Mr Max

«It’s funny how you wake up each and every day and never really know if it’ll be the one day that will change your life forever.» — The Secret World of Arrietty (2010)
Mr. Max has penetrated my soul in the best way possible. You simply cannot unearth a more traditional Japanese restaurant in Texas or California (even). From the external aesthetic — one would never assume how beautifully laden the interior is. Every detail has a purpose, character, and life etched within each inch of construction.
I have discovered many overly positive testimonials of the original owner’s (passed away from cancer) humanistic, genuine disposition and uniqueness. It is more than evident that his spirit continues to circulate around the aura that is Mr. Max’s Japanese Café. This spirit provides and everlasting calmness that envelopes each and every guest that enters.
The service is immaculate and nothing more needs to be noted other than that. Immaculate.
The food itself, is priced more than competitively, and absolutely blows my palate away! There are a plethora of awesome experiences (in my backlog) I have shared with close-​friends back in Little Tokyo (L.A.) at Japanese joints, however I do declare with all irrevocable certainty, that Mr. Max has the best value, flavors and embedded-​authenticity… No debate!
My girlfriend and I shared Grilled Squid, Takoyaki (friend Octopus), Ramen, Sesame Wings, a large Kirin and Hot Sake; costing us only $ 44,64! Speechless.
I will throw this statement into the review fray that is Unilocal: Mr. Max is one of the top five restaurant experiences I have EVER had in my lifetime. It is the best place in Dallas to eat out, and I recommend you go as soon as humanly possible.
I will see you there! It has changed my life, forever.

Dang, this place is good! I love everything about it! I’ve been twice now and will continue to go again and again.
What we have tried so far:
–Karaage (Japanese chicken nugget-​y things)
It was a little bland because I chose to forego the Japanese mayo that accompanied it, but still tasty and worth trying.
–Niku-​jaga (stewed pork and potatoes)
LOVED it! It had a little bit of a slightly sweet taste to it, which was different but not unenjoyable. My husband who doesn’t love sweet flavors when it comes to meat even liked it. Definitely would recommend trying this.
–Vegetable and shrimp tempura
Come on. Tempura is always good. You can put tempura batter on a piece of plywood and it’d be good.
–Shoyu ramen (soy ramen)
It’s good. I would recommend this dish to someone trying ramen for the first time because I feel it’s the most basic (in a good way) flavor of broth. Nothing fancy, but still rather tasty. Note: all ramen here comes with one piece of chashu (the yummy sliced pork shoulder!), but egg or extra slices of chashu are $ 1.50 extra each.
–Tonkatsu ramen (pork bone broth)
This is my favorite. This stuff admittedly looks kinda scary because of its milky appearance, but it’s the presence of savory, delicious marrow that makes it opaque and that’s more than OK with me. Mmm-​mm! I gave adding an egg to it a go this past visit. It was good, but if I’d known it was a cold egg, I would’ve skipped it because it definitely brought the temperature of the broth down and I really like my soups to be piping hot. Next time I will skip the egg and add extra chashu. :)
–Taiwan ramen
My husband ordered this dish and I only tasted it, but it was awesome! Very different. Spicy! I saw no sign of peanut, but it had a peanutty aroma (maybe it was sesame instead) and ground pork in it. It’s unlike any other ramen I’ve had, but we both enjoyed it.
There are so many other things on the menu that I am anxious to try including fried tuna, Kobe beef balls, and the chashu rice sandwich. Their menu changes sliughtly from time-​to-​time, so I don’t know if all these are available all the the time, but we’ll see. The only thing that makes me a little sad is that take-​home/​to-​go boxes are nonexistent. I am a person who gets very full very easily, but I also like trying a variety of things and I hate wasting food, so leftovers are a way of life for me. I COULD be embarrassing and bring my own Tupperware or something, haha, but I would just strongly recommend only ordering what you know you can put away in your belly.
This place is adorable, the employees are friendly, the service is good, and the food is fantastic. I feel blessed to live in a part of Irving so full of ethnic restaurants so that my husband and I can expand our amateur culinary horizons. Mr. Max has certainly helped with that as far as Japanese cuisine is concerned and we anticipate broadening those horizons even more!

