Ruby’s QC: The chic new lounge that honours the woman behind Max’s fried chicken

Located within the original Scout Tuazon restaurant, Ruby’s is a cosy 12-seater lounge dedicated to Trota’s generosity and warmth, offering baked goods, coffees, cocktails, and bar chow. “We cold-called our architect Sarah Canlas to renovate our heritage branch, Max’s Scout Tuazon,” shares Fuentebella, recalling its inception. “Originally, only half of the space was open to customers—the left-hand side, which encompassed the restaurant. The right side was purely for administrative use.”

With the help of Canlas, Fuentebella sought to not only expand but enrich the customer experience at the Scout Tuazon branch. “There’s also something missing in this heritage store,” observed the architect, “the element of ‘making’ part of who you are, your identity.” Thus, they introduced a coffee station and bakery, which are the first things you’ll see to the right of the store when you enter. But something else was missing. Fuentebella recounts, “As we were working our way back to the side of the restaurant, Sarah said, ‘There’s not really a space that's dedicated to Ruby Trota.’”

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“Ruby’s is our way of paying homage to such a beautiful and generous woman,” Salud muses. To do so, Canlas and the team had to make sure they got the story right. “Our process, before any design work started, was to dive into who Ruby Trota was,” discloses brand designer Anton Lopez. “We listened to stories told by Linda Fuentebella, her daughter. We were lucky enough to have access to old family photo albums, paintings, and paperwork, all from Max’s family archives. Branding became less about design and more about how we could honour her with a body of work that we hoped she would be happy with...Working with Sarah, who also sought to communicate many of the same qualities we were after, was effortless. We were all looking to pay homage to Ruby.”

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At just 21 sqm, Ruby’s is about as intimate as it can get—yet operationally, it serves many purposes. “First, it’s a space for our customers to enjoy good coffee, as well as freshly baked pan de sal and ensaymada,” details Salud. This leverages their recent upgrades to the store, too: their newly integrated coffee station by Standard Supply Studios (Yardstick Coffee’s rebranded B2B solutions) which features their very own Max’s medium roast blend and an ample selection of drinks, plus their new bakery, where aromas of bread straight from the oven seduce curious passersby. “Second,” he continues, “it also functions as a reservations hub for our managers to discuss functions and events with inquiring customers.” The Scout Tuazon compound houses multiple function halls, frequently booked for weddings, baptisms, and even corporate events, but such affairs were normally discussed at the restaurant—now, they’ve got this welcoming, inviting space where they can celebrate these transactions by treating their clientele to merienda or a drink, which takes us to its third purpose. “From Tuesday to Saturday, it is also a cocktail bar that highlights a special story through our signature cocktails.”

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Created by beverage consultant Mandrake Ferrer (formerly of The Curator), Ruby’s cocktail listing is lean yet well-considered with just four drinks on the menu, each representing another piece of the Max’s story. Take, for example, their spin on the amaretto sour with gin, egg whites, and Angostura bitters called Forever Amber, which is how Gimenez would sign off his letters—his own way of saying “Cheers!” Of course, there’s the Maximo, named after Gimenez himself and inspired by his cool and classic suave: a creative twist on the dirty martini with butter-washed gin, mirepoix, Cointreau, celery and orange bitters, and believe it or not, chicken broth. In addition, guests may also order any classic cocktail they desire. Visit frequently enough, and the bartenders may even whip up a bespoke cocktail just for you, or reward you with their off-menu special: a delicious milk-washed cocktail with coffee-infused Aperol, vanilla, and rum, topped with a fragrant torched cinnamon stick.

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As Ruby’s is still on its soft opening, its bar chow menu has yet to launch. However, those hankering for a snack may request their crunchy liempo chips or brilliant Shanghai bites fashioned after Max’s famed lumpiang Shanghai. Salud does tease, however, that their menu will soon include Trota’s favourite snacks, but vows to keep things simple—nothing too elaborate that will distract from what lies at the heart of the Ruby’s experience: “a nice place for nice people”.

