City Hall Maxim's Palace

Someone from this business manages this listing.

#291 of 13,317 Restaurants in Hong Kong$$ - $$$, Chinese, Asian, Vegetarian friendly

+852 2521 1303+ Add website

Write a Review

Hours

Sun

9:00 am - 3:00 pm5:30 pm - 11:30 pm

Mon

11:00 am - 3:00 pm5:30 pm - 11:30 pm

Tue

11:00 am - 3:00 pm5:30 pm - 11:30 pm

Wed

11:00 am - 3:00 pm5:30 pm - 11:30 pm

Thu

11:00 am - 3:00 pm5:30 pm - 11:30 pm

Fri

11:00 am - 3:00 pm5:30 pm - 11:30 pm

Sat

11:00 am - 3:00 pm5:30 pm - 11:30 pm

Improve this listing

What is Travellers’ Choice?

Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

Ratings and reviews

4.0

1,329 reviews

#291 of 13,317 Restaurants in Hong Kong

RATINGS

Food

Service

Value

Atmosphere

Details

Someone from this business manages this listing.

Learn More

PRICE RANGE

$18.00 – $88.00

CUISINES

Chinese, Asian, Cantonese, Hong Kong

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options

meals, features

Location and contact

2/F, Low Block, City Hall, Central, Hong Kong China

Central

+852 2521 1303

Improve this listing

Does this restaurant offer highchairs for toddlers?

Yes

Unsure

Details

Manage this business?

About

A pioneer of bringing the "Dim Sum Cart" into an elegant dining ambience, Maxim's Palace has helped to shape the Chinese restaurant culture that many of us so fondly remember. Every day, Maxim's Palace crafts quality Cantonese dim sum and dishes with the same skill and passion we are renowned for since the very beginning. Driven with a persistence for no MSG added in cooking and a dedication to bringing out the best in every ingredient, we have created memories of great taste and delightful moments for countless families with every dish. Because we understand the key ingredient in a heart-warming dining experience - an authentic taste of Hong Kong, a taste of memories we treasure and share.

PRICE RANGE

$18.00 – $88.00

CUISINES

Chinese, Asian, Cantonese, Hong Kong

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, After-hours

FEATURES

Seating, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service

Contribute

Write a review

Upload a photo

Ask a question

4.0

1,329 reviews

Excellent

472

Very good

599

Average

187

Poor

Terrible

These reviews are machine translated from their original language. Show machine translations?

This service may contain translations powered by Google. Google disclaims all warranties related to the translations, express or implied, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and noninfringement.

Yes

Mairwen1

United Kingdom11977 contributions

Old-School Dim Sum

May 2021 • none

This is a good option for dim sum in Central and is located inside City Hall near the waterfront. The large, formal dining room has a wonderful old-school quality, with chandeliers and white tablecloths and best of all, it’s one of the few places where waitresses still push the dim sum trolleys through the restaurant. It’s very popular with locals so it feels like an authentic experience. Of course this means that if you go at a busy time, then you’ll have to wait. We often go early on a Saturday or Sunday morning when it opens and you can walk straight in. Two hours later and you will definitely be waiting (I don't think we’ve ever waited longer than 30 min). We finally got a window seat this time, looking towards the harbour but I don't think I’d bother with these seats again because in fact, they are a little out of the way and the better tables are the more central ones, where the trolleys come by regularly. You can order from the menu but it’s more fun choosing from the trolleys. Generally, the ladies will lift the lids of each bamboo steamer to show you what’s inside but if you’re having trouble identifying something, there are cards on the side of the trolley naming each dish in both English and Chinese (see photo). Once you’ve chosen, they will stamp the card on your table and this is how your bill is calculated. GETTING THERE: Maxims is not obvious from the street and is hidden away inside City Hall, on the 2nd floor. If there’s already a queue when you arrive, go straight to the machine to the right of the door and get a ticket to secure your place.

Written 12 May 2021

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Meg M

Hong Kong71 contributions

Iconic HK Dim Sum Experience BUT EXPENSIVE

Feb 2020 • none

This restaurant located on the 2/F of Hong Kong City Hall building is really "old school Hong Kong" dining, with ladies pushing dim sum carts, and harbor views. HOWEVER, please note, it is extremely expensive and over-priced for simple dim sum dishes. It's only a good value with a large group, of 6 or more. Mainly business diners, who can expense the meal to their company!

Written 20 February 2020

Joseph K

13 contributions

Dim sum

Feb 2020 • family

Had lunch at Maxims Palace on 19 February and had a great experience. The food was exceptional, the staff attentive and the environment plush. We had 10 dishes and jasmine tea for $590 (about £60) and it was well worth it. Would recommend this dim sum experience to anyone visiting.

