Worst service ever. My friends family and I were celebrating a birthday and the lady in the front had some major eye problems. We were a party of 6 and told her "table for 6 please" and she proceeded to say "it's an hour wait." Which was fine, that's what the birthday girl wanted to eat so we said we would wait and her damn reaction was "really?? Actually it'll be an hour and 30 minutes wait" When we finally got seated we noticed a smell. It smelled like body odor and pee and when we reported it to the same lady, she looked at us and rolled her eyes. We had to ask a manager to move tables and honestly I don't know how she was trained but she ruined the meal, and the night. Honestly so shocked that she didn't get fired yet. The food was fine. The guys singing happy birthday were nice, but that one lady just needs to get her crap together. Edit: I'm giving it 2 stars because the men kind of salvaged the night with their service. read more

I was craving some Filipino food and really anything that reminded me of my Dad's cooking. I felt lucky that I happened to park far from Costco and I found this place! Here are some reasons to try the place: 1. Place is big! I came here at 11am with my two kids and we were seated right away. Lots of people were coming in for lunch but there was more than enough room for all of us. 2. Food is decent and I know nothing can ever taste like my Dad's cooking, but this place served its purpose to satisfy my craving. I ordered arroz caldo,sautéed spinach (forget the right name but it had ginger and pork) and a kids' meal with chicken, rice and hotdog. I liked all my choices but the fried chicken (which they are known for) was not what I expected. 3. The price can seem pricey but the servings were big! I had leftovers for a couple meals. 4. Service was good and the waiters were watching me to make sure I had enough napkins for my crazy kids. 5. The place was also really clean, especially the bathrooms. Overall, I had a good experience and this was a nice change of pace from Costco's food court. read more

Very clean restaurant. Loved the customer hand-washing sink separate from the bathrooms. Much more relaxed and refined than usual Filipino restaurants I visited. Reasonable food prices. Good, attentive service. Portions are generous. The dishes are delicious, but a bit mundane (need perhaps more fresh herbs, chilis and ginger) or overly shrimp-sauced. The halo halo was perfect, not too sweet, and generous in portion size. read more

Max's Restaurant - Dillingham - Ube halo halo - Filipino Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

I've driven by this place countless times but never went in. I am glad I finally made the plunge. I am not usually a fan of Filipino food so I was quite surprised I liked the meal as much as I did. There are three things you MUST try and a few honorable mentions. MUST TRY: 1) Buko (coconut) juice - This may sound hipster of me but every since I had this delicious fresh coconut juice at a Thai restaurant in Sydney, I've been looking for someone similar. This is by far the closest drink I have found. 2) Crispy Pata - If you can get past the fact you're gnawing on a pig leg/foot (and it will be very visible) try this! The skin is ridiculously crispy and we all know the skin is the best part of any fried pig. Pro chang tip: get the large order. It can easily feed 2 and a way better deal than the small. 3) Halo halo - Do you like dessert? Do you like tons and tons of colorful things slathered with ice cream? Then this is the dessert for you! Pretty good stuff: Chicken- They are famous for this! Its hard to compete with costco's $5 chicken but this one was pretty good. Not my favorite fried chicken due to the unique flavor, but the skin is on point for crispiness. Crab fried rice - Loaded with a surprising amount of crab and crab flavor Ong Choi - It was like one of those poke towers except it was all veggies, packed firm. There was probably over a pound of veggies packed into a small tower. We have to at least attempt to eat healthy sometimes, right? read more

Max's Restaurant - Dillingham - Delicious halo halo! Large and loaded with so many goodies on the bottom! - Filipino Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

First off don't expect great service! When we entered to look for our family I asked where they were seated and informed them the reservations name, the host told us " go look". Didn't pay much attention till we were seated and the waiters taking our order was rushing us. Also we asked for refills like 4 times and got our water refills when we paid the check so annoyed! The food was ok I enjoyed the soup sinigang a lot and the other food. I would definitely recommend they try to work on their service though. read more

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I ordered pork sinigang, Lechon Kawali. Took it home and the sinigang was very salty. Cant even enjoy it. Waste! Disappointed! read more

Max's Restaurant - Dillingham - Salty Sinigang Baboy Soup - Filipino Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Came here for lunch on a Friday. Easy to get a seat and service was very friendly. Ordered crispy pata, fried chicken, bulalo, pinakbet, and garlic rice. Crispy pata and fried chicken were on point. Bulalo was nice with a mild broth and big chunks of beef. Pinakbet was just ok. Overall satisfying and yummy food! read more

