MAX’s Wine Dive

I had the Max N Cheese and it was amazing. The Sweet Potato French Toast was delicious, too! Service was great. Our waiter Troy was awesome :)
*Price point is a little on the higher end

This is a great spot for a wine lover! We came here with friends and are all visiting from Southern California. We were impressed by the extensive wine list, and wines by the glass aren’t just limited to what’s on the menu. My hubby and I were looking to try a full-​bodied Cabernet with earthy tones and our waitress brought out three different wines for us to try. She explained them each to us, and was very knowledgable and also provided excellent customer service!
After settling on an amazing cab, we ordered tons of food for the table; I had the kale Caesar and the shrimp and grits-​both Delicious! My friends enjoyed their food as well. This place is a must, whether you enjoy great wine or great food!

Was here this afternoon (Thursday, January 14^th) and sat at the bar. This is my first time in Austin and I was looking for a cool wine bar to have a glass (or two) and some lunch. I don’t know the name of the gentleman that served me, but he was short and stocky with brown hair.
They were offering half off certain wines by the glass which was great. I went with a Caymus Cabernet which they normally charge $ 33/​glass for (outrageous)! The cabernet was good, not great. I ordered the shishito pepper & wasabi hummus which my server exclaimed was «great.» Alas, it was not. In fact, it tasted like nothing so I sent it back. The server was surprised that I did not taste the wasabi and seemed irritated I was sending the food back (something I rarely do). I eat spicy/​hot foods fairly regularly so perhaps my palate is more accustomed than others; however, this was the most flavorless hummus I have ever tried.
Went with the kale caesar salad with anchovies instead which was fine, but just fine. The portion was big so at least I sort of got what I paid for (the prices are very high in general). The overall service I received was abrupt and haughty and I was very disappointed. Also, when I went to use the restroom, someone had left their «number 2» un-​flushed in one of the toilets, which was disgusting.
Overall this was not what I was expecting from what should be a trendy wine bar in downtown Austin. I do not recommend Max’s Wine Dive at all and suggest that the business re-​train their staff on service and cleanliness. I have worked for some of the finest customer service oriented companies in the world (Zappos, Nordstrom, et. al) so my expectations might be high but, shouldn’t they be when you’re paying this much for lunch?

Great place! Service was awesome (bio/​chemist by day server by night was a Rock star) wine selection is epic and the food was stellar! The red peppers were awesome, chicken fried steak was worth the calories, egg sandwich was huge with great flavors and lastly the grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup was epic! We’ll be back for sure!

Making a reservation here is kind of pointless. They called us earlier in the day to confirm our reservation. Then when we showed up, the parked us in front of the door, on a cold night, and wouldn’t move us. I’m a Flight Attendant, so I have a pretty good idea of how customer service works, and the staff is pretty dismissive. Didn’t really seem to care. However, after we leveled with the waitress, the did move us to a better table. Plus the good and wine was pretty good as well. All ‘n all, it leveled out pretty well. I would go back.

Great experience
We booked a reservation on Open Table to Café Josie but they cancelled our reservation because we didn’t call them back in time (see review in Café Josie). Because it was New Year’s Eve we were panicked because we needed to finish dinner before 10 pm to catch an Improve Show (which was great!). We called Max’s and unlike Café Josie they squeezed us in. The food was great and staff was very nice. They made a special Pesto Fondue that was amazing!

$ 15 glasses of Caymus Cabernet during happy hour. This is all you really need to know.
I’ve never seen Caymus by the glass before, and I’m sure it wouldn’t be that cheap! It’s a block behind the JW. If you’re looking for a great happy hour, make the walk over. You’ll find a great list of wines for half off, as well as an assortment of small bites.

Superbly fun hangout for any wine and food lover. Wine list is outrageous good with fairly priced wines by the glass and bottle. Food is American New. I usually enjoy either the shrimp and grits or the scallops. The scallops portion is small, but the shrimp and grits are huge and I end up taking some home each time.
Servers are able and willing to allow you to try a wine before you leap in. They also are knowledgeable about what you may like based on your preferences. Their suggestions have always been spot on for me.
My twin sister and I celebrated our 28^th birthday here and they brought each of us our own birthday dessert. I thought that was pretty nice ;) We also enjoyed playing with their juke box.
Atmosphere is slightly swanky with a casual underlay.

The staff was kind of a jerk. 6 people and they would not give us a second bottle of champagne. Made us order food to get the first round of drinks. Maybe I’d bring my mother here but definitely not my friends. Do not recommend.

We stopped in here after a day of working a trade show at the Convention Center. The server was great, very helpful and happy to make suggestions. The wine we had was exceptional, and the small plates we had a perfect way to end a long work day. The atmosphere was great, quiet enough to carry on a conversation. Next time, I’m going to have dinner here, for a wine bar, the menu looks great!

Max’s wine and dive is not a bad place for a drink and some awesome lunch. Chef Erica Beneke is the head of the kitchen at this particular location and won chopped on the food network a few seasons back.
With that being said I really enjoy their Easter brunch buffet which is located in the basement of Max’s restaurant. It’s very well put together and features some really good food, but other than lunch and holiday buffets it is a bit pricey when it comes to dinner.
The go to dish when you look around at everyone’s plate seems to be the fried chicken which i have had on a couple a occasions and it did not really stand out in my opinion. The only thing I thought was great about the chicken was the spicy honey glaze they give you for dipping. Other wise I believe the reason everyone gets this the first time they go is because the waiter makes it sound so spectacular and different from any other chicken you have ever tasted you can’t help but wonder. I’m not saying the rest of the food is bland but I’d rather recommend trying the fried egg sandwich or an off the menu special which is an awesome BBQ meatloaf with a side of truffle Mac n cheese.
Max’s does have a friendly waitstaff and I was really appreciative when they let my fiancé and I in for lunch even though it was an hour after they had stopped serving lunch menu items. Our waiter let us try a few wines before choosing the one we wanted and made sure we still got the lunch special prices. I saw one of the kitchen staff make an angry looking face and make a comment about having to prepare two more lunch dishes but our waiter never once told us no. For that I give four stars because we still had a good experience and the food was on point.