Written 22 February 2020

Peter Choy

Hong Kong6418 contributions

Good value for money

Aug 2023 • couples

This Cantonese restaurant is located in City Hall and has been in this location as long as I can remember, certainly with a long history. It is still having dim sum carts at lunch, and a popular place drawing many people, for both the experience and the quality of their food. The queue is usually very long, and they do not take reservation as well for lunch. Today, though, we come here for dinner. It is quite quiet with the restaurant opening only half of the space, and for this section it is only half full. The setting is typical Chinese restaurant style, brightly lit, but at least the tables are not that close to each other to offer some nice space for conversation. The overall ambience is clean and decent. We order a few of the recommended dishes, starting with Sweet and Sour Pork 菠蘿咕嚕肉 ($128). The sauce is of the right balance in sweet and sourness, very delicious, with the deep-fried pork fillet having only a thin batter on the surface. While this is a common dish almost all Cantonese restaurants offer, it is a test of the chef’s skill and this one scores a good mark from me. Next is Hakka Stuffed Tofu Pot 客家釀豆腐煲 ($158). I was pleasantly surprised to taste the salted fish mixed in the minced pork stuffing, as many restaurants nowadays are skipping that. Also, there are some large clams and a big fish head in the pot, along with meatball and Chinese celery, to increase the umami taste of the soup. Great to see how the chef is able to bring extra flavours to a common dish. The final one is Steamed Leopard Coral Grouper 清蒸東星斑 ($388), which is offering at discount. The fish is quite big in size, and while for some people it might feel a tiny bit over-cooked it is actually good for me. I also liked the lighter soy sauce used. For dessert my wife has Red Bean Soup 紅豆沙 ($40) while I go for Mango Pudding 芒果布丁 ($48). The red bean soup has plenty of bean beans and thick, quite good in taste, while the pudding is decent, wrapping up a satisfying dinner for us. Service is good, with the staff friendly and attentive. Often in these traditional restaurants there is a feeling that the staff are not very happy, and that ultimately got reflected through the services, but it does not happen here. The bill on the night is $924 and overall good value for money, and we already start to discuss whether we should choose here for our regular group dinner in future.

Written 30 August 2023

Morrison H

18 contributions

Traditional Chinese Dim Sum lunch and wrongly charge for dish not ordered and consumed

Mar 2023 • family

Four of us had a Dim Sum lunch on Wednesday 23March,2023 Table number 310 check/receipt number 000-9901, we were charged HK$1058.20. After our return to our hotel in Causeway Bay when we were looking at the above receipt then we realised that we had been overcharged for a dish(胡麻醬茄子）HK$58.00 + 10% = HK$63.80. Food quality was average, service virtually nonexistent due staff shortage. It had some nostalgic feel of past Yum Cha atmosphere as there were some Dim Sum trolleys wheeling around like the really old time Hong Kong. We had to wait for around ten minutes to get a staff to organise our payment. Suggest to scrutinise the bill before effecting payment.

Written 23 March 2023

Wanderer07445383558

1 contribution

Expensive meal, terrible dinner location

Dec 2023 • family

Terrible location for dinner. Ordered some dishes with rice but staff did not register the items properly. The rice arrived after I repeatedly requested for them. The dishes were cold by the time my children could begin dining. All the waitresses gave us a different account of our dishes and showed that they did not know much about what was going on or what was on the menu. I will never bring young children here. Food during dinner was terrible frankly and they are definitely overpriced. Avoid this place for dinner.

Written 18 December 2023

Martin H

Hong Kong1027 contributions

Good Value Quality Dim Sum

Apr 2021 • none

This is a really good restaurant for dim sum. The taste of the dishes served is very good and the prices are reasonable. The location overlooking the harbour adds a little extra is you can get a window seat. It's always extremely popular so make sure that you arrive early to get a table

Written 27 April 2021

jchegia411

Hong Kong200 contributions

Disappointed

Aug 2017 • friends

Maxine at City Hall has been our 'go-to' spot for out of town guests for great din sum and old HK hospitality - lively room, local cuisine and smiling ladies pushing old fashioned catering carts. Went there this morning at 10:45 expecting the same. Their table waiting system has improved and moves quickly, and the food was as good as ever. But the service was TERRIBLE. When seated, there were few carts in circulation and no one taking our order. I tried to get juice for children and they were getting to explain it wasn't available til 11am - it was 11:01. Finally the ladies with carts started to appear but they always seemed to bypass our table. We tried flagging staff several times and none were attentive or available. It ended being a 90 minute meal and we never did get the dessert cart to come by. Frustrating! I may be convinced to give them one more try, but if repeated I will choose one of the many other dim sum options in Central/Admiralty.

