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Maximilian Shapiro

@maxshapiro

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Partner at Westside Estate Agency|Co-Host of Mad Food @weahomes @madfoodpodcast

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Grateful to once again be recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal as a Leader of Influence in residential real estate. It’s an honor that never gets old. Looking ahead, here’s to a stronger 2026. One where both our city and our market can thrive again. Los Angeles has always shown resilience, and I’m hopeful to see it return to the city I’ve always known and loved. taken in Beverly Hills, California by @maxshapiro

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a year ago

Wow. This was completely unexpected. A friend of mine in Spain sent me this earlier today, and I was honestly in shock. Huge thanks to @sostresarticulo and @forbes_es for taking the time to write something about me and more importantly, for capturing exactly how I feel about food and food media.

It means a lot that this came from a country I love to visit and whose cuisine I deeply respect and cherish.

If you want to read the piece, you can flip through the slides or hit the link in my bio. It’s in Spanish, so maybe let ChatGPT do the translating for you.

Grateful to everyone involved. This was a real honor and a very cool thing to wake up to.

I will say this: It’s not about being right or wrong. It’s about having the balls to say something. Backed by years of eating, learning, and actually giving a shit. I might love something you don’t. You might love something I don’t. Cool. But I’m out here putting my name on it, making myself vulnerable, and giving real opinions people can agree with, argue against, or test for themselves.

“Didn’t hit” or “wasn’t the best” means nothing. It’s a lazy cop out before dropping some arbitrary score or ranking. It helps no one, least of all the chefs actually doing the work.

Love it or hate it, I’m out here. Saying what I mean. Standing on it.

That’s more than most can say taken in Barcelona by @maxshapiro

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a year ago

Everyone keeps telling me San Damián is some of the best mariscos in LA. So I went. And you know what? A lot of the food is pretty damn good.

The queen clams alone are worth going for. But dinner was also more than $200 a person, and at that price I need more than what’s on the plate. Especially when what’s above the plate is a spotlight shining directly into my face.

I have a complicated history with this restaurant group going back to Damián, Pujol and the short lived Atla that used to occupy this exact space. San Damián is easily my favorite meal I’ve had of the bunch in LA. I just don’t love the restaurant around it.

Full review is up on Mad Food. Link in bio. taken in San Damian Restaurant by @maxshapiro

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a day ago

I hadn’t been to Carmel in about a decade and forgot how much I like this place. It feels a little stuck in time, but stuck in a very good time. Great little bars. Restaurants with personality. People are nice. Everything is walkable. And apparently every bar in town has Green Chartreuse while the rest of the country is fighting over bottles.

Had a very good meal at Chez Noir, ate way too much at Maligne, became a regular at A.W. Shucks within 24 hours, drank at Bud’s and Brophy’s and somehow still made it to the wedding we actually came here for.

New Mad Food is up on Substack and the podcast with everything we ate and drank and why I kinda love Carmel. Link in bio

Also @visitcarmel , hello. I like your town. taken in Carmel by the Sea by @maxshapiro

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11 days ago

Marcus Jernmark just opened Marée directly upstairs from Lielle and it’s a completely different animal. Bigger, brighter, more casual and very much a choose your own adventure restaurant.

Want a glass of wine and a burger? Great. Want to bring 4 people, order most of the menu and get into the master wine list? Also great.

Marcus calls it a Parisian California bistro. I see a lot of Paris bistronomy in there too. French backbone, but basically no rules. Spaghetti vongole, escargot beignets, prawn cocktail, veal sausage, an absurdly labor intensive burger. The point is pleasure and making food people actually want to come back for.

Marcus talks a lot about Zuni Cafe when describing what he wants Marée to become. Not because he wants to copy the chicken or Caesar salad. He wants dishes people are still coming back to eat 10, 20, 30 years from now.

I got to run through most of the menu twice before opening. There are already some serious bangers and, as always, I have some thoughts.

Full Marée Substack review and podcast with Marcus is up now on Mad Food. This one is free. Link in bio. taken in Marée by @maxshapiro

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22 days ago

NEW LISTING
888 Toulon Dr | Pacific Palisades

Set on a private, hedge lined corner lot in Riviera Palisades, this bespoke residence by Maryl Georgi was recently reimagined down to the last detail. Bleu Chinois limestone, European oak, and coffered ceilings set an elevated tone across three elevator connected levels, from the fireplace lit living room and koi pond library to a chef's kitchen outfitted with Blue Star and Sub Zero.

Indoors flows effortlessly out to a pool and spa, lounge areas, and a built in pizza oven, anchored by a wine walled family room and brass accented bar. Upstairs, the primary suite offers a private balcony with peek a boo ocean and country club views, joined by two additional en suite bedrooms.

A fourth en suite bedroom, gym, and ten seat theater complete the lower level, alongside a three car garage and parking for five more, a residence built with a level of detail rarely found.
___________

4 BR | 7 BA | 8,800 SF | 13,939 SF Lot

Offered for sale and lease
$15,250,000 or $57,500/mo.
___________

Listing Representation

Max Shapiro | @maxshapiro
310.422.5628 | CalDRE 01418118
Westside Estate Agency | Beverly Hills

#weahomes #wea #westsideestateagency #losangelesrealestate #justlisted #pacificpalisades taken in Pacific Palisades by @maxshapiro

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a month ago

I’ve been avoiding Lulu for almost 5 years. I convinced myself I didn’t want to eat in a museum courtyard and I definitely didn’t want to go to a restaurant associated with Alice Waters and spend the entire meal comparing it to Chez Panisse. So I just never went.

