Maxine's On Shine

This place such a nice hidden gem. We shared the crab cakes appetizer, which were excellent and full of crab meat. It's a cozy little spot tucked away in a historic part of town that blends in with the neighborhood from the street. They have a large courtyard and intimate indoor space with a fairly large bar. Their pricing and quality of food are great. I'd definitely recommend stopping by if you're looking for a locally owned and unique spot for food and drinks.

Enjoyed the food and service

My husband and I went to Maxine’s last night for dinner with friends. We had a 7:15 reservation but weren’t seated until 8:45, even though the owner came by to chat with us multiple times while we waited. Once we were finally seated, the meal was truly terrible. We waited nearly 45 minutes for our appetizers, which were mediocre at best. The filet mignon was overcooked and came with the blandest carrots and mashed potatoes imaginable. Our entrees were supposed to include a side of green beans that never arrived, and the restaurant refused to do anything about it. We gave this feedback to the owner. All he offered was to “make it right” if we came back another time. He refused to address any of the issues that night. We’ve lost any interest in returning. Stay away.

We went to Maxine's for my son's birthday dinner. This was our third visit and we went back upon his request. We already had a not so enjoyable previous visit for the same issue. We arrived at 6:30 and had a reservation. We were seated promptly but waited about 15 minutes to be acknowledged and get some orders in. We ordered some drinks and those took a good 15 minutes to come out, mind you the restaurant at this time was not full at all. The drinks for some reason came out in intervals instead of all at the same time. Maxine came by for a chat as usual while we waited. We then waited for the appetizers for another 20 minutes and again the food came out in intervals. The appetizers were very good. The highlights of the evening were the chili and the garden nachos. We then waited another good 30 minutes for dinner. We ordered the steak which was served at the correct temperature and it was well prepared, the mashed potatoes and veggies were bland, poorly season would be precise. They were edible but very bland. The server, a fellow with a beard and cap was nowhere to be found during these intervals of waiting since I guess he is very aware of the disaster that must be going on in the back of the house and would rather not take on the wrath of the customers. We then waited 40 minutes for dessert. I am not kidding, a fruit parfait with whip cream and a "deconstructed cheesecake" (cream cheese whipped on graham cracker dust which is not specified in the menu). These take literally a minute to put together. They were "meh". Not worth a 40 minute wait in any world. The server saw that the desserts had not come out multiple times and made no effort to apologize. He actually tried to "ghost" himself as much as possible. The tip is built in so you are at their mercy no matter how bad the service is. I finally asked the server for the bill with dessert so we would not have to wait another 30 minutes. BTW, The cheesecakes came out first and the fruit parfait came out 15 minutes later. Unbelievable ! We had a very similar experience on a previous visit. There is definitely a serious disaster going on in the back of the house between the servers, the cooks which ownership is surely aware of but cannot manage. This spot is a perfect episode for that restaurant rescue show. The food is decent, not great and definitely not worth the torturous wait times and terrible service. I am most upset about the TWO HOURS of my life I won't recoup. If you enjoy watching paint dry or years of your life go by for no reason, this is the place for you.

Stopped by Maxine’s on Shine for happy hour. Our bartender, Tom, was great and the mimosas were good. Unfortunately, the cinnamon rolls were a huge disappointment. The menu says “2 fresh made rolls hot out the oven” for $10, but these tasted like they came straight from a Pillsbury can. They were tiny, hard, and practically flavorless. We ended up throwing them away. For $10, I was expecting warm, soft, homemade cinnamon rolls not something that tasted like a canned grocery-store roll. Charging $10 for those should almost be illegal. Great service from Tom and good drinks, but I would definitely skip the cinnamon rolls.

We really enjoyed Maxine’s on Shine. The food was very good, the atmosphere was charming, and we genuinely appreciated the owner coming out and taking the time to chat with us. It was an experience we otherwise would have happily recommended. Unfortunately, the bill left us extremely disappointed. Our food and beverage subtotal was $77.00, tax was $5.01, and a mandatory $13.00 “Hospitality Service Charge” was added. Those amounts total $95.01, yet our check total was $99.70 — an additional $4.69 that we could not account for based on the charges shown on the receipt. On top of that, after adding the mandatory hospitality charge, the receipt still provided a separate line asking for a tip. We are happy to tip well for good service, but this creates confusion about whether the hospitality charge is actually a gratuity for the server or whether customers are expected to tip another 18–20% on top of it. Transparent pricing matters. If a restaurant is going to impose a mandatory service charge, customers should know exactly what it is for, whether it goes to the service staff, and every dollar of the final total should be clearly accounted for on the receipt. It’s especially disappointing because we genuinely enjoyed the food, ambiance and personal interaction with the owner. What should have been a wonderful experience ended with us feeling uncomfortable about the billing. I hope Maxine’s provides more transparency around these charges because the restaurant itself has so much going for it.