Hole in the wall in the best way possible. Started writing this review years ago before the original owner passed away. Found out tonight it was reopened and had to go immediately.
A little different than it was before but still amazing sashimi and amazing Japanese dishes. So happy it’s back. Not to be missed.
Note: If you are looking for rolls and other standard American sushi items, look elsewhere. This is not the place for you.

Mr. Max impressed me a lot! I went in not having high expectations but it was beyond it! This is probably the most Japanese place I’ve been to in the DFW. I took two of my friends here who lived in Japan for a long time and they said it reminded them of home. If your planning to come here I would suggest you book a reservation or you will be waiting all night! Try to go with a party of 3 – 6. The place is super tiny! The reason for it is it’s a izakaya, meaning bar like. In Japan they have many of these places so that’s why it’s small and their portion of food is small like appetizers. You drink & eat! Their food was tasty! I enjoyed everything I ate and cannot wait to come back! We already planned our next date and what we are trying next lol. If you get a table and not the bar it’s like Japan you remove your shoes and sit down on the floor. This place can be kind of hard to find at first but their light up sign should be able to help you. If you want real Japanese food and a feel of Japan you must come here.

I’m so glad I came here a little later when they opened because after 6 it gets really busy and packed! I’ve heard about this palace but never really tried it out. So my BF and I finally decided to come here to check it out last night. Mr max doe not disappoint! Service was great and food was perfect!
We had gotten the Taiwanese ramen which had a lot of flavor and wasn’t over powering with garlic. My only complaint is that they charge you extra 1.50 for an boiled egg. Fried squid was another favorite of mine along with the curry and karrage. Pricing for the food is decent and pretty cheap compared to other places around here.
I’d come back to check out other food selection! A must try when your in the Irving area.
Btw it’s located right behind that donut shop.

Mr. Max is a hole in the wall in Irving. My friend said it reminded them of eating in Japan. I’m glad this place had reopened and I’ve been back many times since. I love the ramen here but I’ve notice they only serve them in half portions now. The grilled mackerel is amazing! The sashimi was a great deal and fresh! I would definitely say it’s better to eat the cuts individually vs getting the sampler platter of the sashimi. Cha siu sandwich is also very good but wish it had more meat in it and it’s also a little greasy but I that’s just the seaweed paper if someone knows a better way to eat it than with just your hands please let me know !
This place is very small so I would definitely recommend calling in to make reservations. Even if it’s during the same day I’ve don’t that a few times.

Ah-​mazing. This is a tiny hidden gem located randomly on the side of a little shopping plaza. It is super easy to miss, so drive slow and trust your gps.
Japanese food is probably my favorite cuisine. After being in Texas for a few days, eating heavy southern meals every meal time, we were on the look out for a lighter meal for dinner. I saw this place, skeptical about the name, but trusting the highly rated Unilocal reviews. I immediately called in to make a reservation for later that night and the lady who answered the phone sounded so friendly! I knew it was going to be a great night:)
We arrived a little early, obviously very excited for the anticipated meal, but had to wait for the previous party to leave. The ladies working there were very apologetic, but we understood. We were seated at the more traditional seating area… but not so traditional that you have to bend your legs or sit cross legged on the floor, there are nice little cut outs under the table so that you can sit comfortably. Sorry if I am terrible at explaining this… You’ll just have to go see and experience it for yourself!
There are also counter seats, were you can watch the cooks in action. The food was delicious; meant for sharing, you’ll be able to try many different delicious dishes if you bring a few friends. Favorites included the ramen, tofu, sashimi and ginger pork, but I really enjoyed everything that we ordered.
The service was fast and friendly and with plenty of parking and awesome food, you really have no excuse not to come if you’re in the area and need some delicious Japanese food.

Came here tonight, still tastes great but I think they changed their menu. The ramen was only available in half sized portions, still tasted the same as last time. The salmon sashimi was really good and not bad for $ 8.50, the deep fried Sui Mai is okay but nothing special, it tastes like a plain dumpling. The rice sandwich was still great. This place has definitely gained a crowd since I was last here. I highly recommend calling in even 15 Minutes before you arrive to make a reservation, is it necessary? No, but I like a guarantee that I’ll be able to eat at a certain time instead of waiting. But we were in and out within an hour, so I highly doubt anyone would be waiting long at the bar area. The seated area is slower and harder to get seated at.