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Worked for one of largest food chain in Honolulu, chicken quality for me is a must in order to satisfy customers expectations. Today went to the hair salon by iwelei and this place is too close for us to grab halo-halo for my mom, hubby and I. Since we are already here I decided to order their fried chicken, was so disappointed the quality is really awful chicken was so dry and I can tell chicken has been sitting and probably from last nights leftover and heat it up, I can tell the brownish siding of the chicken meat, tough and too dry or overheated up. So in the event you are ordering tell em you want it fresh, they just open about an hour ago and the place is not even busy. Spoke with the manager on duty all I heard is she will check the oil!?! Aren't you supposed to check the quality of the oil before you even operate? So lame excuse! Why you just don't admit it you guys are selling day old! read more

I love Filipino food but I don't get to eat it as much as I'd like to, even tho I work fairly close to this restaurant location. We decided to tag along with some co-workers today for lunch and headed over to Max's. To our delight, they were celebrating their 7th anniversary at this location. (Happy anniversary!) Every time I've been here, I have never been disappointed with the food. And Robert (our waiter Every. Time!) is such a hoot! He is so funny, and makes it such an enjoyable experience each time. My absolute favorite here (except for Robert of course) is the Bangus (fish) Sisig. (I wish they also served Sari Sari though.) Since it was their anniversary today, everyone got free Magnolia ice-cream as dessert. What a great day to come in for lunch. :) ... I also wish I still had more of that sisig right now... read more

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Leaving California where my family is means I don't get home cooked Filipino meals anymore and I don't know how to cook them so I have to rely on restaurants here. One time I came here with my boyfriend, we found a piece of the kare-kare packet in our kare-kare. 1. Ummmmmm I could've eaten that, 2. They use packets? How disappointing. And the oxtail wasn't as soft as it should be. Another time when we went, there seemed to be only one server handling the whole restaurant. Now this is ambitious of him. I mean good job because you're getting all this money but the quality of your service goes down the drain. He was in a rush when he got to our table. Customers should never feel rushed when ordering. He asked us what size of the kare-kare we wanted and we were debating out loud and said "we always get the big one but we end up just taking the rest home. So we'll take the regular." When it came out, it was huge and we thought wow why have we been ordering the large when the regular is this big? And the way he set the food on our table was just wow. It was a table with 4 chairs with just the 2 of us and he'd set the food down on the far side of the table and seriously just dropping it and leaving without even asking if we need anything or taking his time. At the end of the meal we saw the check and it WAS the large kare-kare and he said "oh I thought you wanted to take it home" and we said that we didn't say that. He also didn't give a pen when he dropped the check. Random but he also had his car keys lanyard around his neck and I thought that was weird because the presentation of servers is also important. We get the same server every time and it's like they don't wanna hire new and more people. I definitely need to look for another Filipino restaurant. read more

Place is located in the Costco Iwilei area next to L&L BBQ. This place can get pretty busy during dinner time. The joint is pretty clean and spacious and great for big parties. No elbow touching other tables here!! We threw my dads retirement party here with about 70 guest with no problem. The Kare Kare (like an OxTail peanut butter stew) here is pretty good. It's something we order almost every time we come here. Garlic rice is a must try along with Lechon Kewali and the Bistek. The fried chicken is what they're known for, but I find it dry and bland. As far as dessert goes the halo halo is huge, good enough for 2 people. The kids love the Buko Pandan with Ube ice cream instead of the vanilla. read more

Homen worst service from a server ever received. Ask for vinegar 3 times, raised voice in a irritated personality. Horrible representation for a company. This person should not be working here. We eat here all the time had no complaints till this shitty excuse of a server served us read more

We came here for the Thanksgiving buffet since no one in the family wanted to make the traditional Thanksgiving meal this year. We were turkey'd out. Max's doesn't have buffet throughout the year, so getting to eat buffet there felt special. My mom's pronouncement: It was the best Thanksgiving meal she ever had! Hmm, thats very subtle, mom. It makes me think she's setting us up to go back next year at Thanksgiving, not that I'm complaining. I truly enjoyed the selections too. There was turkey and stuffing for those who wanted it, but there were many Filipino delicacies like kare kare, lumpia, open face lumpia without the wrapper, eggplant omelette, longanisa (a sausage), paella, sizzling tofu (delicious!), halo halo, flan. People who were low carbing or vegetarian had a variety of dishes to choose from. One of the tastiest dishes was the Filipino meatloaf. It didn't look like much. It's round and dry looking on the outside, but all of us were surprised by how moist and tasty it was. I could be wrong but I don't think this is a dish on their regular menu. The price for the buffet was reasonable. It was around $27/adult and about $15/ child. As always, the service was excellent. The bathrooms are clean. We're probably coming back next year if my mom has her way. read more

