25/F, Mandarin Oriental - Hong Kong, 5 Connaught Road Central 干諾道中5號香港文華東方酒店25/F 25/F, Mandarin Oriental - Hong Kong, 5 Connaught Road Central 干諾道中5號香港文華東方酒店25/F (Hong Kong Island, Central)
13,14/F, Bank Of China Building, 2A Des Voeux Road Central 德輔道中2A號中國銀行大廈13樓-14樓 13,14/F, Bank Of China Building, 2A Des Voeux Road Central 德輔道中2A號中國銀行大廈13樓-14樓 (Hong Kong Island, Central)
4/F, One, Two Exchange Square, 8 Connaught Place 康樂廣場8號交易廣場1,2座4/F 4/F, One, Two Exchange Square, 8 Connaught Place 康樂廣場8號交易廣場1,2座4/F (Hong Kong Island, Central)
Shop 222, 2/F, The Galleria, 9 Queen's Road Central 皇后大道中9號嘉軒廣場2樓222店 Shop 222, 2/F, The Galleria, 9 Queen's Road Central 皇后大道中9號嘉軒廣場2樓222店 (Hong Kong Island, Central)
First and foremost, be ready to wait. This is one of the most famous and popular restaurants in Hong Kong. They don’t take reservations. The place is enormous, but you will still likely find yourself in a 1 – 2 hour line to get in. Your first question may be «Why?» Maxim’s has tourist trap written all over it, but when you’re in LA, you go to Spago. When you’re in Chicago, you go to Morton’s. There’s no shame in going to a restaurant that’s considered an institution in the city, as Maxim’s is. The food is quite good. The servers bring clearly marked carts of dim sum to your table, then stamp off what you’ve ordered on a card. To the unsophisticated palette for Chinese food, there’s no real difference between this and a greasy chopstick in Sai Ying Pun, but people in the know feel this is pretty fine dim sum. I left satisfied, so I can recommend Maxims for the food, but if you can’t deal with waiting, keep that under consideration.
Brett P.
Place rating: 3 Atlanta, GA
There was all kinds of confusion when it came to locating this restaurant! There are no signs that are obvious and the restaurant is actually located with within the concert hall. It’s best to locate the concert hall then proceed to the second floor in the elevator. The line can be incredibly long however it’s best to get there early or make a reservation. When you get to the restaurant, use the kiosk to get a number for the queue. We learned after arriving that there is actually an app(Food Gulu) that can get you a number similar to a reservation so you do not have to wait as long. We arrived a little before noon and I had to wait around 45 minutes. Once seated, the atmosphere was exquisite with large chandeliers and huge windows looking out at the cityscape and ferries. Ordering can be a bit overwhelming because waitresses come around with carts and try to give you every option available. It is fine to say no if you’re not interested in something or if there is something that you don’t see on their cart, feel free to ask or point to a picture as we did in our case. The food is average, but the classy atmosphere and view make it a good lunch or tea spot. By far the dumplings with pork and shrimp were the best, but I also enjoyed the egg tarts. Definitely come hungry because we wanted to try more things than we could possibly finish!
Alina M.
Place rating: 3 Markham, Canada
Located in the basement of the building in Sheung Wan where the jet leaves for Macau. It’s a higher end Maxim’s group restaurant with lots of their employees from their Siu Sai Wan branch before it closed. Dimsum and tea prices here are a lot higher than your average place. Service and quality of food is a tad better, but in my opinion, not enough to justify the price difference. I wouldn’t say that this is «high class», but for a normal dimsum meal, this would definitely be on the higher end in terms of ambiance/environment and prices, quality of food-wise, I would beg to differ. Because it’s in the same mall as the jet to Macau, there are lots of tourists here, but also an even mix of locals, so be prepared for a line-up if you get there after 10am, ie. for a late breakfast or brunch. Weekends are also, as expected, far more crazy.
Jenny C.
