Friday, October 19, 2012

Maxy's (Elsternwick) 10/2012

This place has been an icon of Melbourne dining, they tell you so on their web page, since 1995.  They also tell you that they are well known for their Middle Eastern salads and dips and are famous for their "ribs and schnitzels, cooked to perfection in tasty marinades and sauces. Without pretension or attitude, our signature is quality and quantity.
It's half true in our view, the quantity bit is, that's for sure. They do have a wide ranging menu and they are cheap for what you get.
 
 Family friendly it's great for kids too but not if you're a foodie . It's a big venue, simply furnished with an attractive bar.
 
They have bare tables, paper napkins and indifferent cutlery. The walls are decorated with pic's of famous pic's of film stars, mostly dead now, who have never been here. There is a large TV with captions and volume turned down for the bored or the lonely. 
Food is served on big metal platters, suitable for sharing, with side plates. Knowing the size of the serves we skipped entrees and started with a chicken schnitzel, two actually, each of which covered a normal size plate. They were thick, heavily crumbed and rather dull. This was presented with a mass of coleslaw, red cabbage and a tomato and capsicum salad all extremely coarsely chopped, a bit of lemon and a choice of sauces.  
The fish, a New Zealand flounder would not fit on a plate and came with the same salads. It was surprisingly coarse and free of taste.
 
 Desserts were also distinguished by size. An apple strudel with cream and ice cream  
 
and an old fashioned Sunday finished off our meal and just about finished me off too. I could eat nothing for the next 24 hours.
Elias and his staff seemed very happy and well satisfied with everything.
   
 Fast all day, take the kids but don't expect a culinary experience. Score: 12.75/20

2 comments:

John Salisbury said...

Not my style of place Elliot,Senor(above) ditto.We love your most interesting and informed reviews.Regards John

Elliot and Sandra said...

I don't care for these places either but I am always astonished at the number of positive comments and reviews they get on sites like WOMBO and UrbanSpoon