Well, I finally went.

We ran basically the entire menu because we are pigs. There were some really good dishes, some duds, and an off menu corn dish with shaved porcini, Parmesan and olive oil that was maybe my favorite thing of the night.

More importantly, the meal got me thinking about this obsession people have with needing restaurants to “blow them away.” The older I get and the more I eat, the more ridiculous that sounds to me. Sometimes I just want great ingredients, sourced from people who give a shit, cooked properly, and to leave dinner feeling good.

Anyway, I have a lot to say about Lulu. Full review is up on Substack. Link in bio taken in Lulu Restaurant by @maxshapiro

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a month ago

Sushi Nakazawa has been open for a few months now on Robertson and 3rd after years of delays. I went to the original Nakazawa in NYC when it first opened and left wanting a little more. It felt safe and a bit conservative. So I was curious what LA would bring.

This is a very different operation.

The buildout is serious. Full suite kitchen in plain view, a big staff, incredible service, beautiful glassware and what I think is the most impressive sake list I’ve seen outside of Japan. Aramasa, Juyondai, Nichi Nichi, Jikon, Niizawa, Tatsuriki. It’s nuts.

There are 2 menus. A $190 classic omakase focused mostly on nigiri and a $295 Chef’s Omakase with more otsumami and dishes coming out of that big kitchen. We did the $295 menu along with the $150 sake pairing.

The meal was pretty damn good. Really good nigiri, some more ambitious composed dishes, a few things I’d tweak and an uni tempura with uni sorbet that sounded insane, but in the end made us giggle a little because it worked so well.

The service deserves its own mention. LA has some incredible sushi restaurants, but most are smaller mom and pop operations. Nakazawa brings a completely different level of staffing and steps of service. You feel very taken care of here.

And the beverage program is ridiculous. The sake pairing was diverse, informative and gave us some bangers. The attention to glassware throughout the meal is the kind of nerdy detail that gets me titillated.

So yeah. Somehow LA has room for another expensive omakase.

Full review is up on Substack with all the food, sake, what worked, what didn’t and why I’m already looking forward to going back when the weather gets colder and the fish get nice and fat.

If this place doesn’t get a Michelin star, I don’t know what Michelin is smoking.

Link in bio. taken in West Hollywood, California by @maxshapiro

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a month ago

San Francisco is back, baby.

I’ve been eating my way through this city since I was a teenager. At one point I was flying up almost monthly to eat at Saison. I’m sick, I know.

Then post pandemic SF got grim and I stopped coming as much.

Well, KB and I just spent a few days up there and it felt fucking great.

The Morris. Birdsong. Dalida. Chez Panisse. Zuni. A lot of Chartreuse. A lot of food. And a city that felt cleaner, busier and more alive than I’ve seen it in years.

I’ve always said that pound for pound, San Francisco has a better restaurant and bar scene than LA. This trip pretty much confirmed as much.

Full rundown, all the food, drinks, stories, pics and my love letter to Chris “Blue Cheese” Bleidorn is up on the Substack.

San Francisco is backkkkk. Link in bio. taken in San Francisco, California by @maxshapiro

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2 months ago

I hadn’t been to Las Vegas in over 13 years.

Jordan and I decided to do it the Mad Food way.

No gambling.

No clubs.

Just great restaurants, proper bars, the Celestial Waters, a little pool time and plenty of Jordan shenanigans.

This ended up being the biggest Substack I’ve written yet. It took a lot of time, but I think it’s one of my favorite pieces.

The full rundown, along with all the photos and videos from the trip, is live now.

Give it a gander.

Link in bio. taken in Fontainebleau Las Vegas by @maxshapiro

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2 months ago

I never thought I’d be saying this…

The Tasting Kitchen is back, Baby!

There was a time when it was one of my favorite restaurants in Los Angeles. Then Casey Lane stepped away, the food slowly lost its identity, Justin Pike left, a fire shut the restaurant down, and I figured that was the end.

Now it’s back.

I went in expecting a nostalgia trip. I walked out genuinely excited. Great cocktails, a strong wine program, some really excellent dishes, a few things I’d still tweak, and a restaurant that finally feels like itself again.

Full review is now live on Substack. Link in bio. taken in The Tasting Kitchen, Venice by @maxshapiro

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2 months ago

For the last 14 years, Shunji has been my sushi North Star in Los Angeles.

I’ve eaten here more than any other sushi counter. I’ve watched him earn a Michelin star, lose it after relocating, and somehow continue getting even better.

I genuinely don’t understand what Michelin is waiting for.

This isn’t just a review of a meal. It’s about one of the most important sushi chefs this city has ever had.

Full review is now live on Substack. Link in bio. taken in Shunji -Japanese Cuisine- by @maxshapiro

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2 months ago