This simple but meaningful phrase is the first thing that greets you, before even stepping foot into the lounge, and concisely evokes the experience they want to offer guests. “A feeling of coming home to a loving house,” as Canlas puts it. “It’s relaxed and unpretentious,” adds Lopez, “a warm and friendly place for people to gather and enjoy their time together, a place for conversation.” Even Ferrer, who worked closely with the Max’s team to build their beverage programme, admits “The space at Ruby’s is our primary offering; the cocktails and the small bites are secondary. We envision it to be a room that makes people feel better about themselves.”

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Ruby’s is stripped back, and intentionally so. It’s not extravagant and yet remains incredibly elegant—Canlas pays great attention to the details and expresses a sense of style through the location’s design nuances. Even on your first visit, there is a sense of nostalgia and familiarity, almost as if you’ve been here before; hanging your jacket on the coat rack and pulling up a seat somehow feels natural, as if returning to an old friend’s home. This is no coincidence, but the product of purposeful design. Canlas’s use of textured concrete, brick flooring, and panelled Narra wood together with rounded window panels, vintage chandeliers, and stained mirrors makes Ruby’s sleek and fitting for the contemporary age, but at the same time feel lived-in, and that much more comfortable. Their velvet coasters embroidered with Ruby’s logo, which Canlas reveals was “directly lifted from Nanay Ruby’s penmanship”, add another stylish retro touch. “We tried to put ourselves in that era where Western culture merged with Filipino design”, Lopez shares. “Similar to her inspiration of the menu she created for Max’s. 

You’ll also spot a lot of mementoes, like the portrait of Trota that hangs beside the bar. There are also two archival reservation agreement slips for functions at the Scout Tuazon complex, proudly framed for display. The first was uncovered from the family’s archives, signed by Trota herself that dates back to 1958. The second was donated by an employee of the Max’s Group from a party his father had at Max’s back in 1966, carefully kept and maintained after all these years. At the centre of the space is a photo of Trota not just greeting, but truly welcoming guests with open arms. “We love that photo because she’s not just shaking hands, she’s holding the person by the arm, almost bringing them closer for a kiss,” Fuentebella explains. “It’s reflective of how generous she was and how she loved to entertain. When I was a kid, I took it for granted—but now, being much older, I see that value as a formidable foundation of the Max’s brand today, and the work we have is really to continue that.”

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This feeling of nostalgia is central to Max’s identity and remains essential to their new space, Ruby’s. “As a brand, Max’s (in our opinion) is nostalgic at its core,” declares Lopez, “not a fabricated concept, but rooted in what the brand is built on.” Max’s is one of the nation’s oldest brands, and their longevity is in large part due to the relationships they’ve built and continue to build with their customers.” Ruby’s is a way to bridge the generational gap,” Salud adds, “and it’s also our way to show the younger market that Max’s is willing to push our creativity while still celebrating our rich history.”

Ruby’s marks an exciting new frontier for Max’s Group, one where growth and success are measured differently, or perhaps, even immeasurable altogether. “You know, what drives me about Ruby’s is that it’s not going to be scaled,” admits Fuentebella. “It’s one of one, and that’s so exciting for us to do because our general everyday work is about the scale of things, like the number of restaurants, and growing that way. Now, with Ruby’s, we don’t need to open another store to be ‘successful’—here, success lies in our provenance, in being authentic to Ruby’s vision.” On paper, Ruby’s may seem distinct from the Max’s we’ve come to know, but it’s all part of the same narrative: one built on the hospitality and warmth of both Maximo Gimenez and Ruby Trota, whose story finally gets its time in the spotlight.

Ruby’s is open from 7am to 3.30pm daily and 5pm to 12mn Tuesdays to Saturdays, with the bar open exclusively from 5pm onwards.

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