MAX's Wine Dive

I went here for the second time a couple of weeks ago.  The first time I went I wasn't impressed.  The chicken was good but I was so disappointed that the Mac and cheese was not good at all.  My second visit was so much better.  The chicken was still good. The collard greens were good and tasted like they used vinegar to cook them.  The Mac and cheese was SO delicious.  I'm not sure what happened the first time maybe it was the after church rush.  The second time it wasn't as crowded and it was Sunday evening.

Got a groupon being that this place is only a few blocks from where I live in Uptown. The place was bumpin for a Wednesday night at 9:30pm.  They keep late night hours, open till midnight weeknights and till 2 or 3am on weekends. It's NOTHING like Times Ten Cellars or Cru' so you wine bar lovers just get that out of your mind now. They have a nice sized wine list, but the atmosphere and food is more of a party-almost sports bar feel.

Music is loud and so are the conversations all around. The seating is in very tight quarters, I could grab the salt from our neighbors table without leaving my chair, this I don't care for. I like my personal space. There are a few booths, and I would've preferred that seating but it was all full.

The menu has a pretty large variety - sandwiches, fried dishes like fish n chips and fried chicken, seafood entrees, salads. I couldn't decide what I wanted so I had a half portion of the max n cheese and the fried chicken sliders. My hubby had the shrimp and grits with an ala carte piece of chicken, just cuz he HAD to try it.

Food - pretty good, but not as good as they think it is given their prices and atmosphere. My husband loved the fried chicken, he thought the shrimp and grits were good but overpriced for the portion. My sliders were tasty and the mac n cheese was just ok to me. Some strong cheeses and under-seasoned for my tastes. My fav was the dessert. A cheesecake with an oatmeal crust, huckleberry jam and carmel corn....I scraped my plate!

Service - spotty - we sat a while waiting for someone to even take a drink order, but once we were served, the server was attentive and very friendly taking the food order, bringing the food out, offering dessert, but then we waited what seemed like an eternity to pay the bill.

All in all if you are wanting a night out with a group of friends,  love wine and want a lively energetic atmosphere with some good but overpriced food, this is a great option.

Well - I had Super High hopes for Max's!!!  Its a great location - looks to be a smart place  and I think it has great potential!  I was sadly disappointed by their disorganized service, their inability to seat a party of 2 at 6PM on a Tuesday night, take their names, put them at the bar, then open up a whole new dining section.  The servers disorganization in getting food out and customers served.  

The menu - looks fantastic!  but $15 for 3 little pieces of chicken - not so impressed.  The braised short ribs on brioche could have been excellent had the "home made" chips and brioche been served hot and put on a warmed plate.  I know it was 86 degrees outside, but cold plates = cold food.   An $8 arugula salad with a couple pecans and slices of peaches.. not so impressed.  I would be willing to give it another try for the very impressive wine list. When sitting at the bar, the bar tenders seemed to know the bar menu well.  

The were great at keeping the water glass filled - but we rarely saw the server.  She had a great personality - but was spread out all over the dining room - Hard to get her attention and provide quality service.  

The Manager ran around and seemed to be as disorganized as the wait staff and the restaurant.