday since I've seen it crowded pretty often, and I'd heard good things about it from my dad. The menu was extensive, with a full board of daily specials plus a full board of regular items. There wasn't much of a line at 12:30, just one person in front of me, and the worker was very friendly, lots of bantering and small talk which I attempted to deal with accordingly. I was offered lasagna but went for the roast pork with brown rice, gravy all over, and tossed salad. Huge portions, just two scoops of rice but probably more pork than rice, and the salad was overflowing into the other compartments of the plate lunch contained, with the dressing in a little container. They gave me a fork (no chopsticks or was it a personal thing?) and a giant paper bag to put it in which would've been problematic had I decided to walk around after getting the food. Anyway, pretty good plate lunch, came out to $10 for a huge portion, easily enough for two meals. The salad was fresh, the mushroom gravy was thick, savory, and not too salty, and the pork was soft, well flavored, and juicy. One thing that seemed a little off that's probably just personal preference was that it was a little lean, not to the point of being tough or stringy, but almost the texture of chicken when it's in soup. I usually prefer my roast pork succulent and fatty, and although this was tasty I'd probably try something else next time, perhaps the lasagna. read more

Max & Lucy's - Roast pork plate - New American Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

I love Max & Lucys! Always affordable and great home cooked meals. The man that works at the serving counter is so awesome and so friendly! Today I had the baked chicken with gravy, brown rice and his famous potato Mac salad. My ultimate go to. Gravy is just out of this world. I also tried the chocolate banana cake for the first time and OH MY. I love how it's such a cute little whole in the wall with big smile and great service every time. Mahalo Max and staff shark read more

Max & Lucy's - Chocolate Chip Banana Cake - New American Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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I never knew this place was so close to my job. Had the pleasure of trying their foods and it did not disappoint. They have good portions and service is very fast. The staffs are friendly as well. Definitely would recommend. read more

Food was good, but availability of food is not communicated well. Tried to order 2 plates, and had to settle for things that I did not want since I had reviewed and selected what I wanted before arriving at the location. I could have opted to go somewhere else but this place was out of the way and I had already committed to going here. The first plate was a daily menu item, and I was told that because it was the end of the month, they didn't have it. The second plate was a special item that is listed for the specific day I visited, and I was told that they don't have that available until 11am. Third plate was another daily menu item, and I was told that they do not do this daily item when they do this specific special item for this particular day. The final plate was not available for the same reason as the second, it's not going to be ready until 11am. All that being said, my disappointment is due to none of this information is communicated anywhere. No signage saying what is and isn't available. To conclude, you need to avoid this place during the end of each month and visit after 11am even though their lunch hours are listed from 9am (that's when breakfast hours end, which is one of the few things property listed somewhere). If you do not want to do these things, then visit with multiple backup choices in mind, since you never know what is and isn't available. read more

I've been working in the area for about two years but only tried this place last week - got the salmon katsu and carrot cake and both were ono! Salmon was tender and moist (and I like that they have mac and cheese as an option!) and the carrot cake was also moist and delicious. Will be returning for sure. read more

First introduced to this place when a coworker brought breakfast bentos for the office. Got the fried rice, spam and egg bento. Everything was made to order and hot when I got it. Sufficed to say, after the eating the delicious bento. I decided to try their lunch offering. Went around 11 on a Thursday and there was already a line leading out of the front door. Ordered a prime rib plate. It included a salad, brown rice and a healthy portion of prime rib and au jus. The prime rib was freshly cut and the salad was made fresh (nothing wilted). It costs around $17 and totally worth every penny. Would gladly make this place my go to. The staff were friendly and answered all my questions. read more

Yup. Here again. So, in addition to a lunch, I got a catered out 3 orders of Mike's Tuesday eggplant parmesan for dinner. My son devoured two plate fulls and told me with a smile, "This was really good comfort food." Do me a favor though. Call ahead first. If you think getting takeout at lunchtime for dinner is a great idea (hello, sharing your secret lunch place with your family, no cooking, amazing food, and at a great price), please I hope there's some of his salmon katsu or eggplant parm left for me. Serious. I love this stuff. read more

Max & Lucy's - Salmon katsu available on Fridays. - New American Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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This place is awesome! Thank you Misty from Food Fiend for doing your Vlog! We had the eggplant parm and Shoyu chicken. Mmmm, comfort food. And the homemade deserts were delicious. They were so busy that they ran out of rice and almost all the specials by 12:30. Definitely going back again. The owner was extremely efficient and so nice! He greeted every customer with a bright smile! I love this place. read more