Written 17 March 2023

Leila H

1 contribution

Good food, unacceptable service

Jan 2025 • family

This spot had amazing food, but terrible service. The food was like nothing I had ever had. The squash and mushrooms was delicious, but the waitstaff was downright rude. They seated us next to the loudest part of the restaurant even though it was near empty when we arrived. It felt like the waitstaff was racist and treated us like we were just white tourists. They even made us pay before we finished our meal like they didn’t trust us not to run out in the bill. All in all, the food was good, but there are securely spots where you will get similar quality food with much better service.

Written 5 January 2025

Jasmin T

1 contribution

Clueless staff, overpriced food

Dec 2023 • family

Definitely not worth the visit during dinner. Waitresses do not seem like they understand the menu well enough. Wrong recommendations given. Senior staff seem rude and aloof. Rice was served way later than main dishes and staff brushed us off on many accounts. Dishes were cold by the time they got our rice order right. Food quality isn’t fantastic given the price. Not worth the visit during dinner given their reputation.

Written 18 December 2023

travel4free

Delta479 contributions

Overcharged

Oct 2023 • friends

The food was pretty good. We ordered 4 dishes for dinner. Looking back I think we should have come for their dim sum lunch as the food is better and the service faster. The lemon chicken was terrible. The fried rice was good. My issue was being charged for the tea that we did not order AND the 10% service charge that automatically billed. When I brought this up with my non existent server she said it’s mandatory. Overall the food took 1 hour to be delivered to our table. If I had to do it over again I would have walked out.

Written 27 October 2023

flosSavona

Savona588 contributions

Funny Asian confusion

Aug 2023 • friends

Watching the workers push the trolleys with all the steaming dishes inside is worth the trip alone. Welcome to the festival of stuffed steamed dumplings, a typical dish of the Chinese holiday lunch. Forget about wine or beer, here we only serve dark tea mixed with boiling water. Prices not excessive for HK

Written 4 August 2023

George A

Phoenix309 contributions

Iconic, classy dim sum

Dec 2019 • none

There might be better individual dim sum dishes at boutique restos around HK, but this is about an entire experience. It's classy with the grand ballroom, fine linen, and porcelain. But it's still noisy HK dim sum with the ladies pushing around carts of Cantonese comfort food. It's a place for a special family outing, or taking visitors, or doing some business over BBQ pork pastries and chicken's feet. Every time I come, I leave with a full stomach and a smile on my face. Expect to wait during peak meal times, but it's worth it. As much as I love to try other dim sum restos around HK, I still come back here when I want a dim sum experience I can count on.

Written 1 June 2020

Celine

Taguig City188 contributions

Forever Part of Itinerary When in Hong Kong

Apr 2024 • couples

Expect a long line when you go to this restaurant but I'm telling you, it's worth the wait. This is our family's favorite each time we go to Hong Kong since the 90's. We go there for dimsum. Order their deep friend milk. It's not on their menu and it's a hard-to-find food even in other restaurants in Hong kong. Please let me know should there be other restaurants offering deep fried milk on their menu. I'll really appreciate the recommendation. None of the staff can speak english but you can always try the receptionist at the entrance of their restaurant. Because of this, make sure to bring allergy medicines in case some of you are allergic to shrimps, etc. Also, don't be shy to stand and approach any of the food carts for dimsum. You have to do it if you want to be able to get their dimsum first and it's normal in that restaurant. They do run out of dimsum but they do replenish it also. We tried their dinner menu also and they have the best "normal" chinese food. We ordered sweet and sour pork and all of a sudden, we realized that those that we've been ordering in the past are nothing compared to what Maxim's Palace serves. It is so amazing. Better to come here in larger groups for dinner. Servings are big and also, so that you can try more food items on their menu. Please take note, too, that they don't serve dimsum all the time, only between 10;00am-12:00pm and afternoon, before 6:00pm.

Written 18 April 2024

Sarah T

1 contribution

Poor customer service and overprice

Dec 2023 • family

Poor customer service for such a restaurant. Staff did not take the effort to check our orders after asking 3-4 times and just brushed us aside.I followed up a few times and they then realised they did not key in the order. Went for dinner and it wasn’t crowded and staff were not busy. I feedback to the manager after paying for my meal, but he didn’t seem bothered either. Food wasn’t fantastic and it was a wasted trip and meal at this place. I find that the food is overcharged too, together with service fee (which is very poor). We ordered 5 dishes and together with all the extra charges, We paid about 1200hkd. I will definitely not recommend to try out this restaurant.

Written 18 December 2023

…

Showing results 1-15 of 953

City Hall Maxim's Palace, Hong Kong - Central - Restaurant Reviews, Phone Number & Photos - Tripadvisor