Max's Restaurant - Dillingham - Filipino Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Came here Wednesday & they're not that busy which is good since i was starving. I ordered through bite squad but put it for pick up since my Dad's gonna be around the area. I got 3 items & it was ready in about 15-20 minutes. I got.. Whole Fried Chicken $15.95: 5/5 Super crispy & yes, it taste like it's freshly fried. You can hear that crunch when biting the skin, chicken is also juicy. Pancit Canton $10.75: 4/5 Ehh. It's good, taste like aunthentic filipino Pancit Canton. Noodles is not dry. & Lechon Kawali with Shrimp Sinagang Soup (Combo) $14.95: 5/5 for Lechon Kawali, prob. what everybody liked. the meat has that umami taste, not dry & the skin is crunchy. I never get to try the Shrimp Sinigang tho, they forgot to put it on my order which saddens me 'cos i was craving for it that time. Service was okay. would double check my order next time since they don't. Price? a little pricey considering the taste & the amount of food they're giving. read more

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Overall it was a rather underwhelming and under-seasoned meal. Maybe we went on an off-day, or maybe that's just how it normally is. All I know is that I can find better fried chicken elsewhere for a lot cheaper. MAX'S FRIED CHICKEN ($8.50 1/2 order, $13.75 whole order): http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/maxs-of-manila-honolulu-3?select=TnyofhvI9dxUZNlJvdKIqg - Arrived soft, w/the texture of a dried-out roast chicken. There was nothing crispy or "fried" about it. - I didn't taste the "unique blend of special spices". - There was very little salt, pepper and I detected a hint of bay leaves. It was actually quite bland and dry. Really disappointing. CRISPY PATA ($13.50 medium, $17.50 large): - A pork hock simmered in a special marinade and deep fried. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/maxs-of-manila-honolulu-3?select=anw-gmFmZ7aCNZlEaBwD_w - I loved the overall crunch of the pig skin, but like the fried chicken, it was bland. - The saving grace w/their delicious spicy soy-vinegar dipping sauce. It saved this dish AND also helped make the fried chicken more edible. It also helped add flavor to our fried rice. CRABMEAT FRIED RICE ($8.95): http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/maxs-of-manila-honolulu-3?select=lC4z4R4qIx9SSx-1s7YCUQ - Menu said that this was "generously served with eggs, carrots, green peas and crabmeat." Only thing that was "generous" was the bland rice and egg mixture. Didn't really taste or see much crab meat in there. - I wouldn't really call this "fried rice"....it's basically rice topped off with scrambled eggs. read more

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I rarely eat Filipino food, so many of the dishes here are a first for me. We had a family style dinner with my fellow Yelp buddies. Since it was my first time tasting a lot of the dishes, I'm not sure how it's supposed to taste or how authentic it is. I will tell you what we ordered. We ordered the Lumpiang Ubod, Pork Sinigang, Pancit Canton, Diniguan, Boneless Marinated Milk Fish, Kare Kare, Crispy Pata, Bicol Express, and rice. The Lumpiang Ubod wasn't bad. It's like an unfried egg roll with sauce on it. Personally, I'd prefer the Fried Lumpia, but it's what I'm used to. Diniguan is pork simmered in pork blood. I tasted a spoonful. It was very interesting to say the least. The Boneless Marinated Milk Fish was tart. I didn't expect that. Actually, a lot of the dishes were tart due to the vinegar that was used. The Kare Kare is oxtail simmered in a peanut sauce. I didn't hesitate to try this dish because I'm familiar with oxtail. However, the sauce seemed kind of bland. I was told that I needed to mix in the shrimp paste and it gave the flavoring a boost. My favorite dish of the night was the Bicol Express. It's deep fried pork belly in coconut milk and shrimp paste. The skin was crispy and the meat was tender. The coconut milk was really spicy though. The restaurant is spacious and bright. We had dinner in one of their party rooms. If you're having a big party, you can reserved the rooms for privacy. The workers were pleasant and kept the water glasses filled. read more

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1 star but wish I could give 0 stars. Worse service ever! And they wasn't even busy. My boyfriend and I walked into the restaurant and was NOT greeted at the door. It wasn't until we peered over the counter and said "excuse me" to the hostess that she looked up from her phone annoyed as if her friends Facebook postings of random cat memes were more important then the customers in front of her. We were sat toward the front of the almost empty restaurant and given a paper menu to glance over. We contemplated on what yummy dishes we were going to order. And we waited..and waited..and waited for someone to come over and greet us. After about 20 minutes of no greeting, no water, not so much as a nod in our direction I could feel the rumble of my little hangry monster in my belly stir. I was hungry, thirsty and irritated. Seeing me obviously annoyed, my boyfriend suggested another spot to eat at. We left the empty table void of utensils, water and any form of customer service and proceeded to walk out the door but not before telling the hostess who had her head down now looking at random pictures of who knows what that we not happy that we were not taken care of. Never again max.. never again! read more