I finally got to try this spot today at lunch. The place was filled with construction workers in their neon green (or yellow?) shirts, about 12-15 of them. I knew then that this place had the grinds. I had the salmon katsu, which was a perfectly breaded and fried big hunk of salmon. Seriously, it was bigger than normal salmon portions I've had in plate lunches for the same price $10.50). You have choice of katsu sauce or tartar to go with your salmon - I got the tartar as I'm not generally a fan of katsu sauce and it went well with the salmon katsu. The salmon katsu was on the oily side - there was a small pool of oil at the end of the salmon touching the container. It didn't necessarily taste very oily though and I just avoided the bottom skin portion, which I normally don't eat anyway. So it was fine. You have a choice of white or brown rice and toss, potato, or pasta salad. I got the potato salad. My only major complaint with the whole lunch is that I spit out quite a few pieces of potato with the eyes that were starting to sprout. You know that I'm talking about? Those should have been removed. I'll still be back to try other dishes and the pasta salad! read more

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Mike is just about the nicest business owner you will ever meet. Just a cheerful, friendly guy who works hard and serves up great comfort food at really reasonable rates. I usually go there for early breakfast when I'm having my car serviced at nearby Motor Imports (Toyota). His food is really tasty and the desserts are awesome. Highly recommended. read more

Good variety of food, quick service and reasonably priced. They have a set menu and weekly rotations. Would recommend.

This little restaurant is a gem!! We stopped in for lunch after a visit to the Iolani Palace. They have daily specials. Some of the food is cafeteria style and some is made to order. I had the steak plate with brown rice and tuna mac salad. It was so yummy!! The portion size was enough for dinner also. My husband had the salmon katsu with the same sides. He said it was one of the best meals he had during our visit to Oahu! The owner/chef greeted each customer as a friend. He was so warm and personable. The rest of the staff reflected the same wonderful spirit. This place is easy to overlook, but do not make that mistake! read more

Yum yum yummy!!!! Had pork roast with mushroom gravy, just a mini But it was pretty big though and totally delicious. Pass all the time and today I found parking..... Which is tight, great food I will be back. They have a menu with specials for mon to fri Give it a try.....onolicious.. read more

Delicious and tasty food! You need to come from near or far to give this place a try! Once you eat here, it will always become a go to when you want the best! Service was great! read more

You want delicious home cooked food that's simple yet amazing? You have to the Kaka'ako area and try this establishment. The owner and cook is always friendly and will entice you into one of his yummy dishes. His breakfast of fried rice, scrambled eggs and thick, crispy bacon will fill me up for the entire day and is sooooo yummy. Thursdays is one of my fave days to pay a visit as my friends and I will walk over for the specials of that which consists of prime rib and salmon. Another fave of mine is the fried chicken. Mmmmm mmmm finger licking good! And the lemon bars are to die for!! read more

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Home-made, comfort food spot with a ton of regulars. Pros: + Consistently impressed and satisfied with chef Mike's cooking. + Most cakes/desserts are stupid delicious (e.g. Key Lime pie) + Belly busting large portions and affordable prices. One of the stars in Kaka'ako. read more

The bacon has gotten better. The cashier is trying his best to be upbeat. Even though I have trouble digesting meat-heavy dishes, they have a vast menu. I like that there are daily specials. read more

I come sometimes for the breakfast bento even though it's out of my way because it's that simple and good. Basically just rice (or fried rice), an egg served any way you want it, plus a protein. I usually just get baked chicken or smoky hot sausage. It's enough to serve as brunch on lighter days. read more

I ordered the prime rib for lunch. I was so disappointed. It was so rare I couldn't eat it. I considered feeding it to my dog. I could be good for someone who enjoys rare barely cooked meat. On the bright side it was reasonable priced.. read more

Large portions + freshly made plate-lunch-style meals. We grabbed a few plates from Max & Lucy's for lunch. Half of the group ordered fried chicken while the other half of us ordered the Opakapaka fish plate. I also heard that they have a specials board towards the front for anyone looking to try something different. You have the choice between white rice and brown rice for the plates. One of the things I really appreciate about the food from this spot is the lack of grease. I think it's common for a lot of plate lunch spots in Hawaii to come with a pool of grease. It's nice that you do not have to worry about this if you're grabbing food from Max & Lucy's. Opakapaka plate: Fish was breaded nicely, not too thick, thin, or greasy. While I did not get to try the fried chicken, I think the clear plates were a good sign... read more