Maxine's Bistro and Bar

An all-day bistro and bar in South Beach's Catalina Hotel: big breakfasts, 16-inch pizzas, poolside tables and nightly live music.

Checked October 2026

Good for groups who want pancakes at noon, pizza at 10 pm and a DJ in the background. The trade-off: it's busy hotel food, and 20% in automatic charges lands on every bill.

Eggs, waffles, pizza

The menu is long and starts at 8 am, so breakfast and a 16-inch New York-style pie can end up on the same table. The Catalina Breakfast is $16 for three eggs, toast, a choice of meat, potatoes or fruit, and orange juice. The Tokyo Pancake, a giant Japanese-style one with apples and whipped cream, is $21 and the showiest thing on the list. Pizzas run from $21 for a margherita to $28 for the Carnivore King. Burgers use Certified Angus beef on house-made buns, and the smash burger is $20. It's hotel cooking done in volume, not a chef's statement, and that's fine.

Music, DJs and the pool

Nights bring live music and DJs, every night according to the hotel, so dinner here won't be a quiet conversation. The bar runs daily specials, brunch comes with bottomless mimosas, and the newly renovated courtyard pool has poolside dining when the sun's out. It's open 8 am to midnight every day, which makes it an easy fallback on Collins when you want food and a drink without a plan. The rating sits at 4.7 from about 16,000 Google reviews, a huge count that tells you plenty of hotel guests and walk-ins pass through.

Read the bill

Two charges get added automatically: a 14% gratuity that goes to your server, and a separate 6% service charge for staffing and operating costs. That's 20% on top before you've decided anything about tipping, so don't add another full tip out of habit. With most plates between $14 and $26, the $$ price level holds, but a round of cocktails plus those fees moves the total up quickly. Tables can be booked ahead, and groups can send an event request through the hotel, which is worth doing for a weekend night.

Getting there

1. It's inside the Catalina Hotel at 1756 Collins Ave, with poolside seating in the courtyard.

Reservations

Tables can be booked ahead, and larger groups can submit an event request through the hotel.

Good to know

20% in fees (14% gratuity plus 6% service) is already on the check, so read it before tipping.

Questions people ask