TAKOYAKI~ i love Takoyaki in general and i’ve never had any bad takoyaki. So yeah, this was solid.
HOKKE (MACKEREL)~ i’m generally iffy about ordering seafood in a land-​locked city such as Dallas, but oh my word, this was so good. It was fresh, it was perfectly cooked. came with citrus and radish on the side for added flavor, but wasn’t needed yo.
CHICKEN KARAAGE~ delightful. Fried chicken the way fried chicken should be.
SHOYU TONKOTSU RAMEN~ They do half portions of ramen at this place since I guess they want to serve as many people as possible, plus allow people to try different dishes. But that said, considering this place doesn’t specialize or do strictly ramen, it’s very good. Thin noodles with a good firmness, good broth, no complaints.
BUTTER PAN-​SEARED SQUID~ again, I can’t say enough about the seafood at Mr. Max; it’s incredibly fresh and top-​notch. Though it was cooked in butter, it wasn’t heavy; though it was squid, it was a perfect texture and chewiness. It was simple in concept (butter, some flavoring/​spices, pan-​sear, voila), yet the way it was executed was just so on-​point.
the only thing that was off-​putting was that they told us straight up they needed us to leave, almost immediately after we paid them. I mean, come on. We’re paying customers that called in and made a reservation. If you have a problem with customers staying too long, then don’t serve alcohol to customers because booze – many times – causes customers to linger longer. Or just don’t promise reservations for as many people. We were barely done with eating and paying (in fact, i think they had given us the checks while we were still eating) when one of the waitresses came up and told us we had to leave.
Go to Mr. Max for the delicious food, but be prepared to be brusquely kicked out, especially if there’s a crowd.

Mr. Max is an authentic Japanese restaurant in Irving. It’s a hidden gem in an area you would not expect. Reservations recommended, you’ll need a plane ticket to Osaka if you want anything more authentic than Mr. Max.
My Overall Rating — 5 Stars (Atmosphere, Service, Food, Return)
Atmosphere — Mr. Max is hidden. Seriously. It’s like they intentionally made it hard to find. Once you find the strip mall it’s located in, you’ll park in a beat up parking lot with barely functional lighting. But find the door and you’ll walk into a packed house. There is beautiful distressed wood everywhere. It’s really pretty starting with a sushi bar on the left side and traditional Japanese «floor» seating on the right. You’ll need to remove your shoes so you can sit down on the tables. It’s really cool and only a few other Japanese restaurants in Dallas have this type of seating. It’s also small. Plenty of seats at the bar but I think there are only 4 — 5 tables. 1 Star.
Service — Let me first state that my first visit to Mr. Max was without reservations. They were packed and we left due to time constraints. The second trip with reservations still had a short wait, but once we were seated we were good to go. The staff is friendly, the menus are all hand written daily, and they’ll translate the menu for you. 1 Star.
Food — You can order a sashimi plate. We did. Yawn. If you’ve sought out Mr. Max, you’ve come because you want to order something unique. Here you can order squid guts. You can, you should, and you will. It is tender squid tossed in a dark sauce — the guts I believe. Not everyone will be a fan but it’s fun to eat. Surprisingly, the real star is the ramen. Mr. Max has several types of ramen you can order, and they are half orders that cost around $ 5. You can order multiple types and share. The ramen is silky smooth and miso/​tonkatsu fans will not be disappointed. However, the best ramen dish was the dry ramen. The ramen is served without broth, but its tossed with spicy sesame sauce with chasu. It was awesome and I could have eaten two bowls. 2 Stars.
Will I Return? — Yes. The best thing about Mr. Max is that it’s not in a trendy Dallas neighborhood. In other words, the menu prices are very reasonable considering how authentic and unique the menu is. Mr. Max is like the anti-​Uchi. For some that’s a good thing. For me it’s a great thing. No doubt I will be back. 1 Star.
My Unilocal Rating Scale (Sum of all parts):
1 Star — Atmosphere — Is it a cool dive? Perhaps an upscale place? No matter the type, atmosphere plays a big part and I’ll give a star if I like it or thinks it has great charm.
1 Star — Service — You can have a great meal with bad service. But that’s also what can make a five-​star joint drop to four. It’s important to the dining experience that service is great and on point.
2 Stars — Food — I’ll award up to two stars for the food, since this is the main reason we dine out. Sometimes the extra star is given for value, but it’s really all about the food.
1 Star — Will I come back? — If I know for a fact I’ll return, I’ll give this a star. A place has to make an impression for me to return.
Each Category can be given up to 1 star except food (2 stars) because I consider all these categories important to the overall dining experience. I will sum them up to provide my final Unilocal score.

