MAX’s Wine Dive

Really great place for brunch. Mimosas are yummy.
Not too loud. Lots of wine choices. Wasn’t overly impressed with the food but it was well made and delicious. But the home fries looked as if they came out of the bag. The staff is wonderful, friendly and attentive.
I’ll definitely come back would like to try their happy hour

Excellent! Amazing food and wine and SERVICE! Trudy was our server and she was exceptional. We will me back soon!

Max’s appears to be filling a need in this area (despite another wine bar nearby). It was packed on my most recent visit. Both times staff were friendly and accommodating.
The food was good. Fried chicken and waffles for brunch? Sure! With Champagne? Why not?!
Max’s is a place that seems created perfectly for my mom’s generation – that’s not an insult at all. They played Boomer music on my visits, have a nice wine list, and are upscale in style but down-​to-​earth in attitude. In a city with plenty of taprooms and cocktail bars and experimental cuisines, it’s nice to have another reliable, casual-​yet-​classy wine bar in the mix.

Well, it’s definitely not a dive. I think the name is misleading. It’s actually kinda classy! Is it weird that I was ACTUALLY looking forward to enjoying a good bottle of wine in a dive? Not alone of course. No, that would be depressing.
Alas, I actually had a great experience here. We had a reservation for a table of 4, and were seated right away. The service was great. The waiter was friendly, helpful, and readily gave you his opinions on the wine when you asked. He was most certainly knowledgable and just the guy you’d want to help you out if you don’t know what to pick! Or in our case, deciding between 2 bottles.
And so, we wined and dined. I ordered the pappardelle with the exotic ragu. It was delightful and tasty. The meats (elk and all) were tender, moist, and flavorful. The pasta was excellent. It had the perfect bite and was most certainly fresh. Since I’m ALMOST a pasta connoisseur with my own pasta roller at home now, I truly appreciate fresh pastas.
My friends ordered the mushroom risotto, the shrimp and grits, both of which were completely gone by the end of the meal. No crumbs left behind. I had a taste of each and they both were very good. My love got the braised short ribs. Braised meat of course is always tender, and this short rib was no exception. There was a lovely mash and sauce to accompany the meat, and was out-​of-​this world when swept up by one of the carrots. I guess it’s something about that sweet & salty/​savory combo.
I had a great meal here, and would definitely return. My ONLY gripe is that many of the wines are too far out of my price range, so I felt limited. Be prepared to fork over $ 50-​$ 60+ for a bottle of wine.

Arrived at Sam’s for my first time for lunch on a Friday. I was very pleased to discover it was all day happy hour, and their draft beers were 2-​for-​1. I hadn’t planned on drinking, but my friend and I were easily persuaded by the modest, but attractive selection on tap. We both ordered the fried chicken, lamenting that it wasn’t chicken and waffles. When it arrived, we were playfully advised that the birds were on steroids. It was astounding! With legs that size, that bird could have kicked for the NFL! The crispy coating on the plate full of tardiness was flakes and delicious. The innards juicy. Also came with mashed taters and some fine greens. I didn’t feel very well when I left, but only because it was far too much food, and I was unable to stop my hands from shoving food into my mouth. I am weak.

Fun new spot in Denver! For such a beer-​centric city, it’s cool to have a wine-​specific bar in the neighborhood. That being said, they do offer a list of cocktails and beer. A friend and I came in with our winter warmer passports for a couple glasses of wine and happy hour snacks. I tried the Syrah and she had the Bordeaux, which we were both happy with. We also tried the pulled chicken street tacos, which were good but nothing to write home about. There’s ample seating, especially in the early evening, and the place starts to bustle right around 6 pm. If you’re a Coloradoan looking to give your taste buds a break from the beer scene, I definitely say give Max’s Wine Dive a try!

I was given a gift card to this restaurant and went on a Saturday night for dinner. The place was packed, which is usually a good sign. We made a reservation, so didn’t have any trouble.
The service was excellent. I think that was the best thing about this restaurant.
The food and wine was good, but I think it was a bit overpriced. With a gift card, I was satisfied with what I got. However, I wouldn’t go back and pay for it. I got the burger with fries, and I thought it was pretty average. I think they’re more known for their fried chicken, which I saw a lot of people ordering. Maybe I just made the wrong food choice.
The restaurant is true to its name– it has a pub/​dive bar feel with a focus on wine. Definitely an interesting place. Try it out and maybe go for the fried chicken.

Awesome, and anything but a dive (can you be a dive if you have valet?) :)
My hubby and I like to go for brunch, and I was blown away by the homemade marshmallow. I want that packaged and available All of the time in my own fridge!
Great wine selection, too, and love the bruschetta.

I am going to have to update my review after I have a full meal here but I was really impressed with their charcuterie board, it was big enough to feed a table of 4 and had a unique variety. It even included breads from the local bakery across the street. We also tried the bread pudding which is the true reason I will go back. It was so delicious!!!

