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Max's Wine Dive
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- Neighborhoods:
- Central, Washington Ave./ Memorial Park
- Categories:
- Restaurants, Wine Bars
- Cuisine:
- New American, Traditional American
- Price:
- $$
- Restaurant Special Features:
- Payment Methods:
- General Info:
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At a Glance
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91% ambiance
“it is in a great location and the name really lured us in.”
100% dessert
“We ordered the bread pudding for dessert and asked the waiter to have the chef recommend a wine to go with the dessert.”
89% drinks
“We weren't lucky enough to get a booth, the manager confessed that they are generally booked for the entire evening, so we just hung out at the bar and drank some fantastic wine--I'm not sure if everyone will appreciate this, but as a wine lover, I was bl”
84% food quality
“It's funny to think how well sparkling wine goes with friend chicken but it was an amazing combination.”
93% menu variety
“The wine prices are great and the selection is very different than most places - I've tried a few things I've never heard of before, and they were really good.”
90% overall
“Obviously everyone's attitudes and expectations are different, but the wines here are great and there's a great bar scene - even if the place is small.”
50% return potential
“We will not return, you can get great food all over this town.”
75% service
“The place is full of tacky people.”
65% value
“Servings are huge!”
43% wait time
“The food is average and took 45 minutes to serve, the staff is not trained properly and do not understand the wine or the food ingredients and the place is dirty and loud!”
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Max's Wine Dive
Maxs Wine Dive
@winediveMAX
Come try Chef Ana's summer special for tonight - Red Fish w/asparagus, baby potatoes & grilled pineapple #foodporn http://t.co/oTtNWgtvjf
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18 hours ago
What Our Expert Scouts Say
March 23, 2013
Fried egg sandwich (in truffle oil). Max's Wine Dive is definitely that: a dive, but it's cool, it's hip, the Fri/Sat/Sun brunch is rockin, and the gourmet comfort food is so decadent it will make you moan--in a good way. Chef Michael Pellegrino's seasonal menus are super creative and fun as well. Come with a friend or a group of friends and go to town on gourmet comfort food like their famous fried chicken, truffle fried egg sandwich, gourmet burger, and "max n cheese." Or, come by yourself, sit at the bar, order a glass of wine and feast by yourself. You can't go wrong either way.
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Heart
November 11, 2012
This is comfort food to the extreme. The brunch is lively and has mimosas for only $3!
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August 01, 2012
Upscale fun food & gr8 wines,my current fav: Pulled Pork Stadium Nachos but menu changes seasonally so be prepared for diff selections.
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Tips for Max's Wine Dive
June 27, 2012
It's fun, it's fancy in a non-pretentious way and the food is comfort food on steroids. Great place for taking out of towners and dates.
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Heart
December 29, 2011
Do Not Eat Dinner Here. A friend recommended that we do dinner here. While the appetizer was good and the dinner menu sounded good-- once I got my Southern Fried Chicken, mashed potatoes, and collard greens I was highly disappointed. There was absolutely NO favor and the only seasoning that could be tasted was the paprika they dusted on the side of the plate. As a southerner I have been well versed in how to make collard greens and fried chicken the right way. I wanted to go to the kitchen and help the chef do better. Ultimately, when I got my check I was upset that I had to pay for something that I know was not cooked well at all. Anyone can drop some chicken in a pot and call it fried, but it takes someone special to know how to season it right so that it actually turns out good and favorful. Please don't eat here. Go to the Breakfast Club where they cook their food right-- trust me it's worth waiting in the line to get well cooked food.
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October 29, 2011
Most amazing Bread pudding!. The food was a little pricey but worth every penny. We started with the oysters and not really expecting much from a fried oyster, i was blown away. I dont even like oysters and they were amazing! For the entre i chose the fried egg sandwich and it was flavorful and delicate. A little messy but the flavors were all there. Half way through the entre we saw a desert being served and decided we had to have it. It turned out that i was bread pudding. Normal bread puddings are pretty soggy. Not this one. This bread pudding was THE BEST square of anything i have ever eaten. I cant even describe the flavors that exploded from that bread. Our waiter was asher and he was a very down to earth guy that was very attentive but not pushy. At the end of the night i called the sous chef over and let him know how amazing this pudding was. He was so sweet and we left with a full stomach and a great experience. I will definately be going back.