Filipino food. It's been such a long time since I have eaten Filipino food. I think the last time was when I was working at Aloha Stadium and I was helping the Filipino workers cut the papaya for chicken papaya soup. Thursday April 16, 2015 was the night I had the opportunity of eating Filipino food for dinner. Family style dining shared with new friends. Lumpia Shanghai was our appetizer. There were several small lumpias in a crispy bowl with sauce on the side. I was kind of disappointed on the size of the lumpia....I expected a little bigger and more filling. Rice -- 5 or 6 big scoops of Jasmine rice on a plate to be shared with individuals attending the dinner. Max's Special Fried Chicken -- a whole chicken minus the head cut in half. Was crispy on the outside and well done on the inside. Pancit Palabok -- a noodle dish with shrimp sauce topped with cooked shrimp, boiled pork, crushed chicharron, fish flakes, scallions, fried tofu, and friend garlic. First time I had pancit cooked like this. I always had my pancit cooked like fried noodles. Pinakbet -- a vegetable dish. First time I had this dish. I never knew what it was until I eaten this dish. Crispy Pata -- pork knuckle deep fried making the skin crispy on the outside yet the meat was very tender on the inside. Chicken Adobo -- chicken marinated in shoyu, bay leaves, garlic, and a little vinegar. Absolutely delicious. Since there was no chicken papaya soup during our dinner I had to use the gravy from the chicken adobo over my rice so I can finish it off. Overall it was a above average experience at Max's of Manila. The wait staff of the restaurant made sure that everyone had their drinks refilled when needed. Now I know where to go if I ever do have a craving for Filipino food. read more

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I see this restaurant all the time when I'm on lunchbreak lol just kidding but it is near Costco. I'm not really a fan of Filipino food but I decided what the heck, I was hungry and everyone wanted to eat here so okay... Service here could be better..they could also try cleaning their seats. As I was sitting down, I saw on the seat next to me some sort of wet discolored spot. I don't know if it was from the people before us that they spilled something or what BUT IT WAS NASTY. Our waiters also had a strong accent and I'm sorry but I could not understand what he was saying. I needed him to repeat stuff and eventually I just gave up trying and decided to go with my gut about what to get on the menu. Half of us have not been here so of course we would need more time to order. I mean that's a given for first-timers at any restaurant. But our waiters kept coming back asking if we were ready when obviously we were not and we were also waiting on another person. When we were finally ready to order...we could not find anyone to help us. WOW SERIOUSLY. I was staring at the them actually, thinking they'd get the idea but nope. So I guess since we turned them down several times, they don't wanna take our orders no more. Some guy finally helped us like half an hour later...I also found that the right time to tell him that the seat next to me needs to be cleaned. He looked at me like I was stupid or something and I gestured and actually showed him cause he may as well been blind. UGHH could this get any worse? Yes, it did. My friend found a hair in her food. EWWWW. As for my food, it was alright. I got the fiesta plate and I also liked the shanghai lumpia. The other dishes my friends got didn't look appealing to me lol..I think it was pinakbet and pancit palabok. Oh yeah, their dessert has amazing presentation BUT THAT'S IT. With the nasty seat and hair in friend's food, I'm not coming back here. read more