Fun, unique food choices, expansive drink choices and muted TVs with football for the guys who aren’t impressed with culinary arts. Good place for groups and families too, really pleasant staff.

yewwww guhyssss. I lke, rheally, juhsess, lijke, lauvvvve MAAXX’s.
(That’s my drunk voice)
Although, I wasn’t drunk from the wine. I experienced a sensation I’d never felt before — I was FOOD DRUNK.
On the fried chickkken.
and collards.
dancing its salty, slippery dance atop the gloriously creamy and surprisingly chunky mashed taters.
Its an all around perfect dish for this southern gal. Not to mention its majestic sweet and jalapeño-​y dipping drizzle on the side.
GLORIOUS!
Keep doing yo thang, Max.
Not to mention, the service is superb. Every time we go, we don’t hide behind the fact that though we LIKE wine, we have the farthest thing from pretentious knowledge about wine. We have a loving curiosity and the staff has an eagerness to educate and stand tableside while you sip and savor until you find a vino you can commit to. Its low key, relaxed and totally non-​judgy.
Its literally the best. Ever.
Special shout out to our attentive servers, Dane and Tripp! And Alex, our jukebox buddy slash Max’s guru slash music aficionado is the jam. Like a jammy, tasty wine.

Great locations and ambiance. Food is good. Got the peach and fried chicken salad. There was not a lot of peaches on it. Bread pudding for dessert was fabulous!

I’m surprised the reviews of this place are not better. Compared to other wine bars in Austin (vino vino and apothecary) I would say the wine here is superior. Our waiter gave us a free tasting of about 5 wines before we ordered without us even asking.
We only had the hummus to eat which was good, but I can’t vouch for any other food.

MAX’s came highly recommended and really it was pretty good, but after eating at other Austin joints you’ll definitely find others places to frequent. The wine happy hour is very good though. Not just your typical «house wine» discount, they had 10+ reds half off. It was a solid deal since their prices weren’t inflated to begin with. Plan to pay $ 10 – 15 for a glass while being super impressed. Also, the service is great, really friendly and helpful all the time. Really gives you that home town, love what we do vibe. But, overall, they get 3 stars due to their food, it just wasn’t that impressive. Had the shrimp and grits, it looked awesome, but just wasn’t that interesting to eat.
Stick to the wine and you’ll love it. Head somewhere else if you’re looking for dinner and wine isn’t your thing. If you’re going to eat, maybe stick to the apps; the sliders were pretty good.

I finally got the chance to come here a few weeks ago for brunch after hearing awesome things about them. Our group (4 of us) got here nice and early for brunch — 10 am — and were one of four tables in the entire restaurant. Even with that few of people in the restaurant, the service was among the worst I’ve had in Austin.
It took 15 minutes to order a coffee, and the strangest part was that there were at least four non kitchen staff members standing and talking and avoiding eye contact/​interaction with guests. When we finally did get the attention of our server and tried to order, I asked what was on the goat breakfast tacos (which sounded amazing). He couldn’t remember (which would have been fine but he didn’t offer to find out) and ended up not bringing the correct order. Nonetheless, the food was good which is why there is a two star instead of one.

The staff is nice. That’s where the second star comes from.
The food is good if you think Applebee’s is good. You can’t boil ground beef and call it chili folks. This hole will do just fine since they are open later than most of eateries around there. But really, I was just starting off with the chili. There was going to be a second course in theory. The food is a poor.
No way. Not here. Not coming back.

Sommelier /​bartender (voted «Best in Orlando» three years in a row) giving a review: Biased? …Maybe? Informed/​knowledgeable? Always!
Having a welcoming reception area, with warm personality hostesses, is key. I was «welcome back“‘d on my second visit here. It is always nice to be remembered, isn’t it?!
Bryan, the bartender, pays close attention to what you are looking for in a wine, and ensures he delivers on meeting your standards and expectations.
DO save «room» in your tummy, for the delectable desserts. Sustainably farmed, locally sourced, yumaliciousness! Trust me.

Nope, not a fan. Über driver who recommended me to this place, you’re lucky I don’t have your phone number because I would’ve called and complained! Too bad I rated you already too. I’m kidding she was cool.
Anyway, we tried for Sunday but it didn’t end up working out. The place was packed because of the marathon and we couldn’t get a table until an hour and a half later. We went on Monday and made sure we had a reservation. It was completely empty. That should’ve been an omen. We proceeded with ordering. Apparently they don’t have chicken and waffles regularly only on their brunch menu during the weekends. I wasn’t happy because that’s what I came to try, but whatever. I ordered the chicken anyway just to see if it lived up to the hype my Über driver was giving it. My boyfriend ordered the Fried Egg sandwich.
We waited about 20 minutes for our food, our waiter let us know that ahead of time because the chicken is cooked slow, so I’m not dinging them for that. When we got it, we immediately started eating. The fried chicken wasn’t bad but it wasn’t the best. It was crunchy on the outside, moist on the inside, but it lacked in flavor. There was nothing wow about it. Didn’t live up to the hype. The collared greens tasted like crap and the mash potatoes were pretty good. My boyfriend thought his sandwich was okay, he wasn’t a fan of the truffle chips that came with the sandwich.
What really hit the nail in the coffin is that we both started feeling a bit sick about half an hour after eating. It was the only thing we had all day so it had to be from Max’s. Overall, not a fan. Won’t be back here again.