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October 13, 2011
Bush League Wine List for Doopies. Needed to waste 2 hours in the Heights and decided to try a wine dive. For a supposed wine bar, the reds were very limited by the glass. I started with their cheapest cab at $8.25/glass and the less than generous poor was harsh. When the waitstaff came for a refill and I said "no mas", she suggested the $12.75/glass cab, the only other option. Afraid to get burnt again, I moved over to the Spanish wine list. The cheapest Spanish wine(most of the wines listed were from South America) at $9.75/glass was drinkable but certainly not a good representative of the delicious Spanish reds. Needing to strech time I ordered the cheese board at $14.50. Three thumbnail sized pieces of cheese arrived on a large slate board with 4-5 thin pear slices, a shotglass full of grapes and old glazed pecans that were stuck hopelessly together. The waitress noticed the amused look on my face and went into a canned review of the cheeses. She delighted over the 3rd small piece and told me it was hand rubbed with coffee. It tasted, hmmm, like coffee. If you're a doopie (duped urban professional) that can't tell the difference between a full-bodied cab and a bottle of Night Train, you'll be in good company with the other doopies eating the highly over priced comfort food. Terrible place for experimenting with wines by the glass. The waitstaff was good.
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February 09, 2011
Reservations - Why the hell should you?. Can I give negative stars because I never made it in the place? Don't even bother making reservations, because you'll be forced to endure at least a 45 minutes wait thanks to the ineptitude of the hostess staff. We had a Monday night reservation for 6 people, 7pm. We showed up promptly, some in our party a bit early. Unapologetic twit at the hostess stand told us people had been there since the afternoon and they couldn't ask customers to leave. Obviously, but why wasn't a table reserved for 6 people starting at about 6PM, since we had a RESERVATION for 7PM? Molinas got our business instead. Too bad for Max's because I won't be returning EVER.
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August 04, 2010
Best Place for Out of Town Guests.
Max's has become our crutch for out of town guests; it sells Houston as a young, fun place to live with a quality night life and food scene.
Pros: Great Food, Good Wines and Excellent Atmosphere
Cons: The wait can be long and the wine menu seems to change just a little too often.
Tip - The Nacho Momma Oysters and the Wild Boar Pasta are AMAZING!!!
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August 02, 2010
Best Brunch I have ever had!.
My friends and I ordered the Creme Brule French Toast, Nutella and Banana Crepes, Shitake Mushroom Omlet, and macaroni and chees. We shared and loved everything. The french toast was heavenly, served with fresh strawberries and buttered maple syrup, but the syrup was barely used becasue the toast was so good.
The service was great. I had a mimosa that was delicious, and coffee was always warmed. Chef came and introduced himself with a warm greeting and made sure we loved everything. The manager, Jeremy was really on top of everything. The staff worked well together and it felt relaxed.
The seating was great, we sat in a comfortable booth that welcomed conversation and relaxation. Great place and will be returning.
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June 09, 2010
Where CitySearch's Dictators Can Take a Dive.
The Dictators went there for a review party last night, and we had a good time talking about our favorite places and why we like to write reviews...right after we dove into their fried appetizers that is.
The fried chicken sliders are tall with their thickly-cut tomato slice, crisp iceberg lettuce, dollop of honey, on a lightly-dusted scratch white roll. The sliders come secured with skewers.
I had given up seafood since the infamous spill, but I could not resist the fried oyster nachos. They were so crispy, there is an air pocket floating between the meat and the non-greasy crust. The oysters melt in your mouth.
The majority of us had the house Malbec which complemented the appetizers.
Our server, Kaleigh, made sure that we had everything we needed for the party too.
The VIP table is the large booth in the corner. It seats about 14, but still seems cozy.
The crowd was mixed. I saw two newscasters behind us and some really young patrons there.
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Best of Citysearch
Won for:
Comfort Food
(2007)
Nominated for:
Comfort Food
(2013)
After-Work Bar (2009)
American Restaurant (2009)
Wine Bar (2009)
Wine Bar (2008)
After-Work Bar (2009)
American Restaurant (2009)
Wine Bar (2009)
Wine Bar (2008)