A great addition to Central Denver… true to its name, MAX’s Wine Dive is a super comfortable wine destination with $ 5 glasses of wine for happy hour until 6pm, as well as a robust wine collection… the setting is brick and classic, comfortable, unassuming and a great destination.
Enjoyed multiple glasses of $ 5 wine… and the calamari appetizer was tasty, but a tish too sweet and too similar to what you’d have at a mainstream/​chain Asian restaurant… still fresh, but not unique.
I recommend the fried chicken — one of the specialties they taut — it’s a robust plate of three large pieces of chicken atop a mound of mashed potatoes and collard greens and a piece of amazing bread… The other thing they promote is pairing the chicken with champagne due to the bubbles cutting the fat a bit… The pairing was ok for me, but more cool to simply try the combo of, «Fried Chicken and Champagne» …more fabulous because it’s something new to try as a pairing… intriguing at best and worth the adventure!
Make this place a stop on your destinations of new places to try, certainly.

Very nice ambiance, super friendly staff, and a great location downtown makes MAX’s an easy ‘yes’ when in the area. Prices are reasonable and the portions more than adequate.
Good for a date or just gathering with friends for a happy hour.

I surprised my husband with a visit here before seeing If/​Then and we are always on the lookout for something new. I looked at the menu and it looked amazing and I also found a Groupon for this place. They have complimentary valet, which makes it so easy in terms of parking. I had made reservations and when we walked in, we were seated immediately. However, our seats were directly under a vent and was really drafty. We asked our server if we could move to a not so drafty area and she says in a condescending tone, «Well, you ARE in a wine cellar, so it’s going to be cold.» No, it’s not that we’re cold; we have constant air coming down on our heads. She moved us to the next table closer to the bar. Let me state that it was 5p and wasn’t that busy.
We were in during happy hour so they had wine and beer specials. The Bosio Moscato was absolutely delicious and was only $ 5/​glass on happy hour. My husband ordered Dry Dock’s Vanilla Porter. We also ordered the oysters on a half shell on the happy hour menu. The champagne vinaigrette served with the oysters was phenomenal.
For our entrées, we shared the drunken noodles, bruleed bone marrow, collard greens, and pulled pork stuffed peppers. The stuffed peppers were amazing and so tasty. We also really enjoyed the spice and flavor of the drunken noodles. I was highly disappointed with the bone marrow as it was maybe a half ounce of bone marrow and topped with so many onions that I could taste was the onions. I remarked to our server that the amount of bone marrow wasn’t a lot and in another condescending tone, she says, «Have you never had bone marrow??? You don’t get much.» I had told her that I hadn’t had bone marrow in their establishment, but have had it in other restaurants and had gotten 4 times the marrow than what I had there. She didn’t say anything and walked away. I was also disappointed with the collard greens. It seemed that all they did was add a ton of salt to them during and/​or after boiling them. The collard greens tasted like a collard green flavored salt lick. Absolutely no other spices were used in making the collard greens that I could tell.
The ambience is very nice in Max’s Wine Dive, but I didn’t care too much for our server. You can have the most amazing food, but if you have horrible service, that will be your downfall. Seeing how I only liked 3 of the 5 things we ordered and I am completely put off by our server due to her condescending tone to me twice, I doubt I would come back here. The food is good, but not good enough to rave about and definitely not good enough to make a return trip nor recommend to others.

My friend and I came here for dinner on a Friday night with no reservation. I was a little worried, but we got in quickly. The outside does not do justice to the interior, sleek and modern, very comfortable.
I had the roasted chicken limon, the portion was HUGE. I almost didn’t finish it, but the chicken was tender and moist. There were lots of sun dried tomatoes and capers which I liked. I can’t put my finger on it, but the portion was so big it was almost overwhelming. No complaints about that I guess.
Long story, Max’s is legit and good. Make sure to call for a reservation on the weekends.

I have been here five or six times I’d say.
Things I like about Max’s:
— $ 5 wine at Happy hour (good highly drinkable wines albeit not a huge selection)
— the option to open a bottle of wine if you commit to drink at least two glasses (um, ok. I can do that)
— the cheese plate
— the ravioli (excellent though sometimes a little dry)
— the small house salad SMALL I say, not to be confused with the large
Things that could use some tweaking:
— Inconsistent service, sometimes inattentive
— the thermostat. It is ice locker cold inside. Why you wonder? For the wine, to keep the wine cool. But without the people you don’t need the wine so people first please
— The music can get very loud. I have found the 80’s hair band play list to be unbearable at times. More tolerable if it’s not turned to 11
I like to come here, sit outside for a nice glass of wine and maybe a small bite. This is not a particularly kid friendly option so keep that in the back of your mind. But has fast become a solid local option.