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Well, well. Aint I the lucky Pinoy boy to the be first to Yelp their Dillingham location! You know, I haven't been out to a Filipino restaurant since the late 80's. I used to always tell myself, "nah, no need! just grine at home." That and cheating on mom's cooking would probably lead to getting hit in the face with the bottom of a rubber slipper or getting chased around the house with a wooden back scratcher. This is no joke, as Filipino moms are both ruthless and crude in their methods of discipline. Yelping Kool Aider, B-Luv sent me a link of their Star-Bulletin article (http://www.starbulletin.com/features/20100331_Chicken_to_da_Max.html) some weeks ago and I already knew it was a matter of time before I take their fried chicken off my food radar. Just to let everyone know, their fried chicken isn't served in thighs and drumsticks, but by the whole bird ($13.50) or half ($7.95). I ordered the half. Fellow Yelper Mark Y. ordered the crispy pork hata ($12.95), which is deep fried pork knuckle, or pretty much leg, as a hoof was attached. And we both shared a plate of their large order of stir fried garlic rice ($3.95). First came the garlic rice and they sure gave us a lot! Five heaping ice cream scoops worth! Me, I usually like green onions with my fried rice but garlic works just as fine. Highly recommend it if you want a tasty starch with your meal. Soft/fluffy, not too greasy and with a fragrance, as they use Jasmine instead of regular short grain. The fried chicken here is very good. Moist, even around the breast area, but that crispy skin and salt taste is what made it! Very Filipino'ey. Mainly because it has that flavor like it was deep fried in pig lard - that nice briney swiney grease you taste when eating roast pork or pork rinds. I think this might be my new favorite place for fried chicken. Bye Bye KJ's in Kaneohe! *waves* I also tried some of Mark's pork hata and yes, it was equally as good. It's pretty much a chicharon, cept from the pig's leg instead of the belly. Very interesting because I've never eaten this part of a porker before. You know, one thing that Anthony Bourdain said about us Filipinos is that we know how to make a crunchy and tasty pork skin. And in this department, Max definitely does not disappoint! Also on the menu here at Max's is typical Filipino food fare like pancit (Pinoy style fried noodles), sides like lumpia (Pinoy style spring rolls) and cold desserts like custards and halo-halo (Pinoy style, well...bubble drink, with fruit gels instead of tapioca balls). Only thing I thought was bad was that some of their workers seemed to have a big chip on their shoulder. Other than that, a great spot for Filipino cuisine and to see how many people look when you "PSST!" the place. No seriously, try it! Also, thanks for hanging out Mark! 4 stars Max's of Manila in Dillingham read more

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I am in the process of remodeling my place so i've been going to Home Depot and Lowes a LOT of times! I knew i had to get a quick bite and shoot back to Home Depot to finish buying some things so decided to come here. My last time i was here maybe was a year ago? For me the best Filipino food is in Waipahu... But anyways i was in the area: Here the reviews: -Place is big, clean and modern looking. -Parking: plenty in front. -Service: i invited my contractor to join me for dinner, i ordered the half chicken dinner ($10.50) comes with fries or rice, caramel bar and soup. He ordered the lechon Kawali ($13.95) My chicken was ok, nothing wow. I do like their banana ketchup! Its so addicting i think i made a stew of my chicken with that sauce!! My contractors Lechon Kawali didnt arrive until i was done with my meal and believe i always take time to enjoy every bite of my food. The waiter kept coming back saying 5-8minutes (he did this 3 times!!!) when the lechon came, it wasnt even that good... Overall, i will stick to my Waipahu restaurants when it comes to Filipino food. read more

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I'd actually give Max's of Manila 3 1/2 stars. PROS: + Convenience: Located in the same parking lot as Costco Dillingham. + Clean restaurant and bathrooms. + Family style servings, great portions. + Kid friendly. My daughter loves any restaurant that will give her crayons and something to color. CONS: - While it's not the best Filipino Food I've had, it helps to satisfy my craving. - Wish the food temperature would be hotter. Especially the Sinigang Na Baboy soup. MY FAVORITE DISHES: - Sinigang Na Baboy - Lechon Kawali (Picture uploaded here:) http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/maxs-of-manila-honolulu-3?select=vCTL0HPD_-lzxKA1mtHSuw#vCTL0HPD_-lzxKA1mtHSuw - Garlic Rice (Always order this every time we go. It's so ono!) Picture uploaded here: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/maxs-of-manila-honolulu-3?select=LBD1AN_ntu8R4fxZcbJHzA#LBD1AN_ntu8R4fxZcbJHzA read more

Max's Restaurant - Dillingham - Garlic rice is a must! - Filipino Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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We came in a little over an hour before closing with a huge party of 30 without a reservation and they gladly accommodated us. I don't want to assume they were only nice because my friends family all speak Filipino. All the food was brought out quickly (and a lot of it) and the workers were friendly and continued to ask everyone on our tables if we were okay, while still catering to other tables. It's very nice in here and it's much larger than you'd think--there's about 4 large rooms and the bathrooms are nice. It's located in the Costco parking area so theres tons of parking. All the food is good, however the chicken was a bit dry.. my favorite was the fish soup, i like the soup sour and it was perfect, I could eat the entire bowl by myself. I'd come back for that and the halo halo haha read more

Max's Restaurant - Dillingham - Filipino Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Came here for lunch, just to check out the max' s in this location. Very disappointed in customer service compared to Waipahu. Despite the food being very good, our waiter did not come back to check us at least once after he serve us our food! Literally another worker had to refill our waters. He didn't even care to check up on us. No one did actually, which is kind of upsetting. I would highly recommend people going to Waipahu side for better service. read more

