Don't expect much space at Max's

Max's Grille
404 Plaza Real
Mizner Park
Boca Raton, FL USA 33432

www.maxsgrille.com

Where is it?

Things are pretty easy to find at Max's. Head through front door, past the hostess stand and the bar (which is covered by an awning baring the word "Cocktails" in two-foot-tall lettering) and towards the small hallway to the left of the open kitchen, a hallway with a modest retro sign at its mouth reading, "Restrooms." Go down the hallways: The mens' is the first door you come across; the women's is at the end of the hall.

What's it like?

This is a pretty trendy-looking place with a very hip menu of American food fused with Asian and Latino influences, though the food's a bit too greasy and the side dishes seem to all come with overly garlicky sauteed spinach and cheddar mashed potatoes, which in turn nullify all the attempts to bring out the ethnic flavors of the food.

The interior is filled with dark woods and shadowy lighting. It's also very loud and it doesn't cater well to the crowds that pack the place. Very tight and hard to walk here. That notion gets carried over to the bathrooms. You expect them to be a quiet, roomy a respite from the frenzy of the rest of the place, but instead it's worse.

The bathroom contains two small stalls, a sink/vanity area and two urinals. Unfortunately there isn't enough space to comfortably accommodate all those items, which means you pretty much have no privacy while there. On my visit, I was forced to use a stall to urinate because of the other places were taken. However, I couldn't get into the stall without bumping into the fellow using the urinal placed at the opening to the stall. Glad I wasn't in that much of a hurry.

The women's room was no better, supposedly, with only two stalls (the line of women waiting to use the bathroom filled the entire hallways leading to the restrooms). "Bleh," said my companion, who stood in the line 20 minutes before getting her chance to pee. "That place just isn't well thought-out."

Also, because of the overcrowding, water tends to be sloshed around a lot. The floors were all damp (which in turn caused anything on the ground -- like TP -- to stick to your show; it doesn't just happen in movies, apparently). The women's room was pretty filthy as a result, I was told, with lots of bunched up paper towels and what-not in the corners.

Marks out of 10:

6. There's potential here amidst the tight fit.

Comments to the Management:

Needs to be expanded and cleaned more often. Of course, that means the cleaning crew has to be able to fit into the bathroom when other people are there, and that just may be impossible during business hours.