Place rating: 4 Durham, NC
One of our favorites in Hong Kong! Right in City Hall, this is one of the best places for dim sum in Hong Kong. The service is good and the food is amazing — great quality and a great selection of dishes. The waiters and waitresses wheel around carts with different dishes and when they come by you simply say yes or no to what they are offering. It’s fast and you get pretty much a constant stream of food from the time you arrive. The pork buns and egg tarts are some of our favorites, but I recommend trying as many different things as you can. If you know of something you specifically want and they don’t bring it around on the carts, you can ask for it. The tea is also great so don’t miss out on that! The restaurant has a great view of downtown and is a clean and comfortable space. I definitely recommend it!
Bonnie S.
Place rating: 2 Oakland, CA
This is a pretty location and it has the old-fashioned carts that you can pick dim sum from. That said, I don’t think it’s any better than most dim sum restaurants, and not as good as some. Their bao with spinach and mushrooms can’t hold a candle to the ones at Shanghai Min in Kowloon Bay. Their dumplings are inferior to Din Tai Fung in New Town Plaza. The shrimp dumplings aren’t as good as Happiness at Science Park in Sha Tin. In general, the Star Floating Seafood restaurant in Sha Tin has better dim sum, for less money. So why the ridiculous waiting lines? I don’t get it. The egg tarts were good, but no different from many other places. So go for the atmosphere but you can do better for food.
John T.
Place rating: 5 Hong Kong
This is one of the iconic dim sum places in Hong Kong. Bill Clinton came here when he visited HK during his presidency. Some say that this is a touristy place, but that is not a fair description. Yes, there are many tourists here, but there are likely to be a lot more local customers visits. Try to get there early, not later than 11:30am, or potential a long queue. Quality of dim sum is good. The variety of dim sum is second to none. However, the atmosphere is unbeatable. This is one of the last places in HK(if not the only place?) that still serve dim sum on trolleys. This is one of kind dim sum experience in HK. Long may it last!
Carolyn L.
Place rating: 4 Hong Kong
I really like this restaurant for a quick dim sum lunch or Sunday chill. Good hargow and I adore the sesame balls filled with egg custard. Chicken feet in black bean also good. Always efficient service, good food and reasonably priced. Use the Food Gulu app for weekend tickets to save waiting for long stretches. There is also an a la carte menu & the carts are in English as well as chinese.
Andrew M.
Place rating: 4 Hong Kong
Maxim’s City Hall is a great place to go with a group for a traditional dim sum experience, particularly with a group or with family. Maxim’s is set in a large banquet hall, with large windows overlooking the harbor. Getting here early on a Saturday(by 10:30am at the latest) is a really fun thing to do with friends who are visiting Hong Kong. Everyone lines up at the door and down the stairs, and when the restaurant opens at 11:00am the line rushes in to secure the best tables. While I always shoot for one of the tables in the right-hand corner by the picturesque windows, I readily admit that these are the furthest from the kitchen and you have to watch as the carts make their way across the massive hall to your table. The dim sum is also excellent, if a bit expensive. But, you are in part paying for the experience and environment, so it never seems unreasonable to me. The dim sum staples are all high quality, particularly the rice rolls(shrimp or pork), the char siu bao and the baked pork buns. Since Maxim’s still has the dim sum carts you can always be on the lookout for something new or different, and that always adds to the experience. One thing that I always save room for is the delicious mango pudding dessert — cold, sweet, and refreshing, it’s the perfect end to your over-indulgence. The service is friendly enough and definitely efficient — just keep your eyes peeled for your desired dish and prepare to throw your hand in the air. This is a place where I always bring visitors for a taste of the grand, old-style dim sum experience and it never disappoints for flavor or ambiance.
Richard C.