Located in the trifecta that is sushi restaurants down belt line in Irving. I come here to grab a light snack of just some grub. The food style here is unique and authentic. It is referred to as Izakaya. Mostly a drinking place like a «bar» and they serve multitudes of appetizers. Very fun to come and enjoy and chat with friends. They DO NOT have sushi so know that before stepping in.
The one absolute thing you must must try is the Takoyaki octopus balls. It. Is. Literally. The. Best. EVER. It is served in an authentic Takoyaki cast iron skillet still sizzling and it just makes your heart churn. I would definitely come 30 minutes just for the Takoyaki!
Edit: 4 stars now 5! I have returned a few times to Mr. Max since my first review and it really has picked up! This place is bumpinnnnn’ now. As always the Takoyaki is a sure hit each time. Recently I discovered the magical dish known as yellowtail carpaccio and on my goodness if it doesn’t make you feel like you’re swimming in fresh sashimi idk what will. ¹⁰⁄₁₀ in my book! A sure love for raw yellowtail lovers!

*I’ve never dined here before they had the owner change, only after*
I never even knew about this place till my bf suggested it! It is seriously a tiny little hole in the wall. We were greeted kindly as we walked in, but the first thing I noticed was how HOT it was in there. I thought it was due to the kitchen being out in the open though. Regardless, the service there is good and attentive, food came out fairly quickly! We got the: Beef tongue, takoyaki balls, buttered squid, tonkatsu ramen, Kobe beef pattie.
BY FARRRR, The beef tongue was my favorite!!! A must get! It’s just taste so good with a little lemon juice squeezed on it :) I want to come back and order two plates of it! It was also my first time having takoyaki balls, they were interesting haha (in a good way). Be careful biting into them, they come out super hot! The tonkatsu ramen also had so much flavor in it! we liked it a lot since some other places make their ramen fairly plain. My least favorite of the night was the Kobe patty :(was kind of disappointed that they weren’t that good.
One thing also cool about this place is that you can sit at the bar top area and the cooks hand you your food, or you can sit with your shoes off at the short traditional Japanese table and have servers bring you your food.
Definitely can’t wait to go back and try more items on the menu :)

Luck was on our side, since we were here on a weeknight without reservation at 6:50pm and was able to get the last table. They told us that they had a reservation at 8:30pm and we have to leave before they get here, which was totally fine.
We basically loved that we didn’t have to tell them that we are on a low sodium diet and to make our food less salty. We have to do that a lot while we are dining at many restaurants in the DFW area. Everything was cooked to perfection except the fried chicken cartilage which was a bit too greasy for us. But the service was great and I love how you can hear Japanese spoken not only among the staff but the customers too. That definitely is a good sign of authenticity.
I recommend getting the takoyaki and some type of grilled fish if you are a fan. For this price point in the DFW area, it’s the best Japanese grilled fish and takoyaki that I’ve had. We didn’t get the ramen this time because of the mixed reviews but will probably try it on our next visit.

I can not stress how much I love this place, considering it’s location and prices? Just a lovely gem hidden in Irving in my opinion.
First off, it’s really hard to find this place, especially at night, but it’s in some (I believe African) strip mall hidden behind another store. So if you’re driving and you’re not sure if this is the spot… it’s most likely the area, you just need to look closer. We couldn’t find it and thought we wondered into the wrong strip mall, because there’s an Asian one across the street… FYI not in the Asian strip mall…
Once you find it, it looks sort of shady when you look at the storefront at night but low and behold, walk in and it’s got this Japanese izakaya (pub/​bar) feeling to it! They have a bar area to eat at and large tables behind with cushions as seats, so it definitely feels very Japanese. you either kneel or lower your legs down to the hollow opening beneath the table.
Food is great, the price definitely makes it even better. Under $ 10 for most dishes and for decent sizes too. Service is also great, the ladies were very friendly and the staff all stop to greet you when you come in and when you leave they make sure to thank you for your patronage. If you’re looking for an authentic Japanese restaurant this is definitely a place you must check out! You won’t regret it, trust me!