Came here one Sunday for brunch after the place we wanted to go had a 2+ hour line. I am SO glad that we did, because the food and service were exceptional! Our waitress was a hoot, and very helpful with trying to decide what to order off the delicious-​looking menu. I ended up getting the breakfast burrito, which was the perfect upscale yet still comforting version. The crema on top was a wonderful, rich addition to the very smoky salsa. I also ordered a side of the jalapeño cheddar grits, which had good flavor, but needed salt. My friends got the shrimp and grits and the chicken wings with beignets. The shrimp and grits came with a wonderful broth that was amazing. The beignets were more like donuts — too dense to be called beignets, and covered in yummy cinnamon sugar. We all left full and happy.

If you’re on a diet do not come and enjoy the delicious comfort food in massive portions. Holy grilled cheese. Seriously one of the biggest sandwiches ever placed in front of me.
I love this place. Keep in mind the inside of the restaurant will be colder than normal because they keep it at an optimal temperature for all the wines openly displayed.
We sat outside. I had the grilled cheese and tomato soup thinking it would be a light meal. Nope. gigantic but delicious. The cheese would drip off the sandwich. The tomato soup was hearty and perfect for sandwich dipping.
We got the donuts as dessert. I know they were cut to be sized similar to munchkins but they were definitely MAXkins. Freshly fried and oh so yummy.
The overall meal is pricier than an average dinner but I used a Groupon. Id love to go back for brunch.

You want a hidden gem in Denver, then you have come to the right place! This was my fiancée and I’s first time here. We had a friend come in from out of town to run the Pike’s Peak Marathon. He made a pit stop in Denver so we tried it out and it was an experience to remember. If you told me this was a chain, I’d tell you you’re lying! Our waitress Alex was great too. She made suggestions as if she knew our tastebuds. Eventually, we ran into the general manager, Chris who was equally helpful in pairing drinks and food. I didn’t get a chance to take any pictures of the food cause after one bite our table would demolish that dish.
Granted, you’ll pay a bit extra for food here and there. Ambiance + service + flavor will make it all the worthwhile. Great place to meet up with friends or hang out for happy hour. Would recommend ordering the entire menu. :) Bön appetite!

Two Words: Frozen Sangria
It was the perfect ending for our Sunday Funday shenanigans. That was probably the best adult slurpee I’ve ever had! Being that it was a million degrees outside, it was the perfect beverage to beat the heat. The staff being very friendly also helped. My friend ordered the fried chicken which I sampled, but I was too tipsy to remember what it tasted like. Guess that doesn’t really help, however, she claims it was good.

Come here for the wine and maybe some appetizers.
Our server was great. He was friendly and attentive which sets the bar pretty low but that’s where it is these days. The wine selection is good and it was stressed to us that they’ll open any bottle for a two glass commitment; good to know.
The fried chicken is not good. Let me repeat that. The fried chicken is not good. Here’s the thing, it’s not just our fried chicken, it’s how they actually prepare it. I asked our server about the fried chicken and he said it’s the best in town. Bold words but I’m excited. What arrives though is a sad excuse for fried chicken. It came greasy and soggy. Well hold up Brian, it’s greasy because it’s fried — you should expect that. NOPE. It’s greasy and oil laden because the oil temperature isn’t high enough. Properly fried foods aren’t greasy inside, they’ve been steamed internally. Both orders of fried chicken at our table came the same way.
Once our server stopped by to inevitably ask how the fried chicken was I explained my criticism which he understood. He further validated my assumptions by telling me that the kitchen fries at 250–280 °F to go «low and slow». OK. So there’s science, there’s bad science, and then there’s preying on the uninformed. This is somewhere beyond bad science. Low and slow is a famous catch phrase for barbeque where people would cook tough, shitty, inexpensive cuts of meat for a long time until the connective tissue rendered and turned to gelatin. Chicken doesn’t do that. AGAIN. Chicken is not a low and slow meat. It’s inherently low in fat and connective tissue. When you smoke chicken you also smoke at a higher temperature than pork and beef, somewhere in the 275–325 °F range. Low and slow does not apply to fried chicken.
What you’re left with is greasy meat and a skin that’s soggy. The batter itself also wasn’t a standout. Although to be fair, it’s tough to give it a fair shake when it’s soaking in grease and that’s all you taste. I’ve spent 3 paragraphs on fried chicken because 1) I care about fried chicken and 2) this is not fried chicken.
The collard greens were good but the mashed potatoes were forgettable. I wouldn’t recommend the chicken dish. Especially not for $ 17.
My friend who got the shrimp and grits simply said it was a 2 out of 5. So be it.
We also got the mac and cheese appetizer along with the nacho oysters. Fried oysters are my least favorite of the fried seafoods. Oysters in particular are best enjoyed raw — I don’t think that’s an opinion, and if you disagree, your opinion is wrong. Anyhow, not bad for nacho chips with a fried oyster on top. The mac and cheese was decent but nothing to write home about or something to definitely order on your next visit.
In summary — come here for wine, not for food, and I think you’ll be set.