Max's Restaurant, Cuisine of the Philippines, Chula Vista

My mother wanted to go to Max's because she wanted to try a new Filipino restaurant in the U.S. We went to a few in the Philippines and I ended up realizing that it's one of the most pretentious Filipino restaurants ever with their price to food ratio. Expensive, average food, served in small quantities, but always at a decent spot with traffic. Thinking maybe they've changed, we decided to try here.

Ended up spending over $90 on our first visit there. It's also our last.

I spent $10 for a bowl of Garlic Rice.

(You can buy 25lbs of Jasmine rice for $15 if you look hard enough.)

The $30 Crispy Pata served was warmed up and not freshly cooked. It's also hard to prepare, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

The $14 Shanghai Lumpia was cut into small bite-size pieces and served in a small basket. The actual quantity served was very modest for its price, making me believe that it was only for aesthetic purposes.

For the $19 Nilagang Baka... Even if you can't cook, maybe... just... make it at home? Potatoes were undercooked, and it had as much bones as there was meat in an already small serving.

The $11 Halo-Halo was the highlight of the meal by being the most value for not having anything to praise or complain about.

Conclusion:
If you feel nostalgic towards Filipino food, don't have any time and/or can't cook, but have more money than sense, I still can't recommend it. Go treat yourself to something nice, not expensive.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 2

Recommended dishes: Giant Halo Halo

Drove here to avail their anniversary special combo, only to be told that they are not selling it because they do not have bbq. We ask if we can just substitute it for something else but was told no. They then told us that we can buy the item individually for the regular price. What kind of trick is this?

Spent $100+ on 5 items on the menu thinking they would be large family-style portions. All of the boxes were small AND less than half full. When I called the restaurant it took a few tries to even get to talk to someone and when I did they said "It was the new standard size" and I would need to bring my whole order back if I wanted a refund. I've been to many Filipino restaurants before and have never received portion sizes this small for the price charged, even at much nicer restaurants. Would not recommend.

Service: 1

Small portions, bland, overpriced.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

First and only time I will eat there.
The portions were tiny, no napkins, no utensils, no receipt. The price was not low.
I called it to the attention of the manager but she was unapologetic and kind of sarcastic.

The food is alright. It’s enough to satisfy your cravings for Filipino food. The price is a bit expensive, but it's understandable since we are in California. The facility is very clean, and the ambiance is quiet. If you're familiar with Filipino food and want takeout, just order online so you won't have to wait. Make sure to call them after ordering online because, for some reason, they are using two systems, and sometimes it glitches. Your order might not show up, or the establishment might not get a notification, leading to a longer wait. The wait time could be short or long, depending on how busy they are. Also, if you want a wider selection of Filipino food, try Jerry’s Grill at the Westfield Mall in Bonita.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 4

I've been staying in San Diego for almost 6 years now and this is the first time that I have been here. I wish I went sooner. Everything reminded me of my time growing up in the Philippines.

The food was great. We ordered their fried chicken, sisig and kare-kare. The service was great as well as the food got to our table quickly. The food was quite expensive though but I'll definitely go back.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Kare-Kare Beef Peanut Stew, Lechon Kawali Sisig Sizzling Diced Pork Belly, Max's Fried Chicken

Dee Lish Ous!!! so friendly and so tasty highly recommend!!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Bad customer service! Food is not with Max’s standard. kare-Kare’s served is 1/3 of the bowl. Server is mean and sarcastic! She Made sarcastic faces. Bad experiences

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

I bring a friend here to introduce Max Restaurant but as soon we sit, chairs have crumbs all over
We found hairs & left over food crumbs in the plates and hairs in the food. The portion of food per order is not worth in the price of every dish we ordered. it's so expensive here as well the drinks. Even the plain rice is expensive per scoop and not even long grain. In $25 I can buy 4 combos already in ocean pacific. Fried Chicken & BBQ here is dry, over cooked. Not enough napkins in the table. spoons & forks is exposed to dash. Meat in the Kare- late is not tender enough. Garlic fried rice is oily. Sorry but I don't think I can recommend this to my other friends & co-workers, even to my family.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 2

Service: 2

I bring a friend here to introduce Max Restaurant but as soon we sit, chairs have crumbs all overWe found hairs & left over food crumbs in the plates and hairs in the food. The portion of food per order is not worth in the price of every dish we ordered. it's so expensive here as well the drinks. Even the plain rice is expensive per scoop and not even long grain. In $25 I can buy 4 combos already in ocean pacific. Fried Chicken & BBQ here is dry, over cooked. Not enough napkins in the table. spoons & forks is exposed to dash. Meat in the Kare- late is not tender enough. Garlic fried rice is oily. Sorry but I don't think I can recommend this to my other friends & co-workers, even to my family.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 2

Service: 2

DISAPPOINTED half chicken was like the size of a baby chicken.The pancit was more servings than the chicken all for $32. Sorry I won’t be going back. Hope this helps anyone else.

Parking: Depends on what time u go there depends on the parking situation up front.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 2

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Pancit Bihon

Tried out this location. Good food and good service. The Bicol Express is a must-try. Oh, and the Kaldereta too!

? Wow..! Max’s in Chula Vista is amazing. For starters, their service is impeccable. Got seated right away, very friendly servers.The food - I’m a first timer of Philippine food and it was absolutely delicious. Everything was made to perfection, and I was told all their food is made to order, which I could certainly tell by the quality of ingredients!Atmosphere - The whole restaurant had such a cool modern hip vibe to it - very chic and trendy. This is the kind of place where you want to experience something new and fresh to the area.Oh and they have some beer too! Philippino type beer of course which was pretty awesome, I had a nice lager that went well with my food.Very clean and well organized restaurant across the board.Will be coming back for sure ..!Highly recommend! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommended dishes: Pork Adobo, Garlic Rice, Chopsuey Garlic Fried Rice Chicken Half Fried Chicken, Max

🙌 Wow..! Max’s in Chula Vista is amazing. For starters, their service is impeccable. Got seated right away, very friendly servers. The food - I’m a first timer of Philippine food and it was absolutely delicious. Everything was made to perfection, and I was told all their food is made to order, which I could certainly tell by the quality of ingredients! Atmosphere - The whole restaurant had such a cool modern hip vibe to it - very chic and trendy. This is the kind of place where you want to experience something new and fresh to the area. Oh and they have some beer too! Philippino type beer of course which was pretty awesome, I had a nice lager that went well with my food. Very clean and well organized restaurant across the board. Will be coming back for sure ..! Highly recommend! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️