Place rating: 2 Oakland, CA
It’s an OK venue if you want that traditional dimsum vibe: Grand ballroom with a 1000+ person capacity, carts circulating through the room, the forlorn look on some of the servers that have to make the rounds carrying an unpopular dish. And the views are lovely. I’d totally bring visitors here just for the overall feel. But the food quality is just plain meh, the peak-time queues are atrocious, and I’m just not in love with the place anymore. Pro-tip: Download and use the«Foodgulu» app to grab a queue number before you go there.
Vinh T.
Place rating: 5 Houston, TX
My friend and I went here because we were told that if you wanted good, traditional dim sum, this was the place to go, and I was very impressed. The décor of the place was beautiful; I felt that I was in a large ball room. Additionally, the service was great as well; our plates were cleared relatively quickly. The dim sum itself was great. The barbecue pork bun tasted both tender and sweet. The taro was crunchy on the outside, but chewy and delicious on the inside. In fact, every dish we ordered(shrimp flour, mango pudding, tofu pudding, and rice flour shrimp) were top notch. My only complaint is that it was a bit pricey, but dim sum usually is. I would definitely come back again.
Anneke D.
Place rating: 3 Paris, France
After a 45-minute wait, my dining companion and I were seated towards the middle of the giant room(quite like a ballroom) at a large table draped in white, typical of dim sum restaurants. I think we would have enjoyed our lunch more had we been placed by the harbor view window. Instead, we were jostled by carts and noise passing through the undecorated room, and had to shout to hear one another. We were constantly reminded that this was a business, and nothing else. They let you in, the carts go by, you grab your food and receive the stamp, and they hustle you out. Yet, despite the number of carts and servers, the service was quite slow. It took about 15 minutes for us to grab our first set of dim sum baskets, which is quite a time considering it was already prepared! To be honest, the food was good – but just that. I’ve had better dim sum elsewhere, and in more convivial settings including in San Francisco and New York.
Connie W.
Place rating: 4 San Jose, CA
I had wanted to go to English High Tea while in Hong Kong but it did not fit into our schedule. My family’s rebuttal is that Maxim IS High Tea. Fine China dishware and flatware, chandelier, expensive pretty finger sized appetizers, and of course, tea. It is high class dim sum in every way. The harbor view also adds to the experience. We had a difficult time finding this place. Address and signage are not marked from the outside. We walked past this place and into City Hall. Asked 3 people who did not understand the English name. Asked 2 people who said, it’s over there. We almost gave up the search. People should have been more detail in their reply, like go into the entrance of the performance art building and up the stairs. The place was very fancy, I felt under dressed. I was hot and sweaty from the long walk in the sun so wanted to drink ice water. But hubby said you have to drink hot boiled tea to be safe! I washed my face in the bathroom instead. The carts rolled around for awhile but then stopped and parked for about half hour. Maybe it was a work shift change? We lounged and relaxed during that time but later I had to go cart searching for food. All the food was good, light delicate clean taste, not overwhelming in flavor or msg. But I must say their Xia Loong Bao is not as good as Ding Tai Fung. Their mango pudding is the best I have ever had anywhere, hands down. I think this is a must visit place for a memorable dim sum experience.
Roibeard S.
Place rating: 5 Atlanta, GA
Excellent yum cha near the ferries. We got there a bit early, be mindful that by 11am there will be a queue to get in. Lots of locals and a large variety means that you won’t be disappointed. Is it expensive? It’s pretty reasonable considering the rents. The food is excellent though.
Jennifer C.
Place rating: 3 Carlsbad, CA
This is by far the fanciest dim sum place I’ve been to. Went with 3 other friends on a Tuesday. It’s good that we’re able to make 11:00am reservations online, but we still had to wait around 15 minutes for a table. They have a decent variety of vegetarian dim sum for my one odd ball friend. HK is definitely not a vegetarian friendly city. Heh. Food was fresh, and service was pretty on par. The total bill was about $ 100 for 4 people. For dim sum, I definitely prefer Tim Ho Wan over Maxim’s.
Yoojean K.