I love Max's for their food but today I called to make a reservation for a party and the lady was very impatient and told me to call back when i made up my mind. She said that there was so many people to be helped but she just told me in a rude way, to call back later. I am dissapointed and she could have at least put me on hold. I know times get busy but that doesn't mean you have to give customers bad service/ attitude. read more

I would suggest not spending your hard earned dollar here, if you get your money out of a tree in your yard then go for it. "It's a frickin joke," -Ilocano woman. I think this chicken was a few days old. I am just disappointed that the portions are so small and the food is so mediocre. It's worth the drive to Elena's for their buffet which costs less than this one pidgin... I mean chicken. read more

Max's Restaurant - Dillingham - Filipino Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Above average service, spacious and clean. Convenient parking in the same area as Costco's lot. Had the platter with egg noodle + veggies, 1/4 of their famous fried chicken, the garlic rice, and caramel bar. The egg noodle was hearty and the sauce was flavorful. The garlic rice is a nice switch from the standard fried or brown rice options that you can get from plate lunch places and the garlic flavor was just in the right amount. Finally the fried chicken was stellar. The skin was crispy and the meat was substantial. For the price you pay the portion size is good. The least impressive looking part of the meal was the caramel bar since it comes premade and packaged, though I have no complaints about flavor. If you really like the bars you can even buy a small box of them at the counter. The rest of the menu is varied, including more traditional options and interesting desserts. There should be an option for everyone in your party. Strangely they have a cardboard cut out of some dude instead of your standard seating staff at the entrance. 4 stars overall, and if you get one thing from here you must try a plate with the fried chicken. read more

Recently went there for a 30 person party and was really disappointed with the level of service that comes with an automatic 18% gratuity charge. Servers were very un attentive to our requests, I didn't know filling water and getting coffees was such a lofty request? Tables were never bussed, empty plates were stacked on another and their servers expected us to hand the empty plates to them!? Any time food would be brought out it was handed to us for our party to place on the tables ourselves. Food was constantly rushed out, I know the difference between fast service and HURRY UP AND EAT WE HAVE ANOTHER PARTY COMING IN. Food was served cold and oh yeah, no servers around to take requests yet again. This kind of service is super pathetic in my opinion. I don't expect to be waited on left and right yet with a party of 30 to entertain, last thing I need is to do someone else's job. You'd think with an automatic 18% gratuity charge you'd be given 3 or more servers for such a big party. This was not the case that night, apparently a MANDATORY GRATUITY GETS YOU 2 UNATTENTIVE AND LAZY SERVERS. Pathetic. read more

I spoke to the representative today on the phone at Max's Dillingham to update my order for a party. I felt that she was in a hurry and did not really care about my orders. Asked for any suggestions " I can not really dictate to you what's on the menu" she referred me to the website under catering services to place an order. I find it very poor service. read more

Came here again for my late birthday celebration this past week and we just happened to come on a night that there was a party happening in the back on a weekday. So it was busier than usual but we were able to get seated 15 minutes later just in time for the rest of our party arrived. We had 5 people in our party around 7pm. Although they just added a table on to a 4 person booth that was on the side to fit us 5. When you're hungry you order with your eyes and that's exactly what we did. We got a buffet full of pretty much 1 from each category. We started off with lumpia shanghai ($8.25) as our appetizers and the following just kept coming: -Crispy Pata ($13.50) -Kare Kare ($12.95) -Half Chicken ($8.75) -Sinigang ($9.75) -Crabmeat Rice ($9.95) -Miki Bihon ($9.50) Egg and Rice Noodles -Bicol Express ($14.50) You really gotta have a stomach to eat all of these foods as it is quite hearty to have for a meal itself. My favorite is their crabmeat rice, miki bihon which was a mixture of egg and rice noodles, lumpia shanghai and their max's chicken. So good! All great in food quality and freshness. Of course we couldn't finish it all as it was too much to consume in one sitting. Even though we were suffering from some major food coma, we still have room left for dessert. Who wouldn't right?! I love dessert! Of course since you're at a filipino restaurant, they'll only serve filipino dessert choices. The most popular one would be the Halo Halo for $5.75. I don't really care for Halo Halo but I do love ube ice cream so I got a scoop of that instead. It's $3.50 for a scoop, quite pricey for a scoop I think. Our service during our last visit was average and could of been better. Our water was luke warm with no ice in any of our cups. I don't know about you guys but I'd rather have ice water whenever I'm eating out. They were slow in filling up our waters. Food came out longer than expected but understandable since there was a big party during the time we were there. But it would of been courteous of them to check on us to buss some of our plates as we had barely room to eat with the amounts of food we ordered. Easily more than $100 spent for 5 people but with extra leftovers to last us a couple days makes it all worth the money. Prices and portions is affordable for what they give out, can't argue with that if you go home with left overs. Food has always been consistent based on the experiences I've gone here. Service could be improve though as it is a hit or miss when you're here. read more