Glad I stopped by this Japanese icon in Dallas:-)
The entrance and shopping strip is very misleading. It looks alittle aged. Like others have said, the area is sketchy. The inside is impressive though. I like the simplistic design. Very clean, but also an urban Japanese vibe. :-) the restrooms are very neat:-) there’s a lot of attention to detail w the décor and the plates.
To the food: I ordered some salmon sashimi from the daily specials. Very fresh:-) loved it. I also had the Tako wasabi (Octopus w wasabi sauce). It was probably the best Tako wasabi I’ve had:-) the chicken Kara-​age is also another must order. They do it really good here. I think next time I would do it w/​o tartar sauce though. The sauce was kind of heavy. I also ordered the tonkotsu ramen w extra egg. The ramen broth was very rich and creamy. Soo good. The ramen orders are half orders, they recommend you add extra noodle. (I thought the size was good as is for the amnt of food I was ordering.) Lastly, I wanted to try the rice sandwich. Mine had spam and egg, I think they give you the option w or w/​o mayo. I chose no mayo.:-) it probably would have tasted better though:-)
I would try their desserts if I had not eaten so much. I was also on a time crunch and was glad everything came out fast. Servers and chef are all nice. The prices aren’t bad either. There is so much to try at this restaurant. I hear the menu changes often, excited to try new things:-) I will be coming back. It’s my new favorite Japanese restaurant.

First timer, so we tried as many dishes we can stuff ourselves with. Grilled squid, grilled beef tongue, grilled mackerel, takoyaki (octopus puff), oyster in olive oil, karaage (crispy fried chicken), Kobe beef ball, spam and omelette masubi (rice sandwich), pork chashu masubi, shoyu ramen and tonkatsu ramen. My least favorite was the grilled mackerel. It was fishy and bland. The rest of the dishes were excellent. The ramen’s were definitely worth coming back for.
They take reservations and I would highly suggest it since there’s only about 6 tables and a few tables at the «bar». They filled up pretty quickly. Service is pretty fast and since they are so busy we almost felt rush to order and eat, but at least the waitress weren’t being too rude about it. Another thing to make note off, don’t bother looking through the photos to decide what you want to eat because quite a few things are no longer on the menu (prob new owners).
The restaurant is really hidden, not a place you would drive by and see and want to try. It’s also a little sketchy on the outside but luckily the inside is nice and clean. Great atmosphere where you can kick off your shoes and sit Indian style (literally!).

Feels like a secret hiding spot in Irving! Keep a keen eye out if you’re planning a visit at night.
QUICK POINTERS
* Friendly staff [1]
* Reasonable waiting time [2]
* Awesome atmosphere [3]
* Cool and clean restroom [4]
FOOD (menu)
* Relatively cheap pricing [5]
* Little but decent amount of food selections
FOOD (experience)
* Takoyaki (ball shaped octopus puffs) [6]
* Kishiman, flat wheat noodles [7]
* Mini Homemade Japanese Curry [8]
* Spicy Taiwan Pork [9]
* Shrimp Tempura [10]
* Grilled Squid [11]
OVERALL
Pretty cool place to hit up with your coworkers late night; wide range of small food options with plenty of drink selections so you can feel free to try multiple food options without worrying about being too overly stuffed.
Great pricing! Great atmosphere! Great service! Great food selections! Great food! At the end of the day, you feel like you got a little more kick out of this place than you paid for in food which is what makes this a 5-​star place for me!
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[1] Very attentive and cheery; love that greet us in Japanese because it definitely adds to the authentic Japanese atmosphere
[2] Everything came out in less than 15 minutes; ramen orders may take a little longer because of the process of making the broth
[3] Feels like you’re actually stopping by a small, local restaurant in Japan!
[4] Very modernistic compared to the rest of the store; the heater’s turned up to the max though, Mr. Max.
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[5] Everything is under $ 10! Who can dislike that?
[6] Wait a few minutes after being served to eat because the filling is extremely hot; otherwise, eat gradually in small bites; I personally like to eat it sushi style.
[7] Awesome option if you’re looking for something cooling to eat.
[8] Might not be gourmet but definitely tastes like a plate of authentic, homemade curry made by your mom or grandma because of the overall restaurant atmosphere and service.
[9] Great hands-​on food option! But would not recommend if you don’t have a high spice tolerance level.
[10] Your typical shrimp tempura, still good nonetheless; nicely coated.
[11] Squid is squid, right? Not much to say