Place rating: 3 Gardner, MA
Food is ok, has a great view of the harbor, but I feel it is overpriced. You can get better food at lesser price somewhere else. The dough/skin of dumplings were overcooked, which broke easily and got stuck on my teeth. The sauce for chicken feet was too salty even with rice. Mostly for tourists or for locals who bring guests from overseas, it seems. I got there right when it opened, and saw there was much more selection of food in circulation when we were leaving, about an hour after it opened. I’ve been there a few times 3 yrs ago and this month, and I think their quality of food has gone downhill.
Howard L.
Place rating: 5 Park Ridge, IL
This is the place to have a classy and elegant dim sum meal in HK. You pay a premium for the historic setting and elegance and you also can get a limited view of the harbor from here. The dim sum quality is top notch as is the service we found. Push carts are still used here, and they are labeled in both Chinese and English. We probably aren’t the only ones with a tale to tell of finding this place. It’s dead quiet in the area surrounding this 2nd floor establishment(it’s adjacent to City Hall), with no restaurant signs anywhere. The locals all know where it is but just give you some cryptic directions like«just turn over there». It’s dead quiet with no foot traffic, and then you stumble into this bustling gigantic dining room with maybe 500 people having at it with their dim sum! Anyway, I would say it’s a must-do for an HK tourist.
Leung T.
Place rating: 5 Hong Kong
Where tourist will get authentic dim sum. The thing about the City Hall Maxims is that it’s a large local upper middle class dim sum place that, over time, has become accustomed to tourist coming through without alienating the local regulars. Some places in HK have become pretty much tourist only. As for the food, the prices are a little high but the quality/taste matches up so you’re getting value. By in large, the food has not been adjusted for the tourist so it’s authentic. The wait staff will come with anything shrimp or fried to the white people — say no politely. The food carts have English so order away — there will be nothing strange. While a huge place, you will have to wait for a table — it’s that good. Get there before 11am on Saturdays, 10:30 Sundays &11:45 on weekdays if you want to sit down strait away & not wait.
Mike M.
Place rating: 5 Castle Rock, CO
One of my fondest memories of Hong Kong is riding the ferry to dim sum. Such a fun way to share a meal with friends, family and several hundred of your new friends in the making.
Rowena Y.
Place rating: 5 Brooklyn, NY
Not the easiest restaurant to find but so worth the hunt. It’s located inside the Hong Kong City Hall building so it’s not so apparent on the outside. We came on a Friday morning right before noon and we got seated immediately. I was surprised that there were not that many customers to begin with. It could be partially due to the ongoing protests that’s occupying the Admiralty/Central area. Anyhow, this dim sum place is one of the very few restaurants that still does the traditional cart pushing. I like that they label what they have on the front of the carts, both in English and Chinese. Unlike the ones in NYC, the portions here are smaller. Instead of three char Siu baos, they give you two here. But it’s much more delicious of course! The tea here is great too! Love getting jasmine tea! I hope this place continues to stay afloat and keep the traditional cart dim sums!
Anita F.
Place rating: 5 Hong Kong
If you want to experience old school dim sum parlours in the comfort of modern technology, this is the place you need to be. This location of Maxims had been a very popular wedding banquet location when the wedding registry was in city hall. But now that hotel wedding banquets have become de rigeur, this place has become very popular for dim sum lunches and the lineups are notoriously long.(I was told there is a normal line up and a VIP line up. Go figure) The décor is western style with high ceilings and chandeliers, and an arresting view of the harbour, still very suitable for banquets. The dim sum served is decidedly old school. With fine dining restaurants trying to one-up each other in terms of luxurious dim sum, sometimes it’s just nice to stick with the basics. The dim sum is wheeled around the spacious dining hall in metal carts like back in the days, but the difference is that the carts now have a color flat screen panel that shows names and images of the dim sum in the cart. You would then order what you want and the cart lady would stamp your dim sum cart to keep track. Dim sum is overall very good here. Personal favorites are the calamari and the sesame jelly rolls.