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I've been coming here off and on for over year, first with Yelp-master Eric A, and with various other friends (one of my friends was even dating a server there...Freebies FTMFW!) While I'd say the food is generally OK, the one thing that I crave for is the Crispy pata (deep fried pork knuckle.) It always amazes me how damn tasty deep fried pork skin is. Imagine some home made pork cracklins blanketing juicy dark meat pig...OMG! This thing is also huge so I'd recommend spreading around the pork-love and sharing with friends. Some of the other things I've tried here... Garlic rice - good Fried chicken - good Kare kare (oxtail, tripe, and beef chuck in peanut sauce) - pretty good Pork Adobo - chewy and a bit disappointing Various bubble drinks and desserts - yummy (for me, anything sweet is automatically good) ...and the Lechon (pork belly.) This dish, like the pork knuckle, is also deep fried and sinfully greasy with a crispy exterior...of course I have to highly recommend this one too. Like my homeboy Garfield (the cat) says..."If it's not deep fried, it's not worth eating" read more

Another Yelp review update for Max's. A few months ago I had to sit out the opportunity to attend a Yelp UYE at Max's. The group ordered a family style dinner which gave the Yelp diners the opportunity to try out classic Filipino dishes featuring pork, chicken and shrimp and beef in a safe environment. Filipino food is not as well known or understood as other Asian cuisine's here on Oahu. It helps to have a guide when entering unfamiliar territory. When I go to Max's, Vince B. becomes his alter ego "Vicente". Well, Vicente was having a hard time finding meat free dishes at Max's until I looked closely at the new Max's menu. There are now several vegetarian meat free dishes. So our family decided to have our own private UYE with Vicente hosting. Food: My wife and daughter ordered their favorites and were happy as could be. Garlic rice, grilled milkfish and kare kare. Vicente got brown rice (boring yeah...I know), eggplant salad and sizzling asparagus and tofu. These were excellent dishes and I am so grateful that I can now accompany my family to Max's. Vegetarian: There were two other dishes that were meatless too. Ong Choi Salad and another Sizzling Tofu. The menu mentions that there are vegetarian options available. I should have clarified this to see if some other dishes could be made meatless. Will do this next time. read more

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Max's, in many ways, was a godsend to my coworkers and I, who toil daily in the giant yellow block of commerce known as the Dole Cannery. Why? It's one of the only restaurants within reasonable walking distance with table service. That fact alone has brought us to its doors almost a dozen times in the few months it's been open in Iwilei. It surely stands out with L&L, Costco hot dogs, and food court fast food as its nearest competition. And even up against Zippy's and Sam Choy's on Nimitz Highway, its a nice change of pace. The famous fried chicken? Famous for a reason. We can demolish a whole chicken in a blink. The garlic rice is pretty good. And halo halo or ube ice cream for dessert? A perfect finish. But there's a lot here that's unremarkable. Safe, but bland. For a rich and colorful cuisine that's prevalent throughout Honolulu, Max's here seems to stick to its Mainland-palate style. If anything, the vegetable dishes have more personality than the meat dishes -- a real shame for a Filipino place. The classics like pancit and lumpia are good, but not great. To get the flavor profile somewhere north of "interesting," we drain half the bottle of banana sauce on our table. Still, the restaurant is big, clean, and the service is okay (bordering on slow), and it's hard to resist when you just want to sit down and have the food come to you for a change. read more

Max's Restaurant - Dillingham - Filipino Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

I came here with my co-workers after one of them was raving about this place. I always wanted to try the fresh lumpia because he brings it to work often and it looks pretty good. I didn't realize that this was a sit down restaurant, I thought it was like a pandas express or a chun wah kam where it's just take out. We got seated rather quickly. It was not that busy at 11:30 AM. But it got full at around 12:30 PM. We started off with the fresh lumpia. I thought it would come out hot but it is actually a cold dish and everything even the sauce was cold. It was just filled with coconut shoots? The sauce was thick and garlic flavored it was cold as well but not that flavorful. The sauce did not do anything to the taste, it was still plain. Our main entrees came out (it is ala cart style) we got the pancit, chicken adobo, and roast pork. Th pancit and rost pork was really good. The roast pork tasted like the ones you buy in chinatown but with less fat and more of that crunchy skin. The pancit was really good too. I didn't care much for the chicken adobo. The chicken was dry and there were too little sauce. Overall just a okay experience. It reminded me of Manilla in there as we were one of the only non-filipino patrons. The service and food was pretty quick though. I probably would come here again to try the halo halo. It looked delicious in the picture. read more