A novel, traditional Japanese restaurant that doesn’t look much from the outside. It was a fun experience, and the food was great and reasonably priced.
First off, make sure you either call in a reservation beforehand or get there early. The tables get reserved fast, and the wait can exceed an hour. We were lucky that some reservations were cancelled and we were able to get a table. There were people waiting for an open seat up until 9:30. Otherwise, there is bar seating, which is fun because you can watch and socialize with the chefs.
The servers were all super friendly and helpful in explaining menu items (there are Japanese and English menus. Pretty cool!). Even with all the hustle and the crowding in the front from waiting patrons, they were all polite and got orders in and food out quickly.
I had the atki mackarel to share and half-​bowl shoyu ramen. My boyfriend had the spicy taiwan noodle (it’s a dry noodle dish). We were both very happy with every dish. It was prepared perfectly and was tasty, but not too salty or heavy. Even as a half-​bowl, it was the most satisfying bowl of ramen I’ve had.
The staff here know how to do it right. Even with the wait, it was a very unique and enjoyable experience. It might look a little sketch from the outside, but you can find nothing else like it in DFW.

My friend has been telling me about this place for quite some time, but I’ve always dismissed it as it didn’t strike me as any good. However after looking up for reviews for this place, I realized that I might be judging it too soon.
We booked an reservation for two at 8:00 on a Friday night. However it got pushed back to 8:30 since they were quite busy last night.
Tip: make an reservation, don’t just walk in. Or else you will never get to eat.
It was also raining pretty hard that I thought we were gonna cancel our dinner plans, but we didn’t! Yeahhh! Even when we got that on time, we still waited a bit since it was so crowded.
We were seated at the small table by the door. Know this: this place is really small, so there’s limited seating. You’re suppose to take off your shoes before stepping onto the platform. These are the table with openings on the bottom where you tuck your legs under.
We ordered so many dishes and it was delicious! So many appetizers, and drinks and ramen! Everyone there speaks Japanese so you know for sure you’re eating some authentic stuff. We both ordered takoyaki, live octopus, shrimp tempura and fried squid leg to start off with a bottle of some Japanese beer. And I had the tonkotsu ramen while he had a different one for our main entrees. After splitting the bill in half, we both paid exactly $ 24.30 each.

Mr. Max is back! The interior looks the exact same with a few minor changes. There are 12 seats at the bar and a booth that can seat 3 different parties. If you haven’t been here before, it’s a small restaurant with an authentic Japanese vibe. The staff uses iPads now to take orders and the service remains as nice and friendly as before. Came here with my boyfriend around 7 on a Friday– the wait wasn’t too long and the food came out quickly.
The new menu definitely consists of more variety than the old menu but the food tastes mediocre to me. I’ll break it down by what we ordered.
Sashimi: First off, the sashimi was my biggest disappointment. For the price, it’s okay but I wouldn’t suggest ordering it if you’re looking for the sashimi to melt in your mouth. The medium toro is dry. The sweet shrimp is almost tasteless and the squid is sliced into thin strips.
Tapas: The fire fry marinated squid was not my favorite. The waitress suggested drinking sake with it but the taste was too pungent for my liking. The oyster in olive oil just tastes like regular oysters. Nothing special.
Grilled items: The grilled beef tongue was pretty good (not as savory as I hoped for but good). The grilled octopus is delicious (I recommend it!) The grilled salmon should was a little on the salty side but it was soft and full of flavor.
Tonkatsu Ramen: I’m not a fan of ramen but my boyfriend is. He says it’s better than Hanabi in Fort Worth but ranks lower than Ramen Hakata in Addison. Still delicious though!
Ice cream: Eh. We tried all 3 flavors. The green tea is alright. The vanilla is alright. The Japanese flavored one is like a watered down lemon tart.
Feels different without seeing Mr. Max in the kitchen. Not a must try but not a bad try at the same time.