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To be clear, the 3-star rating I gave is for the food. Customer service = 1 star. Arrived there and appeared like they closed 75% of the place for a party. Waited for 5 minutes until the hosthelp showed up and assisted us. Sat on the table and checked the menu. We told a waiter that we are ready to order but I guess it wasn't his job to wait because all he said was "Ok" and left. After waiting for 10 mins, our server, Hover, finally appeared. Hover seems to try his best to give good service but he is just too busy serving his other tables. The other staff are all busy preparing the party section. The food came out fast enough. Taste is good. I grew up with these kind of food. Lechon kawali and crispy pata are still crispy. Dinuguan are mostly pork meat. Their chicken is good but the breast is too dry. Arren is another okay server. I think he is in charge of refilling your drinks and providing napkins. Well, with him there, we never ran out of water and napkins! He'd pop out of nowhere and hand you napkins. As for dessert, buko pandan was ok. The teenie tiny sago (tapioca) wasn't cooked well though. The halo-halo needs some sugar but we didnt ask for some sugar anymore because ot seems like they are in a hurry for us to leave (to prepare for the big party). We didn't ask for our bill yet but it placed it on our table already (told ya they were in a hurry for us to leave). I don't think I will return to this place.. They really needs to improve their customer service. read more

Came here for a relative's birthday dinner. They already were seated towards the back of the restaurant. We took up two of the long tables. Our dishes were served family style and of course the typical dishes are what you can find in any Filipino kitchen. So I wasn't impressed. I mean if my parents can cook it why go out and order it? I don't know. Here's what we got! (I think) Max's Fried Chicken - it was dry and didn't look appetizing to me. Nilagang Baka - Soup is one of my favorite dishes so I had to get myself a bowl, but after a bite, I prefer my parent's homemade soup, but it was good also. Pancit Sotanghon - What to say? It's pancit. Filipino Bistek - Yummy, just like my parents make, less flavor though. Lumpiang Shanghai - I enjoyed this too especially with the sauce. Don't double dip! Kare-Kare - tastes like peanut butter didn't eat this though. I just tried a bit. Crispy Pata - my mom, aunties and uncles really liked it, it kept being passed around. Halo halo with ube ice cream - my mom ordered it. Should try it. Workers were nice, and spoke in my familys' native tongue. My auntie had a complimentary ice cream scoop with a candle. The waiters came by and sang to her. The restaurant was clean and there seems to be a separate room I guess for bigger parties. read more

When they first opened a few years ago. I loved their selection of Filipino food from different parts of the Philippines. The presentation is generally good. The service has gotten worst throughout the past couple of years because of the high demand of the place for parties. Instead of using the room dedicated to private events they have started to use the main dining area for private events. This affects the amount of walk in they are able to service as the main entrance and receiving area accommodates parties more than their walk in customers. read more

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You want to be sarap-ed to the bones? Go to Max's! Eric A. did an exceptional job of describing the food, so I don't have much to add. All I have to say is, FOOD COMA! See photos for details. read more

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3 stars for a clean location & scrumptious Americanized Filipino food! I wanted to order a "Kiddy Wonder" which consisted of a chicken thigh/leg, noodles, and fries but I couldn't because you must be a "child" to order this dish. My rational for ordering a smaller meal was because I was not too hungry. I was forced to offer a similar meal called a Max budget. The difference in price is not significant but I just feel terrible about wasting food. Their fried chicken is cooked to a crisp and the lumpia that comes with the Max platter is perfect - not too salty, not too bland. *update - I ordered the wrong plate, the Max Budget does not come with noodles!! Such a sad experience for me. I just wanted a small meal with chicken and noodles. read more

Max's Restaurant - Dillingham - - buko pandan - Filipino Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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where do i begin? this is by far my family's go-to restaurant at all times. they have the best fried chicken.. nothing to compare it with and i can definitely finish a half chicken on my own! when we have birthdays, this is our #1 place to eat at. (my 4 yet old daughter even requested this place for her birthday!!) i always order their max's teaser with the lumpia, calamares and french fries, then we'll either get sinigang na bangus (milkfish) or pork. when were not watching our cholesterol intake for the day, we will go ahead and order the "crispy pata" -- you can't go wrong on that one! When were on our "healthy mode", we order sizzling tofu.. i always enjoy their all-day breakfast menu esp. the daing na bangus and tapsilog! and we always always finish it off with buko pandan with ice cream and a sago't gulaman to-go.. yeah, we always spend a little over $100 for a dinner (4-5pax). It's really cheap and we always go home 200% full tummy!!! read more